Chapter 196: Wishes

Dou Ming and Wang Yingxue came back and saw the gifts piled up in the hall. They asked casually, "Who sent them?"

Gao Sheng said respectfully, "It was my eldest aunt, Marquis Jining." Then he thought that this answer was not respectful enough to Wei Tingyu, so he added, "It was sent by my eldest aunt personally."

Wang Yingxue was slightly stunned after hearing this.

She went back to Liuye Hutong today, not only to congratulate her elder brother Yinfeng Shijin on his becoming a thousand households, but most importantly because her mother brought her a letter saying that her father had asked her elder sister-in-law Gao's father, Gao Yuanzheng, a scholar of the Hanlin Academy, to tell Dou Ming about a marriage and asked her to go and discuss it.

The man's surname is Liu, his given name is Bi, and his courtesy name is Qingzhuo. He is 22 years old this year, a male prostitute, eight years older than Dou Ming. He also lost his father at a young age and his family is very poor. He was able to continue his studies only with the financial support of his uncle.

Although Mr. Gao claimed that Liu Qingzhuo was talented and well-behaved, and would have a bright future, who could tell for sure? My father passed the imperial examination when he was young, but what was the result? My mother had been through ups and downs with my father for half her life, and her children almost lost their lives. After my father finally made a comeback and became a provincial governor, the couple and their children were separated by the sky, one in the south and the other in the north, and they hadn't seen each other for several years... She felt sorry for her mother, and how could she bear to let Ming Jie'er live like this? Moreover, how many people like my father could remember the hard work of his first wife, and not forget his wife after he became rich? Once those people who had studied hard for ten years passed the imperial examination, who wouldn't rush to take a concubine? Could it be that Ming Jie'er had to support that Liu Qingzhuo's studies when she was young, and when Liu Qingzhuo became successful, Ming Jie'er would have aged, and then she would have to watch Liu Qingzhuo live a carefree and happy life?

Wang Yingxue was not satisfied with any aspect of this marriage, but seeing her mother's happy expression, she was too embarrassed to object directly, so she could only say vaguely, "Ming Jie'er's marriage must be discussed with her father first," and temporarily evaded the issue.

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but blame her elder sister-in-law Gao.

Wasn't it her mother's father who helped Ming Jie'er find a marriage? But she acted as if she was going to marry a wife herself, praising Liu Qingzhuo like a flower, making her mother smile. If she hadn't stopped her with words, her mother would have wanted to write Ming Jie'er's horoscope on the spot. Was she really that enthusiastic? !

Seeing the things Wei Tingyu had sent, and hearing that it was Wei Tingyu who had sent them personally, she couldn't help but feel furious. After a while, she said, "This eldest aunt of ours is really thoughtful!"

Dou Ming snorted coldly, turned around, walked through the hall and returned to his own courtyard.

Wang Yingxue was puzzled and followed hurriedly.

"What's wrong with you?" She looked at her daughter who was sitting in front of the mirror with a stern face, removing her makeup. "Did your elder sister bully you again? Tell me, what's going on? I'll go find your father and make a decision for you!"

"What's the point of you looking for my father?" Dou Ming sneered and threw the toothbrush on the mirror table. "You only know how to quarrel with my father. Have you ever made things clear or handled the matter properly?"

Wang Yingxue's face turned red and white.

Dou Ming felt a little sorry for what he saw, so he slowed down his tone and said, "What did your grandmother say to you? I saw you coming out of your grandmother's room, and you didn't look very well. Did your grandmother scold you again? She is old, so you should just listen to what she says, and don't take it to heart. It's rare for you to come back, so I'll ask Madam Zhou to massage your legs for you, right? Can the maids at the farm serve people? Do you want me to send you two maids to take to the farm?"

Every word warmed Wang Yingxue's heart.

She shook her head repeatedly and said, "No, no! Although your father is cold-hearted, he has never deducted money from me, food and clothing, and I am doing well at the farm." At this point, she paused and said, "You are not a child anymore. I will go back to the farm in a few days, and I can't help you much. Tan Ge'er from your second aunt's family treats you better than he treats himself. You saw it when we went to Liuye Hutong to drink this time. As long as he looked at something for a few more seconds, he would immediately get it for you..."

"Mother, please stop talking!" Dou Ming's voice suddenly became extremely sharp, "I will not marry Wang Tan!"

"You kid!" Wang Yingxue couldn't help but frown. "Although Wang Tan is one year younger than you, he has nothing to say about you. Besides, if you marry into your grandmother's family, will your uncle and aunt still treat you badly..."

"Ah!" Dou Ming covered her ears and screamed, "I won't marry Wang Tan! I don't want to marry Wang Tan!"

Wang Yingxue was startled and rushed forward to hug Dou Ming, saying hastily: "Keep your voice down, keep your voice down, be careful not to let anyone hear you!"

Dou Ming didn't care about all that. She shouted, "I won't marry my second aunt! When my second uncle saw my second aunt, he was like a mouse seeing a cat. Wang Tan only knew how to play all day long. He didn't study hard, nor did he practice martial arts. Someone took a broken bronze ware to coax him, saying it was an ancient artifact from the Shang and Zhou dynasties, and he foolishly paid silver and acted as a sucker. He even boasted everywhere that he got a bargain..." As she spoke, her voice lowered and her expression gradually became a little lost. "If I want to marry, I want to marry a good family— —My father-in-law is dignified, my mother-in-law is kind, and I have grandfathers and grandmothers who love the younger generation. My husband is honest, my uncle is lively and lovely, and my sister-in-law is gentle and kind. The family is warm and harmonious. There are no concubines, no illegitimate children, and no relatives who are always eyeing my money bag. When I go out, people will say, this is the daughter-in-law of so-and-so, and will look at me with a kind and friendly look and greet me, instead of whispering behind my back and saying this is the daughter of so-and-so..."

