Chapter 19: A Good Girl with a Golden Branch and Jade Leaves
Not knowing what he saw, Qi Wuhan paused waving his fan, a hint of playful laughter appeared on the corner of his mouth, "It seems that Second Master Pei has become bored with the old and loves the new so quickly."
As the lights came on, Wanhua Tower was experiencing its busiest business. Customers came in waves, including Pei Qian.
He was not alone, but came with three other young men of similar age. One of them had the most important status, he was the eldest son of Changxing Marquis's Mansion, Gu Jincheng.
Pei Qian glanced upstairs, then leaned over to whisper something in Gu Jincheng's ear. The two of them looked upstairs one after another, their eyes falling on Qi Wuhan.
After the four of them went upstairs, Pei Qian asked to go over and say hello, so Gu Jincheng took the other two over to sit down first.
"Your Majesty has such a refined taste, spending every day among these beauties. He must be very knowledgeable and experienced. I wonder if there is any other girl who can catch your eye?" Pei Qian came over and bowed sarcastically.
Qi Wu waved his fan nonchalantly and said, "If the Second Young Master was as knowledgeable as me, I'm sure he wouldn't be interested in my original sister-in-law."
"You!" Pei Qian's face flushed with anger as he sneered, "The Marquis has high standards. I'm sure he wouldn't be interested in my original wife."
"Of course, this marquis has good vision. I will never mistake fish eyes for pearls, nor will I belittle a good girl from a wealthy family as worthless." It was rare for Qi Wuhan to speak seriously, without his usual nonchalant attitude.
Pei Qian sneered in his heart. The evaluation was high enough. It seemed that the other party had set his sights on Jiang Lan, which made him even more unhappy.
It was obvious that he had previously despised the other person as a sickly person and a piece of wood, and discarded him like a worn-out shoe, but now he doesn't allow others to recognize the talent in him.
"What is the Marquis saying to Brother Pei? Let me listen too." Gu Jincheng walked over and said with a gentle smile on his face.
"Nothing much," Qi Wuhan returned to his usual nonchalant tone, "but I never expected that this young man from a wealthy family would actually learn to gossip about others behind their backs like a common woman."
"You!" Pei Qian was so angry that his face turned purple and his eyes were almost blazing.
"Your Majesty, you are joking." Gu Jincheng said with a smile to smooth things over, and invited Qi Wuhan to come over for a drink.
"I caught a cold a few days ago and shouldn't drink alcohol. Next time, I'll get drunk with the prince." Qi Wuhan picked up the teacup on the table and scraped it a few times.
"Then we won't bother you, Lord Marquis." Gu Jincheng took Pei Qian away.
After returning to his seat, Gu Jincheng tried to calm Pei Qian down. "Marquis Jin'an is just like that. He's a big shot in the eyes of the emperor, so he's not afraid of offending anyone."
The other two friends also advised Pei Qian not to bother with Marquis Jin'an, as he was notoriously sharp-tongued and unreasonable, and no one could gain any advantage in front of him.
Pei Qian gulped down a glass of wine with resentment, gnashing his teeth and saying, "Thirty years in the east, thirty years in the west. Let's see how long he can keep his complacency!"
"Who told you to go over and say hello? You've just shot yourself in the foot." Gu Jincheng joked.
Pei Qian became even more depressed after hearing this and drank two more glasses of wine.
When they returned to the Duke's Mansion, it was already late at night. Pei Qian was so drunk that he could hardly walk. After Jiang Yao and Hua'er helped him lie down on the bed, Pei Qian mumbled a name. Jiang Yao leaned over to listen carefully, and her face suddenly became very ugly.
Seeing Jiang Yao's expression change and slump down on the bed, Hua'er asked what happened. Jiang Yao smiled bitterly and said, "Don't you think men are always greedy for more? As soon as he gets married, he wants to find a new love?" Hua'er comforted her, "Miss, don't think so. My son-in-law is the son of the Duke's Mansion. He has to socialize every day. Besides, he is well-read and would not do such a ridiculous thing."
