Qin was restless the whole day. She was in the Marquis' Mansion, but her heart followed her son to the General's Mansion. She was worried that her son would be bullied there, and then she was worried that Sheng Qingluan would not agree.
She had been looking forward to it since the afternoon, and sent people to check at the door again and again. It was almost dusk when she finally saw her son come back. However, she did not expect that his face was so miserable that even she, his own mother, almost did not recognize him.
Qin's breath was stuck in her throat. Before she could get angry, she was furious about Sheng Qingluan's list.
The list was written on the most expensive Huanhua paper in the capital, the ink was Yingxiang ink, and the font was Sheng Qingluan's most proficient hairpin small regular script. The combination of the three should have been pleasing to the eye, but the content presented made Qin's blood run counter to normal.
"What is this, what is this..." She slammed the table and roared, "I just asked her for one favor, but she actually proposed ten conditions in one breath. Did she know that I would have to agree, so she asked for such a high price? It's really abominable!"
Zhao Jingping, Xie Nanjia and Luliu were all there, and the three of them watched her get angry in silence.
Madam Cao hadn't seen the contents of the list, so she couldn't understand her anger. She advised her gently, "Madam, please calm down. It's not easy for Madam Xie to give in. What's most important to us now is to marry Miss Wanru as soon as possible, so just agree to whatever you can agree to!"
Qin slammed the paper into her hand in anger and said, "You should first see what conditions she proposes!"
Nanny Cao didn’t know many words, so she waved Yunyan over and asked her to read to her.
Yun Yan took the paper and read in a low voice: "First, the position of the Crown Prince shall be inherited by the son born to Xie Nanjia, and it will never be changed.
Second, the son of a second wife has no right to inherit the family property.
Third, the son of a second wife is not allowed to pursue a career in officialdom.
Fourth, the second wife is not allowed to wear bright red and live in the main courtyard.
Fifth, the second wife must face the tablet of the original wife every morning and evening.
Sixth, the second wife is never allowed to set foot in Sijin Courtyard.
Seventh, the second wife has no right to manage the accounts of Sijinyuan.
Eighth, all decisions made by the Marquis’ Mansion regarding the young master must be approved by the General’s Mansion.
Ninth, the wedding expenses must not exceed one tenth of the original Crown Prince’s wife’s wedding expenses.
Tenth, the betrothal gift to the second wife shall not be taken from the public purse of the marquis’s mansion.
If any of the above ten points cannot be fulfilled, the General's Office will bring Zhao Jingping, the son of Dingyuan Marquis, to court for violating the laws of the Great Zhou."
Yun Yan finished reading it in one breath and was completely dumbfounded. Madam Cao opened her mouth wide and couldn't utter a word.
Qin was already angry enough, and after hearing Yun Yan read out the terms one by one, she became even more furious and trembled all over: "Listen, listen to all of them, what kind of conditions are these? They are even more humiliating than the terms of losing a country ceding land and paying for a city. Let alone ten terms, I won't agree to even one. I won't agree, I will never agree!"
Madam Cao had the same idea as the Madam. Wasn't it obvious that such harsh conditions were humiliating? Sheng Qingluan and the Madam were once close friends and she knew the Madam very well. She had figured out the Madam's weak spot and was trying every possible way to make things difficult for her!
But who can be blamed for this? This sinful debt was planted from the root and it has always been an unsolvable knot. And then there is a prince who is always affectionate and a cousin who is stubborn. They insist on doing such a shameful thing before the mourning period is over, forcing the lady into this dilemma.
Then again, doesn't the Madam have any responsibility herself? She was originally a marquis's wife with unlimited glory and supreme honor. If she hadn't been so obsessed and resentful, and if she hadn't doted on her children excessively, she wouldn't have fallen to the point where she is controlled by Sheng Qingluan.
Oh! How this matter will end, it really makes people worried!
Cao Madam thought so, but Qin Shi didn't think so. She didn't think she did anything wrong at all. Instead, she gritted her teeth and hated the old lady: "If it weren't for that damn old woman who insisted on arranging a marriage for Ping'er, Wanru wouldn't have lost her composure and resorted to such a desperate measure. By the way, who was the gossiper who leaked the news to Wanru? If I knew, I would tear her mouth off!"
