Chapter 287 Confrontation (Part 1)

Listening to the gradually fading drumbeats, Lord Xiang sighed, "I have already promised Chazhen about this matter." His brows showed a bit of fatigue, "After the mourning ceremony of the wife of the Marquis of Yongping, our two families will exchange engagement certificates..."

Mrs. Xiang was so angry that her face turned red and her chest heaved.

She looked at her husband who was determined, rushed to the door, and shouted to her nanny: "... Ask the servant to prepare the car, and you ask the three ladies to prepare their luggage. We will go to my uncle's house now."

Mr. Xiang rushed over and grabbed his wife's arm: "Rong Niang, don't be like this! Speaking of which, Brother Yu's child is not bad either..."

"How dare you say that!" Mrs. Xiang's eyes turned red with anxiety. "A child born to a maid, you think you're good at calling her that?"

"Rong Niang," Lord Xiang's face darkened as he heard this, "A hero does not care about his background. Talent is the first priority when choosing a son-in-law. Don't live your life by focusing on the top of the ladder!"

"Yes, choosing a son-in-law is like choosing talent." Mrs. Xiang said sarcastically, "I wonder if the second son of the Yongping Marquis won the first or third place in the imperial examination? I can't see any talent in him."

When the personal nanny saw the maid serving in the hall, she winked and the people in the room retreated quietly. The personal nanny even considerately closed the door of the hall.

"He grew up by Qiazhen's side. How could Qiazhen not know what kind of person he is?" Mr. Xiang advised Mrs. Xiang, "Besides, Qiazhen is all alone. If Roune passes away, she can also keep aunt company..."

"Qiazhen, Qiazhen, you only think about Qiazhen!" Mrs. Xiang was furious, "Have you ever thought about Rouna? She is our daughter. She is well-behaved and sensible..." As she spoke, she burst into tears, "How can you bear to let her kneel down to serve tea to that maid Qin concubine. What's more, Yongping Marquis's second wife is only three years older than her. She is her legitimate mother-in-law. Maybe our Rouna can't walk, but Yongping Marquis's wife is still full of energy. Other daughters-in-law will always have a day to get ahead. If our Rouna really marries, when will it end!" She pulled Mr. Xiang's sleeve and looked at him with a tearful face, "Master, it's not that I don't care about my eldest aunt. I also know that my uncle wanted to send my fifth brother here at the beginning. It was my father-in-law who saw that you were in a difficult situation at home and didn't care about your age. You asked for it, and you studied and wrote with your father-in-law, which led to today's success. Not to mention the old man, even I, as a daughter-in-law, will be grateful to the old man for my whole life. When she got married, it was said that she only had 36 pieces of dowry, but the 6,000 acres of fertile land, an oil mill, and the collection of books in the house that my mother brought as a dowry were all given to her. Don't think I don't know. I kept silent because she was my father-in-law's own flesh and blood. But today, not only does she not have the slightest gratitude, she also wants to do my daughter a favor. Old man, you might as well give me three feet of white silk. It is absolutely impossible for me to agree to this marriage!" After saying this, she burst into tears.

"Rong Niang, Rong Niang..." His wife's words made Lord Xiang's eyes slightly moist.

His biological mother died early, and his biological father remarried. When his stepmother gave birth to a son, she was not satisfied with the previous one. Not only did he not have enough food and warm clothes, but he also used the excuse that he could not find a good teacher, and when he was ten years old, he still hadn't been taught. His uncle had no children and wanted to adopt a son. He originally had his eyes on his fifth brother, who had just turned one year old. Later, seeing that he was not doing well, he ignored his aunt's objection and took him home when he was already twelve years old. He was afraid that he would lose face, so he taught him at home in person and taught him to write... After two years, seeing that he had some basics, he invited a teacher to teach him at home.

This incident later became a source of worry for his mother, who was still brooding over it until her death. So when his father died, he swore in front of his father that as long as he had a meal to eat, he would give up his sister first.

Today, he has not only been promoted to a fourth-rank official, but has also inherited the ancestral property from his father. However, the brothers in his family fought openly and secretly, and only the youngest brother survived. Not only did he lose the family property, but he now has to rely on him to make a living.

Thinking of this, he became determined to marry his second daughter off.

"Rong Niang." Lord Xiang helped his wife to sit on the big kang by the window in the inner room. "The reason why this dowry was not written on the gift list at that time was, firstly, because the third and fourth masters of the Xu family were both discussing marriage. Qiazhen was afraid that it would cause embarrassment to other families, and also afraid that it would cause rifts between the sisters-in-law. Secondly, this was my mother's idea. She wanted to leave her dowry to Qiazhen. Men get the family and women get the food and clothing. This is also understandable..."

Mrs. Xiang heard her husband's tone, as if he was advising her not to compete with Xiang Qiazhen for the industry, and she couldn't help but get furious.

"Master, you and I have been married for 20 years, am I such a person?" She interrupted her husband with a harsh tone, "If I wanted to argue with her about these, why would I have waited until today?" She stared at Mr. Xiang, "After so many years, haven't you taken enough care of her? The Mid-Autumn Festival, Dragon Boat Festival and Spring Festival gifts, the warm and cold clothes for all seasons... I have never complained. But she wanted me to marry off my daughter, but she consulted with her brother. Why does she take me seriously..."

