"What nonsense are you spouting? Zhenzhen is my daughter, how can she be left to fend for herself outside? This matter is settled, so stop overthinking. I can find Zhenzhen a family with a lower status than our Marquisate, and then no one will dare to say anything or look down on her."
"My Lord, I beg you. Let me and Zhenzhen leave. Just consider us dead outside. We will not return to Xinghua Village, but will choose a new place and live incognito." Madam Yun grabbed Qi Tianming's arm and pleaded, "Then Zhenzhen can find an ordinary family to marry into and live a stable life."
Qi Tianming looked at Madam Yun in disbelief. How could she say such a thing?
"Nonsense! Is this something you can be reckless about? Don't even think about leaving the Marquisate! Alright, I've said what I needed to say. I have official duties to attend to, so I'm leaving. As for Zhenzhen, find an opportunity to tell her. Tell her not to be sad." Qi Tianming stood up, threw these words, and walked out.
"Zhenzhen never hoped for the marriage with the Lu family, so why would she be sad?" Madam Yun said with self-mockery. "All along, it was I who hoped the marriage with the Lu family would succeed, hoping Zhenzhen could become a matriarch and live a happy life."
Qi Tianming stopped in his tracks. "Zhenzhen knows about this matter?"
"As early as when someone came to Xinghua Village to propose to Zhenzhen, I told Zhenzhen about the existence of this engagement. Zhenzhen saw it more clearly than I did. She said at the time that whether we could return to the Marquisate was another matter, but even if we could, this marriage would not be preserved." Madam Yun said faintly. "I thought this marriage could succeed. I believed in you, and I believed in the Lu family. But then..."
"This matter... In short, I will not mistreat Zhenzhen in the future." Qi Tianming sighed.
Qi Tianming left. Madam Yun didn't even see him off. She sat there blankly. Qingshui looked worried. After thinking for a moment, she instructed someone to attend to Madam Yun and then went to Longxiang Garden herself.
Qi Zhenzhen had just returned from Chaohui Hall. She was currently opening gifts sent by Shen Zhixin. It was a travelogue, different from the ones Qi Zhenzhen had read before. This travelogue was written in an autobiographical style, recording the places the author had visited throughout his life, not limited to the territory of Da Feng.
"Second Miss, the Marquis passed by Tinglan Garden just now, and I saw that Madam's demeanor was not quite right," Qingshui said.
Qi Zhenzhen put down the travelogue, stood up, and walked out, asking as she walked, "Did you hear what the Marquis said to my mother?"
Qingshui shook her head. "The Marquis did not allow anyone to serve him and sent us far away."
After they returned to the Marquisate, Qi Tianming had not visited Tinglan Garden even once. Why would he suddenly go today?
Qi Zhenzhen was worried about Madam Yun and walked quickly. The journey that originally took over fifteen minutes was completed in just over half that time.
Madam Yun was still sitting there blankly, her eyes unfocused, and her complexion not good.
Qi Zhenzhen waved to the maid serving her, signaling her to leave, then sent Qingshui away. She closed the door and sat beside Madam Yun.
"Mother, what happened?"
Madam Yun finally came back to her senses and smiled bitterly. "Your father said that the engagement you had with the Lu family is void. It's not void, the engagement is still valid, but the person marrying into the Lu family has changed. It's not you, but Mingzhu."
Qi Zhenzhen breathed a sigh of relief. So that was the matter.
"Mother, wasn't this expected long ago? I thought something else had happened!"
"Mother is unwilling. It's all my fault for implicating you."
"Stop, stop, stop. Mother, let's not talk about this. The Lu family looks down on me, and I look down on them too. I'm only thirteen, and it's still a long way from my coming-of-age ceremony. What kind of family can't I find? Besides, after this incident, Father will surely feel guilty towards us and won't mistreat his daughter." Qi Zhenzhen comforted her. "Moreover, there's Grandmother. She said she would find a good family for me."
Most importantly, she had an agreement with Gu Sinian, and she would marry into the Duke's Mansion.
Madam Yun remained somewhat dejected. Qi Zhenzhen knew that no matter what she said, Madam Yun wouldn't be able to let go immediately. She instructed Qingshui to pay more attention and inform her promptly of any developments.
Duke's Mansion, Qingquan Courtyard.
Gu Sinian closed the military book in his hand and looked at Gu Qing. "Is the news accurate?"
"Of course, it's accurate. You had people watching the young master of the Lu family. Would they dare not to be diligent?" Gu Qing said. "It was supposed to arrive a few days later, but they took the waterway temporarily, flowing downstream, which was faster than traveling by land."
"Continue to have people watch. Also, send a message to Erxi. If Zhenzhen has any contact with Lu Chen, report everything in detail."
"Yes."
After Gu Qing left, Gu Sinian rubbed his forehead. He felt that living under the same roof was not appropriate. What if Lu Chen was cunning and deceived Zhenzhen? Although Zhenzhen now knew the plans of the Qi family and the Lu family, what if Lu Chen didn't follow his family's orders? That would be very dangerous. He had to cut off all possible hidden dangers to ensure Zhenzhen could marry into the Duke's Mansion smoothly!
With a plan in mind, Gu Sinian got up and went to Lanzhi Courtyard.
"You want me to go to the Changping Marquisate?" Madam Qin asked.
Gu Sinian nodded. "The Marchioness has not yet replied. We cannot just wait indefinitely!"
Madam Qin nodded. "That's true. Under normal circumstances, whether they are interested or not, they usually give a reply within three to five days. This Changping Marquisate has been delaying. Do they look down on our Duke's Mansion? Tomorrow is the first day of the month, and the Marchioness will go to Taihe Temple to burn incense. Mother should also go to the temple."
"Thank you, Mother."
"What's there to thank? You are my son. If I, as your mother, don't worry about you, who will?" Madam Qin gave Gu Sinian a reproachful look. "Mother only hopes you can get married and establish yourself soon, as you are not young anymore."
Gu Sinian nodded. "I will."
He wished Zhenzhen could marry into the Duke's Mansion immediately so they could be together day and night.
The next morning, Madam Qin, along with Nanny Li, a group of maids, and guards, set off for Taihe Temple. To show their sincerity, it was always good to wait there first.
After burning incense, Madam Qin went to the temple's guest room to wait. She had already spoken to the monks, asking them to invite the Changping Marchioness over after she finished burning incense. (When writing, the surnames were not carefully considered. Both surnames were Qin, so the Duke's Mansion's Madam Qin was referred to as the elder Madam Qin, and the Changping Marchioness as the younger Madam Qin.)
The younger Madam Qin had left the mansion early this morning to pick up Qi Mingzhu from the Prince's Mansion and come to Taihe Temple together. On the way, she told Qi Mingzhu that Lu Chen had already settled in the mansion. Qi Mingzhu's eyes were filled with smiles, and it was evident she was very happy.
After burning incense, as they were preparing to leave, a monk stopped the younger Madam Qin, saying someone had been waiting in the side room for a long time.
The younger Madam Qin was stunned for a moment and immediately thought of the elder Madam Qin waiting for her. Had the Duke's Mansion become impatient?
She instructed Nanny Qin to take Qi Mingzhu to the carriage to wait, and the younger Madam Qin went alone to the guest room where the elder Madam Qin was resting.