Blessing of The Unwanted Affair Chapter 7

Lila returned to Guxiangtang and entered the side room again.

As soon as I entered the room, I felt that the atmosphere was a little strange. There was a wet mark on the bluestone floor. Mother Wang was standing by the kang with her head down. The maids all looked trembling with fear, but Madam Xu was not inside.

She walked forward to greet Mother Wang. When Mother Wang looked up, Lila saw a big red bump on her forehead, a strange red mark running from her eyebrows down on her yellow face, and a wet area on her chest.

She couldn't help but be curious and asked what was going on.

Mother Wang glared at her resentfully: "It's all because of you that I got into trouble."

Lila was startled for a moment, then she understood. Most likely, Mrs. Xu knew that Wang Mama had brought her to eavesdrop, and in anger she threw a cup of hot tea on Wang Mama's head. No wonder Wang Mama looked so embarrassed.

Madam Xu appears to be kind on the surface, so why is she so mean to her servants?

Mother Wang is her confidant and roommate, why can't she even give her a little face?

She felt a little guilty, so she touched the sachet she carried with her and took out a small silver ingot the size of a fingernail.

The silver ingot weighed only two cents and was cast in the shape of a peony flower, which was very delicate and lovely.

She reached out and put it into Wang's hand, saying, "Mom, take it and play with the kids at home."

Mother Wang showed some surprise on her face. She took it and was about to take a closer look when she heard footsteps inside. She hurriedly stuffed it into her sleeves and stood in the corner in a proper manner.

Soon, Madam Xu came out with two maids. She had changed into a homely plum-red shirt embroidered with gray crabapple flowers. She glanced at Lila and sat down on the kang.

The sunlight shone from behind her, making her face look dark.

Lila was about to go forward to greet them, but before she could say anything, Madam Xu waved her hand and slammed the table twice, shouting coldly, "Fifth girl, why don't you kneel down! How dare you run to the flower hall to eavesdrop? I don't know who taught you these vulgar behaviors, you must correct them one by one now! Otherwise, if it gets out, you will make our entire mansion lose face! All the sisters in the family will be implicated by you!"

This was an extreme remark, insulting her mother.

Lila was angry. Kneel? She had never knelt before anyone except to worship Buddha. How could she bend down? But she didn't dare to argue with Madam Xu in person. She could only suppress her unhappiness and stepped forward to pay her respects. With her sparkling eyes, she looked at Madam Xu calmly and said, "Mother, you can settle the score with me later. I want to discuss a deal with you first."

Mrs. Xu's face was in the shadows, and the two lights in her eyes flashed like the eyes of a wolf in the dark night, which was very scary. She seemed a little stunned when she heard this.

Mother Wang whispered, "Madam, you may as well listen. If you cannot agree, I will give her medicine and send her to the ancestral temple to be reborn."

Lila: ...

How many lives does this Wang Ma have on her hands? Why does she always force me to take medicine? Although this is a harsh remark, it is actually helping her. It seems that the small silver ingot was not given in vain.

She hurriedly said, "Don't worry, mother. From now on, no matter who asks me about saving people, I will deny that I knew nothing about it. As long as... as long as you... promise me one... no... two things."

Mrs. Xu's pupils shrank and her expression gradually softened, but she didn't say anything.

Lila was a little excited as she was at a loss for a long time and said, "Please help my aunt and Aunt Mei...oh, Aunt Mei...that's Meizhi, my aunt's former maid, to get rid of their slavery."

Mrs. Xu tilted her head back slightly and narrowed her eyes.

Mother Wang next to her asked, "What about the second thing?"

The brocade fish opened its little mouth, but its face turned red first.

On the way here just now, she thought that if the beautiful boy married Nora, it would be a pity to stick a flower in cow dung. She also thought that if she only put forward one condition to Madam Xu, there would be no room for bargaining. It would be better to add one more condition.

But when I really have to speak up, I still feel a little embarrassed.

Mother Wang urged her again.

She had never been a shy person, so when she was urged, she bit her lip and said with a hot face: "I...my marriage, no...it would be better to...be with that...San...Sanlang of Yongming Marquis's Mansion."

