Chapter 95: Before Marriage (Part 1)

  Gu Yin arrived at this time. As soon as the words were passed in, Mrs. Dai's face suddenly changed. Mrs. Xue saw something from it and stood up to bid farewell.

  The old lady didn't stay either, smiling and saying: "You'll probably be busy lately."

  Madam Xue smiled and politely declined several times.

  After sending off the Xue family, Mrs. Wang finally breathed a sigh of relief and went forward to ask Old Mrs., "What about Gu Yin's matter? Otherwise, just say that the master is not at home and let him come again."

  The old lady was silent for a moment, then looked up at the big wife and said, "Didn't you hear that it's Gong Zhengdian's official, Mr. Gu?"

  The lady's face changed suddenly, and she was about to speak.

  The old lady snorted, "Am I not more far-sighted than you think?"

  The lady had nothing to say.

  ……

  Rong Hua brought Mu Jin back from Yan Hua's place and called out to Hong Yu, "Sixth sister is short-handed with needlework, I promised to let you help make a pair of shoes. You go ask what kind they want later."

  Hong Yu nodded in agreement.

  Hongyu went into the house to fetch the embroidery pattern for the shoes, leaving a few pieces that would be given to Eighth Miss later, and taking the rest to Sixth Miss's room for her to choose from.

  Yan Hua was delighted to see Hong Yu arrive, and since she didn't have anything ready-made on hand, she picked out two patterns from Hong Yu's collection, then went to select embroidery threads and shoe fabrics.

  Yan Hua said: "Let the little girl in my house help you."

  Hong Yu smiled and said: "There's no need for such trouble, I can handle it myself."

  Yan Hua smiled and narrowed her eyes, "There's no one like Hong Yu in my house, otherwise I'd be over the moon! They can come to me for beautiful clothes, but I'll never lend them to those people, let them drool." She said as she went to look at Hong Yu's expression.

  Hong Yu smiled slightly and remained silent.

  Yan Hua had Xiang Qiao bring a coral hairpin, smiling as she gave it to Hong Yu, "I don't have anything else, so I'll give this to you as a thank-you gift."

  Hong Yu refused to accept it, pushing it away for half a day. "Miss, this is going to make the servant lose face, doing these things is the servant's duty, if I accept the thing, what will become of me? I'll have no face left to stay in the garden."

  Xianhua then reluctantly took back the gift.

  Waiting until Hong Yu left, Yan Hua coldly smiled and said: "She thinks she can get something good from Ba Mei, coming out of the old lady's room. Can Ba Mei not be on guard against her? If it was used with a close heart, would I have lent it to you?"

  Xiang Qiao stepped forward to persuade, "Miss, don't think about these things anymore. After all, we are sisters and may still be able to rely on each other in the future. Eighth Miss lending Hong Yu to you was a kind act, but now that you've said these words, I don't know what Eighth Miss will think. Why must you wrong her?"

  Yan Hua was about to interrogate Xiang Qiao, what is called wrongly doing small favors, but seeing the wound on Xiang Qiao's forehead that had not completely faded, her heart softened and she only hummed, "You don't think she has any good intentions, she just wants to laugh at me. Don't look at the surface, she married well, Wu Mu Hou is what kind of reputation, said to be with me back then, I didn't even want to...

  Xiang Qiao's face changed greatly upon hearing this, "Miss, you can't say such things casually."

  Yan Hua said: "You're afraid of everything, but you don't know that even if you're afraid, it's useless. Living a life bound by rules and conventions, what can you gain from it?" For some reason, she thought of her fourth aunt, and felt an inexplicable sadness in her heart. Seeing that the wedding date was about to be set, yet no one was making any arrangements for her, Yan Hua stood there dazed for a moment, with tears welling up in her eyes but refusing to fall.

  Hongying replied to Ronghua in the warm pavilion, "I heard that the Xue family's side wants to set it for next June."

  "So soon?" She had thought that after the marriage was settled, there would still be some time to prepare. Although she wanted to leave the Tao family, it wouldn't be easy to stand firm on the Xue family's side either. With the thoughts of a girl waiting to get married, she felt somewhat melancholic.

  It can be seen from the Xue family's selection of her as their daughter-in-law that the big house of the Xue family has already been placed in a certain position. After she married, if one step goes wrong, it will be difficult to turn over in the future.

  Xue Er's wife is a straightforward and frank person who doesn't hesitate to give benefits to others, so she must have a good way of managing the household. It's probably not easy to get anything under her nose.

