Mingxi naturally didn’t know about what was going on with the He family, and even if she did, she wouldn’t think much of it. What she truly cared about was her cousin. With her current status, it wasn’t hard for her to look after her cousin—she couldn’t let her live as miserably as she had in their past life.
But now, she had received a letter from her cousin.
It was the first letter she’d gotten from him since returning to the capital, and her eyes reddened as she read.
Xiao Muchen: …
Was it really that moving?
“Let me take a look?” Xiao Muchen asked, glancing at the letter in Mingxi’s hands.
Mingxi handed it to him, smiling. “My cousin has always been gentle and sincere. Who’d have thought that after half a year in the East Sea, he’s bold enough to wield a blade and fight pirates.”
She wondered how much hardship he had endured. Thinking back to how he had been crippled in their past life, and now seeing him brave enough to fight, she truly admired him.
Xiao Muchen read the letter, written in a proper and measured tone, but he couldn’t help noticing that Mingxi’s tone when speaking of this cousin was a bit unusual. He asked casually, “Why didn’t he come to the capital back then? If he had, I could’ve shared a drink with him and thanked him for looking after you.”
Mingxi gave him a side glance. “Uncle’s family has their own business, and my cousin is married. He’s got a lot on his plate—how could he just up and come to the capital?”
Oh—so he’s already married.
Xiao Muchen’s smile grew even broader. “We’ll have to invite him here someday.”
“Who knows when we’ll see each other again.” Mingxi spoke softly. It didn’t really matter if they met or not—so long as he was doing well, she was at peace.
To others, she’d only been in the capital for a few years, but to her, it spanned lifetimes.
From the letter, Xiao Muchen could tell how deeply Mingxi cared for her uncle’s family. Clearly, even after learning she was adopted, the Xu family never mistreated her—they had only cherished her more.
That was rare and precious.
“There will be a chance,” Xiao Muchen said with a smile.
Mingxi tucked the letter away and asked, “It’s almost the New Year. What are Fengcheng Marquis’s plans?”
Xiao Muchen looked at her. “What are your plans?”
Mingxi replied seriously, “Let everyone have a good New Year first.”
Xiao Muchen: …
“All right then.”
He could tell she was teasing, and she laughed heartily in his arms.
Xiao Muchen sighed. “But seriously—what are you thinking?”
Mingxi answered, “Xie Muhua told me the timing’s not quite ripe. I’ve decided to take advantage of the New Year and stoke the flames a bit.”
“The Crown Prince still hasn’t acted?”
“He’s quite patient, our dear Crown Prince.”
“So how are you going to fan the flames?”
“Naturally, through Jiang Sujie.”
What the Jiang family owed her—what they owed the Duan family, and the Xu family—she would collect with interest this time.
If the Jiang family hadn’t been greedy, she wouldn’t have had the chance. But now that the Eldest madam Jiang and Jiang Sujie were eyeing Madam Jiang and trying to drag her down, then they shouldn’t blame her for being ruthless.
Seeing that Mingxi didn’t look well, Xiao Muchen frowned and asked, “What has the Jiang family done now?”
“It’s nothing major—just trying to drag my birth mother into things.”
Xiao Muchen’s gaze sharpened. This was considered nothing?
“She agreed to it?”
The “she” naturally referred to Madam Jiang.
“Yang Yiniang passed a message to me through my sister-in-law. The Madam was quite tempted.”
Xiao Muchen rubbed his forehead. He had seen people hit a wall before, but never someone who did it again and again.
Facing Xiao Muchen’s expression of speechlessness, Mingxi grasped his hand and said, “It’s just as well. We can take this opportunity to settle things once and for all. But before that, Qingyin’s marriage must be finalized first—otherwise, she might get dragged into it.”
“You handle it. If there’s anything that requires me to step in, just say the word.”
Xiao Muchen left all the inner courtyard affairs to Mingxi, and besides, this was Marquis Dingyuan’s private family matter—it wouldn’t be proper for him to interfere directly.
“Jin Wangfei helped arrange a match—she’s suggesting the clan nephew of Zhang Gelao. What do you think of the proposal?”
“Zhang Gelao’s clan nephew?” Xiao Muchen frowned slightly. “Does he have any official title?”
“He passed the imperial exam as a jinshi. His name is Zhang Zhiyuan. Have you heard of him? He fell ill and didn’t receive an official posting, but now he’s recovered and is awaiting assignment.”
Xiao Muchen clearly hadn’t heard of him. Looking at Mingxi, he said, “Let me investigate. Since he’s the Gelao’s clan nephew and his appointment was delayed due to illness, there must be a reason.”
“I thought the same.”
When it came to investigating external affairs, Mingxi didn’t have the same ease as Xiao Muchen’s side.
Indeed, Xiao Muchen’s inquiries yielded results quickly. Just a day later, he returned to tell Mingxi, “Zhang Zhiyuan is currently awaiting post at Houguan. The Ministry of Personnel has an opening—he’ll fill it soon. I had someone check: though he’s Zhang Gelao’s clan nephew, they’re not particularly close. When he was ill, he handled it on his own and never asked the Gelao to intervene.”
“Sounds like he has some backbone.”
“His family situation is simple— Father passed early, raised by a widowed mother. They’re not wealthy, but they get by.”
Mingxi nodded slightly. That sounded promising. “I’ll have someone look into this Madam Zhang as well.”
Xiao Muchen nodded. “Zhang Zhiyuan is quite talented—ranked 19th when he passed.”
Mingxi’s eyes lit up. That was indeed impressive.
She quietly sent someone to inquire about Madam Zhang. Widowed women often had difficult tempers, and she feared Qingyin would have a hard time if married into such a household.
The findings were reassuring. Madam Zhang was a kind and gentle person, well-liked by her neighbors, and generally warm and charitable.
Mingxi passed the message to Jin Wangfei, and Duan Huirou came over the very next day.
“So quick—you’ve already looked into everything?” Duan Huirou asked in surprise.
“My sister-in-law mentioned it, so of course I paid attention. I investigated and found it acceptable, so I asked you to come discuss it. How did this marriage proposal come about?”
Duan Huirou paused before speaking. “Two months ago, Second Aunt and Third Aunt took the family to offer incense. Qingyin saw a woman twist her ankle midway up the mountain and waited with her for family to come. The woman had no one with her, so Qingyin left her maid to help.”
“That woman was Madam Zhang?”
“That’s right. Madam Zhang took a liking to Qingyin and, upon learning she was from our family, asked around. Qingyin is a concubine-born daughter, while Zhang Zhiyuan is the legitimate son with scholarly merit. I thought it a fair match and asked Yang Yiniang—she agreed.”
Marrying into a powerful household wasn’t necessarily a good thing. With Qingyin’s status as a concubine-born daughter, even with Mingxi and Duan Huirou’s current positions, many families would be willing to marry her—but the candidates would mostly be concubine-born sons too.
It wasn’t that Mingxi looked down on concubine-born sons—if they were hardworking like Duan Ning, that was fine. But in most prominent families, the Old Madam would suppress concubine-born sons to protect the heir’s interests. In such aristocratic families full of tangled interests, one misstep could cost someone their life.
Yang Yiniang dearly loved her daughter and naturally didn’t want her to suffer. Duan Ning’s official post might still be low, but he was already earning a reputation at court, with a promising future.
So Qingyin’s marriage had to be handled even more carefully. In that light, the Zhang family seemed just right.
Almost too right—as if they’d perfectly tailored the proposal to their needs. Mingxi looked at Duan Huirou and asked, “Who first brought up this match to you?”
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