At this glance, Ye Qingning was surprised and delighted: "Cousin Yue, why are you here?" The pretty girl in a goose-yellow dress turned out to be Zhang Yue, a young lady from the British government.
Zhang Yue didn't expect to meet Ye Qingning here by chance, and he was very happy to meet him.
Ye Qinglan and Zhang Yue had only met a few times, and they could not be considered to have any friendship. However, she had always had a good impression of this elegant and elegant girl. But later, ever since she heard from Gu Xiyu that Duke Ding and his wife were interested in establishing a relationship with the British government
After getting married, I couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed when I saw Zhang Yue again.
Of course, only Ye Qinglan felt this subtle embarrassment. Zhang Yue knew nothing about it. When he met Ye Qinglan, he greeted Ye Qinglan very politely: "Cousin Lan, I haven't seen you for a few days. How are you doing lately?"
Ye Qinglan came back to her senses, smiled and exchanged a few words.
Ye Qingning and Zhang Yue have always been close. She held Zhang Yue's hand with a smile and said: "Today, the imperial concubine summoned my mother and me to the palace and rewarded me with many things, which are considered to be makeup for me." Speaking of makeup, Ye Qingning couldn't help but blush.
He made a face: "By the way, why did you enter the palace today?"
Zhang Yue didn't know what he thought of, and his expression was a little unnatural, but he responded calmly and generously: "It was the Queen who summoned my mother and me to the palace. Just after lunch, the Queen asked someone to lead me to the imperial garden.
Come and take a look.”
...It turns out that he was sent out to wander around too! He didn't know what the Queen and his cousin had to say about something important, so they sent Zhang Yue away as well.
Ye Qingning showed a knowing smile, and then asked in a low voice: "You are so good, why did the Queen summon you to the palace?"
Zhang Yue refused to answer the question directly: "I don't know too well. My mother asked me to come, so I followed."
Ye Qinglan felt something in her heart. Queen Gu would never be so bored that she would call Zhang Yue into the palace at will... Could it be that Queen Gu also wanted to facilitate the marriage between Zhang Yue and Gu Xinian?
Thinking of this, Ye Qinglan felt indescribably depressed. Although she was sure that Gu Xinian was not the kind of man to be manipulated by others, but if the family put pressure together and Queen Gu proposed marriage... he could survive it.
?
"Cousin Yue, it's rare to see you here, why don't we go to the Royal Garden together? It's more lively when there are more people." Ye Qingning suggested with a smile.
Zhang Yue did not respond immediately, but politely asked the palace maid who led her out. When the palace maid smiled and said it was nothing serious, Zhang Yue smiled and said: "Okay. Cousin Ning, let's go together!"
Ye Qingning's etiquette was already excellent, but Zhang Yue's calmness, carefulness and clarity were even better.
Ye Qinglan couldn't help but take a closer look at Zhang Yue. In terms of appearance, Zhang Yue was actually not too outstanding. But the bookish air all over his body was very pleasing to the eye, and his calm temperament was far better than that of girls of the same age. Even if he was
A picky person would probably not be able to find any faults. Moreover, as the legitimate daughter of a British father-in-law, she is a perfect match for Gu Xinian...
The more Ye Qinglan thought about it, the more unpleasant it became. For the first time in her life, she experienced a sour feeling.
Ye Qingning and Zhang Yue were talking and laughing, but did not notice Ye Qinglan's silence for a moment. After wandering for a long time, they only visited a corner of the Imperial Garden. Ye Qingning felt a little tired, so he suggested finding a pavilion to sit down and rest for a while.
There happened to be an exquisite pavilion not far away, with simple stone tables and benches inside. It was quite interesting to sit there.
Zhang Yue looked at Ye Qingning for a few times, smiled and joked: "After all, she is going to be a bride, and she is much more stable than before."
Ye Qingning blushed and immediately fought back: "Cousin Yue made fun of me again. When you get married in the future, see how I make fun of you."
Zhang Yue's smile paused slightly. She is one year older than Ye Qingning, but Ye Qingning is about to get married. Her marriage has not been decided yet...
When Ye Qingning saw that she was silent, he secretly regretted his mistake. For a moment, he didn't know how to make up for it.
Ye Qinglan interrupted at the right moment: "Sixth Sister, Cousin Yue, look at the peony bush over there in the pavilion. It's really blooming!"
Ye Qingning immediately took over the conversation and praised Shaoyao with a smile. Finally, the embarrassment was relieved a little.
Zhang Yue quickly returned to normal and continued to joke with Ye Qingning as if nothing had happened.
After sitting idle for a moment, the palace maid who led Zhang Yue out reminded her with a smile: "Miss Zhang has been out for so long, it's time to go back to Fengyi Palace. The queen will not be impatient to wait."
Zhang Yue responded with a smile and said kindly to Ye Qingning: "You and Cousin Lan will hang out for a while longer, and I will go back to Fengyi Hall first."
Ye Qingning nodded, and after Zhang Yue and his party left, he sighed in annoyance: "I just said the wrong thing again. Cousin Yue, please don't be upset."
Ye Qinglan comforted her: "Cousin Yue is not the kind of narrow-minded person, and she won't get angry just because of an unintentional remark. Don't worry."
Ye Qingning thought for a moment and realized that Zhang Yue was indeed not that kind of girl with a weak heart, so she felt relieved.
Ye Qinglan weighed it in her mind for a moment and asked tentatively: "By the way, Sixth Sister, I remember that Cousin Yue seems to be one year older than you! Why haven't you been engaged yet?"
