Old Madam Xu's scolding was really harsh. Madam Xu and Xu Changqian were both annoyed. Just as they were about to speak, they heard Mingyu smilingly answering. She stared at Mrs. Hu who was fanning the flames and nodded, "Yes, I just feel wronged. I just think that Lord Lu is not worthy of me. He wanted to come to propose marriage but I didn't let him come. Do you have any other questions, old madam?"
Why can't she feel wronged? What's the good of marrying into the Lu family on her knees? She was born with a temperament that couldn't swallow humiliation. The year in Anxi Marquis's Mansion was hard enough for her. She didn't want to live like this for the rest of her life.
Old Madam Xu was heartbroken. She looked at Mingyu as if she was a psychopath with a problem in her brain. She pointed at Mingyu with shaking hands. "You... you are still feeling wronged? What do you have to feel wronged about? I think you are mentally ill and can't figure things out! Your parents spoiled you and ruined you! You got married to the Anxi Marquisate at the beginning. What a good family! The second young master inherited the title and became a marquis when he arrived in the capital, but you gave up a good, respectable marquisate and insisted on getting a divorce... You don't want to take the straight path, but the underworld. You are simply... you make me so angry! Now that we finally have Master Lu... and you... our Xu family has a girl like you. It's simply a misfortune for our family! What a sin!"
Hu listened to the furious scolding of Mrs. Xu, and felt that every word hit her heart. She hated that the Sima Marquis's Mansion and Lord Lu were fools without vision, and had to pick Mingyu, who was confused. Her own daughter Xu Mingrui was so good, but the two families didn't see her. Could this be what people usually say, that fools have good luck
Old Madam Xu wanted to continue to yell and curse, but no one in the Xu family's main house paid any attention to her. They looked at each other and went back to their own rooms, leaving only her and Hu's Xu Mingrui standing awkwardly in the yard. "You... you are really rebellious!" Old Madam Xu stomped the cane in her hand.
Mrs. Hu also felt ashamed, so she pulled Mrs. Xu aside and said, "Mom, let's go back. It's impossible to reason with this family."
Old Mrs. Xu got the chance to step down and nodded, "That's right. If your father-in-law knew about this in the afterlife, he would be so angry!" It's so infuriating that Xu Lin's most beloved eldest son is so unreliable.
On the way back, Old Lady Xu kept nagging and sighing to Mrs. Hu, "Alas, it's not that I, an old woman, despise the poor and love the rich, but what's wrong with Mr. Lu? When he came to propose marriage, I thought it was the good deeds of the Xu family's ancestors!"
"That's right." Hu quickly agreed.
Old Madam Xu wiped her face and lowered her voice, "I heard that even a doorman of a fourth-rank official can earn more than thirty taels of silver from visitors in a month!" At this point, Old Madam Xu's eyes lit up, her face full of energy, not looking old at all, she stretched out three fingers and shook them in front of Mrs. Hu, "Thirty taels! No matter how good a shop's business is, it can only earn ten or twenty taels a month! A doorman of a fourth-rank official can earn so much! Lord Lu is a second-rank official! Just the little that slips through the gaps between his fingers is enough for our family to eat and drink!"
Hu secretly cursed Old Lady Xu for being useless, always eyeing the little money the concierge made, and looking like a petty person. She laughed and said, "What does the concierge make? He doesn't care about it at all. I heard that there was a fourth-rank official who had a lucrative job and had good connections with his superiors and subordinates. Even the male relatives of his family were appointed as officials, and they were all lucrative jobs. Even his youngest son, who was only four years old, was appointed as an official and received a salary!"
It was the first time that Old Lady Xu heard about such a good thing, and her eyes widened. She originally thought that by marrying Lu Hao, she would be able to support her grandson when he grew up, which would be great, but she didn't expect that he could directly become an official and receive a salary. Her eyes were red with envy. However, when she thought about the fact that her marriage with Lord Lu was broken off and she could only think about this beautiful future in her heart, she felt heartbroken beyond words.
After Mrs. Xu left, the family came out to eat lunch. Looking at the closed door, Mrs. Xu snorted and said, "You have never done anything decent. It's weird for an elder to do this!"
Xu Changqian frowned, "The old lady's temper has never changed. Decades ago, she was always looking for benefits from this and that, always counting on charity from others. When Dad was still alive, the second and third sons were very motivated, but now they have been led astray by her!"
"Now that we know that Lord Lu is eager for it, it's time to calm down!" Mrs. Xu said with a sigh of relief. Although Mrs. Xu was a concubine, she was also Xu Changqian's mother. She couldn't beat her or scold her, and she couldn't get angry with her. She could only respect her, which made people feel uncomfortable.
Mingyu was happy. She glanced at Xu Mingye who was eating leisurely and said with a smile, "Mom, if they knew that my brother was going to be the son-in-law of a second-rank official, they would probably rush over again. Maybe they would even prepare a betrothal gift for my brother!"
The proud Xu Kongque glared at her and continued to eat slowly, feeling melancholy in his heart. He saw that Master Fu was eager to kill him. What if he didn't agree to the marriage proposal? Even if his reputation was not good, she was the daughter of a second-rank official. There must be many people willing to marry her home... Thinking of Fu Lemei's stubborn and proud expression in the court, with crystal tears in her eyes, if such a passionate and innocent girl married someone else, his heart would be tense and bitter.
