Chapter 39

Tao Sheng is good at staying calm. After a while, she joked with the King of Chu, “Your Highness, why did you show my cousin and not me? Isn’t that unfair?”

The King of Chu, knowing men well, thought there was little benefit for women in marriage.

“It’s too early for you to choose a husband.” He explained, “If your husband’s character isn’t good, you won’t have a peaceful life after marriage. Court ladies usually don’t marry until they are 25. Don’t rush it. Right now, you’re just an eighth-rank music master. You need to stay within the family when you marry, so it will be better when they all support you.”

Tao Sheng rarely agreed with him, but she said, “That makes sense.”

Though the Prince of Chu seems foolish and is in a tough spot, he has some insightful thoughts.

“But if you like someone, that changes everything,” the King of Chu said with a curious look. “I’ve heard Xie Tanhua is still single. If you have feelings for him, let me know, and I can help propose marriage.”

The King of Chu once thought Tao Sheng liked Ji Yanming, but later realized they were just close cousins. He then noticed how brightly she smiled at Xie Huaian, wondering if she had feelings for him.

Tao Sheng: …

It’s probably best for the King of Chu to avoid matchmaking. If he messes up, he might push Ji Yanming toward the King of Rui, which would be a real loss.

The Princess of Chu watched with a smile as Tao Sheng and the King of Chu talked.

She knew Tao Sheng was talented. She heard from her husband that Ji Yanming had been away lately, and Tao Sheng was gaining favor from the emperor. She thought of her as a female Zhuge Liang ^[1]refers to a historical figure known for his intelligence and strategy..

The Princess was happy to see the two talking, so she sent away all the servants to give them privacy.

After they finished, the princess had someone replace their tea and said, “I heard something happened with the Changxing Marquis. “

Wu Zhen, the eldest son of the Changxing Marquis, was very dishonest. He took a concubine while in mourning, kept two illegitimate sons in his hometown, raised thin horses from Yangzhou, and even assaulted a girl while helping his sister shop for her wedding.

Enemies of the Changxing Marquis revealed all this, embarrassing the Wu family.

This scandal not only made the Changxing Marquis family a topic of gossip in the capital but also affected the Shen family of Wenyuan Marquis Mansion, which was once engaged to Wu Zhen.

The King of Chu immediately thought of the Wenyuan Marquis Mansion.

Initially, the Shen family’s second daughter was engaged to Wu Zhen but was later taken by Guan Muyun. The King thought he was wronged but realized it was actually a rescue.

The Shen family supports the Prince, choosing alliances like the Changxing Marquis and Duke Lingguo, who are loyal to the Eastern Palace faction. Thus, the King had many opinions about the Shen family. When he heard the news, he couldn’t help but take the opportunity to criticize them.

“The Changxing Marquis family brought this upon themselves, and the Wenyuan Marquis family lacks vision. They only have one daughter and didn’t carefully choose a son-in-law. Wu Zhen is a hypocrite, and Guan Muyun from the Lingguo Duke’s Mansion is a loser. With someone like Shen Yu in charge, the Marquis’ Mansion will decline and won’t last long.”

Tao Sheng listened, sipping Shangjin’s premium tangerine peel and white tea while enjoying the King of Chu’s remarks. She felt her trip was worthwhile.

His Highness the Prince of Chu has great insight. The more he talks, the better!

Everyone loves to hear it!

_

Meanwhile, Old Master Luo also learned about the incident involving the Changxing Marquis’ Mansion.

Initially, Old Master Luo thought it was wrong for the Shen family to pressure Tao Sheng to marry for Ruojin. However, since the Changxing Marquis was a good family and Wu Zhen was ambitious, he thought the choice wasn’t so bad.

So while the Shen family’s approach was wrong, it might still be somewhat beneficial for Tao Sheng.

But now, with the scandal surrounding the Changxing Marquis family, Old Master Luo realized that not only was the Shen family’s handling of things poor, but their choice of people was also very flawed.

If the Shen family didn’t know about the Wu family’s problems and tried to force Wu Zhen on Tao Sheng, then they were foolish for not investigating.

If they knew about the Wu family’s issues and still wanted to marry him off to protect their other daughter, then that was even worse.

Old Master Luo simply didn’t want a bad or foolish relative.

When the old marquis was alive, the Shen family seemed decent. He agreed to let Luo Xin marry Shen Yu because he was good-looking, kind to his daughter, and sincere. He never expected the Shen family to turn out so poorly.

Old Master Luo disliked people like Shen Yu and didn’t bother to scold him. Instead, he called his daughter Luo Xin over and scolded her again.

Luo Xin felt speechless and could only let her father blame her.

She always thought what Shen Yu and Old Madam Shen did was unfair. It was right for Tao Sheng to refuse to return to the Marquis’ Mansion. Now that Ah Sheng has a bright future, going back might hold her back.

The Wenyuan Marquis Mansion also heard the news immediately.

Old Madam Shen was relieved: “Thank goodness, it’s good we broke off the engagement with Wu Zhen. Master Guan was sent by the Bodhisattva ^[2]refers to a reference to a compassionate being in Buddhism. to save our Jin’er from danger.”

Since the old lady refused to give Shen Ruojin a dowry to marry into Duke Ling’s Mansion, there had been some distance between her and Shen Ruojin. They could sit down and talk calmly this time because the Guan family pressured the old lady to give some of her private property as a dowry. For future interests, the old lady compromised a little, improving Shen Ruojin’s standing.

However, Shen Ci noticed something was wrong.

Not only did her father fail to protect Ruojin, but he also forced this marriage on Tao Sheng.

If Tao Sheng hadn’t refused at first, the Changxing Marquis would not have agreed to cancel the engagement, meaning Tao Sheng’s life would have been ruined.

In the past, everyone thought Tao Sheng was rude and never did anything right, but looking back, every step she took was correct.

Never underestimate this sister again.