"Miss Zhan," the second steward hurried in from outside. Even though this was the Qiu family's villa, the second steward first bowed to Zhan Feiyu before bowing to Madam Qiu at the head seat and said, "Madam, Miss Jingyuan has arrived."
If it were just Qiu Jingyuan, the second steward's expression wouldn't have been so grim. It was likely that all the female members of the third branch had come. Madam Qiu nodded, her expression unchanged, and said to Zhan Feiyu, "It seems I've troubled Miss Zhan again."
"Madam is too kind," Zhan Feiyu said with a smile, unbothered. It was normal for Qiu Jingyuan to come and stop it upon receiving the news. Compared to Xiang Changshou, Jiao Lianyu was indeed her best choice at the moment. The Jiao family was a scholarly official family. Since she was married in, regardless of what happened in the future, Qiu Jingyuan's status as the legitimate wife would be stable. Once she had children, her position would be even more secure.
But if Qiu Jingyuan married into a merchant family, and Xiang Changshou recovered, the Xiang family might still look down on her status as the daughter of a criminal. Who knew what underhanded methods they would use to make Qiu Jingyuan, the legitimate wife, fall ill and die.
...
"If Master wanted to break off the engagement, he should have stopped Madam from proposing in the first place. This whole affair has damaged your reputation," Aunt Huang said, finally sitting down after walking until she was tired. When faced with major events, she habitually listened to her son's advice and continued, "Do you think there's something fishy going on?"
Jiao Lianyu quickly reviewed the events of the past few days in his mind, finding no oversights or anomalies. The rumors that had been circulating, both within and outside the mansion, were not spread by him. Even if Madam investigated, she wouldn't find anything.
"If Father is taking his anger out on Mother by controlling my marriage, then Mother should be the one to handle the broken engagement, not have the aunt bring the official matchmaker to see Madam Qiu," Jiao Lianyu was certain that something he didn't know had happened.
Two quarters of an hour later, Aunt Huang left. A young servant then entered the inner room with water. After serving Jiao Lianyu water, he whispered, "The master just sent word that Madam Qiu has sent an invitation to Zhan Feiyu."
"You mean Zhan Feiyu had a hand in this?" Shocked, Jiao Lianyu suddenly sat up straight, his wound hurting and causing him to hiss, but he couldn't care less at the moment. With a gloomy expression, he pressed, "Did Zhan Feiyu stir up trouble? Would Father go back on his word!"
Zhan Feiyu had saved Jiao Lianyu's life. After all, without He Nuan and the Forbidden Dragon Guard's medicine, Jiao Lianyu would likely have been stabbed to death by Li Li.
Prefect Jiao had been an official for many years, yet he still possessed the noble spirit and integrity of a scholar. If Zhan Feiyu intervened using the life-saving grace, it would be perfectly normal for Prefect Jiao to agree to break off the engagement.
After all, Prefect Jiao had disliked this marriage from the beginning, and Madam Jiao had acted first and reported later. Now that there was a legitimate reason to break off the engagement, Prefect Jiao would surely go along with it.
"Zhan Feiyu wrote a letter to Prefect Jiao before, but unfortunately, Prefect Jiao burned it after reading it. No one knows what was in the letter," the servant continued to answer in a low voice. Because the messenger was He Sheng, their people dared not intercept it.
...
The next day, in the front hall of the villa.
Upon entering the courtyard, one could smell the strong scent of snake repellent. Fortunately, the smell was not unpleasant, resembling a rich sandalwood fragrance.
After the tea-serving maid withdrew, the white-haired Aunt Jiao smiled and asked, "If I had known you would come, Jingzhen, I should have stayed overnight yesterday and left with you this morning."
"Thank you for making this trip, little aunt," Madam Jiao said with a few polite words.
Although she was an elder, she was still a paternal aunt. Prefect Jiao had no choice but to let Aunt Jiao handle the broken engagement. Regardless, this status was more suitable than Aunt Huang.
Prefect Jiao was the highest-ranking official in this branch of the Jiao family. Regarding the conflict between the two nephews from her maiden family, Aunt Jiao was aware of it. However, at her age, even for the sake of her children and grandchildren, she would not rudely interfere in Prefect Jiao's family affairs.
Whether Jiao Lianping or Jiao Lianyu inherited the Jiao family in the future, to Aunt Jiao, they were both her nephews. As long as they were on good terms, that was enough.
Aunt Jiao glanced at the door again and saw that the serving maids were all standing at the bottom of the steps. As long as the voices in the room were not too loud, the maids would definitely not be able to hear. Only then did she relax and continue, "This engagement is indeed unsuitable."
