58 Wrong Rescue
◎I only like you, and I only want you.◎
The old lady's words were like a voice from outer space, shocking Yuhuan so much that she opened her eyes wide, and then bit her lip and uttered a mournful tone.
"Yuhuan is grateful for her grandmother's love... My eldest cousin saved Yuhuan, and Yuhuan likes him and is willing to stay with him, but... I'm afraid my eldest cousin's wife won't agree..."
"If she really understands the situation, she wouldn't be willing to do that." The old lady turned to Madam Yan.
"I know you've always loved that girl, but she's frail and sickly, and I'm afraid she'll have trouble bearing a child. You should also consider Qi Zheng early on. Yu Huan is family, and we know each other well. Qi Zheng wouldn't be disappointed in her appearance or character."
On one side is her sister's daughter, and on the other is her favorite daughter-in-law. Mrs. Yan is a little undecided.
The old lady's words certainly made sense, but Zi Yan was so overbearing towards Qi Zheng in the past that she wouldn't tolerate him having a concubine, let alone a second wife.
She had originally thought of waiting two or three years, until she had calmed down a bit, before slowly considering taking in a new wife. Or perhaps, since they had only been married a short time, she hadn't had time to entertain such thoughts. But she hadn't expected this sudden development to catch her completely off guard.
Even if she agreed and Zi Yan obeyed, would her in-laws accept a concubine? Wei Taizhong and his wife held their daughter in the palm of their hands. How could they tolerate their beloved daughter sharing a husband with someone else?
After hearing this concern, the old lady was also troubled and remained silent for a while.
Yuhuan tugged at her clothes and said, "Grandma, Yuhuan doesn't ask for a title, she just wants to stay with her eldest cousin."
The old lady looked at her lovingly and sighed, then said to Madam Yan, "Time is short, so don't force the issue of status for now. You can wait until Yuhuan has children in the future."
"Mother, do you mean now?" Mrs. Yan couldn't help but worry.
That girl is still sick! Knowing that Qi is going to take her room, I'm afraid she'll get sick again.
The old lady reminded her, "The rumor has already started. Once it gets out, the Yan family will lose face, and Yuhuan's reputation will be ruined."
Two incense sticks later, Wei Ziyan drank the cold-relieving medicinal soup and continued to lazily lean against the bed. Qiu Luo accompanied her, but he could not say anything to comfort her. He just watched silently, glancing at the hourglass from time to time.
It was already past midnight, and the heartless man hadn't returned. Even though the young lady was ill, he went out as usual. He gave the kitchen hypocritical instructions to take care of the food and medicine, but ignored everything else.
She had noticed that ever since Miss Liu left the mansion, that man had become cold and indifferent to the young lady...
"Aunt Lengxiang, I want to see the young lady."
In the yard, a shopping girl from the small kitchen rushed in hurriedly and hurriedly looked for Leng Xiang.
"The young lady is ill and is not seeing guests. Talk to me if you have something to say."
"No!" Mrs. Li said sternly, "This concerns the Young Madam and the Eldest Young Master. It's a serious matter. I must see the Young Madam!"
Leng Xiang had been there for a long time after all, so she probably guessed that she must have heard some news outside and wanted to show herself in front of the young lady and ask for a reward.
"Mother Li, let me go and ask."
"Thank you, Aunt Lengxiang."
Leng Xiang turned and went into the inner room, stopping outside the bedroom screen to explain the situation. Qiu Luo was already feeling depressed, and said unhappily, "Young lady, how could your son care about the rumors outside right now? It's just adding to the trouble!"
"It's okay." Wei Ziyan's half-closed eyelashes slowly opened, "Let her in."
It's already like this, is she still afraid of causing more trouble?
Not wanting others to see how haggard she looked, Wei Ziyan asked Qiu Luo to draw down the bed curtains.
Leng Xiang brought people in immediately. Just as Mrs. Li was about to kneel, Qiu Luo stopped her: "Just stand and talk."
"Oh." Mrs. Li lowered her hands, her eyes fixed on the curtain without blinking. "I just heard a piece of news. The old lady and the first lady want to marry my cousin to the eldest son...as a concubine."
"What?"
Inside the room, Qiu Luo and Leng Xiang's expressions changed. Qiu Luo asked in surprise, "Where did you hear that?"