Jiang Yao pulled herself together again and said, "You're right. Even if he wanted to do something ridiculous, his parents-in-law wouldn't agree."
As long as she is there, Jiang Lan will never be able to enter the Duke's Mansion!
But she seemed to have forgotten that Jiang Lan was not interested in stepping into the Duke's Mansion.
The next day, Jiang Yao asked Huaer to go to Shangshu Mansion to deliver a letter to her mother.
The letter asked her mother to keep a close eye on Jiang Lan and not let her do anything shameful like having an affair with her brother-in-law.
After reading the letter, Zhang wrote back and asked Huaer to take it back.
The letter said that she had already chosen a good marriage for Jiang Lan and was just waiting for Jiang Cheng to agree.
In two months, Zhang's eldest brother from her mother's family will return to Beijing to take up his post. Her nephew is just in his early twenties and has not yet married. He is easily influenced and has no opinions of his own. Her sister-in-law is shrewd and picky. The relationship between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law is not good. Jiang Lan will definitely have a hard time after marrying him.
Recently, Jiang Cheng finally showed her a good attitude and took the initiative to talk to her about the accommodation problem of his brother-in-law and his family after they returned to Beijing. They might as well stay in the mansion temporarily and move there after the house in Beijing was tidied up.
Zhang naturally agreed readily, thinking that the marriage would definitely be successful.
So in the evening she specially prepared Jiang Cheng's favorite wine and two side dishes, and had a couple of drinks with him. When she talked about her elder brother returning to Beijing to take up his post, the topic naturally turned to her nephew. She praised him a lot, saying that he was handsome, talented, filial to his parents... and so on and so forth.
After listening to this, Jiang Cheng did not give a clear answer, but only said that he would talk about it after meeting the person in the future.
Zhang wanted to talk more about the advantages of this marriage, but Jiang Cheng said he had official business to attend to and got up and left.
In the evening, Jiang Cheng rested in the study again.
Zhang knew that this marriage could not be rushed and had to be done slowly. Besides, there would be plenty of opportunities in the future when they would live under the same roof, and Jiang Lan would have to marry him even if she didn't want to.
Two days later, Zhang received another piece of great news. It was a happy event for her, but it was terrible news for Jiang Cheng and Jiang Lan.
A letter from Sangcheng was delivered to the Shangshu Mansion at full speed.
The letter was written by the principal of Dongling Academy.
He wrote in his heart that Jiang Shen had unfortunately contracted an epidemic. Although his condition had stabilized, it had not yet improved. The family could invite another famous doctor to treat him.
The previous floods in the Zhangzhou area had laid the hidden danger for this epidemic. There is a folk saying that there will be a big epidemic after a big flood. The epidemic broke out suddenly, and Sangcheng, where Dongling Academy is located, is also in Zhangzhou.
Jiang Cheng and Jiang Lan were extremely worried, while Zhang and Jiang Rui were secretly happy. Both mother and son wished that the person would just die.
Jiang Cheng decided to let the housekeeper bring a doctor to the academy to treat Jiang Shen, but Jiang Lan was worried that the housekeeper was unreliable and afraid that he would follow Zhang's instructions and do something secretly, so she had to go in person to feel at ease.
In the previous life, this epidemic was a conspiracy planned by the Black Lotus Sect.
The Black Lotus Cult is a revenge organization founded by the remnants of the former dynasty's deposed crown prince. Its purpose is to overthrow the dynasty and avenge the deposed crown prince.
In the previous life, this conspiracy was quelled by Qi Wuhan, and her elder brother was also saved.
But this life is different from the previous one. Zhang hates her more than in the previous life. She also has a feud with the Duke's Mansion and Cui Jingshu. She cannot pin all her hopes on the previous life and bet that this life will be as peaceful as the previous one. If something happens to her elder brother, she will never forgive herself.
But her father would definitely not agree to her going. However, her stepmother is different. She would definitely be eager for her to go, so her stepmother is the best person to persuade her father.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
