Chapter Eighty: Thoughts (Part 1)

  Ronghua came out of her inner chamber, and her maid hastily brought over a bowl of ginger soup for her to drink.

  Mrs. Xue smiled warmly and nodded at her, "Come sit over here." Her attitude was much more enthusiastic than before.

  Ronghua sat down, and Mrs. Xue asked her, "Is anything uncomfortable?"

  After drinking a bowl of hot soup, Ronghua's body warmed up again and her face became rosier. She lifted her head to look at Old Lady Xue, smiling shyly, "No, fortunately I fell into the hot spring."

  Mrs. Xue said kindly, "In a while, I'll have my car take Madame and the two young ladies back," then looked at Ronghua, "I'm afraid of the cold every day, so my car is warm to sit in."

  The lady hastily said: "How can that be good? We'll just take the same car we came in."

  Mrs. Xue pretended to be stern and said, "No way, today you must listen to me."

  The lady finally agreed after being persuaded.

  Madam Xue's face lit up with a smile again, and she instructed her maid, "Bring some more fruit."

  The maids brought in the fruit, and Madame Xue turned to speak with Ronghua. The lead maid was quick-witted and hastily placed a plate of fruit in front of Ronghua before going to place some in front of Changning, Fourth Miss, and Yaohua.

  Mrs. Xue kindly invited Ronghua to eat fruit again.

  A few people chatted for a while longer.

  The sky gradually darkened, and when it was time to watch the fireworks, everyone gathered at Yongchun Hall. Ronghua looked around, but only Changning Fourth Miss was nowhere to be seen.

  Jinxiu slipped into the Yongchun building from outside and whispered in Ronghua's ear, "The fourth miss of Changning Bo brought her maid and went west."

  Just now when they were strolling in the garden, they saw that the Xue Mansion had two slightly larger study rooms over there.

  Ronghua looked westward, wondering if Miss Mo was thinking of that. Thinking about it, it made sense. Since the Marquis hadn't come to Yongchun Building to watch the fireworks, aside from the front courtyard, the most likely place he'd be was in his study.

  Half a day later, Fourth Miss Channing limped into the house.

  Rong Hua took a closer look at her and saw that Chang Ning's fourth miss had a triumphant smile on her face.

  Did she succeed?

  After watching the fireworks, it was already late, and the guests all bid farewell one after another. The Xue family was busy seeing off the guests.

  Xue's wife saw Madame Wang and the two young ladies into their carriage, and then went off to see other guests off. When all the principals had gone, these insignificant people were left behind. Xue's second wife was delighted at being left in charge, and made an excuse to go back to Old Mrs. Xue's rooms, where she also took the opportunity of bringing two sprigs of plum blossom, which she told a maid to put into a blue-and-white porcelain vase.

  Madam Xue had changed into a yellowish-brown four-piece Ru-style jacket with cloud patterns, leaning against a blue embroidered pillow with lotus designs, closing her eyes to rest. The maid beside her was half-kneeling down, carefully massaging Madam Xue's legs.

  Mrs. Xue opened her eyes to see Mrs. Xue the Second sneaking up with a flower basket, so she deliberately put on a stern face and said, "What? Are you trying to scare me again?" In the end, they both burst out laughing together.

  Mrs. Xue said: "How dare I? I thought my mother-in-law was asleep, so I just wanted to arrange the flowers and go out."

  Madam Xue smiled and said, "I knew you'd say something pleasant to hear." After finishing speaking, she glanced at the maid beside her, and the maid immediately stood up and withdrew.

  Xue's wife picked up the tea bowl from the table and gave it to the old lady to drink.

  The old lady finished her tea and said: "What did those daughters-in-law say?"

  Xue Er Tai Tai said: "I asked them one by one, the young ladies suddenly went over, and the wives who were testing the fireworks kicked over the fireworks on the ground in a mess, it was an accident."

  The old lady took a glance at Mrs. Xue.

  Xue's wife hastily said: "If not, call those daughters-in-law over, and mother will ask them again."

  The old lady waved her hand and said, "Forget it, we owe the Tao family a favor."

  Mrs. Xue raised an eyebrow, her eyes gleaming with meaning, "That's not necessarily true." As she spoke, she covered the old lady with a quilt, "I think your sister-in-law likes Miss Tao better."

  The old lady hummed, "This marriage thing she never listens to me. If it weren't for her insisting on the Sun family engagement, Rui'er might already have had a child by now. Now she's taken a liking to the Tao family, and the Tao family isn't bad either. But the Changning Bo side is even better, Fourth Miss is also well-read and courteous, matching Rui'er perfectly."

  Xue Er's wife smiled and said: "Let's ask Master Hou instead, see if he has taken a liking to any of the young ladies."

  Speaking of Wu Mu Hou, Mrs. Xue let out a long sigh, "When Rui'er was young, he was quite clever, but as he grew older, he became more and more muddled, just like his father's temperament. Only Ming Bai and Ming Yi have the same temperament as me."

  Madam Xue's face naturally lit up with a smile, her eyebrows slightly excited, "Of course, the Ning family of Changning is the best," she said, going to light some incense, "If mother has taken a liking to us, we can't go wrong."

  "Ah, you know your sister-in-law's temper all too well," Madam Xue sighed heavily. "At my age, I just want to live a peaceful life. Besides, there's still the relationship between the Tao and Yi Cheng Hou estates..."

  Xue's wife seized the opportunity and asked, "Mother, which of the Tao family's young ladies is suitable?"

  Mrs. Xue looked at Mrs. Xue II and asked, "Which young lady do you think is better?"

  Madam Xue looked at the old lady who was meditating with her eyes closed, and she had already guessed a thing or two about what was on her mind. At this moment, the prince born to Imperial Consort Cai was most likely to be appointed as the crown prince. The old lady wanted to get close to the Cai family but was afraid that if there were any changes in the future, it would be best to establish some connections with the Cai family first and then observe the situation from the side. The Tao family also met this condition. "I saw that the second miss of the Tao mansion seemed to be in poor health and was a bit older, but the eighth miss of the Tao mansion was suitable..." Although she was born out of wedlock, there were advantages to being born out of wedlock. If the Cai family's ship sank, it would be easier to abandon her if needed, as an unsupported and unattached girl was easier to manipulate. Moreover, if the eldest son married this eighth miss, he would hardly be able to rely on his mother's family for support. If Mingying could marry the fourth miss of the Changning Marquis, the future situation would be more advantageous for their branch. If the old lady agreed to this, that would be perfect.

  "If Mother likes Changning's fourth daughter, Mingxiang is also at a marriageable age."

  Mrs. Xue smiled slightly and said, "This matter needs careful consideration before we can discuss it further."

  It's a good thing she didn't scold her. Xue Ertao smiled slightly, "Mother is also tired today, I'll serve mother to rest!"

  Madam Xue called the maid to come in and serve, personally making the bed for Old Madam herself. She didn't leave the room until Old Madam lay down.

  The second lady called the maid to bring a lantern and was walking towards her own courtyard when she ran into her son, Xue Mingying. After exchanging greetings, Xue Mingying led his mother aside and said, "Mother, this is really strange. I wrote two lines of poetry in the study earlier and was just thinking of going back to finish the rest. When I picked it up and took a look, someone had actually added two more lines at the bottom. The handwriting is completely unfamiliar to me."

  Add more... haven't eaten yet, go eat.