"But why did she do this?" Mother Chen couldn't figure it out for a long time, "Isn't this harming others and not benefiting herself?"
"Mom is so stupid," Shen Qingqiu raised his eyes, "Both are legitimate daughters of Duke Xiao's mansion. Gu Yong is a marquis, but Gu Shaoqing is only a prince. If Gu Yong doesn't die, he will be a prince for life. And if Xiao Ruyun gave birth to a child with Gu Yong, do you think Gu Shaoqing can still hold on to the position of prince?"
"And even if the forced marriage succeeds, it will be a scandal." Liu continued, "It's not hard to guess the old lady's temperament. If something like this happens and Xiao Ruyun enters the Marquis' Mansion, Xiao Ruqin, as her biological sister, will be implicated and lose the old lady's heart."
Liu frowned again. After all, such a thing happened in the Xiao family. If Xiao Ruqin really married into the Marquis' Mansion in the future, it would definitely be awkward for the two to meet.
"Mom, don't worry about it. I don't think Xiao Ruqin will be able to marry into the Marquis' Mansion." Shen Qingqiu said, "Mom, do you think the old lady is someone who can tolerate any sand in her eyes?"
Liu was stunned for a moment, then her brows relaxed.
——
In the Marquis' Mansion, after dealing with the servants, Gu Yong entered Old Madam Xu's room.
"Grandma, I have completely dealt with it. Please rest assured."
Old Lady Xu was worried. She thought the Marquis's Mansion was as solid as an iron barrel, but someone still took advantage of it. If it was really her grandson who came out of the room with Xiao Ruyun in his arms today, with Lin's disturbance and the pressure from Duke Xiao's Mansion, I'm afraid the Marquis's Mansion would really have to marry a concubine!
"Why didn't you tell me about the past? If I knew that Lin was that kind of person, why would I have associated with her all these years?" As she said this, Old Madam Xu began to complain about her grandson again.
Gu Yong said: "Didn't I tell my grandmother?"
Old Lady Xu was stunned for a moment. He said that he had said that, but the grandfather and grandson had various barriers at that time and did not listen to each other's advice. Today, she finally got closer to her grandson. The old lady did not want to mention it before she went to talk about it. She just said, "Forget it, let's not talk about it. Recently, your wife who has not yet married has been wronged."
Hearing his grandmother talking about Liu, Gu Yong's lips curled up slightly, "Grandma, don't worry. I will compensate her."
Seeing her grandson's face light up when he mentioned Liu, Old Lady Xu sighed inwardly, glad that she did not hinder this marriage... and from what she saw recently, Liu seemed gentle and simple, although she did not have the air of a noble lady like her, it would not be a bad idea to teach her a lesson.
"By the way, grandma, is the Xiao family discussing a marriage with Shaoqing recently?" Gu Yong frowned.
Old Madam Xu also frowned and said, "Don't worry, this marriage can't be discussed any further. I will tell An Yuan and ask her to find another girl for Shaoqing." No matter how good Xiao Ruqin was, Old Madam Xu didn't dare to marry her because she had such an unreliable mother.
Shen Anyuan didn't like Xiao Ruqin in the first place, so she immediately listened to Old Lady Xu's words and forbade Gu Shaoqing to meet Xiao Ruqin again.
Gu Shaoqing was fifteen or sixteen years old but he was unreasonable. He didn't care that the Gu family almost made the whole capital laugh. He begged his mother for several days but it was useless, so he came to make trouble with Old Lady Xu. In the end, Old Lady Xu simply turned a blind eye to him and didn't let him in.
"It's because of that woman, right? Although I released the dog to bite her, I didn't bite her. Later, she released the dog to bite me!" Gu Shaoqing had been shouting outside.
"What do you mean by letting the dog bite? It didn't bite anything." Old Lady Xu was confused after hearing this.
