If Madam Yang were satisfied with Wei Yujie, she would have agreed to Wei Yujie's request. She would have consulted with the Duke of Rongguo and Old Madam Xu, and also asked Xu Yunxu about his feelings, but there was no further news.
Wei didn't bring it up again; if she wanted to talk about it, Yang would always find a way to change the subject.
Xu Yunci is the eldest son of the eldest branch of the family, so he should be the one to know these things. Although this matter is kept secret within the household, given the current situation, Xu Yunci should know, but not from her.
"My cousin is the eldest son in his family. Perhaps we should discuss this with my aunt later."
Xu Yunci didn't stay long. After watching him leave, Li Shiyue didn't mention Xu Lingqing at all.
Chunling asked, puzzled, "Why don't you tell the young master, Miss?"
"We can't say anything now. We have no evidence, only suspicion. Who would believe us if we told others?" Li Shiyue withdrew her gaze, stared intently at the courtyard gate for a long time, and then walked back into the house.
Wei Yujie was also persistent and would not give up until she achieved her goal. She went to the main courtyard for several days in a row to show goodwill to Madam Yang, both openly and secretly. Even the old Madam Xu, who never left her home, was alarmed.
In the afternoon, Madam Yang and Madam Wei arrived at Shousong Hall together. Madam Yang looked alright, but Madam Wei's complexion hadn't been very good since she came in.
"Mother."
Standing beside Madam Yang, Madam Wei carefully observed Madam Xu's expression.
Madam Xu sat cross-legged on the wooden couch, wearing a dark brown cross-collar jacket with dark patterns. As if only then realizing that someone had entered the room, she slowly opened her eyes.
His gaze fell upon the Wei family, and he said in a low voice, "You've arrived. Please sit down."
Madam Wei was startled by the look that Old Madam Xu gave her, wondering if she had done something to displease Old Madam Xu again.
"I wonder what Mother has to tell me so urgently that she summoned me here?" Madam Yang's expression was much calmer as she looked up at Old Madam Xu.
After she finished speaking, Madam Wei sat down next to her, not daring to look up at Old Madam Xu, and even shrank back a little.
Madam Xu addressed her so respectfully, without offending her, and looked at Madam Yang: "Did the Grand Tutor's Mansion send an invitation to our family? I remember you mentioned that the Grand Tutor's wife intended to hold a banquet."
This post was delivered this morning, but the Grand Tutor's Mansion and the Duke's Mansion have always had more dealings, so it's not surprising that the Duke's Mansion knew about it in advance.
"Yes, why did Mother bring this up? Could it be that you want to go over and catch up with Old Madam Qin?"
Madam Yang smiled gently, seemingly unaware that Madam Wei beside her had begun to fidget.
After hearing this, Madam Xu waved her hand and chuckled softly, "If I didn't go, even if I waited at the Grand Tutor's mansion, Madam Qin might not be able to get up and see me. Never mind, I'm getting old, let the children join in the fun."
As soon as she finished speaking, Madam Xu paused slightly, a faint smile still on her lips, and looked at Madam Wei.
"Qing'er is sixteen now, it's time to find a match for her."
Mrs. Wei breathed a sigh of relief, grinned and nodded, and started talking about her children as if she had opened a floodgate.
“Mother is right. This child is sixteen this year, and it’s time to find a match for him. Fifth Sister and Yan Yan are a good match made by Mother and my eldest sister-in-law. I don’t have that ability. It’s good to find a match for Eighth Sister as soon as possible, so that I can also put my mind at ease.”
"Sanlang is the same. He's in the military camp every day, surrounded by men. It's not safe for him to be wielding swords and spears. If Mother cares about him, she should call Sanlang back."
"Let him marry a new wife, and the lord will help him get a sinecure. Once things are settled for the brother and sister, the wife won't have to worry about the two children every day."
Madam Wei continued talking slowly. Madam Yang looked up at Old Madam Xu's expression, the smile on her lips gradually fading, and her gaze towards Madam Wei became somewhat indifferent.
Yang lowered her head, covered her lips with a handkerchief, and coughed softly.
"My sister-in-law has said so much, please have some tea."
Sure enough, she shouldn't have hoped that the Wei family would become more clever; she just hoped that they wouldn't say anything inappropriate that might offend the old lady.
Madam Wei paused for a moment, looking at her elder sister-in-law without saying a word. Suddenly remembering something, she looked up at Old Madam Xu, only to notice that Old Madam Xu's gaze had calmly stopped looking at her.
The smile on her lips was tinged with embarrassment. She glanced gratefully at Madam Yang beside her, but after being reminded, Madam Yang stopped looking at her.
He lowered his head, holding his teacup, wishing he could disappear into it.
Madam Xu sighed. She used to think that her third son was an honest person and the least likely to cause trouble compared to his brothers.
So when she was looking for a wife for her third son, she didn't choose a girl from the capital. She was worried that with her son's weak and mediocre nature, most of the girls from the capital would be from noble families and would inevitably be spoiled.
That's why she chose the Wei family, a family of modest origin and not particularly prominent in the capital, from among all the young women.
But she was wrong. She had seen it all over the years: her third son and Wei had been married for decades, but there was not much affection between them.
The inner quarters were in complete chaos, with a multitude of concubines and maids taken in, and Lady Wei herself was utterly clueless.
They both committed the most taboo thing between husband and wife: they wanted to help each other but were powerless to do so.
“I know you mean well, but the military camp is exposed to the wind and sun, it’s nowhere near as comfortable as home.”
“You say I dote on Sanlang, so I called him back from the army camp, but have you ever thought that Erlang sent him to the army camp to train him? Now that things have improved, I wanted to bring him back for the New Year, but Sanlang himself didn’t want to and went back to the army camp.”
"Do you, as a mother, think that loving him means keeping the child by your side and watching him, a young man in his early twenties, being spoiled like before, without any of the responsibility a young man should have?"
“If I call Sanlang back from the military camp, does that mean I, as his grandmother, will stop loving him? Of course not. You love your child, and I, as his own grandmother, love him just as much. But the child is grown up, and you can’t really keep him tied to your side.”
Madam Xu's chest heaved as she spoke so much in one breath, and she was still a little out of breath.
After a pause, looking at the aggrieved expression on Madam Wei's face, Old Madam Xu sighed: "I know that you have suffered a lot in all these years of marriage to the third son, even though you are the legal wife."
"When you were pregnant with Sanlang and had a difficult childbirth, it was I who dragged the third son out of the concubine's courtyard. This is the first time you've ever argued with the third son because of this."
"Later, when Qingya was born, the third son was surrounded by his concubines in the backyard. I know you felt wronged. You couldn't see your husband, and only your siblings were by your side, so you loved your child even more."
“But now the child is grown up and has reached the age of getting married and having children. If I were Sanlang, I wouldn’t want to keep him like this.”
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