"What's going on?" #阝Zhenzhu became nervous, no longer as carefree as before, and her heart grew colder by the second.
Miss Yu did not dare to hesitate, and quickly repeated everything the Xu family said after Hong Fang'er left. Finally, looking at #阝 Pearl's face, she said carefully: "I was in a hurry to tell you, and I didn't have time to listen to what they said later. But based on what I heard before, it seems that the Marquis's Mansion and the Xu family have even set the date for the wedding."
"What nonsense!" Zhenzhu suddenly shouted, her face pale and her eyes fierce, "How come I haven't heard of it? Such a big thing..." As she spoke, she became unconfident. The Marquis's Mansion and the Xu family have always been low-key in the capital. If they are really engaged, then both parties are second marriages, so it is reasonable not to publicize it. Besides, she is just a girl in the boudoir, and her family may have deliberately concealed it from her.
In panic, #阝Zhenzhu felt like she had fallen into an ice hole and could not see the way out. Suddenly she remembered that a few days ago she had shyly asked Sima Hong out and gave him a purse she had embroidered herself. He was so polite to her, standing there tall and mighty, and his smile was so handsome and charming.
Her friends all knew that she liked Sima Hong and was going to marry him. Now, he was suddenly getting married, and the person he was going to marry was not her. How could she have the face to appear in front of others? A few days ago, she even pretended to give money to Xu Mingyu. Now, thinking about it, Xu Mingyu at that time must have laughed at her in her heart, laughing at her for being a shameless fool! And this Miss Yu, who seemed to be kind enough to tell her the news, was actually laughing at her! Lord Anxi would rather have Xu Mingyu than her, the daughter of the Duke's Mansion whose appearance and family background were one in a million!
"Who asked you to come? Who asked you to come!" Deng Zhenzhu became hysterical out of shame and anger. She overturned the small table in front of her with one hand, breaking the teacups on the table into pieces and splashing tea all over the two of them.
The servants rushed in and started to comfort each other and clean the place.
Miss Yu's skirt was stained with brown tea and tea leaves. She was so angry that her face was shaking, but she didn't dare to lose her temper in front of Deng Zhenzhu.
Deng Zhenzhu was so ashamed and angry that she pointed at Miss Yu and shouted, "Get out of here! Get out of here! Don't show up in front of me again!"
The one hugging Pearl was her wet nurse. She looked at Miss Yu apologetically, but her eyes clearly showed the intention of chasing her away.
Miss Yu also became angry. She came over with good intentions to tell tales, but was not only scolded by the unruly daughter, but also had tea poured all over her. She didn't even say goodbye and just got up and left.
"No wonder Lord Anxi doesn't want you!" Miss Yu muttered angrily after leaving the gate of Duke Deng's mansion, "She is simply a crazy woman!"
#In the mansion of Duke Deng, after hearing the servant's report, Lady Deng, who had hurried over, saw her daughter having a hysterical attack. She quickly dismissed the servant and told no one to tell anyone about what happened today, otherwise she would beat them to death.
Deng Zhenzhu was tired of flipping the table and throwing things. She sat on the bed, covering her face and crying. How could she face people? Why did Sima Hong want to marry Xu Mingyu again? How could Xu Mingyu compare to her? Why didn't Sima Hong like her? Since the Anxi Marquis's Mansion had no interest, why did they bring up this marriage with her family so early? They were just teasing her!
"What kind of behavior is this?" The wife of Duke Guo was also angry when she saw her daughter smashing pots and bowls. She didn't behave like a reserved and elegant young lady at all. All the careful teaching she had done was in vain.
＃阝Zhenzhu was so angry that she had no place to vent her shame and annoyance. Seeing her own mother coming over, she only scolded her without any comfort, which made her even more ashamed and angry. She cried and yelled, "You can scold me to death! You can scold me to death! Anyway, I have no face to live anymore, and I will be happy for you if I die!"
"You are full of nonsense!" The wife of Duke Guo was furious and pulled down Deng Zhenzhu's hand that was covering her face. "It's just that the Marquis of Anxi is engaged and you are acting like a madman here! If it gets out, people will think you have some shameful affair with him! You will be too ashamed to live then! I will be too ashamed to see people either. It would be better for us to die together, just as your father's concubines wish!"
＃阝Zhenzhu cried even louder, her fair face turned red and tears flowed down like water. She was born in a noble family and raised by her parents. She had a smooth life since she was a child, but she lost to a woman she looked down on. She couldn't stop feeling ashamed and angry. She thought that the Sima Marquis whom she had admired for a long time didn't like her. How could she feel
"It's all Sima Hong's fault!" #阝 Pearl cried, "If he didn't intend to marry me, why did he let my mother come to our house? Mother, please ask Dad to report him to the emperor, strip him of his title of marquis, and teach him a lesson!"