"It's in the old lady's villa. I heard it from my cousin's personal maid, Qing'er. This is a matter of great importance, so I hurried back to report to the young lady. If I wait until it's already done..."
Mrs. Li didn't say anything else. She just saw that the person behind the curtain didn't say anything but his movements were obvious. She thought there was no need for her to say more.
After a while, a voice that seemed to contain both joy and anger came out from inside: "Send her out."
"yes."
Leng Xiang understood what was going on, and after sending Li Pozi out, she gave her a piece of silver. When she returned to the bedroom, Qiu Luo had already hung the curtains. The young lady was propped up on the bed, her face pale.
"Young Madam, please don't worry. The news is unconfirmed and it might be just gossip from the people below. I'll ask Xu Ji to find out more."
"Which servant would dare to gossip about such a thing?" Qiu Luo retorted to Leng Xiang, "Didn't the old lady bring my cousin here just to find her a husband?"
Leng Xiang paused and continued, "The eldest master probably doesn't know about this yet, so he might not agree."
"I think he's looking forward to it!" Qiu Luo was so angry that he spoke without thinking.
As the two of them talked back and forth, Wei Ziyan felt her heart growing colder and colder.
"Stop arguing, let's all go out..."
"Miss--"
Wei Ziyan lay down weakly.
"I want to sleep for a while..."
Not long after, Xu Ji came running back, cooing and nodding silently at Leng Xiang. Qiu Luo, Ping Er, and Du Juan were all there, and upon seeing this, they all fell silent.
Qiu Luo burst into tears. Her daughter had only been married for less than six months, and her husband's family wanted to marry someone else. Furthermore, the daughter was ill, and they were so impatient. It was truly too much!
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. She wished she could go back to her parents' home and ask the master and mistress for help! But she was worried that if she left, what would happen if the young lady became upset? What if the old lady or the eldest lady came to visit? Now she was the only one here, protecting the young lady wholeheartedly. She couldn't leave!
"Xu Ji, please do me a favor."
Qiu Luo turned to Xu Ji for help, asking him to help deliver the letter to the Wei Mansion. However, Xu Ji was so frightened that he quickly waved his hands and said, "No, Miss Qiu Luo, it would be a disaster if the Madam knew about this!"
Leng Xiang also felt something was wrong.
"At the moment, nothing has been decided yet. If we rashly alert the Wei Mansion, it will only add to the chaos. We should wait for the eldest young master to come back."
"Could your eldest son disobey the old lady and the eldest lady? Perhaps it's just what he wants, otherwise why would he be more worried about his cousin than the young lady?"
Leng Xiang and the others were at a loss for words after hearing this, but they still insisted on waiting for the eldest master to return. Qiu Luo stamped his feet in anger: "Of course you are on your eldest master's side!"
After saying that, he turned and went into the house and closed the door of the inner room.
Qiu Luo was furious, Leng Xiang and the others were also extremely anxious, eagerly hoping that the eldest master would come back soon. However, Yan Qi was busy with official duties today, and did not return home until after three quarters after the hour of Xu under the moonlight.
"The eldest master is finally back!"
Xu Ji was the leader, and the other three maids also looked anxious. Yan Qizheng's expression suddenly became serious: "Is there something wrong with the young lady?"
"Young Master." Leng Xiang repeated what Mrs. Chen had said word for word. "The young lady didn't say anything after hearing it, and she wouldn't let us come near to serve her..."
Yan Qizheng's face grew increasingly gloomy. Before Leng Xiang finished speaking, he had already strode into the house and saw the closed door of the inner room. It was locked from the inside and could not be opened.
"Zi Yan——"
Yan Qi was knocking on the door when the noise startled Qiu Luo, who was sprawled at the foot of the bed, and Wei Ziyan, who was also on the other side. The two, who had been drowsy, were instantly awakened.
"Miss..." Qiu Luo moved to the head of the bed and looked at her inquiringly.
Wei Ziyan closed her eyelashes sadly: "I don't want to see him."
"Then I won't open the door."
As soon as he finished speaking, Yan Qizheng's voice rang out from outside: "Qiuluo, open the door!"
Qiu Luo suddenly stood up and walked to the door, shouting back: "The young lady is asleep, please do not disturb her!"
outsider?
Hearing these two words and the address of "Miss", Yan Qizheng knew that it was useless to call this girl. Fearing that kicking the door would scare the people inside, Yan Qizheng raised his foot and walked out.