Before he could finish his words, he felt all the blood in his body rushing to his face and his heart beating like gongs and drums at a temple fair.

The room was extremely quiet.

Lila lowered his eyes. Apart from his own disorderly heartbeat, he seemed to be able to hear the hissing sound of green smoke coming out of the gilded three-legged dragon-shaped incense burner on the ebony table.

"She is indeed a wild girl without rules." After a long while, Mrs. Xu sneered and said so.

She didn't care what Mrs. Xu said about her. She only cared whether Mrs. Xu agreed to her conditions.

After thinking for a while, she explained: "These two things are actually one thing. My aunt has been used to living in the manor for so many years. She asked to return to the mansion for my marriage. If I get married, she will also be freed from her status and naturally leave the mansion. Isn't this a good thing for... this place?"

As soon as these words came out, Mrs. Xu's eyes, which had been narrowed into a slit, suddenly opened like a copper bell, and her nostrils twitched slightly. After a long while, she went from being surprised to calm. Finally, she lowered her eyelids, rubbed the big cat's eye on the ring finger of her left hand with her right hand, and said for a long time: "Are you telling the truth?"

Lila felt as if the huge rock pressing on his heart was suddenly removed, and his blood began to boil all over his body.

As expected, blessed people don't have to work hard! A little prince fell from the sky, and her problems were solved so smoothly.

"If I didn't really want to do this, I would have rushed out to ask for an explanation just now in the flower hall. If mother agrees to my conditions, for the rest of my life, no matter who asks, I will just say that it was my fourth sister who saved me."

Madam Xu pondered for a long time, then raised her eyebrows, her eyes were as soft as water, and she looked like a loving mother: "Your father asked, the old lady asked, and you didn't say anything? But this matter is easy to handle externally. It is difficult to handle internally. Everyone knows that Hazel was with everyone the whole night, how could she take another boat to save people?"

Lila smiled faintly and winked playfully: "I will say whatever my mother wants me to say."

Mrs. Xu's right mouth corner finally curled up slowly: "You are really a smart girl. You just came back, and there are some things you don't understand. The Yongming Marquis's Mansion is a well-known poor family, and Jiang Sanlang is a well-known embroidered pillow in Beijing. Our mansion does not want to marry such a family. But we can't refuse in person. I mentioned your sixth sister because Aunt Lou would never agree. This marriage is naturally impossible. I don't let you marry her, but I really plan for you. If you are determined to marry him...you are not allowed to regret it in the future."

It turned out that the handsome boy's surname was Jiang. Embroidered pillow? She saw that he was a quiet and stable person.

She thought for a moment and said, "I am a c0ncubine who grew up in a farm. Only others can pick me, how can I pick someone else? After all, he is from a marquis's mansion. We can get along with him, how bad can he be?"

Madam Xu looked at her with the corner of her eye, and after a long while she said with a smile: "Can you make the decision for your aunt? She finally got back home, will she be willing to move back to the manor?"

Unexpectedly, Mrs. Xu agreed to both things. Lila secretly let out a sigh of relief, and the corners of her mouth curled up beautifully: "Peony flowers have fleshy roots and like deep and fertile soil. Tiger tail orchids are different. They have thin roots and can only be planted in sandy soil, otherwise they will not survive. My aunt and I are both tiger tail orchids. We can't afford too much blessing."

The crow's feet at the corners of Madam Xu's eyes slowly spread out like waves, and she smiled and said, "That's it. You go back to Qianqiu Courtyard first, and don't step out of the courtyard without my permission. Tell your mother to prepare the dowry with peace of mind."

The deal was done, and Mrs. Xu no longer punished her by making her kneel down, but instead gave her a light punishment of house arrest.

The brocade fish suddenly felt relaxed and happy, like a bird singing on a branch.

She hurriedly bowed and thanked him, then floated back to Qianqiu Courtyard like a cloud.

*

When she returned to the courtyard, she told her mother not to worry, saying that Madam Xu had agreed to make the decision on her marriage. Madam Xu punished her for eavesdropping in the hall and confined her to her room. She kept her mouth shut about the rest.

