Chapter 347 Turmoil (Part 2)

Grandma Lin was stunned when she heard this.

"She married far away, and it will be hard to see each other in the future. I want to stay for a few more years..." Eleventh Lady told Grandma Lin that the Xu family was reluctant to let Zhen Jieer go. Grandma Lin thought of Hui Jieer and naturally understood the feelings of the Xu family. She hurriedly said, "I will tell my brother about this." After Eleventh Lady left, she immediately wrote a letter to her family with great emotion and sent it to Cangzhou.

As soon as Shiyi Niang returned to the house, Yanrong followed her.

"I have heard everything about what happened last night." She whispered, "It was Aunt Qin who was complaining about the Second Young Master in front of the Marquis. She said that Le'an is a rural area, not as rich as Beijing, and life is poor. The Second Young Master only has a little maid to take care of him, and there is no mother to take care of things. I am afraid he will not know what to do if something happens. She wants the Marquis to send all the maids left at home to serve the Second Young Master."

Eleventh Lady was slightly stunned when she heard this.

"At first, the Marquis listened carefully. Later, his expression became a little surprised. He said that the second young master went to study, not to enjoy life. Why did he need so many people to serve him? Seeing that the Marquis was unhappy, Aunt Qin knelt down and apologized to him. The Marquis's expression eased a little, and he called Cui'er to help him change clothes. Aunt Qin started to think about the second young master's marriage again. She said that the second young master was a few days older than the eldest lady, and that the lady had been wholeheartedly helping the eldest lady find a husband these days, and even asked Aunt Wen to discuss it. The second young master There is no news about the marriage of the master. Now the second young master has gone to Le'an to study again. Heaven and earth, the emperor, parents and teachers are the most important. Parents are far away, so naturally teachers are respected. With the second young master's appearance, character and family background, I am afraid he is the best in Le'an. If he is noticed by the poor scholar who is good friends with Mr. Jiang, and if Mr. Jiang can't refuse out of courtesy and arranges the marriage in a hurry, wouldn't it delay the second young master's future. Please ask the marquis to find a daughter of a rich family who is suitable for the second young master as soon as possible..."

Is Aunt Qin really worried or just pretending to be worried? Xu Siyu's parents are not dead. Even if Mr. Jiang wants to be a matchmaker, he should tell Xu Lingyi anyway. How can he rashly agree to it?

Eleventh Lady listened and raised her eyebrows.

"When the Marquis heard this, he immediately threw the handkerchief in his hand into the basin, splashing water all over Aunt Qin's face. He said that it was not her place to criticize Mr. Jiang. He also asked Aunt Qin whether she was dissatisfied with the Second Young Master going to Le'an to study or dissatisfied with the fact that the Madam arranged a marriage for the eldest daughter first?" Yan Rong said, taking a few steps forward and whispering in Eleventh Lady's ear, "Aunt Qin was so frightened that she stood like a wooden chicken, and even the water drops on her face were frozen. I dare not wipe it." As if she remembered the scene at that time, she pursed her lips and smiled before continuing, "When the Marquis saw that Aunt Qin was speechless, he was so angry that his face turned blue. He ordered Cui'er to clean up the east wing and go to the east wing to rest. Aunt Qin panicked all of a sudden, knelt on the ground, hugged the Marquis' legs and cried, and kept saying that she was too worried about the second young master, so she said these nonsense.

Qin Yi Niang was crying and snotting, and the Marquis frowned. He asked Xinghua to pick up Qin Yi Niang and went out. Cui Er chased after her and knelt on the ground to plead for Qin Yi Niang. The Marquis simply went to Banyue Pan..."

As she was talking, a little maid came in and said, "Madam, Aunt Qin is here!"

It’s not even time for evening greetings yet!

Eleventh Lady asked the maid to call her in.

Aunt Qin's eyes were red and swollen. She walked up to Eleventh Lady and knelt down in front of her with a "thump". "Madam, I was blinded by greed and said nonsense. I hope you will not hold my faults against me and forgive me for coming here this time for the sake of the Second Young Master!" After saying that, she knelt down on the bluestone bricks and was about to kowtow.

Yan Rong quickly grabbed Aunt Qin and said, "Aunt, what's wrong with you? You came in and kowtowed without even explaining the reason. Even if you are wronged ten thousand times, how can our wife make the decision with you?"

Aunt Qin couldn't get up, but she didn't kowtow anymore. She looked at Eleventh Lady with tears in her eyes: "I saw that the prince was engaged and the eldest lady's marriage was also in sight, but the second young master was still alone and I was worried about his marriage. So when the Marquis came last night, I said a few inappropriate words and annoyed the Marquis. Madam, the Marquis respects you the most. Please help me plead with the Marquis for me because I am uneducated and ignorant."

She was actually asked to help speak in front of Xu Lingyi... Eleventh Lady was speechless for a moment.

Aunt Qin was about to kowtow again, but was stopped by Yan Rong.

"Madam," she said hastily, "I used to serve the Marquis. It was thanks to the grace of Madam Meng and the Marquis that I was able to marry my aunt. I am already satisfied. Moreover, I am now a woman who is looking forward to marriage. I should have cut off my marriage long ago. The Marquis has annoyed me, but it is my fault. I am not wrong in any way. I am afraid that because of me, the Marquis will think that the Second Young Master is also a person who does things without rules... Madam, as long as the Marquis does not annoy the Second Young Master, I have no complaints no matter what you ask me to do."

Eleventh Lady was a little surprised.