After walking around the outer room for a while, he found the window of the inner room. He pulled out a dagger, inserted it into the crack, fiddled with it, knocked the buckle open, pushed open the window and climbed in.
Wei Ziyan's eyes had been reddening since she heard Yan Qi knocking on the door. Seeing her young lady in pain, Qiu Luo felt sad too. Both master and servant, their eyes reddened, lost in sorrow. Suddenly, a figure burst in from behind the screen, startling them both!
"Zi Yan..."
Yan Qizheng strode forward, but was stopped by Qiu Luo as expected.
"Get out! The lady doesn't want to see you!"
She pushed him with brute force, and Yan Qizheng became anxious: "You thought you were smart, but you couldn't see that your young lady was angry? You want me to leave now, because you want your young lady to cry all night?"
"Who's crying?" Wei Ziyan retorted, but as soon as she opened her mouth, her eyes became hot and she was about to cry.
"I don't want to see you, go away!"
Qiu Luo heard the young lady say this and tried even harder to stop her. Yan Qizheng had no choice but to twist her hand and drag her out.
"Qiu Luo——"
Wei Ziyan lifted the quilt and got out of bed. Yan Qi had already opened the locked door, opened a crack to push Qiu Luo out, and then closed and locked the door again.
He turned around and walked towards her with a sharp gaze.
Wei Ziyan gritted her teeth and turned back, but it was a pity that there was nothing that could stop the people behind her.
"Don't come over here!" She stopped in front of the bed and spoke sharply.
However, Yan Qizheng paused for a moment before stepping forward again: "Listen to me—"
"I won't listen! I won't listen!"
Wei Ziyan covered her ears, her red eyes filled with resistance towards him. Yan Qizheng walked over and hugged her without thinking.
"You have to listen even if you don't want to." Ignoring the fist on his back, Yan Qizheng put one arm around her waist and the other hand behind her head, pressing her against his chest.
"What Mrs. Chen said can't happen. There's no such thing as a concubine!"
The sourness in Wei Ziyan's chest rushed up to her nose, and she hit his hand and tried her best to push him away.
"Isn't that true?"
Big tears fell down, Wei Ziyan's voice trembled: "The pond water is so cold, are you only concerned about saving your cousin and not caring about my life or death?"
"I was—"
"Since you like my cousin, why are you pretending to be nice to me?" Wei Ziyan raised her voice, her crying tone becoming more aggrieved.
After hearing what Mrs. Chen said, she knew that Yan Qi was a big liar! Not only did he lie to her to make her obey, but he also wanted to marry his cousin.
Not a concubine, but a wife...
"If you don't want me, forget it. After we get divorced, someone will naturally be willing to take me!"
Wei Ziyan was heartbroken, uttering harsh words while crying bitterly. The tears she had been holding back all day burst forth at this moment.
Yan Qizheng felt as if his heart was being cut by a knife. He stepped forward again and held the person in his arms.
"It's my fault... I only saw that it was your cloak and thought it was you." He put his hand against her cheek, his voice low, soft but firm.
Warm tears also flowed down his face and dripped onto his heart.
"I've never liked my cousin, nor anyone else."
"How could I not want you?"
The increasingly deep voice whispered softly in Wei Ziyan's ear. She thought dizzily, that bastard Yan Qizheng was probably going to lie to her again...
"I only like you, and I only want you."
After he had spoken all the words in his heart, the sobbing in his ears finally subsided. Yan Qizheng unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief and slowly distanced his two faces...
"Zi Yan?"
But the next second, he hurriedly raised his hand to stabilize his unsupported head and quickly helped the unconscious person onto the bed.
She placed the back of her hand against her forehead, still burning hot. Perhaps she had fainted because her frail body couldn't handle the overwhelming emotion. Yan Qizheng tucked her in, carefully wiping away the remaining tears. The thought of her crying so heartbreakingly just now filled his chest with a dense, stabbing pain.
When the palm of his hand just barely covered the thin face, the tingling sensation was mixed with dull pain.
No wonder she misunderstood him. He had indeed been a jerk a few days ago and had hurt her feelings...
"Miss——" There was another knock on the door outside.
Yan Qizhen finally gently stroked his slightly furrowed brows before getting up and opening the door.