Shen Anyuan had asked the servants to keep this a secret from the old lady, but now that the old lady had asked in person, no one dared not to tell her. After the servants finished speaking, the old lady Xu's eyes darkened, "You are fifteen or sixteen years old, but you are still so unruly. Yong'er went to the battlefield when he was fifteen!"
The nanny beside her hurriedly advised, "Don't be angry, old lady. The fourth young master is still young. He will be sensible after getting married."
But before he could finish his words, Gu Shaoqing shouted again, "Uncle Jiu! Are you going to ruin your nephew's lifelong happiness just because of that woman?! My father died for you! Uncle Jiu, are you worthy of my father!" Gu Shaoqing was shouting and making a fuss outside. When Old Lady Xu heard this, her face became particularly ugly.
She had been blaming her grandson for the death of her eldest grandson for a long time, and had already made a big mistake.
But what right did Gu Shaoqing have to say that? ! If it weren't for his young grandson who sacrificed his life to fight on the battlefield, how could there be the Marquis' Mansion today? ! The affairs of the Marquis' Mansion here were complicated and confusing, and Duke Xiao's Mansion was also in chaos.
"I've told you a long time ago not to take risks. Now look what's happening. You've ruined my marriage!" Xiao Ruqin would have wanted to stab her sister to death if she had a knife in her hand. "You're willing to be a nun for ten years, you're willing to be an old maid who won't get married until the age of 25, why are you dragging me along?!"
"Whatever you say, she's your sister!" Lin still wanted to mediate between the two sisters.
"What sister? If she was really my sister, she would have found a temple to shave her head and become a nun to save my reputation!" Xiao Ruqin wiped her tears, "What do you mean by liking Lord Gu? It's just that he is now second only to the emperor, and you don't want to miss such a rich son-in-law. You are asking for trouble!"
It's not that I don't have feelings for my sister, but now her marriage is over! "Why are you so selfish? You said that Liu stole your husband, and I wanted to help you vent your anger, but did you think of me when you did this?!" Xiao Ruqin was crying and was about to continue crying when Xiao Ruyun's door opened and the maid cried, "Oh no, the eldest lady hanged herself."
In the end, he failed to commit suicide and asked servants to rescue him. But Xiao Ruqin also took a rope and shouted that he wanted to die with Xiao Ruyun.
In the end, there was no other choice but for Lin to pester her husband to ask her mother-in-law, You, to intervene.
Youshi had been a vegetarian for many years and rarely left the house, but Xiao Ruyun had been raised by her for a period of time, and this matter ultimately involved Duke Xiao's reputation. In the end, she left the Buddhist temple and went to the Marquis's mansion.
After all, they had been friends for many years, so Old Lady Xu did not stop Youshi from coming.
"You are in poor health and have not been out for many years. But now you come to see me for the sake of the younger generation. Logically, I shouldn't refuse you." Old Lady Xu was a little embarrassed.
Youshi sighed. She had a pair of willow-shaped eyebrows, which looked even more gloomy as she got older.
"I know this and I feel really bad, but my stepson is talking about the reputation of the Duke's Mansion, so I have to go..." She sighed, "Forget about Ruyun, I will ask her mother to send her to the temple. But Ruqin has your fourth young master in her heart, I'm afraid she will be upset."
Old Madam Xu sighed, wanting to refuse but unable to do so.
"Madam, Miss Liu is here. She said she has some new fabrics from the cloth shop and is here to bring them to you." Without thinking too much, Madam Xu asked someone to invite her in. Youshi coughed twice. She was not very willing to see strangers, so she said to the old lady, "I'll go outside for a walk."
But when she was leaving, Liu happened to come in. You looked up and saw a woman with a clear outline walking towards her, but at that moment she didn't know what happened, her heart seemed to be touched by someone and it jumped up suddenly.
Especially after seeing Liu's face, she seemed to have an illusion that the person in front of her should look like this, but they had clearly never met before.
"Old Madam Xu." Liu bowed to her and smiled at You, who was standing beside her. "Who is this?"
