After Qu Moying returned to the yard, she asked someone to prepare lunch. Nanny Gu was sick, and she was worried about her, so she didn't plan to go back immediately.
After giving Nanny Gu the medicine, she fell asleep again. Qu Moying stood aside, casually picking up a book to read. These were some of the books that Doctor Ji bought for her when she was here that day.
The room was very quiet. After taking the medicine, Nanny Gu fell into a deep sleep. Seeing that she was sleeping peacefully, Qu Moying felt a little relieved.
When it was time for lunch, Qu Moying ate some of it hastily.
Nanny Gu woke up and had a rare good appetite. She even drank half a bowl of porridge and looked much more energetic. Qu Moying left only after she persuaded him.
The New Year is approaching, and things are going well in the mansion recently. Some shops will also report their accounts at this time. The only people who can be in charge of things in the mansion now are the Madam Dowager and Qu Moying. There used to be very few things to do in the inner courtyard, but there have been more recently. The Madam Dowager is old, and she was not in charge of things in previous years, so she looks very busy.
Qu Moying had no choice but to take it.
After returning home, he reported the matter of Nanny Gu to the old lady. When she heard that the fever had basically subsided, the old lady nodded repeatedly.
After asking some more small details, she knew that Nanny Gu might not be in good condition. The lady sighed again and was still grateful to this loyal servant.
While the grandfather and grandson were talking, Luo came over with his men.
Qu Moying hadn't seen Luo for a long time. When he saw Luo coming, he hurriedly saluted.
"Mother, what do you think we should do about this?" After Luo came in, her brows were furrowed and her words were incoherent, but it was obvious that she had already mentioned this matter to the old lady. Qu Moying didn't understand, but the old lady did.
"Let's get engaged first!" The lady thought for a moment and said, "Let's talk about the relationship between the two families first. Since Minghui insists on this, we have no choice but to do it!"
"But the master doesn't want to do it. He says there's no rush now and that we have to wait until Minghui finishes the exam." Luo's eyes turned red with anxiety.
Qu Moying lowered her head and touched the thick scarf wrapped around her hand without saying a word. It was not her turn to speak in this matter.
"Let's order it first!" The lady sighed helplessly, "I'll talk to the boss about this."
"Thank you, mother." Luo stood up quickly and wiped away the tears that came out of her eyes.
"There is something I need to discuss with you." The lady said again, looking at Qu Moying on the side and frowning.
“The West Mansion doesn’t have a proper mistress right now. Even if we want the second son to continue the marriage, we have to wait until Ying’s marriage is settled. There are some things I can’t do… You don’t have many things to do in the East Mansion anyway, so you can help the West Mansion with some things!” The lady said slowly.
"Where is Ying?" Luo asked in surprise.
Although the West Mansion no longer has a mistress, Qu Moying is still there, and he also has to learn how to be the head of the household.
"Her marriage should be scheduled in the spring. She will be very busy in the period after the Chinese New Year. She may be too busy to handle her own embroidery and some matters related to her dowry." The lady pointed at Qu Moying and said.
"So soon?" Luo was shocked. "Didn't they say that the King of England's marriage... would be later than the Crown Prince's? It would at least be in the autumn, right?"
"The prince will also come early, probably in this spring. These days, the Ministry of Rites..." The old lady didn't know the inside story and rubbed her brows. There were not enough staff to begin with, and now Qu Moying had to take care of her dowry, the house would be in chaos.
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"Mother, I understand. I will slowly start to help with some of the things, but I can't come here every day." Luo understood the lady's difficulties, but she herself was indeed a little too busy.
"Let the steward go to the East Palace to report the expenses. After all, the two palaces are close, and it's just a matter of going through a small door." The lady had already thought it through.
"Okay, let's do it this way!" Luo nodded. As for her son's matter, the next step would be to propose marriage. It would be okay to lend a hand to the West Mansion.
"Thank you for your help!" The lady breathed a sigh of relief. With Luo's help, Ying girl wouldn't have to work so hard. Although the things in the mansion were simple, there were still a lot of people involved, and it was still very troublesome when things got chaotic.
The lady-in-waiting didn't want Qu Moying to delay the dowry because of her management of the affairs in the mansion. The time was short to begin with, and if the dowry was not prepared properly and people saw it, it would be a laughing stock in the entire capital.
Not to mention that the King of England would look down on her, but when she went out to meet those noble ladies, she would also be ridiculed and lose face.
"Mother, you're welcome. This is nothing. But... the one Mingcheng has arranged... shouldn't she come in sooner?" Luo asked, glancing at the lady.
Qu Zhizhen's matter has not been settled yet. Even if Jixian Luo knew about it, the old lady would still take a good look at him. Yu's matter made the old lady feel uneasy. She must find a good one this time, otherwise it will not only cause unrest in the family.
With this calculation, it will take some time for the West Mansion to have a mistress.
However, Qu Mingcheng's marriage was arranged early.
Qu Moying pressed her hand on the wound and did not move. She really didn't know about this. Since she returned home, no one had told her about Qu Mingcheng's marriage. Since she didn't know, she didn't ask anyone about it.
