25 Engaged Again
◎I heard from my roommate that the master is going to arrange another marriage for you◎
It was already late when Chu Yufu came out of the Marquis Mingxuan's Mansion. She had a pure white and moist mutton-fat jade bracelet on her wrist, while Lu Jiaan held a bunch of wintersweets cut by Prince Zhao in his arms, the cold fragrance was refreshing.
The carriage rumbled into the street. Lu Jia'an, holding the flower branch, hesitated to speak. "Even if I believe you, how can I explain this to my uncle and grandmother?"
"Anyway, the die is cast. I've already made an appointment with the old lady to go back in two days. Daddy and Grandma won't be able to stop me then, will they?" Chu Yufu said with a smile. She moved closer to Lu Jiaan, took her arm and shook it gently. "Daddy, I have my own way. Grandma has always loved you. If you can speak up for me, she won't blame me."
She dragged out the last line of her voice: "Besides, you have seen what happened today. Madam Jiang is so old and still suffering. If I have a solution but stand by and watch, wouldn't I be a heartless person?"
Thinking of Miss Zhao Wu's tearful eyes during the day, he finally sighed, "You really are worthy of being a medical student. You have a kind heart." He hurriedly raised the flower branch and said, "Hey, stop shaking it. Be careful not to damage my flowers."
By the time the carriage stopped outside the second gate of the Chu Mansion, dusk had already deepened. The two walked hand in hand to the garden before parting ways. Little did they know, as soon as the candles in their courtyard lit, Yunxi Hall had already received the news.
By candlelight, Miss Chu sat beside her mother and flipped through the poetry collection.
She read the words in the book one by one, but they could not form a sentence in her mind. She read for the whole afternoon and only turned over one page. When the maid reported that cousin Lu and the second girl had returned from the Marquis' Mansion, she was silent for a while and sighed softly.
"You're too impatient! I'm just here to treat a patient. What kind of trouble can you possibly cause?" Wu said, calculating on her abacus without even looking up. "You said you got along better with Prince Zhao at the Winter Meltdown Party. Even if Miss Lu is attentive, it's just unrequited love. What are you afraid of?"
Chu Jinhe pursed her lips and said nothing. The pages of the book in her hand were wrinkled. Although she felt that what her mother said made sense, she still felt a little unhappy. She felt a breath stuck in her chest, unable to go up or down.
Over the past decade or so, although she couldn't say that everything went smoothly, she felt that things were going smoothly. But ever since her cousin Lu moved into the mansion, she felt that something had changed.
Her always aloof grandmother favored her in everything, treating her even more affectionately than her own granddaughter. The second girl, who used to follow her around like an older sister, now hangs around her all day, even trying to get close to the man she liked. Now, she's even entered the Mingxuan Marquisate before her. Just what right does a country girl have?
Speaking of the second girl...she is also a traitor who can't tell the difference between relatives and strangers.
She closed her eyes and calmed herself down: "Mom, I remember Daddy once said that my aunt and her family would come to Beijing before the New Year."
Wu looked up at her and said, "Yesterday your aunt sent a letter saying that the capital had been hit by a disaster. The roads were blocked by ice and snow, making it difficult to enter or leave the capital. They won't be able to enter the capital until spring at the earliest."
Chu Jinhe's eyebrows jumped, and she slammed the poetry collection in her hand against her knees: "So, cousin will stay in the mansion until after the New Year?!"
"Yes." Mrs. Wu continued to look down at the account book, her red-painted nails sliding slowly across the pages, muttering to herself, "New Year's Day is in a month, and the cancellation of the second girl's engagement has given me a lot of free time. Why not hire a troupe of actors to liven things up then?"
Second girl, Chu Jinhe looked through the window paper towards the Bamboo Jade Courtyard, took a sip of tea, and suddenly changed the subject: "Mother, my brother seems to be much more obedient recently and is willing to work hard."
"Isn't it?" Mrs. Wu's eyebrows lit up with joy and she smiled, "I was told that our brother Ze wasn't such a stubborn person. He was just sick and had no energy before. Now that he's recovered, he's naturally willing to learn!"
