"Is there really something wrong?" Lu Qin looked at Gu Yanfei's dark eyes and couldn't help swallowing, her heart pounding.
Gu Yanfei stared at Lu Qin's beautiful face and asked directly, "Ah Qin, who is your fiancé?"
Without her instructions, Juanbi consciously sent all the other servants out of the room.
There were only four of them left in the east room.
Lu Qin rubbed a handkerchief, twisted it again and again, and said, "He is my aunt's nephew, the eldest son of the Hua family, Hua Xi."
"Anything else?" Gu Yanfei asked again.
Lu Qin seemed to be recalling something, biting her lower lip with her jade teeth, and quickly continued: "He is eighteen years old this year, a scholar, well-mannered, speaks very little, is very gentle, and very careful."
"My family arranged for us to meet at Baiyun Temple. That day, a child accidentally fell into the water at the back of the temple. He jumped into the water to save the child. I think he is a nice guy."
"The two families just exchanged engagement letters a few days ago."
Speaking of her fiancé, Lu Qin's eyes flickered. On the one hand, she was happy, but on the other hand, Gu Yanfei's cautious expression made her feel uneasy: Could there be something wrong with this marriage?
Wei Jiaoniang couldn't help but ask Lu Qin, "Didn't you always say that you wanted to find someone from a military family?"
Lu Qin did think so at first, but man proposes, God disposes. When her parents asked her to go to Baiyun Temple to burn incense, she did not expect it to be a blind date, let alone that she would have such a pleasant conversation with the other party and they got along very well.
Lu Qin cleared his throat, put on a serious face, and said, "Mother said that it doesn't matter if you are a good scholar or a good martial artist, as long as you are a good person."
"My aunt said that our two families know each other well, and we will become even closer relatives in the future."
Gu Yanfei then asked the third question: "When will the deposit be placed?"
"Three days later." Lu Qin replied hesitantly, "It's the auspicious date that the Hua family asked someone to calculate."
The Lu family originally thought that the time was too tight, but the Hua family said that the experts had calculated that this day was a good day that only comes once every six months and would be beneficial for having offspring.
There were only three days left until the engagement ceremony, and her family had originally detained her and would not let her go out. Fortunately, Wei Jiaoniang went to pick her up, and her mother had no choice but to let her go.
Gu Yanfei still stared into Lu Qin's eyes for a long time before he slowly said, "You will die."
Her cold voice was like a bucket of ice water poured on Lu Qin's head in the dead of winter, making her feel cold from head to toe and penetrating into her heart.
Even the light in the room seemed to have dimmed, giving people a gloomy feeling.
"Ah Qin, you should hurry back home and reject this marriage proposal." Gu Yanfei said again, "Immediately."
She will die?! Lu Qin opened her mouth slightly, dumbfounded.
"Lu Qin, let's go!" Without waiting for Lu Qin to speak, Wei Jiaoniang stood up as quickly as possible, took Lu Qin's hand and ran away, and then said to Gu Yanfei, "Yanfei, I'll come find you later."
"Lu Qin, hurry up." Wei Jiaoniang dragged Lu Qin and walked very fast, her feet moving like the wind, urging Lu Qin again and again. Lu Qin was still confused, and was foolishly being pulled forward by Wei Jiaoniang.
The two girls ran away in a hurry, and the door curtain was lifted up and then dropped down by Wei Jiaoniang. Gu Yun really wanted to see them off but it was too late.
Looking at the rustling door curtain, Gu Yunzhen said uneasily: "Second sister, is this marriage really so bad? Ah Qin will really..." die? !
"Aqin has a lot of yin energy." Gu Yanfei said.
Yin energy? Gu Yunzhen swallowed his saliva, feeling a little scared.
A breeze carrying the scent of flowers suddenly blew in from the window. The shadows of the trees swayed gently, making the sisters' faces look solemn.
"I can't really explain it." Gu Yanfei touched his chin thoughtfully, his brows slightly furrowed, "This is the Yin energy of a dead person."
Gu Yanfei changed her posture and held her chin up. She thought and thought, and suddenly, an idea flashed in her mind. She sat up straight, "I know. The man who was engaged to Ah Qin should be dying soon."
"..." Upon hearing this, Gu Yunzhen's eyes couldn't help but widen. He was so scared that even the hair on his neck stood up.
