Chapter 25

Although Jiangling city and the capital are separated by Xuzhou, the carriage traveled quickly and did not take a detour. Along the way, they only rested twice at official stations. Therefore, before the mule carts carrying the young ladies had entered the borders of Jiangling City, Su Mi had already arrived in Jiangling City.

At the gate of Su’s mansion at dusk, Mrs. Yu and Chun Mei had both received the message early and were standing there eagerly waiting.

Feng Bao got off the carriage first and set up a cushion for Su Mi. When he looked up, he saw Yu Qingniang waiting and guessed her identity.

“You must be Madam Su. I am Feng Bao, an eunuch by the side of the Chief of the Eastern Bureau. The Chief ordered me to return to Jiaozhou first, and I will send the matchmaker to your door in a few days. Please rest assured that our chief said that he has prepared everything, including the three letters and six gifts. He will not mistreat Miss Su.”

Feng Bao said all of this to Yu Qingniang in front of him, but Su Mi, who had just slowly gotten off the carriage behind him, also heard the tail end of it and felt sweet inside.

However, Yu Qingniang’s face did not look good, as she looked hesitant and just nodded, saying, “Thank you, sir.” She did not say anything more.

Feng Bao could guess what Yu Qingniang was thinking from her facial expression. To be honest, most of the common people look down on eunuchs like them, and even if they don’t, they certainly wouldn’t want their daughters to marry them. They are incomplete men. Feng Bao felt a bit depressed but still smiled and walked over to Su Mi, who had just gotten off the carriage, and said, “Miss Su, I won’t bother you anymore.”

“Thank you, Feng Bao,” Su Mi smiled.

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“Ysvbla, Ubwd Ylk, obu yal usw oykvkdt qsa xl swvpkel?” Fw Yk vssj Zw Ckdtdkydt’p byde.

Zw Ckdtdkydt srldle bla xswvb vs pyu psxlvbkdt cwv nswzed’v cakdt blaplzq vs es kv. “Rv’p tsse vbyv usw’al cynj. Zswa qyvbla kp oykvkdt qsa usw kd vbl xykd byzz. R’zz oykv qsa usw kd uswa nswavuyae.”

“Xjyu.” Fw Yk zssjle yv Zw Ckdtdkydt’p qwaasole caso yde qlzv yd kdelpnakcyczl ekpnsxqsav.

Rd vbl xykd byzz sq vbl plnsde nswavuyae, Fw Ykdtel pyv kd vbl xykd plyv. Tkp lmralppksd oyp hypvzu ekqqlaldv qasx vbyv sq Zw Ckdtdkydt’p. Ebld bl pyo Fw Yk oyzj kd, bl pxkzle oyaxzu.

“Pye,” Fw Yk nyzzle yp pbl ldvlale.

“Yk’la, usw’al cynj. Zsw xwpv byhl bye y vkakdt fswadlu.” Fw Ykdtel pxkzle yde pvsse wr, ryvvkdt bla pbswzela.

Fw Yk oyp y ckv pwarakple cu Fw Ykdtel’p elxlydsa. Tl bye dlhla nyale qsa bla ps oyaxzu clqsal.

“By the way, did the Lord not come to Jiangling City with you?”

As soon as these words were spoken, Su Mi understood Su Mingde’s unusual behavior. In his eyes, she was no longer just Su Mi, the second daughter of the Su family. She was now the wife of the Eastern Bureau chief, Su Mi.

Since she was a child, she had always hoped that Su Mingde would treat her with special favor. Now that she had received it, it seemed that she wasn’t so happy about it, given the reason behind it.

“The Lord has some business to take care of, so he’ll be coming in a few days,” Su Mi said.

Su Mingde was in a good mood. He originally thought that the chief wouldn’t come all the way to Jiangling City to marry Su Mi, but it turned out that he was willing to come at Su Mi’s request.

This showed that he was still very concerned about Su Mi, and he could reap even more benefits from this relationship. Now, the few households in Jiangling City that did business with him didn’t know how envious they were of him. With such a son-in-law who had power and influence, who else would dare to obstruct him in the future?

“Alright, go back and rest earlier. Your mother misses you very much. You should also advise her. Getting married is a big happy event for a daughter. How can she be frowning all day long and ruining her own happiness?”

