By a twist of fate, the illegitimate son of the Marquis's family marries the county princess.

Chapter 220 Writing a Storybook

"Sister-in-law, may I go to the newspaper office?"

That day, Pei Rujing returned to Yunguang Courtyard from the newspaper office, and Wen Shuyu came looking for her.

Upon hearing that Wen Shuyu wanted to work at the newspaper, Pei Rujing nodded: "Of course."

Because Wen Shuyu is not yet married, she cannot work as an editor at a newspaper, but she can still visit the newspaper office.

"Come find me first thing tomorrow morning and come with me."

Wen Shuyu was overjoyed: "Thank you, sister-in-law."

"Is mahjong not fun anymore?"

Pei Rujing knew that Wen Shuyu often went to mahjong clubs. Perhaps because she had been in contact with more people, she was no longer as introverted as before and had become much more cheerful.

Just like this time, she directly told Pei Rujing that she wanted to go to the Fusheng Newspaper.

In the past, Wen Shuyu would probably have hesitated for a long time without daring to say a word.

Wen Shuyu shook her head: "I'm more interested in the script."

Pei Rujing suddenly realized: "I almost forgot that you like to write articles and have been submitting articles to the Beijing Daily."

Wen Shuyu said somewhat shyly, "Sister-in-law, please don't tease me. Only the finest articles are published by the Beijing Gazette. My writing is far inferior to theirs."

After reading the article in the Beijing Daily, Pei Rujing realized that her article had no chance of being selected by the Beijing Daily. She is still writing now simply because she really loves writing.

Pei Rujing's eyes lit up: "Shuyu, why don't you try submitting your work to the newspaper?"

Wen Shuyu was taken aback: "Submit articles to the newspaper? My sister-in-law means I should write storybooks?"

Pei Rujing nodded: "That's a good idea. Don't you usually enjoy reading storybooks? You could try writing your own."

"What are you talking about, you seem so happy?"

As Wen Zongji walked in, he heard Pei Rujing sound slightly agitated.

Pei Rujing's expression changed slightly, and she turned to look at Wen Shuyu.

She is very trustworthy. Wen Shuyu didn't want Wen Zongji to know that she had submitted articles to the Beijing Daily, and Pei Rujing hasn't mentioned a word about it so far.

Wen Shuyu pursed her lips, thinking that since Wen Zongji had already heard her, there was no need to deliberately hide it: "Sister-in-law is worried that I'll be bored at home, but if you contact me, I can write storybooks and submit them to newspapers."

Wen Zongji had never imagined that Wen Shuyu could write storybooks: "Little sister can write storybooks?"

Wen Shuyu shook her head: "No, but I want to try."

Wen Zongji pondered for a moment: "I happen to have a story outline here. If you're willing, you can write a story based on this outline."

Pei Rujing raised an eyebrow: "Husband, you have quite a lot of outlines down there."

She knew perfectly well that the popular storybooks sold at Ruijintang were all provided by Wen Zongji.

Wen Zongji pointed to his head: "There's nothing I can do, inspiration just keeps popping into my head, there's nothing I can do about it."

Pei Rujing said to him.

They weren't humble at all.

Wen Shuyu asked, "What kind of outline is it?"

Wen Zongji briefly explained: "It's also a martial arts novel, but it tells the story of the male and female protagonists supporting each other and growing together. This requires a lot of writing to depict the relationship between the male and female protagonists, and the writing must be delicate. Currently, none of the authors at Ruijintang meet the requirements."

Upon hearing this, Wen Shuyu said in a low voice, "I can try, but Third Brother, I have never written a storybook before."

Wen Zongji laughed and said, "There's a first time for everything. If my little sister can write well, perhaps our household will produce a great writer."

Wen Shuyu was embarrassed by the teasing: "Third Brother thinks too highly of me."

Pei Rujing said, "Then it's settled. Tomorrow, Shuyu will come with me to the newspaper office to see how other people write their stories, and then she can try writing one based on my outline. It's just an attempt, so there's no need to feel pressured. It doesn't matter if she writes well or poorly."