  Mrs. Xue may look affable, but what she thinks in her heart is hard to guess.

  Mrs. Xue is the only one among these people who has nothing in her heart. However, she won't fight for herself and isn't good at handling things, she's just a traditional and strict lady from a big family. In the future, if she marries into another family and doesn't behave as straightforwardly as Mrs. Xue, she'll be looked down upon by Mrs. Xue. If she behaves exactly like Mrs. Xue, she'll be treated as an abandoned child by Old Lady Jia. In the future, whether it's the Tao or Cai families, if things don't go well, she'll become a sacrifice.

  Ronghua sighed inwardly, although she had fought for an opportunity in her life, but this seed was planted and it was unknown what fruit would be produced.

  Wumu Marquis Xue Mingrui is such a resolute and calm person, her heart is like copper walls and iron walls. Does she have the opportunity to peel off the outer shell and see inside?

  Everything is an unknown quantity.

  There's no time to think too much about it now. Her marriage is just her first step into the Xue family.

  "Has Hongyu returned?" Ronghua asked.

  Hongying nodded and hurriedly went to find Hongyu.

  "Regardless of whether it's clothes or shoes and socks, what needs to be done, what kind of patterns to make, mother will send someone over to ask, you just need to arrange accordingly and show me the final result. In short, you need to put more effort into these things."

  Hong Yu couldn't hide the smile on her face and went forward to respond.

  Jinxiu returned from outside, Hongying and Hongyu both received errands to go out. As they walked outside, Hongying glanced at Hongyu and said, "Can you also hear what the sixth miss said? I told you you were thinking too much! After all, we are brought over from our mother's house, who will the miss rely on in the future if not us?"

  Hong Yu had no choice but to admit it and went forward saying: "Good sister, what I said you can't tell others, otherwise how will I be able to do in the future?"

  Hongying said, "We sisters don't need to distinguish between you and me. Since the old lady has let us follow Eighth Miss, we will now wholeheartedly work for Eighth Miss's sake, and only then can we have a chance to rise in the future." As she spoke, she glanced in the direction where Jinxiu had left.

  Hongyu smiled and replied.

  In the warm pavilion, Jinxiu leaned in close to Ronghua's ear and whispered: "It's a pity that time is pressing, otherwise I could have asked more. They all think I'm the big maid by Miss's side, so they're willing to talk to me."

  Rong Hua smiled slightly and said: "You were originally my personal maid by my side, getting along with you is always right."

  Jinxiu's face suddenly turned red, "Miss is always teasing me." After a pause, she spoke of serious matters, "I heard that Miss's matter has been settled, and Mrs. Xue will soon propose to the Changning Bo family."

  It seems that Miss Changning will marry Xue Mingbai.

  Rong Hua thought of what happened on the day he went to visit the Wu Mu Marquis's estate.

  That night, the unexpected event at the hot spring river was a clever move by Fourth Miss Changningbo. With one stone, she killed two birds, instantly pushing both Yaohua and herself out of the competition circle. It can be seen that Fourth Miss Changningbo was aiming for Xue Mingrui, the Marquis of Wumu. When the fireworks were lit, Fourth Miss hastily returned from outside, and it was clear that she saw the triumphant smile on her face. No matter what Fourth Miss did, she should have succeeded.

  But after this matter, Mrs. Xue did not have any reaction, instead, the second wife of Xue found an excuse to ask for poem riddles and saw her and Yaohua's handwriting.

  The cause-and-effect relationship between before and after is incomprehensible no matter how you think about it.

  Unless someone has miscalculated. Madame Xue had always wanted to form an alliance with the Ningguo Duke's household, so she didn't do anything wrong. Could it be that the Fourth Miss of the Ningguo Duke's household did something wrong and instead benefited Madame Xue?

  Jinxiu said that the fourth young lady went in the direction of the study, and when they were strolling in the garden, a maid casually pointed out that those two studies belonged to Master Hou and Xue Mingliang. Could it be that the fourth young lady had entered the wrong study by mistake?

  If that's really the case, Fourth Miss really married Xue Mingxiang, but still remembered Hou Ye in her heart, and who knows what kind of trouble will arise in the future.

  Ronghua temporarily put down this topic and asked: "How is the complexion of the big wife in the Er Lao Tai's family?"

  Jinxiu said, "At first it was okay. Just now when the old lady finished talking to her, she looked a bit uncomfortable." Glancing at Ronghua's expression, "Miss, who do you think Second Miss will marry?"

