Before Ren Yaoqi could investigate the background of the person wanting to buy the Ren family residence – that is, on the second day after Ren Yaoqi returned from the hot spring manor – major news reached Yanbei.

Princess Consort Zhao of Yanbei had successfully given birth to a son in the imperial palace in the capital. The deceased Crown Prince now had an heir.

This should have been joyful news that would delight the people of Yanbei. Adding a new member to the family was cause for celebration for any ordinary household. However, when this good news reached Yanbei Prince’s mansion, it only made the already complex situation even more complicated.

First was the question of this young master’s place. Would he, like his father, be raised under the watchful eyes of the Li family in the capital, or would he be sent back to Yanbei to recognize his ancestors and return to his roots? Then there was the matter of the Crown Prince position in Yanbei Prince’s mansion, which had remained vacant since the Crown Prince’s death – who would ultimately claim it? Without this young master, Yanbei Prince’s mansion would have had no choice but to have Second Young Master Xiao Jingxi succeed as Crown Prince. But now with this young master, was the sickly Second Young Master Xiao still Yanbei Prince’s mansion’s best choice? What would be the court’s attitude?

Regardless of how outsiders speculated, Yanbei Prince’s mansion showed a happy attitude toward this newborn child. Princess Consort had ten cartloads of gifts prepared for the Crown Prince’s consort and the newborn, waiting for the several officials visiting Yanbei to take them back to the capital when they returned.

One wave had not settled before another arose. Following the news of the addition to the prince’s mansion came an imperial edict from Empress Dowager. From among the young ladies who had come to Yanbei to participate in the Thousand Gold Banquet, Empress Dowager selected six of outstanding talent and beauty to be bestowed in marriage to Yanbei’s aristocratic young masters or exceptionally learned young talents.

The Yun, Su, and Meng families all received marriage decree edicts. Zhao Yingqiu was granted in marriage to Yun family’s eldest son Yun Wenting, one of the Thousand Gold Banquet champions Miss Li, skilled in painting, was granted to Su family’s second young master Su Yunchen, Miss Zhou skilled in calligraphy was granted to Third Young Master Meng, and even Third Young Master Qiu Yun of the Qiu family was assigned Miss Lu who excelled at the qin.

Imperial marriage decrees should have been a matter of family honor, but this was Yanbei, not the capital. No matter how prestigious these young ladies’ family backgrounds were, what benefit could they bring to their husbands’ families once they reached Yanbei territory? Yanbei’s aristocratic families didn’t live by watching the Li court’s expressions. So the Yanbei aristocratic families receiving the Empress Dowager’s edicts were all unwilling, only regretting they hadn’t arranged marriages for their children earlier.

Among the families receiving these edicts, the Yun family was most troubled. Everyone knew the Yun family wanted to marry their eldest son to the Princess. Even if the Yun eldest son couldn’t marry the Princess, there were plenty of Yanbei girls who wanted to marry Yun Wenting. How could it be the turn of this Zhao Yingqiu, who appeared halfway through?

After the Yun family saw off the edict bearer, Old Master Yun casually slammed the decree onto the table.

“Father, what should we do? How can Wenting marry this Miss Zhao? We should have arranged Wenting’s marriage earlier – marrying anyone would be better than marrying her.” Master Yun frowned.

Old Master Yun said coldly, “When even the old Prince didn’t resist imperial edicts, can our Yun family resist them?”

Master Yun paused: “You also said that was then, now the court also wants to arrange a marriage for Second Young Master Xiao. What was the result?”

Old Master Yun remained silent.

Old Madam Yun, who had been quiet, said: “Whether to resist or comply with the edict isn’t for the Yun family to decide alone. We’re not the only ones anxious now. Let me visit Yanbei Prince’s mansion tomorrow to see Princess Consort, then we’ll discuss further.”

While the Yun family elders discussed this marriage edict, the person directly involved, the Yun family’s eldest son Yun Wenting, stood nearby without saying a word. He kept his eyes slightly lowered, as if contemplating or lost in thought. He’d been sitting there for a long time without moving an inch.

That evening, Yun Wenting still went to Yun Wenfang’s courtyard to supervise the servant changing his medicine.

Yun Wenfang lay on his stomach, watching Yun Wenting for a while before asking: “I heard Empress Dowager granted you a marriage?”

Yun Wenting kept his head down, carefully examining the wound on Yun Wenfang’s back without speaking.

“Will you marry her?”

“The wound has opened again. Remember to move more slowly in the future. If you need anything done, instruct the servants – don’t do it yourself.”

“Will you marry Miss Zhao?”

“It’s getting late. I’ll leave first and come to see you again tomorrow.”

Yun Wenfang watched coldly as Yun Wenting turned and left his room, still remembering to gently close the door behind him.

The next day, the matriarchs of several major families coincidentally went to Yanbei Prince’s mansion to request an audience with Princess Consort. They had only one purpose: to ask whether these marriages could be refused.

Princess Consort was also troubled. Not accepting would be difficult to explain to the Empress Dowager – Yanbei Prince was, after all, nominally just a feudal prince and still needed to respect the Li family as sovereign. If several major families simultaneously refused the marriages, it would undoubtedly be slapping the Empress Dowager and the court in the face. But if they accepted, none of the major families were willing, and Yanbei Prince’s mansion would appear very passive.

