Chapter 1 What love is needed before prosperity and wealth

   "Fourth Miss, I haven't eaten or drank for two days..."

   "Alas, also a poor man..."

"Who says it's not? The fourth girl lost her parents a long time ago, and she has such a temper on weekdays. She finally survived until Jiji, and her fiancé's family came to discuss the marriage. Unexpectedly, Mr. Pei mistook someone in front of the court. Afterwards, he found out the truth. But he still wants to remarry the third girl..."

"If you want to say this, it's fine. Originally, because Mr. Pei is a criminal minister, he wanted to marry our third girl. The Marquis and the mistress would never agree. The fact is true. Once the Pei family left, the mistress So I was in a hurry to open the warehouse to check the dowry, and wanted to marry the fourth girl as soon as possible..."

   "Unexpectedly, only a few hours later, news came out that the emperor decreed to vindicate the Yasukuni government. It turned out that the so-called exile of the Pei family was just to restore the power of Tongcheng for the imperial court..."

  In a remote courtyard near the northwestern corner of the garden in Yongchanghou Mansion, a few women sweeping fallen leaves glanced at the quiet courtyard opposite from time to time, looking at each other and whispering.

  However, when the words came to this point, they all shut their mouths sensibly, but the same meaning was clearly expressed in their eyes:

   It doesn't matter that once the family of the criminal ministers in the past has been reduced to the upstart in the court, the masters in the house can't sit still.

  One of them straightened up and walked back. When he raised his head, his eyes suddenly stopped, and he said in a surprised voice:

   "Four...four girls..."

   I saw a woman of indistinguishable age leaning against the rockery in the small courtyard. The reason why I said this was probably because the woman's clothes were so hard to describe.

  She wore a dark green spring shirt and an indigo skirt. This dark dress neither pinched the waist nor closed the body, wrapping her body like a big cloth bag. The thick black hair was simply **** in a short bun, and her forehead was covered with thick bangs, covering most of her eyebrows and eyes.

   With this old-fashioned dress, if she hadn't had fair skin and a slender figure, at first glance she would have thought she was a nanny from some courtyard, not the fourth young lady who was in her prime.

   It is said behind the back that people have bumped into the right master. Several people were a little bit shy, and hurriedly blessed and left angrily.

   But she saw the woman leaning against the rockery with her arms folded and her eyes squinted, and she only tilted her head lazily when she heard the sound.

Seeing this, several people couldn't help muttering in their hearts: No one in the house knows that since the fourth girl learned calligraphy with the female master, her temperament has become rigid and dull, almost engraved (female virtue) (female precepts) these dogmas that restrain women into their bones. Everyone in the whole house respects her at a respectful distance. But looking at the appearance of the fourth girl just now, why does it seem like a different person?

  Shen Mingjiao straightened up, and glanced at the letter paper in her hand.

   Tut! The writing is good, but the person is a little silly.

  The letter paper was crumpled into a ball, and with a light throw of the hand, the paper ball fell steadily into the opposite sycamore tree, startling the birds on the tree.

  She clapped her hands in satisfaction, and whistled to the group of birds that were startled by her.

  A set of movements is clean and neat,

  Shen Mingjiao walked through the garden corridor all the way to a viewing pavilion leading to the outer courtyard.

  Through the thick bangs, I vaguely saw a tall and tall figure standing in the pavilion,

  Shen Mingjiao pulled the big bangs on her forehead uncomfortably, then took out a wooden hairpin from her pocket, pressed the bangs and inserted it behind her head, and her whole body instantly became ten degrees more beautiful.

  Hearing the sound of footsteps, the man in the court turned his head. This man was dressed in a white Confucian shirt, with a handsome appearance, and the orchid and jade tree on his fingertips was a scene of worshiping the moon.

  Shen Mingjiao glanced at him lightly, then sat down casually, and pointed to the reclining chair opposite: "Sit."

  Pei Ji sized him up in surprise, then froze, with surprise in his eyes.

  Although the woman in front of her was pale, her face was indescribably beautiful and charming.

   Not to mention the natural laziness and carelessness of the gestures, which reminds people of the glazed cat raised at home when they were young.

  Pei Ji was only stunned for a moment, and quickly looked away, feeling suspicious in his heart. When he had a quick glance that day, he remembered that Fourth Miss Shen kept her head down, and she was vaguely a dignified and dull girl. But when I saw it today, it seemed that it was different.

   Withdrawing his thoughts, he bowed deeply to Shen Mingjiao:

   "Miss Shen Si, I know it's my fault this time, I shouldn't hastily propose to withdraw..."

  He told the matter with Shen Mingyan from beginning to end,

   It probably means that when he was studying in the academy three years ago, he met Shen Mingyan who was disguised as a man. Shen Mingyan taught him a classmate who isolated him, and the two became friends.

  Later, Shen Mingyan was found out as a woman and sent out of the academy. He learned from Shen Mingyan's maid that she was a girl from the Yongchang Hou Mansion, so he took it for granted that Shen Mingyan was his fiancee whom he had never met. So in the past three years, the two often corresponded and referred to each other as confidants.

   It wasn't until that day that he accompanied his mother to the door to propose marriage. It turned out that he had always admitted the wrong person.

  Shen Mingjiao listened quietly and lived a new life. When she heard these words again, she would no longer be filled with resignation and despair like in her previous life. On the contrary, she felt a little funny.