There were several maids standing outside. Qiu Luo was the first one to come. As soon as she saw the door open, she immediately ran inside. When she saw the young lady lying on the bed, she turned around and glared at her, "Did you knock the young lady unconscious?"
Yan Qizheng was silent for a moment, then replied irrelevantly, "She was crying a lot just now. Apply some hot water to her eyes."
Hearing this, Qiu Luo regained his composure and guessed that the young lady must have fainted from crying. She was about to ask what he had said to her, but was interrupted by Yan Qizheng.
"It's too late today. I will give your young lady an explanation tomorrow morning!"
As the storm inside the house ended, a new autumn rain began outside. Amidst the rustling autumn wind, the drizzle gradually intensified. Overnight, the soil in the yard was soaked, the water tank overflowed, and many depressions in the yard were flooded.
As daybreak approached, the rain gradually subsided, and continued to drip under the eaves until daybreak.
The chill was bone-deep. The servants, who had risen early to clean the courtyard, shivered their hands, occasionally blowing on them to keep warm. Several maids entered from outside, hands in their pockets, and hurried into the kitchen, where the fire was burning, chattering about the sudden drop in temperature.
After a while, Miss Dujuan came to get some charcoal. Mrs. Chen, who had asked for a reward yesterday, asked eagerly, "Is this for the young lady?"
"Yes." Du Juan told her, "The young lady is feeling cold, so the eldest master asked her to add charcoal to the fire in the house."
When Mrs. Chen heard that it was the eldest son's order, she was secretly delighted and swiftly helped to pick the charcoal: "Young Madam, if there is anything else you need, please let me know."
Dujuan nodded at her and left with the charcoal brazier.
When she entered the bedroom, the eldest son was sitting by the bed, holding one of the young lady's hands. Seeing her put the charcoal brazier away, the eldest son stood up and went to the window, propping it up a little.
In the other courtyard, the old lady had just gotten up and taken two sips of hot tea when a servant came to report that the eldest lady and the eldest son had come to pay their respects.
"So early..." The old lady was surprised. It was at least half an hour early.
"Hurry up and wake up my cousin."
The servant took the order and went out, letting the eldest lady and the eldest son into the house.
"Mother."
"Grandma."
The two men bowed one after another, and when the old lady asked to give up her seat, they both stood where they were. One looked unhappy, and the other serious and stern, looking different from usual.
The old lady asked suspiciously, "What happened to you two?"
"You speak for yourself." Mrs. Yan flicked her sleeves at her son, a hint of displeasure in her tone.
"Grandmother," Yan Qizheng said, "I heard that mother and grandmother were interested in matching me with my cousin Yuhuan, so I came here to express my feelings. Having my son Yan is enough for me, and I have no intention of remarrying. I hope grandmother and mother will give up this idea."
After hearing this, the old lady looked at Madam Yan's expression and immediately understood everything. It seemed that he had first gone to talk to his mother, and then to her.
He came so solemnly to express his determination so early in the morning, which showed how impatient he was. Perhaps the other party's strong resistance to the title of "equal wife" put pressure on him.
"Where did you hear such gossip from?" the old lady asked slowly.
Yan Qizheng remained silent, and the old lady continued slowly, "It's true that I intend to match you with Yuhuan, but the status is still under discussion. If Ziyan really doesn't want two women to share a husband, you can make Yuhuan a concubine first, and then wait for Yuhuan--"
"Grandma, you misunderstood." Yan Qizheng interrupted the old lady, "My grandson means that neither concubines nor side rooms are necessary."
The old lady sitting at the top of the table changed her expression, and the same thing happened to Yuhuan, who had just put on her clothes and had not yet had time to do her makeup.
"You mean, you won't accept the jade ring no matter what?"
"yes."
"Is this your idea or your wife's?"
"That's my grandson's original intention." Yan Qizheng said word by word, "My grandson will only love her in this life and will not marry anyone else."
"Nonsense!" The old lady slammed the table, making the teacup clang. "How could he not take a concubine? How could she, a frail and sickly wife, expand the Yan family?"
The old lady had heard a lot of the rumors that had spread over the past two years from Madam Yan and the two concubines after she returned. She had no doubt that Wei Ziyan was a person who could not tolerate any sand in her eyes and was causing trouble.
"As the daughter-in-law of the Yan family, she doesn't care about her offspring, but is only focused on dominating her husband. Qi Zheng, don't let her fool you!"
