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“Father and mother, don’t dwell on unhappy things. We don’t care about the process, just the result. This arranged marriage can be said to be a twist of fate. We should focus more on the benefits. Maybe in the future, Empress Dowager, Zhao Yutan, Xie Zhan, and others will regret this arranged marriage.” Lu Songli joked.
She said this with a hidden meaning, but unfortunately, besides her, no one else could understand.
Following her words, Madam Jiang thought of that scene and smiled happily, “Yes, after you and Qin Sheng get married, live well and make those who doubted you shut their mouths.”
Her mother had always liked Qin Sheng before, and under this twist of fate, her mother was extremely happy. Now she started planning, pulling her father and saying, “Later, we will go to the Xie family to retrieve the betrothal gifts and engagement tokens.”
Lu Desheng nodded, “Yes, we must retrieve them.”
Madam Jiang called the housekeeper Chen and instructed, “Go, send a message to the Xie family, saying that we will visit them this afternoon.”
Housekeeper Chen obeyed and went to make arrangements.
Just then, the gatekeeper ran over to report, “Master, Madam, Miss, the old lady of the Qin family is here with the eldest and sixth young master of the Qin family.”
Lu Desheng and his wife exchanged a glance. The Qin family has arrived? So soon? Could it be that they just received the decree and hurried to their Lu family? Wait, they seemed to have overlooked one issue. Would the Qin family mind her inability to conceive due to her cold body?
“Quickly, please bring them in.”
Regardless, they needed to meet the guests first.
The gates of the Lu family opened, and the steward Chen personally welcomed the guests.
Qin Sheng and Qin Heng supported the Old madam Qin as they stepped into the Lu family’s gate for the second time.
The Old Madam Qin looked at her youngest son, who had deliberately changed his clothes before leaving, and nodded in satisfaction. After the Empress Dowager’s arranged marriage, this child finally looked like he was about to get married. He used to care less about what he wore to the Zhao family. The youngest son looked good, whether he was dressed in luxurious clothes or riding a spirited horse on normal days. But now that he was about to be engaged and married, this slightly mature and steady appearance would surely be pleasing and reassuring to the bride’s side.
Lu Desheng and his wife, accompanied by Lu Songli, stood at the entrance of the flower hall, not going out to the main gate to greet them. As the woman’s side, it was appropriate to be a little reserved.
When the housekeeper Chen brought the Old Madam Qin and her sons to the flower hall, Madam Jiang smiled and greeted them as soon as she saw them. “Lady Qin, Master Qin, you have arrived. Please come in. Your presence is an honor, truly brightening our humble abode.”
The Old Madam Qin smiled and said, “Not at all, it’s we who have come uninvited and caused you trouble.”
They exchanged pleasantries and entered the flower hall together, then took their respective seats as host and guest. Servants brought in tea.
The two ladies, one eager to build a relationship, the other also willing to be friendly, started calling each other “elder sister” and “younger sister” after chatting for a while.
The two ladies were the main speakers in the whole scene, and they chatted enthusiastically.
Lu Songli sat quietly below, sipping her tea.
She noticed that the Old Madam Qin had clearly dressed up before going out, looking very energetic and without any sickness, her smile warm and loving. It was clear that the Old Madam Qin must have been a beautiful woman in her youth.
Indeed, she had seen Qin Heng and Qin Sheng, both with outstanding features. Especially Qin Sheng, his face was practically flawless from every angle. Even though she had never seen his father, the Marquis of Pingxi, she could guess that he must have inherited the best qualities of both parents. For him to be so handsome, his parents must have been no less attractive.
The free-spirited Lu Songli was soon mentioned.
Old Madam Qin looked at Lu Songli with a gentle gaze, “Is this A Li? You really have a distinctive appearance.”
“Hello, Old Madam Qin.” Lu Songli stood up and gracefully performed a gesture.
Old Madam Qin nodded repeatedly, “Good, good, A Li, you can call me Aunt.”