At this time, she still had the time to worry about who leaked the news. Madam Cao was really helpless and patiently advised: "The old lady arranged a marriage for the prince and asked a matchmaker to come to the house. It is inevitable that the news leaked out. It may not be someone's deliberate act. Madam, don't worry about it. What matters now is the conditions of the general's wife..."
"Is this her condition? She is being unreasonable!" Qin interrupted her angrily, "I will not firmly agree to it."
Xie Nanjia and Luliu looked at each other, feeling quite regretful that their mother couldn't see Qin's frustrated look. If their mother could see it, it would be so relieved.
"And you two!" Qin suddenly pointed the finger at them again, complaining, "I asked you to go to the General's Mansion to plead for mercy, but you not only made things turn out like this, but also caused the prince to get beaten. If I had known earlier, I would have gone by myself. I wonder if Sheng Qingluan dares to mention these nonsense in front of me!"
Xie Nanjia couldn't stand it anymore when she mentioned her mother, and she replied bluntly, "Madam, don't be too confident. It's a good thing we went. If you went, the general's wife might not even let you in!"
"You..." Qin was so angry that her head hurt, "Which side are you from?"
"Of course I am on Madam's side, but Madam, you shouldn't say that about us." Xie Nanjia said, "I know Madam is angry and can't stand any words that contradict you, but I still have to say one thing. Madam is heartbroken when the Crown Prince is beaten. Isn't it a thousand times or ten thousand times more heartbroken than Madam when the General's wife lost her beloved daughter? If the experience of the Crown Prince's wife happened to the eldest daughter, and the son-in-law mourned for less than half a year and ran to your house to discuss with you that he wants to marry a new wife, and the new wife is already pregnant, how would you feel, Madam?"
"You're such a rebel! What nonsense are you saying? How dare you curse the young lady!" Qin grabbed the teacup and threw it at her, her face turning the color of liver with anger.
Xie Nanjia dodged and said calmly, "Madam, look, I just said a hypothesis, and you can't stand it. I'm sure you can empathize with the general's wife, right?"
“…” Qin was speechless.
Xie Nanjia continued slowly, "Madam, at this point, in my opinion, you still have to agree to these conditions first, because my cousin's belly really can't be delayed for another day. The general's wife can allow the prince to hold a grand wedding during the mourning period, which is already the biggest concession she can make. If you don't agree to her, she will really report it to the officials or even to the emperor. At that time, my cousin will be one of the defendants, and she will go to court and the Golden Palace with a big belly. Just imagine the scene, how can she still live in this world with dignity?"
Qin slumped down in the chair, as if she had aged a dozen years in an instant.
"You all go down, let me think about it carefully." She said with a sigh.
…
After leaving Yixin Courtyard, Lvliu heaved a long sigh of relief and asked Xie Nanjia, "How dare you compare the young lady to me? My heart almost jumped out of my throat. I was afraid that the lady would beat you to death in a rage!"
Xie Nanjia smiled indifferently: "She is busy taking care of herself, so how can she care about me? Even though my words are harsh, which one of them is not for her sake?"
"For her sake?" Lvliu smiled, covering her mouth. "Come on, forget it. You almost made her vomit blood. She's been very angry about this recently, and her temper is getting worse day by day. If this continues, will it hurt her health?"
"That's exactly what we want," Xie Nanjia said. "The angrier she gets, the more likely she is to lose her mind, and the more flaws she'll have. If she loses her temper too much, people around her will distance themselves from her. Did you see that Yunyan and Yunying didn't try to persuade her today?"
After she said this, Lvliu remembered that in the past the two girls always vied with each other to show off their loyalty, but today they were like silent gourds and didn't say a word of comfort.
Even Madam Cao's words were not as pertinent as before. They were bland and seemed like they were just going through the motions.
The Qin family is gradually losing the support of the people!
Lvliu figured it out and looked at Xie Nanjia again, her admiration mixed with a bit of awe. This girl was indeed the one carefully selected by the general. She was so cruel and ruthless when scheming against people. For someone as smart as her, being an ally would bring many benefits, but being an enemy would be really terrible.
She felt scared just thinking about it, so she shook her head to stop thinking about it and asked Xie Nanjia: "Do you think the lady will agree to those conditions?"
"She will definitely make a decision before dinner tonight at the latest," said Xie Nanjia.
(End of this chapter)