At this moment, he seemed to remember something and glanced at his stepdaughter, Fang Manping.
"Manping, didn't you mention earlier that your art troupe wants to go to the Northwest Military Region for the Spring Festival performance?"
"Yes." Fang Manping immediately perked up, with some guesses in her heart.
"Alright then, I'll approve it for your art troupe tomorrow. When the time comes, go and try your best to bring back Ze Xi, saying that I have some of his mother's things to give him."
Fang Wanrong's heart skipped a beat, "Husband, what do you mean?"
Sheng Xinhao didn't intend to conceal from his gentle and kind wife, "I've talked with Old Li and plan to let Ze Xi and Old Li's daughter meet during the New Year."
If I directly tell Sheng Zexi to come back for a meeting, he probably won't return.
So Sheng Xinhao can only use other methods.
Fang Wanrong felt a little panicked. Could the "Old Li" mentioned by Sheng Xinhao be Commander Li's family?
Is the girl Li Shuyao?
No, absolutely not. Sheng Zexi must not marry Li Shuyao.
Not to mention that Li Shuyao works in the art troupe and is currently the star of the troupe, with good looks and personality; Li Shuyao's father is Commander Li, and her brother Li Tingxuan, at such a young age, has already become a regiment commander with a promising future. After all the effort to have Sheng Zexi end up isolated and abandoned, how could he be allowed to have a family connection like Commander Li's and a brother-in-law like Li Tingxuan?
Fang Wanrong couldn't help but feel resentful towards Sheng Xinhao.
He always says that A Yu is filial, yet he hasn't left anything good for A Yu. When she previously mentioned wanting A Yu to join the army to gain connections, this man didn't agree.
He always calls Sheng Zexi a scoundrel and unfilial,
Yet, he still considers him and finds him a family with such strong connections.
It's only due to her long-cultivated tolerance that Fang Wanrong didn't break down and speak out.
Fang Manping didn't expect that her stepfather's favored daughter-in-law candidate was Li Shuyao, and she couldn't help feeling pleased.
Li Shuyao always liked Sheng Zexi and always had her find out information about Sheng Zexi for her. But actually, Fang Manping didn't really want to do such things. However, she liked Li Tingxuan, that tall, majestic, and dazzling young man, who had long occupied her heart.
If she could help Li Shuyao and Sheng Zexi get together, would Li Shuyao help match her with Li Tingxuan?
Fang Wanrong glanced at her daughter, knowing about her daughter's matters with Li Shuyao and Li Tingxuan.
If her daughter could marry Li Tingxuan, she would be a thousand times, ten thousand times willing, but she absolutely couldn't agree for Li Shuyao to marry Sheng Zexi.
But even though it's not easy, she couldn't show it in front of her husband.
So she pretended not to know and gently said to Sheng Xinhao, "So you actually have your eye on Commander Li's girl. Then why let me find someone?"
Sheng Xinhao, unaware of Fang Wanrong's thoughts, said, "That boy is not obedient, just afraid he won't appreciate it and won't like or be willing. The more you find, the more he can choose."
"Anyway, continue your search on that side."
"Alright, I'll keep an eye on it."
Previously, Fang Wanrong hadn't paid much attention to finding someone for Sheng Zexi, but now she had to pay attention.
She needed to choose carefully; better for Sheng Zexi to marry someone she meticulously selected than to let him have such a strong support from the Li family.
As for Fang Manping, once she entered the room, Fang Wanrong followed her in.
Once the door closed, Fang Manping couldn't hold it in anymore.
"Mom, you see, Uncle is already in favor of Sheng Zexi and Li Shuyao being together. How about letting them be together?" Fang Manping shook Fang Wanrong's hand.
"No way!" Fang Wanrong pushed away her daughter's hand and glared at her, "Don't think I don't know your thoughts. You're thinking, if you help Li Shuyao marry Sheng Zexi, Li Shuyao will help you get with Li Tingxuan, right?"
"Mom also hopes you can be with the eldest son of the Li family, but Li Shuyao absolutely can't marry Sheng Zexi. You should know if Sheng Zexi marries Li Shuyao and gets the support of the Li family, then your uncle would only value him more. What would your brother have left in this household then?"
Fang Manping fell silent, contemplating, and realized.
Mom does love her daughter, but compared with her son, she's not much.
"Pingping, if your brother is doing well, you'll have support in the future, and things will be good for you. I hope you understand your mom's painstaking intentions."
Fang Wanrong thought, how nice if Sheng Zexi could never come home or die on the battlefield.
Then everything of the Sheng Family would belong to her son.
"Daughter, do you like the eldest son of the Li family that much?"
"Yes, Mom, I like Li Tingxuan, and I really want to marry him."
Fang Manping is 23 this year. When she followed her mother into the Sheng Family, she was only 11. At 16, Li Tingxuan accidentally saved her.
From then on, Fang Manping fell in love with Li Tingxuan, falling deep and unable to extricate herself.
Her appearance didn't inherit from her mother but her biological father, making her look, at most, pretty but not stunning.
But Fang Manping just liked Li Tingxuan's handsome appearance and always remembered that moment of rescue.
Fang Wanrong sighed, opened her mouth to say something, but ultimately said nothing.
For Fang Manping, Fang Wanrong always doted on her. Although not exceeding her son, she wanted to give her the best if possible.
"Mom, this time, going to the Northwest Military Region, Li Shuyao will also be going."
"I won't do much. If they can be together this time, you can't stop them. If not, I won't help Li Shuyao anymore."
"Mom, just spoil me once more, okay? I'll also be filial to you."
Fang Manping nestled into Fang Wanrong's arms, full of attachment.
Fang Wanrong finally softened and nodded in agreement.
Sheng Zexi was unaware that his father was already pondering his marriage and was unaware that Li Shuyao, who constantly thought of him, was about to go to the Northwest to find him.
He had followed the matchmaker and had set the date for engagement and wedding banquet at the Gu Family.
The date for the engagement and dowry was three days later, and the wedding banquet was 15 days later, half a month from now.
It was also agreed with the Gu Family that his grandparents would come for these two important occasions.
On the Gu Family side, knowing that Sheng Zexi's grandparents were coming, Old Gu and Yao Chunhua were very happy. After all, it represented the groom's family's regard for them and Ningning.
Knowing that Sheng Zexi's family was composed of his biological father and stepmother and had strained relations, they didn't demand that his family must attend.
Sheng Zexi came with the matchmaker and left, and the villagers were very curious. Yao Chunhua and others didn't hide it.
Soon, the entire Huaihua Village knew that Gu Jia Ning was going to get engaged and married to a military officer from the Northwest named Sheng Zexi.
For the past few days, Wen Zhqing, who was in pain from being beaten, almost spilled the fish soup he was holding upon hearing the news.