She almost blurted out "Really?" but bit her lip.
Since my second sister said so, it must be true.
Juanbi was shocked: the marriage between the two families had just been decided, and the future husband was gone. Miss Lu would probably be regarded as a jinx; if she waited for someone to marry and her husband was gone, wouldn’t Miss Lu be a widow at such a young age? ! "Then Ah Qin..." Gu Yunzhen twisted her slender fingers, feeling even more uneasy.
"The two families are just exchanging engagement letters. There's still time." Gu Yanfei couldn't help but look at the door curtain in front of him, looking at the mandarin ducks playing with water lilies embroidered on the curtain.
"Just don't offer the engagement."
"Juanbi, have someone tell the doorman that when Jiaoniang arrives later, just let her in." Gu Yanfei ordered.
Juanbi responded obediently and lifted the curtain to go out.
The room was exceptionally quiet, and outside the window one could hear the rustling of the trees in the gentle breeze.
Gu Yunzhen was still a little uneasy, still thinking about Lu Qin, and heard Gu Yanfei casually ask her: "Big sister, didn't you say last time that the kitchen used too much goat milk? Have you found out the problem?"
Speaking of this, Gu Yunzhen perked up and nodded, "I found out."
"A woman named Peng from the kitchen admitted that she stole the milk. She said that she had just had a grandson and her eldest daughter-in-law had no milk, so she became greedy and stole the goat's milk."
"I checked and found out that her daughter-in-law had given birth to a child last month. She was fined half a year's salary and was forced to do garden cleaning instead. She was also asked to send a can of goat milk to the Peng family every day."
Working in the kitchen is a lucrative job that everyone wants. Transferring Mrs. Peng from the kitchen to the garden is equivalent to a demotion. The loss is not just half a year's salary. Gu Yunzhen punished her like this to set an example.
After saying this, Gu Yunzhen suddenly thought of something and showed some hesitation on his face, "But..."
But what?! Gu Yanfei was whetted by her.
At this time, another gust of wind blew in from the window, carrying a few fallen leaves, which happened to fall on the hems of the sisters' skirts.
Gu Yunzhen pursed her lips, looked at the dancing flowers and trees outside the window, and then hesitated and said, "Recently, I heard a baby crying at night in the mansion..."
Gu Yanfei raised her delicate eyebrows.
There were only two families living in the mansion, so naturally there were no babies.
Gu Yunzhen rubbed the handkerchief, a look of doubt and uncertainty appeared on her gentle face. She swallowed and said slowly, "Three nights ago, I couldn't sleep because I tossed and turned. I just got up and walked in the small garden. Suddenly, I heard a baby crying."
"I remember it was shortly before the gong sounded at the fourth watch."
The reason why she couldn't sleep that night was actually because she read the storybook before going to bed. After falling asleep, she was still thinking about the plot of the storybook and couldn't fall asleep.
Gu Yunzhen cleared his throat as if nothing had happened, and then continued, "Later, I told my mother about this, but she didn't believe it. She said it was the meowing of a cat. She also said that it was spring now and that female cats howl like this at night. It sounds a lot like a baby crying."
So, even Gu Yunzhen herself didn't know whether she had heard it wrong or not.
"Do you know where the sound came from?" Gu Yanfei asked thoughtfully, touching his chin.
Gu Yunzhen raised his hand and pointed in a direction through the window, "It's not far from the west gate of the small garden."
The small garden is located in the northwest corner of the mansion. Compared with the big garden, it is too remote and smaller in size. Not many people go there on weekdays. Jiahuiyuan is backed by the small garden, separated only by a small bamboo forest.
"Later, I looked in that direction during the day, and there was only a pavilion and a rockery. Thinking about it, it's still quite cold at night at this time of year. If there really is a baby, I'm afraid it would freeze to death."
Jade-faced civet cat is an elegant name for the calico cat, and rolling brocade is another name for the tortoiseshell cat.
"..." Gu Yanfei had an indescribable expression on his face, and kindly advised, "Big sister, please don't let Qingguang hear this."
She raised her right hand and made a scratching gesture with her claws, "It will scratch!"
