Chapter 64 Xiao Yan's current feeling is...
Xiao Yan felt incredibly awkward. Sitting in her chair, she truly understood what it meant to feel like she was sitting on pins and needles.
Unfortunately, the First Wife showed no sign of stopping there.
"When you returned home that day, Granny Sun told me that it didn't look like you were pregnant. At the time, I didn't believe it. Later, when you came home again, I even had the doctor take your pulse..."
"No, Mother, that time you said you had a terrible headache and called me back, and when the doctor prescribed medicine, you pulled me aside and took my pulse. Was that really the reason?" Xiao Yan Hui suddenly remembered when she heard the First Madam mention taking pulses.
At that time, they had just received the news that Qin Ji was trapped in Yunzhou. Although Qin Ji sent back messages saying that everything was fine, but he couldn't come back for the time being, both families were still worried.
When Xiao Yan received a message from her servant saying that the First Madam had fallen ill from worry upon hearing about her son-in-law's situation, she didn't think much of it at the time.
Her mother was sick, so of course she, as a daughter, had to go home to check on her. She remembered that she happened to run into the doctor on the day he came to make a diagnosis. The first wife insisted that since the doctor was already there, and seeing that her daughter's complexion was not good, she might as well take her pulse as well.
"Mother, I really thought you were sick because of excessive worry. I never expected that you were actually faking illness to have a doctor take my pulse!" Xiao Yanhui stared at the First Madam, finding her behavior that day utterly incomprehensible.
The First Madam, who had inadvertently let slip her secret, looked somewhat embarrassed, but she quickly suppressed the awkwardness: "You were only a month into your marriage, and your son-in-law was detained in Yunzhou, his fate unknown. I was just worried that you would be too shocked to handle it. Everything else was just a side effect."
That's what they say, but it's just a polite way of putting it.
The truth is that when the First Madam learned that her son-in-law was trapped and that there were frequent rebellions among the local people, she had already prepared for the worst. The reason she pretended to be sick and called her daughter back was to verify the truth of Granny Sun's statement that "they did not consummate their marriage."
At that time, I thought that if something really happened to my son-in-law, and my daughter was still a girl, it would be more advantageous for her to either bring her home or remarry later.
Of course, the First Wife would never mention this idea again.
"Yan Hui'er, there's a question I've never asked. Your relationship with your son-in-law was quite good back then. Didn't you spend almost a month together at the villa after your marriage? How come it didn't even last a month..." The First Madam hesitated, but still asked the question that had been on her mind for a long time.
"There's no particular reason. It's just that I'm still young, and the doctor said it's better to wait two or three years before giving birth," Xiao Yan quickly gave the First Madam a reason, as she just wanted to quickly skip over this topic.
"By the way, did my elder brother also send someone home to announce the good news? Did he say when he would be back? Is he going to choose a date to get married this time?" Xiao Yan quickly brought up something related to Xiao Heyou to change the subject.
Xiao Heyou should have been married long ago, given his age. However, he was engaged to his teacher's daughter, who was quite young. He himself had been focused on his studies and wanted to get married after achieving academic success, so he ended up being over twenty.
I thought that if I brought up my elder brother Xiao Heyou, the First Madam would definitely respond, but I didn't expect that when she brought up the topic again, it would still be related to Qin Ji.
"Which doctor at which clinic told you you were too young to have children? Was that doctor hired by your son-in-law? Why would he suddenly think of hiring a doctor?"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan realized something was amiss.
"Mother, are you hiding something from me? Or have you heard some rumors?" Such meticulous inquiry into matters related to the bedroom between her daughter and son-in-law was not the usual style of the First Madam.
He looked somewhat embarrassed, but he had to ask. The reason he was so concerned about his daughter's situation this time was because he had overheard some gossip coming from the second wife's side.
"Well, well..." The first wife hesitated for a moment before finally saying, "I heard some rumors from the second wife's side a while ago, saying... saying that they insisted on breaking off the engagement because they found out... um, it wouldn't work."
While avoiding her daughter's gaze, the first wife secretly observed her daughter's expression, trying to discern something.
"Mother, what kind of nonsense rumors are you spreading?" After hearing the whole story, Xiao Yan Hui blushed as red as a boiled crab.
Several unspeakable memories involuntarily surfaced in her mind. Although they hadn't really gone all the way... she still knew whether it was right or wrong.
Seeing her daughter's embarrassed and ashamed expression, the first wife realized that she had truly misunderstood.
"Oh dear, look at me! You rarely come home, and I completely forgot to tell the kitchen to prepare some of your favorite dishes. Oh, right, the glass hairpins your shop sent this month look better than the previous ones, especially the hibiscus pink one. That one would suit your older sister perfectly; did you send it to her? And the spring-green one, it matches my two new outfits quite well. Could you take a look at it for me later..."