Chu Jinhe hummed a perfunctory sound: "Dad's anger has almost subsided. Mom should also talk to Dad about my second sister's marriage. If it is delayed for too long, the Pei family will let Pei Yue marry someone else, and the opportunity will be wasted."
Wu hissed softly, feeling that there was some truth in what she said. Her eyes flickered slightly, and she called out to the maid waiting at the door, saying, "Go and ask if the master has returned."
The maidservant withdrew in response, and returned a moment later, saying, "Madam, the master has returned and is resting in the study."
Wu put on her outer clothes, stood up and walked towards the study.
In the study, Mr. Chu was practicing calligraphy. When he was halfway through writing the word "calmness", Wu lifted the curtain and came in.
After a few words, she got to the point and brought up the matter of the second girl and Pei Yue. Master Chu paused in mid-air. After a moment's silence, he pondered, "Fu'er just broke off her engagement with the Li family. If we discuss it again so hastily, we'll probably be criticized." He put down his pen and sighed, "The Pei family is a noble family. How could they not mind such rumors?"
Wu held up the ebony ruler, pressed it against the rice paper, and slowly smoothed out the creases. "Master, please be at ease. Everyone in the capital knows that Sanlang Li was at fault first. Our Fu girl was clearly an innocent victim. If there is any flaw, it should be the Li family's reputation that has been tarnished. How could Fu girl's reputation be affected?"
Seeing that Master Chu was still frowning and silent, Wu picked up the teapot, refilled the cold tea, and said softly, "He'er is a girl with strong ideas and a stubborn temper. It's my fault for not teaching her well. I can't force her to marry, but Master's career cannot be delayed. In this wealthy family, every girl should contribute to the family's future. Fu's temperament is gentle and kind, and she's not bad looking either. You might as well try to get in touch with her and ask Pei Yue to meet her."
"Even if you want to find out more, you should wait for some time..." Master Chu picked up the teacup and blew on it gently.
"Master!" Wu frowned. "After a few months, when the rumors have died down, if Pei Yue is engaged to someone else, then such a good marriage will be lost!"
The words "give way" pierced Master Chu's heart like a needle. His hand holding the cup suddenly stopped, and after a moment he finally nodded: "Madam, what you said makes sense."
-
The news that he had provided acupuncture treatment to Madam Jiang and had agreed to visit again in two days reached Madam Wei and Mr. Chu during dinner.
Lu Jiaan was there to support Cishoutang. After the old lady was surprised and heard the whole story, she thought about Chu Yufu's kind nature, thought about it again and again, and finally swallowed the blame that was about to come out of her mouth, and just said, let's try to treat it first.
Upon hearing the news, Mr. Chu's face immediately darkened and he called Chu Yufu to the study to question her.
"How confident are you that you can cure Madam Jiang's illness?" It was no use scolding her for not listening at this point. The most urgent thing was to have a clear idea of what was going on so that they could deal with the follow-up.
Chu Yufu bit her lip and replied softly, "I can't say I'm 80% sure, but at least I can guarantee that the old lady's pain will be alleviated. Father, when I saw the old lady enduring the pain, and Miss Zhao Wu's eyes were red with tears..." She suddenly raised her eyes, tears welling up in her eyes, "If I can relieve the Marquis's urgent need, why worry about the Marquis's family not remembering the Chu family's kindness? This time, there are risks and opportunities, Father!"
Master Chu stared at his daughter for a long while, then rubbed his forehead with his hand: "Forget it! Just do your best to treat her!"
Chu Yufu stood up, bowed, and left the study with Lanzhu.
Lanzhu walked out with a lantern in one hand and the girl in the other. When they reached the corner of the corridor, she turned around and looked back, only to see warm yellow candlelight shining through the window lattice of the study, creating a hazy glow in the howling wind and snow.
"I didn't expect that the master was not angry. It's strange." Lan Zhu tilted the lantern towards her daughter.
