Chapter 432 Wishful Thinking
After the banquet, the ladies went home.
After Mei Qingyun got into the carriage, her face darkened. Although she had expected that someone would embarrass her and was mentally prepared, she still found it hard to bear such humiliation.
Especially when someone asked whether Lord Wang had asked a matchmaker to propose marriage, it was undoubtedly a crushing blow to her pride and dignity.
This incident is also etched into her memory.
The Wang family had also asked a matchmaker to propose marriage more than ten years ago, but she didn't like it. Now, more than ten years later, the same person has asked a matchmaker to propose marriage again, and the person they're asking for is also her.
However, more than a decade ago, being betrothed meant becoming the principal wife; now, it means becoming a concubine.
Mei Qingyun was born into a scholarly family. She was proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, and prose. Her brothers were not as good as her. Her father lamented more than once that she was a girl, because if she were a boy, she would definitely have passed the imperial examination and become an official.
Before she even reached marriageable age, she had many suitors.
Even if she were to remarry now, she would marry a widower as his second wife, or a man who had divorced his wife, or a man who needed to remarry after divorcing a wife who had made a mistake.
How could she become a concubine?
Seeing that her face looked terrible, the maid comforted her, "Miss, everything will be alright."
Mei Qingyun's expression softened, and she did not vent her anger on the maid. This maid had served her for seven years, was loyal to her, and was her confidante.
After a long silence, she gritted her teeth and replied, "There are hardly any good men out there; they're all fickle and easily tempted."
Wei Heng was like this, and so was Gu Jingxi.
The former took a concubine, while the latter fell in love with another woman.
Not only the two of them, but the other men were no good either. That man surnamed Wang once wrote poems to express his feelings to her, but now he treats her with such contempt.
The maidservant hurriedly said, "There are still good men out there. You will definitely meet a good husband in the future."
Mei Qingyun didn't reply. Anyway, she had seen through men. Liking someone wouldn't last. If she were to remarry, she would find someone from a good family so that she could hold her head high.
It's all that bastard Wei Heng's fault for making such a mess of her life.
-
The Changxing Marquis's Residence.
After the three sisters-in-law returned home, Zhang couldn't help but sigh, "Back then, Mei Qingyun was the object of so many men's affections. So many families wanted to marry her and make her their matriarch. Now, when someone proposes marriage, they want to take her as a concubine."
Chen said calmly, "In my opinion, this is probably just a man's inherent weakness."
Zhang was puzzled and asked, "What do you mean by that, Second Sister-in-law?"
Madam Chen replied, "Who knows if Lord Wang ever had feelings for her? If Lord Wang did have feelings for her, but she didn't choose him, now that there's a good opportunity to humiliate her, he should seize the chance to avenge himself. If the Mei family agrees, he can trample Mei Qingyun's pride underfoot and successfully get his revenge."
Meng Jinyao nodded in agreement. Mei Qingyun was the eldest daughter of the Mei family, and she was both talented and beautiful. Even though the Mei family was not as powerful as before, it was not necessary for the eldest daughter to become a concubine.
Zhang frowned: "This desire for revenge is a bit too strong."
Madam Chen added, "If she were ten years younger, Lord Wang wouldn't dare to suggest making her a concubine. The reason he's suggesting it now is because he thinks she's too old to find a husband, making it easier for him to get his way."
After a moment, Zhang asked curiously, "Third sister-in-law, you met her in Huzhou before. Did she ever make things difficult for you?"
Meng Jinyao shook her head slightly: "No, she was quite easy to get along with back then."
Zhang was somewhat surprised, and then said, "Back then..."
However, before Zhang could finish speaking, Chen interrupted her, saying, "She was quite easy to get along with back then. Let's not talk about her anymore; her affairs have nothing to do with us."
Zhang was interrupted and was somewhat displeased, but she did not continue speaking.
When they reached the fork in the road, Meng Jinyao bid farewell to her two sisters-in-law and returned to Weirui Pavilion.
Zhang then said, "Second sister-in-law, why did you interrupt me?"
Madam Chen responded calmly, "Mei Qingyun almost became my third brother's wife. Bringing up those things in front of my third brother's wife is just making her upset. If you have anything to say, you can tell me, sister-in-law. Why would you say anything to her?"
Upon hearing this, Zhang was taken aback. She hadn't thought too much about it; she just wanted to chat about gossip.
After a moment, Zhang said in an unhappy tone, "Second sister-in-law, it seems you're only mean to me. You never thought about whether your words would upset me."
Chen scoffed lightly, "Likewise."
Zhang: "You..."
Having fought for over a decade, Chen was exhausted and had lost the will to continue the sarcastic banter. She said calmly, "Sister-in-law, I'm tired. I'll go back now. Do as you please."
Seeing that Chen had left, Zhang suddenly felt a sense of frustration, like she had lost an argument, and had an urge to go up and stop Chen and have another argument.
-
In recent days, many matchmakers have come to the Mei family's door, all looking for a spouse for Mei Qingyun.
Several men wanted Mei Qingyun as their concubine. Although Lord Wang had been rejected earlier, the others felt that rejecting Lord Wang didn't necessarily mean they would be rejected as well.
As a result, many officials' wives felt a sense of crisis. More than ten years had passed, and Mei Qingyun was still popular. Her husband still cared about her and wanted to take her into his household.
Back when she was young, if Mei Qingyun hadn't married someone else, how could she have competed with her? Now that she's older, and Mei Qingyun is still so well-preserved, she's even less likely to win. If Mei Qingyun were to enter the family, she would completely lose favor.
In addition, there were also widowers who wanted to marry Mei Qingyun, but Mei Qingyun didn't like any of them. These men were not as good as her ex-husband. Not only were they older, but they also did not have as high an official position as her ex-husband. They were like toads wanting to eat swan meat, wishful thinking!
Madam Mei, Mei Qingyun's sister-in-law, didn't want her elderly sister-in-law to stay at home any longer, and was extremely concerned about her marriage. Seeing that her sister-in-law rejected everything, she couldn't help but get anxious: "Sister, I think this Master Gao is quite good. He is of good character, and the Gao family has a good family tradition. What are you dissatisfied with?"
Already troubled by her unsuccessful marriage prospects, Mei Qingyun retorted irritably upon hearing this, "He's almost fifty this year."
Without thinking, Madam Mei blurted out, "But you're almost thirty."
Upon hearing this, Mei Qingyun's face darkened: "Does my sister-in-law think that I'm too old and should marry an old man?"
Madam Mei hurriedly said, "Sister, that's not what I meant. What I meant was that it's good to be older. Older men are more caring. Look at Marquis Changxing and Madam Gu, they're a good match. Marquis Changxing is more than ten years older than her and he dotes on her."
Upon hearing this, Mei Qingyun's face darkened even more. What she hated most now was hearing others talk about how good Gu Jingxi and his wife were. She said with a dark face, "Lord Gao's eldest grandson will be getting married in three or four years."
After saying that, she stood up and left in a huff.
Madam Mei was displeased by her sister-in-law's cold attitude and thought to herself: "She's already old enough to be a grandmother, yet she still acts like a little girl. She should be grateful if someone is willing to marry her, instead of being so picky!"
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