"This is the old lady from Duke Xiao's mansion," said Old Lady Xu.
At this time, it was self-evident why the people from Duke Xiao's Mansion came. Liu lowered her head, greeted her and said, "Since the old lady has guests, I will take my leave first." Old Lady Xu did not stay long either. After all, she would marry into the family in the future and there would always be a chance to meet them.
On the contrary, Youshi kept looking at her. After the people left, Youshi asked, "Who is this?"
"That's my future granddaughter-in-law." He looked at Youshi for a while and suddenly laughed, "I was wondering why she looked familiar. It turns out that she looks a bit like you."
Youshi touched her face and said, "Is that so?" and pulled the corner of her lips.
"Since we are getting married, have you figured out her financial situation?" asked Youshi.
If it were someone else, Old Madam Xu would certainly not tell the truth, but having known Youshi for so many years, she knew that she would not talk about others casually. "She was originally a concubine of a prefect of a small place. Yong'er fell in love with her and found ways to bring her to the capital," Old Madam Xu sighed. At first, she thought Liu was a widow with a daughter, but later she found out that she was actually a concubine.
"It's not her fault. She was born poor." Old Lady Xu smiled bitterly. "I didn't agree with it at first, but I can only persuade myself now. At least Yong'er likes it, and at least the Liu family is gentle and easy to get along with."
However, Youshi didn't listen at all. She talked to Old Madam Xu for a while and then went home.
"Mother, what's going on?" Lin asked anxiously as soon as Youshi came back, "Did the old lady give in?"
You Shi was stunned for a while before she said, "There may be a chance for Ruqin to turn around, but there is absolutely no chance for Ruyun. If you want to save Ruqin's marriage, send Ruyun away first."
"Mother-in-law, Ruyun is also a piece of my flesh and blood. How can I bear to let her go?" Lin tugged at You's sleeve, "Mother-in-law, why don't you go talk to the old lady? You two are close friends, and she will definitely consider what you say—"
Yu Shi didn't think about this, she just asked: "I remember that Ayun fled with you at that time. Did she get lost on her own or was she kidnapped by thieves?"
Lin's eyes flashed with panic. "Mother-in-law, it's been so many years. Why are you bringing up the past again? Is now the time to talk about this? The important thing is Ruyun and Ruqin's marriage! "
Yu Shi didn't say anything, but she felt inexplicably disappointed.
She only has one daughter. Who among the people in the Manguo Mansion is her real relative? Lin originally wanted to pester You to continue to look for Old Lady Xu, but Xiao Ruqin heard what You said and went directly to Xiao Ruyun's room, forcing her to go to the temple to shave her head and become a nun. For a while, the two girls started to make a fuss again, and Lin had to stop them.
——
The affairs of Duke Xiao's mansion were endless, but the Liu family no longer paid attention to them.
With the opening of a new store these days and Liu's attendance at a garden party, she has made her name known among the noble ladies. Therefore, unlike when the embroidery building first opened and no one was interested in it, this store is now visited by customers in an endless stream every day.
As for those homeless women who were deceived by Changping, Liu's shop gave them a way to make a living. Shen Qingqiu built a few new looms and asked these women to learn how to use them. He paid them whatever the market price was for a piece of cloth.
But their weaving speed is more than ten times that of ordinary people, which means that they can earn more than ten times the money of ordinary people in a month. This has rekindled the vitality of the women whose homes were raided and who were imprisoned in Changping. Tu Jiu has also been away from the capital for a long time these days.
Shen Qingqiu had already decided to open a textile factory, so that there would be more and more fabrics in the future, and Tu Jiu would go to the south to promote their fabrics. Without Tu Jiu and his big and strong brothers, the Liu family suddenly seemed to be more female than male. However, Yang Zhengwen, a scholar who had been studying hard in the small courtyard for half a year, finally got out of the courtyard with his books.
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