The First Madam Song kneaded the Old Madam's leg, then whispered, "Why is Mother so furious? Although Si Dimei is a bit greedy for money, she is still filial to Mother." The Fourth Madam Song always had curried favour with the First Madam, and the First Madam had a share in the money that the Fourth Madam Song earned, which was why Fourth Madam Song had asked the First Madam to help intercede.
Old Madam Song impatiently pushed away First Madam Song, "What do you know? His Highness, the 10th Prince, has taken a fancy to a Young Miss Han, and their marriage will probably be sanctioned next year."
The First Madam Song had three sons and no daughters, so she had nothing against the 9th and 10th Princes, "Mother, the Ling girl has been waiting to marry the 10th Prince for the past two years!" The two eldest sons of the Song family were born to Old Madam Song, but Old Madam Song did not like Second Madam Song.
Old Madam Song answered, "I also want the Prince's Fei to come from the Song family. But you need to have the best daughter for it. Just look at that Ling girl. Can she hold a candle to that girl of the Han family? Not to mention her talent; her look alone can throw the Ling girl three streets away."
Remembering the appearance of the Third Young Miss Han, First Madam Song had nothing more to add up to her argument. "Mother, is there really nothing that can be done?"
Old Madam Song took a sip of tea and said, "If Ling girl wants to marry him for real, then she can only be a Ce Fei! Zeng Fei is out of the question."
When First Madam Song heard this, she hesitantly said, "I'm afraid Er Dimei will be unwilling to do so." The difference between a Zeng Fei and a Ce Fei was not just the tiniest bit. Zeng Fei was a formal wife, while Ce Fei was a mere concubine.[+]
Old Madam Song sneered, "Even if I were to let Ling-er be the 10th Prince's Ce Fei, I would have to put this old face on the line just to talk to Niangniang. Otherwise, she won't even be able to be his Ce Fei." It was not that Old Madam Song had belittled Song Linger. It was because Song Linger had a bad temperament, and her reputation for being arrogant and rude had spread to the outside world. Song Guifei would not want her son to marry a woman with such a temperament, even if she was her niece.
First Madam Song didn't care much about Song Linger's bad side. What she cared about was her face. "Han Jingyan is only a fourth-ranking official. If we let his daughter step on Linger's head, they will think our Song family is weak when the time comes!"
Old Madam Song grunted, "Han Jingyan's position is not high, but Marquis Pingqing holds a lot of power. Most importantly, the 10th Prince, Qixin Gongzhu and Niangniang all like that girl." The latter sentence was the main point; the previous one was just piggybacking.
Hearing this, First Madam Song muttered, "That girl's skill is excellent enough to make both Niangniang and the Gongzhu like her." As far as Han Yuchen's appearance was concerned, men would surely like her when they saw her. But making even the Guifei Niangniang and the Gongzhu like her would depend on her skill. [T/N]
Old Madam Song agreed with this, "If it weren't for the trouble that Ling girl caused, I wouldn't have let her marry the 10th Prince. That Han girl is extremely skilful, and Ling girl cannot fight her." The fact that Song Linger liked the 10th Prince was no longer a secret. Everyone who should know had known about it.
First Madam Song felt it would be better for Song Linger to be the 9th Prince's Ce Fei. After all, he was the one most likely to claim the throne. At that time, Song Linger's status should be Guifei. However, Song Linger liked the 10th Prince and was determined to marry him.
Old Madam Song said, "Just for the sake of the 10th Prince, you should also be polite to the Han family. The Han family may be weak right now, but the Han Shizi and the Second Master Han all have good prospects."
First Madam Song understood her words. "I know, Mother."
The next day, the Fourth Madam Song took an official matchmaker to the Han family.
The Old Lady was not at ease because of Qiu Shi's temperament, so she took over this matter herself. Knowing that the Fourth Madam Song had brought an official matchmaker to their door, she immediately asked Mama Luo to greet her, and no matter what, she had to put the Fourth Madam Song back down to her place.
The Fourth Madam Song waited in the living room for a long time, but only an old stewardess came out.
Mama Luo said with a smile, "Fourth Madam Song, my Old Lady has said that the Han family does not let their girls become other people's concubines. Even if they have to be oil lamps before the statue of Buddha for a while, we will not let them disgrace the family. So, please go back, Fourth Madam Song!"
The Fourth Madam Song was also a person who was able to bow and submit or stand tall as, at that moment, she said all the pleasant words to Mama Luo. Unfortunately, even so, Mama Luo did not relent, saying only that she had sent Yujing to accompany the Buddha.
The Fourth Madam Song went back in disgrace.
Old Woman Luo went back and told the Old Lady about the situation, then worriedly asked, "Old Lady, what if the Fourth Madam Song doesn't come back?"
The Old Lady wasn't worried about this at all. "Don't worry, she'll come back."
Sure enough, the next day, the Fourth Madam Song came again, and not only did she come personally, but even the First Madam Song came too. This time, the Han family didn't become pretentious any longer.
Qiu Shi was still sick because of anger, so she couldn't entertain the two people. As for Ye Shi, she was not yet out of her confinement! Therefore, the task of receiving the guests was left to the Old Lady herself.[+]
The Old Lady was only pretending at first to save their family face. It was not like they were unwilling to tie the knot between the families, for they had already lost their faces. Only by connecting the two families through marriage could she save her family's reputation. As for whether the Fourth Madam Song would vent her anger on Yujing, it was no longer the scope of the Old Lady's consideration.
