Chapter 12 Old Lady Qin
Chapter 12
When they returned to the gate of the Qin Mansion, Qin Sheng was the first to jump off the carriage. "Brother, you go back. I'll go to the outskirts of the city to ride a horse!" Then he hurried to the stable.
"Go ahead."
Qin Sanlang touched his nose. Qin Xiaoliu was angry and didn't want to pay attention to him.
Not long after, they saw Qin Sheng coming out riding a handsome white horse. He greeted them on the horse and then galloped away.
Qin Heng looked at his brother's agile horse riding posture and knew that he was holding his breath. It would be good for him to ride his horse to the outskirts of the city for a walk.
"I'm going to see my mother. Do you want to come with me?" Qin Heng asked Qin Sanlang.
Qin Sanlang thought about it and realized that his eldest brother must have gone to talk to his mother about the Lu family. His wife must be with his mother at this time, so he walked forward and hooked his arm around his eldest brother's shoulder. "Come together. It's a good opportunity to have dinner with mother."
So the brothers went to Madam Qin's Qingfengyuan together.
The two brothers had just sat down and drank some water to moisten their throats when they saw their mother and the pregnant Nie Yunniang coming out of the bedroom, one after the other, supported by maids, and then helped them sit down.
His mother looked pale and sick, but her voice was still quite loud. "What did the Lu family say?"
Seeing the concern in his mother's eyes, Qin Heng obviously took the matter very seriously, so he told her in detail the whole process of his meeting with Lu Desheng and his wife.
After he finished speaking, Madam Qin nodded and said, "So the Lu family is quite reasonable and didn't blame everything on Ah Sheng."
Nie Yunniang curled her lips upon hearing this, "Isn't this the normal reaction a normal person should have?"
"You can't say that. Ah Sheng is also responsible for this awkward situation." Madam Qin sighed. Actually, this wasn't a big deal. As long as the unmarried couple didn't mind, it would be fine. They were from a family of military commanders, used to seeing life and death, so they really didn't care.
When the incident first happened, A Sheng went home and said that they didn't care, and didn't even take it to heart. It wasn't until the Zhao family came to their house early this morning to talk about breaking off the engagement that they realized the seriousness of the matter.
Although they had always said they didn't mind, the Zhao family was determined to cancel the engagement, so they had no choice but to agree. After all, marriage is about forming a bond, not an enemy. If the other party is unwilling, forcing them to stay together will not bring happiness.
The Zhao family's actions chilled them. Speaking of which, the Lu family didn't have a good reputation in Chang'an, but unexpectedly, they were quite easy to deal with.
"That's what they call untrustworthy rumors. Take the Zhao family, for example. Their reputation is miles ahead of the Lu family, right? But look at what they've done." Nie Yunniang truly hated the Zhao family. They had all seen through the Zhao family's insistence on breaking off the engagement. The drowning incident was just an excuse. The Zhao family must have set their sights on the eldest son of the Xie family and were hoping to use the drowning incident to pin it on him.
Mrs. Qin and Qin Heng, mother and son, remained silent, obviously agreeing with her statement.
Nie Yunniang hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Mother, big brother, husband, do we really want Ah Sheng to marry Miss Lu Er?"
Mrs. Qin: "This happened by mistake. Ah Sheng is also responsible. Our family must bear the responsibility. We can't pretend nothing happened."
"But the Lu family doesn't have a good reputation." Nie Yunniang said after a moment of hesitation.
It wasn't just bad. From top to bottom, the wives of officials in Chang'an City couldn't help shaking their heads when they mentioned the Lu family. Lu Desheng was often called a treacherous villain behind his back.
On the other hand, Lu Songli, the second daughter of the Lu family, is the only one in their family who has barely received positive comments from everyone. She is timid and quiet, and is not on the same path as the Lu family. It can be said that good things come out of bad things.
Timid and quiet? Qin Heng recalled the scene where Miss Lu Er glared at his younger brother. Those lively eyes made him feel that the rumors were not credible.
The three present understood what Nie Yunniang hadn't said. The Qin family had been loyal for generations, defending the border for a century, protecting the Dali territory, and taking the people's well-being as their responsibility, earning them deep love and respect. The Qin family's reputation was built on the blood and lives of countless Qin men, and countless more perished in battle during every major battle.
