inspire-indiana Chapter 213 The fight started
Chapter 213 The fight started
Qi Caiwei received a note from her neighbor across the hall.
Just as I was about to tear it up, I heard Granny Gong come to report: "Madam, the gatekeeper said that the family across the street has also invited Madam Fang..."
Qi Caiwei paused, surprised, and asked, "You mean Lu Qingyao sent an invitation to the Fang family?"
"I handed it over."
"That old scoundrel Fang Zhengqing, how dare he betray my father!" Qi Caiwei threw the invitation in her hand away, gritting her teeth in hatred.
It's all that old scoundrel's fault for being outwardly compliant but inwardly defiant.
Otherwise, Pei'er should be the top candidate now.
They want to use Lu Qingyao to climb up the social ladder to the Cui family? They're dreaming.
Just wait and see...
Qi Caiwei looked at Granny Gong and asked, "Which other families did Lu Qingyao send invitations to?"
"The Cui family, the Qin family, and the Fang family, and the others are mainly some wealthy gentry from Jiangzhou."
"The Qin family?"
"Haha...she actually sent an invitation to that old woman Wang..." Qi Caiwei sneered.
That idiot Lu Qingyao actually invited her enemies to her door.
ridiculous!
She touched the scar on her face and asked awkwardly, "Did Wang go?"
"No, Madam Qin is ill. The one who went to see Lord Qin's newly acquired concubine, Madam Wang." Granny Gong glanced at the invitation on the ground, picked it up, and put it back on the table.
"Little Wang?"
Qi Caiwei's mood improved significantly instantly.
Isn't that the niece that Consort Li sent to her?
This is going to be interesting.
That old woman must have been so angry she died.
Qi Caiwei immediately became interested and had someone help her with her makeup and clothes in preparation for the banquet.
“Mother, you can’t go…” Jiang Zijin tried to step forward to stop her.
"It's one thing for Madam Lu to send an invitation to Madam Fang without knowing the inside story, but you and she are irreconcilable enemies. Sending you an invitation suddenly suggests that she may have some malicious intentions. You should not go."
Granny Gong interjected, "This old servant saw that all the officials' wives and noble ladies in the city went. It's said that Princess Liang and Princess Rong'an will also be there..."
Before she could finish speaking, Jiang Zijin glared at her.
"Get out. You don't need to serve me here. Find a way to bring Pei'er back. We'll leave Jiangzhou tomorrow."
Ever since her younger brother finished his scientific expedition, she has been preparing to return to Beijing.
My younger brother doesn't even want to go home; even on his days off, he stays at the academy every day.
She and her mother went to pick him up, but they didn't even see a trace of him.
No matter how much Jiang Zipei complains, she and her mother have to go back this time.
If we don't leave now, we'll have to wait until next spring.
After winter sets in, the further north you go, the harder the road becomes to travel. If it snows, neither she nor her mother can withstand the cold.
And his mistress and illegitimate child also enjoyed themselves outside for quite some time.
If it is said that Mother caused Father to be demoted, then Mother is in the wrong. But now Father is keeping a mistress.
It's not necessarily true that he cherishes his reputation that much.
Jiang Zijin earnestly advised, "Mother, we can't go to this banquet; it might be a trap..."
"Furthermore, I've had all our luggage packed. As soon as my brother returns, we'll leave Jiangzhou. If we go back now, we can celebrate the New Year with our maternal grandparents this year."
"As for Fang Xuezheng, leave him to your maternal grandfather. He won't let him get away with it."
After hearing her daughter's words, Qi Caiwei wavered.
Can……
She really couldn't swallow this breath.
She held her daughter's hand, "I'll just go and see, ask Mrs. Fang what's going on, just to ask..."
Jiang Zijin was extremely helpless, but in the end she still couldn't change her mother's decision.
However, now her mother is finally able to listen to what she says, instead of always favoring her younger brother.
She pursed her lips and reluctantly agreed, "Alright, I'll go with you then. We'll just ask and leave, without lingering."
"Okay, Mother will do whatever you say..."
Jiang Miaomiao angered Fang Jingxian and drove her away.
Right now, I'm chasing butterflies among the chrysanthemums with the young ladies.
The chrysanthemums in the garden attracted many butterflies.
She had reason to suspect that her mother had deliberately arranged for it to be placed there; it was clear that her mother liked it.
Then Qi Caiwei and her daughter arrived in their finest attire.
