Chapter 79: Persuading the Lu Family to Marry Their Daughter
Madam Lu gave a wry smile and said, "The higher-ups have given orders that my husband must set off from Jin'an at the end of June to take up his new post."
It's already early June, and with only a month left, the Lu family still has many things to arrange.
The end of June wasn't too rushed, and Zhao Xian didn't see it as an obstacle. She said frankly, "Then let's get the wedding done before the end of June."
The plot of the book is that Lord Lu returns to Jin'an after being exiled for three years, and Jiang Heng, the male protagonist of the sweet romance novel, also returns.
The marriage agreement between the two families continues, and the sweet romance novel's protagonists get married, thus beginning the storyline.
Following the normal plot progression is fine.
But Zhao Xian and Jiang Liangxu also had a three-year agreement, and now more than half a year has passed. In another two or three months, it will be a year, and she can't wait any longer.
As he spoke, he instructed his maid to fetch the almanac.
Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that there were two auspicious dates for marriage, both falling in mid-to-late June.
On these two dates, June 19th was the day the Sixth Prince married his principal wife, and June 30th was the day two concubines entered the palace.
When the daughter of a high-ranking official gets married, the Sixth Prince's residence will hold a wedding banquet, and the Jiang family is among the invited guests.
Zhao Xian flipped to the almanac and found that the auspicious days for marriage in July were in the teens, so she simply closed the almanac and stopped looking. "Madam Lu, how about June 30th?"
The days chosen by the Imperial Astronomical Bureau must be of high quality.
When a concubine enters the palace, the ceremony is not as grand as that of the principal wife, and the prince's residence will not hold another lavish banquet.
They won't steal the spotlight.
And it just so happened to be at the end of the month, so they could set off immediately after their daughter's wedding, without delaying their appointment.
"Mother," Lu Zhaoying called out to Madam Lu, her eyes reminding her that it was almost time.
On the way, they discussed the possibility that the Jiang family might not want to continue the marriage, but at this moment it seems that the Jiang family has no intention of breaking off the engagement at all.
Madam Lu was still somewhat hesitant, while Lord Jiang was seriously injured while pursuing his son who refused to break off the engagement.
Although the Jiang family was still willing to marry her daughter, she did not doubt Jiang Hengxin's true feelings for Yingying.
But after all, Lord Jiang's injury stemmed from this incident. What if it goes on for a long time? With more gossip and rumors, or if someone tries to interfere with him under the guise of filial piety, will Jiang Heng still be able to stay true to his original intentions?
Madam Lu expressed her concerns, "...Erlang and Yingying are still young, and I'm afraid they won't be able to withstand the malice from the outside world."
Zhao Xian suddenly realized that Jiang Liangxu and Jiang Heng were putting on an act, and outsiders were unaware of it, including the Lu family.
"Jiang Heng has already made a big fuss about Xin Yueying, and if we break off the engagement at this critical juncture, it will put the Jiang family in a very difficult position. Outsiders will say that our Jiang family is snobbish."
Zhao Xian felt that the more she tried to persuade them, the more hesitant they became, and she ended up giving them a hard time.
As expected, Madam Lu's expression changed. They came to annul the engagement because they didn't want to put the Jiang family in a difficult position, and this situation was indeed unavoidable.
Just as she was about to explain, Zhao Xian smiled and said, "But your mother-in-law's concerns are not without merit. However, don't worry, this matter is easy to handle."
"Jiang Heng is a man, so what if his reputation is a little tarnished? There's still me! A doting mother often spoils her son; I'll take the blame and never let Third Sister's reputation be damaged in the slightest."
Madam Lu and Lu Zhaoying exchanged a glance.
Madam Lu had one last concern, "It's not that I'm being presumptuous, it's just that Yingying hasn't reached marriageable age yet..."
Zhao Xian looked at Lu Zhaoying. This one was indeed young. Cui Tingyue hadn't graduated from high school yet, while this one was still in junior high.
"Don't worry, Mother-in-law, I will tell Jiang Heng to respect Third Sister until she comes of age before they sleep together."
In this wicked society, if possible, get married early, but as for sex, just follow the script. I wonder if they can manage that.
