Chapter 242 The Cousin of the Marquis of Zhenbei
No wonder Li Beifeng kept appearing in front of him by chance these past few days, and his behavior was very ingratiating. Lu Yunqi was originally confused and didn't know what was wrong with him, but now he realized that this guy had taken a fancy to his precious little sister.
Yu Qingci: "What does my husband think of this marriage?"
This concerned his younger sister's future, so Lu Yunqi's handsome brows furrowed, and his fingers tapped lightly on the table.
He naturally admired Li Beifeng greatly. Li Beifeng was a young general who had fought alongside the Marquis of Zhenbei for years, risking his life on the battlefield. His character and abilities were impeccable. Furthermore, he knew that although Li Beifeng was a prince, he had always been chaste in matters of love, and his household was clean and tidy, without any messy concubines or the like, except…
His cousin.
As far as he knew, the Marquis of Zhenbei and his wife had arranged marriages for their son over the years, but each time they were thwarted. And the one who ruined his marriage was none other than his own grandmother, the old lady of the Marquis of Zhenbei's mansion.
It seems that the old lady of the Marquis's mansion has other plans for her eldest grandson's marriage, but no one in the entire mansion except the old lady agrees, which is why it has been delayed until now.
Upon hearing this, Yu Qingci's heart sank. Combining this with what Old Madam Ning knew, it wasn't hard to deduce the truth.
No wonder the marriage of the heir of the Marquis of Zhenbei is so difficult. If it were any family that loves their daughter, wouldn't they immediately reject the marriage upon hearing that there is a cousin involved?
However, Yu Qingci had a good impression of Li Beifeng, and she already understood her sister-in-law's thoughts, so she still wanted to try to help her. Whether it succeeded or not depended on their fate.
Seeing his wife frowning in thought, Lu Yunqi took her hand and said gently:
"Don't worry. In that case, I'll invite Beifeng to dinner tomorrow and ask him directly. If he really has feelings for Yun Chu, then we'll have to show him sincerity."
Yu Qingci nodded. "Let's leave it at that for now."
The General's Mansion acted swiftly, gathering all the details of the Zhenbei Marquis's inner quarters within a single day.
The Marquis of Zhenbei and his son have been leading troops in battles for many years and have won the emperor's favor. The Marquis of Zhenbei's mansion is a prominent family. The heir, Li Beifeng, is the Marquis of Zhenbei's only legitimate son and the most valued son. Therefore, the Marquis of Zhenbei and his wife naturally attach great importance to the selection of the future heir's wife and have begun to look for a suitable candidate among the noble families in the capital.
Unfortunately, all the daughters of high-ranking families that the Marquis of Zhenbei and his wife had their eyes on ultimately came to nothing due to the meddling of their own mother. The old lady's preferred granddaughter-in-law was her maternal grandniece, Lin Chuchu, who had always been raised by her side.
The maternal family of the Marquis of Zhenbei was originally a meritorious family with a title. Unfortunately, by the time of the old lady's father, the title had come to an end after three generations. The descendants were not capable enough to maintain the huge family business, and the entire family collapsed and declined in a short period of time.
On the contrary, the Zhenbei Marquis's mansion has been thriving due to its military achievements, so in recent years the old lady's brothers, nephews and nieces have frequently come to the door to beg for money.
Lin Chuchu is the illegitimate daughter of the old lady's younger brother. Because she is pretty and clever, she knows how to please the old lady. When she was ten years old, the old lady took her in and raised her. She has been raised ever since.
The Lady of Zhenbei Marquis had no daughters, and the Marquis's mansion was large and wealthy. It wouldn't have been a problem for her to raise a daughter who was good at pleasing people and to be filial to the old lady. However, as Lin Chuchu grew up, the old lady began to think about arranging a marriage between the two families. She wanted Lin Chuchu to marry her grandson, Li Beifeng, and become the wife of the heir. In that case, her maternal family would be more firmly attached to the Marquis's mansion, and even if she lost her maternal family in the future, she would not have to worry about making a living.
As soon as the old lady brought up her plan, it was met with strong opposition from her son and daughter-in-law. After learning about his grandmother's idea, Li Beifeng began to avoid Lin Chuchu at all costs, trying his best not to meet her. For a period of time, he even stayed in the military camp and did not go home.
The old lady of the Marquis of Zhenbei was determined to marry her grandniece into the family. Over the years, she had gone to great lengths to achieve her wish, even going so far as to sabotage her grandson's marriage alliance with a prominent family.
Because of this matter, the old lady of the Marquis of Zhenbei had countless arguments with her son and daughter-in-law, almost to the point of throwing a tantrum. The Marquis and his wife were extremely annoyed.
Finally, seeing that all else failed, the old lady came up with another foolish idea—after the young master got married, she would bring Lin Chuchu into the mansion as a concubine.
In short, Lin Chuchu absolutely had to marry her grandson.
After all the commotion, the prominent families in the capital all knew that the Marquis of Zhenbei's mansion had an unreasonable old ancestor and a pre-arranged concubine for the heir. Which family would still be willing to marry their daughter into the family?
This isn't a marriage alliance, it's clearly a feud!
As for those families of lower social standing who were willing to marry off their daughters, the Marquis of Zhenbei and his wife did not approve of them, and the marriage was delayed indefinitely.
Lu Yunqi: "Today, Beifeng took the initiative to mention to me that he has absolutely no romantic feelings for his cousin Lin Chuchu. It was all just his grandmother's wishful thinking. He will never take a concubine except for his wife, let alone his cousin Lin Chuchu."
Yu Qingci, however, did not take it seriously: "But with his grandmother around, and Lin Chuchu, a living person, residing in the inner quarters of the Marquis's mansion every day, who can guarantee what might happen in the future?"
"good."
Lu Yun nodded, a hint of helplessness and annoyance on his face:
"In recent years, the old lady has been pressuring the Marquis of Zhenbei and his wife on Beifeng's marriage by citing filial piety. A couple of years ago, the Marquis's wife had also arranged for Beifeng to meet several young ladies, but whenever there was a slight chance of finding someone, the old lady would find an excuse to bring Lin Chuchu to the scene and make things very ugly, and the marriage would naturally fall through."
Because of their filial piety, the Marquis of Zhenbei and his wife could do nothing about the old lady. Beifeng even requested to be transferred to the border to guard the frontier, just to get rid of his grandmother and cousin and have some peace and quiet.
He told me that he had originally given up on getting married and planned to volunteer for border defense again after this year. However, after seeing Yun Chu at Taijue Temple that day, he changed his mind and wanted to try again, which is why he took the initiative to ask his mother to come and propose marriage.
Yu Qingci looked at Old Madam Ning, and seeing that her mother-in-law still seemed indecisive, she knew that she wouldn't get a solution from her, so she said:
“Yun Chu is still young, so there’s no need to rush into marriage. Nowadays, there are so many families coming to propose. If the Marquis of Zhenbei’s family is determined to marry her, then they should show their sincerity. Let’s wait and see. They are the ones who came to us for this marriage, so they should be the ones who are anxious now.”
Yu Qingci made the final decision, and Old Madam Ning acquiesced. Lu Yunqi now listens to his young wife in everything, so naturally he has no objections.
After the group made their decision, they went about their business. They treated other families who came to propose marriage with courtesy, and decided to compare several suitors before making a final decision.
The next day, Madam Zheng and the wife of the Marquis of Zhenbei came to visit together.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com