After all, his special status immediately drew everyone's attention.
Her face was still covered in a thick layer of powder, making her look very pale.
Jiang Miaomiao was afraid that she would spill tea while drinking it.
Lead powder is toxic...
Qi Caiwei came in, glanced around, and then pulled the little maid aside to ask her questions.
Very purposeful.
Without lingering in the courtyard, the maid led the way, heading directly towards the flower hall.
In the flower hall.
Mrs. Fang drank several cups of tea.
Lu Qingyao has not yet arrived.
But instead, Fang Jingxian appeared, weeping with her face covered.
"Mother, I don't want to marry Jiang Zifeng. Let's go back."
She originally looked down on the Jiang family's social standing, but now that Jiang Zifeng's sister had said that, she felt disgusted.
Madam Fang dismissed the maids and pulled her daughter aside to whisper, "Xian'er, this is not the time to throw a tantrum. The Jiang family may not be of high social standing, and Madam Jiang is the descendant of a disgraced official, but the two sons of the Jiang family are students of Grand Tutor Cui. With the Cui family's connections and influence, are you afraid that Jiang Zifeng won't rise to prominence?"
"But...but Jiang Zifeng thinks I'm too old...he hates me."
Fang Jingxian was originally too embarrassed to say it.
But her mother insisted on forcing her.
"Nonsense! Who's talking nonsense? You've only just come of age, and you're only three years older than Jiang Zifeng. How dare he look down on you..."
The words have not yet fallen.
With a "bang," the door was kicked open.
……
Lu Qingyao was in her son's room at the moment.
Sun Yanshu bowed deeply to her.
He felt inexplicably nervous around Aunt Lu.
I was even more nervous than when I met Qiao'er's parents.
“Aunt, Yanshu has fallen in love with Qiao’er and wants to marry her. He will marry her regardless of wealth or poverty, and she will be his only wife for the rest of his life. Please don’t arrange any other marriages for him. Tomorrow… tomorrow I will ask my teacher for leave to go home and have my parents go to Qiao’er’s house to propose marriage.”
Lu Qingyao looked at him with some surprise, "You want to marry Qiao'er?"
Seeing his mother's expression, Jiang Ziyan couldn't help but turn away and chuckle.
He got glared at by his mother.
"Does Qiao'er know about this? She's a very opinionated girl."
Sun Yanshu nodded, "This..."
They'll agree, right?
He could clearly sense that Qiao'er was in love with him.
"Don't worry, Auntie. Yanshu will get Qiao'er's consent first, and then have her parents come to propose marriage."
Lu Qingyao was afraid that she might act impulsively, thinking that Qiao'er was different from other young ladies and that she was novel, which was why she wanted to marry her.
I don't want her to suffer the same hardships I did.
He then asked, "Have you thought this through? After marriage, Qiao'er may not necessarily stay at home to be a good wife and mother. Perhaps she will still go out into the world and do what she likes. Are you willing to do that?"
Sun Yanshu will inevitably embark on an official career sooner or later.
Officials and their families disliked their female relatives showing their faces in public and having to socialize and deal with the families of powerful and wealthy people.
But Qiao'er grew up in the countryside and was not bound by those so-called rules and regulations.
Now I have something I love to do.
If we let her remain content in the inner quarters like a caged bird, we risk turning her into a bird with broken wings.
It was something she didn't want to see.
Sun Yanshu bowed again. “Aunt, I know your worries. When I marry, I only want to follow my heart. When I enter officialdom, I only want to seek the well-being of the people and not bow down to the powerful and wealthy. I will walk the path step by step, without shame in my heart or my actions. My wife will not need to go against her conscience to entertain the relatives of the powerful and wealthy or to grovel to others.”
Hearing this, Lu Qingyao felt very pleased, and she couldn't suppress the smile on her lips.
Knowing that human nature is fickle, she put away her smile again.
He said solemnly, "Since you say so, then I will no longer look for a match for Qiao'er. As for the marriage proposal, you still need to discuss it with Qiao'er."
"Yes, thank you for your kindness, Auntie..."
Lu Qingyao nodded slightly.
Only after Sun Yanshu left did she openly reveal a smile.
He was just about to go out to look for his daughter, who had gotten into trouble somewhere.
She then ran into Xiuxiu, who had come looking for her.
She exclaimed excitedly, "Sister, come quick! A fight has broken out in the flower hall..."
……