Mingyu was silent for a long time, then leaned on Madam Xu's arm and whispered, "Mom, I know everything you said. Even if I have never been married, I can't marry Master Lu. I think this matter... let's just forget it."
Mrs. Xu had never expected her daughter to react like this. She was shocked for a long time and didn't know what to say. After thinking about it, she thought that maybe she was too shocked in the Anxi Marquis's Mansion and was afraid of these wealthy families. If it was an ordinary family who came to propose marriage and Mingyu didn't want to, she would never force it. It's just that Lu Hao's conditions are too good. If Mingyu marries him, she and Xu Changqian will be relieved. They really can't bear to refuse.
"Mother said before that marriage is up to you, and it's still the same now." Madam Xu slowly stroked the back of her daughter's hand and said kindly, "It's just that Lord Lu is really a rare man. He has feelings for you, and your father and I have seen it. If he didn't have that heart, why would he marry you as his legal wife given his status? You are not young anymore, and Lord Lu is not in a hurry to get our approval. You... think about it carefully."
Not long after Madam Xu left, Xu Mingye came in and told Lixiang to leave. He sat down in his sister's room and asked, "What do you think?"
"What idea?" Mingyu rolled her eyes.
Xu Mingye snorted and waved his hand, saying, "Don't be petty with me now. Lu Hao has come to propose marriage, and I see that my parents are very happy. This marriage will probably be successful."
"What's the deal?" Mingyu said anxiously, "I haven't even nodded yet, how can it be a deal?"
Xu Mingye looked at the anxious girl and suddenly laughed, "You don't want to, right? Are you still thinking about that Ba Tianbao?"
"No." Mingyu denied it outright. She was just waiting with a hope that she couldn't tell anyone. She waited until the Mid-Autumn Festival to see if that person could give her a satisfactory explanation. If not, they would never see each other again in this life.
Xu Mingye sighed. He roughly understood his sister's attitude towards this marriage. He watched his sister grow up little by little, from a wrinkled little skinny monkey when she was just born to a slender and beautiful young lady now. They lived together day and night, and she was closer to him than his parents were to Mingyu.
If Mingyu had feelings for Lu Hao, she wouldn't have hidden herself away whenever Lu Hao came home the first few times.
"If you don't want to, then don't. There's nothing to worry about." Xu Mingye smiled, rubbed Mingyu's head like he did when they were little, and said, "Brother will find you a better one." Before leaving, Xu Mingye seemed to remember something and turned back to add, "Don't worry about anyone else, don't worry about that Ba Tianbao, it's hard to change a person's nature!"
Mingyu couldn't help but frown.
After dinner, Old Mrs. Xu, supported by Xu Changgong and Xu Changliang, entered the main house for the first time. This was the first time since the family split up.
At this point, Old Lady Xu no longer cared about the grievances she had with her stepson Xu Changqian over the years. As soon as she sat down, she asked anxiously, "Why did Lord Lu come here today?" Without waiting for Xu Changqian to answer, she hurriedly said, "You went to the temple to worship your sister, and he came to me first. I heard that he wanted to marry our Mingyu?"
Mrs. Xu secretly hated that this old woman had the nerve to say "our Mingyu". When Mingyu divorced, she kept saying that Mingyu had brought shame to the Xu family and wished that Mingyu would disappear from the world, fearing that Mingyu would affect the marriage of her precious granddaughter. Now that Lord Lu came to propose marriage, she became our Mingyu again, and she was so embarrassed! Seeing that Mrs. Hu didn't come, she must have just had a fight and was too embarrassed to come.
Xu Changqian was silent for a moment, unsure whether he should tell the story or not. If he told the story, the matter had not yet been decided, and Lord Lu had only mentioned it in person. There was no matchmaker or engagement, so it could not be counted. If the news got out, Lu Hao would regret it and refuse to admit it, and people in the capital would laugh at the Xu family's divorced daughter who was so eager to get married that she had set her sights on Lord Lu. If he didn't tell the story, the old woman seemed to know everything, and she looked like she would not give up until she heard a definite answer.
"Lord Lu is a second-rank official. For a family like us... it's too high for us to marry into." Madam Xu said with a smile.
Mrs. Xu's smile was particularly dazzling to Xu Changgong, as if she was lamenting, "Oh my god, who made my daughter so outstanding and so popular that even Lord Lu fell in love with her and proposed to her? Haha, there's nothing I can do. I'm so worried!"
Old Madam Xu relaxed her brows. Madam Xu did not deny what she said, which meant it was true. She heaved a sigh of relief, leaned back in her chair, and said with a smile, "That's all right." She suddenly clapped her hands and said with a smile, "It's getting late. We have to hurry up and prepare Mingyu's dowry."
"Old lady!" Xu Changqian, who had been silent, raised his voice and said, "Please don't spread the news before this matter is finalized."
He understood the old lady's character well. As long as something was beneficial to her, she would like the whole world to know about it.
Xu Changgong laughed, his tone a little sarcastic, "Brother, what are you talking about? This is a good thing, why are you hiding it?"
