CHAPTER 158: CHAPTER 152: FAKE MARRIAGE (PART 2)

When Song Wei arrived at the Imperial College, Xu Shu had already been waiting. Seeing the dark circles under his eyes, he could tell without asking that he definitely hadn’t slept well.

"Still haven’t decided how to choose?" Xu Shu asked.

Song Wei said, "I want her to recover, to be able to talk and laugh like a normal person, but she insists on having a child."

"So?" Xu Shu was curious who would compromise first.

Song Wei didn’t answer, but his expression already said it all.

Xu Shu suddenly laughed, "I knew it, only you would compromise for her."

Song Wei countered with a question, "Would you plan to persist if it were you?"

He knew the temperament of his little girl; if he didn’t relent, she might just up and leave. Then where would he find her? If something really happened, he wouldn’t even have the chance to regret it.

Xu Shu was silent for a moment and said, "That would depend on what kind of person my wife is."

If she was gentle-tempered, she’d definitely do what he said. If she were like Song, he might really argue with her.

When the two found a place to sit down for breakfast, Song Wei suddenly thought of something, "There’s something I want to discuss with you."

Xu Shu took a bite of the steamed bun, speaking incoherently, "What is it? Tell me."

Song Wei said, "I have to go back next month to prepare for the provincial examination, and I plan to leave my sister in the Capital."

Xu Shu immediately understood what he meant, "You want Song to enter Hongwen Academy?"

Song Wei nodded.

Wanwan could no longer go, and she couldn’t delay his sister because of her. At eighteen, she really needed to learn something; otherwise, it would be hard to find a good husband in the future.

"But this is a bit difficult!" Xu Shu said.

Like the Imperial College, Hongwen Academy also has requirements for female students entering.

Song is neither a Capital resident nor the daughter of an official, making the entry threshold too high for her at Hongwen Academy.

"That’s why I want to ask for your help."

Song Wei was determined to send Song Fang into Hongwen Academy. Given his current connections, only Xu Shu might be able to help.

Xu Shu felt troubled. It wasn’t that he wasn’t willing to help, but with his father’s official rank, their family only had one quota, which had been reserved for his twelve-year-old sister. His parents definitely wouldn’t agree to give it up.

His only option to get a quota was to get married.

Once married, he’d have a separate household, and his daughter would have a quota, which he could temporarily give to Song. As for when he truly had a daughter, he’d find another way.

Seeing Xu Shu spacing out, Song Wei gently said, "It’s okay if you can’t help; I’ll think of another way."

Xu Shu said, "It’s not that I can’t help, but you might have to wait a bit."

Song Wei had heard about the rules for entering Hongwen Academy and was slightly puzzled when Xu Shu readily agreed, "Do you really have a way?"

Xu Shu gave a mysterious smile, "Isn’t it almost the autumn exams? I’ll take that time to get married! Anyway, my parents have been urging me for a while."

Song Wei understood his meaning, "If you’re doing it just to get that quota, I think it’s better to forget it. Marriage is a lifelong matter, not child’s play. Think it through first. As for my sister, she won’t go to Hongwen Academy for now. I’ll try to pass the provincial and then the Advanced Scholar exams. Once I earn a new status and shed the farming background, the opportunity for entering Hongwen Academy will be much greater."

Xu Shu reminded him, "That’s wishful thinking. Let’s not talk about what if you don’t reach Advanced Scholar, but just your sister’s age. She’s eighteen, not eight. This year is the provincial exam; the metropolitan and palace exams are next year. Even if you succeed, you won’t be awarded the Advanced Scholar title until April next year at the earliest, and by then, she’ll be nineteen. Spending another couple of years at Hongwen Academy, who will she marry afterward?"

Song Wei said nothing.

"Of course, there’s one last option: if she agrees to a fake marriage with me, once her name is on my family register, we’ll naturally get the quota." Xu Shu said again.

Song Wei followed his line, "And then, after she finishes learning, divorce her, and she’ll find someone else to marry?"

Xu Shu coughed to cover up, clearly knowing this solution wasn’t viable.

For a girl, honor is paramount. Even a fake marriage, even if nothing happens between them during the marriage, she would carry the title of his wife, and divorcing her later would mean an even smaller pool of potential suitors.

"Neither this nor that works; I’m stumped. How about you hire a few female teachers to teach her at home?"

Song Wei shook his head, "Sending her to a school isn’t just for learning skills, but also for her to learn how to interact and socialize with people. Only then can she fundamentally change some of her ingrained narrow thoughts. Hiring private tutors isn’t impossible, but it may not achieve the effect I want."

To completely transform, one must first "purify and refine," let her interact more with the upper class, and even gradually integrate into that circle, so her views and concepts could gradually change.

——

That night when Song Wei went back and told Song Fang about it, he originally thought she would jump at the mention of Xu Shu’s name, but to his surprise, she fell silent.

