When the Duchess heard this, she said angrily, “What do you take Jinniang for? Xu Mingwei was meant to marry Ruoshui. If the news spreads out, what will people think of Jinniang? More importantly, your niece Ruoyin who was born by a concubine is the daughter-in-law of the governor of the Southwest. If Jinniang marries Xu Mingwei, won’t she be in a lower status than Ruoyin?”


  The duke frowned and said, “Old Xu’s son has no ability to lead troops and fools around with Ruoyin every day, so Old Xu has long said that Xu Mingwei will succeed his position.

  “You have seen Xu Mingwei. No matter in demeanor, appearance, ability and family, he is a good choice for Jinniang. Besides, the Xu family’s men are known for loving their wives. Ruoyin has been married to the Xu family for two years. Can’t you see the difference between her life and Ruoyun’s?”


  Although Qiao Ruoyin never came back, she often asked people to bring some gadgets from the Southwest to her sisters and cousins in the Duke Mansion.

  She and her husband were very in love, and she even gave birth to a boy the year before. This time, Xu Mingwei brought the good news that Qiao Ruoyin was pregnant again.

  What a joyous life she lived.

  The Qiao family used to be a very powerful family in the southwest, so the founding emperor of the dynasty granted Anyuan County of Yunzhou to Duke Anyuan. And most of the Duke’s troops were stationed in the southwest, so the governor of the southwest was appointed by the Duke.

  Although Qiao Ruoyin was born by a concubine and her father was not the Duke but the Duke’s brother, she was comparable to a princess in the southwest.

  The Duke: “If it weren’t for the fact that the Xu family doesn’t have many children, Xu Mingwei would have waited for Ruoshui to have her coming-of-age ceremony before marrying her. Now that Old Xu’s son has no intention of taking his father’s position, if Jinniang marries Xu Mingwei, she’ll be the wife of the future governor of the southwest.”


  The duchess said unhappily, “No matter what you said, Jinniang will be far away from me if she marries Xu Mingwei. She finally came back to me, and I don’t want to let her go to the southwest!”


  “Ruoshui is stubborn and willful. If she marries to the southwest, she’ll have the Duke Mansion and Ruoyin behind her, so I won’t be worried about her, but Jinniang is different!”


  Duke Anyuan frowned. “This is not up to you. Ruoshui is going to marry Prince Mediocre. Do you want to see Jinniang being laughed at by everyone in Chang’an?”


  The Duchess said, “I married the wrong man, so I certainly have to keep my eyes open when I’m selecting my son-in-law!”


  “Duke, Madam, the Old Madam said that since Fourth Miss will be a concubine, there is no need for the Duke Mansion to hold a ceremony, so as not to annoy the future Consort Mediocre. In this case, we don’t need to rush to marry off Second Miss.”


  One of the Old Madam’s maidservants passed on this message.

  The Duchess was taken aback for a moment. “Tell Mother, I know.”


  The Duke said to the Duchess, “Right! If I take Ruoshui’s marriage too seriously, wouldn’t it be like announcing that I’m on Prince Mediocre’s side?”


  The Duchess said sadly, “Since Ruoshui is only a concubine, just send her to the Prince Mediocre Mansion with a sedan chair.”


  …


  Qiao Jinniang made two clothes for Tuan’er in the Jin Garden. Her eyes hurt, so she went for a walk in the garden.

  Suddenly, she found that the red silks that decorated the whole Duke Mansion had been taken off.

  She asked in surprise, “Isn’t Qiao Ruoshui going to get married? Why were the red silks taken off?”


  Hongling replied, “Miss, the Old Madam said that since she’ll only be a concubine, just send her to the Prince Mediocre Mansion with a sedan chair. Besides, our Duke is the Grand Mentor of the Crown Prince, so he can’t be too friendly with Prince Mediocre. In this case, you don’t have to rush to find a husband.”


  Qiao Jinniang went to the Old Madam’s courtyard to greet her and heard the conversation inside from a distance.