Princess Consort had always felt that Empress Dowager Yan lacked great wisdom, with her only redeeming qualities being good birth and fortune. But now this seemingly unreasonable move by the Empress Dowager had truly put many people in a difficult position.

However, at this time Princess Consort still needed to stabilize people’s hearts first, so she patiently comforted these household matriarchs and smiled: “It’s just one marriage arrangement – look how anxious you’ve all become. I think those young ladies are all quite talented – even marrying them wouldn’t be a loss.”

The Meng family matriarch was the youngest and most unable to contain herself: “The people are indeed fine – their looks and talents are impeccable – but their birth status differs by more than just a little. I heard that, though these young ladies are nominally legitimate daughters of aristocratic families, most are concubine-born, some even raised by maids, only temporarily placed under the legitimate wife’s name to assume the title of legitimate daughter before coming to Yanbei. Speaking treasonously, what the Empress Dowager has done is truly improper! Just because they’re from the capital makes them superior? Girls of such birth would only qualify as concubines in families like ours!”

No wonder Madam Guo of the Meng family was anxious – Third Young Master Meng was her most beloved youngest son, treated like the apple of her eye since childhood, never allowed to suffer the slightest grievance. Seeing Third Young Master Meng reach marriageable age, Madam Meng wanted to screen through all of Yanbei’s young ladies to finally select an incomparable girl for her younger son to marry.

But now, Empress Dowager decreed marriages at will, and the bride assigned was a concubine-born daughter of unclear background. This was unbearable – when Madam Meng received the edict, she nearly threw the Empress Dowager’s decree in the face of the announcing eunuch.

Though the other ladies didn’t speak, their attitudes were the same as Madam Meng’s.

Madam Meng finally said: “Princess Consort, if this edict came from our Yanbei Prince’s mansion, let alone having my son marry a concubine-born daughter, even if you had him marry a beggar, our Meng family would accept it. But now, our Meng family will not accept this edict from the Empress Dowager!” By the end, Madam Meng’s eyes were red.

Princess Consort didn’t blame her for speaking without restraint. She glanced at the several ladies and smiled: “I understand your feelings, but there’s no rush to resolve this matter now. Though Empress Dowager issued marriage edicts, the wedding dates haven’t been set, have they?”

Hearing this, Madam Meng thought it over – Princess Consort made sense. Though the Empress Dowager had decreed marriages, after all, the emperor was far away. If we’re not ready to welcome brides, you can’t force people into our mansions, can you? Without wedding ceremonies or proper matchmaking, even if people were forced in, they’d only be concubines!

In the end, these ladies who’d come to Princess Consort for guidance had to return home first. Though none openly declared resistance to the imperial marriage edicts, they all engaged in passive resistance.

Originally, after the Thousand Gold Banquet, these court-sent young ladies would have received invitations to attend flower gatherings and tea parties at various Yanbei families. But since the Empress Dowager’s marriage edicts came down, no one invited these young ladies anymore. Yanbei’s aristocratic families seemed to have coordinated, giving these capital ladies the cold shoulder.

During this period, the most depressed were these young ladies from the capital. Coming to Yanbei hadn’t necessarily been their choice – otherwise, mostly concubine-born daughters wouldn’t have come. But now they couldn’t return home even if they wanted to, and staying meant being ostracized – their situation was very awkward.

Except for Yan Ningshuang and Zhao Yingqiu, who still resided in Yanbei Prince’s mansion, the remaining capital ladies still lived in the separate courtyard arranged by the prince’s mansion. This time Empress Dowager had decreed six marriages in one go, while the four who weren’t granted marriages would soon return to the capital with the three officials. These four included Yan Ningshuang – Miss Yan hadn’t been granted a marriage, though she very much wanted to stay.

Thus, these young ladies were divided into two groups. Those already granted marriages began embroidering wedding clothes and preparing dowries under the nannies’ guidance. Empress Dowager’s edict stated their dowries were already en route to Yanbei – only wedding clothes needed sewing. The other young ladies who weren’t granted marriages breathed sighs of relief and began packing for their return to the capital.

Actually, not only were Yanbei’s aristocratic families unwilling to marry these capital women, but the capital women were also unwilling to marry into Yanbei.

Marrying here meant being forever separated from home, never able to return to their natal families. If anything happened, they’d have no family support. Even if they were tortured to death by their husbands’ families someday, their own families wouldn’t know. Due to their status and background, they’d be outcasts even in their in-laws’ homes.

However, unlike the other three young ladies who were relieved they could return home, as the day of departure from Yanbei drew nearer, Yan Ningshuang became increasingly unable to contain herself.

She didn’t want to return to the capital – she only wanted to stay where Xiao Jingxi was.

During her days residing in Yanbei Prince’s mansion, Yan Ningshuang naturally continued persistently seeking out Xiao Jingxi, but from the time she entered Yanbei Prince’s mansion, she had never once managed to find him. Though they lived in the same mansion, it was as if they were separated by an entire world with no intersection.