Chapter 554 Self-pollution
Madam Cui thought the conditions were insufficient and asked anxiously, "Do you think the Cui family is bad, or do you think my sincerity is not enough?"
"I can assure you that you will not suffer any grievances when you marry into the Cui family. Once you are familiar with the various places and can manage the household, I will not use my status as a mother-in-law to divide your power over the rear house. My son is younger than you and has a kind personality. You can meet him before making a decision..."
Xue Ru shook her head: "It's not because of Mr. Cui, it's me."
"Aru!"
Tang Ning seemed to know what Xue Ru wanted to say, and frowned and spoke.
Xue Ru smiled, her expression gentle, "Sister, I can't hide my health from others, and Madam Cui is sincere in asking for my hand in marriage, so I don't want to deceive her."
"I'm very grateful for your consideration, Young Madam. However, you only know that I was miserable and mistreated by the Song family when I was young, but you don't know that my health has been damaged for a long time. The imperial physician said that I can't marry or have sex with a man before I'm twenty, and it might harm my future offspring."
"Young Master Cui is your only son. He will take over the Cui family in the future. I absolutely cannot delay him."
Madam Cui was shocked: "How could it be..."
She looked at Xue Ru and found that although she was thin, her complexion was rosy and there was no sign of illness between her eyebrows.
Xue Ru smiled and said, "Young Madam, you haven't seen what I looked like six months ago. My face was sallow, I was skin and bones, and I was smaller than a ten-year-old child. It was because my elder sister loved me so much that she had people nourish me with soup and medicinal food every day, and she also asked Madam Qin to give me acupuncture and regulate my qi every few days. Only in the past six months have I started to grow flesh and blood, and now I look like a normal woman."
"Although I appear healthy now, the deficit inside me is not so easy to make up for. Madam Qin said that I have little luck with having children. Although it's not certain that I can't have children, I don't think Madam Cui would be willing to gamble with Young Master Cui."
"He is the future head of the Cui family, and his wife will bear children for the Cui family. Whether for the sake of the clan's inheritance or to reassure the clan members, Young Master Cui will not accompany me to wait for a fate that may never appear, so I cannot agree to you."
Mrs. Cui's expression kept changing. She suspected that what Xue Ru said was a rejection, and she was just making up this excuse because she didn't want to marry into the Cui family.
But Xue Ru's expression was too serious, and now it was the Cui family who begged her, so even if she really didn't want to, there was no need to "defile herself" like this.
Her background is already somewhat tainted, and concubines' daughters are looked down upon. If she has difficulty in having children, how can she expect to get married in the future?
Mrs. Cui moved her lips, originally wanting to say give it a try, perhaps she could seek treatment from other famous doctors, or perhaps she could give birth to a child in a few years.
But when she thought of her young son, and what if Xue Ru really couldn't get pregnant for the rest of her life, would she have to occupy the position of legal wife and let her son and the Cui family be ridiculed?
Mrs. Cui hesitated.
Xue Ru smiled upon seeing this and said, "Thank you for your hospitality, Madam. Let's go, sister."
Tang Ning stood up and said, "I will tell my brother what the young lady asked for earlier. As for the rest, just pretend you never mentioned it."
Madam Cui quickly stood up: "Princess, I am not..."
"I see."
Although Tang Ning's expression was not very good, she was still understanding. "It is a good thing for the young lady to ask for A'ru's hand in marriage. However, A'ru is not destined to be with Mr. Cui. Besides, A'ru is still young. I want to keep her for a few more years. So please keep the matter of the talent a secret."
Madam Cui said sternly, "Don't worry, Princess. I will never tell anyone."
"Thank you very much, Madam. A'ru and I will take our leave now."
Tang Ning led Xue Ru away. Madam Cui was not angry because her marriage proposal was rejected. Instead, she personally saw the two of them out of the house. After watching them get on the carriage and leave, she couldn't help but sigh when she returned to the house.
"Why is the young lady sighing? It didn't work out?" the nanny beside her asked, "But I just saw Princess Xiangning take the brocade box away..."
"It's not that it didn't work, it's..."
Madam Cui paused, and after sending away the others around her, she lowered her voice and said, "Then Miss Xue has an old illness."
"Old illness?"
"Offspring."
Madam Cui only whispered something, and the nanny beside her showed a look of surprise: "How could it be?"
"She said so herself."
Madam Cui's face was filled with regret: "I really like that girl, it's just a pity..."
"I knew she wasn't having a good time in the Song family, but I never imagined that the Duke's Mansion was such a den of wolves and tigers, where the girls there were treated worse than beggars."
The maid whispered, "Why did the young lady give the mine to them?"
“Why not send it?!”
Madam Cui's expression turned cold. "Although not being able to marry Xue Ru means I'm missing a layer of security, but just seeing that they didn't hide this matter, I can tell what kind of personalities Princess Xiangning and Xiao Yan are."
"That night at the palace banquet, I stepped forward out of concern for the Cui family and to save Cui Lin's life, but they actually accused me of being cruel and heartless, plotting against Yu'er's future and my dowry."
"They begged me to sell my dowry to cover the shortfall and redeem Cui Lin, and then they turned their backs on me. Do they really think I'm easy to bully?"
She protected Cui Lin, and the stability of the Cui family was bought with half of her dowry, so naturally, everything in the Cui family can only belong to her son.
Moreover, when she was raising money some time ago, the confidant sent by her eldest brother to help her was extremely taboo when mentioning Xiao Yan. He told her to try her best not to make enemies with Xiao Yan, and that it would be best to repair the relationship if possible. He also said that her eldest brother had secretly investigated the Xiao family and almost fell into trouble as soon as he took action.
Her elder brother said that Xiao Yan was definitely not a simple person.
Although Madam Cui herself did not understand, she knew that her elder brother had always been extremely cautious and would never do anything without a purpose. Moreover, the mine originally belonged to her mother's family and was given to Xiao Yan by her elder brother through her. Her elder brother wanted to help her let Yu'er get the power to head the Cui family as soon as possible, and also wanted to use her to show goodwill to Xiao Yan.
If her elder brother is willing to do it, why should she hesitate?
Madam Cui glanced at the maids standing in the distance and said, "Don't mention what happened today anymore. Don't let Yu'er know about it either. If anyone asks, just say that I kept Princess Xiangning and the others because of Xiao Yan's title."
"I was worried that Xiao Yan would turn against me and settle old scores after he was granted the title, so I gave Princess Xiangning some rare and precious books to curry favor with her. Do you understand?"
The nanny quickly said, "I understand, young lady, don't worry."
…
Tang Ning didn't know about the Cui family's affairs. He frowned at Xue Ru while sitting in the carriage.
"Why did you tell her that you were infertile? You knew Sister Qin said you were weak, but as long as you take good care of yourself, it wouldn't be a problem for you to get married and have children in the future."
"If you don't like the Cui family's marriage proposal, just reject it. Why taint yourself?"
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