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Back at the entrance of the Qin Mansion, Qin Sheng was the first to jump off the carriage. “Elder brother, you go back, I will go horseback riding in the outskirts of the city!” With that, he briskly headed towards the stables.
“Go ahead.”
Qin Sanlang rubbed his nose. Qin Sheng was obviously angry and didn’t want to talk to him.
Before long, they saw Qin Sheng riding out on a handsome white horse. After greeting them from horseback, he galloped away.
Qin Heng watched his younger brother’s agile riding posture and knew that he was holding back his anger, taking a ride in the outskirts of the city to cool off.
“I’m going to see mother, care to join?” Qin Heng asked Qin Sanlang.
Qin Sanlang thought for a moment. Elder brother must be going to talk to mother about the matter with the Lu family. His wife must also be with mother at the moment. So he stepped forward and hooked his elder brother’s shoulder, “Let’s go together, it’s a good time to have a meal with mother.”
So the brothers went to Old Madam Qin’s Qingfeng Courtyard together.
As soon as the two brothers sat down and had a sip of water to moisten their throats, they saw their mother and the pregnant Nie Yunniang being supported by maidservants as they came out of the bedroom, one in front and one behind, and then helped them sit down.
Their mother’s face was pale, with a sickly look, but her voice was still strong, “How did the Lu Family respond?”
Seeing the concerned look in his mother’s eyes, Qin Heng knew she was very worried about the matter, so he recounted the entire process of his meeting with the Lu Family in detail.
After he finished speaking, Old Madam Qin nodded, “So, it seems that the Lu Family is still reasonable and did not solely blame Ah Sheng for the matter.”
Nie Yunniang, on the side, pursed her lips and said, “Isn’t this the normal reaction that a normal family should have?”
“You can’t say that. Ah Sheng also bears responsibility for the awkward situation we are in now,” Old Madam Qin sighed. In fact, this matter is not a big deal. As long as the unmarried man and woman don’t mind, it’s fine. They are a family of warriors, accustomed to life and death, and they really don’t care about such things.
At first, when the incident happened, Ah Sheng came home and said that they didn’t mind at all, they didn’t even take it to heart. It wasn’t until early this morning when the Zhao family came to their door to break off the engagement that they realized the seriousness of the situation.
Although they kept saying they didn’t mind, the Zhao family’s intention to break off the engagement was firm. There was no way around it, so they agreed to the break-up. After all, marriage is about joining families, not creating feuds. If the other party is unwilling, forcing them to be together won’t lead to happiness.
The Zhao family’s actions chilled their hearts. Speaking of which, the Lu Family’s reputation in Chang’an wasn’t good, but unexpectedly, they were quite easy to deal with.
“This is what they call rumors being unreliable. Take the Zhao family for example, their reputation is two streets ahead of the Lu Family’s, right? But look at what they’ve done!” Nie Yunniang was really disgusted with the Zhao family. Today, they saw through the Zhao family’s insistence on breaking off the engagement. The incident of falling into the water was just an excuse. The Zhao family must have set their sights on the eldest son of the Xie family and wanted to use the incident of falling into the water to pin it on them.
Old Madam Qin and Qin Heng, mother and son, both remained silent, tacitly agreeing to her assessment.
Nie Yunniang hesitated for a moment before asking, “Mother, elder brother, husband, are we really going to let Ah Sheng marry the second Miss Lu?”
Old Madam Qin said, “This is a twist of fate, Ah Sheng also bears responsibility, and we have to take the responsibility, we can’t pretend nothing happened.”
“But, the Lu Family’s reputation is not good.” Nie Yunniang hesitated before saying.
It’s not just not good, the Lu Family, from top to bottom, all the official wives in Chang’an city, when they mention this family, no one doesn’t shake their head. Lu Desheng has been called a villain behind his back countless times.
Only Lu Songli, the second Miss Lu, is the only one in their family who has received a positive evaluation from everyone. She is timid and quiet, not in the same league as the Lu Family. It’s like a bad bamboo producing a good shoot.
Timid and quiet? Qin Heng recalled the scene where the second Miss Lu glared at his younger brother, those lively eyes, and he felt that the rumors were unreliable.