Song Wei didn’t know what Song Fang was thinking, but seeing that she didn’t want to talk, he didn’t press her.

Song Fang felt very conflicted inside.

Recently, every time she went out, she would look for opportunities to inquire about Hongwen Academy.

Even though she hadn’t entered to see it herself, Hongwen Academy had long been the most sacred and desirable school in her heart, a place she dreamed of going to learn and study.

However, now her third brother tells her that without a quota, she cannot enter.

Her heart felt congested with unease.

It was not unknown that her background was insufficient to reach the threshold of the Hongwen Academy, yet she inexplicably felt unwilling to accept it.

So when she heard her third brother say that a fake marriage with Xu Shu could get her a quota, she didn’t immediately reject it.

Because the allure of Hongwen Academy was simply too great for her, just like her third brother’s master who would forgo eating and drinking while overcoming mountains and rivers for an old antique.

As long as she could enter Hongwen Academy, certain things could be sacrificed.

But despite her desires, Song Fang didn’t confide in anyone. After all, the Xu Family was the General Mansion, considered a high-ranking family, and they certainly had a concept of social status. Xu Shu might have just said it casually, and she could take it casually as well.

The General Mansion, she couldn’t possibly aspire to.

As for Hongwen Academy, if she couldn’t go, then so be it. At most, she would think about it less in the future and eventually forget it.

——

The Eldest Princess and Prince Consort learned the latest news about Wen Wan from Doctor Li.

When they heard that Wen Wan was adamantly refusing to restore her voice to protect the child, the Eldest Princess furrowed her brows deeply.

Lu Xingzhou asked Doctor Li, "Is there no way to have both?"

Doctor Li replied, "If the Prince Consort doesn’t believe it, he can ask Dean Wang. If he has a method, that would be best; if not, then there truly is no solution."

Lu Xingzhou didn’t delay and soon had someone inquire of Dean Wang.

Dean Wang’s response was identical to Doctor Li’s; both were irreconcilable, only one could be preserved.

Lu Xingzhou’s expression turned grim.

No one expected Wanwan to suddenly become pregnant at this critical juncture.

Soon to become grandparents, they should have been happy, but if the child came at the sacrifice of Wanwan’s lifelong ability to speak, they would feel remorse as parents.

As a result, Lu Xingzhou personally visited many places, seeking doctors both in clinics and traveling physicians who roamed far and wide.

The answers they gave were remarkably consistent.

Recovering from being mute for over ten years was already a miracle, and now with pregnancy, no one could achieve both.

When Lu Xingzhou returned to the Princess Mansion, looking at his wife’s hopeful expression, he couldn’t bear to tell her the result.

Yet the Eldest Princess had already deciphered the answer from his eyes, "So, if Wanwan wants to keep the child, she’ll have to stay like this for life, is that it?"

Lu Xingzhou didn’t want to respond, but eventually nodded.

The Eldest Princess took a deep breath, as if comforting herself, "It’s alright, at least Song Wei hasn’t rejected her because of this, right?"

At this time, saying anything else was futile for Lu Xingzhou, so he followed her lead, "You’re right, Song Wei has treated Wanwan well from beginning to end, and that’s enough. Although Wanwan is our birth child, her later years will be spent with Song Wei. As long as her partner doesn’t mind, we as parents should feel content."

These words successfully comforted the Eldest Princess.

Her expression improved somewhat but remained melancholic, "But it’s bitter for Wanwan, suffering at such a young age."

——

The one her mother worries about suffering at a young age, ever since convincing her husband to keep the baby, eats, drinks, and sleeps well, living in a carefree manner, not feeling any bitterness.

Only lately, she noticed her sister-in-law acting a bit odd, often drifting into a daze while doing tasks.

Wen Wan seized the opportunity to ask Song Wei.

Song Wei informed her it was because she couldn’t go to Hongwen Academy.

Wen Wan asked him: Is there no way at all?

Song Wei said, "It’s not that there isn’t a way, it’s just a bit troublesome."

Then, Song Wei explained how Xu Shu was willing to help and described specifically how he would assist.

After hearing this, Wen Wan shook her head furiously. Marrying Xu Shu was clearly impossible. Not to mention that her sister-in-law and Xu Shu bickered upon meeting each other and were clearly incompatible, Xu Shu’s family background alone wouldn’t consider her sister-in-law worthy.

Song Wei was silent for a moment, then said, "This is why I only studied for one year at the Imperial College. If I followed other students and studied for two or three years, I would delay Little Sister’s age, and I don’t want her marrying back to the countryside. I have to earn her a respectable status myself."

Wen Wan understood her husband’s intentions, but during the more than six months at the Imperial College, he had pushed himself to the limit by staying up late studying to complete his courses before the Autumn Exams.

If he continued like this, he would surely exhaust himself to illness sooner or later.

——

The situation took a turn half a month later when the Xu family’s old lady suddenly fell ill, lamenting that her end was near and wishing to see her eldest grandson married before her death.