"Qingguang won't do that." Gu Yunzhen immediately forgot about the baby's night cry and began to praise Qingguang eloquently, saying that it never bites people, let alone scratches people, and it even behaves well when cutting its nails...
"That's right!" Gu Yunzhen thought of something and clapped his hands excitedly, "I happened to get a small screen. It's very cute and perfect to put next to Qingguang's cat bed."
"The long-haired jade-faced raccoon embroidered on the small screen looks just like Qingguang, so vivid and lifelike." Her maid Feicui added jokingly.
"Jadeite, go to Jiahuiyuan and get that small screen." Gu Yunzhen ordered hurriedly.
"I will go with Sister Feicui." Juanbi's eyes lit up and she volunteered to go out with Feicui.
Gu Yanfei had no chance to speak the whole time. He could only hear Gu Yunzhen talking non-stop: "Yanfei, the embroiderer who embroidered the screen embroidered a wonderful double-sided embroidery. She is especially good at embroidering cats and birds. I have seen several of her embroidered works. The cats are indeed well embroidered."
"I'll ask her to embroider a few more fans with jade-faced raccoon dogs, and you can give them as gifts... Everyone likes Qingguang, so they will definitely like the fan."
"..." Gu Yanfei felt that it was fortunate that the cat was not there, otherwise it would have been so proud that its tail would be raised to the sky.
In the east room, only Gu Yunzhen's cheerful voice was heard. Occasionally, birds chirped outside the window, as if they were playing, or as if they were protesting.
Yuheng Garden returned to its usual tranquility in the afternoon until dusk. After the sunset, Gu Mansion welcomed guests again.
Wei Jiaoniang came back again, but this time, she came alone.
"Yan Fei, Ah Qin has been locked up by her mother." As soon as they met, Wei Jiaoniang pouted and complained angrily, "Mrs. Lu scolded her severely, saying that she was a child and didn't know any better. The engagement letters of the two families have been exchanged, so how can she cancel the engagement just like that? If the news gets out, her reputation will be ruined."
"Well, we tried our best to persuade her and told her everything you said, but she wouldn't listen."
Wei Jiaoniang said this angrily, so angry that smoke seemed to be coming out of her head.
She had said everything she could say, except for bringing up the matter of her great-aunt and Xu Yan's family. However, no matter what they said, Second Madam Lu sneered and looked at them as if they were naughty children.
Wei Jiaoniang took the warm tea from Juanbi and drank three cups in one breath. She still felt aggrieved and muttered, "I used to think that Ah Qin's mother had a good temper, much gentler than my mother and my grandmother. Today I discovered that she has such a bad temper..."
After a pause, she considered a word: "Stubborn."
This word is actually a euphemism.
Wei Jiaoniang sighed weakly and glanced at Gu Yanfei with a complicated expression.
She actually had something else to say. When Mrs. Lu heard that it was Gu Yanfei who warned them that this marriage could not take place, she said something unpleasant and sarcastic: "It turned out to be the second Miss Gu from the Gu family. I don't know what she is up to. She has to ruin our sister Qin's marriage."
"It's pitiful that the Gu family lost their titles, but there must be something hateful about such pitiful people. As the saying goes, it's better to destroy ten temples than to ruin a marriage. For the sake of the Gu family's future, she flattered everyone, looking for trouble, ruining people's marriages, and she was not afraid of retribution."
"Jiao Niang, I advise you to have less contact with Miss Gu in the future, so as not to be led astray by her."
Madam Lu's words were still ringing in her ears. Wei Jiaoniang was so angry that she almost overturned the table. Only for Lu Qin's sake did she finally leave in anger.
Thinking of this, Wei Jiaoniang became angry again and gulped down the fourth glass of water.
Although Wei Jiaoniang didn't say anything, Gu Yanfei could tell from her expression that what Madam Lu said would not be very nice.
"Yan Fei, what should we do?" Wei Jiaoniang stretched out two fingers and gently pulled Gu Yan Fei's sleeve, extremely worried, "Mrs. Lu insisted that Hua Xi was very good."
"She said that Hua Xi passed the imperial examination at the age of sixteen and was the first place winner. He was very talented in writing and even took the Qingzhou scholar Wang Yi as his teacher. Wang Yi praised him for his success in the next exam and said that he had a good chance of passing the imperial examination. He said that such a young scholar was handsome and had a clean family background. It would be hard to find such a good son-in-law even if you searched with a lantern."