As soon as she finished speaking, Lu Zhaoying's face turned red.
Having stopped the Lu family from announcing the engagement, Zhao Xian began discussing the marriage arrangements for the children of both families with Madam Lu.
Four of the six rites have already been completed, and since we are here today, let's set the date and only the final wedding ceremony remains.
The message from the flower hall reached the study.
Jiang Heng assured, "Uncle, rest assured, I will never let Yingying down."
Jiang Liangxu couldn't bear to watch his foolish son's declaration of loyalty, but he didn't stop him. He slowly sipped his tea.
After all, he had said the same thing to his father-in-law when he was young.
Jiang Heng glanced at his father, signaling for his help.
Just as Jiang Heng's eyes were about to twitch, Jiang Liangxu spoke up: "The marriage of the children is the mistress's decision. We who are not in charge of the household should not interfere with their decisions. Lord Lu, please have some tea."
Lord Lu picked up his teacup: "Drink tea, drink tea."
"Over in Quyang County..."
Jiang Liangxu steered the conversation to the place where Lord Lu was going to take up his post.
For him, who was appointed to a post outside the capital after passing the imperial examination, his rise from county magistrate was a remarkable achievement, and there was much to talk about about that.
When he heard him talking about civil affairs and local gentry, Lord Lu became particularly serious and humbly asked for advice, forgetting all about his children's marriage.
After the Lu family left the Jiang family, both sides reached an agreement to welcome Lu Zhaoying into their family at the end of June.
Thus, both sides are busy preparing for the wedding.
After accompanying Zhao Xian to entertain the guests, Cui Tingyue went to the embroidery room. Now that the Jiang family's embroidery room was under her management, it was time to start making Jiang Heng's wedding clothes.
After finishing her work and returning to her own Zhuqin Garden, Xiyu handed her a letter, saying, "Miss, Young Master Han sent this with someone."
Young Master Han? Cui Tingyue was a little puzzled. She took the letter and looked at the signature. It was indeed sent by Han Mu.
But why would he send me a letter? Shouldn't they never cross paths again?
With a sense of doubt, Cui Tingyue opened the letter.
Dong'er peeked over and asked, "What did Young Master Han say in his letter?"
After reading the letter, Cui Tingyue closed it and said, "Ask me to meet."
He also said he wanted to talk to her about something.
But she had already returned the things her grandmother had given her, so what else could they possibly discuss?
Dong'er couldn't hide the joy in her eyes, "Young Master Han has regretted it and wants to win the young lady back..."
Before he could finish speaking, Cui Tingyue glanced at him and said, "Don't talk nonsense about things you're not sure about."
"Is that young lady going to see Young Master Han?" Dong'er felt that her guess was pretty accurate. Young Master Han was handsome, from a good family, and had just passed the imperial examination this year. He was also the Empress's nephew.
When the girl initially missed out on Han Gongzi, she felt sorry for her.
Cui Tingyue sat down on the soft couch, and the white cat Chuxue jumped up and nestled on her lap.
He gently stroked the fur on Chuxue's back, his gaze falling several times on the folded letter.
After much deliberation, Cui Tingyue went to ask Zhao Xian for her opinion the next day.
After paying her respects to Zhao Xian and mentioning the letter, Cui Tingyue looked conflicted and hesitant, asking, "Mother, do you think I should go see Young Master Han?"
Zhao Xian had just prepared two invitations, which she was originally going to instruct the servants to send out, but she handed them directly to Cui Tingyue, saying, "Take a look."
The post was printed with gold foil, indicating that the recipient was highly regarded.
"The document in your left hand is to be sent to the wife of Lord Lu, the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy. Her youngest son is a few months younger than you, so it's not appropriate. However, her eldest son is quite good. He is an official in the court, lost his wife at the age of twenty-three, and has a five-year-old daughter. Lady Lu likes to listen to operas."
The one on the right is for the General Huaihua's residence. His son works in the city's guard camp; he's a reliable person, and Madam Xu enjoys watching polo.
Zhao Xian's throat was a little dry from talking, so she picked up her teacup, took a sip, and moistened her throat. "Both of these families have clean family traditions and there's nothing shady about them."
