Wei Rao accompanied Shou’an Jun in planting vegetables for a while. The small vegetable plot was tidied up in just half an hour.

After Shou’an Jun had her fill of farming, she walked into the villa supported by Wei Rao, saying as they went: “People need to have money. With money, farming becomes just a hobby. When the mood strikes, you can plow the fields and scatter seeds. When you’re not in the mood, you can comfortably stay in the garden admiring flowers and drinking tea, without having to rise early and work late in the fields for the family’s sustenance.”

Wei Rao looked back at the vegetable plot and laughed: “Indeed, I only scattered two bowls of seeds just now, and my back is already a bit sore. If you made me plant several acres continuously, I couldn’t bear it.”

And she had even practiced martial arts—she still couldn’t adapt to constantly bending her head and waist.

“Having money alone isn’t enough—you also need power.” Shou’an Jun glanced at this most intelligent granddaughter and lowered her voice: “Today’s incident is a warning. They don’t know you know martial arts, so they sent two ordinary assassins. What if they arrange two masters next time, coming prepared? Even if they don’t kill you, they could take half your life.”

Wei Rao’s smile faded.

Shou’an Jun’s gaze had already turned to the row of tender green willow branches in the corner of the wall, as if she were simply admiring the beautiful spring scenery. She continued softly: “Your uncle died early, and the Zhou family has no male heir to be your pillar of support. Your uncle from your father’s side has mediocre talents—at most, he’ll rely on seniority to become a fifth-rank capital official, which isn’t much use. Raorao, your cousin Zhen has beauty but no scheming mind, so your grandmother never thought of arranging a high marriage for her. You’re different. With your looks, background, and methods, you must find a powerful and influential husband’s family. Whether the man loves you isn’t important—what’s important is making outsiders wary, so they won’t dare touch you lightly even just for your husband’s family’s sake.”

Wei Rao frowned. She hadn’t even considered marriage yet.

Shou’an Jun: “You’re fifteen now—you should hurry. I’ll only tell you this once. Whether to listen to me or not, weigh it yourself.”

Wei Rao replied perfunctorily: “Even if I wanted to curry favor with the powerful, how could powerful families be so easy to approach?”

Shou’an Jun smiled: “You live in the capital. Your grandmother will arrange for you to show your face at various mansions. I’m just giving you a heads-up, so you’ll be prepared and can seize opportunities when they come. Your grandmother has a virtuous reputation, your father died heroically, and His Majesty is quite fond of you—these are all your bargaining chips.”

Wei Rao pressed her lips together.

Shou’an Jun drove the knife deeper: “Such a big incident happened. At the end of the month, when your cousin comes to the villa to see me, you should return to the capital with him. Behave yourself for a while and be a proper young lady. When your engagement is settled, then come see me again. Otherwise, as long as you remain unengaged, I won’t see you for a single day—it’s useless even if you sneak over.”

Wei Rao became anxious: “Grandmother, how can you be so heartless?”

She could ignore all the previous words, but this final condition was too excessive. How could anyone do such a thing?

Wei Rao pouted and acted coquettishly, but it was all useless. This time, Shou’an Jun’s attitude was very firm: “I’m doing this for your good.”

Wei Rao left her grandmother behind and returned to her small courtyard in a huff.

Shou’an Jun calmly returned to Fu’an Hall, where little maids helped her wash her hands. After washing, she reclined on the couch by the window to rest. The lower part of the window was transparent colored glass, while the upper wooden window was propped open, leaving only a layer of gauze to keep out dust. The pink peach blossoms blooming in the courtyard could be seen by looking up, and their fragrance also drifted through the gauze window.

If she didn’t have younger generations to worry about, this life would truly be as carefree as an immortal’s.

Shou’an Jun closed her eyes and dozed for a while. When she opened them again, Nanny Liu was sitting in the chair beside the couch, sewing shoe soles in her hands.

“You’re back?” Shou’an Jun yawned and sat up.

As soon as the master woke, Nanny Liu put away her sewing basket and had a little maid take it away. She picked up the tea bowl and poured a bowl of fragrant chrysanthemum tea for the Old Madam.

After Shou’an Jun drank her tea, Nanny Liu sighed: “This old slave was momentarily possessed and did something shameful with Madam and the young lady.”

Shou’an Jun narrowed her eyes and listened as Nanny Liu explained the entire process in detail.

“Was that young master so handsome?” After hearing everything, Shou’an Jun asked curiously.

Nanny Liu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry: “After all I said, what do you care most about is the person who witnessed our embarrassment?”

Shou’an Jun: “It’s not that I care—if he looked like an immortal, it makes me feel somewhat better. Otherwise, if just some ordinary man could enchant those two into making fools of themselves, I’d die of anger.”

Nanny Liu quickly said, “Don’t be angry. That person truly was handsome. Speaking disrespectfully, he was even more appealing to young ladies than His Majesty was in his youth—face like fine jade, gentle and noble bearing. What’s rarer still is his kind heart in rescuing people from danger. It’s just a pity we disappointed him, and he was quite angry when he left.”