Aunt Qin is telling herself that there is only Xu Siyu in her heart. As for Xu Lingyi's favor, she no longer cares about it?

Eleventh Lady thought of Zhe Ge's rejection of Aunt Qin when she first met her, of Aunt Qin's respect towards her when she first entered the house, of her excessive welcome on that rainy winter night... a strange feeling arose in her heart.

"Get up!" Xu Lingyi's voice suddenly rang out in the quiet hall.

Eleventh Lady quickly gathered her thoughts and knelt down to salute Xu Lingyi.

Without even glancing at Aunt Qin who was kneeling on the ground, Xu Lingyi ordered Yan Rong, "Everyone, please leave. I have something to say to Madam."

Yanrong knelt down and responded, looking at Aunt Qin. Aunt Qin looked at Xu Lingyi with a stern face, her eyes darkened, her mouth twitched, and she and Yanrong retreated.

Eleventh Lady poured Xu Lingyi a cup of tea and said, "My Lord, what's the urgent matter?"

Xu Lingyi's expression eased, "Nothing! Otherwise she will cry here." He did not mention this matter again, and went to the old lady's place with Gengyi and Shiyi Niang for dinner. After returning, he did not go to Qin Yi Niang's place, but leaned on the kang in Shiyi Niang's inner room to read. Shiyi Niang did not know what he was up to, but thought that he had gone to Banyue Pan in the middle of the night yesterday, and today Qin Yi Niang came to kowtow to her again, so she did not want to get involved, so she sat on the kang while making shoes for Madam Zhou and accompanied her.

At the beginning of the night, Shiyi Niang felt her eyes were a little dull, and Xu Lingyi suddenly stood up and said, "I'm going!"

Eleventh Lady thought for a moment before she understood. She put down her work and said, "Master Hou, take care!"

Xu Lingyi paused, as if explaining, or talking to himself: "Since she came to apologize to you, I have to give you some respect."

Eleventh Lady looked at his receding back thoughtfully.

Aunt Qin came in public to apologize to her and begged her to intercede for him. If Xu Lingyi didn't go to Aunt Qin tonight, I'm afraid that the next day someone would say that she was jealous or narrow-minded, and there might even be rumors that she had no weight in Xu Lingyi's heart.

Aunt Qin really knew Xu Lingyi very well! The next day, Xu Lingyi stayed in Shiyi Niang's room, and Aunt Qin became more respectful to Shiyi Niang from then on.

Eleventh Lady couldn't help but smile bitterly.

Within a few days, Grandma Lin's eldest brother and Shao Zhongran's father arrived in Yanjing to discuss the details of the marriage with the Xu family.

Xu Lingyi asked the outer courtyard to give 10,000 taels of silver to Shiyi Niang to buy part of Zhen Jie'er's dowry. Shiyi Niang handed the money to Zhu Xiang and handed the account to Wen Yi Niang: "... It's not a lot of money, but if you use it properly, you can still do it decently. Please help keep an eye on it, don't spend money and get nothing done."

This is the land and property that Xu Lingyi bought for Zhen Jie'er to use as a comb. The steward of the outer courtyard went to buy it. Three or five thousand taels of silver was already very beautiful, not to mention ten thousand taels of silver. But Madam Wen thought that she was a concubine at that time, and some of the things her mother had saved up were not used. Now she has money in her hands. If she doesn't spend it on Zhen Jie'er, will she take it into the coffin?

Thinking that Shiyi Niang was fairly fair, she hesitated for a moment and said, "The Wen family is a business family. People come and go, and they do business. If Madam can trust them, I will introduce a few shopkeepers to you. I don't expect them to help me get a discount, but at least they will clearly mark the prices so I won't be fooled." She still didn't dare to mention the private money. She added, "Zhu Xiang is a girl after all, and she is not ashamed. I grew up in a merchant family, and I am a woman, so I can't talk to the shopkeepers. I think it's better for me to manage the money and Miss Zhu Xiang to manage the accounts. What do you think?"

Zhen Jie'er's dowry is not only related to the dignity of the Xu and Shao families, but also to Zhen Jie'er's life after marriage. Since Aunt Wen is a typical businessman, Shiyi Niang believes that she still has this skill of choice. Without much thought, Shiyi Niang nodded and agreed, but still warned her, "Aunt, you must be careful to avoid any leaks. Not only will it bring shame to the Xu family, it will also hurt Zhen Jie'er's heart and make it difficult for her to live in the Shao family!"

The smile that could not be concealed blossomed on Wen Niang's face. "Although I have small eyes, I also know that this is a big deal. I will definitely not ruin the young lady's business!"

Eleventh Lady ordered Zhu Xiang to hand over the 10,000 taels of silver from the outer courtyard to Madam Wen on the spot, and signed and sealed it. As soon as she returned to the house, she called Qiuhong and Donghong in.

"Donghong's handwriting is great. Please write a few bright red and gold-sprinkled characters for me. I want to prepare dowry for my eldest daughter." His tone was filled with joy.

Qiuhong and Donghong looked at each other in bewilderment at first, but when they calmed down, they both showed surprised expressions: "The Marquis agreed?"

"It's not the Marquis." Madam Wen smiled and took a sip of the teacup happily. "It was the Madam who agreed." She said, slightly touched. "The Madam is really efficient in doing things." She thought of the scrutinizing look in Xu Lingyi's eyes when he looked at her. "It's not like... It makes people feel uncomfortable."

Who doesn't he look like?

He just glossed over it in a vague way, which definitely showed that Madam Wen was someone whom she would not talk about casually.