Qin was skeptical, but seeing Lila's happy face, she really started to worry about her dowry as she said.

Lila just stayed in Qianqiu Courtyard at ease. Every day, she was forced by Qin to embroider things. She thought that if she was engaged to Yongming Marquis Mansion, she would also be willing to get married as soon as possible, so she was obedient. In her spare time, she just cultivated bonsai, planted flowers and plants, read books and painted, and her life was extremely leisurely and quiet.

When she woke up from her nap that day, she was sitting by the window with her mother discussing the patterns of mosquito nets.

She wanted to embroider a hundred flowers, but her mother insisted that she embroider a hundred children.

Just when the situation was at a stalemate, Mother Wang arrived.

Qin asked what was going on. Mother Wang just said that the old lady wanted to see Lila.

He refused to say anything else.

*

It had been two months since Lila returned home, but this was her first time entering Qiyitang.

After entering the courtyard, you will see tall and majestic buildings.

The main house has three rooms, and the beams and pillars are as thick as an arm, all painted with colorful lacquer. There are two side rooms on each side.

There are three green-painted wing rooms on each side.

There are evergreen pines taller than the roof planted in the four corners of the patio, and smooth blue bricks in the middle. It is grand yet quiet and simple, giving off the style of an aristocratic family.

In the corridor at the entrance of the main hall, several maids dressed in red and green and two little boys in green stood outside the gold-threaded bamboo curtain.

Seeing her coming, everyone looked at her curiously.

She also looked at the two children curiously.

A maid opened the curtain and announced, "The fifth girl is here."

She entered the main room and smelled a strong medicinal aroma. Before she could take a closer look at the furnishings, she was led to the right side room.

There was a row of kangs near the window on the right, and an old lady was sitting at the kang table, with a thin cinnabar-colored quilt with swastikas covering her knees. An old woman with gray hair was sitting behind her.

The Marquis was sitting on the mahogany chair opposite, wearing a pale blue casual round-necked shirt. His face was serious and it was hard to tell whether he was happy or not.

It turns out her father was there too, no wonder there was a little child outside the door.

Mrs. Xu sat on the right, her face tense and she seemed unhappy.

There was a row of four rose chairs in front of the kang, and Hazel sat on the first one, close to Madam Xu. When she saw her enter the room, she raised her almond-shaped eyes, looking extremely alert, as if she was guarding against thieves.

Lila passed through the red sandalwood floor-standing cover and came forward to pay her respects. The old lady then said in a hoarse voice: "You should sit down and answer the question as well."

She thought about it, walked to Hazel, and sat on the last chair, close to the Marquis.

No one spoke in the room. After a while, Mrs. Xu said, "Now that the fifth girl is here, you can ask her if she has anything to say. See if I have wronged her." Her tone was full of resentment.

Lila's heart tightened. He didn't know what was going on, why was there such a big fanfare, and why the old lady and the marquis went out at the same time.

She calmed herself down and said with a smile, "Excuse me, old lady."

Then the old lady coughed twice and said weakly, "Mother Hua, you come and ask."

It turns out that the old lady sitting behind the old lady's surname is Hua.

Then I heard Mama Hua say, "Today, the wife of Duke Jingguo and the wife of Marquis Yongming invited a matchmaker to come to propose marriage. The old lady and the Marquis found it unexpected. So I asked what happened and found out that it was during the Mid-Autumn Festival when river lanterns were released, and the girls in our mansion saved the young master and Mr. Jiang San from the Marquis Yongming's mansion. But except for you, the other girls were clearly on the same boat with us that day. So I asked you to come and ask, but who did you save?"

Lila couldn't help but look at Madam Xu in surprise. After so many days, she thought Madam Xu had already arranged everything. No wonder Hazel looked wary. She didn't know what Madam Xu had said just now. How should she make it up?

Mrs. Xu acted dignified and righteous, and said, "Just watch what I do and tell the truth."

Can you really tell the truth? Lila couldn't help but find it a little funny.