It is unknown how the He family handled the Qiqiao Festival after the failure.
Wushuang lost his life at that time, so naturally he couldn't take care of her.
But in this life, she can take good care of Qiqiao.
"She's getting on in years now, and should have been married off long ago. Originally, the family planned that if I married late, they would marry her off sooner. If she was willing, she could stay by my side as a wet nurse after giving birth. But you're in such a hurry to marry me, and you've disrupted all those plans. Qiqiao's marriage was delayed because of you, so you have to take responsibility for finding her a good husband. Are there any suitable young men in Lingguang Guard? Qiqiao isn't born into a wealthy family; her family are farmers in Daxing, and her parents are honest and hardworking people. [txt full collection download www.80txt.coM]" Although they weren't particularly wealthy, they were never short of food or clothing. However, her mother suffered a difficult childbirth that year, which damaged her health and required considerable expense to recover. Despite her young age, she was very filial. Seeing a matchmaker coming to the village to buy people, she sold herself to raise money for her mother's treatment. I was just born then, and my mother, seeing my intelligence and understanding, took me in. I received a home-schooling from a young age, and she served me during the Qixi Festival, so I was literate and could read. Sometimes she would even write letters and reply to greetings for me, and she was naturally skilled with writing and calligraphy for her husband. She was also good at needlework, could read accounts, managed the household, and was beautiful…”
Seeing her enthusiastic sales pitch, as if she had received a prestigious award, Chu Yao deliberately teased her: "Most of the members of the Lingguang Guard are from aristocratic families, so their social status is probably..."
Wushuang was displeased: "Where are we Qiqiao inferior to others? Many wealthy families don't pay attention to raising their daughters, and they probably don't even know as many characters as we Qiqiao. My mother and I have already discussed it. If Qiqiao gets married, we will restore her to her good status, prepare a dowry for her, and make sure she has plenty of money in her dowry, as well as land."
After thinking for a moment, she added, "If that doesn't work, we can ask my parents to adopt her as their goddaughter. If that still doesn't work, we can ask my grandmother to adopt her."
Chu Yao couldn't help but find it amusing.
In wealthy families, it was not uncommon for maids to have their indentures burned and their status restored upon marriage, thanks to the grace of their masters. If they served well, it was also not unusual for the masters to bestow generous dowries. But to go so far as to encourage the maid's parents and grandmother to become godparents to elevate her status in order to secure a good marriage was truly unheard of.
However, compared to his heartless and cold-hearted mother, Wushuang appears to be kind-hearted and sincere.
Besides, he also knew about the Qixi Festival.
In his previous life, in order to find out how much of Wushuang's experience was true and how much was false, he sent someone to inquire at the Marquis of Runan's residence. They happened to learn that Lady He had sold Wushuang's head maid, Qiqiao. So he bought her back and questioned her.
At the time, I was thinking that once things were resolved, I would reunite the mistress and servant, but who knew...
“I’ll keep an eye on her for you,” Chu Yao said. “But since she’s so good, shouldn’t you keep her by your side? Wouldn’t it be better to choose a steward of similar age from our palace?”
But the steward is also a slave. After the two get married, their children become servants, and they will be slaves for generations. What's so good about that?
Wushuang unhappily explained her thoughts.
Chu Yao laughed and said, "What's so difficult about that? Releasing someone from the household registration is just a matter of a word from you and me. In short, let's see if there are any suitable candidates. Of course, it's not enough if we think they're good; the Qiqiao Festival must also be satisfied with them."
Wushuang beamed with joy. She didn't know many people in Lingguang Guard, but she knew all the stewards in the Prince of Ying's mansion. So she started counting them off on her fingers, eager to find a good match for the Qiqiao Festival.
Chu Yao gripped her small hand, preventing her from moving: "I've come all this way back, and you don't even ask me a few questions before you start talking about other people's business. Is that appropriate?"
Wushuang retorted stubbornly, "What's inappropriate about it? It's the Qiqiao Festival, not just anyone. Besides, you look taller and stronger, which is fine. There's nothing to ask."
Does she expect her to hug him and say she misses him, and count sheep by his name when she can't sleep? Just thinking about that makes her teeth ache; she could never do that.
He's gotten taller and stronger?
Chu Yao squinted, thinking that he was only a few years old and could still grow taller?
That's so perfunctory.
He was extremely dissatisfied.
So he deliberately said, "Then let me ask you, why isn't my princess waiting for me at my palace, but instead ran back to her parents' home?"