Wen Shuyu nodded, then got up to take her leave.

Wen Zongji asked her to stay, saying, "Shall we have dinner together?"

Wen Shuyu shook her head: "My aunt is still waiting for me."

"Alright then."

Wen Zongji did not force him to stay.

After Wen Shuyu left, Wen Zongji and Wen Zongji had dinner together and then sat on the couch to talk.

The snow that had fallen earlier had completely melted, and it was still cold outside, so the couple's habit of taking a walk after their meal was temporarily canceled.

Speaking of Wen Shuyu's matter, Wen Zongji praised, "My wife is becoming more and more like a sister-in-law."

Who remembers that at the beginning of their marriage, Pei Rujing even threw a tantrum at Wen Zongji because he treated Wen Shuyu too well?

Pei Rujing took a sip of tea: "Your sister is already fourteen. Have you considered her marriage prospects?"

Wen Shuyu will be of marriageable age next year, and by all accounts, she should be able to start discussing marriage.

Wen Zongji hadn't really considered this matter: "I don't plan to marry Shuyu off too early. Has my wife read the latest issue of the Beijing Gazette?"

Pei Rujing immediately understood Wen Zongji's meaning: "You mean the article you showed me before?"

"This article has already spread throughout the capital. Although others do not know that I wrote it, I am the chief editor of the Beijing Gazette Bureau. Since the article is allowed to be published, it means that the conclusions in the article are approved. Using this as an excuse, I will keep Shuyu here for another two years. I believe my mother will understand."

Pei Rujing rolled her eyes at him: "I was talking about arranging a marriage, not asking her to get married right away."

Wen Zongji: "..."

Pei Rujing looked at him speechlessly: "You're not planning to wait a few years to arrange a marriage for Shuyu, are you?"

Which marriage isn't arranged in advance?

Wen Zongji felt somewhat embarrassed. Although he felt that he had integrated into the life of this era, he still hadn't considered things properly in some aspects.

"My lady is indeed very thoughtful. What are your thoughts, my lady?"

"She's your sister, why are you asking me?"

Wen Zongji thought for a moment and said, "Shuyu is gentle and kind-hearted, so we need to find her a gentle and considerate man to prevent her from being bullied. In addition, we can relax the restrictions on her social status and family background, as long as the person is willing to make progress and has good character."

Pei Rujing laughed: "Your standards are really low; there are plenty of them everywhere."

"I haven't finished yet," Wen Zongji continued, "Although family background isn't a factor, the groom's family is. Families with many brothers are fine, because more brothers mean more sisters-in-law, and more people mean more trouble. Also, we need to consider the groom's parents' personalities. If they're aggressive and like to put on airs, they definitely won't do."

Pei Rujing rested her chin on her hand and looked at him: "So, how many brothers do you think is enough?"

"Two or three, I guess."

In this day and age, people value having many children; two or three is indeed considered few.

Pei Rujing chuckled: "According to your requirements, even you yourself don't meet them."

Wen Zongji's generation consisted of four brothers.

Wen Zongji said, "My wife reminded me that if the groom's family has a daughter, we also have to consider the personality of the groom's older or younger sister. Sometimes, if the married woman is unreasonable, she can be a real headache."

Pei Rujing expressed her admiration for Wen Zongji: "You've really thought this through. It's fortunate I asked you beforehand; if we had waited until later to discuss marriage, you definitely wouldn't have found a suitable match."

Wen Zongji doesn't care about family background, but the requirements he does care about are not so easy to meet.

Wen Zongji cupped his hands in greeting: "Then I'll have to trouble you, my lady."

Wen Shuyu's marriage should logically be a matter for Jiang Shi to handle, but Pei Rujing's status is special. Everyone tacitly understands that Jiang Shi will definitely not make the decision on her own; it will definitely be Pei Rujing's responsibility.

Pei Rujing didn't refuse: "I'll keep an eye on it."

Anyway, Wen Shuyu hasn't reached marriageable age yet, so we can keep an eye on her slowly. As long as we have a plan in mind, that's fine.