  Will Yixing come to propose marriage at the Hou Mansion in the next few days? It also depends on whether the things in Gu Xiang's hands are heavy enough.

  Gu Yin and the old lady were sitting in the main room, the old lady rubbed her eyebrows tiredly, hinting several times, Gu Yin seemed to have not seen it, propping up his legs and continuing to drink tea.

  The little servant finally came in and said: "The master has returned."

  The lady of the house got up in a hurry to greet them.

  The old master had not been to the mistress's room for several days, and the two of them had not spoken since that day. Taking advantage of Gu Ying's arrival, the mistress went to lower her posture to talk to the old master, also wanting to ease the tension between the two people.

  "The old master has finally returned, and Gu Ying came running over at this time, I was at a loss for what to do."

  The old master frowned and asked, "Does the Xue family know?"

  Mrs. Dai shook her head, "Madam Xue has left with the people from the Imperial Observatory."

  The old master was somewhat surprised, "And even invited the Imperial Observatory?" He didn't expect to be taken so seriously, and his face couldn't help but show a few degrees of delight.

  The lady was worried, "Gu Ying may not be easily dismissed this time."

  "The old master pondered for a moment, 'I have my own plan.'"

  They arrived at the main hall, and the old master turned his head to look at the mistress, "Where are the Meng family members?"

  "Eldest Lady said: 'In the flower hall, Second Brother and Sister are accompanying her, Master can rest assured.' As she spoke, she lifted her foot to continue walking forward."

  The old master stopped in his tracks, "You go to the flower hall to accompany the guests."

  Mrs. Tai was taken aback, what does this mean, to avoid her? In all these years, they had never been like this before. Unless she herself avoided him... Today he actually said it out loud, didn't he know her thoughts? This is related to Yao Hua's marriage.

  The madam looked at the old master hastily, but the old master walked straight away as if he hadn't seen her.

  Mrs. Chen also became anxious, "What can we do now?"

  What else can be done, just wait for news. The mistress said: "Go to the old lady's place and wait." Even if she doesn't tell her, it's better to go to the old lady's place anyway.

  The hall opened a banquet, the old lady sent someone to call the old master, "How can we eat without him? Let him come over quickly, the Meng family is all here, and we must not lose our courtesy." She also asked the old lady, "Are the return gifts ready?"

  The old lady was a bit distracted, and it took her a while to hear the old lady's question. "Oh," she said, "everything is ready, don't worry." She had prepared the four treasures of the study (writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone), rice cakes, steamed buns, 10 packages of malt salt, and 10 wheat pomegranates. The steamed buns, rice cakes, and wheat pomegranates symbolized many children and good fortune, while the four treasures of the study symbolized a future son-in-law with a smooth career and extensive knowledge.

  The old lady was still worried and said, "We can't be careless."

  The old lady said, "There have been precedents of eldest sister, third sister and fourth sister before, so it can't be wrong. The four treasures of the study are still the best inkstones taken from the warehouse. Just now I asked Chen's mother to take another look."

  The old lady said: "Let someone take a watermelon to the young master, and cut the rest to give to the neighbors. Tell them that our sixth miss's marriage is settled."

  The elder lady ordered Chen's mother to go and busy herself, the second lady smiled and said: "I'll go get some watermelon for our new son-in-law." She went off happily.

  The old lady smiled and said: "But who will go to sprinkle salt on the relatives' house?"

  The old lady said: "Let the second brother and sister go for a while."

  The old lady nodded. Everything was arranged properly, and the old master also came from the front to enter the house and pay his respects to the old lady.

  The old lady asked: "Where is the guest?"

  The old master replied: "He has already left, don't worry, old lady."

  The old lady got up and said, "Go ahead and keep your relatives company in the front."

  The old master supported the old lady to the flower hall, and the second wife followed behind. When they saw people from the Meng family, everyone started talking warmly, and the second wife wanted to ask but didn't have the chance.

  New son-in-law Meng Chun felt a bit awkward when he saw his father-in-law, but fortunately, after saying two words, the banquet began.

  After dinner, Mrs. Meng kindly asked about the wedding date, "We are fine with any arrangement, mainly we should consider the timing of our household." She handed over a red paper to ask Master Bao to choose a date.

  The old master handed the red paper over to the old lady again.

  The old lady said: "I think next March is good."

  Meng's family smiled and accepted the red paper, but they would have to wait until the wedding gifts were sent before writing a formal invitation.

  After chatting for a while, everyone saw off the Meng family.

