Jiang Si smiled slightly at Dou Shuwan, “Cousin, please don’t stand on ceremony. Sit down.”
“Thank you, Princess,” Dou Shuwan curtsied slightly before sitting on the edge of the chair.
Given the Fourth Miss’s new status, it would be laughable if she were to act superior based on her seniority.
Jiang Si nodded inwardly. If nothing else, this cousin was quite sensible.
She gestured for Aqiao and the others to withdraw. In an instant, only the three of them remained in the room. Jiang Si picked up her teacup, took a sip, and asked, “What are Cousin’s thoughts on marriage?”
Dou Shuwan was taken aback by Jiang Si’s question and froze.
Jiang Si set her teacup down on the table and looked at Dou Shuwan with a calm expression.
Dou Shuwan’s face gradually turned bright red.
Jiang Si didn’t rush her, quietly waiting for her answer.
After a moment of oppressive silence, Dou Shuwan suddenly bowed deeply to Jiang Si, “If the Princess asks for my thoughts, I only wish for a partner of equal standing and appearance, to live in harmony and mutual respect.”
As she spoke, her tone became slightly emotional.
She couldn’t help but be emotional. Recently, her aunt’s intentions had become increasingly obvious, even started to urge her in conversation. She probably wouldn’t allow her to feign ignorance for much longer.
But she truly didn’t want to marry her eldest cousin as a replacement wife.
She had once been the apple of her mother’s eye and had also once dreamed of her future husband when she first fell in love. In her imagination, that person might not have power or status, might be ordinary in appearance, but at least would treat her with sincerity, not having his heart full of someone else from the beginning…
No matter how good her eldest cousin might be, she didn’t want to marry him.
But many things were beyond her control. Without her mother and sent to her aunt’s family by her father, she was like a rootless duckweed, finding it extremely difficult to have any autonomy.
Dou Shuwan was a clever person. Hearing Jiang Si’s question, she immediately understood the other’s intentions.
She had to seize this opportunity to break free from the fate of being manipulated by her aunt!
“Equal standing and appearance?” Jiang Si murmured these four words.
Dou Shuwan’s expression was resolute as she said, “Equal standing and appearance.”
Looking at that youthful and beautiful face, Jiang Si smiled, “Cousin Dou is outstanding in both character and appearance. Although it might not be easy to find a gentleman of equal standing and appearance, there will surely be one.”
Dou Shuwan bowed to Jiang Si again, “I’m grateful for the Princess’s kind words. If it could truly be so, it would be my good fortune.”
Jiang Si and Jiang Yi exchanged a glance.
Jiang Yi nodded slightly.
She didn’t want to see Grandmother forcibly match Cousin Dou with Father, not only out of concern for Father but also out of sympathy for Cousin Dou.
Regarding matters of the heart between men and women, she had once been confused but now understood a little more.
She could see the struggle and unwillingness in Dou Shuwan’s eyes. Women in this world, when it comes down to it, are all pitiable.
“The doctor said I shouldn’t move around much in the first few months, but staying in the mansion can be tedious. If Cousin has nothing else to do, why not stay here to keep me company for a few days?”
Dou Shuwan looked at Jiang Yi in surprise.
Jiang Yi smiled, “I also want to keep my sister company, but Yan’er can’t be without me. Bringing her here might disturb my sister’s rest, so I’m shamelessly troubling Cousin to help me out.”
Dou Shuwan hesitated for only a moment before agreeing, politely saying, “I’m clumsy and unskilled, I hope the Princess doesn’t mind.”
Jiang Si smiled slightly, “How could I? I’m delighted that Cousin is willing to stay and keep me company.”
Dou Shuwan was a person who knew what she wanted and wouldn’t fantasize about things she couldn’t have. For such a person, she was willing to lend a hand.
The carriage carried Jiang Yi alone back to the Marquis of Dongping’s mansion.