After carefully reading the two invitations, Cui Tingyue closed them and put them back to Zhao Xian's side. "My second brother is getting married at the end of the month. There are still many things to prepare at the embroidery workshop. I'll go and help out first."
Although Zhao Xian did not explicitly say that Han Mu was bad, she gave her two candidates who were no less than Han Mu, and more importantly, she said the last sentence.
Back at Zhuqin Garden, Cui Tingyue burned the letter Han Mu had written.
On the appointed day, Han Mu waited for a full hour, but Cui Tingyue did not appear.
He asked the servant behind him, "Has the letter been delivered to the Jiang family for Miss Cui?"
The attendant nodded. "It's been sent."
Han Mu put down his teacup; he could no longer drink any more tea.
On the Jiang family's side.
Cui Tingyue was busy managing the embroidery workshop and also had to come up with flower patterns. Since she wasn't good at drawing, she went to Li Lianniang for advice and asked Li Lianniang to draw them.
I was so busy that I completely forgot about that letter.
Because she was to marry Lu Zhaoying at the end of the month, Zhao Xian was actually very busy in June, with the wedding procession, matchmakers, attendants, best men and women, and food and drinks on the wedding day...
It may seem like there's still a month to go, but a lot of things need to be prepared in advance and dates need to be arranged with people, so as not to be caught off guard and panic when the time comes.
There are also wedding invitations, and the accounting department is working hard to write them.
Even so, Zhao Xian managed to steal a moment from her busy schedule to invite Madam Xu to watch a polo match.
Madam Xu brought along her youngest son, Xu Luohua. Xu Luohua was eighteen years old, a year older than Cui Tingyue. When he wasn't smiling, he looked quite aloof, but when he smiled, he had a touch of naivety: "Madam Jiang, Miss Cui."
Cui Tingyue gave a slight curtsy, "Madam Xu, Young Master Xu."
After exchanging greetings, they headed towards the stands.
In this polo match, all ten players were scions of prominent families, including Madam Xu's son.
After giving his greetings, Xu Luohua went down to prepare.
Until the young noblemen who were participating rode into the arena, they were all a group of energetic young men, who looked very vibrant.
Dong'er tugged at her young mistress's sleeve, excited yet restrained, and said, "It's Young Master Han."
When Cui Tingyue saw Han Mu, she wasn't as excited as the maid. Instead, she gave Dong'er a warning look.
Sitting down behind Zhao Xian, Cui Tingyue listened to the two ladies chatting while her eyes were on the polo field below.
This was the first time she had met Xu Luohua. To be honest, she hadn't even gotten a clear look at his face when they first met.
The ten people were divided into two teams, and their clothes were almost identical except for the color, making it difficult for her to find Xu Luohua among them.
The only person she could recognize at a glance was Han Mu.
After drinking tea and eating some snacks, Cui Tingyue got up to wash her hands.
On her way back, she encountered someone blocking her path. Cui Tingyue looked up at the person in front of her, curtsied, and greeted him, "Young Master Han."
She tried to leave, but the other party showed no intention of making way. "Is there something you need, Young Master Han?"
Han Mu: "Did you receive the letter I sent you?"
Cui Tingyue had completely forgotten about the letter, and only remembered it after he reminded her that she had burned it. She nodded, "I received it."
"Why didn't you keep your appointment, Miss?"
Cui Tingyue looked up at Han Mu calmly and said, "Young Master Han, I have returned the things to you. I don't owe you anything. It would be improper for me to see you alone."
"Miss Cui, so you've been here all along."
Xu Luohua, still in his riding attire, greeted him with a smile.
Cui Tingyue hadn't seen any other men today, so she recognized him and said, "Young Master Xu."
Xu Luohua looked the two men back and forth. He recognized Han Mu; he was his opponent on the polo field. "Do you two know each other?"
Cui Tingyue shook her head and said with a smile, "We've met a few times, but we're not exactly acquainted."
-----------------------
Author's Note: In another chapter or two, the female lead should regain her memories. These past few days have been excruciating to write; I've been writing and deleting, writing and deleting, ughhhh!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com