Chapter 170 Confirmation

How can the young Cui Shisan understand the human heart as well as Chen Qushui, who has experienced many changes in the world?

Besides, there are some things she can say to Chen Qushui but not necessarily to Cui Shisan.

If Cui Shisan knew, it would be the same as if his grandmother knew.

Her previous marriage proposal to the Wu family failed, and she also rejected the proposal of the He family. If she broke off the engagement with the Wei family, and she took the initiative to break off the engagement... that would be too shocking! Because in this way, she would have no chance of marriage. Even if her grandmother, who always loved and favored her, knew about it, she would definitely not agree. She didn't dare to say a word in front of her grandmother!

But she didn't want Chen Qushui to take risks for her own sake.

"There's no rush for this." Dou Zhao said perfunctorily, "We'll talk about it later. It's still early now anyway."

Chen Qushui naturally knew what Dou Zhao was thinking.

He couldn't help but ask seriously: "Miss, are you really going to break off the engagement with the Wei family?"

Dou Zhao had told him before that the engagement with the Wei family was just a temporary solution. But he found that after Dou Zhao met Wei Tingyu, he had an unusual tolerance for Wei Tingyu, and Dou Zhao was not the kind of person who blindly obeyed... It can be seen that Dou Zhao had a very good impression of Wei Tingyu.

But in Chen Qushui's opinion, although Wei Tingyu is handsome and generous, he has no backbone when faced with problems. If he is a friend, he is very good, but if he is a husband, he is a fatal weakness. He will listen to the pillow and change his mind because of his friends' encouragement. This kind of wavering makes people feel uneasy.

Moreover, after Dou Zhao married into the family, she would probably have to pay for the dowry to maintain the daily expenses of the Jining Marquis' Mansion. Others also felt that Dou Zhao was overbearing the Wei family and that the benefits were in name only and not in reality.

The fact that the lady from the Wei Mansion wanted Dou Zhao to marry into the Jining Marquis’ Mansion within a hundred days is proof of this!

Apart from the title of Marquis, everything else about Wei Tingyu was quite ordinary.

But in this world, as long as one person is willing to fight and the other is willing to be beaten, it is best for outsiders not to interfere.

Since Dou Zhao had set his eyes on Wei Tingyu, marrying her would only mean some financial losses, which was not a big deal for Dou Zhao. This marriage could be considered a match made in heaven.

Unexpectedly, the old Marquis of Jining died suddenly of illness, and Wei Tingyu had to observe mourning for three years.

Although Dou Zhao asked him to inquire about the Wei family's affairs, he remained silent and his attitude was ambiguous, making him unable to figure out Dou Zhao's true thoughts.

"Of course it's true." Dou Zhao's expression was serious and his eyes were firm. "I wouldn't joke about this."

Chen Qushui nodded involuntarily.

As long as Dou Zhao has made up his mind, he doesn't have to worry about the consequences.

Even if we fail to achieve our goal this time, as long as the two of us work together, we can achieve our goal even more. We can just keep trying.

What's more, Dou Zhao has half of Xi Dou's property, and he, Duan Gongyi, Chen Xiaofeng and others are helping him. Relying on the big tree of the Dou family, even if he never marries, his life may not be as good as marrying into the declining Jining Marquis Mansion. Damn, why bother looking at the faces of the Wei family?

Even if they were to get married, as long as the fault was with the Wei family, it might not be a bad thing for Dou Zhao to marry an honest young man from a scholarly family. This would allow her to make her own decisions on everything.

Moreover, Dou Shiying had no children, so it was understandable that he kept his eldest daughter at home to raise money... No matter which path she took, it was better than marrying into the Jining Marquis's Mansion!

He couldn't help but smile and said, "Miss, please wait for me for a moment." Then he left the hall.

Dou Zhao waited for him in the hall curiously.

After a while, Chen Qushui came back.

He wore a half-new felt hat, with his head drooped and his body hunched over. He was dressed in a tattered cotton robe, with his eyes drooping and his hands clasped. He looked like a down-and-out scholar. There was no trace of the elegance and vigor he had just shown!

Dou Zhao was speechless.

Chen Qushui stood up straight, and became energetic and vigorous again.

"How is it?" He smiled. "I'm pretty good at this, right? I learned it from a street vendor. The people who are in charge of the Duke of England's mansion won't recognize me. Even if they recognize me, they will only think that I left the Duke of England's mansion with nothing to eat and clothes and became a street vendor. They will definitely not think about what happened back then."

Dou Zhao couldn't help laughing.

She asked Chen Qushui: "Do you have any good ideas?"

Chen Qushui knew that Dou Zhao had compromised, and asked with a smile, "So what are your plans, young lady?"

Since this matter has been entrusted to Chen Qushui, we should be honest with him!

Dou Zhao considered, "Wei Tingzhen is a greedy person. Nanny Jin and Nanny Lu around her are both influential people, and they have always been at odds with each other. If we can make good use of the conflict between the two and spread rumors that Wei Tingyu and I are incompatible, this matter will definitely be twice as effective with half the effort."

"This is a very good plan." Chen Qushui looked at Dou Zhao with a smile and nodded continuously.

The two of them were in agreement on this matter!

"I will leave for Kyoto as soon as possible." Chen Qushui said with a smile, "In a few months, Marquis Jining will be free from mourning. Some things need to be planned early." With him in Kyoto, this matter will definitely not get out of control. He paused and said, "It's just that this matter involves the women in the inner house. I want to borrow someone from the young lady."

Dou Zhao smiled and said, "Are you talking about Su Xin?"

Chen Qushui shook his head and said, "I want to borrow Hong Gu."

Dou Zhao was stunned.

