I really don't want to take shortcuts anymore

After Madam Xu Si left the stage, today's large-scale matchmaking event came to an end.

Princess Changzhou gave a brief speech, generally affirming the talents and virtues of the young ladies, and also thanked the judge Luo Qianhuai for his dedication.

Of course, it is impossible to announce the result of the princess selection immediately in front of everyone, and even the matter itself is not convenient to mention.

Although the young ladies are not very old, they are all smart and clear-headed. How can they not see who she and Yu He like?

Unfortunately, their fathers, brothers and elders were all under the supervision of the Chief Censor, so they could only swallow their resentment and pretend to be ignorant.

Fortunately, for many young ladies, the most important thing they saw and heard today was not just Yu He and his mother, but seeing the real Lady Xianghou.

She was completely different from the rumors in Beijing. Not only was she beautiful and gentle, but she was also proficient in music, needlework, and painting... Maybe there was nothing that she didn't understand.

According to Princess Changzhou's temperament, she should now excuse herself from being tired and leave to rest, and then Yu He would send the young ladies ashore one by one, which could be considered a complete conclusion.

But now there is one more Luo Qianhuai. She looked at Yu He who was full of expectation, and Guan Yuaner and Tong Lianniang who were full of fighting spirit, and finally frowned.

"I've had a great time today." She said with a tired look on her face, "He'er, please make arrangements to send everyone back. I'll go to the back to rest."

Yu He knew that although his mother was not scheming, she was a person who valued rules. No matter how much the two young ladies Guan and Tong insisted, there was no reason for her to let the wife of the Marquis of Dayu show her talents in front of several unmarried young ladies.

But he had already agreed to it without considering Guan Yuan'er's feelings. If he went back on his word, he would lose face in public.

He is the Crown Prince of Changzhou and the future King of Changzhou. When he goes out, his face is more important than his mother.

More importantly, he had a great liking for this extremely beautiful marquis' wife, even more than all the young ladies present today.

Your Majesty really made a mess of the matchmaking, marrying such a beautiful woman to such a cripple. If not, with her family background, although she could not become the Crown Prince's consort, she could be taken into the room as a concubine.

It's not like now, his status has been determined, he can only covet it secretly but can't do anything.

Although I can't do anything else, I can take advantage of today's opportunity to ask her to perform some talents.

Even though my mother had seen through it and wanted to stop it, it was of no avail.

Yu He lowered his eyes and pursed his lips deeply.

"Since you are tired, mother, you can go and rest. It is still early now, and the scenery on the lake is particularly beautiful. The young ladies just mentioned that they want to learn talents from Madam Jing. I think it is a good time."

Princess Changzhou knew her son's character very well. Upon hearing this, she looked at him deeply, her eyes full of helplessness.

"Forget it. I am old now, and my memory is not as good as it was when I was young. I even forgot about this."

She no longer mentioned leaving the stage. She glanced at Luo Qianhuai for a moment before turning to Guan Yuaner and saying, "Just now you suggested that you ask the Marquis to give you some personal advice. Have you changed your mind?"

Guan Yuan'er was not stupid. She had already understood the meaning of the princess' words.

She didn't know why, but she didn't want to embarrass Luo Qianhuai, so she took out the money from her future mother-in-law, hoping that she would give in on her own initiative - but why should she agree?

Actually, although this marriage was good, her grandfather was not very optimistic about it. She was not a poor person from a small family with no choice, so why would she give up her ambition for a marriage that had not yet been settled?

Besides, the Princess of Changzhou doesn't seem to be a shrewd person. Even if I offend her here, I can still find a way to make it up to her later.

Guan Yuan'er understood clearly, so she stood up and said with a smile: "In reply to the princess, my embroidery skills have been at a bottleneck for a long time. The guidance of the Marquis' wife is like a long-awaited rain, which makes me eager to see it with my own eyes immediately. The Marquis' wife has already agreed. If the princess is tired, why don't you go back and rest first, and let us stay here to observe the Marquis' wife's magical skills."

This means that you are determined to see it and absolutely refuse to give in.

Princess Changzhou was embarrassed, so she naturally felt uncomfortable. However, the marriage with the Guan family was a decision made by the King of Changzhou. She would never ruin his plan because of her little displeasure. She had no choice but to suppress her dissatisfaction and turned to Tong Lianniang and said:

"What about you? You just said that you wanted to ask the Marquis to teach you how to play the zither. Do you still have the same idea now?"

She still had some mercy on Guan Yuan'er and spoke softly, but she was much tougher towards Tong Lianniang and there was a hint of intimidation in her voice.

Tong Lianniang didn't care about this. She hated the mother and son when Yu He humiliated her in public.

No matter how powerful they are in their fiefdoms, they are just the family members of the princes in Xijing and cannot take any action against me and my family.

Although she was a concubine's daughter, her father was the Youfufengwei, one of the three auxiliary provinces in the capital. Many people tried to curry favor with him. If it were not for her position as the future Princess of Changzhou, she should not have come to see him. How could she have expected to be humiliated like this?

"The princess' memory is correct." She said with a smile, "The Marquis's wife has promised my daughter that she will play a piece of music for us to appreciate and learn after the previous matter is settled. I think she will not break her promise, right?"

In her last sentence, she bypassed Princess Changzhou and directly issued a declaration of war to Luo Qianhuai.

Princess Changzhou's complexion was not very good.

"I'm already tired today. I think Madam Hou must be a little tired after giving you all her careful comments." She looked at Luo Qianhuai and said, "If you don't have enough energy to continue, it won't matter. There's really no need to force yourself."

She was simple-minded. After Luo Qianhuai's many deceptions, she had already believed that the other party must be extremely talented. Therefore, she was even more worried about her son. She was afraid that after seeing Luo Qianhuai's piano and embroidery skills with her own eyes, he would be completely obsessed with them and do something unmanageable.

Before, when he was in Changzhou, he had secretly seized the wives of his subordinates, and it was all thanks to the King of Changzhou who suppressed it cleanly and efficiently.

But this is Xijing, the capital city of the emperor. Marquis Xiang was posthumously conferred the title by the late emperor, and the marriage was personally granted by His Majesty. If something goes wrong, the consequences will be disastrous.

Luo Qianhuai did not expect that the Princess of Changzhou would stand up at this moment and help protect him.

If it weren't for the system's bizarre mission requirements, which required "everyone" to be convinced, she would definitely have gone with the flow and not gone to waste her time.