The First Madam stood up and suddenly became very busy. She immediately ordered the maids waiting outside to have the kitchen prepare more food, and then she asked Xiao Yan to bring her jewelry and newly made clothes so that she could check the matching.
That perfectly illustrates what it means for people to seem especially busy when they're in an awkward situation.
"By the way, your second sister's marriage has finally been settled, did you know?" After wandering around the room for a while, the First Madam finally found a suitable topic to talk about.
"When did this happen?" Xiao Yan Hui really didn't know.
Both of them secretly breathed a sigh of relief and then took the opportunity to talk about Xiao Quexian's marriage. To be honest, Xiao Quexian's marriage had been a real problem for the Xiao family for the past two years, a situation that was neither progressing nor regressing.
"Second daughter has finally seen the light at the end of the tunnel. The Liang family has finally relented and sent a matchmaker over a few days ago." At this point, the First Madam paused, a thoughtful look on her face.
Then she clapped her hands together and exclaimed with sudden realization, "So that's why the Liang family suddenly relented. It turns out that Er Yatou is still benefiting from your brother's influence."
The First Madam felt that everything made sense now. Why had the Xiao family repeatedly hinted at the matter over the past two years, but the Liang family had been delaying the Second Madam's marriage, even hinting several times that they could only offer Xiao Quexian the position of a concubine?
But a few days ago, a matchmaker suddenly came to the door. The first wife was secretly puzzled at the time, but since she was the aunt of the second branch of the family and the two branches had been secretly competing for many years, she couldn't ask too many questions about these things.
But now, considering the good news of their son's high school admission, isn't the truth that the Liang family found out about their eldest son's high school admission first, and then they gave in on the second daughter's marriage?
"On the day the matchmakers arrived, they even came to show off in front of me, but little did they know they were just benefiting from my son's fame." The First Madam felt she had been taken advantage of.
There's a kind of regretful feeling that comes from not realizing your own strengths during an argument, but then carefully reviewing the situation afterward and discovering a huge flaw in the other person that they just didn't exploit.
Given the Liang family's connections in the court, it's not surprising that they knew about their elder brother's success in the imperial examinations before their own family. But would the mere fact that their elder brother had passed the examinations really cause such a drastic change in Prefect Liang's attitude?
Xiao Yanhui had a moment of doubt.
Lately, she seems to have this feeling all the time. Many things seem to have a plausible explanation, but she just feels a sense of unease lingering over them.
"Madam, Third Miss, Second Miss, and Fourth Miss have arrived." Just then, the maid outside the door reported this.
"Could it be that she wasn't satisfied with showing off in front of me the other day, and now that she knows you're home, she's come here again to show off once more?" Upon hearing that Xiao Quexian had arrived, the First Madam frowned.
It's rare for my daughter to come home, and we haven't even finished our private conversation. We don't want to be disturbed, but since she's already here, there's nothing we can do but invite her in.
"I think my second sister is here to offer her formal congratulations." Since her mother could figure out that Xiao Quexian's marriage was due to her eldest brother's influence, Xiao Quexian herself could naturally figure it out as well.
......
Unbeknownst to the Xiao family, Madam Liang was working hard to dissolve the marriage.
"Master, I've noticed that our son's attitude towards the Xiao family's daughter has cooled considerably these days. Why are you suddenly going to arrange this marriage for him?" Even though the matchmaker had already made a trip, the Prefect's wife was still indignant. Since the matchmaker had only visited the Xiao family once, she still hoped to persuade her husband to change his mind if possible.
"Since my son has refused to budge for two years and insists on marrying the second daughter of the Xiao family, then let him marry her," the prefect said calmly while sipping his tea.
“Master, you didn’t say that before. With our family’s status and my son’s talent, we can choose from any family, whether it’s an official’s or a noble family. Why should we settle for a merchant’s daughter? Even if her elder brother has passed the imperial examination, he’s only a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial examination), which is far from our family’s status. The imperial examination is held every three years, and there are countless Juren each time. Why should we compromise?”
Seeing the governor's attitude, the governor's wife grew even more anxious. She knew her husband well; in the past, his indifferent and reluctant manner meant he had already made up his mind. In ordinary matters, she would simply go along with her husband's wishes, but this was her son's marriage!
If we don't try to persuade her husband to change his mind, will she really take that merchant's daughter-in-law with her when she goes out to socialize in the future?
“Master, we only agreed to let her be a concubine because of our son’s insistence. Even if she used seductive tricks and took advantage of our son’s affection to try and become the principal wife, can she really hold out for two years or three or four? I think the Xiao family has already shown signs of softening their stance, so why should we back down?”
"That's settled then, no need to say more. I've already made up my mind, and you'll understand why later." With that, Prefect Liang put down his teacup and left.
"A reason? What reason could there be? Oh, sir, explain yourself!"
As Prefect Liang strode away, he stroked his beard and smiled inscrutablely.
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