Chapter 37 Don’t blame her. Is your second daughter promised to someone else? ...
The results of the poetry competition were announced soon. Prince Zhao took first place, Chu Jinhe came in fifth, and Chu Yufu was right behind her in sixth place. Surprisingly, Pei Yue was also on the list, and ranked in the top three. Chu Yufu thought to herself, no wonder my father said he was a talented man. It seems that he is not only good at leading troops in battle, but also has good knowledge.
The top eight works were copied onto album leaves for everyone present to appreciate and comment on in turn, and the box of Hu brushes used as prizes was passed on to Lu Jiaan by Prince Zhao, so that the benefits would not be lost to outsiders.
After the poetry reading ended and the guests were sent away, Chu Yufu stood behind Wu and formally greeted Pei Yue. The man kept his brows lowered and his eyes lowered from beginning to end. His dark eyes were deep and dark. Even though she was the most observant person, she could not figure out what he was thinking.
Mrs. Huang, on the other hand, held Chu Yufu's hand, looked her up and down with a smile for a long time, and kept praising her for being a gentle and polite girl. Chu Yufu saw Mrs. Huang's bright smile and felt that she was not just being polite, so she felt relieved.
The next morning, the invitation from the Pei family arrived. Mr. Chu happily drank a few cups of Bamboo Leaf Green during lunch and asked Mrs. Wu to send two more maids to Zhuyuyuan to help embroider the red makeup.
In the afternoon, the new maid arrived at Zhuyuyuan. Chu Yufu moved Yinsuo into the house and asked her to do needlework, and sent the new maid to do the cleaning and boiling water.
On the other side, Mrs. Wu called Chu Jinhe and asked her which young man she liked more after seeing them.
Chu Jinhe pondered for a moment and said, "My daughter thinks Li Younian is better."
It was said that they met each other, but they just looked at each other's appearance through the screen and listened to their conversation when they saw the guests off. The family backgrounds of the Liu and Li families were not much different, but Li Younian was better at poetry and won second place in the poetry meeting. Chu Jinhe was more impressed by him.
Mrs. Wu nodded to show that she understood, and personally reported her daughter's wishes to Mrs. Wei.
Ordinary people would hire a matchmaker when they wanted to get married, and so did officials and nobles. Apart from official matchmakers, they would rather ask their elders, colleagues, and relatives to act as matchmakers.
Old Madam Wei has a distant cousin named Ren, who is the wife of the current Minister of the Ministry of Rites. She is a kind person and has a good relationship with people in Beijing. She is also somewhat related to the Liu and Li families. The old lady wants to ask her to find a marriage for Miss Chu, so this matter must be discussed with Old Madam Wei first.
As a result, the next morning, before Mrs. Wei sent anyone to invite Mrs. Ren, she came first.
Ever since Lu Jiaan moved out of Cishoutang, the old lady felt that the courtyard was deserted and lonely, so she always asked Chu Yufu to accompany her. This morning, the old lady asked her to come and have breakfast together and ask about the poetry meeting.
"What did you think of what we saw yesterday? Were you satisfied?"
Chu Yufu scooped up a spoonful of yogurt, thought for a moment, and replied, "My granddaughter thinks it's quite good. Master Pei is handsome and talented. If I must say anything, he seems a little cold and serious."
The old lady put a slice of cucumber in her bowl and said with a smile, "He is a military commander. He has been immersed in the military camp for many years. He has a bit of a solemn and murderous aura. This is not a problem."
"What did you think of the one from the Li family yesterday?"
"Young Master Li is handsome and came in second in poetry, only behind Prince Zhao. I didn't care about the rest." Chu Yufu pondered. "Does my eldest sister like him?"
"Yes." said the old lady.
The grandparents chatted for a while longer, then had the table cleared. The old lady wiped her hands with a handkerchief and was about to send someone to find Old Madam Ren when she heard the maid come and announce that Old Madam Ren had arrived and was almost at Cishou Hall!
Chu Yufu didn't have time to leave, so she simply took Lanzhu and hid behind a mother-of-pearl screen.
Old Madam Ren was ten years younger than Old Madam Wei. She was in good health, walked briskly, and had a hearty laugh. As soon as she crossed the threshold, she smiled and said, "Old sister! Is your second daughter engaged?"
Chu Yufu was playing rock-paper-scissors with Lan Zhu with their mouths closed. Suddenly, they heard her ask this question, exchanged glances, and pricked up their ears to listen.
Without waiting for Mrs. Wei to reply, Mrs. Ren launched into a barrage of words, "Yesterday afternoon, Mrs. Li, the wife of Grand Tutor Li, suddenly came to me to chat. She was trying to figure out something about your daughter Fu, and asked me to ask her son Erlang about it!"
Erlang? That must be Li Younian, the man that her elder sister has a crush on! Chu Yufu was shocked, feeling that something was amiss. She held her breath and leaned close to the screen to listen.
Grandmother fingered her rosary beads and said with a smile, "That's really unfortunate. Fu girl is already engaged, but she hasn't told anyone yet."
"Whose family is this?" Mrs. Ren was curious.
"He's the Pei family's nephew."
Old Mrs. Ren looked regretful, raised her cup and took a sip of tea, then asked about Miss Chu's marriage.
Old Madam Wei was about to bring this up, so she simply said, "I also went to the poetry gathering yesterday and took a look from afar. I thought the young master of Prime Minister Liu's family was quite good, and I wanted to tell He about him."
In the past, Old Lady Ren might have hesitated for a moment, but today, she thought about it and agreed. Things were different now. The Chu family was now connected to the Mingxuan Marquisate, and the second young lady was marrying into the Pei family. Presumably, Master Chu's promotion was imminent. The eldest young lady Chu was beautiful and had some talent, making her a suitable match for Liu Changgeng.
