Chapter 596 A Plan Fails

Two days later, Chen actually went to her sister's house and brought her niece over, ostensibly to keep her company for a while.

The girl's name was Huo Lingyi. She was fifteen years old, tall and graceful, with cherry lips, bright eyes and white teeth. She was a beauty.

The elders had told Huo Lingyi that they intended for her to marry Gu Xiuhong. She was quite satisfied with this handsome and talented cousin, and personally cooked soup and made pastries to send to Gu Xiuhong's study. However, after being turned away several times, she learned that her cousin had no interest in her and gave up on the idea.

Even with her aunt Chen's strong encouragement, she wasn't as enthusiastic about Gu Xiuhong as she had been at the beginning. She was just going through the motions. After all, she wasn't worried about getting married, so she wouldn't relentlessly pursue a man who didn't like her.

Therefore, Gu Xuanyi liked her very much, feeling that her personality matched her standards for choosing friends. She took the initiative to talk to her and play with her. They became familiar with each other and were inseparable every day.

Chen watched helplessly as her niece was seduced and run off with her nephew, not even glancing at her own son. Furious, she went straight to Zhang and complained, "Sister-in-law, you asked me to bring my niece to your house. Are you trying to find Xuanyi a playmate, or are you trying to match her up with our Xiuhong?"

She launched into a tirade of accusations, leaving Zhang stunned. This sister-in-law was usually reasonable, and this was the first time she had been so unreasonable. But what did it have to do with her? She immediately retorted, "Second sister-in-law, when I gave you the idea, you agreed with it. Who could have predicted what would happen later? Miss Huo didn't take a liking to Xiu Hong, but she took a liking to our Xuan Yi. How can that be my fault?"

Madam Chen was even more furious: "What do you mean you've taken a liking to your Xuanyi? Don't forget, your Xuanyi is a girl. Can't you speak properly? Lingyi is my ideal daughter-in-law."

Zhang snorted and said irritably, "You know our Xuanyi is a girl, right? There's no need to treat our Xuanyi as a rival. I'm not going to steal your daughter-in-law, so what's the use of getting angry with me? Why didn't Miss Huo take a liking to your son? Can't you look for the reason in your son himself?"

Upon hearing this, Chen's spirits immediately deflated. She looked at Zhang, her lips moved slightly, but she ultimately said nothing more and sighed dejectedly.

How could she not know the reason behind her son's death?

Her son liked that widow. She had secretly taken a look at the widow and found that she was not a stunning beauty. Her appearance could only be described as gentle and pretty, far inferior to her niece Lingyi. She didn't know what her son saw in the widow. Lingyi came from a good family and was young and beautiful. Anyone who wasn't stupid would know that he should choose Lingyi.

Zhang managed to silence Chen, but seeing her worried face, she couldn't be happy for a moment. After all, she was a mother and couldn't bear to see another mother who was also worried about her child suffer. She said with a smile, "Now you understand my worries, right? My Xuanyi doesn't want to get married, and I'm so worried that I can't sleep. Your Xiuhong is willing to get married, but he has his eye on a widow."

Chen replied, "That's different. I wasn't upset when Xiu Hong was unwilling to get married before, but now that he's willing to get married, he wants to marry a widow. That's what upsets me. If Xuan Yi took a fancy to a widower, and that widower was old and from an ordinary family, would you still want her to get married?"

“That widow is twenty-two this year, two years older than Xiu Hong, but not very old,” Zhang said, then asked, “What is Xiu Hong’s attitude now?”

Madam Chen's face darkened, and she said, "What attitude can he possibly have? He won't marry anyone but that widow. Anyway, I will never agree to him marrying a widow. The only condition for letting that widow into the family is that he must marry a lady from a respectable family as his legal wife. After the legal wife enters the family and gives birth to a legitimate son, he can then bring her back as a concubine. I will have no objection."

Madam Zhang seemed to understand something and offered her a suggestion: "Second sister-in-law, it's useless to approach Xiu Hong directly. Why not start with that young widow? Arrange a meeting with her. If she really likes Xiu Hong, then she should help him marry a wife of equal social standing who can benefit him. Ask her to persuade him. Otherwise, you won't allow her to be a wife, let alone a concubine. Xiu Hong can afford to wait, but she's a woman, and she's not young anymore. She can't afford to wait."

Upon hearing this, Madam Chen was somewhat tempted, but hesitated, saying, "Isn't this a bit inappropriate? It's my son who's insisting on marrying her. What would I do if I went to her? If word got out, people would say that I can't control my son and am causing trouble for some girl."

Zhang rolled her eyes at her and said, "Fine, you're so high and mighty. If you're so capable, you can persuade Xiu Hong to obediently marry a wife of equal social standing. Otherwise, you'll have to persuade that widow."

Chen remained silent. Not only her, but even her husband didn't have the ability to persuade him. No matter how much they tried to talk to him, Xiu Hong was completely unmoved.

Zhang asked, "You weren't the kind of person who cared too much about social status before, so why are you so concerned about it now?"

Madam Chen sighed softly: "I don't care too much about social status, but I do care that she is a widow who has been married before. If she weren't a widow who had been married before, even if her social status was lower, as long as she was well-mannered and had good character, I could grit my teeth and nod in agreement."

Zhang continued, "My third sister-in-law's father's third and fourth wives were both widows who had been married before, but Lord Meng still married them anyway."

Upon hearing this, Madam Chen's lips twitched, and she said irritably, "How can they be the same? How can Lord Meng be compared to my son? He's not a clean-cut young man. He's not only old, but he's also been married before, has children, and several concubines. Does he really want to marry a fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl? Even if he wanted to, there wouldn't be any families of similar social standing willing to marry their daughters to him."

Zhang was stunned for a moment, then nodded: "That's true."

Madam Chen said with a stern face, "Tell Xuan Yi to stop bothering Ling Yi all the time. She is the daughter-in-law I chose for myself, not a playmate for Xuan Yi."

Madam Zhang corrected, "Second sister-in-law, it's not that Xuanyi is pestering Miss Huo, but that Miss Huo is taking the initiative to come and play with Xuanyi. This morning, Miss Huo took Xuanyi out to meet her friends."

Chen: "..."

Zhang glanced at Chen and said, "At this hour, Xiu Hong should be back. Second sister-in-law, you should have a good talk with Xiu Hong."

As she spoke, she couldn't help but sigh, feeling utterly melancholy: "Actually, it's a good thing that the child is willing to get married. If our Xuanyi could find someone she likes, even if he's a widower, it would still be a good thing, at least she'd come to terms with it. But now, she doesn't like anyone, and she's going to become an old maid soon, which is really worrying me."

Chen's lips moved, but in the end she held back from rebuking her. She just glared at her and left in a huff.

Zhang didn't try to stop her. Watching her leave, she muttered, "I didn't say anything wrong. What's the use of getting angry with me? If one plan doesn't work, then we'll come up with another. Who told you to give birth to such a stubborn son who insists on marrying a widow?"