Shou’an Jun nodded, indeed feeling less stifled.

“Old Madam, should we still let Madam and the others go out tomorrow?” Nanny Liu asked while serving tea.

Shou’an Jun snorted: “Go out for what? Haven’t they embarrassed themselves enough? The mother and daughter have been wandering around the mountain for several days—they’ve probably seen all the young gentlemen there are to see. Let them wait at home from now on. If a proper family comes to propose marriage, it would fulfill their wishes. If not, they simply don’t need to marry at all. I’ll pick a decent-looking, honest man to marry into the Zhou family.”

Nanny Liu was greatly shocked. Marry into the family?

Since the Zhou family had no male heirs, they should have long ago made arrangements for one daughter to stay home and choose a husband to marry in. But Nanny Liu had heard Shou’an Jun mention that with the Zhou family’s poor reputation, forcibly continuing the family name was meaningless. It would be better to marry off both daughters. When she died, the villa would be left to her imperial grandson, and the fields and shops would be divided equally among Wang Shi and the other juniors—she would leave nothing behind.

Shou’an Jun gazed out the window: “The palm and back of the hand are both flesh. Zhen’er is my biological granddaughter. I can’t bear for her to suffer grievances in other people’s homes. Keeping her under my nose, even if she envies wealthy families in her heart, at least she won’t have to endure anyone’s cold looks.”

Nanny Liu: “I’m afraid the young lady won’t understand your good intentions.”

Shou’an Jun smiled bitterly. Children—which ones are sensible from childhood? They all need to suffer some hardships before understanding their elders’ intentions.

Because of the assassins, Wei Rao could no longer go out and wander around freely. Wang Shi and Zhou Huizhen were also ordered by Shou’an Jun to be forbidden from leaving.

Wei Rao only heard about what happened to Wang Shi and her daughter on the mountain from her younger cousin Zhou Huizhu the next day.

She was still giving her grandmother the cold shoulder and hadn’t gone to pay respects today.

“Elder sister seems absent-minded, looking more like she’s sad about that immortal young master.”

Under the peach blossom tree, Zhou Huizhu picked up a piece of peach blossom cake and exposed her own sister’s wounds while eating.

Wei Rao helped her sister wipe away a bit of cake crumb from the corner of her mouth: “You can only say this to Linlin and me—never spread it around.”

Zhou Huizhu rolled her eyes: “I’m not stupid. Even if others ask me about it, I won’t tell them.”

It was fine for the family sisters to gossip about their elder sister among themselves, but if word got out, it would shame the entire Zhou family.

“What kind of immortal young master could he be? Could he be better looking than my brother?” Huo Lin interjected.

Zhou Huizhu: “I didn’t see him—how could I tell?”

Wei Rao inexplicably thought of a face worthy of the praise “immortal,” and the timing matched up too.

If it was Lu Zhuo, then it was no wonder her aunt had been so intent on matchmaking.

“Sister Rao, why didn’t you go to grandmother’s this morning?” Zhou Huizhu’s interest returned to family matters.

Wei Rao said angrily, “Grandmother told me to quickly find a good husband and said I can only stay at the villa until the end of the month. She said When my engagement is settled, then I can come visit again.”

Now Zhou Huizhu and Huo Lin both understood why Wei Rao was angry.

“Don’t tell aunt and cousin.” Wei Rao pinched Zhou Huizhu’s ear as a preemptive warning.

Zhou Huizhu giggled: “Even if I don’t say anything, if you don’t come for so long, my mother will guess.”

Wei Rao snorted and went to wander deeper into the peach blossom grove.

The villa was large enough, complete with artificial hills, lakes, pavilions, and flower groves. The young ladies who couldn’t go out freely gradually came together to play again.

When playing hide-and-seek, Wei Rao deliberately hid in a tree. After Zhou Huizhen searched everywhere without finding her, she had to admit defeat. When Wei Rao jumped down from the tree, Zhou Huizhen insisted Wei Rao had cheated.

“Alright, alright. This round, you hide and I’ll seek.” Huo Lin came out to play peacemaker, interrupting Zhou Huizhen’s endless arguments.

Zhou Huizhen glared fiercely at Wei Rao and went to find a place to hide.

Wei Rao didn’t bother arguing with her. It had been six days since Wang Shi and her daughter last went out. Despite painstakingly orchestrating encounters with so many young gentlemen, no one had come to the villa to propose marriage. It would be strange if Zhou Huizhen was in a good mood—she was just taking it out on her.

But Wei Rao’s mood was also getting worse and worse.

She was still in a cold war with her grandmother, avoiding her daily to force her grandmother to take back those words. Unfortunately, her grandmother was too ruthless. With the end of the month approaching, her grandmother showed no intention of making peace with her. Since she didn’t go to Fu’an Hall, her grandmother didn’t send anyone to her courtyard to give her a way out either.

