northernbook Chapter 239 Have You Ever Considered Marriage?
Chapter 239 Have You Ever Considered Marriage?
After the emperor left, the queen took Shi Lidie to sit down, stroked her hand, and said:
"In the past few years, you have been alone in the capital of Ye State, facing those wolves and tigers. It must be very hard, right? Fortunately, you are back now. You can stay in the capital and let me take good care of you."
"Mother, I'm not tired. In fact, I haven't suffered much in the capital of Ye State." Shi Lidie smiled and comforted the queen, then said, "You don't know, those people in Ye State are so stupid..."
As the two of them asked and answered each other, Shi Lidie gave the queen a brief account of what had happened to her in the capital of Ye State.
She opened a tavern, instigated conflict between Ye Zhaonan and Ye Jiayan, dragged all the adult princes of Ye State into the game, and so on. She described every incident in a relaxed tone.
But as she spoke, she noticed that the Queen's eyes when she looked at her were full of love and pity.
Shi Lidie couldn't help but feel moved:
"Mother, I'm fine."
"Okay, let's not talk about those things anymore. We will have a good life in the future." The queen said, and then asked, "Xiao Die, you were sent to Ye State to marry a foreign prince when you were sixteen. Although you didn't really get married, it delayed you for four years. Now you are twenty years old. Have you ever thought about your own marriage?"
Shi Lidie widened her eyes when she heard this:
"marriage?"
"Yes, since ancient times, girls can discuss marriage when they are fifteen years old. You are twenty years old, which is far beyond the age limit. Due to your previous contributions to the Dayin Dynasty, as well as your initiative to marry and protect the three border cities, no one dares to use your age as an excuse. But as your stepmother, I should also take care of things for you." said the queen.
To be honest, Shi Lidie has never thought about her marriage.
Although she has been in this world for many years, she has not forgotten in her heart that she is a modern person and a college student who has not yet graduated.
How could she get married at her age?
So she shook her head:
"Thank you, mother, for your concern for me, but I have never thought about getting married."
"Really? There are still many good men in the capital. Your mother has screened them for you. They all have good family backgrounds, good character, and good talents. They won't mind your age." As the queen spoke, she showed Shi Lidie the portrait on the desk.
Only then did Shi Lidie understand that the queen was helping her to choose a husband.
"No need, mother. Even if you don't ask, I will report this to the emperor." Shi Lidie said, "I don't think women have to get married. I think I can realize my own value even if I don't get married."
"What... do you mean?" The queen was stunned.
Shi Lidie sorted out her thoughts, then smiled and said:
"Since the Queen Mother has asked, I will tell her the truth. I don't want to get married."
"In this era, there are too few things a woman can do in her life. Before getting married, she learns music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, and housework at her parents' home. But these things are not to reflect a woman's self-worth, but to improve her marriage value so that she can find a better husband."
"In other words, even if they learn these skills, they are only for pleasing men and their in-laws, not for themselves."
"After getting married, a woman has to spend her whole life revolving around her husband's family, being filial to her parents-in-law, serving her husband, and giving birth to and taking care of children. It seems that only in this way can she be called a qualified woman."
"But it seems that a woman probably doesn't live for herself even for a single day in her life."
"The emperor of our Great Yin Dynasty is wise and brave, and also very open-minded. He allows women to inherit the family business and do business. This has provided many women with new life goals, and I am one of the beneficiaries."
"If Your Majesty had not allowed women to engage in business, I would not have been able to step out of that small place, Tong'an Village, and come to you with my own abilities. I would not have been able to complete the mission of undercover in Ye State and assist Your Majesty in unifying the Central Plains."
"But after going through so many things, I suddenly felt that I didn't have to get married. I could continue to run a shop and carry forward my Sooner or Later First Group. I could also research various crops and tools in my fiefdom and provide Your Majesty with more ways to improve people's livelihood."
"All of this doesn't have to be done by getting married. On the contrary, getting married will take up my time and consume my energy, preventing me from investing more in the things I like."
The Queen is not an unreasonable person.
The reason why she was worried about Shi Lidie's marriage was because she was already twenty years old and could indeed be considered a grown-up girl, and she was afraid that Shi Lidie would not be able to find a good man in the future.
But she also envied Shi Lidie's freedom, envied that she could do what she liked instead of being trapped in a square house all her life and wasting her life.
"I understand." The Queen nodded. "Since you insist on your own way, I will not force you. You can live your life according to your wishes. With me and the Emperor here, no one dares to say anything."
What's more, even if the emperor and the queen are gone, there is still the prince.
The Queen has always instilled in Crown Prince Gu Xiuqi the idea of being nice to his sister Shi Lidie. After all, without Shi Lidie, Gu Xiuqi would not have been born, and Shi Lidie is indeed the lucky star of the Dayin Dynasty.
Therefore, Gu Xiuqi will definitely support Shi Lidie in the future.
"Thank you, mother." Shi Lidie smiled.
Soon, the little prince ran over with his treasures in his hands, and pulled Shi Lidie to play with him. So Shi Lidie played with the little prince for the whole morning until the emperor came for lunch.
During lunch, the emperor also asked about Shi Lidie's marriage, but she rejected him with the same words.
The emperor nodded and said:
"You always have your own ideas, and I won't force you. If you find someone you want to spend your life with in the future, come to me and I will grant you marriage."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Shi Lidie thanked with a smile.
"By the way, since you don't want to get married, what are your plans for the future?" the emperor asked again.
Shi Lidie thought for a moment and said:
"If I remain unmarried and stay in the capital, I will inevitably be subject to a lot of gossip. Although they won't dare to go too far for the sake of Your Majesty and Your Majesty, they will definitely look down on me in private."
"So, I want to return to my fiefdom to live. In addition, I can continue my previous research in my fiefdom and strive to create more things that are beneficial to the development of the Dayin Dynasty."
"I agree." The emperor said, "You can stay in the capital for a while. When I and the court officials have dealt with the affairs of Ye County, we will hold a palace banquet to welcome you and announce your achievements to the world. At that time, I will allow you to exercise a high degree of autonomy over your fiefdom in front of all the civil and military officials in the court. It is up to you to build your fiefdom into whatever you want."
Shi Lidie was very happy to hear this.
Before, she only had a certain degree of autonomy, and could carry out conscription, taxation and mining independently, but the basic administrative structure, official appointments, etc. still had to be consistent with the country.
But now that the emperor has allowed her a high degree of autonomy, she may be able to build her fiefdom into the free and democratic society of her previous life.
She has a lot of ideas that need to be accomplished.