PFC Chapter 12 Past Events
Chapter 12 Past Events
Fu Youde's family has five sons and one daughter. His only daughter is Fu Wanqing, who is only two years younger than Li Jinglong.
The marriage between Li Jinglong and Fu Wanqing almost caused a rift between the three noble families.
Besides the Li and Fu families, there was also the matchmaker, Marquis Mu Ying of Xiping.
At the end of the sixteenth year of Hongwu, Mu Ying, perhaps drunk with Fu Youde, sent a letter to Li Wenzhong, offering to act as matchmaker for Li Jinglong and Fu Wanqing, even claiming that Fu Youde had already made the arrangements.
After thinking it over, Li Wenzhong realized that with Fu Youde's return from the southern expedition, the position of Duke would be vacant, and the Fu family girl was impeccable in both appearance and personality, so Li Wenzhong agreed.
It is perfectly normal for nobles to intermarry!
But when it came to the original owner, she absolutely refused to do it, and even said that Fu Wanqing was "tall but lacking grace, large but not gentle, and a domineering wife."
What does that mean? It means he thinks Fu Wanqing is too tall.
Upon learning of the original owner's words, Mu Ying was so enraged that she directly cursed him in Yunnan, calling him "rude and blind."
Li Jinglong also looked down on the original owner. Fu Wanqing was indeed taller, probably around 1.72 meters. She had delicate features and fair skin. If judged by the standards of later generations, she would definitely be tall, beautiful and fair-skinned. Who wouldn't like her?
However, during this period, women who were too tall were considered undesirable. After all, the prevailing aesthetic at the time favored a wife who was no taller than shoulder-length. If a woman was too tall, it was believed that the yin prevailed over the yang, and that the family would suffer misfortune.
In terms of height, the two are quite well-matched, after all, Li Jinglong is also five feet seven inches tall!
However, the original owner of the body disagreed, and the marriage had no choice but to fall through.
This is also why Fu Youde and Fu Zhong disliked Li Jinglong. Not only did he refuse to marry her, but he also accused the eldest daughter-in-law of bullying her husband. They would not only give him a bad look, but they would also beat him up, which would be the least of their worries.
Li Jinglong sighed inwardly, thinking how he had no idea how lucky he was and had just lost the joy of having such long legs!
"Your Majesty, it wasn't because I was young and impetuous back then. Now that I think about it, I was utterly foolish!" Li Jinglong chuckled twice, his face slightly flushed.
"So, you still have feelings for the girl from the Fu family?" Zhu Yuanzhang raised an eyebrow and looked at Li Jinglong with a smile.
Who doesn't like a tall, beautiful, and fair-skinned girl? Can she really say she regrets it? She agreed, but now the Fu family isn't having it!
"This..." Li Jinglong was speechless for a moment, pretending to be embarrassed, but in his heart he kept urging: Old Zhu, please persuade me!
"Alright, it's your business as young people, we'll leave it to you to your own devices!" Old Zhu waved his hand and stopped asking questions.
Hmm? Why is this different from what I expected?
Li Jinglong was stunned. He had agreed to persuade her again, and he was ready to agree. What was this feint?
......
As Li Jinglong left the Jinshen Hall, he kept muttering to Old Zhu, "You saw through my plan this morning, but I don't believe you couldn't see it just now."
Li Jinglong was very open-minded about the marriage; the decision was not in his own hands at all. Even though Mu Ying acted as matchmaker, it was ultimately Zhu who made the final decision.
Who could blame them when the Duke of Cao's family and Old Zhu were such close relatives!
Since he couldn't choose a legal wife, why didn't Li Jinglong choose one who satisfied him in terms of appearance and personality?
As for feelings, it's fine to cultivate them slowly. If they can't be cultivated, does a Duke like myself lack women?
"Young master, look!"
After leaving the palace, Li Jinglong rode his horse aimlessly through the streets, while his servant Li Er pointed to a group of people not far away.
"What are you looking at?" Following Li Er's direction, Li Jinglong's face seemed to freeze.
Two young men emerged from the cloth shop, their servants carrying bolts of cloth behind them.
One of them was strong and had a dark complexion, while the other, a slightly taller young man, had fair skin and a slender figure, but was rather thin.
It was Fu Wanqing, disguised as a man, and her younger brother Fu Rang.
Li Jinglong saw the other person, and the other person saw him too.