Snow flakes rustled onto the bluestone slabs. Chu Yufu gathered her white rabbit fur cloak, chuckled softly, and exhaled a puff of white mist. "Daddy, as long as something is related to his career or the interests of the Chu family, he will be more tolerant."
The lantern stretched the shadows of the two people very long. She looked at the dark shadows under her feet, and a hint of subtle sarcasm appeared at the corner of her lips.
My stepmother is vain and cares most about her reputation. When she was young, she relied on marriage, and now she tries to rely on her children's future to gain face. And what about Master Chu? Perhaps nothing can compare to his official career and his reputation!
In the middle of the night, after washing up, Chu Yufu leaned back in the recliner, and Yunsui wrung her hair dry with a clean towel.
The warmth of the charcoal fire made her drowsy. She raised her hands to the air and counted the days with her fingers. Yun Sui asked curiously, "What are you counting, young lady?"
"How many months will it take for Madam Jiang to recover?" Chu Yufu put down her hand, sighed lazily.
Madam Jiang's illness needed to be treated slowly. Acupuncture and moxibustion once or twice could significantly relieve the pain, but a complete recovery would take at least one or two months, which would take until next year! Assuming that Madam Jiang recovered in February and could capitalize on her success in March, it would take a long time for her to continue this smoothly.
If it doesn't go well, I don't know how long it will take.
So long...
Thinking of this, she curled up in the recliner and slowly fell asleep. She didn't know how long it had been before she was awakened by Yunsui. She yawned, got up, moved to the bed, and had a good night's sleep.
The next morning, the sun was still bright, and she lazily got up when the sun was high in the sky, sat down at the table with her hair loose, and had breakfast. Now that there was a small stove in the courtyard and there was no shortage of charcoal, the breakfast sent from the main kitchen would be kept warm on the small stove, so no matter when she got up, she would always have a hot meal.
Today's breakfast is a bowl of ham and golden porridge, a plate of yam cake with date paste, and a plate of stir-fried choy sum.
Chu Yufu stirred the porridge with a spoon and found that it was extremely thick. Half of the bowl was filled with diced ham. She couldn't help but laugh and said, "There's probably more ham in this porridge than rice grains!"
Lan Zhu smiled and said, "Perhaps Bi Tao served the food to the young lady on purpose. No wonder she smiled at me when she took the food."
"Bitao?"
Lan Zhu reached out and knocked her head: "I forgot. Miss, you don't know that Bi Tao is the youngest daughter of Gu Mama. When I went to get food today, I found that she was transferred to the big kitchen." Recently, Gu Mama has been making a lot of money by treating and prescribing medicine for the maids and old women in the mansion with the prescriptions given by Chu Yufu before. Her daughter is just returning the favor.
"That's a good thing." Chu Yufu's dark eyes smiled into two crescent moons, and she said happily, "Those who are close to the water get the moon first. I love the taro paste cakes made in the big kitchen the most. Ask her later if she can give me two more!"
"no problem!"
As they were talking, Yinsuo entered with a charcoal basket and began adding charcoal to the basin with tongs. Her wrist misaligned, and the black charcoal clump fell onto the copper basin wall, crackling and sending sparks flying. Lanzhu was about to tease her for her clumsiness when she saw the girl squatting in front of the basin, lost in thought. As she stood up, her foot gave way and she fell straight into the basin!
"You're courting death!" Lan Zhu quickly grabbed her by the back of her collar, and Chu Yufu dropped her spoon to help her. Yin Suo, still terrified, dropped the clamps and clutched his chest with both hands, gasping for air.
"Are you okay?" Chu Yufu looked her up and down. She was fine, except for two strands of hair on her temples that were singed.
Silversole shook his head.
"What's wrong with you, girl? You've been absent-minded and crazy since this morning. I called you for a long time but you didn't respond, and now you're jumping into hot coals!" Lan Zhu reached out and touched her forehead, her tone a little worried, "Did something happen at home?" Unlike the indenture she signed, Yin Suo signed a ten-year employment contract. Her family lived in the suburbs of the capital.
