Qiao Yujing hadn’t even finished painting her folding fan when she already knew how Xie Wenyuan managed to arrange the marriage.

That evening, after the Yongchang Bo returned home, he called the women of the back courtyard together and announced the news that the Crown Prince had stepped in to guarantee a marriage between a daughter or son of the Bo family and a poor scholar from a humble background.

Yongchang Bo naturally understood that marrying off his pampered children to a poor scholar would lead to hardship. But who could blame him? This marriage was backed by the Crown Prince, and the Bo family had no room to refuse. To curry favor with the Crown Prince, he couldn’t possibly say no. After all, he had many children; sacrificing one wouldn’t be a big deal…

However, the concubines and the daughters and sons born out of wedlock in the household reacted as if they had just heard the worst news imaginable!

For those who pursued wealth and status, marrying a poor scholar was even more terrifying than marrying an old wealthy merchant. At least marrying an old merchant, no matter how bad it was, they could still enjoy a life of luxury. But marrying a poor scholar? If he turned out to be a bad person, it would mean a lifetime of suffering. As daughters and sons of the Bo family, how could they endure such a life?

“Master, our Lan’er is as beautiful as a flower; she cannot be matched with a poor scholar!”

“Master, Liu’er has been pampered since childhood; how could she endure the hardships of poverty?”

“Master, Master…”

The concubines immediately began to argue, each unwilling to let their children suffer. A group of illegitimate sons and daughters were also anxious and worried. They would rather be a concubine of a high-ranking family than a common wife!

But Yongchang Bo had made up his mind; there was no room for change in this matter, and one person had to be sacrificed.

“This marriage is guaranteed by the Crown Prince; the Bo family has no room for negotiation. Now that the second son’s marriage is settled and the third son’s is still pending, there are no legitimate children left, so the marriage can only fall on the illegitimate daughters and sons.”

“Don’t say that I favor anyone; this marriage will be decided by drawing lots. Whoever draws the red slip will marry.”

Although Yongchang Bo usually showed favoritism, when it came to interests, all his children were the same in his eyes.

Yongchang Bo’s attitude was very firm.

Zou Shi couldn’t help but gloat and urged, “What are you all waiting for? Hurry up and draw lots! This marriage is guaranteed by the Crown Prince; if you don’t agree, do you want to ruin the Master’s future?”

She had long wanted to deal with the concubines and the illegitimate sons and daughters in the back courtyard, and now she had found the perfect opportunity to kick them while they were down.

The concubines looked at her with anger. The most favored, Aunt Fang, couldn’t hold back her anger and said, “Madam, don’t take advantage and act innocent! Is it really about affecting the Master’s future, or is it about affecting the second son’s chance to climb the social ladder? Everyone knows the truth.”

“After all, Lan’er and the others still call you their legitimate mother. Even if you don’t like them, you don’t have to gloat like this. Lan’er and the others are sacrificing for the Bo family; how can you be so heartless?”

After saying that, Aunt Fang turned to Yongchang Bo and cried, “Master, I know the second son is your favorite, and this marriage with the Crown Prince cannot go wrong, but you can’t neglect our Lan’er!”

“Lan’er is not lacking in beauty or talent; how can she marry a poor scholar? That scholar is just a xiucai, not even a juren yet. Wuwu, Master…”

Aunt Fang wanted to use her beauty to persuade Yongchang Bo to abandon her daughter’s marriage.

Qiao Yulan was also anxious to express her stance, “Father, besides my second brother and third brother, I have the best talent and looks in the family. Even if I become a concubine of a high-ranking family, it’s better than marrying a poor scholar.”

The other concubines and the illegitimate daughters and sons also followed suit to express their opinions.

Unfortunately, beauty meant nothing in the face of power. At least the beauty of these concubines hadn’t reached the point of making Yongchang Bo dizzy, even Aunt Fang, who resembled his first love.

Yongchang Bo pushed everyone away and coldly scolded, “Stand straight! Crying and wailing like this, you all look like fools.”

“Although Xie Wenyuan is a poor scholar, he is young and handsome, with exceptional talent. He will surely excel in the next imperial examination and is an excellent choice for a husband.”

“Moreover, this person is very clever and bold. To pave the way for his career, he even dared to get involved in the matter of the loan shark… With such a temperament, and now that he has gained the Crown Prince’s favor, he will surely shine in the court in the future.”

“If it weren’t for the Crown Prince wanting to use this marriage to win him over and personally guarantee it, do you think you could marry him? He might not even look at you!”

What he said was not an exaggeration. With Xie Wenyuan’s cunning and courage, as long as he could survive and enter the court, his future was indeed bright.

Now that the Crown Prince had stepped in, the crisis caused by the loan shark had dissipated, making him a solid potential stock.

However, while these points were valid, the problem was that they were all about the future!

If anything went wrong along the way and Xie Wenyuan couldn’t rise, then it would be a wasted marriage.

They were all young masters and young ladies from a noble family and could easily marry into a high-ranking family; there was no need to suffer alongside a poor scholar first.

Even if Xie Wenyuan had a bright future, they didn’t want to take the risk.

After all, there were very few young ladies who were naive enough to give up wealth and glory for love with a poor scholar; most were quite clear-headed.

Everyone was unwilling.

But Yongchang Bo, as the head of the family, wouldn’t budge. In the end, everyone had no choice but to draw lots with worried faces.

Then, Qiao Yulan was unfortunate enough to be chosen.

She immediately broke down and cried, “No, I won’t marry a poor scholar!”