Wang Yingxue covered her face and cried bitterly.

Is it because of this that my daughter has always liked to play with Wang Nan since she was little? She also said that she wanted to be Gao's daughter.

At that time, she thought that her daughter was particularly close to her aunt because she grew up in her grandmother's house. Now she realized that her daughter was jealous of her background...

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Wang Yingxue soon learned about the Daxiangguo Temple incident. She asked Aunt Zhou in astonishment, "So, the Fourth Miss went on a hunger strike because of this incident? How is the Fourth Miss now? Didn't the Fifth Madam intervene?"

Nanny Zhou didn't know the specific situation, so it was even harder to judge. She said, "A few days ago, the master was very excited about preparing to buy a box for the eldest lady, but there has been no movement in the past few days. I just heard some rumors that the fourth lady lives in Huaishu Hutong and sometimes comes over. She looks no different from usual, and I don't know if it's true or not."

If the woman takes the initiative to cancel the engagement, she must return double the amount of the original betrothal gift.

Wang Yingxue pondered and asked, "Are the things that the Wei family sent back then still there?"

Nanny Zhou understood what she meant and whispered, "It's still there! No one has ever mentioned returning the items."

That is, Dou Zhao felt that he was slapped in the face by Dou Ming, and he was crying and trying to save his face!

Wang Yingxue sneered and said, "Just wait and see. In a few days, the old man will be excited to get his daughter married again." Then she thought about how Dou Ming would talk to Wei Tingyu, and her brows were tightly locked. "Ming Jie, why did you get involved in Dou Zhao's affairs? Isn't this just looking for trouble?! Why don't you stop her a little?"

Nanny Zhou smiled bitterly.

There were no signs beforehand. By the time she found out, the situation had already started. How could she prevent it?!

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In the evening, Dou Shiying came back and saw that the Wei family had sent a holiday gift. He ordered Gaosheng to return it double the amount.

Wei Tingzhen found out and said to Tian proudly, "I've said it before, the Dou family would never break off the engagement with us, they just want to scare us."

Tian heaved a sigh of relief after hearing this.

After all, breaking off an engagement is not a good thing. If you discuss marriage again, the other party will definitely inquire carefully about the reason for breaking off the engagement. If something goes wrong, the marriage will be called off. There may even be rumors that the person has a hidden disease, which will make it even more difficult to discuss marriage again.

Wei Tingyu didn't dare to say anything.

Wei Tingzhen told the people in Jining Marquis's Mansion: "Ignore them."

The people in Jining Marquis' Mansion inevitably treated the Dou family with some neglect.

Wang Yingxue's heart moved after hearing this.

She asked Madam Zhou: "Did the eldest aunt go to Daxiangguo Temple that day?"

"He should have gone, right?" Nanny Zhou was not sure.

At that time, all of them who served Dou Ming were called in for questioning and were almost sold by human traffickers.

If he hadn't gone, why would Mrs. Five be so angry?

Wang Yingxue said to Madam Zhou, "Send a maid to give a message to the eldest aunt, saying that the fifth young lady wants to see him for something."

Nanny Zhou was shocked.

Wang Yingxue smiled and said, "What are you thinking about? I want to see him, but I don't want him to know."

Nanny Zhou felt something was wrong, but Wang Yingxue had already shown her suspicion, so she had no choice but to follow Wang Yingxue's instructions and pass a message to Wei Tingyu.

In less than half an hour, Wei Tingyu arrived.

The Jining Marquis's Mansion is only half an hour's journey from here.

Wang Yingxue nodded secretly and told Madam Zhou: "I have already seen the man, find an excuse to send him away!"

Nanny Zhou felt relieved.

Wei Tingyu returned to Jining Marquis' Mansion for unknown reasons.

Wang Yingxue went to Dou Ming.

Dou Ming was lying on the kang reading a book. When she saw her mother coming in, she raised her eyelids and said, "What are you doing here? Didn't your grandmother say she wanted to see you for something these few days?" Then she lowered her head to read again.

Wang Yingxue snatched the book from Dou Ming's hand and said, "Do you know why your father has been ignoring my comings and goings these days?" She told Dou Ming about Wang Xingyi's finding Gao Yuanzheng to arrange a marriage for Dou Ming. "...The Liu family is innocent, but you have to think it through. This is a matter of your life. If you are not careful, your sister will be the high and mighty Marquis's wife, and you will be the hardworking peasant woman in the countryside!"

Dou Mingbi was still young after all, and her face flushed red when she heard that, and she kept turning over and over the book.

Wang Yingxue remained silent as well, just sitting there and looking at her.

Dou Ming held his breath for a long time before he said solemnly, "I don't want to marry Liu Qingzhuo, but I don't want to marry Wang Tan either."

Wang Yingxue laughed and said, "Silly child, who told you to marry Tan Ge'er? Look at your sister, she doesn't care about anything, she doesn't care about anything, she found out about the Daxiangguo Temple incident and couldn't get out of the situation, so she cried, made a fuss, and finally wanted to marry into the Jining Marquis's mansion. I have been confined by your father these years, so I don't know what's going on outside. But I know that if your sister thinks that the person is good, and your fifth aunt and sixth aunt think that the thing is good, it must be right."

Dou Ming asked in confusion: "Mother, what do you want to say?"

Wang Yingxue smiled slightly, with an indescribable feeling in her smile. She told Dou Ming about Wei Tingyu's coming just now and said, "Your sister felt that you had embarrassed her and cried and shouted that she didn't want to marry into the Jining Marquis's mansion, didn't she? Then you can just marry him!"