Chapter 21 Pressing Forward
Old Mrs. Xu and Old Mrs. Shen sang in unison, as if the matter had been settled.
"How can this be!" Mrs. Cui, who was always calm and composed, almost accidentally knocked over the teacup that the maid had just replaced.
She knew that her daughter was too complacent and would get into trouble if she exposed the matter, but she didn't expect it to be so tricky.
She thought she could just deal with the matter perfunctorily and wait for everything to settle down.
But she didn't expect that there is always someone better than you in this world. She fell into the trap of these two old ladies step by step, and denied that the business card had been sent out on the grounds that the candidate had not been decided.
Now they want her to write her name card in front of everyone. The Cui family only recognizes this. Even if there are others, they are the work of villains in secret, and the Cui family will not recognize it.
Even if the name card was delivered to the King of Northern Yan, the Cui family members could deny the name card by saying that it was "harmed by a villain".
The Cui family was harmed by a villain, but it was not that the Cui family went back on their word. The King of Northern Yan would naturally be tolerant and generous and only recognize the name card acknowledged by the Cui family.
Things may have twists and turns, but we can turn everything around.
But in this way, all her plans for Cui Yun would be in vain.
These two old women!
Damn it!
Mrs. Cui was so angry that her hands were shaking in her sleeves.
"Why not?" Like Old Lady Xu, Old Lady Shen thought her granddaughter was perfect. Now that things had taken a turn for the better, her granddaughter had a chance to marry the King of Northern Yan and become the Queen. She was so happy.
When she heard Mrs. Cui say this, her face almost turned dark.
"If my Fifth Lady can't do it, then Madam, who can do it? Is it your Fourth Lady? Do you want to marry her off?"
Mrs. Cui was choked. She didn't dare to say anything about Cui Yun, but for the time being, she couldn't find a girl in the Cui family who was suitable.
Cui Si could be compared with Cui Yao, but now Old Lady Xu agreed with Cui Yao's marriage. If she dared to mention Cui Si, she would be looking for trouble and would be scolded to death by the two old ladies on the spot.
You refuse to marry the one who wants to, but force the one who doesn't want to marry. Do you think your home isn't messy enough? Are you seriously ill?
Mrs. Cui felt as if she was being roasted on a fire, and cold sweat broke out on her forehead due to anxiety.
Seeing that Mrs. Cui was almost unable to hold herself back, Mrs. Xu became even more convinced that she was hiding something.
She lowered her eyelids to hide the coldness in her eyes, and asked while waving her silk fan, "Why? Is it so difficult for Madam to make this decision? Or is there something wrong with Wu Niang that makes you so hesitant?"
"Is Wu Niang ugly? Or is she illiterate? Or is she of low status and unworthy? Or is there something wrong with her body?"
"Madam, are you stalling for time? Waiting for the news about the visiting card that has already been sent to Pingzhou City to come back?"
"How could it be?" Madam Cui was horrified and immediately denied it. "Second aunt, I told you before that no visiting card was ever sent to Pingzhou City. Could it be that you still don't trust me?"
"If there isn't one, why aren't you sure about it now, Madam? Is it possible that among all the daughters of the Cui family, there isn't a single one that satisfies you?"
Old Mrs. Xu pressed on step by step.
She had to ask Madam Cui to write a name card today to decide on the person and also inform the Cui family members to prevent Madam Cui from doing something in secret to harm her granddaughter.
After hearing this, Old Lady Shen's face turned pale. She said sarcastically, "Yes, Madam, is it possible that my Fifth Lady is so despicable that you look down on her? Or is it that you look down on our Third House?"
"How could it be?" Even Mrs. Cui was caught in a dilemma, caught between the two sides. In the end, she had no choice but to bite the bullet and agree.
"Well, since Second and Third Aunts both recommend Fifth Lady, I naturally have no objection."
Mrs. Xu said, "Since you have no objection, please ask Madam to write a visiting card and then have it sent to Pingzhou City."
"Okay." Mrs. Cui took a deep breath, then ordered someone to bring pen, ink, paper and inkstone, and then brought a business card from Cui. She wrote it herself, and in just a few strokes, she told the story of how Cui had chosen Cui Yao to marry.
After the book was finished, Mrs. Xu took it and looked at the contents, and she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Afterwards, she let everyone circulate it and read it as a witness, and finally returned it to Mrs. Cui, asking her to arrange for someone to deliver it to Pingzhou City immediately.
Mrs. Cui had no choice but to ask someone to call for help.
"Wait." Mrs. Xu thought for a moment and changed her mind. She said, "Since we're delivering a business card, we can't just call a few people to deliver it. It should be delivered personally by someone from the clan. That would be considered sincere. Why not let the fourth and sixth sons go together?"
Mr. Cui Si is from the eldest branch of the family, and Mr. Cui Liu is from the third branch of the family. It would be solemn if the two of them went together to see him off.
"It's as it should be." Madam Cui nodded woodenly. "Then I'll invite you two over later and have them leave for Pingzhou City early tomorrow morning."
"That's great." Mrs. Xu had achieved her goal, feeling relieved. "Thank you, Madam."
After everything was settled, Mrs. Xu and Mrs. Shen took everyone away.
When the two said goodbye at the main house gate, Mrs. Xu also reminded Mrs. Shen, "Remember to have your sixth son read the name card carefully when he gets it tomorrow, so that he doesn't make any mistakes."
"I don't need to remind you."
The two of them then boarded their carriages and returned home.
There was a drizzle of spring rain in Xianyang City, but there was a beautiful sunset in Pingzhou City.
As the golden sun set in the west and the setting sun burned half the sky red, the gates of Pingzhou City opened wide. Mr. Cui Qiye, the governor of Pingzhou, led officials from various government offices in Pingzhou City, as well as the heads of the city's aristocratic families, to welcome the new master.
As soon as night fell, the flag of Northern Yan was raised in Pingzhou City. The Northern Yan army took Pingzhou City without losing a single soldier. Once the voices of discontent in various places were quelled, the land of Pingzhou would completely belong to Northern Yan.
As night fell, Yan Xingchuan hosted a banquet to entertain officials and heads of aristocratic families in Pingzhou City.
After three rounds of drinks, an attendant walked in from outside the door and whispered something in the ear of Patriarch Cui. Patriarch Cui was stunned, then stood up, saluted Yan Xingchuan, and hurried out.
"This is the name card that Madam has ordered me to give to the head of the family. It's a name card for a girl from the Cui family to be presented to the King of Northern Yan. The candidate has been chosen. Madam, please ask the head of the family to present it to the King of Northern Yan."
"Here is another letter from my wife to the master of the family. My wife has also instructed the master of the family to read this letter immediately and make a decision after reading it."
Although Patriarch Cui was puzzled, he opened the letter and read it with the help of the light from the side. After reading a few sentences, his expression changed.
After reading the letter carefully, he opened the business card and saw the names of Cui Yun and Cui Si written on it.
He took Cui Yun as his wife, and added Cui Si as a concubine, and sent her to the King of Northern Yan as a concubine...
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