If Madam Jiao, her nephew's wife, was manipulating the marriage of her concubine's son, Aunt Jiao did not believe it. Jingzhen was also from a prominent family. If she wanted to deal with her concubine's son, Jiao Lianyu would probably not have lived to be three years old. If she hadn't acted in the past twenty years, why would she make a move now when her concubine's son had become influential?
Knowing that her aunt was testing her, Madam Jiao, who had a clear conscience, was not afraid of outside gossip. She smiled and replied slowly.
"Master is, after all, a Prefect of the fourth rank, yet overnight, streets and alleys were abuzz with the news of Jiao Lianyu and Miss Qiu's engagement. He knelt before Master and begged. Given the situation, we cannot ruin the young lady's reputation. Otherwise, we would truly be forcing a pure young lady to her death. Therefore, as her stepmother, I fulfilled their wish."
Aunt Jiao was stunned for a moment. At that time, she suspected that the rumors were spread by the third branch of the Qiu family. After all, compared to marrying Xiang Changshou, that sickly man, for good luck, it was better to marry Lianyu, the second son of a Prefect.
"You mean Lianyu begged you?" Aunt Jiao's expression became even stranger when Madam Jiao nodded. After a long pause, she couldn't help but say, "This must have been difficult for you."
Madam Jiao's reputation was not good, and Jiao Lianping was also slandered by a group of high-minded scholars. Fortunately, Madam Jiao was a woman of the inner court, and Jiao Lianping was already a dandy. No matter how much these people defended Jiao Lianyu, it wouldn't reach the mother and son.
"Little aunt, you don't need to worry. Whether Jiao Lianyu's engagement was finalized or broken off, it was with Master's approval. Madam Qiu will be here soon, so if there's anything inconvenient for you, feel free to blame me," Madam Jiao added with a smile. Regardless, she couldn't let her aunt be the villain, especially since Qiu Jingyuan was also from the Qiu family.
The reason Zhan Feiyu was a little late was because Madam Qiu and her eldest daughter-in-law, Hu Shi, had arrived, and Zhan Feiyu had gone to the main entrance to welcome them.
Upon hearing the commotion outside, Madam Jiao and Aunt Jiao also immediately got up and walked towards the entrance. Setting aside the status of Madam Qiu and Zhan Feiyu, this was, after all, a matter of the Jiao family.
Although Madam Qiu and Madam Jiao had a good private relationship, there were still pleasantries and formalities exchanged before everyone was seated again.
Gao Shi, who had come along, was sitting at the bottom. As an official matchmaker, she was usually eloquent, but at this moment, even though she was confused, Gao Shi dared not speak rashly.
Especially when she noticed that Zhan Feiyu, a young girl with her hair in double buns, was sitting in the main seat, and to her right sat Madam Qiu, a second-rank noblewoman. Gao Shi became even more cautious. No matter what she heard or said later, she only needed to follow the orders of these noble ladies.
"Ultimately, it is my youth that has caused such trouble for the two ladies," Zhan Feiyu stood up and sincerely apologized to Madam Qiu and Madam Jiao. "Eldest Young Master did not want Madam Jiao to suffer unjust accusations, and I also owe Second Young Master a life-saving grace. Therefore, I wrote a letter to Prefect Jiao, hoping that Prefect Jiao could break off the engagement..."
Gao Shi listened, stunned. So, the rumors about Second Young Master Jiao and Miss Qiu were not spread by Madam Jiao. Eldest Young Master, in order to clear his mother's name, had asked this young girl to "use her life-saving grace to demand" that Prefect Jiao break off the engagement. Since the engagement was broken off, there was no longer a legitimate mother using marriage to control her concubine's son.
Gao Shi understood and then subtly glanced at Madam Qiu, who was sitting in the main seat. The Qiu family was still the Qiu family. The third branch had fallen, and this was the only daughter of the Qiu family in this generation. She had heard that she was the darling of the entire clan. Now that she was engaged and then had her engagement broken off under unclear circumstances, she wondered if Madam Qiu would be displeased.
If Qiu Jingyuan were truly a good girl, Madam Qiu would surely protect her to some extent. Unfortunately, she was young, malicious, and ruthless in her actions. If it weren't for maintaining the Qiu family's reputation, Madam Qiu wouldn't have come today. In any case, it was the third branch's business.
Zhan Feiyu took all the "blame" upon herself, preserving the Qiu family's dignity. Madam Qiu, with a face full of loving kindness, smiled and took over, saying, "What do you know as a young girl? To put it simply, it was Lianping's desperation that caused this trouble."