Resplendent – Chapter 459

Chapter 459: Worried About Marriage?

Lady Jun tapped her daughter’s little forehead and laughed: “You’re so picky, I’m afraid your brothers won’t be able to provide for you!”

“It’s fine, I have income from the pharmacy, so I can pay my own way!” Gu Ye giggled, rubbing against her mother in a way that wrinkled her mother’s dress.

Her brothers were her family, but what their wives thought was another matter entirely. 

Eventually, each of the six sons would have their own households; they wouldn’t be able to dote on her like they did now. Her daughter had only just been found again. How could Lady Jun bear to see her suffer even a little?

Yet, looking at her lively, adorable daughter, she couldn’t help but worry. What kind of man would be worthy of her Bao’er? First, he couldn’t be dull or narrow-minded. Her daughter loved making medicine and aspired to be a pharmacist; the man would need to support her passion.

Second, his mother-in-law and sisters-in-law would need to be easy to get along with. Her daughter was adorable and sweet, kind and pure. She absolutely couldn’t end up with a cruel mother-in-law making her life miserable. She had suffered so much as a child and deserved to be cherished even more.

Family background didn’t matter so much, but the man and his family had to treat her like her father did—doting on her, pampering her, holding her like a treasure in the palm of their hands!

Lady Jun silently ran through a mental list of talented young men in the capital. Either the mother-in-law was too domineering, or the sisters-in-law were too sharp; sometimes the younger sisters-in-law were impossible to get along with.

As for the men themselves, some were too weak to protect their wives; some were too strong-willed, making her worry that her daughter might be wronged; some were dull and insensitive; others were too flirtatious… Ah, having a daughter made things even more worrisome!

“Mother, why are you sighing like that?” Gu Ye wiped her hands with a handkerchief, took a grape from the fruit plate, peeled it, and popped it into her mother’s mouth.  “You don’t really think your daughter won’t get married, do you? Should your daughter worry about marriage?” 

The Duke of Zhen’s family was highly influential in the court, and his sons were all talented in both civil and military affairs with limitless futures. Anyone wanting to marry into the Chu family practically trampled on the front gates of the manor.

In the past, the worry was only about the six boys’ marriages. Now, there was also the family’s most cherished daughter to consider. It’s easy to imagine—once family recognition is completed, the threshold of the manor would probably need to be replaced every month!

“I am not worried. I am just thinking about which talented young men in the capital could possibly be worthy of our Bao’er!” The whole family had started calling her ‘Ye’er,’ but Lady Jun stubbornly continued to call her daughter Bao’er, because her daughter was a priceless treasure in her heart!

“Mother… there’s always a way when you get to the foot of the mountain, and cross the bridge when you get to it. You really don’t need to think so much!” Gu Ye took a bite of the fruit her mother fed her, then looked down at the fish swimming in the water.

Lady Jun wiped the juice from her hands with a handkerchief, sighed, and said, “Each generation has its own blessings. Your father said we’ll keep you until eighteen. Five more years, and we’ll take our time choosing. We’ll surely find a good young man.”

At the inn, Ling Juechen, who was helping her lady paint a meticulous portrait of a court lady, felt a chill run down his spine. He frowned, sensing something bad was about to happen. His little lady wasn’t about to get herself into trouble again, was she?

In the previous life, that girl had charged forward like a little rhinoceros, and he had always been trailing behind, secretly cleaning up the mess. That girl never understood the word ‘restrain,’ and in a capital where a single stick could strike down three influential nobles, he had to carefully protect his little lady, making sure no one bullied her!

Ling Juechen put down his brush and called over a Shadow Guard: “Report to me in full detail everything about your future mistress since she arrived in the capital!”

From the moment Gu Ye stepped into the city, the Shadow Guard meticulously recounted all of her ‘great achievements’ to his master. Ling Juechen listened, a faint smile curling at the corner of his mouth. This little girl, as always, could cause quite a stir.

The moment she entered the city, she almost got trampled by a wealthy playboy. He wasn’t worried in the slightest. He had assigned Yin Mei to follow her. If such a minor mishap couldn’t be handled, what right would he have to be head of the shadow guards?

The little girl not only gave Prince Tai a good scolding but also tamed the most notable playboy in the capital.

She outperformed the other young pharmacists in competitions, completely humiliating those arrogant novices. This was her style, resourceful but not cruel enough and still a bit soft-hearted.

She publicly acknowledged her family and became the treasured daughter of the Duke of Zhen’s family. Hiss… her grandfather and brother were already difficult enough, and now with her grandfather, biological parents, and six brothers, it seemed that the path for anyone wishing to marry this little girl would be long and arduous!

But the familial love she longed for had finally arrived in this life. The entire Duke of Zhen household’s care and affection made up for what she had lacked in her past life. Her happiness and joy were, after all, his greatest wish.

She treated the pharmacists’ gathering as if it were a public lecture. Only that little girl could pull something like that off. Other people’s secret methods of pharmaceutical preparation were usually closely guarded, yet she generously shared everything with anyone.

Say what? Her master had arranged for her a handsome little apprentice, fair-skinned with red lips and white teeth. 

Ling Juechen ground his back molars. That little girl’s habit of teasing handsome boys needed to be controlled, lest she attract some troublesome romance!

She was even invited by Princess Anya to help her brother treat venereal disease? Young Prince Qing should consider himself lucky she hadn’t ‘examined’ him. Otherwise… even if she cured him, it wouldn’t be of any use!

The little girl’s life, as recounted by the shadow guards, unfolded before Ling Juechen like a vivid painting. Instead of easing his longing for her, it only deepened. How he wished he could stay by her side, sharing in all her joys and sorrows.

“Didn’t Qingfeng Pavilion send a batch of fresh Yang City Lake hairy crabs? Don’t leave a single one behind and send them all to the Duke of Zhen’s Manor. If anyone asks, just say they’re for the young lady of the manor. Also, have the fruits sent from the Muxi Kingdom arrived yet?”

The shadow guards noticed that whenever the future mistress was mentioned, their master would talk more. He steadied himself and replied, “They arrived this morning.”

“Send them all to the Duke’s Manor!” Ling Juechen thought about what the little girl might be interested in and had Qingfeng Pavilion pack everything to send over.

At this moment, Gu Ye was accompanying her mother in entertaining Princess Tai. News that the Duke of Zhen’s daughter had been found had already spread among the capital’s nobility. There was no need to ask around—just from the Duke of Zhen’s ever-grinning face, it was clear that fortune had smiled upon their household. The Duke couldn’t wait to announce to the world that his daughter had returned!

However, his wife was unwell and declined all visitors. Otherwise, the Duke’s residence would already be overflowing with guests.

Princess Consort Tai was born into the Marquis of Yongning’s family. When the Marchioness of Yongning was still unmarried, she and Lady Jun were bosom friends, sharing confidences like handkerchiefs. Both had married into military families in the capital, so their interactions had become even more frequent.

When the Zhu family encountered misfortune, the Marquis of Yongning and his wife had secretly arranged for someone to look after the exiled Zhu family members and also Lady Jun.