Madam Lu was instantly incensed, "You want our Qing-jie'er to be a concubine? My proper嫡女 to be a concubine? Are you trying to harm me or Qing-jie'er? Have we offended you?"
Madam Xiao Qin sighed, "Aunt, as I said, just pretend I never said anything. Why are you so angry? You've been staying in Yun Gui and don't understand the situation in the capital. A嫡女 of a sixth-rank official is truly nothing! It's not that I look down on sixth-rank officials, but in the capital, if you throw a brick, you'll hit ten people, eight of whom are capital officials, and the other two might even be princes."
Madam Xiao Qin's words were quite fitting. What was most abundant in the capital? Of course, it was officials of all kinds.
"Then our Qing'er cannot be a concubine either," Madam Lu's voice was loud, as if only by doing so could she express her determination, resolutely refusing to let Li Qing become a concubine.
Madam Xiao Qin inwardly sneered at Madam Lu, but outwardly said calmly, "Yes, who would want their daughter to be a concubine? Aunt, rest assured, I will find a good family for Qing'er. A good family with matching social standing!"
Matching social standing? Wouldn't that be a family similar to the Li family? If so, why would Madam Lu come to the capital during her sister-in-law's birthday celebration? Yun Gui also had sixth-rank officials!
"Is it truly impossible to be the main wife of a noble family?" Madam Lu was unwilling to give up.
Madam Xiao Qin shook her head. Perhaps other girls had such fortune, coming from ordinary backgrounds but becoming the main wives of noble families. But that would certainly require someone capable, with intelligence and methods beyond ordinary people. But Li Qing? As stupid as a pig, and arrogant and conceited. Such a mere嫡女, so ostentatious and overbearing, unless some family was blind, would they possibly take a liking to her?
Madam Lu fell silent and turned to leave Jing Hua Yuan.
At the fork in the road, she thought for a moment and then turned right, the right path leading to Chao Hui Tang.
"Sister, you must seek justice for Qing'er!" Madam Lu began to weep as soon as she sat down inside.
"What is wrong? Has someone bullied Qing'er?" the Old Madam asked.
"You know my sister-in-law's intentions, she wholeheartedly wishes for the good of the Li family. This time, taking advantage of the opportunity to celebrate your birthday, she also intended to find stable marriages that could help the Li family. However, the wives of the dukes and marquises at the birthday banquet didn't even glance at us. I thought that my nephew's wife was the madam of the Marquis's mansion, so I went to her. Just then, the Princess of Qin was there, saying that the Duke's mansion had asked her to find a good girl to marry their heir. From the Princess of Qin's words, they wanted to choose from the girls in the Marquis's mansion. I thought Ming Zhu was the嫡女 of the Marquis's mansion, so she would definitely have many choices. Zhen Zhen is a庶女, and the Duke's mansion might not look favorably upon her, so I discussed it with my nephew's wife..."
The Old Madam immediately understood what was being discussed.
She lowered her face, "If you could even arrange for Qing-jie'er to marry into the Duke's mansion, who would dare to bully you?"
"Good sister, please don't be angry. At that time, I was only thinking about Qing-jie'er marrying into the Duke's mansion as the heir's wife, and I put everything else out of my mind," Madam Lu said with a sheepish smile. "I thought that my nephew's wife's family was a royal family, so this matter would definitely be true. So I begged my nephew's wife to agree to this matter, saying that Qing-jie'er would be betrothed to the heir. As a result, as a result, it's now Zhen Zhen who is being proposed to by the Duke's mansion. What is this? Qing-jie'er has long since decided on this matter! Now she is crying so sadly!"
"So what are you here to tell me?" the Old Madam asked unhurriedly. "Are you asking me to seek justice for you? To give this marriage to Qing-jie'er?"
Madam Lu quickly nodded, "You are the Old Madam of this mansion, the biological mother of the Marquis. If you speak, the Marquis will surely listen."
"The heir has already exchanged betrothal tokens with Zhen Zhen. Master Yuan Jue of Tai He Temple has analyzed their birth charts, saying they are the highest grade of姻缘. The Duke's mansion is extremely pleased, so why would they agree to a change of person? If a change of person were possible, I would not hesitate to swap my Zhen Zhen girl." The Old Madam did not hide her sarcasm at all. "The heir is nineteen years old and has a distinguished family background. Haven't you considered why he is only looking for a marriage at this age, close to his majority? For families like theirs, why would they need to trouble themselves to look for someone?"
The heir was very handsome. Under normal circumstances, matchmakers should be breaking down the doors of the Duke's mansion.
Thinking of this, Madam Lu felt a little uneasy, "Does the heir have any hidden ailments?"
"It's normal that you don't know since you're not in the capital. Let me put it this way, the Duke's mansion is deeply trusted by the Emperor. The Old Madam of the Duke's mansion's daughter is the Emperor's favored concubine. The Old Duke made great contributions to our Da Feng. The late Emperor bestowed a 'red-sealed iron certificate' upon the Duke's mansion and decreed that no matter which emperor succeeded to the throne, the Duke's mansion would enjoy the treatment of hereditary succession!" The Old Madam said slowly. "Hearing this, the heir could even marry a princess, let alone a noble lady from a prominent family."
"Hurry up and say it, why?" Madam Lu urged anxiously. Each of these titles was extraordinary.
"The heir is fond of men." The Old Madam said slowly. "Marrying such a person means living as a widow for a lifetime."
Seeing Madam Lu stunned, the Old Madam continued, "If it weren't for this, why would he still not have a marriage arranged at this time? Why would noble families avoid it like the plague? Many sons of noble families are romantic, and there are indeed those who are fond of men, but most of them play in private, and it doesn't hinder marriage and having children. But Gu Si Nian plays openly and wholeheartedly, and has never had the thought of getting married. As for the sudden thought he has now, I suspect it might be because of the Duchess. The heir has a very good relationship with his mother. Some time ago, the Duchess was injured, quite seriously. The heir probably compromised for the Duchess's wish."
Wholeheartedly fond of men, if it were true, there would be no hope for this life.
"But, but my nephew's wife even hinted that Qing'er should be the heir's concubine." Madam Lu gritted her teeth in hatred for Madam Xiao Qin at this moment. "She even said it was for our own good."
The Old Madam sighed, "Sister-in-law, you are usually so shrewd, how can you be so obtuse about this matter? If it were truly a good marriage, let alone Qing'er, even Zhen Zhen wouldn't have had a chance. As for her instigating you to have Qing'er become a concubine, it's probably also with the intention of bothering Zhen Zhen. After all, because of this marriage, Zhen Zhen's birth mother was promoted to a principal wife, Zhen Zhen's younger brother was enfeoffed as the Marquis's heir, and Zhen Zhen's name was registered under her. Her dowry was arranged according to the specifications for a嫡女's marriage. Can she be happy about this?"
Madam Lu stamped her foot, "Are they using us as a troublemaker? I, I'm going to tear her mouth apart."
Saying this, she stormed out. The Old Madam quickly called for Granny Fang to stop her, "She is the Madam of the Marquis's mansion and holds a noble title. If you hit her and anger her, you might even be sent to Dali Temple. You know the truth of this matter in your heart, but don't be instigated by her to actually do this! You should also restrain Qing'er properly and stop her from thinking about such nonsense all day!"