After finishing their business, the two exchanged pleasantries for a moment and agreed to go to the temple to burn incense together when the weather warmed up. Then Old Lady Ren left in a hurry. When she was far away, Chu Yufu walked around the screen and looked up at her grandmother.
"Grandmother...my sister didn't marry Mr. Li? Why did you mention Mr. Liu instead?"
The little girl bit her red lip with a look of trepidation, her eyes and eyebrows showing embarrassment, and the words "Is it my fault?" were almost written on her face.
The old lady, who was already feeling a bit frustrated, sighed and said, "Li Younian fell in love with you first, and now I mention your eldest sister. It seems like no one wants our daughter anymore, or like our family is rushing to marry into the Li family, so that if we lose our second daughter, we can use our eldest daughter to take her place."
After saying that, he stood up and looked at his second granddaughter in front of him seriously.
In the past, when people mentioned the girls of the Chu family, the first thing they thought of was always the eldest girl. But at some point, the second girl had grown up and become a graceful young lady.
Her fair face inherited that of Aunt Wan, and her almond-shaped eyes were watery under her willow-leaf-like eyebrows, revealing a clear and gentle feeling, just like the crabapple blossoms in spring, delicate and bright. It was a beauty completely different from that of He Yatou, neither arrogant nor impetuous, and had her own charm.
She is proficient in medicine, filial, sensible and kind to others. No wonder Li Younian fell in love with her.
The old lady took her hand and patted it gently: "Alright, this is not your fault. It's your elder sister who didn't have this blessing. Don't worry, I will find a reason to tell He girl that the Li family is not suitable."
After she finished speaking, she glanced at the little maid in the room and said in a deep voice, "Don't tell anyone about what happened today when the old lady came."
The maids responded in unison.
Chu Yufu felt unlucky after the inexplicable incident with Li Younian. However, Lan Zhu was overjoyed and left Cishoutang with a brisk pace. "Mr. Li has good taste! He was able to spot this pearl in the girl among so many people!"
The girl is the best girl in the world. She is so beautiful, kind-hearted and capable that she deserves to be admired by everyone!
Chu Yufu said with a bitter face, "Hey, you're still happy, just wait, when my elder sister finds out, I don't know how angry she'll be!"
Lan Zhu scratched her head: "Didn't the old lady tell me not to talk about it..."
"With my elder sister's personality, can she be easily dismissed? Just wait and see!"
Chu Yufu calculated that Chu Jinhe would know about this within two days, but she didn't expect that in less than a day, she knew everything that night.
In the evening, a layer of black clouds appeared in the sky, and lightning flashed through the night like a poisonous snake spitting out its tongue. The wind blew violently, and after a while, it began to rain heavily, and it lasted for two hours.
The sound of rain was so loud in the quiet night that it was deafening. Chu Yufu had no mood to read, so she turned off the lights and went to bed early. When she was half asleep, she was suddenly awakened by the sound of knocking on the courtyard door. Soon, Yinsuo pushed the door open and came in.
"Miss! The people at Hefengyuan want you to come over and take a look. They said the eldest lady is not feeling well!"
Hearing the sound, Lan Zhu put on her clothes and walked out of the side room. Looking at the heavy rain outside, she said in surprise: "Now? Why don't you go see a doctor if the young lady is not feeling well?"
Yinsuo wiped the water droplets from his neck and replied, "I asked the same thing. The people at Hefengyuan said that the rain was too heavy and it would be inconvenient to call a doctor, so they asked the second young lady to go."
Lan Zhu's face suddenly darkened. If the doctor is not convenient, will it be convenient for the second girl?
Chu Yufu sat up and opened the curtains, saying helplessly, "Then go and take a look." Then she ordered Yinsuo, "Go and get me that rabbit fur cloak."
The daytime in late January was not that cold anymore, and she didn't like going out at night, so she asked someone to put away her fur cloak. But the wind and rain were so strong today that an oil-paper umbrella probably wouldn't be enough, so she had to wear more clothes.
She simply tied her hair up, put on her clothes, and specifically asked Lanzhu to wear two more layers of clothes. Then the master and servant hurried out.
Raindrops fell from the sky, hitting the ground and raising a white mist. There were puddles everywhere on the ground. Even though the two of them were careful, after walking for half a cup of tea, most of their embroidered shoes were still wet. The cold, wet and sticky socks wrapped around their feet were extremely uncomfortable.
"Miss, you can get sick at any time, but you have to get sick at this time. If you are sick, just go find a doctor. What do you want me to do?" Lan Zhu exhaled white air as soon as she opened her mouth.
Chu Yufu kept her eyes on the ground as she replied, "Silly girl, she didn't call me to see her during the cold winter, but now she has to send me tonight when it's raining heavily. Don't you understand? She must have heard about what happened with Madam Ren and is deliberately trying to make things difficult for me!"
"So fast!" Lan Zhu blurted out.
"I didn't expect that either." Chu Yufu's feet were almost numb from the cold in her shoes. After saying this, she stopped talking and quickened her pace.
In the original novel, Lu Jia'an and Zhao Chunheng didn't get engaged so quickly. It took a year and a half of entanglement before they finally got married, and the eldest sister also spent the same time, never marrying. Later, rebels invaded the capital, burning, killing, and looting, severely damaging the Chu family's vitality. Coupled with the deliberate suppression of Prince Zhao, the family fell into decline. Unwilling to marry down, the eldest sister, increasingly old, finally hanged herself.
Chu Yufu never wanted to deliberately embarrass anyone. She just wanted to deal with the messy troubles and live her own life behind closed doors. This time, you really can't blame her.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
