Chapter 145: I order you to prepare an apology and go with me to defend the country tomorrow...
Dingguo Gongfu
At the flower-viewing banquet, Old Lady Yin treated Lu Danruo, the eldest daughter of the Duke of Weiguo's family, with special eyes. She even gave her the jade bracelet she had worn for many years as a gift to express her feelings. She was just waiting for the two families to exchange engagement letters, finalize the marriage, and welcome the bride into the house on the right day.
But before Old Lady Yin could be happy for long, she heard the rumors about the eminent monk's fortune-telling. Then the matter of her son's two previous fiancées was brought up again. It was said that her son was unlucky in marriage, so he had not married in all these years and only had Concubine Wei by his side.
Old Madam Yin's face darkened. She slammed the teacup in her hand down on the table and said sternly, "What's with the fortune-telling of a high-ranking monk? It's obvious that they can't stand the Second Brother welcoming Lu Danruo into the house."
Madam Yin frowned, and after a long while she finally spoke out her suspicions: "Do you think Chun'an had someone do this?"
As soon as she finished speaking, the room fell silent. The maids waiting beside her all looked pale, and her trusted confidant, Nanny Qin, turned pale. She instinctively said, "How is this possible? Old Madam, please don't overthink it."
The princess had been a man of integrity for many years, her noble status and the emperor's favor meant no one could displease her. Even without a child, the Duke had no intention of taking a concubine, stating that he had promised the princess when he married her that he would not take a concubine, even if they remained childless. This was why the old lady had sent the maid to the Duke's bed, and the Duke was furious. He had the maid brought in and had her beaten to death in front of the old lady. He then accompanied Princess Chun'an to Huang'en Temple to pay respects to the Buddha, leaving the old lady alone in the mansion, with no recourse.
Therefore, given the princess's personality, she probably wouldn't care at all about which noblewoman Second Master Pei An married. Not to mention, she wouldn't spread rumors behind her back.
Madam Yin knew what she was thinking the moment she saw her expression. She snorted and said, "No matter how noble her status is, she's not above the mundane world. I think she just can't stand the idea of An'er marrying a wife of a higher status. She doesn't want a sister-in-law like this to cause her trouble in the future."
"She was pregnant but she stopped the eldest brother from taking a concubine. She didn't give birth to a child for our Pei family, so she feels guilty!"
Nanny Qin knew that the old lady was thinking of adopting the second master's son to the Duke, but this was only what the old lady thought in her heart. Even if outsiders guessed that the old lady had this idea, they would not say it in front of the princess to avoid offending her.
However, there is no guarantee that this matter will not reach the ears of the princess. The princess is not pregnant, and the duke has no intention of taking a concubine, so sooner or later the matter of adoption will have to be brought to the surface.
So, perhaps this was indeed the princess's plan? Princess Chun'an wasn't stupid; everyone else could guess the old lady's thoughts, so how could she not? Perhaps the princess had this suspicion after the old lady feigned illness to trick the second master back into returning home.
Nanny Qin was a little unsure at this moment and could only say, "Regardless of whether the princess did it or not, it's difficult for us to investigate. Besides, if it was really done by one of the princess's subordinates, I'm afraid we won't be able to find anything. If it gets out, it will make people in the capital laugh at us. If the emperor hears about it, he might think that the Duke Dingguo Mansion has insulted the princess, making her feel uneasy, and it will bring trouble to the mansion."
Old Lady Yin had wanted to have someone investigate. If it was confirmed that Princess Chun'an was responsible, she would personally go to the Princess's residence and present the evidence to her daughter-in-law to see if she felt ashamed. She could even use the evidence to persuade the princess to allow the eldest son to take a concubine, or wait until the second son had a son and then adopt the child under the eldest son's name.
But after hearing Nanny Qin's analysis, he hesitated for a moment.
If the matter were to become public, the Duke of Dingguo's Mansion, though prominent, would not be comparable to the Imperial Family. The humiliation would only make the Emperor dislike the Duke of Dingguo's Mansion, feeling that they were not serving the Emperor well and were disrespectful to the Princess.
In the final analysis, the palace couldn't afford to offend Princess Chun'an. The more glorious it was when her son married the princess, the more constrained she, as a mother-in-law, felt after the princess entered the house. Forget about putting on airs, it was already a grace that Princess Chun'an didn't put on airs for her.
Just as he was thinking about this, he heard footsteps outside and the curtain opened. It was his second son Pei An who came over.
Old Lady Yin thought that her youngest son came to her because he was unhappy about the rumors outside.
Just as she was about to say a few words of comfort, telling her son not to take the rumors seriously, she saw her son wave his hand and tell all the servants in the room to leave. He said to her, "Mother, have you heard about the monk's fortune-telling outside?"
Madam Yin nodded and said angrily, "Don't take those nonsense seriously. He even called me a high monk. Are you so upset to see my son marry Lu Danruo? In my opinion, it's possible that your princess sister-in-law secretly ordered someone to do this. My son feels really bad!"
Pei An listened to what Old Lady Yin said and just stared at her, which made Old Lady Yin's heart skip a beat and an unbelievable guess came to her mind.
Old Lady Yin clenched the Buddhist beads in her hand tightly, looked at Pei An with some tentativeness and hesitation, and said: "The matter of the eminent monk's fortune-telling..."
Before Madam Yin could finish, Pei An nodded and admitted, "It was my son who did it. I have already said that I don't want to compete with my brother for anything. Mother, please don't have any inappropriate thoughts that would cause a rift between me and my brother."
