Chapter 60: Seeking Marriage (Part 2)

  Wu Niang and Zi Wei, Zi Yuan were talking. On the other side, Mrs. Xu was responding to Da Tai Tai's words.

  "Nothing was found?"

  Mrs. Xu's face turned bright red.

  "With her personality, it's impossible to just leave Tian Niang alone like that. Those delicate things must have all been handed over to Tian Niang. Otherwise, those two wouldn't have had the guts to run away." The old lady's face was somewhat gloomy, "You'd better investigate again for me. I don't believe she won't reveal any weaknesses at all."

  Mrs. Xu hastily said: "I've already instructed Golden Lotus and Silver Vase to be extra careful."

  The madam nodded slightly and said, "From Wu Xiaquan's tone, Brother Sheng will arrive in Yanjing within the next two days. Have him settled in the west wing of the main courtyard!"

  Mrs. Xu was taken aback.

  The lady looked at her and said softly: "I heard that he has taken in a concubine!"

  Let him take charge of the household, and two aunts disappeared, one aunt hanged herself; also, without the consent of the elders, he took in the maid by his side... The former is incompetence, which is an unavoidable thing; the latter is completely a loss of virtue, with a problem of conduct. A son who is both incompetent and unvirtuous, compared to the eldest master, even if he were born from the belly of the first wife, would not be liked, let alone being born by a fallen aunt!

  Mrs. Xu suddenly enlightened, nodded repeatedly: "Don't worry, I will definitely make a big deal out of the fact that Fourth Master secretly accepted the land deed, and let the master know!"

  The old lady nodded and changed the subject: "Wu Niang and Shi Niang are getting married one after another. We must carefully consider their dowries."

  Mrs. Xu listened and hesitated for a moment before suggesting: "Why don't we give the mountain forest to Fifth Miss and the dry land to Tenth Miss?"

  Mrs. Hui's mother completely understood what she meant, and a hint of a smile flashed in the eyes of the big wife: "Good. That's it!"

  The Luo family's property is all in Jiangnan. The mountain forests can still yield a few taels of silver, but the dry land, except for being able to plant some peanuts, nothing else can be planted.

  "And also the money for pressing down. Give a bit more, Fifth Daughter!" The mistress's expression flashed with a hint of fatigue, "No matter what, she has always been obedient and well-behaved in front of me."

  Mrs. Xu smiled and said: "I will tell Miss Wu about it. She is a sensible person, she will certainly accept your kindness."

  The madam coldly laughed and said: "You think using death can move the old master? Hmph..."

  Mrs. Xu did not dare to speak again.

  For a moment, the room fell silent.

  A little maid servant behind the curtain announced: "The old master has returned!"

  The old lady gave a signal to Mrs. Xu, who nodded slightly, and the curtain was lifted with a rustling sound. The old master walked in with a stern face.

  "When is that rascal coming?" As he spoke, he plopped himself down in a seat opposite the madam.

  "Just these two days!" said the mistress, "I've already ordered Mrs. Hsu to pack up the house."

  Mrs. Hsu had personally served tea to the old master and then led the servants in the house out.

  "Master," said the old lady with a sigh, "have some tea and calm down. Don't get yourself all worked up."

  The old man took over the tea cup, and his face slightly eased up.

  "The children are young, and it's normal for them to make mistakes." The old lady gently persuaded the old master, "But I'm really worried about the two aunts. They've been in the Luo family for decades, never leaving the house or stepping out of the door. If they're plotting something, I really can't think of what it could be. Moreover, even if Sheng Ge is foolish, there are still Wu Xiaoquan and others at home who would have arranged for someone to follow them to the temple fair. I think it's more likely to be bad luck than good. And yet, Fourth Aunt chose to die at this time. The area of Yu Hang is small, and if this gets out, our Luo family will surely lose face. Moreover, it's not good for Fourth Master's reputation. And just as we're discussing the marriage arrangements for Fifth Daughter and Tenth Daughter... truly a headache."

  The old master snorted heavily and said: "Throw Yang's family into the Luangang for me!"

  The old lady was secretly delighted, but her face showed concern: "Master is talking nonsense again. How can we abandon Fourth Aunt to the wild burial mound? My intention is to temporarily conceal this news and wait until Fifth Daughter and Tenth Daughter get married before announcing Fourth Aunt's funeral. What do you think?"

  The old man hesitated for a moment: "Does Shiniang know?"

  "I haven't told her yet," said the mistress. "You also know that our family is not as well off as it used to be, and we can't afford to give more money for our daughter's marriage. Both the Marquis of Maoguo and Master Qian are excellent matches. If we let this opportunity slip by, we might not find another one..."

  The old master listened with a slight smile, just about to say something, when the old lady said: "I know you're not very satisfied with these two marriages. But think about it. Our two daughters are already at that age. And what about the fourth daughter of the second house? The eldest daughter was married off with 3,000 taels of silver as dowry, and in the end how did it turn out? Your younger brother's wife wasn't it also a case of paying both in silver and in human effort, before they finally managed to produce a successful candidate...

  "Alright, alright." He felt uneasy when mentioning Master Qian, "You decide, it's up to you!"

  The madam smiled slightly, and a little maid said from behind the curtain: "Madam, Yanhong sister from Yongping Hou's mansion has arrived."

  Yan Hong is Yuan Niang's personal maid.

  The two of them were stunned, the curtain had already been lifted with a "whoosh" sound, and a woman with clear eyebrows and eyes rushed in: "Madam, hurry, something's wrong with the mistress."

  The old lady's head buzzed and she fell over.

