Blissful Days After Widowhood - Chapter 472

The palace exam had concluded, and it was almost May. Gu Ye finally had a chance to calm down. Though he continued attending classes at Wenhua Hall every day, compared to the busy classes before when he was assisting, the courses in Wenhua Palace felt almost like a vacation for Gu Ye.

Emperor Zhengyuan had insisted that even during busy times, Gu Ye shouldn’t neglect his studies. As expected, Eldest Master Wen and others tested him regularly. Meeting expectations, Gu Ye’s educational level had risen instead of falling. While he couldn’t match the knowledge of Feng Yu and Wu’an, who had studied for years and were naturally gifted, compared to Lu Xu, who started studying around the same time, Gu Ye was on a completely different level. One in the sky, the other on the ground.

Since Gu Ye’s birthday banquet and the palace exam, the people in Beijing and the civil servants who came into contact with him had been giving him increasingly positive comments.

Concubine Feng couldn’t sit still, especially in comparison to Lu Xu. Despite all her warnings, Lu Xu wasn’t the naive child who simply followed what adults said anymore.

When everyone around him praised his elder brother and only his mother warned him to be cautious, little Lu Xu began to have reservations about his mother’s words. Ignoring her advice, the relationship between the Empress and Emperor became more harmonious. Concubine Feng felt helpless, so she sought advice from Mrs. Qin.

Coincidentally, it was the time of the wedding between Feng Yuan and Lu Yuanqi. Concubine Feng pleaded in front of Emperor Zhengyuan, who allowed her to preside over the wedding banquet, considering it as giving the Feng family some face.

The Feng-Lu family had set a three-month wedding preparation period, which was already tight. However, things took a turn when Lu Yuanqi’s incident with Feng Yuan and the maid became public, spreading throughout the capital. At that time, society was generally more tolerant towards men, and Feng Yuan, at most, gained a reputation as a playboy.

Lu Yuanqi, still unmarried, found herself in a difficult situation due to the incident. If it weren’t for Feng Yuan being her fiance, her reputation would have been ruined. However, given the circumstances, she became the subject of ridicule.

The Feng family left the outskirts of the city early on the last day of the Spring Hunting. Upon their return to the capital, they sent Lu Yuanqi back to the Lu family, who was in tears.

The servant who accompanied her back remained silent during the journey. Later, Mrs. Qin didn’t apologize or offer comfort.

Lu Yuanqi felt truly aggrieved. She cried several times in front of Old Madam Lu, explaining that she had overheard Feng Yuan expressing his frustration at losing two hunts in a row. She had intended to console him, and she never anticipated witnessing what she did when she entered the scene.

Being a sheltered girl who had not left the family estate, she found herself in an unexpected and distressing situation, witnessing an intimate encounter involving her fiance. In her emotional state, she seemed to forget that it occurred in a camp in the paddock, not within the confines of a high gate compound.

She pleaded for understanding, emphasizing that it was not her fault given the circumstances.

Old Madam Lu felt sorry for Lu Yuanqi, but she also recognized the urgency of the situation— they needed to get married as fast as possible!

In the past, the two families had an equal trading relationship, but the balance seemed to be shifting towards the Feng family, especially considering the 50,000 taels of silver that had been sent to them. Lu Yuanqi had little choice but to marry Feng Yuan.

Lu Yuanqi was Old Madam Lu’s only daughter, and the marriage had the potential to secure her future.

However, if another unmarried daughter surfaced in the Lu family, it would bring shame upon the family’s business dealings. The family already had numerous unmarried aunts and grandchildren, posing a potential problem.

Old Madam Lu made a decision. While comforting Lu Yuanqi, she arranged for a gift to be prepared and sent to the Feng family.

Gu Yin remarked in private that Old Madam Lu and Mrs. Qin were alike in their shameless endeavors. Although Old Madam Lu didn’t engage in the actions directly, she delegated the task to her daughter-in-law, Mrs. Lu.

Mrs. Lu had no choice but to present the generous gift, prepared by Old Madam Lu, with a forced smile at the door of the Feng family’s house.

The generous gifts worth 1,000 taels were one aspect of Old Madam Lu’s message, but she also conveyed another through her daughter-in-law.

Mrs. Qin was not prepared to annul the marriage. Despite her annoyance at Lu Yuanqi making a fuss about the incident in the camp, if she were to regret the marriage, wouldn’t she have to return the 50,000 taels sent by the Lu family earlier?

That money had already been divided in two—part given to Concubine Feng, and the other to Feng Tao to manage Look Up to Heaven. Given her knowledge of her children, there was no way her son and daughter would willingly return the money. If Mrs. Qin used the Feng family’s funds to compensate, they would have to sell their ancestral property.

Therefore, Mrs. Qin chose to accept the gifts.

Upon achieving her goal, she expressed delight and told Mrs. Lu, “Your old lady is so polite. Yuanqi and my Ah Yuan are engaged. As for what happened in the paddock, it was because of my Ah Yuan. I scolded him after I came back, but you also know, I’m an old woman and have been running around for a while. You are the most understanding, and this old lady appreciates it.”