"From her tone, I can tell that she is eager to get Ah Qin and Hua Xi married, for fear of missing out on this perfect son-in-law named Hua."
Wei Jiaoniang frowned, the wrinkles between her eyebrows were so tight that they could pinch a mosquito to death, and they stood out on her pretty face.
She stared at Gu Yanfei's face with worry and said, "Hua Xi sounds good, but I always feel that something is wrong. This marriage is too hasty..."
"Yan Fei, will this marriage really kill Ah Qin? Is it possible that people with the surname Hua are unlucky in marrying?"
Wei Jiaoniang and Lu Qin were close friends who grew up together. Their relationship could be described as that of sisters. This afternoon, Wei Jiaoniang was feeling very nervous.
"It's not that he is unlucky in marriage," Gu Yanfei said faintly, "it's that Hua Xi is dying."
What?! Wei Jiaoniang was frightened and almost jumped up from the bed. She walked back and forth and said, "I will go back and tell my mother to persuade Madam Lu."
Wei Jiaoniang only came for a cup of tea and then ran away like a gust of wind.
After returning home, she quickly went to find the wife of the Prince of Weiguo and told her everything about Lu Qin. She thought that if her mother came forward, the Chang'an Earl's Mansion would have to consider the Duke's Mansion's face.
Therefore, the wife of the Prince of Weiguo personally went to the Chang'an Earl's Mansion early the next morning. Madam Lu received her politely and promised that she would ask someone to investigate the Hua family again.
After a polite and appropriate response, Madam Lu II sent her trusted confidant, Nanny Yang, to send the wife of the Prince of Weiguo away. She said a lot of nice words but never agreed to cancel the engagement.
After a while, Nanny Yang came back alone to report. Madam Lu, who had been patient and patient, finally couldn't help but complain: "Humph, a little girl said a few words, and the wife of the prince had to go there in person."
Madam Yang poured tea for Madam Lu Er and agreed with a smile, "That's right. The future Third Uncle is from Madam's family. He is a Juren at a young age. How can he not be good?"
"How could I harm my own daughter?" Madam Lu Er slowly used the tea lid to remove the floating leaves on the tea soup. "That's my own daughter!"
"For a woman, getting married is like a second life. I only have one daughter, so of course I hope she will have a smooth life in the second half of her life."
Nanny Yang echoed with a smile on her face: "The Third Miss and the Fourth Young Master have always been good friends. If she knew that the Fourth Young Master got such a good job, she would definitely be happy."
Thinking of her son, Mrs. Lu's lips curled up and her brows softened.
They are the second branch of the family. Unlike the eldest branch, who has a bright future, the uncle left all the good jobs to his son, and they can't even get the leftovers. Her son Lu Si has been living in the Five Cities Army in the past few years.
This time, her sister-in-law from her natal family promised her personally that after the marriage was completed, their Hua family would find a job as a centurion in the Fifth Army Camp for their son.
"How can this be a good thing?" The more Mrs. Lu thought about this marriage, the more satisfied she felt. "It's the best thing for Qin Jie'er to marry into her aunt's family."
Nanny Yang smiled and complimented him again, saying things that Madam Lu liked to hear.
Finally, she added, "Don't worry, Madam. The third young lady is young and must be nervous because she is about to get married. That's why she was fooled by the second young lady Gu and lost her mind."
Madam Lu spat and sighed, "It's also my fault for being soft-hearted. I shouldn't have agreed to let her go out with Wei Jiaoniang yesterday, otherwise there wouldn't have been any complications!"
"Madam Yang, please help me look after Miss Qin for the next two days and ask her to sew a pair of socks. The Hua family will come to present the engagement gift in a few days."
Originally, as a return gift for the small betrothal gift, the woman should have made a set of clothes for the man, but time was too tight, so Mrs. Lu could only settle for the second best and let her daughter sew a pair of socks as a token of her appreciation.
Madam Yang agreed: "Don't worry, Madam. I will take care of this matter."
Just as Madam Yang was about to leave, a maid in blue rushed in and said anxiously, "Second Madam, Madam Hua and the matchmaker are here to arrange a small engagement."
(End of this chapter)
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