"No, this... Master is not in good health and usually doesn't see outsiders." The old woman's smile became more and more awkward.
"He is not a stranger, he is my uncle. Our two families are relatives. Shouldn't we go to visit the sick elder at this time?" Qu Moying asked back.
Visiting a sick elder is a natural thing to do, unless the two families do not intend to have any contact with each other.
The so-called outsider, just now this old woman kept saying that the two families should be close to each other. The contradiction and the excuses she made were too obvious, which was really a slap in the face. Everyone looked at the old woman in surprise.
"Well, the master's health is too poor. He can't see people or entertain guests." The old woman explained dryly.
The lady sitting upstairs frowned and couldn't help but suggest, "Why not let Ying's father go see your uncle?"
Qu Moying is still an unmarried lady, so it is indeed a little inconvenient for her at this time. But if Qu Zhizhen goes, it will be very convenient. Even if the patient is lying in bed and unable to get up, Qu Zhizhen can go and see him.
"This... this is not good. Our Madam has ordered that no one should disturb the Master's illness. If the Madam is really interested, this old servant should report to our Madam first." Sweat began to form on the old woman's forehead. The direction of these words was completely different from what the Madam had predicted.
Just when Miss Qu Si was about to come see the uncle, these words completely went astray.
"Madam, the gifts have been delivered. I will go back and report to our lady first. Please consider the previous matters more. We are sincere." The old woman from the Ling Anbo Mansion did not dare to stay any longer. After bowing to the Madam and Qu Moying with a smiling face, she wanted to leave.
The lady looked at her doubtfully and nodded.
The maids in Ling Anbo's mansion felt as if they had been pardoned, and hurriedly took the people in the mansion and left.
Watching everyone in the Ji Mansion leave, the lady frowned. The old woman's reaction was different from what she had expected. Could it be that she had other intentions
"Grandma, did the Ling'an Marquis's Mansion say anything else?" As soon as Qu Moying saw the old lady's expression, he knew that there might be something he didn't know. He stepped forward, pulled the old lady Qu's hand, and asked.
Madam Qu was silent for a moment, her eyes fell on Qu Moying's face, and she waved her hand for a long time. All the other servants in the room went down, leaving only Wu Ma beside her and Yu Chun behind Qu Moying.
"Yan girl, the Ling Anbo Mansion is here to propose marriage." The lady sighed, without any joy on her face. "I originally thought this was a sincere thing, but now it seems that it is not the case. The Ling Anbo Mansion clearly does not want to get close to us, but proposed a marriage with you. What does it mean?"
If it weren't for the old woman's panicked refusal later, the lady would have thought this was an unexpectedly good marriage.
Even if Ying girl's fault was not rejected by the Yongning Marquis' Mansion, she would still be criticized. In addition, Ying girl's own conditions were not good. The old lady was really worried. She originally wanted to save her old face, and now she would take Ying girl to participate in more banquets in other places and meet more people.
I didn't expect this marriage to come out of nowhere, and it's to the Ling Anbo Mansion. This is great news.
But what does it mean now? The lady felt that it was very strange. She clearly expressed the idea of being close to him, and repeatedly said that she wanted the two families to get married, but her family wanted to visit him.
When it came to Ling Anbo, why did he refuse again and again, and his refusal was so far-fetched.
He acted as if he didn't want people from Qu Mansion to go to Ji Mansion, and had no intention of getting close to them
What did it mean before
"What, the two families are going to get married?" Qu Moying was stunned for a moment, then he laughed. The Xiao family actually had this idea. He immediately understood what they were planning. No wonder Ji Youran had been trying to get along with him again and again. He thought that Ji Youran might have noticed something and wanted to win him over, or rather, Yue Wenhan, to prevent Yue Wenhan from pressing him too hard.
If he was just an ordinary young master of the Yue family, the Ling'an Marquis' Mansion would not be afraid. But now Yue Wenhan is still the Shaoqing of the Dali Temple, and he is questioning some cases. If he finds out something, it will be a big deal. The best way is for him to tie up the chariot of the second branch of the Ling'an Marquis' Mansion as well.
That's why he kept showing kindness to me.
All the things that I couldn't understand before suddenly became clear to me because of this sentence. So this is how it was calculated.
"Yes, the old woman just said that it was the Madam Dowager and the Second Madam of the Ji Mansion who thought you were good, so they sent some gifts to ask for my opinion. If we agree, they will find a suitable person to propose marriage." The Madam Dowager nodded.
Marriages among aristocratic families are not something that can be arranged in a single move. Both families must first communicate with each other, and only when everyone feels that it is a good idea will someone be invited to propose marriage. This is to prevent one party from being unaware of the situation and the other party from rashly arriving and then losing face if they disagree, which would be embarrassing for both families.
"What did grandma say?" Qu Moying asked.
"I originally said that I had to ask your opinion on this matter first. In the past, although the marriage was arranged by your mother, it seemed good before. Who could have thought that it would be... like this? Even if I arrange a marriage for you this time, grandma wants to ask your opinion. If you really don't like it, no matter how good it is, it will be useless."