If the Qin family really marries into the Lu family, its reputation might be affected.
Qin Heng explained, "Although Lü Desheng's reputation within the officialdom is extremely negative, he certainly hasn't harmed the people. He impeached officials, and officialdom matters are hard to say." Who knows what's going on? He'd investigated, and strangely enough, Lü Desheng's reputation among the common people was mixed, not entirely unpopular. He later understood that, after all, there were always some corrupt officials among the officials Lü Desheng brought down. Whenever this happened, the victims would inwardly applaud. These people naturally couldn't hate Lü Desheng, but faced with a sea of abuse, they didn't dare speak out.
Qin Sanlang also laughed and said, "Yunniang, don't look at those ministers pointing fingers at Lu Desheng and cursing him. Who knows how they envy him in their hearts."
Hearing what her elder uncle and her husband said, Nie Yunniang felt relieved. Then she turned to ask another question in her mind, "Mom, I'm very puzzled. The marriage between the Xie and Lu families is still going on. How can the Zhao family be so sure that the Xie family will marry Zhao Yutan? If the Lu family doesn't agree to cancel the engagement, won't Zhao Yutan become a concubine?"
Madam Qin said calmly, "That was also the Zhao family's choice. The marriage between the Xie and Lu families is not so easy to cancel. At least the initiative is not in the hands of the Xie family."
Nie Yunniang looked curious.
Madam Qin explained softly, "Your family is from Luoyang, so you married in late. When you were little, the young lady from the Lu family saved the life of the eldest son of the Xie family. This marriage was arranged by the late Old Master Xie."
"So that's how it is." Nie Yunniang suddenly realized.
"Forget it, let's not talk about the Zhao family anymore. We'll be irrelevant from now on." Madam Qin turned to Qin Heng and asked, "In your opinion, is it possible that the Lu family would agree to marry their daughter to Ah Sheng?"
Qin Heng pondered for a moment and said, "This... is hard to say."
Madam Qin sighed, "I've met the eldest son of the Xie family. Ah Sheng is indeed no match for him. With such a brilliant example before him, it's normal for the Lu family to look down on Ah Sheng."
"Mom, you can't say that. They each have their own merits." Qin Heng's words were not just words of comfort, but he really thought that his Ah Sheng was very good.
Qin Sanlang suddenly remembered the conversation of the old ladies just now, and immediately agreed with a smile, "Mom, big brother is right. Xie Zhan has his merits, and our Ah Sheng is not bad either."
Madam Qin said, "I just hope the Lu family will agree to marry their daughter to me. Later, you can take care of Ah Sheng and teach him how to love his wife."
Qin Heng was at a loss for words. "Mom, this isn't the right thing for me to do. Why not give it to the third child?" And why did his mother like the second daughter of the Lu family so much? This was already arranged before the two of them had even started.
Madam Qin waved her hand and said, "I don't care about that. You two brothers just need to be responsible for teaching Ah Sheng well."
"Mom, I'm going to be jealous if you do this. You're protecting my sixth brother's wife before she even comes in?" Nie Yunniang pretended to be angry.
“Haha, don’t worry, you daughters-in-law and mothers are all here to protect us.”
"It seems that mother really likes the second young lady of the Lu family?" Nie Yunniang was a little puzzled. Logically speaking, her mother-in-law should not have seen the second young lady of the Lu family very often, so why did she like her so much?
Madam Qin smiled but said nothing, not denying it. Could she say she did everything from the heart? She felt regretful about the Zhao family's insistence on breaking off the engagement, but it wasn't intense. She could even say she was secretly relieved.
Zhao Yutan was said to be proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and possessed a gentle and demure temperament. She was a perfect match for their youngest son, Xiao Liu. But for some reason, as the wedding date drew closer, her heart grew increasingly anxious. Perhaps she and Xiao Liu weren't a good match, she thought. Later, when the proposed marriage proposal changed to the young lady of the Lu family, her heart inexplicably found peace. She even had a sweet dream during her midday nap.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