  The old lady, the old gentleman and the madam returned to Millennium Residence to talk.

  The old lady asked: "What did Gu Ying say?"

  The old master said: "Still want to marry Yao Hua."

  The old lady took a sip of tea and covered her bowl slightly askew. "What do you think?"

  The old master paused for a moment and looked at the old lady, "I've already promised him"

  The old lady's hand shook and she dropped her tea bowl on the floor, "What did you say?"

  The servant came in to clear the tea bowls on the floor and brought up another cup of tea. Madame's hands were still trembling, her eyes wide with anger as she stared at Master, "How can you be so heartless? Who is Gu Yan that you would marry Yao Hua off to him? Have you thought about what will happen to Yao Hua's body after she marries him?"

  The old master was about to explain himself, but the old lady preempted him. The old lady asked again, and his eyebrows immediately furrowed, "Then what do you say we should do? Outside, everyone is saying that Yaohua's illness cannot be cured, I've said no to several close relatives, and the old lady has also asked many people to ask, what have you done?"

  The lady heard this and suddenly felt a surge of resentment, "Are you blaming me? Where did Gu Yan come from? You never told me clearly, but instead asked me to do what? I..."

  "Alright," the old lady said sternly, "do you still have me in your eyes? Go argue in your own homes."

  The house finally quieted down.

  The old master stabilized his emotions and continued to say: "Gu Ying has now supplemented the experience of the Tongzheng Department, it seems that this matter is not as simple as I thought. He insisted on marrying Yao Hua, and I can only temporarily agree to him. Anyway, outside rumors are spreading about Yao Hua's illness, so we might as well let Yao Hua stay in the mansion to recuperate. There were precedents with Third Sister and Fourth Sister, let's first settle Yan Hua and Rong Hua's marriage matters before dealing with this."

  The old lady nodded, "It can't be helped."

  The lady felt a little comforted in her heart when she heard this, "But it will be even harder to bring up Yaohua's marriage in the future."

  The old master was unwilling to speak, and the old lady said: "Lao Da is right, let's deal with the things in front of us first."

  Things have come to this, and Mrs. Dai has no other choice but to shed tears with a sour nose.

  The old lady comforted the big lady for a while, letting her go back to rest. She then turned to the big master and continued, "Ronghua's marriage needs to be settled, and this matter now depends on her." Glancing at the big master, she said, "You and your daughter have little time together; after Ronghua enters the mansion, you've been less concerned about her. Now that she's getting married, as a father, shouldn't you give some advice to your daughter?"

  The old master understood the old lady's meaning, "It's not good for everyone to know either."

  The old lady curled her lip, "Don't tell her, are you going to go and ask Master Hou for help yourself?"

  The old man was somewhat embarrassed.

  The old lady smiled and said: "What's there to be shy about with your own daughter? You're her father, she wants to get close to you."

  ……

  Ronghua was threading colored threads in the house with Hongyu, while Mugen couldn't understand why he was covered in bran when the Meng family left earlier.

  Jinxiu smiled and explained, "It means having a destined relationship, having a blessed relationship."

  "Will Mrs. Xue be splashed all over her body when she comes in the future?"

  Jinxiu said: "Of course, Mrs. Cai had a blessing on her body before, and she was also sprinkled with it. This is a custom that everyone wants to be auspicious, and not sprinkling would be bad."

  Everyone was talking when a little maid came in and said: "Spring Yao sister has arrived."

  Hongyu and Hongying looked at each other, waiting for Chunyao to enter the house, then they both retreated.

  Chun Yao frowned tightly, looking at Jin Xiu and Mu Jin in the house with a difficult expression. Rong Hua saw it and led Chun Yao into the green silk room to talk.

  Two people had just walked in when Chun Yao knelt down, "I am here to beg of Eighth Miss, I beg of Eighth Miss that when she marries into the Marquis's household, she will take me with her. If Eighth Miss is unwilling to take me with her, then I have no choice but to die."

  Rong Hua hurriedly helped Chun Yao up, "What's wrong?"

  Chun Yao's eyes turned red as she said: "Just now I heard Madam say that she wants to marry me off to Master as a concubine."

  Ronghua and Chunyao were talking here, while Madame was also looking for Chunyao everywhere over there.

  "Strange," said Chen's mother, "that girl was just here a moment ago, and now she's run off somewhere."

  Pink 180...

  It's time to wrap things up for now and start writing about getting married!

  The recent chapters have all been about getting married~