When the news of the sudden death of Lady Anyang spread, many people watched with a sense of morbid curiosity.
It should be noted that Lady Anyang was Qiao Zimo's birth mother, and one must observe a three-year mourning period upon the death of one's birth mother.
Although Qiao Ziming's engagement with Bai Mengying has been called off, his engagement with Miss Shen is still pending!
Miss Shen is now over nineteen years old. If she waits another three years, she will be a complete old maid.
So, will the Qiao family and the Shen family still arrange a marriage?
Upon learning this news, Shen Zhixing sneered repeatedly.
"Ha! What a ruthless Marquis of Anyang!"
Shen Yaxin hesitated, "Father, are you saying that the Marquis of Anyang killed Lady Anyang? That...that shouldn't be the case..."
Shen Zhixing didn't say anything. After all, he had only said that in a fit of anger. After calming down, he also felt that Qiao Xiuyuan's killing of his wife was absurd.
In his eyes, his daughter was perfect in every way, and Qiao Ziming was not good enough for her at all.
The Qiao family will certainly seize this opportunity and eagerly come to propose marriage.
Two days passed, but the Qiao family still hadn't come to propose marriage.
It seems that Jiang was seriously ill and the people of the Marquis of Anyang's mansion were too busy to take care of her, which is why they did not come to propose marriage.
But now that Madam Jiang has passed away, if Qiao Xiuyuan comes to propose marriage later, does he really want to let his daughter waste three years of her life?
"Xin'er, do you have a crush on Qiao Ziming?"
If our daughter is willing, then we will wait.
If he was unwilling, he would think of other ways.
Thinking of that tall figure, Shen Yaxin shook her head decisively, "Qiao Ziming is foolish and arrogant, my daughter doesn't like him at all!"
But she has already been intimate with Qiao Ziming, and given that her face is covered in dark spots that have been seen by others, it's unlikely that any man will want her until her appearance is restored...
Upon hearing this, Shen Zhixing nodded slowly.
Since our daughter doesn't like it, let's not get engaged.
On the day of Jiang's funeral, Qiao Xiuyuan reached out and stroked Jiang's face, his eyes full of tenderness.
"Chunhua, I don't think you'll blame me. You were just a village woman, but after marrying me, you enjoyed so much happiness and were envied by others. Now that you're going to die for our son, you should have no regrets."
“I know you really regret it, but what’s the use of regret? Xi’er is very stubborn, and you can’t persuade her to come back just by apologizing.”
"You're already over forty years old, how can you still be so naive? I hope you'll be wiser in your next life and not do those stupid things again."
"Of course, it's best if you don't run into me..."
…
Qiao Ziming thought his father had no feelings for his mother at all, but seeing his father talking to his mother, he couldn't help but tear up.
He strode forward, choking back tears, and said, "Father, the time has come. It's time to close the coffin."
"…Um."
…
The eighth day of the sixth lunar month should have been the wedding day of Qiao Ziming and Bai Mengying.
But since their marriage was called off, there was no more excitement to watch.
However, by that afternoon, news broke that Pei Yi, the second son of the Pei family, was engaged to Shen Yaxin, the daughter of the Shen family.
"Hasn't Miss Shen already had intimate relations with the heir of the Marquis of Anyang? Why would she suddenly marry the second young master of the Pei family? Isn't the second young master of the Pei family just an illegitimate son? How could he be worthy of Miss Shen!"
"That Miss Shen is ugly; it's good enough if someone wants her! Does she really have to wait three years for the Marquis of Anyang's heir? It would be fine if she successfully marries into the Marquis of Anyang's mansion after three years, but what if something goes wrong along the way? Wouldn't that be a waste of three years? Then even fewer people would want her!"
"But I heard that Miss Shen's dark spots on her face can be removed, and she is already taking medication."
"If it can really be removed, then the second young master of the Pei family will have struck gold!"
…
Pei Mansion
Pei Yuan felt a pang of sadness seeing his father's loving expression towards Pei Yi.
After the literary gathering, he wanted to seek an official position in the court. He thought that with his literary talent and his father's official position, he could become an official of the sixth rank or above.
Unexpectedly, he was only appointed as a seventh-rank official in the Ministry of Rites.
He was clearly the legitimate son, but his father favored Pei Yi, the son born of a concubine…
After dinner, Pei Yuan approached Pei Yi and said with a half-smile, "Congratulations, Second Brother! As a son of a concubine, you've managed to marry the daughter of Grand Scholar Shen. That's quite an achievement!"
Pei Yi wasn't annoyed, but smiled and said, "I really have to thank you for your kindness, brother."
If Pei Yuan had been capable, even if he, as an illegitimate son, had tried his best, he would never have reached where he is today.
So he was truly grateful to Pei Yuan, grateful for Pei Yuan's arrogance, and grateful for Pei Yuan's disregard for him.
Pei Yuan, unaware of Pei Yi's meaning, assumed he was boasting, and said with a mocking expression, "I wonder if my second brother has ever seen Miss Shen's true face? You weren't at the literary gathering that day, so you probably didn't see her..."
Before Pei Yuan could finish speaking, Pei Yi interrupted him, saying, "Miss Shen is just feeling unwell, which is why she has dark spots on her face. She is currently taking care of herself, and it is expected that the dark spots on her face will be completely removed in a few months."
Even if Miss Shen's dark spots can never be removed, it doesn't matter. After all, when choosing a wife, one should value virtue, not just appearance. The younger brother thought his elder brother would understand this principle by now, but it seems that's not the case.
After saying that, he raised an eyebrow and lowered his voice to say softly, "Besides, even if Miss Shen is ugly, she is still better looking than Miss Qiao. If the elder brother can bring himself to kiss her, why can't the younger brother?"
Enraged, Pei Yuan grabbed Pei Yi by the collar, making a move to attack him, but Pei Jian happened to see it.
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