Chapter 32 A Dream of Yellow Millet

Returning to the Begonia Courtyard with her mother, Yu Qingyan felt both wronged and relieved.

What she felt wronged about was meeting Lady Liao, but the thought that she would finally be able to avoid marrying into the general's mansion and becoming a widow made her feel overjoyed.

After sitting down, she couldn't wait to ask Madam Qiao, "Mother, is this true? I really don't have to marry into the General's Mansion and live as a widow?"

Madam Qiao looked at her daughter with a loving expression and nodded, saying, "Of course it's true. You heard your grandmother and father talking. Once they've made a decision, they won't change it. As for that girl Yu Qingci, she agreed to the marriage herself, so she can't blame anyone else."

Yu Qingyan breathed a sigh of relief and thought for a moment before saying, "I've been so worried about this that I can't eat or sleep. Now that it's finally resolved, Mother, I'd like to host a tea tasting banquet and invite Sister Liu and a few of my close friends to get together. How about that? My grandmother sent me some excellent autumn tea a few days ago, and I haven't even had a chance to drink it yet. It would be perfect to use it to entertain my good friends."

The Liu family sister that Yu Qingyan mentioned is the eldest daughter of the Liu family, the Minister of Works. They have been best friends since childhood. A few days ago, the Liu family held a chrysanthemum appreciation banquet and specially sent an invitation to Yu Qingyan, but Yu Qingyan declined because she was in a depressed mood.

Now that things have settled down, Yu Qingyan is finally in the mood to go out and socialize.

Mrs. Qiao walked over and sat down opposite her daughter. She couldn't help but tap her daughter's forehead with her finger and sighed, "Sigh, why are you still so impatient? The marriage was just put on that girl's head, and you couldn't wait to go out and socialize. Are you afraid that your father won't see through your intentions?"

Yu Qingyan was taken aback, but quickly understood.

Madam Qiao continued earnestly, "You must keep a low profile during this period. Stay at home quietly until that girl gets married, be good friends with her, and visit the Wisteria Courtyard more often when you have time, so that everyone knows that you are a good older sister who cares about your younger sister."

Yu Qingyan smiled and said, "Mother, I know what to do."

Mr. Qiao nodded with satisfaction.

With the wedding day drawing ever closer, the entire Earl's household began busily preparing for the ceremony.

Madam Qiao was extremely busy, both in front of and behind the scenes. She personally selected a new wedding dress, arranged servants for the bride's quarters, and sorted out all the dowry. She did everything herself to demonstrate her benevolent heart as the matriarch of the household. Outsiders who saw this could see that the Nanping Earl's Mansion truly valued this marriage and couldn't help but think more highly of it.

Yu Jingsheng received praise from his colleagues outside, and although he was preoccupied, he was satisfied with Qiao's actions after returning home.

But the thought of facing a woman outside the mansion who could kill him made him so worried that he couldn't eat or sleep, and he could only procrastinate day by day.

Yu Qingci was also struggling with how to explain this to her mother.

Father specially sent someone to the General's Mansion to convey a message: the marriage between the two families has been quite high-profile in public these days, so in order to avoid any further accidents, the matter of the sisters' substitute marriage should not be publicized for the time being.

The masters of both households strictly forbade their servants to speak of this matter, so it did not spread outside and Mother was unaware of it for the time being.

But I have to let my mother know eventually; I absolutely cannot let her fall out with my father over this.

In her past life, when her mother learned that the Earl's Mansion wanted her daughter to marry in place of her, she disregarded her status and barged into Shouyin Hall to question Madam Zhang. Madam Zhang was so angry that she punished her with family law. In the end, her father intervened and saved her mother, and also saved her from having to marry in place of her.

However, this offended almost all the masters of the Earl's Mansion. Madam Zhang loathed them, while Madam Qiao and Yu Qingyan hated them to the core. The father's heart also grew cold towards his mother due to the repeated upheavals, which gave Madam Qiao the opportunity to gradually kill her.

So she had to find a way to persuade her mother.

Wait, she remembered that not long after she entered the manor in her previous life, the capital city experienced a rare downpour. It was rare because it was accompanied by violent thunder and lightning.

Such weather usually only occurs in summer, but now that it is almost late autumn, there is thunder and lightning. As a result, a corner of the main hall of the City God Temple in the west of the city was struck by lightning and almost caused a fire. Because of this, the locals have been talking about this heavy rain for a long time and feel that it is very unlucky.

Having made up her mind, Yu Qingci took the initiative to go to her father and asked if she could leave the mansion to see her mother.

"Mother needs to know about this."

Seeing his daughter standing obediently in front of him, looking out for her parents, Yu Jingsheng couldn't help but sigh. He immediately ordered his servants to prepare a carriage and took the two siblings to Liuli Lane.

With two children around, Cheng Niang's temper will be somewhat restrained, right?

"What did you say?"

When Consort Su Cheng heard Yu Jingsheng's words, she almost fainted. The three of them were so frightened that it took them a while to calm her down.

"Say it again, where are you going to send my daughter?"

After realizing what was happening, Su Chengniang lunged at Yu Jingsheng, her gaze sharp as a knife, as if she wanted to pierce his heart.

Yu Jingsheng said with a face full of guilt, "Chengniang, listen to me, there's nothing we can do about it..."

"Don't call me! No wonder the old lady suddenly agreed to let the two children come back to recognize their ancestors. No wonder you were so eager to persuade us to return to the manor. It turns out you had all planned this. You just wanted to use my daughter to exchange for your daughter from the Earl's manor to escape the fate of being a widow!"

How could you treat us like this? You have such a cruel heart! I'll fight you to the death!

At this moment, Su Chengniang was no longer the calm and dignified woman she once was, and Yu Jingsheng was immediately made a mess of himself by her shrewish taunts.

The siblings had never seen their mother so angry before and were quite startled. They watched helplessly as their father was torn apart by their mother for quite some time before they reacted and tried to break up the fight.

Finally, Su Chengniang was tired of scolding and crying, so Yu Qingci helped her into the inner room and asked a maid to bring hot water so she could personally help her mother wash and dress up again.

She reached out and gently wiped away her mother's tears, forgetting that she herself was also in tears. Having such a mother who cared for her wholeheartedly in both her past and present lives was her greatest blessing.

Su Chengniang looked at her daughter, whom she had raised with the utmost care since childhood, now being schemed against by the people of the Earl's Mansion, and couldn't help but feel a deep sorrow.

"Mother, do you believe in what people call a fleeting dream?"

Yu Qingci slowly recounted her experience of the pipe dream.

The story begins with the three of them entering the Earl's mansion together, recounting how the mother humbled herself after entering the mansion for the sake of the two siblings, the story of the substitute marriage, and the tragic end of the mother and her two children. As Su Chengniang listened, her face grew paler and paler, her almond-shaped eyes fixed on her with disbelief.

Yu Qingci: "Mother, what I said is true. Whether you believe it or not, I believe it. So I believe that the young general is not dead. Otherwise, why would the court send so many people to search for so long but still not find his body?"

There are many rumors about the young general in the capital, most of which praise him as a young hero who stands tall and upright. Therefore, my daughter believes that the young general is an upright and honorable person.

"Mother, think about it. If I marry into the General's household and help him protect it for the next three years, he will surely treat me well when the young general returns."