The unspoken words in Nie Yunniang’s tone were understood by the three present. Their Qin family had been loyal for generations, guarding the borders for a hundred years, protecting the territory of Da Li, and taking the well-being of all living beings as their responsibility, deeply loved by the people. The good reputation of the Qin family was earned with the blood and lives of countless Qin family men, and every time there was a battle, countless men died in battle.
If they really married into the Lu Family, the reputation of the Qin family might be affected.
Qin Heng explained, “Although Lu Desheng has a very bad reputation in the official circles, he has indeed not harmed the people. He impeached officials, and things in the official circles are hard to say.” Who knows what the situation is like. He investigated and found it strange that Lu Desheng’s reputation among the common people was mixed, not entirely negative. He later understood that among the officials Lu Desheng had brought down, there were always some corrupt officials, and every time this happened, there would be victims who would applaud his actions in their hearts. These people naturally couldn’t hate Lu Desheng, but faced with the constant barrage of criticism against him, they dared not speak up.
Qin Sanlang also chimed in with a smile, “Yunniang, don’t look at those officials pointing fingers and scolding Lu Desheng, they might be secretly envious of him.”
Hearing her elder brother-in-law and her husband say this, Nie Yunniang felt relieved, and then asked another question that had been bothering her, “Mother, I find it very strange. The marriage between the Xie and Lu families is still ongoing, how can the Zhao family be so sure that the Xie family will marry Zhao Yutan? If the Lu Family doesn’t agree to break off the engagement, wouldn’t Zhao Yutan have to become a concubine?”
Old Madam Qin said calmly, “That’s their choice. The marriage between the Xie and Lu families isn’t that easy to break off, at least the initiative isn’t in the Xie family’s hands.”
Nie Yunniang looked curious.
Old Madam Qin explained softly, “Your family is from Luoyang, and you married into the family late. When you were young, the daughter of the Lu Family saved the eldest son of the Xie family, and this marriage was arranged by the late Old Master Xie.”
“I see.” Nie Yunniang realized.
“Forget it, don’t mention the Zhao family anymore, they’re irrelevant to us from now on.” Old Madam Qin turned to Qin Heng and asked, “In your opinion, is there any chance that the Lu Family will agree to marry their youngest daughter to Ah Sheng?”
Qin Heng pondered for a moment before saying, “This… it’s hard to say.”
Old Madam Qin sighed, “I’ve seen the eldest son of the Xie family. Ah Sheng is indeed not as good as him. With such a jewel in front of them, it’s normal for the Lu Family to look down on Ah Sheng.”
“Mother, you can’t say that, they each have their own good points.” Qin Heng’s words weren’t just words of comfort, he genuinely thought his younger brother Ah Sheng was very good.
Qin Sanlang suddenly remembered the conversation of those old women earlier, and immediately agreed with a smile, “Mother, elder brother is right, Xie Zhan has his strengths, and our Ah Sheng is not bad either.”
Old Madam Qin said, “I just hope the Lu Family will agree to marry their youngest daughter to him. When you get back, you should manage Ah Sheng and teach him how to cherish his wife.”
Qin Heng couldn’t help but laugh, “Mother, it’s not appropriate for me to do this, why not leave it to the third brother?” Besides, why did his mother like the second Miss Lu so much? Their fates haven’t been decided yet, and she’s already making arrangements.
Old Madam Qin waved her hand, “I don’t care about that, you two brothers are responsible for teaching Ah Sheng well.”
“Mother, I’m going to be jealous if you do this. Your sixth daughter-in-law hasn’t even come in yet, and you’re already protecting her?” Nie Yunniang feigned anger.
“Hehe, don’t worry, I protect all of you, my daughters-in-law.”
“It seems like you really like this second Miss Lu?” Nie Yunniang was a little puzzled. In theory, her mother-in-law shouldn’t have met this second Miss Lu very much, how could she like her so much?
Old Madam Qin smiled without speaking, not denying it. Could she say that she was just following her heart? The Zhao family insisted on breaking off the engagement, and she felt regret, but it wasn’t strong, and she could even say that she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Zhao Yutan was said to be proficient in all the arts, and her temperament was gentle and calm. It should have been more than enough for their sixth son. But for some reason, as the wedding date got closer, her heart became more and more anxious. She thought, perhaps she and the sixth son weren’t suitable after all. Later, when the match was changed to the youngest daughter of the Lu Family, her heart inexplicably calmed down, and she even had a good dream during her midday nap.