“Yes, father.”

On the way back, the early autumn breeze was slightly chilly, and Su Mi’s eyes were a bit teary. She didn’t feel that marrying Qin Yan was unbearable. On the contrary, she had been full of joy since she heard the news.

But Su Mingde didn’t know that since they met, he had never asked her if she wanted to get married or if she was happy. He simply thought it was a big happy event. In his heart, his daughter had always been dispensable. Before, she was the one who caused trouble for his son. Now, because of Qin Yan, she had some use and was worthy of his kindness.

Su Mi was thinking this way in her heart and unconsciously arrived at the entrance of her own courtyard. She gently opened the door and found that Yu Qingniang was indeed waiting for her in the courtyard.

She was thin and wearing a dark purple autumn dress, draped in a narrow blanket. Su Mi felt that she had only been away from the capital for a month, but her mother seemed to have aged a lot.

“Mother…” Su Mi walked over to Yu Qingniang.

As Su Mi approached, Yu Qingniang’s tears had not yet been wiped away, so she just hastily wiped them off.

She pulled Su Mi to sit down and then rolled up her sleeves, seeing the red agate bracelet on her wrist. Her tears flowed out again. “I told you to wear it for protection, but you ended up attracting the attention of an eunuch.”

When Yu Qingniang cried, Su Mi’s eyes also became moist. “Mother, don’t worry about me. The chief is actually very good.”

“What’s the use of being good? If I had known, I would have forced you to marry Li Xiuyuan.”

How could Yu Qingniang not feel uncomfortable in her heart? Even though Mi’er said that the Chief was good, she could still see some clues.

Just saying that Su Mi’s return this time was unexpected. In the Ming Yin dynasties, when a daughter married far away, in order to show off the family’s hospitality, they would usually go to the place where the husband’s family was located in advance to rent a courtyard before the wedding. Otherwise, the bridal sedan could not pass through several provinces.

Xian’er went to the capital in this way at first, but this time, according to the meaning of the little eunuch at the door, it was the chief who came to Jiangling City to marry her. If it were an ordinary family, it would be a great honor for the bride.

But he was a eunuch, Su Mi didn’t understand; how could she not understand?

Yu Qingniang picked up the handkerchief and wiped the moistness at the corner of her eyes. “Mier, you don’t understand. In the future, you will be a widow for decades. How can you endure it?”

“Mother, I understand that I can’t have children in the future, but even if I married Li Xiuyuan back then, I wouldn’t have borne a child for him.” So Su Mi felt that there was no difference.

Yu Qingniang looked at Su Mi’s determined eyes and didn’t know what to say for a while. What they were talking about was not the same thing at all, but she didn’t know how to explain it in detail.

“Mother, anyway, Qin Yan is better than Li Xiuyuan in every way.” In order to comfort her mother, who cared about her, Su Mi didn’t care about her shyness as a young girl and added when she lowered her head, “I really am willing to marry him.”

Yu Qingniang looked at her youngest daughter with a steady gaze, not pretending at all. Although Su Mi didn’t realize it, she had experienced the same emotions when she was young and in love with Su Mingde.

Although she still felt uncomfortable in her heart, at least Su Mi was not being forced. So she could be slightly relieved.

On one side, Su Mi was trying her best to comfort Mrs. Yu, trying to ease her worries and anxieties. On the other side, Su Mingde was in a good mood and walking towards Aunty Zhao’s courtyard.

For the past two days, since Yu Qingniang learned that Su Mi had been noticed by the chief of the Eastern Bureau, she had been wearing a sad face all day long. She would burst into tears after just a few words, which annoyed him. Even though Zhen’er didn’t get chosen, he didn’t see Aunty Zhao crying about it.

Su Mingde gently pushed open the courtyard door and saw Aunty Zhao sitting in front of an embroidery table, flipping through something.

“Wan’niang, what are you looking at?” Su Mingde had gone through the toughest two years with Aunty Zhao when he first met her, so she wasn’t as aware of his background as Mrs. Yu was. This made Su Mingde feel more comfortable.

Aunty Zhao looked up when she heard his voice and quickly stood up. “Master, you’re here.” She deliberately hid the book she had just read.

