Chapter 19 Could it be that he intends to send Pearl into the palace?
The Ningyuan Marquis's residence was not far from the Chu State Duke's residence; the carriage arrived in just over fifteen minutes. Jiang Yu and Lu Yifang alighted from the carriage and saw a young woman in her twenties standing at the door.
Upon seeing them, she immediately greeted them with a smile, first bowing to Lu Yifang, and then looking at Jiang Yu, she said, "This is truly my aunt's own daughter, just as beautiful as my aunt, it's impossible to look away."
Lu Yifang lightly slapped her, "You mouth!"
The young woman chuckled, and Lu Yifang introduced her to Jiang Yu: "This is your eldest cousin's wife."
Jiang Yu bowed to her, saying, "Sister-in-law."
Pei Ling took Jiang Yu's hand and said, "We're all family, so there's no need for so much formality anymore. I love lively gatherings, so my cousin can come over to play often from now on."
Jiang Yu nodded and agreed. The three of them walked in together and arrived at a courtyard. Jiang Yu looked up at the plaque above the gate, which read "Cianju". This should be the courtyard of the Marquis of Anyuan.
Sure enough, Pei Ling said, "This is the old lady's courtyard. My cousin will come here often and get used to it. Come in quickly, the Marquis and the old lady are waiting."
Jiang Yu stepped inside and saw several maids standing at the entrance of the main hall. Upon seeing them approach, they immediately lifted the curtain, and Jiang Yu followed Lu Yifang inside.
Before she could even bow, an elderly woman in her sixties or seventies with a full head of white hair came over, hugged her tightly, and cried, "My little Pearl, you've finally come back."
Because they weren't familiar with each other, Jiang Yu was a little stiff when she was hugged, but then she slowly relaxed, gently patted her back, and said, "Grandmother, I've had a good life all these years and haven't suffered."
Pei Ling also came to persuade her, "Grandmother, it's a happy occasion that my cousin is back. We can't keep crying."
The other women in the room also joined in the persuasion. Lady Anyuan released Jiang Yu and looked her up and down, saying, "She looks just like your mother when she was young."
Pei Ling said with a smile, "I was just saying that my cousin is just as beautiful as my aunt, so beautiful that you can't take your eyes off her."
Everyone laughed upon hearing this, and the atmosphere in the room instantly became much more joyful. Next, Jiang Yu recognized his relatives, kowtowed to Marquis Anyuan and his wife, then paid his respects to his uncles and aunts, and met a bunch of cousins.
The Marquis of Anyuan's family was much more prosperous than the Duke of Chu's family. Jiang Yu had more than a dozen cousins, and there were also quite a few grandchildren.
After talking for a while, everyone left, leaving only Jiang Yu, Lu Yifang, and the Marquis of Anyuan and his wife in the room. The Marquis of Anyuan pulled her to sit beside her and softly asked her about her life over the years.
Families whose children have gone missing are most afraid that their children will suffer outside, especially girls, who may end up in places of prostitution.
Jiang Yu didn't hide anything and told her everything about her life that year. Lady Anyuan held her hand and said, "Your... parents are good people. I must thank them properly when I have the chance."
Jiang Yu nodded, and then began to recount her story with Qi Yuanhong. The more the Marquis of Anyuan listened, the uglier their expressions became. When they heard that Su Yuezhen wanted to burn her alive, the Marquis of Anyuan slammed his hand heavily on the table.
"This is outrageous! It's lawless and utterly disregards human life!" Marquis Anyuan's face turned ashen.
Lady Anyuan also said, "This matter cannot be left like this. Our children cannot suffer such a great injustice."
Seeing them like this, Lu Yifang started wiping away her tears again, but the expression on her face showed that she was very confident at this moment.
"What did your grandfather say?" asked Marquis Anyuan.
Jiang Yu recounted the plan she had discussed with the Duke of Chu, and then said, "I wrote a notice last night, and I'll have someone print it tomorrow morning and post it in the downtown area to distribute to pedestrians."
........
The room was silent. After a while, Lady Anyuan held Jiang Yu's hand tightly and said, "Zhu'er, what will happen if everyone finds out about your divorce?"
Jiang Yu nodded, "I know, a lot of people will talk about me. Some will sympathize with me, while others will laugh at me and ridicule me."
"That...."
“I’m not afraid,” Jiang Yu said. “Whether I was well or not in the past, or whether I will be well or not in the future, has nothing to do with other people. Just because everyone is kind to me doesn’t mean I will be well, and just because many people are malicious to me doesn’t mean I will live a miserable life. My life is my own, and it has nothing to do with those irrelevant people.”
"Good." Marquis Anyuan couldn't help but praise her after hearing her words: "As expected of my granddaughter, she has the blood of the Lu family in her body, she is just different."
Jiang Yu: Don't let the Duke of Chu hear this.
"Your plan is excellent as long as you can ignore the rumors and gossip," said Marquis Anyuan. "When the time is right, have your grandfather cry before the Emperor and see what the Marquis of Qingshan's family does."
Jiang Yu: The child is outstanding because he has the blood of your Lu family. When he has to cry in front of the Emperor, he will be the Duke of Chu.
However, Jiang Yu could feel the love and care that Marquis An Yuan had for her. She felt lucky; she was born with memories of her previous life, was kidnapped but met kind adoptive parents, and when she returned home, everyone was nice except for her awful father.
"Alright, you three talk this out. I'm going to talk to Old Jiang." Marquis Anyuan got up and left. The Old Jiang he mentioned was the Duke of Chu, so he was probably still a little worried.
After he left, Lady Anyuan spoke with Jiang Yu for a while longer before lunchtime arrived. After lunch, she asked Jiang Yu to rest in her bedroom while she spoke with Lu Yifang. It seemed the mother and daughter had some private conversation.
......
Lady Anyuan watched as Jiang Yu followed her personal maid into the bedroom, then had Lu Yifang sit beside her and whispered:
"Don't rush Zhu'er's marriage. She just came back and this happened. Let's wait a year or two before discussing the marriage. She is the eldest daughter of the Duke of Chu's family and the granddaughter of our Marquis of Anyuan's family. With that status, even if she gets divorced, she can still find a good family. Besides, Zhu'er and that person haven't consummated their marriage yet."
Lu Yifang leaned closer to Lady Anyuan and whispered, "Mother, I've been feeling uneasy..."
"What's wrong?" Lady Anyuan asked worriedly.
Lu Yifang frowned and thought for a while before saying, "Our Duke's attitude towards Zhu'er is quite unusual."
Lady Anyuan frowned as well, "Tell me in detail."
After Jiang Yu arrived home, Lu Yifang recounted in detail what the Duke of Chu had done, and then asked, "Mother, what do you think the Duke meant? Could he be planning to send Zhu'er to the palace?"
Lady Anyuan remained silent for a moment, her face tense, before saying, "No, putting aside Zhu'er's divorced status, even the Duke of Chu wouldn't do such a thing. How old is His Majesty? Allowing Yu'er into the palace would be an immense honor for an ordinary family, but for a family like ours, it would be considered sycophancy, something that would invite gossip and slander."
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