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  Chapter 36

  Xue Su saw Dan Hong rush towards her, smiling ambiguously. Two red clouds floated onto her cheeks, and she turned away, somewhat embarrassed, taking a sip, "If you have something to say, then say it, what are you looking at me for?"

  Dan Hong stroked her palm and laughed, "I just looked at it, how could I have said more than one word? It can be seen that Sister Xue Su is anxious herself."

  Ming Xuan saw a red glow on Snow Su's face, like a beautiful flower blooming, and her heart moved. A bright smile spread across her mouth as she said softly to Snow Su, "I remember that your birthday is October 4th, only one month older than me, now you're also seventeen, it's time for marriage. Since there are no outsiders here, just tell me the truth, what do you think of He Gui?"

  She paused, then added, "I'll say something ahead of time. Although I think He Gui is capable and want to pull him in to do things for me, there are many talented people in this world. As you said, after marrying into the Yan family, we can rely on those dowries to spend enough, and the shop's property affairs aren't that urgent. We can slowly look for someone with ability to manage things for us."

  Xue Su's eyes sparkled brightly, her face flushed as she called out softly, "Miss..."

  Ming Xuan gently patted her shoulder and smiled, "Do you understand what I mean? I want to win over He Gui and make him useful to me, that's one thing. If he takes a liking to you, that's another matter. If you also like him, then it's all well and good, but if you have no interest in him, don't feel obligated to agree to this marriage for my sake. There are many capable people out there, but Snow Essence is one of a kind."

  She turned her face to Dan Hong and said, "Same here. My own marriage is not up to me to decide, whether I like it or not, I have to accept it. But the two of us are different, if you're not truly willing, I won't let you be randomly paired with someone."

  She woke up suddenly and has been accompanied by these two maids ever since. Although they are mistress and servant, they have a sisterly affection for each other.

  Xue Su's heart was moved, and her eyes were slightly moist with tears. She thought for a moment, then spoke in a soft voice, "Miss's daily life has always been taken care of by me. You've also said that you can't leave this place without me. Moreover, Miss's dowry maidservants, apart from Dan Hong and I who are the top two, there are also Su Wan and Que Hao who are second-class. If I were to leave, someone else would have to be promoted..."

  A married woman cannot continue to serve in the inner courtyard as an unmarried young lady, this is the rule. If she were to pretend to be a companion and follow the young lady to the Yan family, that would also have to wait until after the young lady's marriage. However, the young lady's wedding date has not been set yet, looking at the current situation, it may take two months or more, being away from the young lady for too long, she is likely to be worried and unable to let go.

  Ming Xuan heard this and knew that Xue Su was willing to follow He Gui.

  She smiled and said, "Silly girl, although it's not good to live in the Jade Washing Pavilion after getting married, no one will stop you from coming over every day to pay respects, and handling matters is still the same as before. Besides, being outside also has its own advantages."

  Xue Su listened and no longer insisted, her face red as she said, "Then let Miss decide."

  On the second day, Ming Xuan invited He Gui to come and ask him personally about his intentions. Seeing that he indeed had some feelings for Xue Su, she brought up the matter and He Gui, being a clever person, immediately knelt down and asked for Xue Su's hand in marriage. The two of them having mutual affection, Ming Xuan naturally agreed to their union.

  Xue Su was originally a lady-in-waiting of the late Madame Zhu of the Antai Institute, and out of respect for etiquette, this marriage should also be asked about Madame Zhu's opinion. Moreover, He Gui is now serving in the outer institute, if Madame Zhu were to mention this to Madame Hou, it would certainly come to pass.

  Ming Xuan then went to An Tai Temple to ask for Zhu Lao Furen's instructions.

  Madam Zhu didn't know He Gui, but since Ming Xuan had spoken for her, she readily agreed. Since Hong Tao and Xue Su were sisters-in-law, she asked Hong Tao to personally go to Madam Hou's place to ask about it. Not long after, Hong Tao returned with a smile all over his face, "Madam Hou said that He Gui's contract will be sent to Seventh Miss in a little while."

  Ming Xuan's heart was filled with joy, and a smile spread across his face.

  "Xuan sister, grandmother has something to say to you."

  Ming Xuan raised her head, and her long, curly eyelashes fluttered.

  "Madam Zhu's eyebrows furrowed, 'I also only found out yesterday when my elder sister-in-law from the Zhu family came. It turned out that some days ago, the Yan family took the eight characters of Yan Xiaolang to match with theirs, but the result was not very good - either a bloody disaster or an inauspicious marriage. The Yan family almost refused to make this match because of this. Fortunately, Yanlang had studied the I Ching and the Eight Trigrams, and saw that something was off, and it was also Yan Xiaolang's persistence that made them continue with the engagement.'"

  She let out a deep breath, her eyes flashing with suppressed anger, "It's the good deed done by that Ping Zhang Zheng Shi gentleman from next door."

  Ming Xuan's heart was still racing, the warning words in Jing Lian Tang were still echoing in her ears, and she was still shaken by them. She had always been anxious and afraid that something unexpected would happen to her marriage with Yan Qingyan. Now, hearing that Han Xiuying had secretly taken action, she felt both angry and fearful, worried that if one plan didn't work, he would create another disturbance and do something unfavorable to the Han family.

  She thought for a moment, then thudded to the ground on her knees, "Grandma save me!"

  Madam Zhu hastily waved away the servants inside the house, "Xuan sister, what exactly happened between you and Han Xiu?"

