Zhao Qingcheng once thought he was hallucinating.
His father had agreed to Amu'er marrying the third young lady of the Qi family?
No, no, that wasn't the main point. The main point was, would the Marquis's mansion agree?
Besides, they hadn't even sent a matchmaker yet. Why were they preparing betrothal gifts? Were they bullying him because he wasn't married yet and didn't know the procedure?
"Father, isn't it a bit early to prepare betrothal gifts? Shouldn't you send a matchmaker to probe the Marquis's mansion's intentions? Also, don't you need to inquire about Miss Qi San's reputation? Amu'er is still young, he might have misjudged," Zhao Qingcheng said tactfully.
"Can Amu'er misjudge, and can Master Yuanjue also misjudge?" Zhao Jin glanced calmly at Zhao Qingcheng. "If you fancy a girl, and Master Yuanjue says you are a match made in heaven, I will marry her to you with great fanfare, even if she's a bandit."
Zhao Qingcheng admired his younger cousin even more. He could actually get Master Yuanjue to speak for him.
"Your Highness, shouldn't we inform the Princess Consort about this matter?" Zhao Qingcheng asked. This kind of thing should be handled by the lady of the house. It felt a bit strange for his cousin to be managing it.
"Her?"
Zhao Jin snorted, "If it were left to her, could your aunt's belongings be preserved? By then, the gifts sent to the Marquis's mansion would be outwardly beautiful but inwardly rotten. Would our Ding Prince's mansion lose face?"
Zhao Qingcheng bowed respectfully, but inwardly scoffed. He knew now? Who was it that had married her with such desperation back then?
After Zhao Qingcheng's mother passed away, his maternal grandfather's family, fearing that the servants would not take good care of him, sent his aunt to look after him. At first, he really liked his aunt. But later, his father married his aunt, and six months later, she gave him a younger brother.
After that, Zhao Qingcheng felt that everyone who was good to him could not be trusted.
If he trusted them, he wouldn't know how he died.
Now he was the heir of the Ding Prince's mansion, and his younger brother, who was five years younger than him, also desperately wanted to be the heir.
"Take some items from my private treasury as well," Zhao Jin instructed after thinking. "We can't let the Marquis's mansion think that Amu'er has no one to look after him just because his parents are gone."
"Alright," Zhao Qingcheng agreed.
Zhao Jin looked at Zhao Qingcheng. "Don't be unbalanced about this. I won't shortchange you on what's rightfully yours. You have a share of the things in my private treasury."
Before Zhao Qingcheng could respond, Zhao Jin added, "Which family is as unpromising as you? You're already twenty, and your marriage is not even settled."
Was it his fault that his marriage wasn't settled?
He really couldn't stand the girls the Princess Consort had introduced to him.
Did he have to be like Amu'er and find a wife for himself?
As soon as this thought surfaced, Zhao Qingcheng suddenly felt that it was possible.
There was no reason why Amu'er could find a wife for himself, but he couldn't!
Zhao Qingcheng subconsciously touched his face. Come to think of it, he was much more handsome than Amu'er.
The Ding Prince's mansion sending a matchmaker to the Marquis's mansion caused a huge stir in the capital.
The Ding Prince's mansion had two young masters: the heir, Zhao Qingcheng, and the son born to the secondary Princess Consort, Zhao Qingyun.
It was said that the secondary Princess Consort was very favored, and thus her son was also very doted upon.
It was rumored that the Ding Prince intended to bestow the title of heir upon Zhao Qingyun.
So, was this marriage proposal for Zhao Qingyun?
What kind of luck had the Changping Marquis's mansion had recently? First, a庶出 (shu chu - daughter born to a concubine) married the heir of the Huguo Duke's mansion as the main wife, and now the Ding Prince's mansion wanted to form a marriage alliance. It was just unknown which young lady of the Marquis's mansion it was.
The嫡出 (di chu - daughter born to the primary wife) young lady, it was rumored, had her engagement broken off and her reputation damaged. The Ding Prince would not possibly arrange a wife with a damaged reputation for his favored son, would he?