Pampered Consort of the Fragrant Orchard Chapter 74.4

A Girl's Worry (4)

Du Xiao Li got up and blew out the candles on the table. The room instantly darkened, but because of the round moon in the sky, it wasn't considered pitch black in the room either.

"What's wrong? Why did you suddenly want to come chat with me?" Du Xiao Li crawled onto bed and leaned against the wall together with Meng Jiang Zhuo. 

"Xiao Li, tonight, were you and Ding Wang......heheh." Meng Jiang Zhuo asked with a smile as she jabbed Du Xiao Li with her elbow.

"What nonsense are you saying, there's nothing between us." Du Xiao Li subconsciously retorted. However, recalling that kiss after Meng Jiang Zhuo left, her words appeared somewhat empty.

"Don't be embarrassed." Meng Jiang Zhuo said stifling her laugh, "We although haven't known each other for very long, but I still feel I understand you rather well. Just look at your words just now lacking in confidence! But you and Ding Wang will get married soon or later, so there isn't anything to be embarrassed about either."

"You came tonight just to make fun of me?" Du Xiao Li glared at Meng Jiang Zhuo, her face slightly heating up.

"Of course......it is!" Meng Zhuo Jiang looked to Du Xiao Li's appearance and bursted into laughter. However, after laughing, she somewhat dejectedly sighed.

"What's wrong?" Du Xiao Li sensed Meng Jiang Zhuo's mood suddenly declining and asked in concern.

"I heard from Changle, it was for the sake of waiting for you that Ding Wang rejected those other women like that. Furthermore, he even once said to her, having you alone in this life was enough." Meng Jiang Zhou enviously said. "If I can encounter such a person, even if I had to die, I'd still be willing."

"Oh, I understand now, this is someone thinking of spring." Du Xiao Li looked to Meng Jiang Zhou and said with a laugh.

"What thinking of spring, I'm not like you, having someone to long for." Meng Jiang Zhuo said pouting.

"Then it's just you wanting to get married then!"

"No way!" Meng Jiang Zhuo quickly denied, and then let out another sigh immediately after. "I'm merely just somewhat lamenting. You and Liu Xia's future already have a dependence. But the three of us still don't know where our future is at!"

"You're worried?" Du Xiao Li softly asked.

Meng Jiang Zhuo nodded, "Our own marriage can't be decided by us, that is a kind of helplessness in life. These years, I've also seen quite a few lovers get forcibly separated, and for the sake of the family, marry someone they don't like. Like my eldest sister for example. Although the other party's family status isn't bad, I no longer see her smiling anymore. In the past, she was that cheerful of a person, and when she laughed, it was crisp like a wind chime. Actually, I think the one I'm most worried about isn't myself, but rather Princess Changle."

"Princess Changle......." Du Xiao Li could also tell. Although every time she was together with them, Changle was always very cheerful, but in the depths of her eyes, there's always a trace of difficult to detect sorrow.

"Princess Changle is the oldest one among us. Although she still hasn't passed the best age for marrying, but if it was an ordinary family, they would've long began discussing marriage. Yet there's still no news on her marriage. Presumably, his Majesty and them still haven't decided. These last few years she's always guarded her own heart, not letting herself fall for any outstanding man, in order to just avoid her heart getting influenced when the time comes, unwilling to let go of those feelings, yet unable to control her own fate!" Meng Jiang Zhuo emotionally said. 

Du Xiao Li didn't know what to say to console Meng Jiang Zhuo, because words under this feudal society were just that powerless and empty.

"Xiao Li, do you know the eldest princess?" Meng Jiang Zhuo asked.

"The Emperor's elder sister, the previous Emperor's first daughter? I heard that year, she got married off to a small foreign* country as political marriage." Du Xiao Li said.

(*T/N: The term used does mean foreign, but historically it's also used to describe the 'barbaric' tribes that borders ancient china.)

"En, the eldest princess had gone to North Rong, that is the now Northern Qi. That year, Northern Qi wanted to form a political marriage alliance with Feng Ming. Originally the other party wanted the second princess, but the second princess already had someone she liked, so the eldest princess voluntarily went to North Rong in place of second princess. But not even two years later, she fell ill and died. The Grand Empress Dowager has always liked the eldest princess, thus wanted the previous Emperor to must have the eldest princess's remains demanded back. I heard from my mother, when everyone say the eldest princess, they all couldn't help but shed a tear, because of how she'd wasted away. It can be said that aside from bones, all that was left was a layer of skin. When Consort Rong, eldest princess's birth mother, saw the eldest princess's body, she directly fainted, and not long after passed away too............"

