Chapter 597, Analysis
The day after Mrs. Zhu Si went to see Teacher Zhu, Mrs. Zhu, with a grim expression, handed a visiting card to the steward in front of Mrs. Zhu Si and Zhu Qiyun, and asked him to deliver it to the Yan family personally.
"Fourth sister-in-law, I've sent the visiting card. As for whether the Yan family will see us in the end, that's not something the master and I can decide. Don't blame us when the time comes, saying we didn't try our best."
She was really mad. She had clearly rejected her fourth brother's wife, but she didn't expect that she would turn around and run to find the master. She even mentioned in her words how her fourth brother had helped their family in the past, so that the master had to come forward and ask her to send a visiting invitation to the Yan family.
Madam Zhu really didn't want to go to the Yan family. Why? Besides the conflict between her daughter and the eldest daughter of the Yan family, she also had offended Madam Li before.
When Lord Yan was still the county magistrate, she looked down on Yan Li, who came from a merchant family, and had an affair with Yan's concubine. If such a thing happened to her, she would definitely feel uncomfortable.
As a woman herself, she naturally knew how vindictive women were.
Now the gap between the Zhu family and the Yan family is getting bigger and bigger. Yan Li is a fourth-rank concubine personally appointed by the emperor. It is too easy to suppress her. She doesn't want to be humble in front of someone she once looked down upon, especially for outsiders.
Seeing that her goal had been achieved, Mrs. Zhu Si did not care about Mrs. Zhu's attitude and said with gratitude: "Thank you, Third Brother and Sister-in-law. Regardless of whether the matter succeeds in the end, Qiyun and I are grateful."
Mrs. Zhu didn't want to talk and held up the teacup as if giving it to someone.
Mrs. Zhu Si was also very perceptive and didn't want to stay here and be disliked, so she pulled Zhu Qiyun away.
As soon as the two of them left, Zhu Xiuyun walked over to Madam Zhu and sat down: "Mother, are we going to the Yan family?"
Mrs. Zhu looked at her daughter and nodded silently.
Zhu Xiuyun immediately became happy: "That's great, I haven't seen Yishuang for a long time."
Looking at her daughter who was about to come of age, Mrs. Zhu had a slightly complicated expression.
She felt extremely regretful every time she thought about not being able to make friends with the Yan family.
But there is no medicine for regret in this world. She never expected that the Yan family would rise so quickly and leave their family far behind.
"Mom, go and ask the sewing room staff to come and prepare clothes for me to go out."
Looking at her excited daughter, Madam Zhu couldn't help but pour cold water on her, saying, "The Yan family may not accept our invitation. Even if they do, I won't take you with me."
Zhu Xiuyun looked puzzled: "Why?"
Madam Zhu sneered, "Your Fourth Aunt is so ambitious that she wants to marry Qiyun to Wenjie from the Second Branch of the Yan Family. You know the Second Madam of the Yan Family, she's not someone you can easily get along with. Qiyun has a reputation for breaking off engagements before, and if we let anything out, we might get beaten up. Do you think I can take you there to be humiliated?"
In her opinion, Qiyun had no chance of joining the Yan family, and visiting them would simply be asking for humiliation. But the mother and daughter wanted to drag her along.
Zhu Xiuyun was stunned. "Auntie Four has taken a fancy to Brother Wenjie?" Then she was silent for a moment. "Brother Wenjie is a good person."
Mrs. Zhu glanced at her daughter and regret welled up in her heart again. If she had not offended Yan Li, given the friendship between her daughter and several other girls from the Yan family since childhood, perhaps their family could really have married into the Yan family.
On the other side, Zhu Qiyun helped her mother back to the guest house where they lived.
Seeing the uneasiness and worry in her daughter's eyes, Mrs. Zhu Si patted her hands and said, "The Yan family will definitely accept the invitation."
Zhu Qiyun had no idea: "Not necessarily. I heard that Third Aunt and Madam Yan seem to have some grudges against each other."
Mrs. Zhu smiled and said, "I've made inquiries. The Yan family is a sensible family. The invitation clearly states that we are here to thank the eldest daughter of the Yan family for helping you the other day. Didn't you help the eldest daughter of the Yan family that day? I believe that Mrs. Li will accept the invitation."
Seeing her mother's calm face, Zhu Qiyun felt less anxious, but soon frowned again. "Even if the Yan family accepted the invitation, I'm afraid it would be useless. My daughter has such a reputation, and the Second Lady of the Yan family has such high standards."
Mrs. Zhu Si was silent for a while, then stood up and took out a small box from her luggage.
Zhu Qiyun's face changed when she saw the box. "Mother, why did you bring out the rare book that father painstakingly collected before he died? This is what he left for my younger brother to inherit from the family."
Mrs. Zhu opened the box and looked at the three rare books inside. She said calmly, "People are more important than things. If people can't live well, what's the point of passing on the family legacy?"
Zhu Qiyun disagreed: "Mother, even if these three rare books are added to my marriage, it won't change anything. Let's give them to my younger brother. He needs me more than I do."
Mrs. Zhu glanced at her daughter. "What do you mean he needs you more than you do? Marriage is like being reborn. If these three rare books can bring you a good marriage, even your father in the afterlife would approve."
Zhu Qiyun's eyes were a little red, and she pursed her lips, not knowing what to say.
Madam Zhu Si patted her daughter's head and said, "My child, when I was at Ningmen Pass, I took a close look at the Yan family. Compared to the undercurrents of other families, the Yan family is really good."
Seeing her daughter lowering her head and not speaking, Mrs. Zhu Si understood her worries.
"Mother has asked someone to thoroughly investigate the Yan family's situation. The second master of the Yan family is a commoner, and now he lives off the support of Prefect Yan. His eldest son, who is being proposed to, has no achievements or wealth, and after the family is divided, he will be an ordinary citizen. Although you have broken off the engagement, your background, character, appearance, and upbringing are all there, making you more than a match for him."
"As for Madam Yan's high standards, I can understand that. She simply wants to find a better Yue family to help support her child."
"After your father's death, our branch of the Zhu family fell into obscurity, but the Zhu family is still a well-known family in Zhongzhou. Although it has declined in recent years, compared with the Yan family, which originated from farming and studying, our family background is still impressive."
"Your brother has already been a student. If he hadn't been in poor health in the past two years, he might have become a scholar long ago. Once he recovers in a few years, he can take the imperial examination. You will also have a brother to help you."
"Besides that, your father also left you and your sister several rooms full of books and calligraphy and paintings. The Yan family comes from a family of farmers and scholars. Even though Lord Yan is now a fourth-rank official, their family background is still too thin. If they don't agree to give away all these things, they will definitely not be able to do it."
"I'm going to tell you something here. As long as the Yan family is willing to accept you, I'll give you half of the books and calligraphy and paintings your father left behind as a dowry."
"The Yan family will split up sooner or later, and the second branch of the Yan family won't get anything good. If we have the dowry you bring with us, then establishing our own family and raising offspring will be no problem."
Mrs. Zhu Si carefully analyzed with Zhu Qiyun the importance of marrying into the Yan family.
Seeing her mother's calm and composed expression, Zhu Qiyun's heart gradually warmed up. Perhaps she still had a chance to hope to marry into a good family.
(End of this chapter)
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