Wushuang was unaware of the past between Chu Yao and his mother. Hearing his question, she felt guilty and her large, dark eyes darted around, as if she wanted to use a coquettish act to get away with it. However, she quickly realized that she couldn't hide forever, and what needed to be said would eventually have to be said. So she simply said, "I know it was wrong of me to go back to my parents' home without saying a word, and I admit I was wrong. But, Mother... if she thinks I've done something wrong, she can just discipline me. Why does she have to scold my family as well? I was afraid that if I stayed in the Prince's mansion, this kind of situation would happen too often, and sooner or later I wouldn't be able to hold back and argue with her, making a fool of myself in front of others. I also didn't want to put you in a difficult position, so I left."
Chu Yao knew everything that had happened at home.
After the incident with Aunt Qiao and the others, he took advantage of Wushuang's replacement of personnel in the inner courtyard to plant several spies. It wasn't that he didn't trust Wushuang to manage the inner courtyard well, but he thought that if anything went wrong, Wushuang, who had been pampered since childhood, might not be so perceptive as to notice it, while he could get the news in advance and suppress and rectify the situation beforehand, saving her from worrying or being hurt.
"I know Shuangshuang has been wronged." Chu Yao kissed Wushuang's little mouth and patted her back to comfort her. "I also know that Shuangshuang has always been sensible and wouldn't cause trouble. I will talk to my mother. After all, she is getting old and should just stay at home and enjoy her retirement. She shouldn't interfere in so many things and shouldn't always make things difficult for my Shuangshuang."
With Chu Yao's gentle coaxing, Wu Shuang indeed calmed down, pouting and lying on his chest, occasionally kicking her little feet up and swinging them a couple of times.
She did it unintentionally, unaware that her soft little feet and legs were constantly touching and rubbing against Chu Yao's thighs, causing some indescribable changes in his body.
Chu Yao paused for a long time, took a deep breath, and then continued, "The same goes for Wanwan's matter. I will persuade my mother not to let Wanwan go on any more marriage proposals. After all, no matter how good your mother thinks she is, if Wanwan is unwilling, she may not live a good life after marriage. Marriage should be based on mutual affection."
“That’s right!” Wushuang echoed. “In our enlightened families in the capital, we don’t follow the practice of arranged marriages. Before the engagement, we let our children meet each other. Otherwise, if the two people don’t like each other after marriage, they can’t get along and will quarrel every day, making their home no peaceful. Wouldn’t that turn marriage into enmity?”
Chu Yao calmly pressed down on her legs, which were excitedly twitching back and forth, and coughed lightly, saying, "Shuangshuang is right, so I thought about it and decided to let Wanwan choose for herself. As long as her character and temperament are not too bad, it doesn't matter who she chooses."
"Huh?" Wushuang blinked. "Can Brother Bo do it too?"
Chu Yao nodded.
He knew perfectly well that his long-standing dislike for Wang Hongbo stemmed solely from the fact that he had once been the man Jun Shu and his wife had chosen as Wushuang's husband. Wang Hongbo's character, temperament, and abilities, however, were beyond question. If he were to disregard his sister's wishes because of this old, bitter jealousy, how would he differ from the former princess?
Wushuang was even happier, hugging Chu Yao's neck and rubbing her little face against his cheek, acting cute and affectionate.
Chu Yao asked in a hoarse voice, "If that's the case, how will you thank me?"
Wushuang was completely unaware of anything amiss and obediently replied, "Whatever you say goes."
After being kissed so hard that she was dizzy, Wu Shuang finally came to her senses and grabbed his arm, questioning, "Why didn't you stop the two of them, but instead made me pay the price?"
This made Chu Yao burst into laughter.
The two were playfully teasing each other and exchanging affectionate words, and Wushuang had no idea when she fell asleep. When she woke up the next day, Chu Yao was gone.
Three days later, he officially came to her door to take her back to the Prince of Ying's residence.
The Prince of Ying's Mansion was located on Qinglong Street, and it was only a quarter of an hour's walk from the four alleys where the Marquis of Runan's Mansion was located, but the carriage took a long time to arrive.
Wushuang didn't mind lingering in Chu Yao's arms a little longer, but she still found it strange and lifted the curtain to look outside: "Why did we end up at Chaoyang Gate?"
The driver was the same one; he knew the way, so why was he taking such a long detour?
"It's alright, we can enjoy the scenery," Chu Yao said, pulling the curtains back down.
Unparalleled in a daze.