By a twist of fate, the illegitimate son of the Marquis's family marries the county princess.

Chapter 291 Thinking of 1 piece

The arrangements for the get-together went very quickly.

Pei Rujing's eldest and second sisters-in-law both worked at the newspaper office, so Pei Rujing went there and directly notified them.

Zuo Mingxuan and Wen Zongqi had an even easier time.

The gathering will be held on the next day off.

Time flies, and soon it was mid-to-late July, the day off.

The daily countdown in the supplement of the Floating Life newspaper reminded everyone of the time, thereby attracting attention and controlling public opinion.

Meanwhile, the latest issue of the Beijing Gazette has been published, and it has devoted an entire page to introducing the achievements of Marquis Wu Xin, telling how he fought bravely against the enemy and how he was fearless in protecting the people of the Great Chu.

The article concludes with a rubbing of the Crown Prince's handwritten commentary: "Brave beyond compare in the three armies, valiant and skilled in battle. Loyal and courageous in conduct, a pillar of the nation."

These sixteen characters demonstrate the Crown Prince's appreciation and high regard for Marquis Wuxin.

With the publication of this issue of the Beijing Daily, the public's disdain and denigration of military generals vanished without a trace.

joke!

With the Crown Prince personally stepping forward to vindicate the military generals, who would dare say anything more? They'd be asking for trouble.

The dinner was to be held at the county magistrate's residence.

Since everyone coming is family, there's no need for any special arrangements. Just tell the kitchen staff what they shouldn't eat and prepare the meals.

Zuo Mingxuan was the most enthusiastic about the gathering, and she dragged Fang Sichu to the door early on.

The couple has been married for over a year, but they still show no signs of maturity and remain playful and mischievous.

However, both husband and wife are like this, so it's not a matter of one disliking the other.

Next to arrive was Wen Zongqi.

He was alone, but he still knew to bring something: "Third brother, third sister-in-law, I felt embarrassed to come empty-handed, so I stole a jar of wine from Father's wine cellar. You must have a good taste of it later."

Upon hearing this, Zuo Mingxuan and Fang Sichu exchanged bewildered glances.

Nobody told them they had to bring gifts.

Zuo Mingxuan had no such intention. She was used to visiting Pei Rujing and had never thought about bringing a gift.

Wen Zongji frowned: "Does the county princess's mansion lack wine? I invited you here to have a meal, not to accept gifts from you."

Wen Zongqi chuckled: "It's our first time visiting, so let's be polite. I won't give you any more gifts in the future, Third Brother."

"This will not be repeated."

Wen Zongji had no choice but to have someone accept the wine.

Wen Zongqi walked up to Fang Sichu and his wife, and looking at them, asked with a puzzled expression, "What's on the ground? Why are you two doing with your heads down?"

Pei Rujing chuckled: "They probably want to find a crack in the ground to crawl into."

Zuo Mingxuan said resentfully, "I really didn't mean to not prepare a gift."

She wasn't the kind of person who was rude; she was just too familiar with Pei Rujing, and when things went smoothly, she didn't think about it.

Fang Sichu nodded quickly: "How about we go out and buy it now?"

"Fine, even if you buy them, we don't want them."

Pei Rujing then looked at Wen Zongqi: "You're not allowed to do that again."

"Okay, Third Sister-in-law."

Wen Zongqi immediately agreed.

Wen Zongqi asked Wen Zongqi, "When will you get engaged?"

Upon hearing this, Wen Zongqi's face immediately fell: "Mother said that next month, she told me to hurry up and catch a wild goose alive so she can offer me a dowry. Mother really thinks too highly of me. How could I possibly catch a wild goose alive?"

Wen Zongqi's goal from a young age was to lie down and be a happy parasite; he was incapable of studying or practicing martial arts.

Wen Zongji: "...Are you so stubborn? If you can't do it yourself, why don't you ask someone for help? Do you think your mother would really make things difficult for you?"

Wen Zongqi remained reluctant: "Third brother, could you please put in a good word for me? I don't want to get married. Please ask Mother to change her mind."

Wen Zongji looked at him indifferently.

Wen Zongqi conceded, "We can get married, but could we choose someone else? I've heard that woman is vulgar and shrewish; she's not even embarrassed to argue with people in the street. How could a girl from a respectable family do that?"

Wen Zongji asked him, "Have you found out why she got into a verbal altercation with someone?"

Wen Zongqi was taken aback: "What's there to investigate? No matter the reason, you can't be completely without manners."

Wen Zongji's expression was serious: "First of all, look at your eldest and second sisters-in-law. You should trust your mother's judgment. She wouldn't choose a woman of poor character for you. Secondly, you complain that she lacks feminine manners, but what about you? Have you taken on the responsibilities of a man?"

"A real man, born a human being, should shoulder the responsibilities of both his family and the community. Have you done that? What right do you have to look down on others?"

Wen Zongqi was stunned by Wen Zongji's reprimand.

Wen Zongji has always been gentle. He rarely has a cold face, and most of the time you can't see any negative emotions in him.

This was the first time Wen Zongqi had been reprimanded by Wen Zongji.

Fang Sichu, worried about her friend, quickly tried to smooth things over: "Third Brother Wen, Zongqi just hasn't figured it out yet. He'll understand on his own later."

Wen Zongqi nodded repeatedly and echoed, "Yes, yes, Third Brother, I... I've figured it out. Tomorrow I'll go find someone to help me catch the geese."

He ignored Wen Zongren's reprimands; that was just his habit.

He was truly frightened when he first saw Wen Zongji's cold face, and didn't even have the thought of refuting him.

Just then, the Pei Shizhao and Pei Shirong families arrived.

Pei Rujing said, "Alright, today is a good day, let's not talk about unhappy things."

Having said that, she went to meet them.

Now that everyone has arrived, the kitchen has begun preparing lunch.

When the group got together, they inevitably brought up the previous public opinion incident in Beijing.

Pei Shirong said, "Little sister, brother-in-law, you two are really bold, using all the high-ranking civil and military officials in the court."

Wen Zongji smiled wryly: "I really didn't expect it to involve so many people. Public opinion is a double-edged sword. We need to be more careful in the future. Not all developments will go as planned."

Pei Shizhao nodded: "That's right. If you can have such insights, then this lesson wasn't in vain."

Wen Zongji rose to fame through the Beijing Daily, and manipulating public opinion was his forte, so he inevitably had less respect for public opinion.

It would be best if people could be more vigilant now.

On the other side, Pei Rujing asked, "Where is Hengge'er?"

Madam Wei said, "My mother-in-law missed Heng-ge'er, so I sent Heng-ge'er to the Princess's residence."

Pei Rujing smiled and said, "What a coincidence."

"Where's Rui-ge?"

"I sent it to the Marquis's residence early this morning and asked my aunt to take care of it."

Pei Rujing and Madam Wei exchanged a smile, clearly having the same idea.