Zhu laughed dryly, "I, that's not what I meant..."
Zheng Xiu looked at her calmly, "Second Aunt, since you feel that your niece has brought shame upon you, you should have drawn a clear line between us and never had anything to do with each other again. Why did you come to visit me so eagerly?"
"I... I just came to ask about your injury."
"Thank you for your concern, Second Aunt. I can eat and sleep now. The injury on my leg just needs rest."
Zhu was speechless due to her teasing. She then heard her say, "Now that Second Aunt has visited me, I can go back to the village. Otherwise, you and your younger sister will be seen by others and the dirty water will splash on you and your younger sister." It
was a rare visit for Zhu, and she couldn't just leave before she even had time to sit down. She turned to Old Lady Zheng and said, "I haven't talked to my mother for a long time. A Rong at home misses you very much and talks about you every day."
Old Lady Zheng didn't like Zhu, but she missed her grandson sincerely, so she asked, "How has A Rong been in school these days? Has he been naughty in school?"
The two of them started chatting about family matters.
Although Zheng Xiu wanted to drive Zhu away, she couldn't afford to offend Old Lady Zheng, so she called Aunt Qian to help her back to the house.
After the two of them left the main hall, Zheng Xiu whispered to Aunt Qian, "My second aunt is not very tactful. I'd like to ask Aunt Qian to listen. If there is anything inappropriate, just tell me."
Aunt Qian nodded and agreed, "Don't worry, young lady, just rest in the house. If there is any trouble, I will tell you first."
After Zheng Xiu left, Zhu became more relaxed and only told Old Lady Zheng about Zheng Rong and Zheng Xian at home.
When talking about the children, Old Lady Zheng gradually couldn't hold back her face.
Seeing that her expression had eased and Zheng Xiu was not around, Zhu lowered her voice and said, "Mother, you've lived with uncle for a month, and you haven't mentioned Xiu's marriage? Xiu is already sixteen years old. If you delay it any longer, it will really ruin her life."
Zheng Xiu's marriage was a thorn in the side of Mrs. Zheng. It would have been fine if she hadn't mentioned it. But now that she mentioned it, she became worried and said, "Why didn't I mention it? I mentioned it to the eldest son in early February, but he, as a father, wasn't in a hurry at all. He just said to wait and see... Now there are rumors like that outside, and I really don't know what to do."
"Mother, do you still remember the Feng family?"
"Feng family?" Old Mrs. Zheng thought about it carefully. Mr. Feng had just come to the Zheng family not long ago. She still remembered how friendly Mr. Feng was.
"Yes," Mrs. Zhu said with a beaming face, "The Feng family is determined to marry Miss Xiu to Mr. Feng's only son!"
"The Feng family is good, and Mr. Feng is also very friendly." Old Mrs. Zheng nodded thoughtfully, and then said, "The eldest son is not at home, so he has to decide on this matter. It's not my turn to make the decision."
"When is it now?! Mother, are you still waiting for your uncle to make the decision?" Mrs. Zhu held Old Mrs. Zheng's hand and said, "The rumors outside are getting more and more intense. The Feng family doesn't mind and is willing to marry her. That's a great fortune for Miss Xiu!"
"Don't they mind?"
Zhu swore, "Of course, mother may not know this, but Mr. Feng's maternal family and I are from the same village, so we are related. They have said that they don't mind. As long as Xiu gives her nod, they will immediately ask a matchmaker to propose marriage! Her family is well-off, and Mr. Feng is a kind-hearted man praised by everyone. If Xiu marries him, she will never have to suffer in her life..."
After listening to what she said, Old Lady Zheng really thought about it seriously.
Aunt Qian was sweeping the open space in front of the main hall while listening to the noise in the main hall. When she heard Zhu and Old Lady Zheng talking about Zheng Xiu's marriage, she stopped her work and walked into the main hall and said, "Old Lady, what are you going to cook for lunch? I can prepare it in advance."
Suddenly interrupted, Old Lady Zheng was stunned. She had just heard Zhu praise the Feng family so much, and she almost agreed in a moment of excitement. At this time, she also came to her senses and said to Aunt Qian, "Go buy some pig bones and stew soup for Xiu. Don't prepare other irritating foods."
Aunt Qian responded and turned to leave the main hall. Turning on her toes, she entered Zheng Xiu's room.
"Mother, what do you think about this?" Zhu wanted to strike while the iron was hot, and hurried to ask Old Lady Zheng, hoping that Old Lady Zheng would agree immediately.
Old Lady Zheng had come to her senses, and naturally would not be confused anymore. She just said, "No matter how good the Feng family is, the eldest brother has to agree. He is not at home now, let's talk about it when he comes back."
Old Lady Zheng, who has always been the softest to listen, has become so stubborn. Zhu was extremely disappointed, and the deal was almost done. As long as Old Lady Zheng agreed, she could invite the matchmaker to come to the door, and the matter would be half successful! Zheng Xiu was originally unmarriageable, and now there was such a rumor. It was fortunate that the Feng family did not give up. She really didn't know why Old Lady Zheng was still hesitating!
