Chapter 88 Arranging a Marriage for Yun Chu
Throughout the journey, Granny Pei kept talking, occasionally flashing the pair of incense balls in her hands, her voice so loud that all the servants around could hear her clearly:
The Second Master actually sent his personal maid to Guanlan Courtyard to deliver the young general's belongings to the widowed young mistress, but she was sent back before she could even enter the gate.
Because Lu Yunbo was not at home, Granny Pei sent the person to Second Madam Wei and explained the whole story in front of a room full of servants. Madam Wei was so angry that she almost fell backward.
Soon the west courtyard became lively.
After finishing her sentence, Granny Pei ignored everything else and returned with her servants to report to Yu Qingci.
"This old servant took Bi'er to the Second Madam and explained everything. At first, the Second Madam thought this old servant was making a fuss. She said that the upper beam was crooked and the lower beam was crooked, and the whole family was no good, full of scheming."
"But don't worry, young mistress, they can't extort us. This old servant has made a big fuss about it all the way here, so everyone in the manor knows what happened. Even if they want to spread rumors, they'll say it's about the second master acting improperly."
Yu Qingci: ...
Granny Pei's methods are really... quite good.
Yu Qingci: "What about the aromatherapy balls?"
Pei Mama: "This old servant personally delivered it to the old lady. The old lady only glanced at it and said it wasn't the young general's. The young general never uses such things. This old servant just threw it away to avoid offending the young lady's eyes."
Meanwhile, the second wife's side was still bustling with activity. Feeling that she had lost face, the second wife went up to Bi'er and started pinching and cursing her as soon as Pei Mama left. She kept saying that this little slut had ill intentions and wanted to climb up to Guanlan Courtyard. She even dared to use the second master as a stepping stone and ruin his reputation.
Lu Yunbo rushed over, realizing that things hadn't gone well, and kicked Bi'er.
Poor Bi'er was usually pampered and spoiled, and had never been beaten by her master. She thought that doing this task for the Second Master today would be the simplest thing, but she never expected it to end like this. She was immediately terrified and, ignoring the pain, got up and kowtowed to beg for mercy.
"Second Master, please spare me! I was just doing what you ordered!"
Upon hearing this, Lu Yunbo became even more enraged and stepped forward to kick her again. Poor Bi'er was kicked to the ground and coughed up blood.
Lu Yunzhang, sitting to the side watching the farce unfold, wore a mocking expression and added fuel to the fire, saying:
"Second brother, calm down. Bi'er was just doing what you asked. Now that things have gone wrong, you can't blame her entirely."
But I'm curious why my second brother would pull something like this. Could it be that you've set your sights on that young widow, my third brother's wife? Tsk tsk tsk, my second brother certainly has good taste.”
Upon hearing this, Lu Yunbo denied it with a livid face, saying, "Brother is joking, there's nothing to it."
Lu Yunzhang didn't believe it, but said, "That's good. Second brother, remember we're brothers. If my matter succeeds, you'll naturally reap the rewards."
Only after hearing her two sons say this did Madam Wei realize something was amiss, and she turned to ask Lu Yunbo:
"Yun Bo, what's going on? Why did you send Bi'er to Guanlan Courtyard to deliver that thing? Is it really Yun Qi's? But I remember Yun Qi never liking these kinds of incense or anything like that?"
Lu Yunbo was annoyed and didn't want to say more. He mumbled a few words and then made an excuse to leave. Before leaving, he didn't forget to scold Bi'er, who was still kneeling on the ground crying. Bi'er hurriedly got up and followed him.
Lu Yunzhang sat there, sneering incessantly.
Madam Wei sat down next to him and asked, "Does your second brother really have those kinds of thoughts? No way."
Lu Yunzhang: "Whether he has such intentions or not, Second Brother knows it himself. Even if he wants to return Yunqi's things, he should return them to Aunt. Third Sister-in-law is a widowed woman, and Second Brother doesn't even know to avoid suspicion?"
Wei looked thoughtful.
"Could it be that that little slut Yu Qingci is unfaithful and has developed inappropriate thoughts about your second brother?"
Lu Yunzhang...
Seeing that Wei was going astray, Lu Yunzhang had no choice but to speak up:
"Mother, don't worry. Third sister-in-law probably doesn't think much of second brother. As for second brother, he doesn't seem to be able to concentrate on his duties these days. I often see him staying at home."
By the way, my second brother took 150 taels of silver from Mother last time, saying he'd help me find connections. So much time has passed, I wonder what the outcome has been.”
Wei was still skeptical: "Really? Yun Bo has always been reliable and steady in his work. Perhaps he's getting close to Yu Qingci to help you?"
Lu Yunzhang said irritably, "Even so, so what? Does Mother really think that Third Sister-in-law is so easily fooled by Second Brother? Mother, don't think about those things. Let's think about what to do now."
My aunt, now with her three younger siblings as her advisors, is becoming increasingly assertive towards our two branches of the family. She's also tightening her control over the household, no longer allowing anyone to enter or leave freely. Even my duties have been largely taken over by Steward Lu. If this continues, we'll be left with nothing in this household.
Upon hearing this, Madam Wei became even more annoyed and said, "We thought it would be more advantageous for us to marry that young widow. We might even have to manage the generous dowry she brought. Who knew that girl would be so capable? Now your aunt listens to her in everything. I think your adoption is probably not going to work out."
"Sigh! We were quite happy for a while when we found out the Earl's mansion had replaced her with a wild girl who had returned halfway through the journey."
Lu Yunzhang's face was terribly gloomy: "It's all up to us. As long as we're still in the General's Mansion, there's room for maneuver. But Mother, you should still have a good talk with my second brother and tell him not to have any improper thoughts."
She then changed the subject, saying, "I met my uncle the other day, and he mentioned that my sixth cousin is still unmarried. Our cousin Yun Chu is about the same age as my sixth cousin, so why don't you, Mother, mention it to my aunt?"
Before Wei could recover from what had just happened, her eyes widened upon hearing this:
"You're saying you're going to marry Yun Chu to your sixth cousin? How could that be? Your aunt has high standards; she would never be interested in your uncle's family."
Wei's maternal father was only a minor official of the sixth rank. To put it nicely, he was from an official family, but in the capital, he was really not that important.
The family's elder brothers were all currently unemployed, and the whole family relied on their father's salary to make a living. So, Madam Wei arranged for her brothers to work as shopkeepers in the General's Mansion, so that they could at least earn some money to supplement the family income.
With such a family background, how could they possibly dream of marrying the legitimate daughter of a general's family?
Wei couldn't even imagine it.
Lu Yunzhang said dismissively, "If this matter had been brought up when my eldest uncle was alive, my uncle's family would indeed have been too high a status to be worthy of it. But things are very different now. Without my eldest uncle and third cousin, we don't know how long the General's Mansion can last."
Furthermore, Yun Chu is approaching marriageable age, and the pretext of mourning makes it difficult for anyone to propose marriage. Her aunt is probably quite anxious about it.
Mother might as well go and talk to her first; maybe Auntie will be interested. Then, we can keep the benefits within the family and still get them.
The more Wei thought about it, the more feasible it seemed, so she nodded and said:
"Then I'll give it a try."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com