Chapter 7: Discovering a "Private Affair"?
Having learned from her mistakes, she was determined to find Rongyue a husband from among people she knew well.
The Duke of Lin is twenty-five years old this year. His mother and his second wife are sisters from the same clan. He grew up under the second wife's watchful eye and did not have the spoiled habits of a duke's son. Apart from being a second wife, he had no other shortcomings in the eyes of his second wife.
Both his parents were deceased, and Rongyue became the mistress of the house after marrying into it. No one set any rules, and she was immediately granted an imperial title.
Most importantly, the deceased wife of the Duke of Linguo did not leave behind any children, and the position of heir still belongs to Rongyue's child. How could the Second Madam not be tempted?
When He Rongyue said this, Yang Qing was also present, playing cat's cradle with Lian Tang.
She was still concerned about Rongyue's marriage in her previous life, and couldn't help but say a few words, "But no matter how good he is, he's still a widower, and maybe he's destined to bring misfortune to his wives. Fifth Sister is good in every way, she can marry anyone she wants, why does she have to go against him?"
The second wife scolded, "You're a girl, how could you know so many unreasonable things, like being born with a tough fate or being a jinx to your wife? I really don't know where you heard that from. Stop playing around here, go back to your room and copy the 'Precepts for Women'."
Yang Qing could only go back, but she wouldn't copy the Women's Precepts herself.
She had taught several of Liu Ye'er's maids to write, and now these "disciples'" handwriting was just like their "master's." Originally, she was just teaching them for fun, but unexpectedly, things turned out very well. When the Second Madam punished her by making her copy books, she had Liu Ye'er and the others do it for her. Each of them copied a few pages, and the book was finished.
After punishing Yangqing, the second wife felt quite uneasy. Those few lawless words had truly touched her heartstrings.
She naturally knew the late Lady Zhao, the wife of the Duke of Lin. She was a daughter of a military family. Although she did not train all day like the soldiers, she had been training since childhood. Her body was much stronger than that of weak women in their boudoirs, and she had no chronic illnesses. How could she have suddenly passed away?
Could it be that Yang Qing was right?
Having learned from the example of the Prince of Ning's heir, she could not be so careless this time. She planned to first consult several masters to predict the fate of the Duke of Lin before deciding whether to have a fortune teller look at her daughter's fortune.
While she was busy with her work, an uninvited guest arrived at the Chi family's residence. Qingzhu hurried over to Chi Yangqing and instructed her not to go to the front of the house when a guest arrived.
Yang Qing nodded in agreement. After Qing Zhu left, Liu Ye couldn't help but ask, "I wonder what kind of guest has arrived that warrants such caution?"
Yang Qing said, "At this time, who else could make Mother feel so threatened besides the Prince Ning's mansion?"
Upon hearing this, Liu Ye'er spat and said, "This family is really amusing. They don't even look at what kind of person their son is, yet they covet other people's daughters. And Miss, why didn't you tell the Crown Prince about this in the carriage that day? If His Highness the Crown Prince had known, he would have resolved the matter very quickly."
Yang Qing glared at her, "You think you're so smart?"
Putting aside her personal desire not to get too entangled with Li Shangxuan, if the Chi family really wanted to ask the Crown Prince for help, how could Second Master Chi not have the opportunity to complain when he could see Li Shangxuan almost every day?
It's easy to guess what Master Chi is thinking. Firstly, the Prince Ning's Mansion hasn't forced the Chi family to marry off their daughter. Secondly, and more obviously, Master Chi still values his scholarly integrity.
Even if he wanted to marry his daughter into the Crown Prince's palace, the teacher-student relationship would be a beautiful story. How could he possibly ask Li Shangxuan for a favor when they weren't even related by marriage?
He knew in his heart that he hadn't reached the end of his rope yet, but his mind was still a mess. He sat by the window for a while, gazing at the few scattered flower buds outside, lost in thought, before he went to talk to Rongyue.
Liu Ye'er asked worriedly, "Didn't Madam tell us not to go out?"
Yang Qing: "Mother meant we shouldn't go to the front."
Liu Ye'er had no choice but to obey and followed Yang Qing all the way to Rong Yue's house.
Fifth Miss Rongyue was known as a talented woman in the capital. The furnishings of her room were different from those of her sisters. There were few flowers and powders, and the room was spacious with a desk in the center, which attracted a lot of attention.
Several pen holders were placed on the desk, each filled with calligraphy brushes of different heights, like several hedgehogs nestled there.
Rongyue was reading a book by the window when Yangqing, feeling playful, forbade the maid to make a sound. She quietly walked up to her sister, covered her eyes from behind, and deliberately said in a rough voice, "Guess who I am?"
For Rongyue, this question couldn't be easier. In this house, who else could joke around with her like this?
Helplessly, he slapped her hand down, saying, "Ah Xun, stop fooling around."
Feeling bored, Yang Qing turned around and sat down next to her. She looked at the book that Yang Qing had casually placed beside her and hadn't had time to close. She could only vaguely see the two words "Yun Xiao" and was stunned for a moment.
Yun Xiao is the eldest son of Minister Yun, the man his sister married in his previous life.
