Chapter 543 - 542: Suitable

Chapter 543: Chapter 542: Suitable

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Huang Jie smiled shyly: "I’ve never been to places so far away. The oasis and the Great Desert that the Commandery Princess mentioned are things I can only imagine."

"That’s not a problem," Zhuang Ke changed the topic, "Look at our third sister-in-law. She used to be a delicate girl from the Capital, but after marrying our third uncle, she now knows what Shanyu Pass looks like."

Du Yunluo gave Zhuang Ke a playful glance: "Sister-in-law always teases me."

Seeing the sisters-in-law joking around, Huang Jie kept smiling, though she felt a bit bitter inside.

She hasn’t been betrothed yet, and she doesn’t know when she will get married.

It’s not that she’s impatient or had a change of heart, but she’s reached the age where even if others don’t laugh at her, she’s anxious herself.

Moreover, how could there not be anyone laughing at her?

All the girls she used to know have already left the boudoir. They used to laugh at her secretly for being "unlike anyone else" because a general’s daughter thinking she could be like the daughter of a scholarly family was seen as laughable. Now, they have more reason to gossip.

Even if they don’t mock her to her face, the whispers behind her back make Huang Jie uncomfortable.

Compared to them, she prefers to associate with Zhuang Ke and Du Yunluo, who genuinely interact with her without any mockery.

Du Yunluo noticed Huang Jie’s reaction and smiled as she asked her, "Does Miss Huang have anyone she admires? Or is there a kind of man you prefer?"

As soon as the question was asked, Huang Jie blushed and lowered her head.

Zhuang Ke laughed and encouraged her: "We two are like your sisters. We’re already married and have children. If you have any thoughts, just tell us. We wouldn’t tease you, would we?"

Huang Jie bit her lower lip, her long eyelashes trembling. Since Zhuang Ke and Du Yunluo treated her so kindly, it would be a disservice to conceal her thoughts.

After hesitating for a while, Huang Jie twisted the handkerchief in her hands and said, "I don’t have anyone I admire... I’m not hiding it; I really don’t. I rarely go out and haven’t met many people. If I had to say who I like... it would be scholars."

Du Yunluo’s eyes darted as she said, "You’ve just met Young Master Ye. What do you think of him?"

Huang Jie became flustered and waved her hands repeatedly: "He’s a friend of my brother and is favored by my father. Madam shouldn’t joke like that."

Du Yunluo looked deeply at Huang Jie: "I’m not joking with you."

Upon hearing this, Huang Jie was taken aback and instinctively turned her head to look in Ye Yuzhi’s direction, only to be blocked by Zhuang Ke’s playful stance.

"Don’t look. The people over there have eyes sharper than hawks. If you turn your head, they’ll know," Zhuang Ke said.

Huang Jie quickly averted her gaze, exhaling with a guilty relief: "It’s fortunate that the Commandery Princess protected me."

Since the conversation had reached this point, Du Yunluo pondered how to clarify things with Huang Jie.

In Cining Palace, since the Empress Dowager asked her to be the mediator, it was clear she wanted the matter settled soon, ideally with the marriage determined by autumn, rather than dragging it out into the next year.

Huang Jie and Ye Yuzhi’s marriage was something already decided by the palace. Unless there were major changes, it likely wouldn’t change.

Within this context, the thoughts of those involved were not the main focus.

The Empress Dowager’s intentions were clear: if Huang Jie could enter happily into a good marriage, that would be ideal. If not, there was no room for maneuver, as General Huang had already agreed.

For Du Yunluo, since things were already settled, she also hoped that Huang Jie and Ye Yuzhi could develop mutual affection.

"Miss Huang, what do you think?"

Huang Jie, being very perceptive, more or less realized what was happening as she listened to Du Yunluo’s words.

Her heart raced with nervousness and panic that far outweighed other emotions, and the sudden change left her unable to focus.

She furrowed her brows, recalling her brief encounter with Ye Yuzhi. At that time, she adhered to protocol and didn’t take a detailed look at Ye Yuzhi’s appearance, and now trying to remember, she couldn’t form a concrete image.

All she could recall was that his gaze was respectful and straightforward, not making one uncomfortable.

Thinking that way, that’s how Huang Jie expressed it, but she couldn’t say more because she truly didn’t remember.

Du Yunluo pursed her lips and laughed: "Then you can take a second look when it’s time to say farewell."

Huang Jie blushed deeply: "Does my brother know about this?"

"It seems he does," Du Yunluo replied.

Huang Jie wished she could turn around and glare at Huang Yun. Since he knew, why couldn’t he give her a heads-up? Coming here clueless, she’s now feeling like she’s sitting on pins and needles, awkwardly not knowing where to put her hands and feet.

"I just don’t know what to do..." Huang Jie murmured.

Just two days ago, her mother was still worried about her marriage, and suddenly, her path is set?

Huang Jie always listened to her mother and thought this was a matter of "parental orders and matchmakers’ words," so she wasn’t upset at her father for agreeing without informing her.

"Is someone like me okay?" Huang Jie asked Du Yunluo gloomily.

Du Yunluo and Zhuang Ke exchanged a look.

Ye Yuzhi held a subtle position in the Duke Jing Mansion. When it came to his marriage, the usual reaction of girls was often "unwilling to get involved," but Huang Jie had no confidence in herself.

Du Yunluo leaned closer and asked, "You’re aware of Young Master Ye’s situation, aren’t you?"

"I’ve heard my father mention it," Huang Jie tilted her head and said, "I just think it’s a pity."

"A pity?" Zhuang Ke couldn’t comprehend such a seemingly random statement.

Huang Jie explained, "Yes, clearly a young master of the Duke Mansion, yet he ended up a military man, brandishing weapons."

Zhuang Ke widened her eyes in surprise.

Du Yunluo couldn’t hold back her laughter, suddenly recalling that when she first met Huang Jie, she’d also said something was a "pity." At the time, Du Yunluo speculated on Huang Jie’s thoughts, thinking she meant it was a pity for a scholarly lady to marry a military man. Now it seemed she guessed right.

"You said something similar about me before," Du Yunluo chuckled, reminding Huang Jie.

Huang Jie’s face turned crimson: "Madam still remembers."

"I remember," Du Yunluo considered, then added, "It’s not that I hold grudges, I know you meant no harm. However, I genuinely think you were wrong. Marrying my Marquis, not a day feels like a pity. If I hadn’t married him, that would truly be a pity."

For the first time, Huang Jie heard such bold statements, blinking in surprise.

"In a marriage, whether scholarly or a military background isn’t the issue. What’s important is whether two people can get along. Temperaments, they’ll blend with time," Du Yunluo continued.

Zhuang Ke wholly agreed with Du Yunluo’s sentiment. She glanced at Mu Liankang before speaking to Huang Jie: "That’s exactly right. When our lord first arrived at the Oasis, perhaps because he’d forgotten everything, he was difficult to get along with.

On the whole Oasis, the only ones who spoke Mandarin fluently were my father and I, so I had to care for him.

As we got familiar, it became much smoother, and marrying him felt utterly natural.

Whether it’s suitable depends on whether two people can patiently tolerate and accommodate each other. As long as one doesn’t meet someone obstinately unyielding and of bad character, efforts to harmonize will yield results."

Huang Jie was lost in thought.