  The old master was frightened pale, and while pinching the philtrum of the eldest wife, he shouted for people to hurry and invite a doctor. He also said, "Call in the big nurse!" Turning around, he blamed Yan Hong, "Can't you slow down your speech?"

  Yan Hong looked at this scene and didn't say anything more, but in her heart she was thinking about the shocking blood that Yuan Niang had spat onto her clothes.

  "Mother, you always say it's good. Teach children in front of the hall, teach wives by the pillow... But Hou Ye doesn't tell me anything..." Yuan Niang lay quietly on the bed, her clothes and bedding clean and tidy, with a faint scent of *** fragrance. Her big eyes were filled with tears, "I clearly know that I like Jiang Bo's daughter, but he insisted on engaging Jiang Song's daughter... Doesn't he think about it? Jiang Song's daughter is only 10 months younger than our son. Women are naturally more fragile than men. In the future, won't she be like our son's mother..."

  "Yes, yes, yes." The old lady nodded repeatedly: "It's all because of Xiao Si being no good. I'll scold him, I must scold him." The old lady held her daughter-in-law's hand and said, "I'll have him apologize to you."

  The couple had no quarrel, nor even a slight disagreement. Yet, as the wife of a high-ranking official, she was about to frame her husband for her own crime. If this got out, wouldn't the label "shrew" be forever pinned on her head?

  Yu Nu weakly leaned on the pillow, gently shook her head, and a smile appeared at the corner of her mouth. It was unclear whether she was laughing at herself or Lady Tai.

  As soon as he turned his head, he saw a pair of black and white leather boots under the screen in front of the bedroom door.

  At this time and place, who else could it be but Xu Lingyi?

  He stood behind the screen, was he ashamed of himself or did he disdain to see himself?

  A hint of mockery flashed across her eyes as she said softly, "Mother, do you still remember what happened when I first entered the manor?"

  Yuanniang suddenly mentioned this, and Tai Furen was taken aback.

  "At that time, it was still the second aunt who was in charge." She showed a nostalgic expression, "I heard that the two rabbits in the backyard were raised by the empress herself, so I took the initiative to suggest to the second aunt that I would feed the two rabbits every day. As a result, I ended up raising the two rabbits to death. You had to put in a lot of effort to find two identical ones to get away with it."

  Old Lady listened with a hint of smile on her face: "At that time you were holding the rabbit cage and crying so sadly!"

  "At that time, I thought that Second Aunt was your favorite person, and Third Aunt was clever and eloquent. I felt inferior to them in every way, so I tried to outdo them in everything, hoping to win your favor." As she spoke, Yuan Niang grasped the hand of the mistress. "Mother, I truly want to be a good daughter-in-law for you. It's just that I'm foolish and always do things poorly... please don't blame me..."

  She saw the boots behind the screen move uncomfortably a few times.

  Listening to this speech that sounded like a last testament, and looking at her pale and transparent face, the old lady couldn't help but have moist eyes: "I've always known you're filial. Don't say any more, take care of yourself." As she spoke, she personally took the small celadon bowl from the tray held by the maid beside her.

  There were thin slices of ginseng in the bowl.

  "Come, take a bite."

  Yuanni shook her head, Yuanni's dark eyes fixed on Tai Furen, revealing a hint of sincerity: "Mother, I'm fine, I just want to talk to you."

  "Speak first and then think about it." The old lady coaxed her with a smile, with a tone that had several parts of doting on a child.

  Yu Nu said with a gentle smile: "Let's wait until we sleep, it will be more effective."

  Old Lady knew her temper, thought what she said made sense, and didn't force her. She let out a soft sigh, handed the bowl to a maid beside her: "Then you remember to take the ginseng slice later before sleeping!"

  "Uh-huh!" Yuanniang nodded obediently.

  Now that the daughter-in-law says she has something to say to herself, it's nothing but what made her spit blood today. She just received a red envelope, and there are still many things to come in the future. It's impossible to avoid being a mother.

  Madam Yuan, about Rong Ge's matter, we were in the wrong. Although Jiang Song's daughter is only 10 months younger than Rong Ge, Jiang Song has no official position and our family is a meritorious one with an empress dowager, so to be safe and smooth, we can only be careful and humble... Her face showed some guilt.

  "Mother, I know." Yuanni smiled and interrupted the lady's words, "You and Lord Hou are both people of insight, I know you have your reasons for doing this. I'm just angry that Lord Hou didn't discuss it with me." As she spoke, she pursed her lips and smiled wryly, "Mother, I don't want to talk about this. I'm afraid that once I close my eyes, I'll never have the chance to speak my heart to you again!"

  The more she doesn't talk to herself about it, the more it shows that this matter is stuck in her heart.

  But in this case, it's not good for Madame to insist on talking about this topic.

  She had to pretend to be angry, her face stern: "Nonsense. You're still young, aren't you? Your brother hasn't even married yet, and I'm still counting on you to support me in my old age..." As she spoke, thinking of her daughter-in-law's struggles over the years, tears began to well up in the corners of her eyes.

  "I know my own affairs!" Yuan Niang glanced at the screen with the corner of her eye, and her voice dropped, with a hint of sadness. "I was the eldest daughter at home, and my parents cherished me like a treasure. Later, I married into this family, and you treated me as one of your own, Lord Hou treated me with respect in everything. A woman can't ask for more than what I have, there's nothing to regret. But I'm reluctant to part with Jun Ge, reluctant to part with you, reluctant to part with... Lord Hou..." As she spoke, tears fell down her face, and she sobbed a few times, as if she couldn't catch her breath for a moment, and suddenly covered her chest and started coughing.

  The update may be until dawn, everyone go to sleep first, and see tomorrow when you wake up...