Chapter 21 Substitute Bride

Qiao Yuantao lowered his head with a look of remorse and said, "Yes, nephew will listen to aunt. Since my third cousin has now denied it, nephew will not pursue it any further."

Madam Qiao nodded in satisfaction and said, "This kind of thing must never be made public. Qingying is still young, but Qingyan is about to get married. If even a whisper gets out and the people in the General's Mansion find out, they might not say anything to her face, but they might ridicule her after Qingyan gets married."

"My poor daughter, whom my family has carefully nurtured for over a decade, is going to become a widow and suffer reputational damage because of this. My heart aches terribly. My child's life is so miserable."

As she spoke, she covered her face with her handkerchief and tears streamed down her face.

Hearing what Qiao said, Madam Zhang immediately felt the same way. She took Yu Qingyan's hand and said in a choked voice, "My poor granddaughter, with the century-old reputation of my family, when has the daughter I raised ever done such a shameless thing? Now she is also implicating Qingyan. As her grandmother, I am also heartbroken."

"Third Miss's unconventional behavior has tarnished the reputation of my Earl's Mansion. In my opinion, no punishment is too severe. She should be confined to the Wisteria Courtyard for now, and further punishment will be given after things have calmed down. This time, she must be taught a lesson."

He then looked at Yu Jingsheng and said, "This time, it was Sanya who made a big mistake. Your Excellency must not cover for her or plead for her."

Yu Jingsheng sat there silently, his face dark, seemingly acquiescing to Zhang's decision.

Madam Zhang: "Granny Qin, you personally oversee the escort of Third Girl back to Wisteria Courtyard. Instruct several capable old women to keep a close watch on the courtyard from today onwards, and forbid anyone from entering or leaving."

Upon hearing this, Tong'er became anxious and immediately tried to plead for her young lady's innocence.

Yu Qingci held her down tightly to prevent her from making a sound. Just as she was about to speak herself, she saw Qiao Shi glance at Qin Mama to the side.

Qin Mama understood immediately and stepped forward to say softly to Madam Zhang, "Madam, please calm down. This old servant actually has an idea, but I don't know if I should say it?"

Madam Zhang had always trusted Granny Qin, and upon hearing this, she casually replied, "Speak freely."

Granny Qin: "The Third Miss is young and ignorant and has made a big mistake. No matter how much we try to cover for her, so many servants saw it. Over time, it's hard to guarantee that some rumors won't spread and affect the reputation of the young ladies of our Earl's Mansion."

In my opinion, it would be better to cut the Gordian knot and marry off the Third Miss as soon as possible. Once the Third Miss is married, even if some rumors spread later, firstly, the Third Miss only returns to the manor for short periods of time, and secondly, not many people in the capital know about the Third Miss.

Secondly, since she is already married, the impact on the other young ladies in the household can be minimized.

Zhang's heart skipped a beat: "That's a good idea, but the most urgent thing is to find a suitable family to marry into."

Madam Zhang glanced at Qiao Yuantao standing below, her face full of disdain. Even if she looked down on the Third Girl, she was still just a daughter of the Marquis's family. This son of the Qiao family, born out of wedlock, was simply too low in status to be worthy of her.

When Granny Qin saw her looking at Qiao Yuantao, she knew she had misunderstood, so she leaned close to the old lady's ear and whispered a few words.

Upon hearing this, the old lady exclaimed, "What? You mean you want Third Sister to marry into the General's Mansion in place of Qingyan?"

The old lady wasn't actually surprised by what she said. Before Yu Qingci and her brother returned to the manor, Qiao had hinted at it to her several times. At that time, she had wavered, but since the third girl hadn't returned to the manor yet and she hadn't seen her, and she was also thinking about how she would torment Su Shi and her two children after they returned, she didn't express her opinion on the matter.

Now that Qin Mama had brought these words up again, Madam Zhang immediately felt that today was the perfect opportunity to change her eldest granddaughter's marital fate.

Then he looked at Yu Jingsheng, whose face was dark, and said, "Lord, in my opinion, this is a good idea. What do you think, Lord?"

Yu Jingsheng was sitting there, already seething with anger. As a grown man, he was already impatient with dealing with such matters of the inner quarters, and now that Qingci had gotten into trouble, he was ready to tie up Qiao Yuantao and beat him to death.

However, since this person was Qiao's nephew, he couldn't kill him. He was already furious, and when he heard his mother say this, he was stunned and blurted out, "How can this be?"

To be fair, he ultimately couldn't bear to part with his daughter.

Madam Zhang said gently, "Why not? They are all your own flesh and blood. Since Qingyan was fine before, I think it's fine to replace her with Sanya."

It's not that I, as her grandmother, am heartless. After all, it was Qingci who acted so shamelessly today. Since that's the case, it's better to let her marry into the General's Mansion in place of Qingyan. This way, the Third Sister can make amends and also salvage some of the Earl's Mansion's reputation.

Finding Qingyan a suitable match in the future would also be a great help to the Earl's family. The Earl might want to think it over carefully.

Yu Qingci stood quietly at the lower end of the table, listening intently. When she saw Zhang finally utter the words "substitute marriage," she couldn't help but sneer inwardly.

She was planning to marry in place of another, but she absolutely could not allow it to tarnish her reputation.

Before her father could speak, Yu Qingci said, "Grandmother and Father, did you really judge my crime based solely on this purse?"

Zhang shouted, "How dare you open your mouth? Several people just came out to testify that this purse is yours. Do you still want to deny it?"

Yu Qingci ignored Zhang Shi and stepped forward, pointing to the purse, saying, "This purse is made of brocade, and the embroidered pattern is also very common. Not only do I have this style of purse, but my second sister also has one."

"My second sister, fourth sister, and Siqin all said they've seen this before, but I remember that on the first day I returned to the manor, my second sister was wearing a similar purse, and it was also this light yellow color, right, second sister?"

Yu Qingci looked at Yu Qingyan and continued, "Then can I also say that this purse might belong to my second sister?"

"You're talking nonsense!"

Yu Qingying couldn't help but blurt it out.

Yu Qingci: "As for the young master of the Qiao family saying that I asked Tong'er to give it to him personally, is there any witness? We can't just believe whatever this person says. The reputation of the daughter of the Earl's family is too easily tarnished."

Mrs. Qiao frowned, not expecting that even at this point, this girl could remain so calm and even dare to throw mud at her own daughter.

Qiao Yuantao hurriedly said from the side, "What Yuantao just said is all true. There is also a silk handkerchief in this purse, which should also belong to Third Cousin."

Everyone's eyes turned to the purse on the table. Granny Qin walked over, picked it up, opened it, and sure enough, took out a silk handkerchief. She then unfolded it and showed it to everyone for a closer look.

The handkerchief was made of moon-white brocade fabric, with several iris flowers embroidered on it with silk thread, and leaves outlined in gold thread. The colors were exceptionally rich and vibrant.

Yu Qingyan's expression changed instantly upon seeing the handkerchief.

Tong'er spoke up: "This handkerchief doesn't belong to my young lady. My young lady never embroiders flowers and plants on her handkerchiefs. However, this iris pattern looks familiar to me. It seems that the second young lady likes this pattern. The jacket that the second young lady wears is also embroidered with irises."