Old Madam Zheng was enlightened. She looked Pan Nianzhen up and down. The girl's shy demeanor was much more likable than her mother's.

She was Matriarch He's best friend, so it was inevitable that she would ask a few more questions.

"How old are you? Are you married?"

"She's coming of age this year. She'll be sixteen after the new year."

"That's a big girl!"

"That's right. I was just worrying about it!"

Old Madam Zheng chuckled and glared at her best friend. "Fine, I know what you mean. I'll keep an eye out for you. If there's a suitable family, I'll mention it to you."

Old Madam was naturally grateful for her friend's help.

Pan Nianzhen, who was sitting behind the Old Matriarch, did not expect that the two elders would mention her marriage in such a short conversation. She was still an unmarried maiden after all. Her face immediately turned red and she lowered her head even more.

He Ying's expression changed.

Her mother was thinking of marrying her daughter to someone else?

She and her daughter didn't have money or power. They didn't even have a rank or title. She had lost her husband. Even if Duke Jing 'an's estate intervened, how good of a family could her daughter marry?

At most, it would be a minor official with a clean background or the son of a fallen noble.

Instead of that, it was better to let her daughter stay at Duke Jing 'an's estate.

If that was the case, she and her daughter could truly stay at her parents' estate.

She hadn't been idle during her stay at her parents' estate. She had inquired about everything in the estate.

Her eldest brother had three sons. The eldest was married to the third, but Erlang was still single. He was working for Prince Jin in Chaozhou and had a bright future ahead of him!

He Ying's wishful thinking was triggered by the conversation between Matriarch He and Old Madam Zheng. She felt that she had to bring her plan forward.

Just as she was planning, she heard Old Madam Zheng say to Pan Nianzhen, "The princess is here. She wants to bring you girls out to play!

You, my child, go with them! "

Everyone looked towards Princess Wei's side. The pretty girl dressed in bright red with a white fox fur draped over her shoulders was none other than Princess Ruanjia.

After Junzhu Ruanjia went to celebrate her mother's birthday, she received a task from the Wei Wang Fu. She was to take care of the unmarried daughters and the daughters of the Imperial Family who had come to the fu to celebrate.

Old Matriarch He turned to look at Pan Nianzhen with a smile, "Go ahead. It's rare that Junzhu is in the mood. You young ladies should talk more when you're together."

But after thinking about it, he was a little worried, so he ordered Nanny Liu to follow them.

Pan Nianzhen was still hesitant at first. Most of the girls in that group of beautifully dressed girls were of noble status. However, as soon as she raised her head, she was glared at by her mother.

Pan Nianzhen did not dare to disobey. She stood up, bowed, and walked towards Royal Princess Duanjia.

Princess Ruanjia didn't like to entertain these dainty young ladies at all. They were boring to look at. If it wasn't for her Lady Mother's birthday, she would have been slacking off somewhere.

She sighed in her heart. When would that bastard Chu Liu come back? She was bored to death in the capital.

Pan Nianzhen was only a cousin from Duke Jing 'an's estate, so she naturally couldn't attract Royal Princess Ruanjia's attention.

Junzhu Ruanjia didn't like to be with so many people. She was just trying to deal with them. Thinking of her Lady Mother's instructions, she led the young ladies to the Plum Pavilion.

The twelfth month was the season for the plum blossoms. The Plum Pavilion of the Wei Wang Fu had existed since the previous dynasty. Now that a hundred years had passed, the old plum blossoms were even more vigorous. Princess Wei also loved plum blossoms. Later, Wei Wang ordered people to bring in many other kinds of plum blossoms from other places to transplant.

The Plum Pavilion now could be said to be filled with hundreds of plum blossoms. The fragrance wafted for ten miles. It had long become a winter scene in Shengjing.

The Plum Garden of the Plum Pavilion had specially built corridors. There were many tables, chairs, and embroidered stools in the corridors. There were light muslin curtains on both sides of the corridor and charcoal pots. As soon as one entered the corridor, a gust of warm air hit them. It was truly a good place to admire the plum blossoms.

However, admiring the plum blossoms in the Plum Pavilion was not the final goal.

On the opposite side of the Plum Pavilion, on the other side of the wall, a man's hearty laughter could be heard.

Hearing the indistinct voices of young men, most of the young ladies probably already knew the true goal of admiring the plum blossoms in the Plum Pavilion.

Everyone looked at each other and smiled.

There were musical instruments, chess, calligraphy, and painting placed in the corridor for the young ladies to admire and kill time. Most of them were displayed in front of the young men from the aristocratic families.

After Royal Princess Duanjia brought the people here, she leaned against the long couch on the side. She looked weak and listless.

She had no interest in this kind of "matchmaking banquet". She asked Jin Xiu to bring the honey water and drank a mouthful. After drinking, she frowned.

She muttered in her heart, "Why hasn't Chu the Sixth come back yet? With such a beautiful scenery, it would be great if they sat together and barbecued meat, drank wine, and brewed wine. Why do they have to accompany these elegant young ladies here to show off? It's really boring."

Pan Nianzhen was timid. Moreover, Senior Servant Liu was watching from the side. She could only sit on the side and watch the noble ladies in the center play the zither and paint.

Her eyes were filled with envy.

Suddenly, there was a commotion in the crowd. The noble ladies all gathered together and pointed at the side of the wall, talking excitedly.

Pan Nianzhen couldn't help but stand up and look in the direction that the noble lady was pointing at.