Yinsuo shook her head again, twisting her green dress tightly with her hands, and swallowed hard, "No, it's not like that." Then she looked at Chu Yufu, her eyes a little confused, "Miss, last night, I heard from my roommate that the master is going to arrange a marriage for you again!"
"What?!"
This time, it was Chu Yufu's turn to be stunned. She froze in place, her eyes wide. Was this a mistake?! She had just broken off the engagement, and her family couldn't tolerate her anymore?!
Lan Zhu was also panicking. She grabbed Yinsuo's shoulders with both hands and shook him hard: "What's going on? Who told you that? Is it true? Tell me now!"
Yinsuo is a timid person and stutters a little when he speaks in a hurry, she said seriously.
"It's true. There's a maid in the house who's my good friend. Her name is Shaoyao. She serves the master. She heard it with her own ears. The mistress told the master that she wanted to arrange for the girl to marry someone else."
Chu Yufu sat back at the table, trying to calm herself down. She took a deep breath and looked at her: "Did she hear it? Which family's young master is it?"
Yinsuo stammered, "I heard, it's from the Pei family, and their name is Pei, Pei Yue!"
Chu Yufu's eyes twitched, and she frowned and repeated, "Who?"
"Pei Yue from the Pei family, young lady." Yinsuo frowned. "But Shaoyao doesn't know which Pei family, or which Pei Yue. I heard from Shaoyao that originally, originally, this marriage was proposed for the eldest daughter, but, but the eldest daughter didn't want to marry, so Madam wanted to propose it to you."
Chu Yufu held her forehead with one hand, her fingertips unconsciously rubbing her solar plexus, closed her eyes, and signaled her not to say anything more.
Shaoyao didn't know which Pei Yue it was, but she knew it! The surname Pei wasn't a common one, and there were only a few people in the capital with the name Pei Yue. Wasn't he the future Zhenbei General?
This news made her dizzy. Pei Yue and her? And her, Chu Yufu? This strayed too far from the original plot! Moreover, in such a large Chu family, Wu and her stepfather simply couldn't tolerate her and insisted on marrying her off!
According to her plan, within six months to a year, she would be able to find a way to get herself out of the backyard. They just couldn't wait! Marry! Marry! After losing the Third Master Li, she had the First Master Pei, and maybe later there would be the Master Wang and the Master Liu. How many times could she break off the engagement?
She was never a careful reader of novels, often skimming through sections unrelated to the protagonist. She had actually missed this paragraph, which revealed that Master Chu had once wanted to marry his eldest daughter to General Pei. This, however, fit in perfectly with Master Chu's character; after all, he was an official who valued his career, so it wasn't surprising that he wanted to marry his daughter off to curry favor with someone higher up in the government.
In the original book, the second Miss Chu had already been engaged to the Li family at this time, and the eldest Miss Chu was determined to get into the Marquis' Mansion, so she naturally missed the Pei family. Now that she had broken off the engagement, she was vacant, so they were going to take over.
What was she? A brick? She was just being carried wherever she was needed? She was always picking up her elder sister's leftovers. Chu Yufu gritted her teeth in hatred!
Lanzhu gave Yinsuo a wink, and the two of them quietly cleared the dishes on the table, carefully closed the doors and windows, leaving the girl alone in the room.
Chu Yufu was in a daze the whole day. At night, she took out the "Military Doctor's Guide" which she had written nearly halfway, sat at the table and stared at the pages, but did not turn the pages for a long time.
【Author’s words】
The male lead is about to appear~
P.S. Off topic: I wrote all day today in a hurry, and only realized tonight that I forgot to apply for the next list. This means no new readers next week! Hug my old readers and cry, I'm stupid!) But it's not a big deal. Without the pressure of the list, I can think more carefully about the sentences. I even took the time to revise the previous chapter today. I will carefully plan and try to complete the story! Thank you very much to the little treasures who leave comments, vote, and encourage me. Writing is lonely, but I'm glad to have you. [Pink heart]
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