  She glanced at Pei Ji's handsome face, and said:

   "Don't you know that it was third sister Shen Mingyan who was engaged to you at the beginning, but later your family suffered a disaster, and my uncle's family was replaced by me in order to avoid being implicated."

  She smiled and asked back: "Did you say that the third sister knew about this at the time? Then why is she like this now?"

  Pei Ji was dumbfounded for a moment, apparently deliberately ignoring this matter, thinking of something, she shook her head firmly again: "No, Miss Shen San was still young at that time, maybe she didn't know about it..."

  Shen Mingjiao shook her head secretly, lowered her eyes and said no more.

"Things have gone so wrong now that people are not grass and trees. The three-year relationship is not just taken back. Now I have Miss Shen San in my heart. If I am with Miss Shen Si again, I will not treat you as a girl." fair…"

   "Don't worry, the mother has promised to recognize the girl as a goddaughter. In the future, she will help the girl find a suitable husband. The Pei family will add a generous dowry for the girl and send the girl to marry in style."

  His tone was sincere, and his eyes were full of seriousness. Shen Mingjiao knew that these were indeed Pei Ji's sincere words at the moment, not just polite words for the purpose of retiring the engagement. Just because she knew it, she in her previous life felt extremely embarrassed and helpless.

  If he is really a mercenary who hates the poor and loves the rich, she will admit it.

  She was just about to speak when a crisp female voice came from a distance:

   "Master Pei..."

  Shen Mingjiao looked for her reputation, and saw a woman in light yellow clothes walking hurriedly from the corridor in front of the pavilion, with a round face, half-curved almond eyes, full of vigor.

  Shen Mingjiao raised her lips, she was not used to such a young and energetic Shen Mingyan for a while.

  Shen Mingyan walked up, looked at Pei Ji, and took a deep breath:

   "Mr. Pei, I'm sorry! If I had known that you were the fiancé of the fourth younger sister, I shouldn't have disregarded the dignity of men and women and the correspondence between the son and the son because of admiring the son's talents. So much so that the son regarded me as the fourth younger sister."

  She paused for a moment: "Now that the misunderstanding has been resolved, the previous matter will be written off. You must not let the fourth sister be wronged by this incident."

   After speaking, looking at Pei Ji, Xing's eyes were full of sincerity.

  Pei Ji's expression froze, and he blurted out, "What about you?"

  Shen Mingyan drooped her eyelashes to hide the disappointment in her eyes, raised her head, and tried her best to pull out a bright smile:

   "Just treat me as your classmates. After a while, my mother will say goodbye to me. It's a pity. I may never be able to go out and wander around casually in the future!"

  Pei Ji looked at her, the once energetic girl seemed to have grown up overnight, but her eyes no longer had the radiance of the past. Is it because of him?

  Seeing Shen Mingyan turning around to leave, Pei Ji grabbed her by the sleeve in desperation,

   "Miss Shen, but now I only admire you..."

  Shen Mingyan shook off his hand, and interrupted him in a deep voice:

   "Mr. Pei, don't say such things again. The fourth sister is having a hard time. No matter what you think in your heart, you should treat her well."

   "No, now I pretend to be someone else in my heart, how can I still marry Miss Shen Fourth? This is not fair to Miss Shen Fourth."

  Shen Mingjiao said coldly: "I think it's fair!"

   "?"

   The two deeply in love are looking at each other.

Shen Mingjiao: "You are the eldest son of the Duke's Mansion now. After I marry you, I will be the wife of the eldest son. When you inherit the title in the future, I will be the first-class Duke's wife with inexhaustible glory and wealth. Such a good marriage , why is it unfair?"

  The two people on the opposite side were stunned at the same time, Shen Mingyan's eyes darkened, Pei Ji stared at her in disbelief, and blurted out: "But I don't like you."

  Shen Mingjiao shrugged her shoulders indifferently, "Is this important? What love is needed before glory and wealth!"

  Pei Ji couldn't help showing disgust in his eyes when he heard the words, he would never marry such a superficial and vain woman no matter what.

  Shen Mingjiao glanced at him, stretched boredly,

   "Tsk! It's so funny to scare you two!"

   After finishing speaking, she took out a piece of yellowed rice paper from her arms.

   Fortunately, she had to leave the marriage letter of the two just in case, otherwise, the eldest aunt could directly cancel the marriage in the name of the elders.

  She handed the marriage certificate to Pei Ji.

  Pei Ji's expression eased, and he was raising his hand to pick it up.

  Shen Mingjiao withdrew her hand again, and said with a smile: "Young Master Pei, if you want a marriage certificate, at least show some sincerity!"

  Pei Ji frowned, becoming more and more displeased with Shen Mingjiao, and said softly, "Tell me, what do you want?"

  Shen Mingjiao stood up suddenly, with a smile on her face, she said seriously:

"It's very simple. It has been eight years since I got the marriage certificate. Knowing that your family is poor, I send five taels of money from the money I earn from copying books and imitating paintings to your mother every month. Now since you want Withdrawing the engagement, should we return the silver taels?"

   "Five taels per month, eight years is four hundred and eighty taels. Based on the mental damage you have caused me by retiring the marriage rashly, then please ask Mr. Pei to calculate an integer and give it five hundred taels!"

  Her voice was very calm, and she didn't deliberately sell miserably as imagined, but it made Pei Ji stunned. Thinking of what she had done just now, the young master who had always been breezy turned red for the first time and was at a loss for what to do.

  (end of this chapter)