In the Hall of Compassion, Old Madam Feng was astonished, “The Princess kept your cousin there?”
“Yes, Fourth Sister is pregnant and finds it boring, she felt a connection with Cousin, so she kept her there.”
Old Madam Feng’s expression fluctuated between light and dark for a moment.
A connection with Dou Shuwan?
Her niece had been at the marquis’s mansion for quite some time, and Jiang Si hadn’t married early. The two of them had been living under the same roof for at least half a year, how come she hadn’t noticed any connection between them?
What did Jiang Si mean by this?
“Your Fourth Sister is so young to be with child, it would be more appropriate for you, as her elder sister, to stay with her. After all, you have experience, while your cousin, although technically an elder, is still an inexperienced young lady…”
“I also wanted to stay with Fourth Sister, but there’s still Yan’er to consider. Yan’er is at a lively and noisy age, if I were to bring her to the prince’s mansion, it would be troublesome if she disturbed Fourth Sister,” Jiang Yi explained gently.
Old Madam Feng nodded slowly.
Indeed, it wasn’t appropriate to bring a child of a few years old to accompany a pregnant woman.
But Jiang Si keeping Dou Shuwan still made Old Madam Feng ponder.
“Master—” A maid’s greeting sounded at the door, and soon Jiang Ancheng walked in.
After hastily paying his respects to Old Madam Feng, Jiang Ancheng eagerly asked Jiang Yi, “How is your Fourth Sister?”
Old Madam Feng felt annoyed just looking at him.
When his wife was alive, he was always thinking about his wife; now that his wife was gone, he was always thinking about his daughter. Couldn’t a grown man have some ambition?
“Father, don’t worry. Fourth Sister is doing well, and it seems the Prince is very considerate towards her…”
Jiang Ancheng nodded repeatedly, his expression finally relaxing, “Mother, you two carry on, I’ll be in the study.”
Jiang Ancheng came and went in a hurry, but it reminded Old Madam Feng: Could Jiang Si’s sudden decision to keep Dou Shuwan be because of her eldest son?
Yes, that girl had an odd temperament and couldn’t tolerate others, she definitely wouldn’t want her father to take a second wife.
Seeing that Jiang Si had become a princess, Old Madam Feng’s desire to marry Dou Shuwan to Jiang Ancheng grew stronger. Now that her plan had been suddenly disrupted, she felt as if there was a stone lodged in her heart, but there was nothing she could do about it.
In the end, the old lady could only console herself: Well, if Jiang Si is unwilling, we’ll take it slow. The marquis’s family will need to rely on the fourth girl’s support in the future, it’s not worth offending her just to find a replacement wife for the eldest son.
Yu Jin only belatedly realized a few days later that a relative was staying in the mansion.
“I thought she was a maid who came with you from the Marquis’s mansion, but she’s your cousin?”
“Didn’t you notice her different attire?”
Yu Jin smiled sheepishly, “I didn’t look closely, though they all looked about the same.”
“This cousin of mine hasn’t had it easy. Her father sent her to the capital just so my grandmother could arrange a marriage for her.”
“So?” Yu Jin caught a hint of her meaning.
“So, keep an eye out. If you find a suitable match, act as a matchmaker for my cousin.”
Yu Jin laughed, “I don’t know many refined scholars, but I know countless promising young military officers. I just don’t know if your cousin would be willing to marry a military man.”
Not to mention, the prince’s mansion had its military regulations, with quite a few directly serving under him.
“Cousin only asks for someone of equal standing and appearance, who understands warmth and cold.”
“Alright, I’ll keep an eye out.” Yu Jin readily agreed, then mentioned some news he had just learned, “That official who was most enthusiastic about impeaching me the other day has gotten into trouble and been expelled from the capital by Father Emperor.”
Jiang Si’s expression turned serious.
Yu Jin sneered, “It seems that person was shouting for certain others. No wonder he was so zealous!”