“Hello, Aunt Qin.” Lu Songli responded politely.
“Next to me is my younger son, Qin Sheng, you should have met him.”
At Old Madam Qin’s gesture, Qin Sheng stood up and performed a junior’s salute to Lu Desheng and Jiang.
“This is my elder son, Qin Heng. Since Qin Yue, the father of the child, is not in the capital, as the saying goes, the eldest son is like the father. As for the marriage of A Sheng, he will take care of it.”
Yes, Qin Heng is indeed like his father.
Qin Heng also said, “Uncle and Aunt, if the Lu family has any requests regarding A Sheng and Songli’s marriage, feel free to tell me, I will make proper arrangements.”
Lu Desheng and Jiang looked at the mature and steady Qin Heng and nodded.
“At the Prince’s Mansion’s flower appreciation night banquet, when my son accidentally rescued Songli, and told me about it when he came back, I felt that the two were destined. Now that the Empress Dowager personally issued a decree for the marriage of the two children, it shows that they are truly destined, a match made in heaven.”
“More than that, not hiding it from my sister, I also particularly like this child A Sheng.”
As the flower sedan chair was carried by the crowd, the conversation gradually shifted to the topic of marriage.
Before that, Jiang held onto the topic and said to Lu Songli, “A Li, why don’t you take A Sheng for a walk in the garden.”
Lu Songli: Is this to separate them?
“Exactly, young people should walk around more, see more places.” Old Madam Qin wholeheartedly agreed.
Both mothers said so, indicating that they could not continue to stay in the flower hall.
Lu Songli stood up and looked at Qin Sheng, “Shall we go?”
Qin Sheng also stood up, “Sure, you go ahead.”
Old Madam Qin reminded her son, “It’s windy outside, make sure to take care of A Li.”
The two walked out one after the other, and Madam Qin and Madam Jiang looked at them, feeling that the two were a perfect match, and nodded in agreement.
Next, Qin Heng smiled and said, “Uncle, I heard that you have a rare chess manual for the Wild Horse Plowing Field. I am very curious, can I borrow it for a look?”
Lu Desheng generously said, “Of course, there’s no reason not to borrow it. Let’s go, we’ll go to the study.”
With that, Lu Desheng and Qin Heng moved to the study.
Some matters are better communicated between the elder women of both families.
In the living room, only Madam Qin and Madam Jiang remained.
Madam Qin could naturally see that Madam Jiang had something to say. “Sister Jiang, feel free to speak your mind.”
“It’s like this,” Madam Jiang began, “A Li and A Sheng are both good children. I’m very satisfied with A Sheng. But last night, Her Majesty the Empress Dowager summoned us, and I’m sure Sister Gu is aware that our A Li… because she saved Xie Zhan back then…” Bringing this up made Madam Jiang feel particularly distressed, but she had no choice.
Before she could finish, Madam Qin interrupted her, “I know about this. I’ve asked A Sheng, and none of us think it’s a big deal. There are many miracle doctors in the world, and we can find one to treat A Li. We’ll surely find a cure. Even if, in the worst-case scenario, A Li really can’t bear children, if the two of them are willing, they can adopt a child from one of our other sons. It shouldn’t be a big problem.”
Hearing this, Madam Jiang was completely relieved. Previously, she had been determined that if the Qin family was unwilling, she would stubbornly hold on to the Xie family. After all, her daughter had lost the ability to bear children because she saved Xie Zhan. How could she allow the Xie family to break off the engagement so easily? Even if the Empress Dowager had arranged the marriage, would the Empress Dowager ignore reason?
Now that this issue was resolved, they could happily discuss the marriage.
The Qin family did not put on airs, and both families would plan the wedding together.
Since the Empress Dowager had ordered them to complete the marriage within two months, the time was really tight. Madam Jiang decided that once they received the engagement document and the betrothal gifts from the Xie family, they would immediately send the eight characters of birth to the Qin family, so that the Qin family could check for an auspicious date.