“Wuwu, my poor Lan’er, Master, please choose another daughter or son…”

Aunt Fang also cried sadly.

Both mother and daughter were greedy for wealth and status. In their previous life, they had ruthlessly schemed against Qiao Yujing for a good marriage, and now that they were facing a life of hardship, they naturally couldn’t accept it.

But no one would allow them to backtrack.

Although Yongchang Bo felt sorry for this daughter, in the end, his own interests and face were more important. He would never take back his words in front of everyone.

“Since it’s drawn, it’s fate; the marriage is decided for the fourth daughter!”

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, showing expressions of having escaped a calamity.

Then they hurriedly left.

Only Qiao Yujing stayed behind and walked over to ‘kindly’ comfort them.

“Fourth sister, Aunt Fang, don’t cry. Father has always favored Aunt Fang and will definitely not truly harm fourth sister. From what Father said, that Xie Langjun’s conditions actually sound pretty good.”

“Have you heard of Minister Sun in the court? Minister Sun also came from a humble background. When he married, everyone looked down on him, but only Madam Sun had the foresight to marry him. Now she is the wife of a second-rank official, living quite splendidly.”

In reality, splendidly was an exaggeration!

Who in the capital didn’t know that Madam Sun was infatuated with Minister Sun, bringing a hefty dowry to marry him?

She willingly followed her husband through hardships, serving a rough and difficult mother-in-law and sister-in-law, only to finally endure until her husband was promoted, and then Minister Sun turned around and took in a bunch of beautiful concubines, finding his original wife a burden.

The young ladies and young masters of Qiao Yujing’s generation had grown up hearing the lessons of Madam Sun, so the number of those foolish enough to seek true love had significantly decreased.

Qiao Yujing brought up this story, practically gloating.

Qiao Yulan was instantly furious and stood up, screaming and wanting to hit someone.

“Qiao Yujing, how dare you laugh at me? I’ll smash your face and see if you can still marry into a high-ranking family!”

Because her biological father, Wang Cheng’an, had been causing trouble for Yongchang Bo’s household recently, everyone in the Bo family no longer doubted Qiao Yujing’s ability to climb the social ladder.

The previously agreed-upon marriage with an old wealthy merchant was naturally no longer related to Qiao Yujing.

Thinking about how her second brother could marry the Crown Prince and her third brother, whom she had always looked down upon, could also marry into a high-ranking family, while she had to marry a poor scholar and suffer, Qiao Yulan felt like going crazy.

But times had changed.

Qiao Yujing’s status in the Bo family had risen significantly, and the servants around her wouldn’t let Qiao Yulan hurt her, quickly stepping forward to stop her and pull her away.

Qiao Yulan was so angry that she cried.

Aunt Fang also glared at Qiao Yujing with hatred and said harshly, “The world is unpredictable; Third Young Master shouldn’t be too complacent. Those who are arrogant will not have a good ending.”

Qiao Yujing couldn’t help but laugh at this.

She mocked, “Aunt Fang is right; those who are arrogant indeed don’t have a good ending. So, isn’t your mother and daughter suffering now? If we’re talking about arrogance, who in this household can be more arrogant than you?”

“Fourth sister should enjoy her time before marriage; once you’re married, you probably won’t have such carefree opportunities again.”

“After all, no matter how bright Xie Langjun’s future is, that’s still a matter for the future. Whether fourth sister can endure decades of hardship is really hard to say.”

“However, considering our sibling bond, if you ever go hungry in the future, I will definitely help you out…”

After saying that, Qiao Yujing left with a proud smile.

This left Aunt Fang and her daughter extremely furious.

Qiao Yulan hugged her mother and cried, “Aunt, I don’t want to marry a poor scholar and eat bitter food. Can you help me, please? I grew up in luxury; how can I endure that kind of suffering? Just thinking about it makes me not want to live…”

“Okay, okay, Lan’er, don’t cry. Aunt will think of a way. A high-ranking family is where my daughter belongs. How dare that poor scholar think of my daughter? He’s just a toad dreaming of eating swan meat!”

“And those little bitches in the household who dare to mock my daughter, Aunt won’t let them off!”

Aunt Fang had such a child, so she naturally thought of countless ways for her.

She secretly pondered how to find a soft target in the household to use as a stepping stone for her daughter.

However, Qiao Yulan was so enraged by Qiao Yujing’s gloating that she said angrily, “Mother, I don’t want to marry anyone else; I want Qiao Yujing’s marriage! He’s so smart and handsome; the husband he chooses must be someone of status, not just a noble scion, but also a royal relative, someone with both good character and looks.”

“If he dares to mock me, I’ll snatch his good marriage away and see if he can still laugh!”

“Alright, Aunt will definitely help you plan this.”

Aunt Fang also thought her daughter’s idea was good.

The third young master was clever, and the husband he chose would surely be outstanding.

As for what would happen to the third young master if his marriage was snatched away? That could only be blamed on his bad luck for offending them.

……

On the other side, Qiao Yujing, who had already been harmed in her previous life, would certainly not be unaware of Aunt Fang and her daughter’s thoughts.

She was just pretending to be a small person who had succeeded to lead them into a pit.

After returning to her courtyard, Qiao Yujing immediately ordered, “Spread the news about my connection with the Chu Crown Prince to fourth sister and second brother. Let second brother know how much I resent and envy him; I will definitely take revenge after becoming the Crown Prince’s consort.”

Although the position of the Crown Prince’s side consort was noble, being the consort of a deeply favored royal family prince was not far behind, and might even be higher.

After all, a side consort was ultimately just a concubine.