  Ming Xuan shook her head in a daze, slowly recalling the harsh words of Han Xiuzhu from that day at Qingliang Temple. Her face showed a mixture of shock, confusion and fear, as if she had thought for a long time before looking up with doubt and asking, "Grandmother, I was injured three years ago and don't remember much about what happened back then. And in the past two years, no one has been willing to mention it to me."

  She paused, her tone suddenly firm, "What exactly happened that day? How did my father die? Why did Han Xi say he told me to wait for him before tearing up the engagement letter?"

  Madam Zhu's expression changed slightly, "He said he wants to wait for him?"

  Ming Xuan nodded, "Uh-huh, he also said that I am his woman, so naturally I cannot marry another person."

  Madam Zhu was furious, slamming her hand on the table, "How dare this Korean say such things! He's truly outrageous! He became engaged to the daughter of Duke Chengen just two months after breaking off his engagement with me, and they've been married for two years now. Everyone says he's a loving husband, gentle and considerate, a rare find even with a lantern in hand. But I think he's just an ungrateful, self-serving little man! Look at the filthy things he's saying, and the absurd things he's doing!"

  She pinched Xuan's hand and said in a low voice, "Xuan sister, I was afraid to hear it before, so we didn't allow anyone in the house to mention those things. Now that you've asked, grandma will tell you everything from the beginning. But those things are all in the past, and everyone has their own helplessness at that time. You should promise grandma not to blame or resent anyone, don't get involved in anything, and just live a good life from now on."

  Ming Xuan's eyebrows jumped slightly, but she still nodded and said, "Uh-huh, I'll listen to Grandma."

  Madam Zhu sighed, "That year, Han Xiu resigned and returned to his hometown, pushing away the promotion of the Ningguo General by the previous emperor, but instead took on the role of Left Vice Censor-in-Chief. My father praised him for being wise and capable, saying that he would definitely become a great talent in the future. As the Han family lived across from us, they often came and went, and somehow my father and Han Xiu became close friends."

  She paused, then continued, "Later, Han Xiuyuan indeed achieved several merits in his position, and the former emperor appreciated him, with great favor and kindness. Many people in the court wanted to recruit him as a son-in-law, including Minister Pei, who wanted to marry his granddaughter to him. Later, at the Golden Dragon Temple, the Emperor even wanted to arrange a marriage for him. Among so many noble ladies, he alone chose her."

  Ming Xuan's small mouth opened slightly, and she looked surprised, "How could it be..."

  Madam Zhu smiled wryly and shook her head, "He's a young hero, deeply favored by the emperor in court. Although his origins are somewhat unclear, even his ancestral home can't be clearly stated, but he's been raised by General Wei as his own son since childhood to inherit the family legacy. In terms of social status, it's a match made in heaven. At that time, this was an enviable marriage for others, which family in Shengjing City wouldn't envy our family for getting such a good son-in-law?"

  She let out a long sigh, "Who would have thought it would end up like that..."

  Ming Xuan was silent, but in her heart, she thought that if Han Xiuxiu wanted to cling to the powerful and noble, he wouldn't have needed to marry her. At that time, her uncle had already succeeded to the title of Yongning Hou, while her father was only a low-ranking idle official, and after the division of the family property, their social status was clearly different. In fact, she couldn't bring him any benefits. It would be much more advantageous for him to marry a princess or the eldest daughter of the Duke's mansion.

  Her eyebrows slightly moved, and she felt that there might be other hidden circumstances here.

  Madam Zhu continued, "The wedding date with Han Xiu was set on June 18th three years ago. At that time, it had only been half a month since the Emperor ascended to the throne, and the Empress's coronation ceremony had not yet taken place. However, the wedding date had been decided early on, so there were no changes made. Since the Empress was going to be from our family, and the Han family also had merit for following the Dragon (the Emperor), that day was filled with guests, and the entire Marquis's estate was packed with people."

  Her voice sank even lower, "Everyone is waiting to see what kind of heroic appearance the new official has, and finally, after waiting for a long time, the little servant at the door said that the new son-in-law had arrived. Who would have thought that he was wearing not a wedding dress but an official uniform with great prestige? Those hundreds of feathered soldiers with bows and arrows were truly chilling, and they didn't even give any face to take Father away like that."

  "Great Uncle stopped him and asked, now that they were about to become one family, why didn't he even give a notice beforehand? He was accompanied by the Imperial Guard, it's impossible that he wouldn't have known anything beforehand. The two residences are close by, it would be easy to communicate with each other. Not only did he not offer any explanation, but also, in order to clear his relationship, he personally tore up the marriage contract in front of all the guests, causing the Hou residence to lose face. It's fortunate that they didn't lose their lives."

  Ming Xuan nodded, she already knew all of this.

  Madam Zhu's face was filled with grief, and even though it had been three years since the incident, talking about it now still evoked anger and sorrow. She gently stroked Ming Xuan's hair and said in a trembling voice, "As for your father, he was imprisoned on suspicion of treason, and the evidence against him was just a few poems he wrote at the poetry gathering hosted by the Second Prince, lamenting the east wind. Those people forced a connection between his poems and a plot with the Second Prince. Your father, being a scholar, couldn't defend himself against the soldiers, and it's unknown who gave the order. Before the trial even began, the Emperor hadn't made any judgment, but your father feared implicating our family, so he wrote a letter in blood and then took his own life..."

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