However, he couldn't tell his father yet, otherwise all the effort he and his mother had put into the capital would have been wasted.
Fortunately, Sixth Sister is also Third Sister's younger sister, so we can at least get away with it for now.
At this moment, Chen Qian was unaware that Sixth Sister had already offended An Ran terribly, and Third Sister already knew about Sixth Sister's good deed, so there was no way she would give Sixth Sister a good look, let alone help her.
Once he finished writing the letter, he sent someone to purchase local specialties from the capital and send them back to Yangzhou.
Perhaps he should go back in person in a few days.
******
Anran has been having a comfortable yet busy time these days.
Although the dowry needed to be embroidered, time was short, and Anran couldn't possibly do it herself. Zhao Shi and San Niang had already anticipated this, and quickly selected embroiderers to help Anran with the dowry. When Princess Yunyang learned of this, she also sent her own embroiderers, saying that if Anran found them useful, she could keep them.
In this way, Anran only needs to embroider some small items, just to show off.
However, Madam Zhao often summoned her to the main courtyard, making her listen to the housekeepers' reports, and occasionally asking her a few questions. It seems Madam Zhao intended to guide her, likely thanks to Third Sister's intervention.
Anran spends most of her time playing with Yu Ge'er.
Anran knew that Zhao had been extremely busy with her own affairs lately, and Yu Ge'er could only stay with his wet nurse and maids.
Normally, the wet nurse and maids knew that he was Zhao's darling and the apple of her eye, and they were afraid that something might happen to him. In addition, Yu-ge'er was weak, so they rarely let him go out to play, for fear that he would get hurt and be scolded.
An Ran didn't have many concerns. She not only played games like nine-linked rings and cat's cradle with Yu Ge in the room, but also took him to play in the yard.
Children need to run and jump around a lot to stay healthy. Nian-ge'er was the same way; he was raised too delicately. After playing with Si-li, Xiao-mu, and Xiao-tide for a few days, his complexion looked much better.
These past few days, Yu-ge'er has become much more cheerful and closer to An-ran, constantly clamoring to see Ninth Sister.
When Seventh Sister and Tenth Sister saw this, they didn't say anything, but they were also envious and jealous in their hearts.
Liu Niang was kept under the care of the Grand Madam in the small Buddhist hall. All the servants around her were replaced, and she was made to copy Buddhist scriptures every day, supposedly to temper her temperament.
An Ran has received definite news from Zhao Shi: An Yuanliang has already arranged the marriage between him and Liu Niang with Chen Qian. However, the Chen family is far away in Yangzhou, so the marriage cannot be completed immediately.
What will happen to Chen Qian and Liu Niang in the future is no longer An Ran's concern.
However, the matter between the Marquis of Dingbei and the Marquis of Nan'an was still unresolved. The Fang family certainly didn't want to involve Fang Ting, and the An family, having experienced the Sixth Sister's incident, wasn't taking a very strong stance, but they couldn't give up either. Otherwise, it would seem as if the An family was guilty.
Finally, it seems a solution was reached: the illegitimate son of the Marquis of Dingbei would marry the illegitimate daughter of the Marquis of Nan'an. This would preserve the dignity of both families and prevent the marriage from escalating into a bitter feud.
Fang Anran was unaware of the situation, but among the An family members of marriageable age, only Qi Niang was eligible.
Could it be that Seventh Sister is to marry into the Marquis of Dingbei's household? However, Seventh Sister's heart originally belonged to Fang Ting. If she marries into the household, she can only become Fang Ting's sister-in-law. I wonder what she will think.
Before they knew it, the day arrived for the Marquis of Pingyuan's family to come and present their betrothal gifts.
Lu Mingxiu's parents are both gone. Although he still has some relatives, he has no contact with them at all because of what happened more than ten years ago. Although Chu Tianze had advised him, and he had promised not to go too far for Anran's sake, he would definitely not entrust the task of matchmaking to them.
This important task still fell to Chu Tianze.
Although it was the Emperor who issued the decree to bestow the marriage, it was impossible for the Emperor to personally attend the betrothal ceremony at the Marquis of Nan'an's residence. So, to be a good person and see it through, Chu Tianze readily agreed.
As a result, Lu Mingxiu's relatives no longer dared to step forward recklessly.
"I'm just treating this as practice for helping Yan-ge'er with his wedding arrangements in the future," Chu Tianze said cheerfully. "Of course, it's almost the same as having a son as a nephew."
Lu Mingxiu held back, only rolling his eyes at him in his heart.
Chu Tianze was only about ten years older than Lu Mingxiu, but he liked to act like an elder in everything.
The Pingyuan Marquis's residence has been completely renovated. The Empress has sent dozens of people from the Imperial Household Department to help Lu Mingxiu prepare for his marriage. Their efficiency is naturally exceptional. The Empress has also made it clear that these people will only be employed by him for six months to alleviate his immediate needs; they will be returned after six months.
Lu Mingxiu was grateful for the Empress's kindness.
Once Anran marries into the family, she will naturally be able to take care of the household chores gradually, while leaving the palace staff at home... The Empress is probably afraid they will feel uncomfortable!
The Empress ordered that 120 loads of betrothal gifts be sent to welcome Anran, with the first few loads containing items bestowed by the Emperor.
It was inconvenient for her to leave the palace, so she would send someone in every few days to report back. Princess Yunyang was also worried that since the Pingyuan Marquis's mansion had no elders, Anran might be wronged in these formalities, so she went to check in person and was relieved to see that the betrothal gifts were all in place.
The two geese in the betrothal gifts were hunted by Lu Mingxiu himself.
After everything was prepared, Chu Tianze took the betrothal gifts to the Marquis of Nan'an's residence.
The distance between the Pingyuan Marquis's residence and the Nan'an Marquis's residence is not short. Normally, it would take an hour to travel by carriage, and today, with the betrothal gifts being carried, the journey was even slower.
The betrothal gifts from the Marquis of Pingyuan stretched along the entire street.
The last ten boxes hadn't even left the Pingyuan Marquis's residence yet, while the first two had already walked out onto the street in front of the residence.
There were quite a few people watching the spectacle.
The common people on the street all sighed in admiration, marveling at the grandeur of the wedding, befitting a powerful and influential family and a favorite of the Emperor. Many noble families, knowing the Empress had orchestrated the event, could only envy it; those unaware wondered if they should report it to the Marquis of Pingyuan, deeming it far too extravagant.
The Marquis of Nan'an's residence.
Today, the Marquis of Nan'an's residence is brightly decorated and has opened its doors to welcome guests early in the morning.
Princess Yunyang arrived early with her three children. Third Sister returned first and went to Anran's room to talk. Zhao also placed Yu-ge'er with Anran. When Heng-ge'er arrived, she let him play with Heng-ge'er.
Fourth and Fifth Sisters, who had just married, returned early because of today's happy occasion, along with the Grand Madam's two daughters and Anran's two aunts, all of whom were born out of wedlock and thus rarely seen. One was the Second Madam of the Marquis of Shouxiang's mansion, and the other was the Third Madam of the Marquis of Jining's mansion. For a daughter born out of wedlock to marry a son born out of wedlock, it was considered a good match in terms of social standing.
The Dowager Lady had limited closeness with her two illegitimate daughters, and they didn't visit each other much during the day.
"Ninth Sister, let me see how your embroidery is going?" Third Sister was pregnant, so she stayed with An Ran and didn't go out to entertain guests. There were also four children with An Ran, so An Ran's room was quite lively.