The two, who had just been chatting and laughing, suddenly turned cold and made a move to step forward; Fu Wanqing's face was ashen, she glared at Li Jinglong fiercely, and then forcibly pulled Fu Rang into the carriage.
What a coincidence! Coincidence upon coincidence, coincidence upon coincidence! I just finished talking about Fu Wanqing, and here we are!
"Young Master?" Li Er called out when he saw Li Jinglong looking somewhat dazed.
"Hurry up and get your horse!" Li Jinglong rolled his eyes at Li Er in annoyance.
Watching the carriage disappear from sight, Li Jinglong couldn't help but smile bitterly. Ever since the original owner said those words about Fu Wanqing, that girl's reputation was completely ruined!
Meanwhile, after Fu Wanqing and Fu Rang, the fifth son of the Fu family, got into the family carriage, the focus of their conversation was naturally Li Jinglong.
Fu Rang said indignantly, "Sister, you shouldn't have stopped me just now. You should have let me teach him a lesson!"
"How can you teach him a lesson? In broad daylight, you dare to hit him? All you do is cause trouble all day long!" Fu Wanqing said coldly.
Fu Wanqing felt a mix of emotions, with a bitter taste in her mouth, regarding Li Jinglong.
They had known each other since childhood and could be considered childhood sweethearts. Li Jinglong was handsome and upright, and was also a rare talent among the second generation of noble families, possessing both literary and martial skills. He had long been regarded as a good match by the noble ladies of the capital, and Fu Wanqing was no exception.
But what awaited them was a bolt from the blue!
"Hmph, if Father knew I hit Li Jiujiang, he definitely wouldn't punish me!" Fu Rang said indignantly.
As the youngest son in the family, Fu Rang always stayed by Fu Youde's side. When Li Jinglong refused to marry him, he stayed by Fu Youde's side and still vividly remembered his father scolding Li Jinglong.
If it weren't for Li Wenzhong's death after the southern expedition, Fu Rang would have already caused trouble for Li Jinglong. This was the first time Fu Rang had seen Li Jinglong in two years.
"Wasn't it embarrassing enough back then? Do you have to embarrass yourself again?" Fu Wanqing's tone was icy, her eyes like frost.
Unable to vent his anger, and further scolded by his sister, Fu Rang grew even angrier!
"Snapped!"
Fu Rang slapped his thigh hard, his eyes red and tears welling in their corners, and roared in a low voice, "Li Jiujiang has gone too far!"
Fu Wanqing sighed and comforted her, "Marriage is predestined. You just feel that our family lost face back then!"
"sister!"
"No need to say anything more!" Fu Wanqing waved her hand to interrupt Fu Rang, then turned to look to the side. A tear rolled down Fu Wanqing's cheek and fell onto the carriage.
The next morning, after reporting for duty at the Left Army Headquarters, Li Jinglong went to the East Palace to participate in the review of memorials.
There was no other way; Zhu Biao had specifically requested it, so Li Jinglong had to come.
However, when Li Jinglong saw those two idiots, his mood instantly changed!
Even after Huang Zicheng and Qi Tai finished reviewing the memorials and left the East Palace, they still couldn't understand why Duke Cao had criticized their memorials so much.
Qi Tai looked puzzled: "Brother Zicheng, have we offended Duke Cao?"
Huang Zicheng was taken aback and asked, "Why do you think that, Brother Qi?"
"In today's presentation, Duke Cao criticized us the most, this..." Qi Tai said in a low voice.
Huang Zicheng smiled calmly: "Brother Qi, Duke Cao is a man of great talent. Although he has criticized us a lot today, the reason is that our suggestions were flawed. Moreover, as the sage said, if one has made a mistake, people will know it. Duke Cao's promotion of us is a great favor, and we will surely repay it handsomely in the future!"
"Brother Zicheng, your insight is brilliant!" Qi Tai exclaimed, full of admiration for Huang Zicheng, and suggested, "Let's drink to our hearts' content today!"
Huang Zicheng laughed and said, "Brother Qi is truly a kindred spirit!"
Inside the Wenhua Hall, Li Jinglong, who had been left behind by Zhu Biao, was at a loss for words upon hearing Zhu Biao's words.
"Sister Shouchun, your mother passed away early. Tomorrow you will come with me to escort your aunt to her wedding!"