Though the matchmaking came quite suddenly, the eldest miss quickly accepted it after initially furrowing her brow.

Taking the matchmaking profile handed over by Gu Ning, she flipped through it silently, her expression proud, her gaze scrutinizing, as if she were selecting servants.

Tang Xiaobai was less composed and weakly reminded, "Mother, I think I’m only eleven."

Gu Ning smiled gently and said, "If there’s a suitable one, you can first engage, there’s no rush to get married," saying this, she handed over the remaining third, "you also have a look to see if there’s anyone you fancy."

Hearing this, Tang Xiaobai got a little excited and also a little curious.

Who would she be set up with?

As soon as the matchmaking profile was in her hands, she eagerly flipped through it.

The first one—

Eh?

Tang Xiaobai raised her head, "Is it appropriate to have the Crown Prince’s name here?"

The first sheet clearly stated the name "Li Mu".

This is too much, isn’t it?

I’ve heard of the Crown Prince selecting a consort, not the other way around.

Gu Ning softly exclaimed and removed that sheet, casually crumpling it up, "Accidentally got mixed in."

Tang Xiaobai: "..."

How could this accidentally get mixed in?

Gu Ning apologized with a smile, explaining, "Originally thought it wasn’t bad," the Crown Prince grew up with Xiao Bai as childhood friends, their relationship seemed nice too, "but your father said the Crown Prince doesn’t seem like someone who will live long."

Tang Xiaobai: "..."

Isn’t this even more over the top?

Anyway, she wasn’t interested in a frail prince.

She continued looking down the list.

Gu Hui?

No, close relatives aren’t allowed!

Wang Chen?

Only thirteen? Tsk!

Next—

"Swoosh!"

The sudden sound caught her attention.

Seeing Tang Jiaojiao grab one sheet and clench it tightly, her eyebrows furrowed, looking angry, or perhaps disdainful.

"What’s wrong?" Gu Ning asked, her gaze landing on the sheet in Tang Jiaojiao’s hand.

Tang Jiaojiao’s expression relaxed a bit, saying, "If I am to marry, it’s in the Capital. No need to look at other places!" She said, crumpling the sheet into a ball, unsure where to throw it, and finally just held onto it.

Tang Xiaobai was dying of curiosity: "Who’s on sister’s sheet?"

Tang Jiaojiao glared at her, "Look at your own!"

"I’m not in a hurry..." Tang Xiaobai threw down her own pile and sidled up to Tang Jiaojiao to see.

Tang Jiaojiao only held the crumpled sheet tightly, letting her look at the rest.

Tang Xiaobai flipped through, finding Pei Xuan, Xue Shaojian, and several from the Pei and Xue families, as well as quite a few from the Wang and Xiao families.

These are the four families she had just said were "prestigious and enduring, not allied with Prince Jin."

But then...

Who else?

Tang Xiaobai kept flipping through.

Gu Ning had arranged them according to her perceived order of merit.

Pei Xuan, Xue Shaojian, and the distinguished sons of the Wang and Xiao families were listed first, followed by the royal clan members, then other exceptional offspring from non-primary branches of the Pei, Xue, Wang, and Xiao families.

Isn’t there one missing?

Tang Xiaobai pondered as she looked at the sheet in Tang Jiaojiao’s hand.

Tang Jiaojiao turned her face away and said to Gu Ning, "Xue Shi chases Qin Rong every day, I don’t want to marry into the Xue family and end up embarrassing myself with him!" Saying so, she pulled out Xue Shaojian’s sheet, crumpled it up, and threw it on the ground.

Gu Ning nodded with a smiling face, "I think Pei Jiu is better."

Tang Xiaobai’s heart skipped a beat, quickly saying, "No! It’s bad!"

Gu Ning looked over in surprise, "Could there be something unknown about Pei Jiu?"

Tang Xiaobai hesitated.

Although Pei Xuan is a bit rigid, there should be no issues with his character.

The problem is, she hasn’t figured out the ins and outs of that "Xunzi Explanations."

According to Wenren Jia, "Xunzi Explanations" was anonymously sold to Wenren Bookstore by the original owner, and three days later, Wei Sui was sent by Pei Xuan to buy the book from the bookstore.

This makes one wonder—did Pei Xuan know the bookstore had acquired such a book?

If he knew, who informed him?

And was "Xunzi Explanations" originally in the hands of Gu Yuan and Gu Wan?

If it was Pei Xuan who went to Wenren Bookstore that day, would he have been the one to save Gu Wan?

Before clarifying this, she didn’t consider Pei Xuan a suitable brother-in-law. If later it turned out Pei Xuan and Gu Wan had something between them, wouldn’t the eldest miss go berserk?

Yet, none of this is the key issue.

The key is—

"Senior Brother Pei... is alright... nothing major," Tang Xiaobai glanced at the eldest miss, "but sister probably doesn’t like him?"

The eldest miss’s pretty face turned suspiciously red, stubbornly saying, "How do you know I won’t like him?"

Tang Xiaobai suppressed her laughter, seriously saying, "Senior Brother Pei only likes reading and learning; he’s extremely rigid, not suitable for elder sister!"

The eldest miss’s face finally softened a bit, and she scoffed, "The person’s not that great, only the Pei family’s status is decent."

"Senior Brother Pei and Xue Tenth Son are among the best in the Capital," Tang Xiaobai glanced at the crumpled sheet still in her hand, "you might as well consider someone outside the Capital!"

"Outside the Capital..." Gu Ning pondered suspiciously, "Outside the Capital, there’s only the Zhenzhou Changshan Prince Mansion. I hear the heir of Prince Changshan isn’t bad, but with the recent death of Princess Changshan, the heir has three years of mourning—" she paused, her gaze shifting to the stack of names in Tang Xiaobai’s hand, "Shouldn’t I have removed the heir of Prince Changshan?"

Tang Xiaobai looked at Tang Jiaojiao.

"Removed." Tang Jiaojiao said nonchalantly, subtly retracting the hand holding the crumpled ball.

Gu Ning glanced at her hand and asked with a smile, "Any of these catching Jiaojiao’s eye?"

Tang Jiaojiao was silent for a moment, then said, "They’re all similar. Just let parents decide."

Tang Xiaobai opened her eyes wide in urgency.

How can such matters be left to parents to decide?!

After leaving the main room, Tang Xiaobai hurriedly pulled her sister aside and whispered, "Sister, didn’t the Princely Heir ask you to wait for him?" Wasn’t it her who conveyed the message?

Tang Jiaojiao’s almond-shaped eyes opened wide, "Should I wait just because he asked? Who does he think he is!" She flounced away.

Tang Xiaobai tugged at her sleeve, trotting after her, "So, you’re not going to care about him?"

Tang Jiaojiao sneered, "Me care about him? He is motherless—" She stopped abruptly.

He really is motherless now...

The two were silent for a moment, then when Tang Jiaojiao spoke again, her tone was less aggressive: "Didn’t you hear Mother say she wants our marriages settled quickly?"

Since it’s to be settled quickly, they couldn’t wait for someone who’s in mourning for three years.

"Even if it’s quick, you should choose someone you like," Tang Xiaobai advised.

Tang Jiaojiao glanced at her, "How do you know who I like or not?"

Tang Xiaobai heard the words, seeming both sentimental and indifferent, leaving her perplexed as she watched Tang Jiaojiao walk away.

Their parents were actually quite liberal about their children’s marriages, making striving for marriage freedom seem not so difficult.

But Tang Jiaojiao didn’t strive for it, perhaps... she didn’t find it worthwhile yet? 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Tang Xiaobai sighed softly, thought a bit, then turned around and headed back to the main room.