CHAPTER 561: CHAPTER 550: THE MARCHIONESS’S MAID

Recently, the Zhong Family has two pieces of good news. First, Zhong Jue was personally selected by the Holy Emperor as third place in this session of the imperial examination, and second, the widely known Lord Wenping has been granted marriage to him.

These two pieces of news struck Zhong Jue so hard that he was a bit dazed, and he hadn’t regained his senses even after the imperial decree was read aloud.

The eunuch smiled gleefully: "Young man who secured the third place, accept the decree!"

Zhong Jue quickly came to his senses: "Your humble subject accepts the decree."

"Third place, it is really third place!" Zhong Huaiwen couldn’t help but be overjoyed at this time, "I was also third place in my day, and now our family will have two members who achieved third place. The Emperor is truly wise."

The eunuch felt somewhat awkward upon hearing this. To tell the truth, he didn’t think the Emperor had considered that his father was also third place when conferring the title on Zhong Jue.

Standing aside, Zhong Lang felt quite embarrassed seeing his father completely forgetting about him, and at the same time, he was extremely jealous. How could Zhong Jue achieve third place? Could it be because of Lord Wenping that his ranking was elevated? Yes, it must be so. Otherwise, how could it be explained that his elder brother, who was not good at his studies before, has suddenly become this proficient?

However, Zhong Lang did not reflect on the fact that everyone used to say Zhong Jue was not good at his studies because his mother and Old Madam Wei deliberately created this false impression, just to make Zhong Huaiwen believe his legitimate son was useless.

But Zhong Huaiwen’s belief in the nonsense of the women at home doesn’t mean everyone else is a fool. Although the imperial examination’s final third-class rankings are bestowed by the Emperor, the majority are assigned by the ministers after the marking of papers, and there wouldn’t be any significant deviation.

Besides, Duke Wei has already relinquished his military power, and the Great Princess Anhe has been in seclusion for a long time. Even if they were immensely favored, they would not have the ability to influence something as crucial as the imperial examination. The Emperor may agree, but the other ministers would not.

Anyone with discernment could see that Zhong Jue truly had the ability; it’s just that Zhong Lang and Aunt Wei did not want to believe it.

However, Aunt Wei was even more anxious than Zhong Lang. Why did the Emperor grant marriage to Zhong Jue? And to Lord Wenping, the granddaugher of Princess Anhe no less, who was a county lord and would become the legitimate eldest daughter-in-law. Wasn’t this forcing her to hand over the manor’s management? Later, with the county lord and the princess backing Zhong Jue, could she still manipulate him?

Aunt Wei suddenly felt her future was bleak. No, she must become the official wife during this period, only then could her two children have a way out, and only then could Lord Wenping and Zhong Jue not bully her and her children.

Old Madam Wei has been unwell recently, which is why Aunt Wei was in such a rush, fearing that if Old Madam passed away, she would not only lose her support, but her daughter would have to endure three years of mourning, by which time her daughter would be nineteen. What good marriage prospects could she find then?

But the urgent task at hand was to have her cousin support her to become the official wife. No matter who Lord Wenping was, as long as she was the official wife, then Lord Wenping would have to pay her the respect due to a mother-in-law, and she could hold sway over her.

"Aunt, you must get well soon, otherwise, there will be no place for the three of us in this manor," Aunt Wei cried.

Old Madam Wei’s head was swimming, and her confusion was only compounded by such weeping: "Speak clearly, what exactly happened?"

What Aunt Wei and Old Madam Wei lamented shall pass for a moment, on the other hand, Zhong Lan, upon learning about her brother and Lord Wenping’s arranged marriage, decided to invite Lord Wenping to the Marquis Mansion for a visit, to advance the sister-in-law relationship and to give her future sister-in-law a heads-up, especially since her maternal family was not entirely peaceful.

Everyone says that Lord Wenping is too wild and too domineering, but Zhong Lan thinks that’s exactly what’s needed. Only someone like that can control Aunt Wei and her cohort, and moreover, after hearing this news, the Old Marquis also mentioned to her that, despite Lord Wenping’s unfavorable reputation outside, she herself is not as bad as people say.

Old Madam Wei spoke, and Zhong Lan did believe her, but seeing is believing, so she sent out invitations the very next day.

Lord Wenping, who received the invitation, was somewhat worried. After all, her future husband’s sister was from Marquis Weiyuan’s Mansion. Would she have heard about her reputation? Would she have a bad impression of her?

Despite her anxiety, Lord Wenping still dressed up and attended the banquet the next day, and the moment their eyes met, they took a liking to each other.

Zhong Lan was the epitome of a demure and graceful lady from a noble family, and now that she was with child, her maternal aura added to her gentleness and virtuous charm.

Lord Wenping had always loved martial arts since she was young, but she admired and aspired to the inherent dignity of noble ladies, a sincere gracefulness, not one that is feigned, and Zhong Lan perfectly fit her aesthetic.

And what about Zhong Lan? Having heard about the deeds of Old Madam Wei, she too admired and looked up to women who dared to challenge the conventions of propriety. Lord Wenping, although not caught up in trifles, was magnanimous and had a particularly clear and straightforward gaze, suggesting she was easy to get along with.

The aunt and niece-in-law shared a knowing smile at their first meeting, not like in-laws, but more like close friends and confidantes.

"You say that before your brother’s Imperial Examination, a servant put a laxative in his food?" Lord Wenping’s eyes widened with a fierce intensity. Born into a family of privilege, although her family had never experienced such sordid affairs, she had heard enough to sense something amiss immediately.

"Yes, ever since my mother passed away, the household has been managed by Aunt Wei, who is also my father’s cousin. Everyone said it was just a servant acting on their own, and my brother couldn’t find any evidence. Fortunately, it was not a major incident..."

"Cousins?" Lord Wenping’s voice rose.

Zhong Lan nodded: "I heard that originally my grandmother wanted Aunt Wei to be my father’s official wife, but my grandfather disagreed, so Aunt Wei joined the family as a noble concubine."

Lord Wenping understood, her little sister-in-law was giving her a precautionary warning. With all these twists and turns, it seemed their brother and sister had not had an easy time in the mansion. What was all this, one thing after another?

"We’ve been in mourning these past years, so my father couldn’t elevate Aunt Wei to official wife. I suspect there are ongoing discussions in the mansion. Wenping, as a daughter married off into another family, I have no control over the mansion’s affairs. You must be cautious when you marry my brother, Aunt Wei has a knack for playing the victim and the fragile woman."

Lord Wenping let out a cold laugh and said nothing. One of the reasons she agreed to the arranged marriage was that Zhong Jue had no mother-in-law. They hadn’t even married yet, and there were plans to find her a new mother-in-law? Who exactly were they trying to insult?

Perhaps the future husband and sister-in-law were easy to bully, but she, Wenping, was not one to be trifled with!

Since she liked to feign fragility, if she dared to cross her, Wenping, she wouldn’t hesitate to ensure she remained ’fragile’ for life.

"I have understood all that you said today, rest assured, I, Wenping, am not so easily bullied." As she said this, Wenping showed some frustration, "You say you are now the Lady of a Marquis, how can you still be intimidated by them? Useless!"

Although Wenping’s words seemed harsh, Zhong Lan was not upset at all, but instead very happy.