Madam Lu looked at her daughter’s confused face and couldn’t help but rub her forehead.
She patiently said, "Wei’er, what do you think of the young marquis?"
Song Ruwei: "Quite good, he’s handsome, even more delicate than Zhou’er."
Hearing this, Madam Lu knew she saw him as a younger brother, and despite trying, couldn’t help but say, "Wei’er, when the young marquis comes in the future, spend more time with him, get along well, and be nicer to him."
Song Ruwei was stunned and asked without thinking, "Mother, I am a girl, how can I play with him?"
"You silly girl, why can’t you understand what I mean." Madam Lu couldn’t resist poking her forehead with her index finger, "Do you understand what childhood sweethearts mean, growing up together?"
Seeing her mother’s expression of disappointment, Song Ruwei’s mind clicked, and she suddenly understood, her little face turning red.
She stood up in embarrassment, stomping her foot, "Mother, what are you talking about? I’m only eight this year, and the young marquis is even younger than Zhou’er by two months, only six. Yet you talk about childhood sweethearts!"
Oh my, what is her mother thinking, this is simply too embarrassing.
Besides, it’s the first time meeting the person, how could she think so far ahead!
Song Ruwei was both embarrassed and shocked.
"What’s wrong with eight, it’s just the right age for you to get close. If he gets older, talks about the separation of genders will arise, and then it’ll be too late to get close." Madam Lu was nonchalant.
"Listen to your mother." Madam Lu pulled her into her arms, gently saying, "You are still young now, and it’s early to talk about these things, but I’d rather you understand early than remain oblivious."
"Wei’er, among the three girls in the Song Family, by birth, you rank the lowest. Although you are considered to be from the Prime Minister’s Mansion and could be called a daughter of the Prime Minister’s Mansion, even a legitimate daughter, your legitimacy is still a notch lower than your two cousins above you, you are merely the legitimate daughter of a concubine’s son."
Song Ruwei’s body stiffened as she leaned against Madam Lu, not uttering a word.
She instantly recalled the expressions of disdain from the noble ladies at the Duke Zhongyong Mansion upon learning her father was born to a concubine.
She knew that even though she was a legitimate daughter, her father’s background as a concubine’s son meant she often received looks of slight contempt from outsiders.
"Wei’er, your status is a notch lower. Even if you are the Prime Minister’s own niece, so what? Prominent families might not necessarily value your background. If you want to marry well and live comfortably in the future, you have to strategize." Madam Lu’s gaze was somewhat sharp, "Even if you think your mother is scheming, I must frankly tell you, without scheming, where does comfort come from?"
"The young marquis, although an adopted heir, what of it? He is clearly a marquis, now being raised in the palace, closely associated with the Empress Dowager, and the Emperor also looks favorably on him because he is his maternal cousin’s heir. Do you think the young marquis’s future could be poor?"
"Not to mention his future prospects, just speaking of his current title of marquis—he has already inherited it, only waiting to grow up, leave the palace, and get married. Wei’er, consider how many heirs’ wives in the Marquis Mansions in the capital are just heirs’ wives, having to endure many years before becoming a marquis’s wife, allowing their son a chance to become an heir. But the young marquis? In the future, won’t his wife be a marquis’s wife the moment she marries? Their son, no matter how mediocre, will still inherit as an earl?"
Song Ruwei’s heart skipped a beat.