Under the cover of a layer of gauze, a tall and slender man walked through the hollowed-out courtyard wall on the opposite side.

Although his temperament was a little gloomy, his face, which seemed to be specially favored by the heavens, was as exquisite as an ink painting.

His peach blossom eyes were slightly raised, and his eyebrows were slightly furrowed. It seemed that his every move could easily tug at people's heartstrings.

The young man wore a stone blue brocade robe, covered with a dark cloak, and had a jade pendant on his waist. His black hair was tied into a crown, and he looked like a gentleman.

Such a bearing instantly dazzled the eyes of the noble ladies.

Pan Nianzhen's eyes widened, and she couldn't come back to her senses for a long time.

It was the first time that she had seen such a good-looking man.

She heard a low voice of excitement in her ears.

"Lord Xiao!"

"He is this year's new Zhuangyuan."

"The Duke of England is really proud this time."

…

Soon, Pan Nianzhen learned the name of the man just now — — Xiao Bojian!

Previously a scholar of the Imperial Academy, now a new noble in the imperial court!

Young and promising!

Extraordinarily handsome!

In this short moment, Pan Nianzhen's heart fell on Xiao Bojian.

Although Xiao Bojian was on the other side of the courtyard wall, he could still hear the excited discussions of the noble ladies. He swept a glance in their direction indifferently. His cold eyes and perfect face clearly didn't look like a normal person, but his unconventional temperament made the noble ladies even more irresistible.

It wasn't clear whether Xiao Bojian did it intentionally or not, but his gaze lingered in Pan Nianzhen's direction for a second longer.

Pan Nianzhen's heart almost jumped out of her chest when he looked at her like that.

She hurriedly placed a hand on her chest. Even when Xiao Bojian sat down with his back facing them, she still stared in that direction in a daze, unable to recover her senses for a long time.

Princess Duanjia glanced at Pan Nianzhen and frowned. "Who is she?"

Jinxiu, who was serving at the side, glanced at her and whispered in Princess Duanjia's ear, "In reply to Your Highness, she is from Count Jing 'an's estate."

Princess Duanjia was puzzled and looked at Jinxiu in confusion.

"Your Highness, she is the cousin of Count Jing 'an's estate. Her surname is Pan. I heard that she came from Siyang and only arrived in the capital two days ago."

Princess Duanjia glanced at Pan Nianzhen again and her brows furrowed slightly.

She made a mental note of this in her heart and her gaze swept across the courtyard wall.

She snorted softly, very disgusted with Xiao Bojian. He was just a thick-skinned man. His deliberate seduction was truly shameless!

Although the Plum Pavilion was a match-making banquet in disguise, nothing went wrong.

The noble ladies stayed in the Plum Pavilion until it was almost noon when they were led to the banquet by Princess Duanjia.

Not long after the banquet at noon, a piece of good news suddenly came from the palace.

Princess Wei sat at the head of the female guests. Although none of the noblewomen from the palace came today, the Empress Dowager and the Empress had both sent their trusted aides to deliver gifts. They didn't come because they were afraid that their status would greatly affect Princess Wei's fortune.

At this moment, Mother Lan moved closer to Princess Wei's ear and whispered a few words with a smile.

When Princess Wei heard this, her eyes lit up and she nodded with a smile. "When did you receive this news?"

Mother Lan was also very happy. "The eunuch who came to the palace to deliver the birthday gift said it himself."

That meant that this was already confirmed and not just a rumor. However, the possibility of it being a rumor wasn't very high. Who would dare to joke about such an important matter?

Thus, everyone sat at the head of the table and saw Princess Wei's happy face on the main seat.

Everyone was secretly amazed. Princess Wei kept a low profile and usually didn't show her emotions. It was rare for her to openly show her emotions in front of others.

Everyone was very curious. It was obvious that Princess Wei's mother's servant had said something to make Princess Wei so happy.

In the end, Princess Wei's maiden family's sisters knew her better.

Sitting not far from the head of the table, a middle-aged madam dressed in luxurious clothes asked, "May I know why Princess Wei is so happy?"

Princess Wei glared at the madam who spoke, "Second Sister-in-law, are you afraid that I will hide it from you?" As she spoke, her gaze swept across the hall full of noble ladies and didn't keep them guessing anymore.

"Even if I don't say it now, you will probably know soon after you go back today."

Everyone looked at each other, curious as to what good news Princess Wei was going to say.

Princess Wei pursed her lips and smiled, "Just now, news came from the palace that the northern border has achieved a great victory against the Tuhun people!"

Hearing Princess Wei's words, the reception hall was silent for a few seconds, and then a burst of joyful cheers broke out.

There was even a madam who knew how to talk and hurriedly said, "Princess Wei is so lucky. Today is my son's birthday and the palace has sent such good news. It can be said to be double happiness."

Princess Wei usually didn't like flattery, but this time, she didn't blame anyone. She just glanced at the madam who spoke.

Among the noble ladies in the hall, the happiest was Matriarch He.

Her eyes were filled with tears. These days, she had been most worried about San Lang in the northern Liangzhou. Now that she received this news, how could she not be happy?

This year, she could finally have a peaceful New Year.

On the day of Princess Wei's birthday, the news of the northern border army's great victory exploded like fireworks and instantly spread throughout Shengjing.

In the palace, Emperor Chengping was the first to receive the news of the border army's victory. He immediately summoned the scout who had brought the news.