By noon, Yuxi knew that the two families had made a verbal commitment, and she knew the marriage would come true. Although there were a few twists and turns in the middle, the marriage between the two families was finally settled.
Bingmei whispered to Kufu, "The Song family is one of the best families in the capital. It is a blessing for the Second Miss to marry into the Song family."
Kufu also felt that the Second Miss had good eyesight and was very lucky, "Although the Fourth House of the Song family is originally born from a concubine, they are wealthy. Moreover, the Seventh Young Master Song is the only son of the Fourth House, so their family assets will all be given to him in the future."
Bingmei nodded and said, "I heard my mother say that Seventh Young Master Song is very good-looking and talented. He's already holding the rank of juren right now." Simply put, the Seventh Young Master Song had a good family background, was well educated, and already had academic honour. Yujing had hit the jackpot this time. [T/N]
Yuxi stood at the door and heard the discussion between the two maids. She turned around and asked Zisu, "Do you also think Yujing's time has come for her fortune to turn this time around?"
Zisu hesitated for a moment before saying, "At least, the First Lady would not have found such a good family for the Second Miss. Moreover, Seventh Young Master Song was able to save the Second Miss at that time, so he was a kind-hearted person." Although Second Miss' tactic was a bit clumsy, it was still useful!
Hearing Zisu's words, Yuxi smiled, "If that's the case, Yujing is lucky to have met such a good husband like Seventh Young Master Song." If Yujing had met someone already married, she would have to spend the rest of her life accompanying Buddha.
Zisu heard the meaning behind Yuxi's words, "Miss, how the Second Miss will be in the future, that will depend on her own means. If she can make the Seventh Young Master Song favour her, even if the Fourth Madam Song dislikes her even more, she won't dare to go too far."
Yuxi smiled at Zisu's words, "Zisu, remember this saying. You can marry again if you lose your wife, but you have only one mother. Without the support of her maiden's family, Yujing can't win against the Fourth Madam Song."
The reason why Yuxi said Yujing couldn't win was that she knew Yujing very well. If Yujing had been smart, she would not have put herself in such a situation. She should have been as peaceful as Yuru, and with her Eldest Aunt's nature, her aunt would not have pushed her into the fiery pit. But now, Yujing had disgraced the Han family by doing what she had done, and when she married, the Han family would certainly not care about her anymore. Since the Fourth Madam Song loathed her so much, would she have a good time there? As for Seventh Young Master Song, although Yuxi had never met him, she could guess that he was indeed a kind-hearted person but also a soft-hearted one when he jumped into the pond to save others.
A soft-hearted man was an easily swayed kind of person. He would be convinced by his wife, and then he could also be persuaded by his mother. Therefore, if she relied on Seventh Young Master Song, she would not be able to rely on him much. Furthermore, men generally did not interfere in the affairs of the inner courtyard. As a mother-in-law, the Fourth Madam Song had plenty of ways to deal with Yujing.
The Han family and the Song family exchanged their gengtie, and the next step was to agree on the wedding date. Qiu Shi couldn't wait to send Yujing out immediately. But she couldn't, as there was still Yuru ahead of Yujing. Thus, the wedding date for Yuru was also put on the agenda.
After discussing with the Zeng family, Yuru's marriage was set for the third lunar month next year, and Yujing's marriage for the fifth lunar month, which was the earliest possible date they could fix.
Yuru stayed in her yard to embroider her dowry these days. At first, she didn't know about this, and her maids didn't want to tell her about it for fear that she would be upset. But since her wedding date had been set, it would be hard for her not to know about it in the end.
Yuru gnashed her teeth. Her wedding had been scheduled for the third lunar month next year, which was fine for her. But what Yujing had done had also implicated her. Madam Zeng had already mistreated her, and she would probably use it to humiliate her in the future. Yuru cursed in a hateful voice, "This scourge." When she was young, she had been bullied by Concubine Rong, and now her daughter had implicated her too. Those two people were truly scourges.
Qingxuan said, "Miss, the Second Miss' marriage is only for good appearances. By doing this, she has disgraced the Han family. Both the Old Lady and the First Lady detest her for it. So without the support of her maiden's family, plus the dislike of her mother-in-law, you can imagine how her life will be in the Song family." It was also because the Second Miss' intention was exceptionally too much.
After hearing these words, Yuru's anger disappeared a lot. "Her marriage has been settled, and I think she will return soon." Grandmother and Mother were still angry at Yujing, but her dowry must be embroidered when her marriage had been settled. Therefore, Yujing couldn't stay in the mountains for another two days.
Yuru had decided that when Yujing returned, she would give her a good reprimand to take the heat off her mind.
Unfortunately, the Old Lady did not let Yujing return to prepare for her marriage. Instead, she told her to stay in the temple, continue to be a vegetarian and pray to the Buddha. By doing so, the Old Lady had clearly expressed one meaning: she had utterly abandoned Yujing.
When Kufu told Yuxi about this, Yuxi said nothing. She could only shake her head. Yujing would later learn that a woman without the support of her maiden's family would end up as miserable as Yuxi did in her past life. This was why Yuxi had held her tongue all these years and had been so submissive. Even if she loathed the Old Lady and Han Jingyan, she still had to act like she was filial. This was because, once women didn't have the backing of their maiden's family, they would be swallowed to the bone till not even a bit of remain left behind.
Noob Translator's Musing
What do you think will happen to Yujing?
Tags:
The Rebirth of Han Yuxi