Of the four sisters, two were preoccupied. The hide-and-seek game ended unhappily.

Zhou Huizhen returned to her room. Zhou Huizhu and Huo Lin went fishing by the pond. Wei Rao couldn’t sit still and, relying on her agile skills, secretly slipped to the base of the back wall of her grandmother’s room at Fu’an Hall, wanting to hear if her grandmother had mentioned her to Nanny Liu.

If her grandmother truly refused to change her mind, Wei Rao had decided to compromise. After all, her grandmother was looking out for her.

Wei Rao came at just the right time. She had barely crouched under the window when she heard Eunuch Li come to announce that a matchmaker had arrived.

Shou’an Jun and Nanny Liu inside were quite surprised, and Wei Rao also pricked up her ears.

A matchmaker—was she here to propose marriage for Zhou Huizhen? Had the mother-daughter pair’s wide net-casting caught a fish?

Shou’an Jun took Nanny Liu with her to meet the matchmaker in the main hall and also sent someone to fetch Wang Shi.

Wei Rao couldn’t show herself in such a situation, so she slipped to the back of the main hall to eavesdrop. When a little maid passed by and saw her, Wei Rao quickly put her finger to her lips. The little maids all knew the young lady’s temperament, so she smiled and continued on her way to serve tea in the hall as if nothing had happened.

Wei Rao listened intently.

Matchmakers were all eloquent people. After a flowery speech, the summary was: Han Liao, the heir of Marquis Xiting, was willing to marry Zhou Huizhen as his second wife.

The heir of Marquis Xiting’s mansion!

Wei Rao’s mouth fell open!

The Lu family of Duke Ying’s mansion had always been a military family deeply trusted by the emperors of this dynasty. Under the prestige of the Lu family men, other generals all seemed to pale in comparison—for generations, none had been able to surpass the Lu family. However, with the death of three of the four brothers in Lu Zhuo’s father’s generation and one disabled, and Lu Zhuo’s generation not yet fully grown, over the past five years, the Han family father and son of Marquis Xiting had distinguished themselves greatly, achieving numerous military merits.

There were already rumors among the people that the Han clan of Marquis Xiting’s mansion might replace the Lu family of Duke Ying’s mansion.

Such the Han family want to marry a Zhou family daughter with a ruined reputation?

It wasn’t that Wei Rao looked down on her maternal cousin—it’s just that the Han family’s proposal seemed suspicious no matter how you looked at it.

Wang Shi was thrilled inside. As soon as the matchmaker left, Wang Shi eagerly said to Shou’an Jun: “Mother, I think this marriage proposal could work!”

Shou’an Jun asked with a smile: “Is that so? Then tell me, what’s good about the Han family?”

Wang Shi immediately listed all of the Han family’s glorious achievements.

Shou’an Jun asked again: “Such a glorious heir—why would he want to marry Zhen’er? Aren’t the talented and virtuous young ladies from prestigious families in the capital appealing?”

Only then did Wang Shi realize that her mother-in-law’s smile was fake, and she might not be happy about it.

Wang Shi said awkwardly: “Your daughter-in-law is foolish. If there’s anything improper about the Han family, please enlighten me, Mother.”

With her daughter-in-law’s good attitude, Shou’an Jun nodded and began analyzing point by point: “First, Han Liao’s mother, the Marquis Xiting’s wife, is a famously shrewish woman. She doesn’t allow Marquis Xiting to take concubines, but likes to stuff concubines into her three sons’ households. Han Liao’s original wife was dissatisfied with her mother-in-law and spoke ill of her outside. When the Marquis Xiting’s wife learned of this, she cried before Han Liao. Han Liao became furious and slapped his original wife so hard she vomited blood. From then on, that original wife was no longer favored by Han Liao and was tormented daily by her mother-in-law, which led to her haggard early death.”

Wang Shi could no longer smile.

Shou’an Jun continued: “Second, Han Liao has a pair of legitimate children—a fourteen-year-old daughter and a twelve-year-old son, plus several illegitimate children. If Zhen’er marries him, she’ll have to be a stepmother to over ten children. Being a stepmother is difficult. These children alone would give her headaches. If any child complains about her to Han Liao or the Marquis Xiting’s wife, as a later-arriving daughter-in-law, how could she fare well?”

“Third, Han Liao is lustful and fickle. He has nine or ten concubines in his household. Though Zhen’er is beautiful, he’ll inevitably tire of her over time. With no man protecting her, Zhen’er will certainly be isolated and helpless in the marquis’s mansion, suffering everywhere.”

Wang Shi was dumbfounded. After a long time, she asked a question Wei Rao also very much wanted to know: “Mother, you rarely go out—how do you know so much about affairs in the capital?” She spoke as if she had everything at her fingertips!

Shou’an Jun smiled faintly: “You don’t need to worry about that. In any case, this marriage proposal is inappropriate. In a few days, I’ll find a suitable excuse to decline the Han family. Just pretend you don’t know and don’t leak a word to Zhen’er.”