Chapter 141: The commotion was so intense that it alarmed the old lady.
Just as Old Lady Yin finished her instructions, before Nanny Qin could respond, a maid came in and reported, "Old Lady, Aunt Wei has brought the young girl over. She said the young girl woke up and is clamoring to come and pay her respects to Old Lady."
Madam Yin glanced helplessly at Nanny Qin and said angrily, "Look, for all these years, the Second Master hasn't had a wife, only Concubine Wei. And she even gave birth to Sister Yi. Unknowingly, she's become too careless. She's using Sister Yi to inquire about the future mistress. How unruly."
Nanny Qin said, "If you don't want to see her, I'll go out and tell her to take Sister Yi home, saying you're resting."
Madam Yin waved her hand. "Forget it. After all, I only have one legitimate granddaughter like Yijie'er. I wouldn't want to embarrass Madam Wei in front of her. Please invite her in."
After hearing the old lady's instructions, the maid nodded and left the room. Soon she came in with Aunt Wei and a little girl about six or seven years old wearing a pink and blue skirt.
"The granddaughter has met her grandmother."
"I have met the old lady."
Old Lady Yin beckoned Yi Jie'er to sit in front of her and asked her what she had eaten today and whether she slept well. Yi Jie'er answered one by one. The atmosphere between the grandmother and granddaughter was very good. Only Aunt Wei was left there and she was not even given a seat and offered tea.
When Nanny Qin saw the situation in the room, she thought that the old lady had said that it would be shameful to embarrass Aunt Wei in front of Sister Yi. Now that she didn't take Aunt Wei seriously, it would be better not to even see her.
She wanted to speak up for Concubine Wei, reminding the old lady that there was someone standing here, but as the words reached her lips, she thought that Second Master Pei An was about to marry a wife, and that the old lady's words were a warning to Concubine Wei, so that she wouldn't forget her status. With this thought, she swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue.
After talking to Sister Yi for a while, Old Lady Yin asked the nanny to take Sister Yi to the side room. Only then did she have the chance to look at Aunt Wei.
Madam Yin said directly to Aunt Wei, "I was thinking of asking Nanny Qin to tell you. Now that you're here, I'll personally tell you. On the day of the flower viewing banquet, you should bring Sister Yi to the house, so that there won't be so many people taking care of her that she won't get hurt."
Upon hearing this, Aunt Wei subconsciously clenched the handkerchief in her hand. How could she not know that the old lady was afraid that the noble ladies would be unhappy when they saw Sister Yi, and would think that if they married into the family they would become someone else's stepmother.
Is her sister Yi so shameful?
If the old lady really loved Yi Jie'er, she should have kept Yi Jie'er by her side so that the soon-to-be-married mistress would know Yi Jie'er's status in the mansion and would not look down on Yi Jie'er, a illegitimate girl, after she came into the house.
She had brought Yi Jie'er here today just to seek such respect, but she never expected that before she could even open her mouth to ask, the old lady would say such chilling words.
Aunt Wei felt really bad for her daughter, but she was just a concubine with little influence, not as noble as Princess Chun'an who could act so freely and ignore the old lady. So even though she felt bad, she could only bow respectfully and reply, "Don't worry, old lady, I will take good care of Sister Yi that day and won't let her go out at will."
Seeing Aunt Wei being so respectful, Old Lady Yin nodded, with a hint of satisfaction in her eyes.
Aunt Wei hesitated for a long time, but finally couldn't help asking, "I know that the old lady is holding a flower viewing banquet this time in order to find a wife for the master. I dare to ask the old lady to tell me which girl she likes?"
Old Madam Yin felt that Concubine Wei's question was a bit out of line, but thinking that her previous instruction was somewhat hurtful, even though she felt a little unhappy, she did not scold her, nor did she hide it from Concubine Wei. She explained, "She is a girl from the eldest house of the Duke of Wei's mansion. Her maiden name is Danruo. She is the daughter of the Duke's wife, Cen."
"The second son's family background is similar to hers. If this marriage can be completed, it will be good for both families."
Aunt Wei had been accompanying Pei An outside for many years, but during her time back in Beijing, she knew a lot about the girls from the wealthy families in the capital. Furthermore, because of Lu Bingzhi, the Duke of Wei's mansion was very famous, and the affairs of the girls there became a hot topic of conversation among the people in the capital. When she heard what the old lady said, her heart skipped a beat.
Lu Danruo? If this woman married the master and became her mistress, she and Yi Jie'er would probably have a hard time.
The old lady likes the girl from the Duke of Weiguo's Mansion. Instead of asking Lu Danruo from the eldest house to marry in, it would be better to choose Lu Danyan from the second house, He's.
I heard that the girl was gentle, virtuous, well-educated, and full of bookish airs, so I thought it would be easy to get along with her. Even if it was for the sake of reputation for being virtuous, he would not make things difficult for Yi Jie'er, nor would he tolerate her just because she had been with the master for many years.
Aunt Wei was lost in thought, but Old Lady Yin didn't give her a chance to speak, nor did she care what she thought. She put down the teacup in her hand and said, "Okay, take Sister Yi back. I'm a little tired."
Aunt Wei replied "yes", bowed, and stepped out. She went to the side room and took Yi Jie'er out of the main courtyard.
Although Yi Jie'er is still young, she grew up in the Duke's Mansion. As she was born out of wedlock, she learned to read people's expressions and words, so she soon felt that Aunt Wei was a little uneasy.