  The Old Madam said to the duchess, “You don’t have to rush to find Jinniang a husband. Even if you’ve got a good choice, decide it after the Crown Prince returns. The Crown Prince likes Jinniang. It’s inappropriate if we marry off Jinniang when he is not around.”


  At the door, Qiao Jinniang clenched her hands. She didn’t know what her grandmother was thinking.

  Her grandmother didn’t force her to marry the Crown Prince, but why did she have to wait for Lu Chen to come back?

  The Duchess said, “But Jinniang is unwilling to marry into the East Palace. His Majesty has allowed Jinniang to marry another man.”


  “The Emperor is the Emperor, but the Crown Prince is the Crown Prince. Even if Jinniang doesn’t marry the Crown Prince, she has to gain the Crown Prince’s consent if she wants to marry someone else, understand?”


  The duchess nodded. “I see, Mother. Are you afraid that the Crown Prince will be angry with us if we marry Jinniang off without letting him know?”


  The old madam said, “Exactly. Let’s just wait for the Crown Prince to return.”


  …


  With the advent of Qixi Festival, the maids in the Jin Garden were all very excited.

  Nuomi said excitedly, “Miss, only after hearing what Yuyan told me did I realize that there are so many interesting things about the Girls’ Festival in Chang’an.

  “There will be a ring competition at the gate of the imperial palace to make Qixi Festival snacks, and every girl in Chang’an can participate in the competition. Miss, if you participate in it, I bet no one can match you!”


  Hongling came over with a dress. “The Liuguang Dress has been made. Miss, if you wear this dress today, I am afraid that tons of young men will swarm into the Duke Mansion to propose to you!”


  During the Qixi Festival, there was no curfew at night, and the streets and alleys were full of lanterns, which were very beautiful.

  Snacks and fruits could be seen everywhere and many cute clay dolls were for sale.

  On the main street, the imperial court had set up several stages, some of which were competing in needle threading under the moonlight, and the woman who successfully threaded most needles within the specified time would be granted with the title of “Skillful Hand”.

  Any girl in Chang’an could participate in the competitions, so it was very lively.

  There were also stages competing in carving fruit and making snacks… The atmosphere was fantastic everywhere.

  Qiao Jinniang went out with Qiao Ruoyi and her brother. They saw a lot of interesting things along the way. Qiao Jinniang always enjoyed the hustle and bustle of life.

  The Liuguang Dress that Qiao Jinniang was wearing today looked radiant and gorgeous under the candlelight, attracting the attention of many people.

  Qiao Ruoyi smiled at Qiao Jinniang and said, “Jinniang, you can try carving melons. Your carving skills are the best!”


  Qiao Jinniang said, “Well, I’m not going to join in the fun.”


  “Come on, Jinniang. Today is the Qixi Festival. If you carve melons really well, maybe the Goddess of Weaver will reward you with your Mr. Right.”


  Qiao Jinniang was pushed to the stage by Qiao Ruoyi.

  The game was coming to an end, and there were only some crooked melons left.

  Qiao Jinniang used the carving knife to carve the pattern of a cowherd and a weaver girl meeting on the magpie bridge on a melon, which looked very lifelike.

  Fulu came over as the judge and said, “County Mistress Jia’an, if you participate in this competition, it will be unfair to other girls.”


  Fulu whispered in Qiao Jinniang’s ear, “Zhou Siming’s sister gave me 100 taels of silver to choose her as the winner of this competition. But if you participate in the competition, the others will scold me for being blind if I choose her as the winner. How about this? You quit the competition, and we can split the money equally.”


  Qiao Jinniang:”…” Was her moral integrity only worth fifty taels of silver?

  At this moment, an exclamation came from the crowd. “Oh no! The Sixth Miss of Duke Anyuan Mansion is committing suicide by jumping into the river!”


  When Qiao Jinniang heard it, she could only quit the competition even if she didn’t want to.

  Jinniang’s brother hurried over, only to see Qiao Ruofeng struggling in the river, about to sink.

  Just as Jinniang’s brother was about to jump into the river to save Qiao Ruofeng, a black shadow swooped into the river with a big splash and brought Qiao Ruofeng out of the water……