Chapter 162 Unbearable Anger
A marriage proposal?
When Zhang heard those two words, she was completely stunned.
She originally thought that since the Marquis of Wu'an did not mention marriage, it must be because the Marquis of Wu'an did not take a liking to Xuan Yi, so he simply ignored it and treated it as a normal meeting between friends. Who would have thought that something like this would happen?
If she had known this would happen, she would have quickly told Lady Wu'an that it was inappropriate. That way, Lady Wu'an would have definitely told the Heir Apparent of Wu'an, and then she wouldn't have been able to have any more private dealings with Xuanyi.
Now that this has happened, it truly shows that man proposes, God disposes; misfortune is inevitable.
Seeing her mother remain silent, Gu Xuanyi said, "Mother, I love him and only want to marry him."
Looking at her daughter who was already deeply involved, Madam Zhang was on the verge of tears. She choked out, "Xuanyi, you will regret your willfulness sooner or later. The Marquis of Wu'an's mansion is not as peaceful as it seems on the surface. There are many troublesome things."
Gu Xuanyi said dismissively, "The Marquis of Wu'an's mansion has a lot of troubles, but doesn't our family have its share of troubles? Look at Third Brother, he's made so many jokes one after another. Who in the capital doesn't laugh at our Marquis of Changxing's mansion?"
Zhang replied, "Xuanyi, that's different."
"They're all upsetting things, what's the difference? Everyone says every family has its own problems, who doesn't have some conflicts?" Gu Xuanyi is now like a young girl in love, refusing to listen to any advice and stubbornly going her own way.
Madam Zhang was filled with remorse. She had ruined her daughter's life. If she hadn't been so focused on the identity of the Marquis of Wu'an's heir and hadn't agreed to let the two younger relatives meet, things wouldn't have turned out this way.
Gu Xuanyi said defiantly, "Mother, I've already hit you and scolded you. If you're still not satisfied, then just marry me off as soon as possible so I won't get in your eyes."
Zhang glared at her angrily: "What kind of things are you saying, child? Aren't you afraid of being laughed at if word gets out? You stay here in the yard and I'm going to talk to your father."
After leaving Gu Xuanyi's courtyard, Zhang hurried to find her husband, Gu Jingsheng, wanting to ask him if there was any way to prevent their daughter from marrying the heir of the Marquis of Wu'an.
Unexpectedly, her mediocre husband was unreliable in normal times, and even less so in crucial moments.
Gu Jingsheng smiled broadly, extremely satisfied with the marriage. He chuckled and said, "Madam, the heir of the Marquis of Wu'an is quite good. Xuanyi is a daughter of a concubine, so marrying him is a great honor for her. If we miss the heir of the Marquis of Wu'an, we won't have such a good marriage again. Why do you want to stop it?"
Zhang was so angry her liver ached. She felt that like father, like daughter, both of them were foolish. She said irritably, "What's so good about him? What's so good about the heir of the Marquis of Wu'an?"
Gu Jingsheng looked bewildered and asked in confusion, "Why is it not good? The Marquis of Wu'an's mansion is not bad either. Although it is not as good as when the old Marquis was alive, and the Marquis of Wu'an's official position in the court is not high, the fourth master of the Marquis of Wu'an's mansion has caught the emperor's eye, and the entire Marquis of Wu'an's mansion has benefited from it."
Madam Zhang glared at him fiercely and said, "Fourth Master is the son of his second wife, and Marquis Wu'an is not the old lady's biological son. The mother and son are about the same age. How can they truly be a loving mother and filial son?"
Upon hearing this, Gu Jingsheng was immediately stunned. He hadn't thought of this question. After pondering for a while, he said, "So what? The title of Earl of Wu'an won't fall to his fourth brother. After the Earl of Wu'an passes away, it will fall to the heir apparent. In the future, our Xuanyi will be the Earl's wife."
Zhang originally wanted to discuss countermeasures with him, but she didn't expect him to be so dense and stubborn. The more she talked, the angrier she became. She pinched his arm hard and said angrily, "The eldest branch of the Marquis of Wu'an's mansion is suppressed by the fourth branch. There are many people and complicated interpersonal relationships. There are many dirty things. How can Xuan Yi handle this?"
Gu Jingsheng gasped in pain, his face darkening. "Madam, what are you doing? What's done is done. What else can we do? Xuanyi has no choice but to deal with it. Why not just teach her to be smarter?"
If you don't see eye to eye, even half a sentence is too much.
Zhang was so angry with the father and daughter that she lost her mind. She glared at him for a long time, but in the end, she held back and didn't call him stupid. She just turned and left.
Seeing this, Gu Jingsheng was also furious. He felt that his wife's temper was getting worse and worse, and she even dared to give him attitude. The gentleness and tenderness she had when she was young had long since disappeared. Frustrated, he went to the concubine's courtyard to find something to cheer himself up.
Zhang was at a loss and hesitated for a moment before going to Shou'an Hall to see if her mother-in-law could help Xuanyi.
Shou'an Hall.
Madam Gu spent almost the entire day in the small Buddhist hall, oblivious to everything else. She was unaware of her eldest granddaughter's situation until a maid informed her that her eldest daughter-in-law had come to see her. Only then did she leave the small Buddhist hall to meet her eldest daughter-in-law.
When she saw her eldest daughter-in-law with red eyes and a dejected expression, Old Madam Gu was stunned. She seemed to have never seen her eldest daughter-in-law with such an expression before, and she could guess without asking that something must have happened.
Madam Gu asked gently, "Eldest daughter-in-law, has something happened?"
Madam Zhang glanced at the maidservants beside her and said, "Mother, why don't we have them leave first?"
Madam Gu agreed and waved her hand, signaling the maid to leave.
The maids all left the room, leaving only Old Madam Gu, Granny Feng, and Madam Zhang.
Overwhelmed with love for her daughter, Zhang could no longer hold back her emotions. Tears streamed down her face, and she knelt down before Old Madam Gu with a thud, pleading, "Mother, please help Xuanyi!"
Madam Gu was taken aback again and hurriedly asked, "Eldest daughter-in-law, what happened to Xuanyi?"
Zhang's voice choked as she told Old Madam Gu what had happened that day. At the end, she asked, "Mother, with Xuan Yi's personality, she'll definitely suffer if she marries into the family. She won't have a good life. What should we do?"
Upon hearing this, Old Madam Gu's face suddenly darkened. She had already explained the implications to Zhang Shi, yet Zhang Shi still hadn't kept an eye on her daughter and had caused such a scene today.
She asked in a deep voice, "I already told you to politely refuse after the matchmaking, and then kept Xuanyi at home. Why didn't you listen to my refusal of Lady Wu'an?"
Madam Zhang answered truthfully: "The Lady of the Marquis of Wu'an did not mention the marriage to me. I thought it was because the Marquis of Wu'an's heir did not like Xuanyi, so it was dropped. I did not expect it to be like this. Since they were willing to get married, why did they not mention it after the meeting?"
Madam Gu seemed thoughtful and replied, "She may have other daughter-in-law candidates, but she is hesitating and doesn't know which one to choose. Let's not talk about that for now. If she chooses Xuanyi, she can find an excuse to say that she was busy and only came to visit today. If she doesn't like her, she can also find an excuse to explain. But it seems that the Marquis of Wu'an's son prefers Xuanyi, which is why he went boating on the lake with her."
Hearing this, Zhang felt even more distressed. She felt that her precious daughter was being treated like vegetables at a market, picked and chosen by others, and not even the one they wanted most. She asked anxiously, "Mother, what should we do now?"
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