Chapter 64: Propose or Cancel the Engagement
Jiang Fei lazily leaned against the window. "The orphanage's big iron gate can't lock me in, so how can this broken door and rotten lock stop me? I can go out anytime I want."
When Jiutao heard her idea, she grabbed a door with one hand and volunteered, "Then I'll take it down."
"No, no, no! You can't put it back once you take it apart." Jiang Fei hurriedly stopped him.
She could hear the creaking sound of the door being pulled by Jiutao. Although she had not yet tested the limit of Jiutao's strength, she felt that removing two doors should not be a problem.
"Oh." Jiutao retracted her hand. "Then how will the young lady get out?"
"Look at me." Jiang Fei winked at her through the crack in the door, then turned and walked to the mirror to pick and choose, then picked up a slender hairpin, "This is it."
There was a palm-wide gap between the two doors, and the two door knockers were locked.
Jiang Fei stretched his hand through the gap, gestured at the door lock twice, and adjusted the angle.
"Miss, what are you going to do..." Jiutao widened her eyes.
Jiang Fei smiled mysteriously: "Watch it carefully."
The system suddenly said: "Host, your skills..."
"Your system doesn't understand my experience, don't you? I grew up in an orphanage. When I was little, I was often put in solitary confinement for being naughty. But I couldn't stay still and always wanted to go out and play."
She inserted the hairpin into the keyhole, put her ear against the door, and gently turned it with her fingers.
The lock core made a slight clicking sound, and Jiutao held her breath nervously.
System: "Host."
"Shh..." Jiang Fei was concentrating, "Don't disturb me."
The system said: "I meant to say that someone is coming."
"What?"
Just as the lock was about to pop open, hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the yard.
Jiang Fei quickly hid the hairpin in her sleeve. Jiutao turned around hurriedly and saw Wang Ma, who was beside Yao, and several maids walking in quickly, each of them with a serious look on their faces.
This scene was like dragging her to be thrown into a pig cage. Even if Yao hated her, she wouldn't be so cruel.
Even the lacquer tray covered with a cloth looked like poisoned wine served by an ancient eunuch.
Jiang Fei was secretly complaining when she saw Nanny Wang, who was walking in front of her, put on a smiling face halfway through the walk, with a speed comparable to the face-changing in Sichuan Opera.
"Get out of the way now," Nanny Wang pushed Jiutao aside and commanded, "Hurry up and open all the doors and windows."
Jiang Fei was stunned.
She hadn't been locked up for more than half an hour when Yao sent someone to release her. Jiang Fei looked at the sky and saw that the sun was still in the east.
As soon as the door opened, Nanny Wang walked in immediately.
"Second Miss, you're so happy!" Nanny Wang smiled so hard that her wrinkles were squeezed together. "The Marquis of Dingyuan has come to propose marriage, and Madam asked you to quickly get dressed and go to the front hall!"
The hairpin in Jiang Fei's hand fell to the ground with a clang. "What?! Proposing marriage?"
Jiu Tao reacted faster than she did and ran to open the wardrobe. "Miss, wear the new lilac-colored dress with embroidered butterflies."
"That's right." Nanny Wang smiled and called a few maids in, "Come and help the young lady wash and freshen up."
Jiang Fei was forced in front of the mirror. Several maids came around her, some combing her hair, some applying powder for her, as if they were dressing up a commodity to be sold.
"Wait." Jiang Fei struggled to poke her head out from the crowd of makeup, "Are you sure this is the Dingyuan Marquis Mansion? Are you sure they're here to propose marriage, not to cancel it?"
Why did it feel so unreal to her? Happiness had come so suddenly that it had saved her a lot of trouble in winning over Wei Mingzhen.
Nanny Wang smiled and said, "Of course it's correct. Look how happy the young lady is! Marquis Dingyuan and his wife, as well as the Third Young Master Wei, have come together in person. It's quite a grand occasion. Everyone is sitting in the main hall right now, and the mistress and the master are entertaining the guests."
"Wei Mingzhen is here too?"
"Yes," Nanny Wang said, "The Second Miss and the Third Young Master Wei were already engaged, and they even asked a matchmaker to arrange the date today."
Jiang Fei didn't understand, "What is asking for a wife?"
"It's just about choosing an auspicious day so as not to offend the month."
Jiang Fei nodded, and the maid hurriedly combed her hair. Nanny Wang then opened the lacquer tray containing the "poisoned wine".
There were several shiny pieces of jewelry inside. Yao was probably afraid that her original jewelry was too shabby and would make the Jiang family a laughing stock.
Jiang Fei stretched out her hand to block it, "No need, let's just leave it like this."
"Second Miss, this can't happen!" Nanny Wang rubbed her hands anxiously. "The Marquis's proposal is such a big deal, we can't be so shabby."
Jiang Fei squinted at her in the mirror and said, "Why don't you put on this headgear and go?"
Nanny Wang's face flushed red. "Young lady, you shouldn't tease me like that. The young lady the Marquis wants to see is not an old woman like me."
"That's right." Jiang Fei pushed away the maid's hand and stood up, saying, "They want to see me, not this headdress."
As she spoke, she picked out a pair of pearl earrings from her dressing table and put them on.
In the main hall, Marquis Dingyuan sat at the top, with Jiang Bingshi sitting beside him.
Logically speaking, if there was no proposal of marriage, Jiang Bingshi would not be qualified to be on equal footing with Dingyuan Hou, but the two families were going to get married, and they would be relatives in the future, so naturally those empty formalities would be waived.
The Jiang family was once glorious, but each generation was weaker than the previous one. Jiang Bingshi was an official who just muddled through life and had a lukewarm personality.
As soon as Jiang Fei entered the room, she saw Jiang Bingshi looking uneasy. When he saw Jiang Fei come in, he stood up with a sense of relief.
"Ru Fei is here, come quickly, come and meet the Marquis and his wife."
Jiang Fei bowed to each one of them, "Ru Fei greets the Marquis, the Madam, and the Third Young Master."
Marquis Dingyuan didn't have to come in person, but his third son said that he went to the Jiang family when his two elder brothers proposed marriage, but he didn't go to the Jiang family, which seemed to be a sign of contempt.
The eldest and second son's wives both came from prominent families, so Marquis Dingyuan naturally had to go. The deceased marquis arranged a marriage for Wei Mingzhen with the declining Jiang family, and as a father, he felt a little guilty.
Since Wei Mingzhen insisted, he was happy to compensate him, but he just had to show up.
Marquis Dingyuan had a good impression of Jiang Fei. She didn't wear heavy makeup or jewelry, but she had a pure and elegant temperament, and her words and actions were neither humble nor arrogant.
I never thought Jiang Bingshi could give birth to such a daughter.
"You are Ru Fei, sit down."
Jiang Fei bowed to Jiang Bingshi and Yao again.
Yao felt very aggrieved, but she had to put on a kind smile and said, "Sit down."
She had just locked Jiang Fei up, thinking that she had finally gotten the chance to punish her severely, but who knew that the Marquis would not come earlier or later, but chose this very moment to propose marriage.
She had no choice but to let Jiang Rufei out reluctantly, and even had to take out her most precious jewelry to support her.
Jiang Fei sat down next to Yao and looked up to see Wei Mingzhen sitting opposite her.
Wei Mingzhen was also looking at her. As soon as their eyes met, he looked away. Perhaps it was because Jiang Fei had asked him to come to her house to cancel the engagement yesterday, and he felt a little embarrassed to propose marriage today.
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