Curious, Su Mingde walked over and pulled out the book from the folder. To his surprise, it was a matchmaker’s book.

“What, do you want to help Zhen’er find a match?” Aunty Zhao covered her expression and said apologetically, “Master, now that the Second Miss has married into a good family, my Zhen’er is really disappointing. She has wasted your expectations.”

Although Aunty Zhao said this on the surface, she was actually sneering at Su Mi for marrying an eunuch. It was truly unlucky for her. Aunty Zhao actually cherished her own Zhen’ Er.However, she was too familiar with Su Mingde, and the more she said so, the more she could motivate Su Mingde to defend Su Zhen.

Sure enough, men had a rebellious mentality. Su Mingde sat down, took a sip of tea that Aunty Zhao poured for him, and frowned, “Zhen’ Er has good looks and a good temperament; how can she be so disappointing? I say everyone has their own blessings. Besides, are you still worried about not finding a good family in the future?”

Upon hearing this, Aunty Zhao knew that Su Mingde had other ideas, so she also sat down. “Master, what do you mean?”

Su Mingde smiled and said, “When Mi’er marries over, we will also have connections. By then, we can ask Mi’er to help Zhen’ Er find a good official’s son with a good family background in the capital. With the chief around, will they dare not marry?”

This is one of Su Mingde’s plans. After all, Qin Yan is just an eunuch, and no one knows when he will favor Su Mi. Without a child to tie him down, in case she falls out of favor in the future, at least there is still Zhen’er.

Even if a merchant family is wealthy, they cannot ascend to the upper echelons of society. Su Mingde had long wanted to marry all of his daughters to scholars. Originally, Su Mi’s cousin from the Yu family was a juren, which was a perfect match, but they broke off the engagement. However, it’s still not bad now. At least there are two daughters left in the family, and they can both climb up to officialdom with Su Mi’s help.

Aunty Zhao was extremely happy in her heart. She looked at Su Mingde’s expression and said, “I wonder if Second Miss is willing to help.”

“What’s there to be unwilling about? Since she doesn’t have a child, she’ll have to rely on her natal family for support. You are always thinking too much about others.”

Aunty Zhao chuckled and covered her mouth. “By the way, Master, will Qi’er be back for the Mid-Autumn Festival?”

Su Mingde remembered that his son was still out of town and frowned. “There were some problems at the store in the county, and Qi’er said he had to wait a few more days. I don’t think he’ll be able to make it back for the Mid-Autumn Festival.”

“Master, in fact, Qi’er has already been adopted by Madam, and I shouldn’t say more. But now that he has come of age, there is still no one in his room…” Aunty Zhao pondered Su Mingde’s expression, and seeing that he was not unhappy, she continued, “I think my cousin Caiwei would be a good match for him…”

Su Mingde pondered for a moment and said, “Qi ‘er’s situation does need to be considered, but it’s not urgent.”

“Master, it wasn’t urgent before, but Second Miss has married the Chief, so we need to be urgent now.”

Su Mingde was puzzled, “Why?” “What does this have to do with Mi’er?”

Aunty Zhao raised her eyebrows, and a shrewd glint flashed in her eyes. “Master, let me tell you.

In the Qianqing Palace, the heavy palace doors were tightly closed, and the hall was filled with exquisite golden and silver beast incense burners. Fragrant incense burned silently under the openwork cover, filling the room with a warm scent.

A porcelain blue and white lamp shines brightly above, and Zhu Jingyu sits on the dragon throne. His complexion seems to have improved compared to before, and he only occasionally coughs.

“Actually, you didn’t have to marry that lady that day. You could have rejected Zhang Huaian.”

“There was only one empty position beside me, and we just needed to fill it with anyone to avoid future trouble.”

“Cough… Did you really just randomly pick someone?”

Suddenly remembering Su Mi’s hurried nod in the imperial garden, Qin Yan smiled in the shadows and didn’t answer.

“When will you set off?”

“Tomorrow.”

As Qin Yan walked to the door of the hall, Zhu Jingyu suddenly called him back, his voice hoarse and low.

“Ah Yan, when you arrive there, also offer a toast for me.”

Qin Yan’s footsteps paused, his smile disappearing. “Sure.”