So, did they not meet at the flower-viewing banquet held at the Grand Princess's residence, but rather already have a secret affair?
Rongyue noticed Yangqing peeking, quickly closed the book, and asked, "What did you see?"
Yang Qing immediately shook her head and complained, "Sister, you collected it so quickly. I only have ordinary eyes, how could I possibly see it clearly?"
She noticed that Rongyue's facial expression remained unchanged, but her left hand fingers made a very small movement.
For many years, even Rongyue herself hadn't noticed this habit; whenever she was very nervous, her left index and middle fingers would do this.
Rongyue asked, "What brings you here?"
Yang Qing said, "What, can't I come here?"
She got up and walked around the room. She had originally planned to talk to Rongyue about the Ning Prince's Mansion, but she never expected to stumble upon Rongyue's little secret.
Of course she wouldn't report it, but she felt a little uncomfortable. Could it be that Rongyue, such a proper and upright lady, would also have secret dealings with men?
She couldn't show her discomfort and arouse Rongyue's suspicion, so she could only force herself to sit for a while, saying some nonsensical things, and then take her leave after about half an hour.
When I went outside, I saw that the weather had changed. In the morning, the sun was shining, but now the sky was covered by a thick layer of dark clouds, and I didn't know when it would rain.
Spring rain is as precious as oil.
Yang Qing's mind was already filled with thoughts of Li Shangxuan and the Ning Prince's Mansion, and now with this additional matter, she felt like she was about to explode.
Thinking about these things all the way, I saw people breaking ground in the Second Madam's small garden from afar.
She craned her neck to look and saw a strange man whose clothes didn't resemble those of a gardener. She couldn't help but ask, "Who are you? What are you doing here?"
This is the backyard, how could there be a strange man here?
The man looked up at her and glanced at her; he had a very handsome face.
Yang Qing looked him over and found it increasingly strange. Judging from his appearance, he was here to plant flowers, but why would someone who plants flowers be dressed in fine clothes?
My clothes are stained with mud; I don't know if I can wash them clean when I get back.
Liu Ye'er quickly chimed in, "Who exactly are you? Our young lady is asking you a question, why are you pretending to be deaf and dumb?"
Instead of answering, the strange man asked, "Which daughter of the Chi family are you? Are you the sixth or seventh?"
Yang Qing said, "What does my birth order have to do with you?"
The man smiled and said, "It was just something that slipped out in my mouth, please don't take it to heart, Miss."
He casually picked a beautiful pale yellow flower and handed it to Yang Qing, a smile still playing on his lips. "Please use this to apologize to Miss. Please forgive my rudeness just now, how about it?"
Yang Qing had no intention of answering, only saying, "Nothing much. How dare you touch my mother's flowers."
The man's eyes flashed, and Yang Qing realized she had spoken out of turn, as if she had revealed her identity. But it was too late to take it back, so she could only continue, "What kind of flower is this? I've never seen it before."
The man looked at her and smiled, "It's not some rare flower, just a variant of the peony. It's more cold-resistant and easier to grow than the peony, and it comes in more colors. It's just a clever name, 'Fake Peony.' But it's not all good. Some people get itchy all over and their faces swell up like pig heads when they touch this flower, but the probability is very small, only one in ten thousand. Prince Ning's heir, Li Hebi, is one of them."
He paused slightly, then seemed to regret it, "I'll only tell this to Miss, please don't tell anyone else."
Yang Qing's first thought was, "Does the Prince of Ning's heir need to be swollen?" His face was already not much different from a pig's head, and this sarcastic thought made her chuckle. Then she realized, "You're from the Prince of Ning's residence?"
Before the man could answer, Zhao Niangzi, the steward of the Second Madam, rushed over with a teacup and kettle in her hand. Seeing Yang Qing standing there, she quickly stepped between the two and said to Yang Qing, "Oh dear, my girl, you're still not fully recovered from your illness. It looks like it's about to rain, so hurry back. This is the second young master of the Ning Prince's Mansion. Be careful not to offend him."
Yang Qing was surprised and glanced at the man again. Li Hebi was stupid and fat like a pig, but this second young master was very handsome and did not resemble Li Hebi at all.
Regardless of whether he was handsome or ugly, Yang Qing had no intention of talking to him. She gave him a perfunctory bow, left in a hurry without even saying goodbye.
Back in her room, she realized something was wrong. "Since he's the second young master of the Ning Prince's mansion, even if the Ning Princess wanted to send flowers to Mother, she shouldn't have made him do it himself."
Liu Ye'er followed her the whole time, but of course she didn't get any news. Xiao Tao, however, was a gossip queen. Her godmother's other goddaughter's sister was serving tea and water to the guests. She told the truth with a smile: it turned out that this second young master was not Princess Ning's biological son. He had come to the Chi residence for some reason and had displeased Princess Ning. She then suggested that this illegitimate son be made a gardener, deliberately embarrassing him.
Yang Qing listened and thought it was normal; there are magnanimous people in this world, and naturally there are narrow-minded people as well.
But Xiao Tao's information network was truly impressive; she seized the opportunity to ask, "What else do you know? Has that fat guy arrived yet?"
A note from the author:
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