Chapter 2 Marrying Both
The next day, Duke Pei and his wife arrived at the Shangshu Mansion. Pei Yu and Pei Qian also arrived, but they didn't sit down and stood beside Duke Pei. Pei Qian lowered his head, looking as if he had admitted his mistake, but his eyes were filled with gloomy resentment. Especially when he saw Jiang Lan, he wanted to kill her on the spot!
Jiang Lan and Jiang Yao followed Jiang Cheng and Zhang into the hall. Shangshu Jiang Cheng and Duke Pei still maintained their official manners and exchanged polite greetings. Zhang greeted them with a smile, but the Duke's wife had a cold face and didn't want to give Zhang any good look at all.
After Jiang Cheng and Zhang sat down on the two armchairs in front, Jiang Lan stood beside Zhang with her head lowered. Jiang Cheng nodded to Jiang Lan and asked her to sit down, and she took her seat.
Then the hall fell into an awkward silence.
No one was willing to bring up what happened last night.
At this time, Jiang Lan stood up and bowed to everyone before saying, "Father, Mother, I am willing to cancel the engagement and allow my third sister to be with Second Master Pei."
The Duke's wife snorted coldly, "You can cancel the engagement just like that. Do you really care about our Duke's Mansion?"
The Duke's wife was not very satisfied with either Jiang Lan or Jiang Yao. Although both of them were legitimate daughters of the Shangshufang, Jiang Yao's status was somewhat disrespectful because Jiang Cheng married Zhang less than three months after his wife's widower, and Jiang Yao was born seven months after Zhang's marriage. Anyone who understood the situation knew what the premature birth was.
In contrast, Jiang Lan's status as a legitimate daughter is more innocent and noble, but she is a sickly girl. In short, the two of them are still far from being worthy of her son. However, marrying into the Shangshu Mansion will greatly help the careers of her two sons, so she reluctantly accepted Jiang Lan as a daughter-in-law. After all, status is more important than health. It's so unlucky that such a thing happened when they were about to get married!
Jiang Lan wiped her eyes silently with a handkerchief and swallowed her grievances in her heart.
Although Jiang Cheng didn't like Jiang Lan as much as Jiang Yao, it was mostly because Jiang Lan always looked sick and was not close to him, so she was not as good at pleasing him as Jiang Yao.
But in terms of status, he still valued Jiang Lan, the legitimate daughter born to his first wife, more, and he also tried his best to help her find such a good marriage. Until last night, he was very satisfied with Pei Qian, the handsome and well-educated future son-in-law, and now he is less than five points away.
Seeing Jiang Lan breaking off the engagement so compromisingly, and even having to endure the Duke's wife's cold words, Jiang Cheng's face was also somewhat displeased. It was clearly Pei Qian who had trespassed into the Shangshu Mansion and committed an illegal act, so the Duke's Mansion was in the wrong. "Your son didn't go home last night, but instead sneaked into my house to seduce my daughter. Do you really think our Shangshu Mansion has any regard for you?"
Upon hearing this, Duke Pei was also unhappy, thinking that if it wasn't your daughter who seduced my son, would such a scandal have occurred? But no matter what he thought, he couldn't tear his face apart, so he apologized again and asked Pei Qian to apologize to Jiang Cheng and Zhang.
After Pei Qian did as he was told, Duke Pei continued, "This marriage was already arranged long ago. It would be inappropriate to cancel it hastily now."
Jiang Cheng asked, "What advice does the Duke have?"
Duke Pei winked at the Duke's wife.
It seems that they had discussed this beforehand.
Jiang Lan quietly observed the expressions of the two people, and happened to meet Pei Qian's gloomy and hateful gaze. She glared back at him coldly, and he was so angry that veins on his forehead bulged. If there weren't so many people around, she had no doubt that he would rush over and strangle her to death.
The hatred has been formed. If he dares to stab her in the back again in the future, she will stab him into a sieve. Who is afraid of who!
Then the Duke's wife's words refreshed her three views.
"Since things have come to this, I think it would be better to marry both of them."
Not only Jiang Lan was shocked, but Jiang Cheng, Zhang and Jiang Yao were all shocked.
Pei Qian's lips curled up into an extremely cold smile. When the people came over, he would make her wish she was neither alive nor dead!
"Father," Jiang Lan suddenly knelt on the ground and pleaded earnestly, "I don't want my sister and I to serve the same husband. There will be rifts in the future and the sisters will turn against each other. If my sisters become concubines, it will be laughed at. Where will your face be and where will the face of our Shangshu Mansion be? I am willing to help my third sister and the second young master Pei. I beg you to agree." She kowtowed and straightened her back to show her determination and she would never change it.
Jiang Lan's next few words touched Jiang Cheng's heart. If the daughter of his Shangshu Mansion became someone's concubine, how could he, the Shangshu, have a foothold in the court in the future? He raised his hand to let Jiang Lan stand up. Seeing that she was pale, he asked her to go down and rest first, and he would talk about the next matter.
Duke Pei and his wife looked at each other and realized that their wish had failed.
The two had discussed it before they came. Both of them would marry. Jiang Lan had a higher status and would be the legal wife, while Jiang Yao had a lower status and was shameless enough to do such a shameful thing, so she would have to be a concubine first. Jiang Lan's body wouldn't last two years, and after she died, Jiang Yao would be made the legal wife. The two families would still be relatives, and everyone would be happy.
But unexpectedly, Jiang Lan, who usually looks sickly, weak and vulnerable, turned out to be very assertive today, with a strong temper and difficult to deal with.
After Jiang Lan left, Jiang Cheng talked with Pei Guogong for an hour or so, like playing Tai Chi, before they finally reached an agreement.
By the time Pei Guogong and his family left, the sun had already set.
After dinner, Jiang Cheng came to visit Jiang Lan and asked her about her health and whether she was feeling better, as if he wanted to make up for the missing fatherly love.
Jiang Lan also tried to find pleasantries to answer, saying that she was feeling better. "Daddy, please take care of yourself. I was unfilial in the past and couldn't understand your hard work. Our family is only as prosperous as it is today thanks to your hard work. I will be more sensible and filial to you and your mother in the future, and not let him worry about her."
Seeing Jiang Lan suddenly become so sensible and call him daddy affectionately, Jiang Cheng was surprised and happy. Before, there seemed to be a gap between the father and daughter, and they didn't talk much. Now that Jiang Lan can understand, Jiang Cheng is naturally happy and feels more pity and love for her.
In the past, she was too childish and blamed her father for marrying Zhang so quickly. Now Jiang Lan has figured it out. In this mansion, only her father still considers her more. It will not be good for her to ruin the relationship, but it will be of great benefit to her stepmother. When the day comes that her father's father-daughter love for her is exhausted, she can only let Zhang manipulate her.
Jiang Cheng comforted her again and promised to find her a good match in the future, asking her to relax and take care of her health.
Jiang Lan responded obediently without any complaints or resentment.
Jiang Cheng was very satisfied and told her to go to bed early and he would come to see her again tomorrow.
"Daddy," Jiang Lan called out to Jiang Cheng who was about to leave. Jiang Cheng turned around lovingly, and Jiang Lan said, "Daddy, please come back early after court tomorrow." Jiang Cheng nodded lovingly, and before leaving, he instructed Gui'er and others to take good care of Jiang Lan.
After seeing Jiang Cheng off, Gui'er went back to the room and told Jiang Lan that Sister Bi'er had not returned since last night. Jiang Lan said that she would never come back.
If Zhang still had some kindness, Bier could have saved her life, but people who know too many secrets don't end up well.
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