Generally speaking, most aristocratic girls get married when they are fourteen or fifteen years old, and then wait for a year and a half to get married. Zhang Yue is already sixteen years old, and it is rare for Zhang Yue to have not decided to get married yet.
Ye Qingning hesitated for a moment, then whispered: "I'm not very clear about this. However, I heard my mother mention it once, probably because Cousin Yue is the eldest daughter in the family, and her uncle and aunt all hope that Cousin Yue will marry.
It was a good marriage, but it ended up being delayed because of all the picking and choosing."
The family status of the British princes is here, and there are not more than a few people in the entire capital who can be said to be well-matched. There are even fewer of them who are of the right age. Zhang Yuan and his wife only wanted their daughter to marry well, but they did not expect to pick here and there.
Picking it up delayed Zhang Yue. A year later, Zhang Yue was already sixteen. Zhang Yuan and his wife couldn't help but become anxious. Even Zhang Yue himself, without saying anything, was probably secretly anxious in his heart. So just now Ye Qingning was just
Zhang Yue was touched by a casual sentence.
After hearing this, Ye Qinglan said nothing.
According to what Ye Qingning said, Zhang Yuan and his wife might have fallen in love with Gu Xinian a long time ago and have been waiting for Duke Dingguo to come to propose marriage...
Ye Qingning finally noticed that something was wrong with Ye Qinglan. He wanted to ask in detail, but then he thought, it is not convenient to talk here. It is better to wait until he returns home.
When they arrived at Shen Shizheng, Mrs. Zheng took Ye Qingning and Ye Qinglan to say goodbye to Concubine Zheng and left the palace back to Changyuan Uncle's Mansion.
I don’t know what Concubine Zheng and Mrs. Zheng said before, but in short, Mrs. Zheng was obviously in a good mood along the way. There was always a smile on her face, and she teased Ye Qingning leisurely: "Ning'er, I have the concubine to give you more.
Makeup, you really look stunning this time."
There are all girls who don’t love jewelry, and Ye Qingning is one of them. Thinking of those boxes of exquisite jewelry, my mood really improved.
Mrs. Zheng smiled again and said: "It is estimated that in a few days, your aunt will also come to add makeup to you. Also, from the British government, your cousin and aunt have always loved you, so they will definitely give you some stuff from the bottom of the box.
Good things for you."
Speaking of the British Duke's Palace, Ye Qingning immediately thought of Zhang Yuelai and said with a smile: "By the way, mother, there is something I almost forgot to tell you. When my tenth sister and I were in the imperial garden just now, we met cousin Yue!"
Mrs. Zheng was stunned: "Why did she enter the palace too?"
"She entered the palace with her cousin aunt." Ye Qingning replied, "I heard that the Queen wanted to summon them."
Mrs. Zheng hummed and began to ponder. Queen Gu would naturally not summon foreign wives into the palace for no reason. This time she not only summoned the British princess, but also asked Zhang Yue to enter the palace together. There must be some reason for this...
"Mother, why did the Queen summon Cousin Yue?" Ye Qingning asked curiously: "Are you going to be a matchmaker to arrange marriage for Cousin Yue?"
Zheng didn't want to say more at first, but then she thought about it. Ye Qingning was already a grown man and was about to get married. He had to learn to use his brain more in the future. It wouldn't hurt to discuss these matters with her for a few words.
"It's most likely to protect the matchmaker." Mrs. Zheng said with certainty: "Sister Yue is not young anymore, so she really can't afford to delay. In any case, the marriage must be decided this year. The Empress summoned her at this time
Your cousin's aunt and Sister Yue's marriage must be for the sake of Sister Yue's marriage."
Ye Qingning nodded at first, then frowned: "But why does the Queen care so much about Cousin Yue's marriage?"
Mrs. Zheng smiled faintly. What else could she do for? Of course she wanted to win over the British government. Empress Gu worked really hard for the prince. As long as she could take advantage of the opportunity, she would never miss it.
Ye Qinglan also thought of this, and her heart suddenly sank.
In order to win over the Zhongyong Hou Mansion, Empress Gu arranged for Shen Changan and Gu Xiyu to meet, with the intention of marrying each other. Now, it is simply impossible to say that Empress Gu did not set her sights on Gu Xinian...
Ye Qingning's mind started spinning rapidly, and he came to this shocking conclusion. He suddenly gasped: "Isn't it that the Queen wants Cousin Yue to marry Cousin Gu?"
Zheng smiled approvingly: "You are right, the Empress must have this plan. Looking at the entire capital, among the men who have not yet gotten married, in terms of family background, appearance, and talent, Xinian is probably the second best.
No son of any family dares to claim the title of number one. If the Queen and the Queen protect this matchmaker, your cousin and aunt will not know how happy they are!"
Ye Qingning: "..."
Mrs. Zheng felt slightly unhappy when she saw something wrong with her expression, and glared at her: "You are already getting married, so forget about these things." She still couldn't forget Gu Xinian!
Ye Qingning knew that Zheng had misunderstood him, but he could not explain the misunderstanding. He was worried about Ye Qinglan and couldn't help but glance at Ye Qinglan.
Ye Qinglan didn't show anything strange, she just drooped her eyelids and pursed her lips tightly.
Ye Qingning sighed secretly, and his mood became heavy.
If this is really the case... what should Ten Sisters do? (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly votes. Your support is my biggest motivation.)
