When Jiang Jiuniang arrived, the two sides had only been sitting down for a short while, but as soon as Jiang Jiuniang entered, she noticed that both Sun Shi and Qin Shi looked very unhappy.
The other party sent a matchmaker, as well as the groom's stepmother, the wife of the fourth branch of the Ningyuan Earl's Mansion.
The matchmaker was talking and didn't see Jiang Jiuniang come in; she looked quite smug.
"The Ningyuan Marquis's family is a noble family in this city, a family that many families would find hard to match even with a lantern. They have served four emperors and are truly a high-ranking family. The fifth young master is an outstanding man with exceptional talent, and Miss You is going to be his wife. What an honor! Madam Lu, what are you hesitating about?"
The matchmaker spoke with great enthusiasm, wishing she could get the Lu family to bring out Youya's birth chart for exchange right then and there.
Jiang Jiuniang walked in and said, seemingly jokingly, "Since that Fifth Young Master is so good, why don't you marry your daughter to him?"
Upon hearing this voice, the smiles of the matchmaker and the fourth wife, Liu, instantly froze on their faces. They turned around to look, and Jiang Jiuniang had already sat down next to Sun.
The matchmaker reacted quickly, soon smiling again: "Madam Lu, you're joking! My daughter is far from being a match for the Fifth Young Master of the Ningyuan Marquis's Mansion. The Fifth Young Master is..."
Jiang Jiuniang was impatient to hear her praise others, and instead turned to look at the fourth wife, Liu, and asked, "If I remember correctly, your son is only eight years old this year, right? Why are you in such a hurry to arrange a marriage? Although it is said that a woman three years older than her husband is a lucky man, the age difference between us is too great. Men mature later, and my family thinks that we should find a more mature man for marriage. Your son is too young and not suitable. Let's call off this marriage."
Hearing this, Liu's smile faltered. She glanced at the matchmaker before saying, "Third Madam Lu, you misunderstand. The one being proposed to this time is not my Shen-ge'er, but the fifth child I'm raising under my name. As his legal mother, it's only natural that I arrange marriages for the children under my name."
In previous years, Liu had been unable to give birth to a son, only two daughters. Under pressure, she had no choice but to register two illegitimate sons under the name of her concubines. The fifth son, who is the subject of today's marriage proposal, is one of them.
Jiang Jiuniang naturally already knew, but at this moment she looked at Liu Shi with a shocked expression and said, "My Lu family acts with integrity and honesty. Everyone in the family is an honest and upright person. Why is Fourth Madam humiliating us like this?"
Ms. Liu was somewhat flustered and confused: "I didn't..."
"What do you mean there isn't? My Youyou is the eldest daughter of the second branch of the family, but your Ningyuan Marquis's Mansion is using a son from the fourth branch of the family as an excuse to fob us off. What kind of logic is that? Does the Fourth Madam think that our family comes from the countryside and doesn't understand the difference between legitimate and illegitimate children, so she deliberately brought out an illegitimate son to disgust us?"
In those days, legitimate and illegitimate children were two different classes, and the lives of illegitimate sons and daughters in the household were not as good as those of some favored servants.
Moreover, the Ningyuan Marquis's family only prospered in the first two generations, achieving some success in the court. Each subsequent generation was worse than the last, and now, the highest-ranking official in the Ningyuan Marquis's family is only a fifth-rank official, which is to put it bluntly, just a fallen noble family.
Only the eldest son of the main branch can inherit the title, but today the lady of the fourth branch came to propose marriage for her son. Where does this all come from?
Given the current situation of the Ningyuan Marquis's mansion, Jiang Jiuniang would disdain even the eldest son of the first wife, let alone the illegitimate son of the fourth branch, if he came to propose marriage.
That matchmaker even openly and subtly said that it was a great honor for Youya to marry into that family; it was absolutely disgusting.
Madam Liu's face darkened. She hadn't expected Jiang Jiuniang to be so blunt, but she still stubbornly said, "Since he was raised under my name, he is the legitimate son. Madam Lu, please don't misunderstand."
Jiang Jiuniang sneered: "According to Fourth Madam, does sticking scallions in a pig's nose really make it look like an elephant? If Madam really treated her two illegitimate sons as her own, then why did she give birth to your young master? Isn't that redundant?"
Since Liu only had daughters and no sons, her property could not be divided equally between her two daughters. Instead, it would have to be managed jointly by the clan. Therefore, she registered her two sons under her own name so that she could keep her property in her own hands and could also find ways to give more to her two daughters. However, no matter what, a son registered under someone else's name was not her biological son. So, she risked her life to have a son so that all the property could go to her son, while her two illegitimate sons could go wherever they wanted.
What she thought in her heart was one thing, but having Jiang Jiuniang say it openly was another. Her face turned ugly, and she no longer intended to maintain her smile. She said coldly, "Even if he is an illegitimate son, he is more than a match for your Lu family's daughter! What respectable girl would show her face in public all day long and make a fool of herself? She's just a country bumpkin, does she really want to marry a nobleman's son? Doesn't she know her own status!"
Sun and Qin had been holding back, thinking that since the guests were guests, they should try not to cause trouble for Lu Baichuan or offend him. But now that they heard such harsh words, they really couldn't stand it anymore. Just as Sun was about to say something in response, Qin stood up first and scolded, "If you don't like them, why did you come here shamelessly? My family has never liked your family from the beginning and has been politely refusing. Your family has been shameless and has come to our door time and time again, and you still think you're right?"
"We've considered that your Ningyuan Marquis's family is a respectable family in the capital, so we haven't said anything too harsh. But you've gone too far! Not only have you used a son of a concubine to humiliate my daughter, but you've also called her a disgrace. I'll tear your mouth apart today!"
As he spoke, he rushed forward and slapped Liu across the face, then started pulling at her hair, and a big fight was about to break out.
Jiang Jiuniang was stunned. In her memory, Qin Shi was the most timid and taciturn person. She would never have done such a thing before. Now, she not only stood up for her daughter, but even hit her.
Jiang Jiuniang really wanted to know what her second sister-in-law had gone through during the time she was away, and how she had become so fierce.
Qin was a very strong fighter; she single-handedly drove Liu and the matchmaker away.
Jiang Jiuniang stood aside and clapped for her: "Sixth Sister-in-law!"
Qin was a little embarrassed, but still said, "They said nice things before, and I thought I couldn't offend them easily. Even if we couldn't be in-laws, we couldn't become enemies. Who knew that this heartless family would scheme against my You'er like this? The whole family of concubines just wanted to trick You'er into coming home. They're treating me and her father like I'm dead!"
Before Jiang Jiuniang spoke, they really didn't know that the fifth young master mentioned by the matchmaker was an illegitimate son. After all, Liu was the legitimate wife of the fourth branch of the family. Liu personally came forward, which must have been for the sake of her own child. Who knew that this woman was so magnanimous? It was one thing to raise an illegitimate son, but she also had to deceive the daughters of good families for the sake of her illegitimate son.
Damn it!
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