After learning about Qiazhen's intention at noon, the couple has been arguing about it until now. Mrs. Xiang has only two ideas in her mind: why did the eldest aunt not consult with her sister-in-law but with her brother when she was matchmaking for her niece; and why did I do something wrong to her that she wanted to ruin my daughter like this.

Mr. Xiang knew that if he continued talking, his wife would only express these two meanings.

He didn't want to be at odds with Mrs. Xiang anymore. He asked his wife bluntly, "Are you dissatisfied with this marriage? Or are you dissatisfied that I didn't discuss it with you?"

Mrs. Xiang was stunned and said, "I am not satisfied with either of them!"

"Well, let's talk about this marriage first." Lord Xiang showed his calmness and rationality when handling official business: "After all, you think that Brother Yu's biological mother is a maid and of low status. But no matter how low his status is, he is the eldest son of Yongping Marquis Xu Lingyi in the ancestral tree. Otherwise, why would he marry into our Xiang family. And Yongping Marquis can take such good care of his brothers, let alone Brother Yu, the eldest son."

"I..." Mrs. Xiang just opened her mouth to say something, but Lord Xiang waved his hand and said, "Listen to me first." Then he said, "Marquis Yongping is only 28 years old this year. He has at least 30 years to live. As for the title, he will have to wait until his son dies!" As he said that, he glanced at his wife coldly, "Instead of dreaming about those unrealistic things, it is better to let him live alone while he is young and strong. Isn't it a hundred times better than marrying an ordinary official's son? Can that concubine not serve in front of the legitimate wife and live with Yu'er? Besides, this is exactly what I haven't discussed with you." At this point, a trace of annoyance flashed in Lord Xiang's eyes. "How did you ask Qiazhen to discuss this with you? When Roujin was serving the Queen Mother of Pox, she went to great lengths to get the medicine for reconciliation from the palace. What did you say? How could this medicine be taken carelessly? Then she asked the maid to put it in the cupboard in front of Qiazhen. Later, Yijia wanted to be enlightened. It happened that the teacher who had taught Qiazhen classics and history was at home, so she recommended him to you. What did you say? The child is too young, so he should first learn all the "Youth Studies" and then read the classics and history..."

The louder Mr. Xiang spoke, the worse Mrs. Xiang's face became. She could no longer hold back and jumped up: "You only blame me, why don't you talk about the eldest aunt. What did she say at that time? She asked for the medicine for reconciliation from the palace, but do you know what she said when she saw the medicine sent by my sister-in-law?" Mrs. Xiang smiled coldly, "You don't know the bottom of what she said, so it's better to be careful. Is it that only she gave medicine, and my sister-in-law gave poison? When Yijia was enlightened, she recommended the teacher. But what did she say? Poetry and songs are all evil ways, only the various schools of thought are serious... Just think that everyone is illiterate, and only she is familiar with the classics and history, and is a person who understands reason."

"When did she really say that poetry and songs are all heresy?" Lord Xiang was dumbfounded. "She just said that the teacher your brother introduced to Yijia paid too much attention to poetry and songs. Yijia will take part in the imperial examination in the future. Instead of spending energy learning these, it is better to put it on the "Four Books Annotation". What's more, this is what my father said when he was alive. You are making this up completely out of thin air!"

"I made it up!" Mrs. Xiang glared angrily, "When did I make it up? It is a fact that she sold my daughter to the Yongping Marquis's Mansion as a favor..."

"Forget it, forget it," Mr. Xiang shook his head gently, deciding to stop talking. To avoid Mrs. Xiang getting angry and nagging about trivial matters, "These are all old things, and we don't want to mention them anymore. Now we are talking about the marriage of our children. We can't delay it just because we are angry with Qiazhen..."

Mrs. Xiang laughed angrily, "How could I be angry with my eldest aunt? What right do I have to be angry with my eldest aunt? Grandpa is right. This is the marriage of our children and it cannot be delayed because of those messy things. Roune is my dearest child and I cannot bear to see her suffer after marrying into my family, so I will not agree. But grandpa must agree for the sake of my eldest aunt. In this case, I think you don't have to listen to me or grandpa. Let's go and reason with my father - my father and father-in-law are old friends, and he used to be the prefect of Shuntian Prefecture. He is familiar with the criminal laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty and I don't know how many cases he has judged. He will not speak nonsense to you!" As she spoke, she called out to her dear mother loudly.

When you encounter something unpleasant, you have to go back to your parents' home to reason with your father-in-law and uncle!

Lord Xiang was filled with anger, "Okay. I've always wanted to talk to my father-in-law. Back then, when my eldest aunt was gone, the Xu family was in trouble, and any sister-in-law would have to go and comfort them. But you insisted on going to Ren. Not only that, there were only a few old people left to take care of the house, and the housekeepers, cooks, maids and old women were either dismissed or taken to Ren. It's just that I didn't get promoted even when I went back to my parents' home. It's just right, I should take this opportunity to talk to my father-in-law. Let's see how the Great Zhou Criminal Law would punish such a thing!" After that, without even looking at Mrs. Xiang, he went out and called the steward, "Arrange the carriage, my wife and I are going to visit my uncle!" He left Mrs. Xiang there.