"What do you mean it's not settled yet?" The old lady was unhappy. "It's clear that Master Lu has this intention and has only sent a matchmaker to the house."
Xu Changqian naturally had no way of telling Old Madam Xu that his precious daughter hadn't nodded yet, so he could only vaguely say, "Lord Lu is a favorite of the Emperor, and he is always down-to-earth and low-key. If our family makes a big fuss first, and everyone knows about it, he will be unhappy."
Old Madam Xu nodded when she heard this. She was so happy that she neglected this and said with a smile, "That's fine. We know this. Although it's just a concubine, it's worth it for Mingyu to marry a talented person like Lord Lu."
"Take a concubine? Who said take a concubine?" Madam Xu's face was a little ugly. She knew that these weasels could not say anything good. In their eyes, Mingyu was only worthy of being Lu Hao's concubine? With a sneer, Madam Xu glanced at Old Lady Xu and Xu Changgong, and said lightly: "I can't bear to let my daughter be someone's concubine."
She is not like the couple in the second house who are crazy about money and power.
"Could it be that... Lord Lu wants to marry Mingyu as his principal wife?" Old Mrs. Xu stood up from her chair in shock, and the second and third sons of the Xu family next to her were also stunned on the spot.
Originally, they thought that since Lord Lu had a high status and Mingyu had been divorced, it would be a great blessing for her to enter as a concubine. However, they never expected that Lu Hao came to ask to be his principal wife.
"Is the old lady confused?" Madam Xu said unceremoniously, "Master Lu hasn't married yet, how can he take a concubine?"
Although according to ancient rules, one cannot take concubines before marrying a wife, this is to ensure that the eldest son is born of the legitimate wife and to protect the reputation of the wife and her family. However, rules are dead, but people are alive. Many wealthy families take concubines before marrying a wife.
Because of the excitement and surprise, Old Lady Xu did not mind Mrs. Xu's impolite attitude. At this moment, she looked at Mrs. Xu as if she was looking at a bodhisattva. She gave birth to a good daughter! In this way, the Xu family is Lu Hao's proper mother-in-law's family! Her children and grandchildren will all have a bright future, and her granddaughters will all marry into good families.
"Good! Good! Good!" The old lady excitedly said three good words in a row, rubbing her hands and smiling at Xu Changqian and his wife, "We must prepare Mingyu's dowry well. Although our family is a small family, we can't let Mingyu down. I still have some good things in my bottom of the box, and I will keep them all for Mingyu!"
After that, Old Lady Xu hurriedly urged Xu Changgong and Xu Changliang to help her go back, and they had to pack Mingyu's dowry in the middle of the night, as if Mingyu would get into the bridal sedan the next day. Before leaving, Old Lady Xu held Madam Xu's hand, her wrinkled face smiling like a chrysanthemum, kind and loving, and nagging: "Old eldest daughter-in-law, you don't know, Mingyu, that girl, I like her so much at first sight, her little appearance makes people feel pity in their hearts! Among these granddaughters, Mingyu is the one that suits my eyes! I see Mingyu, she looks a lot like me when I was young..."
Mrs. Xu was so disgusted by Old Lady Xu that she got goose bumps all over her body. No matter who Mingyu looks like, she will never look like this shameless old woman!
After leaving the main room, Mrs. Xu finally calmed down and walked back with the help of her two sons. The three of them looked at each other in silence. Xu Changliang held a lantern in one hand to illuminate and supported Mrs. Xu with the other. Looking at the second son who looked entangled in the lawsuit, he deliberately said, "Second brother, why do you look unhappy? This is a happy event!"
Xu Changgong smiled awkwardly, "What are you talking about, third brother? How could I be unhappy!" Of course he was unhappy, and he was very unhappy. Lu Hao didn't like his daughter. Poor him, he was still dreaming of becoming Lu Hao's father-in-law the day before!
"Be quiet!" Mrs. Xu shouted. She glared at Xu Changliang, her youngest son who always twisted his elbows. She then warned Xu Changgong, "Remember this. If you have any dissatisfaction, you must keep it to yourself! Take care of your stupid wife and don't make the eldest brother's family unhappy again. You will have to depend on him for your livelihood in the future!"
With another long sigh, Mrs. Xu looked up at the sky full of stars, feeling infinitely lonely, regretful, and sad, "This Lord Lu is good in every way, except that his eyesight is not good..."
However, she soon regained her confidence. "Thirty years in the east, thirty years in the west. It's impossible that all good things are taken by their family! From now on, you two should take good care of those three brats. I don't believe that there will be a time when the eldest wife will bow her head and beg us!"
The next morning, Mingyu had just woken up in a daze when she heard a chaotic conversation at the door. She got up and saw that Dingxiang, who was in front of Old Madam Xu, had brought a few young girls into the yard and was smiling at Madam Xu, "Madam, these are the maids that the old lady picked out for the second young lady overnight."
Mingyu glanced at the row of girls behind Dingxiang. They were all charming and seductive, and each one was as good as Zhuxiang back then.