Chapter 2: The Marquis' Mansion no longer wants to continue this marriage?
When Zhan came back from visiting Cui Lingyan, her daughter Qi Ruorou hurried forward to greet her and said softly, "I was thinking of going to see Sister Yan with you tomorrow. I never thought you would miss her so much and not wait for me."
As Qi Ruorou spoke, she helped Zhan sit down at the table and poured her a cup of warm tea with her own hands.
Seeing her daughter so considerate and gentle, Zhan was relieved. She took Qi Ruorou's hand and asked her to sit next to her. Then she said softly, "After all, she calls me aunt, and she's been raised in our house for so many years. I have to hand her over to your aunt safely before I can feel at ease. To be honest, I've been really worried since she got sick, afraid that something bad might happen and I wouldn't be able to explain it."
Zhan smiled and continued, "Besides, you know what your grandmother and I are thinking. We want to marry your sister Yan to your brother and have her enter our Qi family. She'll have to call me mother-in-law from now on, so how can I not be concerned?"
Qi Ruorou smiled and said gently, "Mother and grandmother truly love her. However, Sister Yan is a noble lady from a marquisate after all. Even if she isn't favored by Aunt, her status is still there. I wonder if she would feel wronged by marrying into our family. Besides, I've seen that brother treats Sister Yan with courtesy but not closeness enough. Brother may not have such intentions."
Zhan frowned slightly upon hearing this and interrupted her daughter, "What nonsense! Since ancient times, marriage has been a matter of parents' orders and matchmakers' words. How can it be determined whether he has any intentions or not? Besides, Yan has lived in the mansion for so many years. It's not an exaggeration to say that we are childhood sweethearts. How could there be no affection between us?"
As Zhan spoke, she sighed softly, "Your brother is so proud that he treats Miss Yan so politely and distantly. It's all because of those people outside, gossiping about how the noble daughter of the Marquis's family is being raised in our house, and that if your brother marries her, she'll be like a half-son of the Marquis's family, which will greatly benefit his career. Although it was just drunken talk, your brother has always been a strong-willed person, and how could he allow others to look down on him in the slightest? That's why he's so opposed to this marriage."
"Men care about their reputation the most, but how much is reputation worth? Besides, our Qi family has been prosperous and respectable over the years, so why can't we have this marriage? Those who gossip about us are just jealous and can't bear to see our family and the Marquis' family get married."
Qi Ruorou heard her mother's words and knew that she was determined to facilitate this marriage. She smiled and said, "It would be great if we could become closer relatives. I think my brother will understand your painstaking efforts."
Zhan's lips curled up, she took Qi Ruorou's hand and patted it gently, saying, "Mother's trip to the capital is not only for your brother and Yan's marriage, but also to find a good marriage for you."
As soon as Zhan finished speaking, Qi Ruorou's cheeks flushed and she looked shy.
Seeing her like this, Zhan smiled and said, "Our Ruorou is so beautiful and proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting. It is natural that she would marry into a wealthy family and live a life of luxury."
"Our Qi family isn't very large. Your mother and father only have you and your brother. Although your aunt has been married for many years, she is still from our Qi family, so she has to worry about your marriage. Apart from anything else, our family has taken care of Yan for her for so many years. Even if we don't say it's a favor, your aunt should remember the kindness of her family. If she can repay this kindness to you, Ruorou, and find you a good marriage, then our family's hard work will not be in vain."
Qi Ruorou's cheeks turned redder when she heard this, and she said shyly, "It's all up to mother."
Qi Ruorou accompanied Zhan for dinner, and then returned to her own residence with her maid Ruxue.
After entering the house, Ruxue couldn't help but ask, "Since you knew that Madam was going to visit her cousin, why didn't you go there earlier? You wouldn't have to go there specially."
Hearing Ruxue's words, Qi Ruorou glanced at her and said, "It's not good for my cousin to feel that everyone in the Qi family is trying to please her."
"Although my status is not as high as hers, I don't want to be looked down upon."
Ruxue remained silent. Having served the young lady for years, she knew that while the young lady appeared to get along well with her cousin, her feelings towards her were somewhat complicated. She envied her cousin's noble status, born into a marquisate, yet she also felt a certain superiority because her cousin, disliked by her aunt and sent to the Qi family to be raised at the age of six, felt a sense of superiority.
So, the girl was close to her cousin, but in fact, she didn't take it to heart at all. The sisterly affection was just an act.