#The wife of Duke Guo sighed, sat down next to her daughter, and said, "When the wife of the Marquis came to our house, did she mention the marriage with our family? From the beginning to the end, there was no mention of marriage between the two families. There are some things that everyone knows in their hearts and understands each other, but they cannot say it openly, otherwise if the matter gets out, the marriage will not be successful, and the reputation of both families will be damaged. Now, his family wants to marry the Xu family, and our family is reporting him. What crime can we use to report him? Report him for breaking off the engagement? Do you still want to keep your reputation?"
The world is tolerant of men, but harsh on women. If the Deng family participated in Sima Hong's broken engagement, then #阝 Pearl would be an unmarried woman whose engagement was broken off, and her reputation would be damaged. With the Deng family's family background, Deng Pearl would have to marry a family of equal status. Who would be willing to marry a woman whose engagement was broken off? Even if it was Mrs. Deng's own son, no matter how good the woman's family background was, she would not be willing to hire such a woman as a daughter-in-law.
Mrs. Deng understood this point. Didn't she want to vent her anger for her daughter? How could her daughter not be as good as Xu Mingyu? What was so good about Xu Mingyu that made Lord Sima give up the Duke's daughter to marry her? But there was no matchmaker and no evidence. How could she take revenge on Sima Hong? Besides, Sima Hong was now valued by the emperor. Compared with the country, this was just a trivial matter. The emperor would not punish Sima Hong for such a shameless matter.
A few days ago, the wife of Sima Houfu sent a box of valuable gifts in the middle of the night, but there was no further comment. She knew that the marriage was not going to happen. If she wanted to send the betrothal gift, she should have sent it openly in the daytime with gongs and drums. Sending the gift in the middle of the night without anyone noticing was clearly a secret apology. The two families went their separate ways. However, seeing that her daughter was obsessed with Sima Hong, she couldn't bear to tell her daughter, so she kept it a secret until today, when she could no longer keep it a secret.
"So they're getting away with it?" Deng Zhenzhu felt incredible. She had suffered such a great injustice, but they just let it go like this? In her mind, at least she had to make Xu Mingyu lose face to be a human being to vent her anger.
Madam 阝 coaxed her patiently, "I know you feel wronged. The Sima Marquis's family is not a good person. They said a lot of things before. Are they trying to make fun of us? But now is not the right time. If someone talks about it, it will damage your reputation. After a while, father and mother will find a good opportunity to help you vent your anger. Don't worry, we won't let you suffer in vain."
#阝Zhenzhu became impatient, "When is after a while? Should I wait? Besides... they all know..." #阝Zhenzhu started to sob again. All her close friends knew that she admired Sima Hong and wanted to marry him. What reputation did she still have to maintain
Madam 阝 sighed. She had originally wanted to wait until her daughter got married and had a good marriage without any worries before discussing this matter. Anyway, the Xu family was in the capital and they could not run away. As the saying goes, it is never too late for a gentleman to take revenge. Besides, the Fu family was the Xu family's in-laws. Fu Guang, Fu Xi and Xu Mingye, who was the Cheng'an Sheren, were not easy to deal with. They had to make careful plans.
"Who told you to tell them?" Madam #阝 was furious. "You are an unmarried girl, how can you decide on your marriage? Even if someone else mentioned it, you would be so ashamed! How dare you tell others this? I have spoiled you so much that you don't have the sense of shame of a girl!"
After scolding, Madam #阝 felt helpless again. The matter had already been told, and there was no point scolding her daughter to death. She could only think of ways to make amends. She carefully asked her daughter who she had told. When she found out that most of these people were girls from families with whom she had close relationships, she felt relieved. However, she had to spend a whole day visiting them one by one, and hinting to these people in both open and covert ways not to gossip. If something unpleasant got out, don't blame the Duke's Mansion for turning against them.
It was not until nightfall that the servant who served Zhenzhu came to report to Mrs. Deng that the young lady had not eaten or drunk anything all day and refused to eat.
# Madam 阝 had just returned from outside, dragging her exhausted body. When she heard that her daughter was still so disappointing, she was so angry that she raised her hand and scolded, "If you don't want to eat, then don't eat. You will eat naturally when you are hungry! Who are you forcing to die?"
＃阝Zhenzhu dismissed the servants and did not light the lights in the dark room. She sat alone in the bedroom, staring blankly at the stars outside the window. She was not convinced. She could not figure it out. Why was she inferior to Xu Mingyu? How many famous young men in the capital lined up to marry her? Why did Sima Hong not want to
What was so good about Xu Mingyu? She was just pretty, not the most beautiful, and her father was not a high-ranking official, so she could not help Sima Hong rise to prominence. But how could she make Sima Hong care about her and like her
In the darkness, #阝Zhenzhu even saw the frowning and sneering look of Xu Mingyu when he refused her bill of exchange in the teahouse that day. #阝Zhenzhu's heart was filled with anger. She stretched out her hand and grabbed the air, as if she was grabbing Xu Mingyu's face, holding it so tightly that she wanted to crush it.