Chen Qushui said tactfully, "It's just because Hong Gu is older and has more connections with the maids. Plus, she looks simple and honest, so people are more likely to believe her. If the person who said that looked too smart and capable, people would be more likely to be suspicious."

To put it bluntly, because Hong Gu was a country woman, those maids thought they were working in the mansions of marquises and dukes, and that they were more knowledgeable than others. Therefore, they would be less wary of Hong Gu, making it easier for them to deceive those women.

"It's just that Aunt Cui's place..."

"Don't worry, young lady." Chen Qushui smiled confidently, "I just asked Hong Gu to help pass on a few words at the critical moment, I don't want Hong Gu to cancel the engagement."

Even if she missed some clues, Wei Tingzhen knew that she was scheming against Wei Tingyu. Given her love for her brother, she would cancel the engagement no matter what. But then she would have to bear the blame for canceling the engagement herself. Anyway, she could achieve her goal.

Dou Zhao no longer hesitated and nodded: "Then I'll trouble you, Mr. Chen."

Chen Qushui said a few polite words, then smiled and discussed some details with Dou Zhao, and began to prepare for going to the capital.

A few days later, my grandmother called Dou Zhao over to talk to her. "Mr. Chen came and said that he would go to Kyoto in a few days to check the accounts in the shop. He thought that the Wei family would be in mourning in July, so he wanted to take Hong Gu with him to pay his respects to Mrs. Wei. In the future, when the two families discuss marriage, there will be someone to pass on the message. I was afraid that Hong Gu would be nervous, but Mr. Chen said that the Wei family has lived in Kyoto for a long time and has seen all kinds of people. The more honest people are, the more honest we will appear, the better. I thought what Mr. Chen said made sense, so I agreed. Do you have anything else to tell Hong Gu? Tell her later."

Dou Zhao thanked his grandmother with a guilty conscience and told Hong Gu: "Just listen to Mr. Chen if you have anything to say."

Hong Gu nodded repeatedly, took out several Lu and Hangzhou silk clothes from the bottom of the box, dressed them up carefully, and went to Kyoto with Chen Qushui.

Fan Wenshu and Cui Shisan had received the news early, and brought Tian Fugui to meet Chen Qushui outside Chaoyang Gate.

Chen Qushui closed the door and talked to Fan Wenshu.

"So, Marquis Yan'an will celebrate his birthday next month?" Chen Qushui pondered.

Fan Wenshu nodded and said, "The Wang family has been looking for gifts everywhere to celebrate Marquis Yan'an's birthday these days." He was originally an antique dealer and still frequently interacted with the employees in those shops. He was well-informed about this kind of news.

Chen Qushui asked, "Last time I asked you to make friends with the maidservants of the wife of the Crown Prince of Jingguo Mansion. Have you made any progress?"

The wife of the prince of Duke Jing's mansion is the aunt of Marquis Jining's mansion. The fourth young lady is about to marry into Marquis Jining's mansion. It is a common method used by those who are good at business to curry favor with the aunt of Marquis Jining's mansion through the people around the wife of the prince of Duke Jing's mansion. Fan Wenshu did not suspect anything and smiled and said, "The nanny on the stove in our shop was introduced by Nanny Jin who was beside the wife of the prince of Duke Jing's mansion."

Chen Qushui nodded with satisfaction and said to Fan Wenshu, "It's rare for Hong Gu to come to Kyoto. I think it would be better to let this Bao Mama take Hong Gu around Kyoto."

Fan Wenshu understood what she meant, so he called Bao Mama over and gave her some instructions. He also rewarded her with ten taels of silver, called a carriage, and, accompanied by a servant, let Bao Mama take Hong Gu around the city of Kyoto.

How could Hong Gu have ever seen such a lively scene? Not only did she get dazzled by the sight, she also bought a bunch of things in large and small bags: "This is for Aunt Cui, this is for the fourth young lady, this is for Su Xin, Su Lan, Gan Lu, Su Jin and other maids..." Bao Mama's eyes were red with envy, and she became more and more enthusiastic about Hong Gu. When Chen Qushui had prepared the things and asked Hong Gu to go and pay her respects to Tian, ​​Bao Mama took the initiative to ask to accompany Hong Gu to the Jining Marquis's Mansion.

Wei Tingyu and Gu Yu and others were doing very well in business. They only invested a few thousand taels of silver, but the first payment paid back the original money. Tian calculated that when the four river sections were completed, they would be able to earn tens of thousands of taels of silver, and then they would be able to hold a grand wedding banquet for Wei Tingyu. Thinking about it, she felt very happy and her life became more promising.

Upon hearing that the Dou family had sent someone to greet her, Tian was very happy and asked someone to invite Hong Gu in. When she saw that she was a simple woman, she liked her even more. She talked to Hong Gu for a long time, rewarded her with a top-quality red envelope, and asked the nanny beside her to invite Hong Gu to have a meal before sending her out.

When Wei Tingzhen heard that someone from the Dou family was coming to see his mother, he thought that the two families were about to set a date for the wedding, and was afraid that his mother had agreed to some conditions of the Dou family without thinking, so he rushed over in person to ask what was going on.

Tian felt that her daughter was worrying too much and said with a smile, "She just came to Kyoto for work and came to ask about her well-being. But you are being suspicious." Then she told the maid to pick some newly-released fruits and bring them in.

The nanny sent by Tian to entertain Hong Gu looked at Wei Tingzhen eagerly.

Wei Tingzhen understood and avoided talking to the nanny instead of her mother.

"Aunt, the nanny from the Dou family came to Kyoto on the orders of Aunt Cui from the Dou family to discuss the dowry of the fourth young lady with the seventh wife of the Dou family."

Seeing that she was about to get married, Zhending sent people to Kyoto to ask for her dowry. Could it be that he had made a mistake before? Was Dou Zhao just a weed that no one cared about in the Dou family?