"Mother, please don't be confused! If you miss this opportunity, you will never get it again. If Xiu delays any longer, she will miss her whole life! I am just being kind..."
Zheng Xiu got the letter from Aunt Qian and just jumped into the main hall when she heard the second half of Zhu's sentence. She almost laughed out loud on the spot.
"Oh? I didn't know what kind of kindness Second Aunt had?" Zheng Xiu said with a smile, tapping one foot on the ground and jumping into the house. This action was a bit funny, but she didn't look embarrassed at all.
Zhu had argued with Zheng Xiu many times, and she almost never won. She felt that the older Zheng Xiu got, the harder it was to get along with her. She smiled awkwardly and said, "I'm talking to your grandmother. Why are you butting in?"
"But why do I feel that everything Second Aunt says is about my marriage?" Zheng Xiu sat down on the stool and raised her chin slightly. "Second Aunt, you can talk as much as you want. I am just listening."
Zhu smiled dryly and said, "Second Aunt, this is also for your own good. In the past, you had high standards and looked down on the young master of the Feng family. But now with all the rumors outside, I don't know what kind of comments they make about you. It's rare that the Feng family doesn't despise you and is still willing to marry you in a sedan chair..."
Zheng Xiu sneered, as if she had heard something funny, and laughed, " I don't even know what I have done wrong, and I should be thankful for not 'disliking' me?" After saying that, she stopped laughing and asked coldly, "Why did I let others 'dislike' me?"
Zhu's momentum was suppressed by her, and she still defended herself, "People say that you have an affair with the hunter surnamed Xue, and you are no longer innocent. Who would dare to marry you after hearing such words?"
Zheng Xiu said slowly, "Then you don't have to worry about it, Second Aunt. Don't say that I don't want to get married now. Even if I marry a beggar one day, it's my own business!"
"You..." Zhu was so angry that she couldn't finish a sentence, "When that day comes, you won't even have time to cry! I'm just kind, don't take it for granted!"
Zheng Xiu crossed her arms and sneered, "Thank you for your kindness, Second Aunt. Second Aunt, Master Feng praised him so much, you must keep him for Sister Xian!"
Zhu was determined to cultivate Zheng Xian and marry her to a scholar. Although the Feng family was good, they were a merchant family after all, and Master Feng looked like that, how could he be worthy of her little girl Xian? !
"Hmph!" Zhu snorted and stood up.
"Second aunt, take care." Zheng Xiu said immediately.
Zhu originally wanted to have lunch before leaving, but she didn't expect that as soon as she stood up, Zheng Xiu ordered her to leave.
Seeing that the two of them were unhappy, Old Lady Zheng also advised: "The girl is alone at home, you should go back quickly." Then she half-pulled and half-dragged Zhu out.
Old Lady Zheng sent her out, and was afraid that she would still not give up, so she closed the gate. Zhu came
empty-handed, and was driven out empty-handed again. She turned around and spat fiercely at the door of the Zheng family.
Did she really think that she was the daughter of the emperor and would never have trouble finding a husband? She wanted to see who else, except the Feng family, would dare to marry a daughter-in-law who was both "unclean" and "unclean"!
After leaving Zheng's house, Zhu did not return to the village immediately, but visited several women she knew in the town.
Those women had only a little friendship with her, and there was nothing to entertain them with, they just invited her in to talk.
Zhu finally opened up and made up a story about how Zheng Xiu had always ignored her, her aunt, and how she looked down on others. She also told her about the rumors that were circulating outside, some true and some false, and finally said: "She already has a reputation of being a 'husband-killer', and she did such a thing. I was thinking about her marriage, but she just kicked me out."
Those rumors were true and false, and many people who knew Zheng Ren and his family style did not believe them. But when these words came out of Zhu's mouth, people couldn't help but believe them.
——After all, the second aunt admitted it herself!
But this is also stupid. She made up a story about her own niece, and didn't think about the fact that the whole family is surnamed Zheng. If Zheng Xiu has a bad reputation, will Zhu's own daughter be fine?
Thinking of this, the women looked at Zhu with strange eyes.
But Zhu didn't notice it at all. She still thought that as long as she completely ruined Zheng Xiu's reputation, Zheng Ren would not be able to choose anyone and would have to marry her into the Feng family. Then she would get the fifty-two taels of red envelope from the Zheng family!
As soon as Zhu left, Zheng Xiu felt that the house was much quieter.
Old Lady Zheng came in and sat with her, saying, "Xiu girl, your aunt is the elder after all, you must not behave like this in front of others in the future."
Zheng Xiu agreed obediently. She thought that if she was not afraid that her grandmother would foolishly agree to something from Zhu, she would not have to drag her injured leg out to chase people away.
"Grandma, my father said that he knows his limits. When my aunt comes to talk to you about these things in the future, don't listen to her. Don't you know her character? She must have been promised something good, so she worked so hard to match people up." Zheng Xiu had no choice but to bring up her father. Old Lady Zheng didn't say anything else, but she still listened to her father very much.
Mrs. Zheng thought that she was almost persuaded by Zhu, and she was a little scared. "Grandma knows. The next time your aunt says these things, I will definitely not listen to a word."
... I hope it's really like this.
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