Qu Mingcheng is already engaged? Like me, he was engaged when he was a child
"That's possible, but we still need to discuss it carefully. When Yu was here... I originally wanted to wait until after the Spring Examination... I'm afraid Yu's mind wasn't so right at that time." The lady sneered, and she became furious when she thought of Yu.
It's fine if he's dead, but he caused so many troubles and implicated everyone in the mansion again and again.
Qu Moying knew Yu's character very well. Perhaps with Qu Mingcheng's success, she was no longer interested in that marriage. Qu Mingcheng was very talented. Although he was young, he was one of the most talented young men in the capital. So she wanted to wait until after the imperial examination, when the young talent's reputation was even greater, and then marry someone from a higher-class family
No wonder I never heard about Qu Mingcheng getting engaged when I was in the mansion. It must have been Yu's intention.
"What about now?" Luo was also speechless and asked in a low voice. Everyone present knew what Yu meant.
"It's good enough that they didn't cancel the engagement. I don't know if Yu has neglected them. It just so happens that it's the Spring Festival. We should visit each other and not ignore other families like we did in the past. That... it looked good in the past. Let's set a good date then! But it has to be after Ying girl."
The lady dowager sighed and said that there were some things she could not do anything about, like Qu Mingcheng's marriage, which was arranged by Yu in the early days, and was related to Yu's sister-in-law from her mother's family. She liked him very much at the time, and took the responsibility to arrange the marriage regardless of other people's opposition.
But later on, Yu began to dislike him a little and seemed to be extremely cold to him. The lady-in-waiting had long since stopped caring about the matter. Qu Mingcheng was Yu's son, and it would not be good for her to interfere too much. Anyway, her grandson had his own parents, and she was old too, so she could not worry so much.
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Besides, even if I wanted to worry, Yu wouldn't let me. She might even think that I was trying to snatch the child from her.
Therefore, the lady turned a blind eye to Qu Mingcheng's marriage and left it entirely to Yu. But even so, it was known that Yu later treated that family very coldly.
The old lady occasionally made remarks, but Yu always refuted them with convincing arguments. After that, the old lady didn't want to care anymore.
"Mother, I know. I will make sure to invite people over during the New Year." Luo smiled knowingly and looked at Qu Moying who was sitting on the side. She couldn't help but sigh in her heart, who would have thought that this little girl who was driven out would turn out to be the most blessed child.
Mrs. Luo and the old lady went on to talk about some details of the New Year, all of which were trivial matters regarding welcoming guests. Qu Moying listened carefully and knew that these were what the old lady and Mrs. Luo were telling her. Many of the details were also explained very clearly, with sufficient reasons, as they were afraid that she would not understand at the moment.
But in fact, she had no confusion about this at all.
In her previous life, when she was Ji Hanyue, she also learned some housekeeping affairs. It didn’t sound difficult and she even understood it at once. However, in order not to reveal any flaws, she deliberately asked a few more questions.
As they were talking, Wu Ma Ma walked in with a smile: "Madam, someone from the Ministry of Rites is here again!"
In the past few days, people from the Ministry of Rites came over from time to time to discuss some things on behalf of the groom's side, the Prince Ying's Palace and the Qu's Palace.
"What's the matter?" The lady asked in surprise, "Didn't we just discuss it this morning?"
"The official date has been announced, please take a look, Madam!" My nanny handed over a note in her hand.
Qu Moying glanced at it, but didn't see it clearly, but she knew there was a simple date on it. Her face turned red involuntarily and she lowered her head quickly.
His fingers pulled at one end of the scarf, pulling it occasionally.
"The date... is so tight?" Luo came over to take a look and her eyes widened in shock. Although it might be after spring, the date was too fast. It was completely different from what Luo had imagined. "Didn't they say that the marriage of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will be followed by the marriage of His Royal Highness the King of England? This..."
"Madam, the Crown Prince's marriage has been arranged just two days ago. This is the third day after his marriage." My nanny said with a smile.
"Shouldn't the Crown Prince's wedding ceremony last for about a year?" Luo was shocked. This was also to give respect to the Crown Princess. Even a commoner wedding would take several months. How could a royal marriage, especially the Crown Prince's wedding, be so simple
"I heard that this is because... the prince is remarrying this time." The lady had heard this reason before and said.
“But even if it’s a remarriage, this is too…” Luo didn’t know what words to use. She just felt that this Lady Jingyu was extremely embarrassed. Even if everyone knew that the prince was remarrying, so what? The prince would still give her the proper respect. There was no way he would get married in such a hurry.
Luo then thought of Qu Moying, whose marriage was also hastily arranged. She couldn't help but frown, "Mother, will others also think that our Ying girl is not decent enough to marry into the Prince of Ying's mansion in such a hurry?"
"No, the auspicious day for our two families is a win-win for both sides. The blessing of the King of England and the health of Ying girl both require them to get married early, which is considered a kind of good fortune. Being anxious does not mean losing face. Besides, His Royal Highness the King of England has given a very generous betrothal gift, too generous!"
The lady said.