"My dear, you're overthinking it. My cousin is a gentle girl, and she gets along well with you. How could she possibly harbor such thoughts? Speaking of which, my cousin is also a pitiful person. Although she was born into a marquis's mansion, she's not treated well. Otherwise, why wouldn't the mansion send anyone to the capital this time? It's truly pitiful. In my opinion, my cousin doesn't show it on her face, but she feels wronged in her heart, which is why she fell ill."
"It's strange to say. Over the years, the Marquis' Mansion has sent quite a few annual and festival gifts to our residence. We can say that they are very courteous. Why are they so rude this time? Could something have happened at the Marquis' Mansion?"
Qi Ruorou was stunned for a moment, and after a while she said, "That shouldn't be the case. With a family as prestigious as the Marquis's, what could possibly go wrong? Besides, the eldest daughter of the mansion, Cui Linghui, will be the wife of the prince of the Duke of Wei. And the prince, Lu Bingzhi, is the son of the eldest princess. The Empress Dowager and the Emperor both hold him in high esteem. With such a close relationship, the Marquis's family will only have good things to offer. How could anything go wrong?"
Ruxue nodded. "That's right, I was overthinking it. Miss Cui is truly blessed to be able to marry into the Duke of Wei's mansion and have such a stepsister. I wonder what my cousin must be feeling. If it were me, I'd be envious to death."
Qi Ruorou nodded slightly and said nothing more.
......
Ningshou Marquis Mansion in Beijing
Xilanyuan
Old Madam Zhai was displeased and scolded her eldest daughter-in-law, Qi, "Yan girl is almost in the capital, and you, as her mother, have only just come to report. Why didn't you send someone to the Qi family to bring her back? Instead, you asked Madam Auntie to personally escort Yan girl back to the capital. If this gets out, who knows what people will say about our mansion!"
Qi Shi was inevitably a little embarrassed by this scolding, especially in front of her two sisters-in-law, but she didn't dare to talk back. She just knelt down and apologized, "Mother, please calm down. It's really because Hui girl has been seriously ill these days, and I have been taking care of her wholeheartedly, so I didn't have time to send anyone south."
"Besides, my wife's sister-in-law has a gentle personality and has always been generous. She even mentioned in her previous letter that she wanted to come to the capital. It's possible that this is why she wanted to go to the capital with Yan."
Second Madam Bian and Third Madam Gao listened to Qi's sophistry and laughed in their hearts. They thought that it was obvious that they did not care about their own daughter, but now they brought Hui girl up to make trouble. Was she showing off her motherly love?
If she was really a loving mother, why didn't she love her own daughter Cui Lingyan, but instead treated her stepdaughter Cui Linghui like a treasure? Everyone knew that she was doing it on purpose to show the old lady.
When Old Lady Zhai heard what Qi said, and saw that Qi had lost some weight these days taking care of her eldest granddaughter Cui Linghui, her expression softened a little.
"Forget it. You're taking care of Hui girl and you're also busy with the affairs of this family in the mansion. It's natural that you might be a little careless. But you should calculate the time and send some people to wait at the dock. Don't let my aunt think that our mansion is impolite."
After hearing this, Qi quickly responded respectfully.
After saying this, Madam Zhai asked with a hint of melancholy, "Did you go to Wei's place today to see if she is feeling better?"
Qi replied, "I look a little better now, but the doctor said I need to be careful and take good care of myself. It's best to relax and unwind so I can recover faster."
As soon as she finished speaking, silence fell in the room.
Everyone knew that Weiguogong's son, Lu Bingzhi, had been poisoned and his mood had changed drastically. How could Cui Linghui, the future wife of that son, be so carefree? It was also because the maids and servants who looked after him were incompetent. Otherwise, how could they have let their master accidentally fall into the lake? If something went wrong and he had left behind some illness, what would have happened to his daughter?
Seeing the bad mood, Second Madam Bian started to cheer it up: "Miss Hui has always been a blessed woman. When she marries Master Lu, maybe Master Lu will recover soon."
The third wife, Mrs. Gao, who was sitting nearby, frowned and said nothing. She just picked up the teacup in her hand and took a sip.
Her husband was born out of wedlock, so the third branch of the family had always been inferior to the first and second branches in the mansion. There were many things that Bian could say, but she couldn't.
Besides, she had been thinking privately these days about Cui Linghui's accidental fall into the water, and she couldn't help but feel that it was too coincidental. She wondered if Cui Linghui had other ideas in his mind and didn't want to continue this marriage?
Of course, she didn't dare to say a word about these thoughts. Although Cui Linghui was the daughter of the marquis and had a noble status, she was nothing compared to Lu Bingzhi. If she really dared to have such thoughts, the Empress Dowager in the palace would tear her to pieces.
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