In the following days, Xu Mingye took a leave from the government office, got up earlier than the chickens and slept later than the dogs. He went to the Fu Mansion to ask for marriage before dawn every day. In the first three days, he was beaten out of the door with a new feather duster by Fu Guang, attracting many passers-by to watch. It didn't take long for even the aunties selling vegetables in the alleys to know that there was a little Xu who went to ask for marriage every day and was beaten every day.
Mrs. Xu felt so sorry for her son but she said nothing. She only sighed after Xu Mingye left. She said that Lord Fu was getting more and more confused as he got older. How long would he continue to torture her son? If he delayed any further, his daughter's reputation would become even worse.
It was not until the new feather duster Fu Guang had overused and fell apart that he sat in the main hall on the fourth day with the feather duster in his hand and asked his eldest son Fu Lexin to bring Xu Mingye into the house. However, when he saw Xu Mingye's humble face, he got angry again. This time he did not hit him again, but just scolded Xu Mingye with a sour face. After he had vented his anger, he waved his hand at Xu Mingye and said unhappily: "If you want to propose marriage, ask your parents to do it. What's the point of a young boy like you coming forward to propose marriage for yourself!"
Xu Mingye suppressed his ecstasy and nodded respectfully. How could he dare to ask his parents to come? He was the younger generation, and it didn't matter how angry Fu Guang was or how much he beat him. But if Fu Guang got so angry that he lost his temper and beat Xu Changqian, then the two families would become enemies.
On the fifth day, Xu Changqian and Madam Xu put on their best clothes and brought Xu Mingye to the house in person. Although Madam Fu was not very enthusiastic and was reluctant to let go of her daughter, she gradually felt relieved when she saw that Madam Xu was very straightforward and generous, and her daughter often said in front of her that the ladies and daughters of the Xu family were good-natured and easy to get along with, and she felt that Xu Mingye was just of a low birth, but this boy was good-looking and motivated, and the best thing was that there was not even a maid in the room. She liked Xu Mingye more and more as a mother-in-law looked at her son-in-law.
Mrs. Xu took Mrs. Fu's hand and said sincerely and kindly that all the mistakes were the fault of her good-for-nothing son, and that it was Xu Mingye who was ignorant. They liked Fu Lemei very much, and she was a good girl that was hard to find among thousands of people.
Mrs. Fu felt relieved and proud after hearing this. She smiled reservedly, then suddenly remembered something. She gathered her hair and asked, "I heard that you had talked about a marriage for Mingye before. Is it a girl from the Zhou family?" Since her girl was so good, why didn't she come to propose marriage in the first place? Why did she have to come only after this happened
Mrs. Xu smiled and said naturally, "I'm not afraid of you laughing at me when I say this, but I have liked Le Mei from the beginning. But you know the situation in my family. No matter how much I like Le Mei, I also know that my evil son is not worthy of such a good girl like Le Mei, don't you think? Besides, after seeing Le Mei, no other girl can compare to her!" But she was laughing in her heart. Mrs. Fu was so affectionate calling Ming Ye all the time, but she still wanted to find fault with her!
Lord Fu and Xu Changqian also had a good chat. He was no longer angry and had been so arrogant for so long. If he continued to be so arrogant, his daughter would probably be so anxious that she would jump off the wall. The two families sat down to discuss the marriage. Rumors spread too quickly, so the marriage had to be done as soon as possible. The six rituals required for marriage were easy to handle, but after looking through the imperial calendar, both families were quite worried. The best day of the month was August 20, which was also the day when Fu Leqian, the second son of the Fu family, married Sima Lian, the eldest daughter of the Anxi Marquisate.
When she heard that she would have to wait until next month to marry her brother Xu, Fu Lemei said nothing on the surface, but immediately pouted and was unhappy. Fu Guang felt sorry for the girl, so he did not hesitate to set the date for his daughter's wedding to August 20. Mrs. Fu was a little reluctant. She had given birth to four sons before she got a girl. She treated her like a precious baby, so she naturally wanted to give her the best wedding with the best everything. However, since she had to marry the girl and marry her wife on that day, it was inevitable that she would neglect the girl.
"That's all, as long as the girl is happy." Fu Guang advised, "Besides, we can hold a banquet that day and collect two wedding gifts. It's a profit!"
Mrs. Fu rolled her eyes at her smiling husband, then glanced at her daughter who was eavesdropping outside the door with a red face, and sighed, "Alas, a girl should not be kept when she grows up. If she is kept, she will only become a worry. It is better to send her away as soon as possible!"
Xu Changqian and Madam Xu took Xu Mingye to the Fu family to propose marriage. Only Mingyu and Lixiang were left at home to look after the house. Mingyu took out the bird cage from the house, uncovered the black cloth covering the cage, and hung it under the eaves so that the starling could bask in the sun.
The starling stayed in the dark all night. When it first saw the sun, it jumped for joy a few times, opened its mouth and quacked twice, and was about to shout: "Mingyu likes..."
"Shut up!" Mingyu yelled at Bage'er ferociously, thinking of Deng Zhenzhu. What right did she have to talk to her as Mrs. Sima
The starling was unwilling to give in and wanted to bark again. Mingyu stared at it and smiled sinisterly: "If you bark again, I'll steam you!"