Upon hearing Jiang Shuwan's words, Chang Mama hurriedly said, "Young Madam, the Old Madam had already told me to send a message to the Third Master in the front courtyard, asking him to send that cripple away, but that cripple said he would rather die than leave without receiving the Fourth Miss."
"This is outrageous! Did he really say that? I think he's only so arrogant because he thinks we, the Marquis's family, are reasonable and we don't dare to do anything to him."
The third wife slammed her hand on the table in anger, "It's true that we've been too kind. If we had encountered other noble families, ha! Forget about marrying our daughter, we'd make them disappear without a trace!"
"Watch your words!" Old Madam Pei tapped the table, and the third wife had no choice but to shut her mouth.
Madam Pei looked at Jiang Shuwan, "Shuwan, what's your plan?"
"Let that man leave first. We'll say that since Fourth Master has written the marriage contract, and he won't back it, we'll naturally accept it. There's no point in him staying in our mansion."
As she spoke, she folded the marriage certificate on the table and had the maid take it to the front yard to return it to the lame man.
"What about Fourth Sister?"
"Grandma, please calm down. I am now in charge of all matters in Donglai Street and have connections with merchant families from all over the country. Let's first investigate the background of that cripple. Everyone has roots. As a businessman, he should give some face to his fellow villagers and merchants."
“Good child, you are so thoughtful. I was confused. There is a code of conduct in business. Maybe we didn’t use the right method because he is unwilling to break off the engagement.”
Madam Pei clapped her hands and laughed excitedly. She immediately sent someone to the front yard to deliver a message.
Sure enough, when the lame man heard that the Marquis's mansion wouldn't renege on its promise and had even returned the marriage certificate, he happily went home.
The fourth wife was delighted to hear of Jiang Shuwan's method and couldn't help but express her gratitude.
"Your Highness's wife, thank goodness for you, otherwise Shushu and I would not know what to do."
The fourth wife spoke gratefully, then went to take off the bracelet from her hand.
“I know you don’t need this, but it’s your aunt’s thoughtfulness.”
This bracelet was also part of the fourth wife's dowry. Previously, in order to find a husband for Pei Shushu, the fourth wife also gave her beloved dowry hairpin, which Jiang Shuwan did not accept.
This time she accepted it, because she knew that if she didn't, the fourth wife probably wouldn't feel at ease.
"Don't worry, Aunt, I will definitely help my fourth sister get through this difficult time."
"Okay, thank you, Auntie. I'll have Shushu kowtow to you when she wakes up..."
After talking for a while, Pei Shushu's medicine was ready. Without disturbing the fourth wife in taking care of Pei Shushu, Jiang Shuwan returned to her courtyard and asked Brother Nai to send someone to investigate the lame man's background.
“Brother Nai, Shushu’s marriage needs to be resolved quickly. We can’t delay it, otherwise that cripple will have already prepared the wedding room. Spend more money and find out the truth as soon as possible.”
"Don't worry, Miss. This matter is urgent, and I would never dare to be perfunctory."
Brother Nai accepted the order and, with his current status and wealth, quickly established the identity of the cripple on Jiang Shuwan's desk.
“Miss, just as you said, that cripple is not from the capital. He was originally a merchant in the Lu region, but because he ran a gambling den and caused many families to be ruined and killed, he was driven away by the local merchants, so he came to the capital to do business.”
"He's also dishonest in the capital, but he's connected with the Duke of Chen's mansion, so generally no one bothers him."
"The Duke of Chen's mansion? Is that the one whose title was demoted by His Majesty last time for lending money at exorbitant interest rates?"
Jiang Shuwan was surprised, not expecting that the cripple was backed by the Duke of Chen's mansion. She immediately reported the matter to Madam Pei.
The old lady immediately looked troubled. "I never expected it to be the Chen family. Fourth Miss is so unlucky."
"Grandma, are you implying that the Chen family and we don't have a good relationship?"
"It's not just that the relationship is bad. Back when your grandfather was still alive, he even fought with the old Duke of Chen because he not only allowed his soldiers to burn their hands and loot, but also killed civilians to claim military merits. This caused a very ugly falling out between our two families."
"However, the Chen family was one of the first batch of old ministers to follow the late emperor. The late emperor spared them out of respect for the old ministers. The Chen family also lived up to expectations, and their rank is higher than our Marquis's."
"This time, the Chen family was reprimanded by His Majesty, and their rank was reduced by one grade, but it is still on par with our Marquis's mansion."
"The Pei and Chen families have a long-standing feud. It's absolutely impossible for you to ask them to intercede on your behalf."
As she said this, Old Madam Pei's face darkened.
The fourth wife was even more anxious, "What should we do? That's right! Isn't he from Lu? How about we ask his fellow villagers to help plead for him? We'll do anything to get this marriage off the hook."
“Aunt, as soon as I found out that the man was Lu Shang, I asked Lu Shang from Donglai Street to come over. That Lu Shang is related to the cripple. According to seniority, the cripple should call him uncle.”
"However, that cripple didn't give me any face at all, and even said that his uncle had ill intentions, that he was preventing the younger generation from carrying on the family line, and that he was trying to seize his family property."
"What! There are shameless people in the world! He beat both of his wives to death, and he still has the nerve to say that?"
The third wife felt that her eyes had been opened. "This man really doesn't make any sense at all. If you ask me, we should also stop being reasonable. Didn't he like to set up schemes and cheat people in the past? Then we'll say that the Fourth Master rigged the gambling game that night."
"No matter how high he shouts, we won't accept it. I don't believe he can force us to marry you."
“Sister-in-law, you’re just being unreasonable. The fact that Fourth Master lost his daughter to gambling is something that can’t be made public. If you make a scene like this, the whole world will probably know about it,” Madam Wen said coolly, turning her prayer beads.
"Then what should we do?"
The fourth wife wiped away her tears, "Yesterday, when Shushu woke up and took her medicine, I told her that her sister-in-law, the young master, had come up with a plan. The little girl was so happy. If I had told her it wouldn't work, she probably... she probably wouldn't have survived..."
The atmosphere was somber, and just as everyone was frowning in worry, Madam Wen spoke up again. She glanced at Jiang Shuwan and said, "Fourth sister-in-law, you should ask Madam Jiang. She boasted yesterday that she could definitely handle this matter."
"Speaking of which, my daughter-in-law is quite capable. When she went to the Duke of Liu's mansion, she got the Duchess to send that arrogant and domineering Jin Jiaoniang to the estate."
"We can't do anything about Fourth Sister's matter, but it certainly won't be a problem for my good daughter-in-law!"
Upon hearing this, the eyes of Madam Pei, the third wife, and the fourth wife all fell on Jiang Shuwan.
Jiang Shuwan frowned slightly.
She knew that the Wen family was setting her up.
The higher you put yourself on a pedestal, the easier it is to lose face.
What a coincidence!
She really did have one more way.
"Mrs. Xie praised, 'My daughter-in-law does indeed have another way, guaranteed not to alarm anyone, to make that cripple cancel the marriage on his own.'"
"What method?"
"Why didn't you say so sooner?"
"Tell me about it."
As everyone bombarded her with questions, Jiang Shuwan only looked at Old Madam Pei.
"Grandma, if your granddaughter-in-law remembers correctly, this year is the year of the talent show."
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