Thinking about the things the maids who took care of her in the mansion had secretly said to her while she was asleep, Yi Jie'er asked with some concern, "Auntie, will the incoming legitimate mother be very powerful and difficult to get along with?"
When Aunt Wei heard this, she subconsciously covered her daughter's mouth with her hand. She looked around and saw that no one was around. She breathed a sigh of relief and whispered, "Don't talk nonsense. Be careful not to be overheard."
Aunt Wei didn't want to talk about this in detail with her daughter on the way, so she took her daughter to her own residence.
Pei An happened to arrive at the courtyard and saw that Wei was in a trance. He knew that she had just taken Yi Jie'er to the old lady's place, so he asked, "What happened? Did you suffer any injustice from the old lady?"
Pei An knew his mother's character best. Unlike his brother, he was raised by his mother herself. His brother, on the other hand, was raised by his grandmother. Therefore, his mother favored him, the youngest son. She said she cared about his brother, but it was never practical, which made him, as a son, feel disheartened. He didn't want to listen to his mother's words and compete with his brother. So after his two fiancées met with accidents, he let the rumors about his wife-killing nature spread and went out to travel. It was not until a few months ago that he was urged to come back by his mother's urgent letter. When he came back, he learned that his mother had a rift with his brother and sister-in-law. It was not so much that she was sick, but rather that she was faking illness to avoid seeing people. She thought of him, her son who was away, and pretended to be sick to coax him back.
Next, he started to arrange for him to marry a wife.
Pei An himself had no idea about getting married. After all, she was just a noble lady from a high-class family in the capital. He just hoped that she could marry safely without any problems.
Seeing that Wei was in such a state of despair, and thinking about the flower-viewing banquet in a few days, he couldn't help but express his concern.
Wei knew that Pei An's personality was different from the old lady's. She had been accompanying him outside for many years and had developed a kind of affection that no one else had. So she hesitated for a moment before choking up and telling him what the old lady had told her today. At the end, she said with a bit of sadness: "I heard that Lu Danruo is extremely arrogant and willful. She can't get along with her sister-in-law Cui, and she has been laughed at a lot. If this person comes into the house, I will accept the grievances of my humble status. I only pity Yi Jie'er. She may have to suffer at the hands of her stepmother. I feel anxious when I think about this. I dare not think about the life after Lu Danruo comes into the house."
As Concubine Wei spoke, her tears began to fall. Originally, she was just complaining about her grievances, hoping that Pei An would be more partial to her daughter, and that the mistress would protect her daughter more when she came home and not let her torture her. But as she cried, she became more and more uneasy. She actually stood up and knelt in front of Pei An and cried, "Master, I have been with you for many years and have never asked you for anything. This time, I dare to ask you not to choose Lu Danruo to marry into the family. Instead of her, it would be better to choose the girl from the second room of the Duke of Wei's mansion. I heard that this girl from the second room is well-educated, gentle and virtuous. She treats the servants well on weekdays. I think she will not treat Yi Jie'er unfairly after she comes home."
"If this person were to enter the house, he would not even think of arguing with Her Royal Highness, and it would also avoid a lot of unpleasantness between the sisters-in-law, and prevent the Duke and the master from having a rift and damaging the harmony."
Pei An just listened to the first few words, but wanted to comfort Aunt Wei. But when he heard her mention her brother and sister-in-law, thinking of his mother, Old Lady Yin's usual thoughts, and her dislike and calculations towards his brother, he frowned and stood there in a daze.
After thinking for a long time, he finally said, "Just pretend you never mentioned this matter. I will handle it myself."
Aunt Wei heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing this. Seeing Pei An leave, she hugged Yi Jie'er and murmured, "I just hope your father will listen to my words. If Lu Danruo is allowed to come in and listen to the old lady's instigation, there will be no peace in this mansion."
......
On the day of the flower-viewing banquet, Cen and Lu Danruo paid their respects to Old Madam Dou, and then took a carriage to the Duke Dingguo's Mansion.
Cui Lingyan had nothing to do, and just as Madam Dou wanted to chant scriptures, she accompanied her to the small Buddhist hall. After coming out of the small Buddhist hall, the old lady invited her to have lunch in Qingdeyuan. Seeing that the old lady was a little tired, she said goodbye and left.
Less than half a cup of tea after Birou and I returned to Wutong Courtyard, we saw Bitao coming in from outside with a strange look on her face.
Cui Lingyan put down the teacup in her hand and asked, "What happened that makes you look like that?"
Bi Tao patted her chest and whispered, "Young Madam, you would never have guessed that today, the eldest lady took the second young lady to the Dingguo Mansion to attend the flower viewing banquet. She happened to hear the maid in the mansion saying that there are rumors outside that the second master has a reputation for being unlucky in marriage. This time, the second master should marry the daughter of the second wife. If he marries the daughter of the eldest wife, the daughter of the eldest wife will end up like his previous two fiancées. I heard that this rumor has spread. I heard that some high monk who traveled to the capital heard about Pei An's story and made the prediction."
"The first lady and the second young lady came back looking very unhappy. On the way, they met the second lady and the first young lady. The first lady and the second lady started arguing, asking if the second lady was the one spreading those rumors in order to snatch the second young lady's marriage. The argument was so intense that it alarmed the old lady."
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