Today, Qin's father was summoned to the palace by His Majesty and was not at home. The steward of the Duke's mansion then met with Qin's mother first. He was meek and obedient, and no one could find any fault in him.
However, Qin's mother disliked Xue Huai'an from the start, and naturally, she extended that dislike to the steward as well.
"The betrothal gifts have been returned to the Duke of Cheng's mansion as agreed. Is there anything you don't understand now that Steward Zhou has come to visit?" Madam Qin picked up her teacup, her tone neither cold nor indifferent.
Before Steward Zhou could speak, Qin's mother said again, "The betrothal gifts were handled by Old Hu. If the Duke of Cheng's mansion has any questions, they can ask him."
Butler Zhou came with a mission, so how could he dare to leave just like that?
Seeing the beautiful woman immediately stand up, he quickly explained, "Madam Qin, you are joking. I was ordered to come and take the young mistress back to the Duke of Cheng's mansion."
He smiled obsequiously, putting on a very polite attitude.
"Since both parties have returned the tokens, this marriage is no longer valid." Qin's mother was a little impatient. If this had happened at White Tiger Village, she would have had him thrown out immediately.
Even in Kyoto, there were still concerns about this and that.
Butler Zhou had guessed that the other party would say that, but the Qin family girl loved his young master so much that he was unwilling to really leave.
He smiled again, his face full of humility: "Regarding the token, it was really due to the circumstances, you don't need to take it seriously. Now that the young mistress and the eldest son have already gone through the wedding ceremony, they are husband and wife for life."
Qin's mother's patience was about to run out, and her face darkened, but before she could speak, Butler Zhou said again, "My young master has neither written a letter of divorce nor signed a divorce agreement, so how can the marriage not be valid?"
“My lady knows that Madam Qin is angry and the young mistress has also been wronged. But please rest assured, the Duke of Cheng’s mansion will never mistreat the young mistress. As for the woman the young mistress mentioned on her wedding day, it is completely fabricated. My young master is of high moral character and would never do such a thing.”
After speaking, he bowed and looked at Qin's mother with a fawning look in his eyes.
Mother Qin ignored his attitude and spoke without any mercy, "My Qin family's daughter will never marry into your Duke Cheng's mansion. Old Hu, show the guests out!"
Butler Zhou immediately frowned. He thought to himself that he had already lowered himself so much, and the Qin family still disagreed, which was simply ungrateful. They really were a bunch of bandits; there was no reasoning with them.
But he held back and said, "Madam Qin, please feel free to make any requests. I will go back and tell my master."
Disagreeing means you don't have enough leverage; bandits are bandits, they can never fill this hole.
"Didn't you hear what my mother said, or are you deaf?"
Qin Su came in from outside the door. She had already changed back into her maiden attire, wearing a long purple dress and a matching wide-sleeved gauze outer garment.
Butler Zhou's eyelids twitched. He had witnessed Qin Su's madness that night; she was practically possessed.
Thinking that he had come on orders, she immediately smiled and said, "Young Madam, I've come to take you home. Your wife and eldest son know that you've been wronged. They won't hold what happened that night against you."
"I have prepared the carriage. Please come with me."
As he spoke, he gestured for Qin Su to follow him, almost as if he were forcing her.
Qin Su had dealt with Steward Zhou quite a bit in her previous life. This man was a servant of the Duke of Cheng's mansion, and his ancestors had also worked with the Xue family patriarch to expand the territory, but they became increasingly unsavory in the later stages.
In short, he was a filthy rat who fawned on his superiors, bullied the weak, and was only interested in profit.
"Why did the young lady come out? Lian Tao, take her back." Qin's mother looked displeased.
She didn't want Qin Su to get involved in this matter anymore, and she couldn't bear to see outsiders gossiping about Qin Su again.
"Madam Qin," Butler Zhou called out, a warning glint in his eyes.
"Is this how you ask for favors?" Qin Su originally wanted to send the man away with a few words, but seeing him warn his mother, she felt dissatisfied.
Butler Zhou quickly bowed, a smile returning to his face. "Young Madam is right. I know I was wrong. When Young Madam returns to the manor, I will let you deal with me as you see fit. Now, Madam and the Eldest Young Master are waiting for Young Madam to return for dinner. Please, Young Madam, move aside."
"I thought my mother had made herself perfectly clear. Since Steward Zhou still doesn't understand, I'll add one last thing." Qin Su's expression was cold. "My Marquis of Loyalty and Righteousness has no relation to the Duke of Cheng's Mansion. Steward Zhou, please don't call me by the wrong name again."
Butler Zhou assumed that Qin Su was still angry, so he repeated the explanation he had given to Madam Qin to Qin Su again.
Finally, he added gently, "The eldest young master has feelings for you, otherwise he wouldn't have come to propose marriage in person. Young mistress, please don't get angry with him and ruin your relationship."
These words made Qin Su's face turn extremely ugly. In her previous life, when Nannan was still alive, she was certain that Xue Huai'an had feelings for her, otherwise he wouldn't have come to propose marriage in person.
Unfortunately, he was indeed tempted, but only by the power of the Qin family.
What a wolf in sheep's clothing!
“I think Steward Zhou doesn’t want to leave on his own. In that case, Lian Tao, go and see him off. He’s still young and can still cause some trouble.”
Lian Tao immediately agreed happily and walked quickly toward Steward Zhou.
Seeing her aggressive approach, Butler Zhou's heart skipped a beat, and he had a bad feeling.
"What...what do you want to do?" He was used to giving orders, and had never seen a servant act like this before.
Lian Tao smiled and said, "Of course, I'll see Butler Zhou off." She grabbed Butler Zhou by the back of his collar, like he was a little chick, but he was quite tall, so it was difficult for Lian Tao to lift him up. So she just carried him on her back.
"Put me down!" Butler Zhou was quite frightened. He struggled on Lian Tao's shoulder, but Lian Tao was extremely strong. Her hand was like a nail stuck to him, and he couldn't budge her at all.
"I... I came here with sincere intentions to welcome the young mistress. The young mistress cannot treat me like this."
Lian Tao rolled her eyes, quickly arrived at the gate of the Marquis's mansion, and then threw the person out onto the street, along with the other servants from the Duke of Cheng's mansion. Finally, she ordered the gate to be closed.
Steward Zhou was helped to his feet. Facing the onlookers, he gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with malice, "Like father, like daughter. Bah! Don't you know who you are? It's an honor for you to marry into the Duke of Cheng's mansion!"
"You take yourself way too seriously!"
A servant approached tremblingly and asked, "Steward Zhou, what do we do next?"
Butler Zhou glared at him fiercely. "What else can you do? Go back! Explain everything to Madam properly."
His eyes darted around, and he realized he needed to tell the eldest son about this.
The eldest son is very clever.
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