Du Xiao Li quietly listened to Meng Jiang Zhuo talk about the past. In the history from her past life, there was also quite a few princess that were sent away for political marriages. Actually, regardless whether they lived well or not there, whether the other party treated you well or not, as long as one got on the path of political marriage alliance, then there would no longer be talks of happiness. Because one wasn't on the soil of one's birth, no matter how beautifully the flowers bloomed, it still can't escape the fate of rapidly withering away.

"A while ago, rumors of political marriage leaked from the palace. Although the matter was left unsettled afterwards, but ever since then, Princess Changle was no longer that cheerful anymore. If not for meeting you, I think Princess Changle won't even have that bit of happiness on the surface." Meng Jiang Zhuo said, "Xiao Li, do you know the real reason why I'm not going to the academy?"

(T/N: Interesting fact, in c.545, Princess Changle of Western Wei of the Northern dynasties was given in marriage to Bumin Khan in a political marriage. And also Northern Qi was a real place historically as well.)

"Isn't it because you need to accompany grandma Han?" Du Xiao Li asked.

Meng Jiang Zhuo shook her head and said, "I won't be going to the academy afterwards either. I think by today, my father will have already finish handling my graduation for me." 

"You're going to be graduating?" Du Xiao Li said in shock.

"En, in another two months is the day of my coming-of-age ceremony (fifteenth birthday). Yesterday, my father told me he's planning on discussing a marriage for me, it's the Jiangnan Wu county's governor-general's eldest son, that is Shui Ye Fan's eldest brother. I think not long after, I'll probably have to leave the capital." 

"What?!" Du Xiao Li was shocked by this news and directly straightened her body.

"You know Xiao Li, that Shu Ye Yang and I have never met before, but soon I might become his wife." Meng Jiang Zhuo powerlessly leaned against the wall, her body emitting dense sorrow.

"I see that Shui Ye Fan's character is quite good, presumably his older brother should also be more or less the same. Perhaps this might even be a good marriage match for you!" Du Xiao Li consoled.

"How do you know?" Meng Jiang Zhuo gazed to Du Xiao Li, and seeing her with a face of certainty, her messy heart suddenly settled down.

"That's right, don't they all say, 'people who don't belong together, don't enter the same family gates*'. If not too out of bounds, then a whole family would all more or less be the same. For instance, just by looking at you, I can tell your older brother is a gentle and refined person, and also what kind of people your parents are." Du Xiao Li explained. "Look at Shui Ye Fan, although he's a bit short and a bit chubby, the feeling he gave others was still very good, so that older brother of his definitely can't be bad. Furthermore, the eldest son usually matures faster than the other children, so your future husband will also be a very capable person. If he's really an idiot, how would your parents be willing to marry you off that far away?"

(*T/N: Basically similar people live under the same roof.)

"I hope so." Meng Jiang Zhuo said, "I hope everything you said is accurate!" 

"Hahaha, of course it's accurate. Can't go wrong with believing in me." Du Xiao Li said.

"Hmph hmph, if what you said isn't correct, I'll run back to settle the score with you!"

"Alright, if you aren't living well, then just come back. I'll definitely find a new husband for you!" 

"Really? I'll be remembering your words!"

"A girl's words can't be chased back even with eight horses." 

(T/N: Pun off the common idiom that a man's word is hard to chase back with four horses.......I really hope I remembered that correctly. Basically means it's hard to take back the words once they come out.)

"Hahahaha......"

The two chatted until very late, all the way until the moon rose to the middle of the sky did they finally fall asleep.

The morning of the next day, after Du Xiao Li finished making breakfast for the Grand Empress Dowager, before she had the time to eat, she got hastily called away by Eunuch Shan.

"Miss Du, a life is at stake, let's go by horseback!" Eunuch Shan anxiously said as he saw Du Xiao Li preparing the horse carriage.

T/N: You know, I have a pretty interesting perspective on arranged marriages, because my parents met through matchmakers and couldn't meet until they were engaged, but they're still happily married, same with my grandparents on both sides. So to me I don't see it as the worst thing that could ever happen to people, but I can obviously also understand the other side.

I personally think that if you go into anything with a negative mindset that it's going to fail, it'll always fail, but if it's something inevitable like this, if both sides put in the effort, then perhaps there might be a good outcome.

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