mesbooks Chapter 202 I Have a Marriage
Chapter 202 I Have a Marriage
Lan continued, "Besides saying this, Wan also begged us not to tell anyone about her swapping of secret letters. She didn't expect the Chongguo Mansion to collapse so easily. She's always felt there were so many messes going on, and she's worried the Queen will find out she's involved and blame her. I told her not to talk to me so close in the future, and no one would suspect anything. When she heard that, she took off running, faster than a rabbit."
At this point, Lan herself laughed, "With such a small amount of courage, how could you have dared to steal so many things from my sister?"
As he was talking, the maid brought the food up, and the old man ordered, "Eat."
Everyone stopped talking and lowered their heads to eat.
Shen Li picked up the fish soup and took a sip.
My aunt didn't know that Xiao Zhao's affairs were related to her. My uncle guessed that she was responsible for the instant teleportation, but he didn't tell anyone.
Xiao Zhao, right?
It's almost time for her to come to an end.
"Li'er won't be going back these days. She'll be staying at home. The Shen family is a hotbed of gossip these days. Anyone who goes there will be tainted by it. We are good girls, so we won't get involved in that kind of gossip."
"Okay," Shen Li responded while drinking soup, "Don't worry, grandma, I know."
After eating quietly for a while, Fang Yao suddenly remembered something. He glanced at Fang Jitao and asked, "How is your injury? Come with me to the study after dinner. I have something to tell you."
When Shen Li heard this, she knew they were going to discuss the case Fang Jitao mentioned, so she looked up and said, "Uncle, in a few months, the dogs at the military dog base will be able to help with work. They are particularly good at scent tracking, patrolling and searching, and guarding. If you need, uncle, Li'er can take one or two of them with you to go out and do some work, and I can also give you a demonstration."
Fang Yao held the chopsticks in his hand and stopped in mid-air...
Mizhou was fraught with danger, and even if he had gone there in person, he would have almost come back dead...
"No, it's too dangerous. Your uncle can't let you take any risks. Just stay home peacefully with your grandmother and the others, and help your uncle train the dogs."
"uncle……"
Shen Li wanted to say something else, but Lan coughed lightly and said, "Be obedient. If your uncle says you don't need it, then don't. Let your uncle and cousin go out and explore the world, and you just stay home honestly. Your grandmother is timid, and your mother... forget it. In short, you can't make any mistakes, otherwise it will really cost your grandmother her life. Be obedient."
Seeing that everyone was about to speak up to dissuade him, Shen Li nodded quickly, "Okay, if you don't want to go, then don't go. It's not bad to train the dog with my sister-in-law at home."
Fang Jitao's face turned red.
He lowered his head and shoveled the rice in the bowl without looking up.
Fang Yao turned to the old lady and said, "Mother, the girl from the Cui family is a good one. Since they've already arranged the marriage, what can we give as a token of our love?"
Old Madam Fang put down her chopsticks, wiped her mouth with a cloth, and said thoughtfully, "When you married Tao'er's mother, our family's heirloom jade bracelet was a token of love. In addition to that, there was the token of love you prepared yourself. To this day, I don't know what you gave her. Now that it's Tao'er's turn, we'll follow the old rules. Tao'er's mother will give the jade bracelet to Lan, and Tao'er will prepare something else to give to her. As for the rest, we can ask around about the customs of the people in the capital, and we can prepare accordingly. We can only make better, not worse. Lan has no mother, and Lord Cui has no one in the family to help with advice. I want this child to marry off with honor, and I can't neglect her."
Upon hearing this, Lan leaned against the old lady affectionately and said, "Mother is right. We must uphold Miss Lan's image and let those who laugh at her and her father see that our Fang family's eldest grandmother has more substance and face than them. From now on, she will be the face of the Fang family. Anyone who messes with her is messing with the Fang family."
"Yes, that's right," the old lady said. Turning to look at her grandson, who was eating his meal, she said without amusement, "You're embarrassed again now. Why didn't you blush when you told the girl at the dog farm that you liked her? You said you liked her, but you had to add "I like her"—you're so silly. Those who know you're saying nice things, but those who don't think you're insulting her."
Everyone burst into laughter, even the maids standing behind them covered their mouths and laughed.
……
As she was laughing, Fang Mingwan, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly remembered something and hurriedly asked Fang Yao, "Dad, I heard that you promised the emperor to marry my cousin to the eldest prince?"
Shen Li's ears suddenly perked up.
He stared at Fang Yao eagerly, his heart pounding.
"Ah, that's what happened," Fang Yao said to Shen Li, "I told the emperor that on the day the queen tricked you into the palace and locked you up. This was also what your grandfather meant. Since you have to marry a prince anyway, the eldest prince is definitely more suitable than the other two princes."
"But the key is that my cousin doesn't like the eldest prince, and she doesn't want to marry into the royal family at all." Fang Mingwan said anxiously.
Fang Yao was stunned when he heard this, "You hate the eldest prince?"
Shen Li quickly shook her head and said, "I can't say I hate it, I just don't want to be involved with the royal family."
Fang Yao frowned. "But... the Fang and Yao families are fighting, and you've been targeted by the Queen. Uncle's heart is uneasy. After much thought, only by marrying the eldest prince can you surpass the second prince. Otherwise, there's nothing."
"Under the Great Zhou, no matter who you marry, their status will undoubtedly be lower than that of the prince. If the country falls into the hands of the Second Prince, none of us will have a good life. For someone like him, once he holds the seal, it will not only be a matter of suppressing you, but if he is not careful, the entire family may be executed. Uncle has also thought about it. If you marry Xiao Chenze, the Fang family will not only be your backing, but also his. Once his status is established, the Fang family can legitimately assist him and help him to ascend to the throne as soon as possible. It is for this reason that Uncle told the Emperor that he is willing to let you marry the First Prince."
Shen Li listened quietly until Fang Yao finished speaking, then she whispered, "Grandfather, grandmother, uncle, aunt, Li'er has already told the eldest prince that she cannot marry him."
Everyone was startled and looked at her.
Shen Li said, "I told him that when I was at the manor, my master had arranged a marriage for me a few years ago. I will go back again in the autumn. The old lady of the family I'm engaged to is celebrating her birthday, and my master asked me to go back and pay her respects."
Everyone was stunned, including Fang Yao.
"Li'er, are you telling the truth?" Lan was the first to ask, unable to contain her anxiety. "Why have I never heard you say that? This kind of thing is no joke."