The old lady was so anxious that she stamped her feet. Madam Yan hurried forward and sat beside her to comfort her.
"Don't worry, mother. Qi Zheng is just trying to scare us with this!" He squinted at his son. "Just talk about what's happening right now, don't talk about the future."
She had heard these words again early this morning in Jingsiyuan. She understood her son's decision not to marry Yuhuan, but she also couldn't accept his statement that he would never take a concubine.
"Yes." Yan Qizheng raised his hands and bowed, "I also ask Grandmother to choose a good husband for Cousin Yuhuan."
The old lady pointed at him tremblingly and said, "You held the girl's soaking wet body in front of the servants. How can you let her choose another good husband?"
"My grandson is trying to save people. If a servant has such dirty thoughts, he should be punished with a stick and sold out."
"you--"
"If my cousin were to marry my grandson because of this, it would ruin her life."
"Cousin..."
Yuhuan had to come out to fight for a glimmer of hope for herself. With her long hair loose and no makeup on, she looked quite pitiful when she shed tears.
"You are so reluctant to marry me, don't you like me?"
"Sorry, cousin, I really didn't mean it." Yan Qizhen answered bluntly.
"But my cousin and I fell into the pond, and you clearly saved me first!"
"I made a mistake." Yan Qizheng clenched his fists as he spoke. "At the time, I was so anxious to save my wife that I only cared about identifying her cloak and didn't bother to look at her face."
“…”
Yuhuan's face suddenly showed sadness. It turned out that she had been too sentimental...
But she still refused to give up!
"Although it was wrong, my cousin saved Yuhuan after all. Yuhuan is grateful and admires my cousin, so she is willing to stay with him."
"I thought I had made myself clear enough..."
"It doesn't matter if he doesn't like me now..." Yuhuan interrupted Yan Qizheng, "Didn't my eldest cousin dislike my eldest cousin's wife at first? Now he only has eyes for her. If she can do it, why can't I?"
"because……"
Yan Qizhen's eyes turned cold, and his last bit of patience was exhausted.
"You are not her."
Yan Qi turned and walked away in great strides. Yuhuan fell to the ground and burst into tears. Madam Yan went to support her. She cried, "Aunt, Yuhuan wants to go home."
"Let's go. I'll go back with you."
What a stubborn temper! When he grew up, he no longer took his grandmother seriously and would not listen to a word the elders said!
The old lady was also furious: "I shouldn't have brought Yuhuan here!"
"Mother……"
"Yuhuan, get up. Let's pack up now..."
Aunt Hui and Aunt Ru came to pay their respects with their children, but they didn't expect the servants to pass the message up, and the old lady came out to tell them that there was no need to pay their respects today and asked them to go back.
"I should have known not to come. It's so cold."
Qizhu complained, and Aunt Hui glared at her: "It's so cold, and you're asking us to go back even though we're already at the door. Don't you think it's strange?"
"Yes," Aunt Ru also felt the same way, "Could something have happened?"
Concubine Hui was impatient and immediately asked the servants about it, but they said they didn't know. Later, when she returned to Fufang Garden, she sent a maid who had some connections with the other courtyards to inquire.
Near noon, some clues finally emerged - the eldest son strongly opposed the marriage, the old lady's wish was dashed, and the cousin cried and wanted to go back to her hometown.
Lunch had just been served in Aunt Hui's room, and she and Qizhu and her mother immediately started gossiping.
"I thought the eldest son was interested in my cousin, and with the old lady in charge, it was likely to go through. I didn't expect the eldest son to object. No wonder he rescued the young lady yesterday but immediately took her back to Fuxi Hall without paying the slightest attention to my cousin crying on the shore..."
Yan Qizhu finally figured it out.
"I just find it strange. Why did Big Brother suddenly like Yuhuan? It turns out he got the wrong person."
"What a coincidence! The two of them happened to exchange cloaks..." Aunt Hui suddenly had an idea, stopped talking, and let out an incredible "hiss".
"Tell me," Aunt Hui lowered her voice, "could it be that Yuhuan changed her cloak on purpose?"
"...It just so happened that after changing into the cloak, she fell into the pond. Miss Cousin wouldn't deliberately let her son-in-law misunderstand, would she?"
In Fuxi Hall, Qiu Luo also became suspicious of this coincidence.
"Miss, think carefully. If this was really intentional, we can't let this happen in silence!"
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