The lady sighed. She sincerely hoped that Qu Moying would have a good life. This child had a hard life and she had to take better care of him.
"Thank you, Grandmother." Qu Moying felt relieved. She was most afraid that the Madam or Qu Zhizhen would arrange a marriage for her without saying anything. The Madam considered her feelings, which meant that she was really doing good to her. How could she not understand? "Grandmother, the previous marriage with Yongning Marquis was just called off. It would be bad if we get engaged right now. It would cause more people to gossip. My business is not urgent. Anyway, the previous sisters are not married."
Qu Moying's most important thing right now is revenge, and he has no intention of getting married.
"Your eldest sister was actually misled... You didn't know it on the farm, but she was also engaged before, but that guy...actually got together with his cousin, and then canceled your eldest sister's engagement. Your eldest sister was very sad, and the marriage was delayed again and again."
The lady explained helplessly, "Your eldest sister's marriage is not settled, so your second sister will naturally not be engaged right away. But you and Yan girl are from the West Mansion. Although you are still ranked together, the two mansions are not closely related. If Yan girl gets married, you don't have to wait here any longer."
The East Palace and the West Palace are both the Qu Palace, but in fact it is only because there is a Madam Qu above them. Many families give two sets of gifts. Similarly, when they go out to a banquet, although they still go together, the gifts are divided into those from the East and West Palaces. There are many such situations in the capital, and everyone can understand it.
Just like this marriage, Qu Moying only needs to take care of Qu Qiuyan.
That’s enough, but if we force Qu Xuexin to join us, that’s also possible.
"Then let's wait until the matter of Third Sister is settled first." Qu Moying nodded, feeling relieved. How could Qu Qiuyan's matter be resolved so easily? Prince Jing wanted to make Qu Qiuyan a concubine or a concubine, and Qu Qiuyan herself certainly didn't want to do that. But this time something happened in the Prince's Mansion, and Prince Jing and the Qu Mansion still had some rules to negotiate.
"That being said, if you can get engaged, it's better to get engaged. Ying girl, you're not a child anymore. You can wait and see after you get engaged. It'll take some time." Madam Qu nodded, then looked at Qu Moying gently and advised her, thinking that she was frightened by Xu Lipeng's shamelessness. She added, "Among the young masters of noble families, not all of them are as good at covering up as Xu Lipeng. Just pick an honest one. If it doesn't work..."
The lady paused here and looked at Qu Moying with pity in her eyes. "If it doesn't work out, then we can just pick a son-in-law from the list. Next year is the imperial examination, which is held every three years. It's OK to pick a man with a clean family background and outstanding character. Grandmother doesn't ask you to be rich and powerful, but only asks me to be happy."
The status of the Minister's Mansion is indeed a little shallow for the princes and grandchildren of the emperor, but if some new officials are chosen, those officials will be out of their league. The lady can say such words, and she is also sincerely considering Qu Moying, which makes Qu Moying feel warm in his heart. The grandmother may also consider Qu Qiuyan and take Qu Zhizhen into consideration, but she is also sincerely planning for herself.
This sincerity alone is enough to move Qu Moying.
She leaned over, looked at the lady with a bit of admiration, and nodded: "It's up to Grandmother, but it's not possible at the Ling'an Marquis's Mansion right now. Grandmother, I suspect that something is wrong at the Ling'an Marquis's Mansion. Why don't you let us go see Ling'an Marquis? When my cousin went there before, he was not allowed to see my uncle."
She didn't care who she married, but it definitely couldn't be her enemy from the previous life.
The Ling'anbo Mansion is very strange. She has to let the lady have some idea about it first, at least to let her know that the Ling'anbo Mansion is unreliable or has other intentions.
Thinking of the behavior of the old woman from the Ji Mansion just now, the old lady nodded. She also felt that this matter was uneasy. How affectionate they were before, how cold they were afterwards. This atmosphere was indeed very strange. The old lady was old and had experienced a lot. Since she had doubts in her heart, the Ling'an Marquis' Mansion was not the best candidate for marriage.
"Don't worry, girl Ying. Grandmother knows that she won't let you marry casually. She will definitely take a good look at the couple and make sure you agree." The old lady said with pity. Since no one loved her granddaughter, she would love her more, even if it was a little out of line.
"Thank you, grandma." Qu Moying felt a little relieved, knowing that with the lady's words, her future marriage would not be casually arranged by Qu Zhizhen. What she feared most was that Qu Zhizhen would do such a thing. It seemed that her step-father, Minister Qu, was not that simple.
Although they had only chatted for a few words in the study before, Qu Zhizhen was a little different from what I imagined. He didn't seem like someone who could always be deceived by Yu.
She always felt that something was wrong, but she couldn't remember it for a moment, as if she had missed something important, making many things chaotic and disorganized...
What important thing had she forgotten? She lowered her head slightly, thinking carefully about some of Qu Zhizhen's words and deeds, and the strangeness these words and deeds gave her.