Upon hearing his nonsense, Old Lady Yin flew into a rage. She raised her hand and wanted to slap her youngest son, but she had raised him by her side since he was a child. She would feel pained if he bumped into her, so how could she bring herself to hit him? She could only hit him hard on the shoulder a few times, angrily saying, "You bastard, are you really going to piss me off to death? It's not that I have such thoughts, it's that your sister-in-law is jealous and doesn't want your brother to take a concubine soon to continue our Pei family's bloodline. Am I, as a mother, not even allowed to intervene? Can I just watch our Duke's Mansion with so few descendants and no one to inherit this illustrious family business?"
"Even if I had that thought, I wouldn't have spoken out until two years later, when the princess still hadn't gotten pregnant, and you'd have a wife and a son. Why are you so anxious to say that? Are you afraid those girls from the rich and powerful families won't despise you enough?"
Because of the fate of his two previous fiancées, the noble ladies from the powerful families in the capital already disliked the youngest son. If it weren't for the fact that the princess hadn't gotten pregnant after marrying into the family and the eldest son hadn't taken a concubine, they would have had the same idea as her. That's why they thought of marrying into their Duke Dingguo's Mansion. They were afraid that they wouldn't be able to invite those noble ladies to the flower viewing banquet.
She always thought about her son, but her son and she were not on the same page. Old Lady Yin felt helpless and sad.
It was not that she was biased and insisted on adopting her youngest son's offspring into the eldest house. It was because her eldest son did not listen to her and took a concubine that she came up with these thoughts.
In the end, she was caught in a dilemma and it was all her fault as the elder.
Madam Yin felt very aggrieved, her eyes reddened as she said, "Look at what you've done. Do you really not want to marry a wife in this lifetime? I even gave the jade bracelet to Lu Danruo as a wedding gift. There were many people at the flower viewing banquet, and everyone knew my intention in giving it to her. Now that these rumors have spread, this marriage is ruined. Isn't this offending the Duke of Wei's Mansion? You're spreading these rumors without any consideration for me at all."
Pei An said calmly, "I think this is better. I heard that Lu Danruo has a bad temper. She's spoiled by her mother and she might not be able to tolerate Yi Jie'er. Otherwise, why would you ask Wei Shi to take Yi Jie'er away from people and hide in the yard even during a flower viewing banquet?"
"Instead of that, it would be better to marry someone who is less arrogant and more gentle and refined. This way, Yijie will not be wronged, and there will be no rift between you and your sister-in-law in the future."
"Besides, Wei has been with my son for many years. Although she is of humble status, we can't welcome a mistress who is intolerant and jealous and tortures Wei to death."
Having said that, how could Old Lady Yin not know that her son was determined to go against her as a mother?
She was speechless for a long while before she complained, "If you had this idea earlier, you should have told me. Why did you cause all this trouble when I was hosting a flower viewing party? Did you deliberately want to see me work in vain?"
Pei An also felt a little sorry in his heart, but he also had his own difficulties. He said, "If it weren't for this, how could mother listen to my advice? I have long advised you to get along well with your sister-in-law in my letter. What did you do? You actually sent someone to your brother's bed, causing your sister-in-law to return from Huang'en Temple and even leave the Duke's Mansion and move directly to the Princess's Mansion."
"If you continue to make such a fuss, and cause a quarrel between my brother and me, I am afraid I will have to leave the capital and will not be able to stay by your side and fulfill my filial duties."
His words were a bit harsh, but he said them very seriously and was not joking.
Pei An seemed to be oblivious to Old Lady Yin's unpleasant expression. He stood up and bowed to her, saying, "I must take the monk's words of fortune-telling seriously. I would also like to ask my mother to go to the Duke of Wei's mansion and arrange for a girl from the second house for me. This way, the two families can still be married and there will be no enmity."
"As for the Duke's wife, Cen, please prepare an apology, saying that I cannot disregard the monk's predictions. I hope the Madam will understand."
Old Madam Yin moved her lips and wanted to say something, but considering her son's temper, she finally agreed.
After Pei An left, Nanny Qin came in from outside.
After hearing from Old Lady Yin what the Second Master had done, she couldn't hide her surprise in her eyes.
I was surprised, but also relieved.
The Second Master was sensible and had no intention of competing with his elder brother, the Duke of Dingguo. He wouldn't even allow the slightest hint of this, which to the Old Lady seemed like she didn't understand the elder's painstaking efforts. But for the Duke of Dingguo's Mansion and the people there, it was a good thing.
Otherwise, the brothers would develop a rift, which would not only cause unrest in the whole house, but would also offend Princess Chun'an.
Thinking of this, Nanny Qin comforted her, "Don't be angry, Madam. The Second Master also respects the Duke as his brother. The harmony between brothers is a blessing for you, Madam."
"Many of these high-ranking families in the capital have caused great disasters due to disunity among brothers, making the elders uneasy. The Second Master has no such thoughts. The old lady should be happy."
Old Madam Yin also knew that the matter had reached such a stage that she could not force it. Given the monk's prediction, no eldest daughter of a prominent family in the capital would be willing to marry into the Duke of Dingguo's mansion.
If they were to choose someone from the second house, Lu Danyan, the legitimate daughter of the Duke of Wei's second house, would be the most suitable. As his son had said, she was gentle and virtuous, and loved reading. If she were to marry into the family, she would definitely get along well with Princess Chun'an, and wouldn't be intolerant of Concubine Wei and Sister Yi.
"Never mind, never mind. Let him be. I'll make this trip for him. Prepare an apology and go with me to the Duke of Wei's mansion tomorrow."
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