Fierce Consort

Chapter 108

The Rongan Hall was permeated with the thick smell of medicine.

Ever since the old madam fainted once again, her illness got worse after she awoke. She was unable to move the left side of her body and the left side of her face drooped. She had still been able to speak previously albeit incoherently. Now it was hard to even say a few words.

Yan Hong had been living in the Rongan Hall. Due to the old madam's serious illness, he was moved to the front courtyard. Normally, boys would leave the rear residence when they turned ten. Yan Hong was a little late in doing so because the old madam was reluctant to let him leave.

Yan Mo moved to the front courtyard at the same time. He was already eleven and could no longer continue living with Yan Yan in the Ningxiang Chambers.

Yan Yan personally went and picked out a pavilion for him that was far removed from Yan Hong's. After a round of renovations and cleaning, they ordered for Yan Mo's things to be moved in. Yan'er and Ying'er went along, as well as Matron Dong. The rest of the servants were mostly chosen from young errand boys. Yan Mo's pavilion was next to where Shen Yi Yao's group of guards stood on duty. There was no need to worry about his safety.

The weather grew even colder. It seemed the ground became covered in a layer of white overnight.
The water outside turned to ice while the Jinse Pavilion's warm chambers were heated by vents as well as a three-legged golden luan incense burner. The incense burning inside didn't have a noticeable odor but permeated one's soul.

Shen Yi Yao and Xue-shi wore light garments as they sat on the kiln. They each held a cup of tea as they chatted.

They were mostly talking about the matter of Yan Ru and Yan Ling's marriage.

There were quite a few people who came to propose these days. Shen Yi Yao was out and about a lot. Since Yan Yan's marriage was settled and she was preparing for the wedding, it wasn't appropriate for her to tag along. Therefore, Shen Yi Yao would bring Yan Ru and Yan Ling along instead. There were many households who had their eyes on them.

In the past when no one was asking about her daughter, Xue-shi had been anxious. Now that there were people asking, Xue-shi was under a lot of pressure instead. This was because she didn't know how she should choose.

It wasn't really possible for Yan Ru to have too good of a marriage based on her status. This was because those lofty households looked at more than the person when choosing their daughter-in-law. They would also look at the household's background. Yan Ru was the principal daughter of a marquis's concubine born son. Her father merely held a seventh-ranked idle posting. Just based on this point alone, several interested noblewomen ended up throwing in the towel.

Of course, there were still quite a few who were interested based on appearances and character. Or perhaps they saw Shen Yi Yao was rather close with them, as well as the fact that their cousin was a future consort. However, these households didn't have the best backgrounds. That being said, they were already much better than Xue-shi would have dared to imagine in the past. When Shen Yi Yao told her which households had expressed their interest, Xue-shi was unable to sleep for several nights.

After several rounds of discussion with Yan Zhi, Xue-shi finally picked out several households before coming to ask Shen Yi Yao for advice.

Shen Yi Yao wore a bright red begonia thin jacket. She lay against the pillow and said unhurriedly to Xue-shi: "Of the households that eldest sis-in-law picked out, Superior Liang is honest and upright and his household's style is extremely good. Madam Liang is magnanimous. They have one daughter who is timid and introverted. She won't be hard to get along with in the future. Young master Liang is the Liang household's eldest principal son. If she marries over, the eldest miss will become the mistress of the household in the future. As for the Qingan Count's household, their background is pretty good. The Qingan Count is also the descendent of old nobility. It's just that the Grand Xi's succession of nobility ends after five generations, and the Qingan Count is already on the last generation. The Qingan Count's household's principal second son is said to be extremely talented. Once the Qingan Count passes away, it's not impossible for him to make a name for himself...."