Chapter 63: Mu Qing's Personal Matter

  Mu Qing didn't know how she ended up back at the Shen's house.

  In her two lifetimes as a human being, she had never been stared at with such hatred.

  It makes her feel uneasy as if sitting on pins and needles whenever she thinks about it.

  Li saw her pale face and was startled, hastily embracing her: "Mu Qing, what's wrong?"

  Shen Mu Qing gazed at Li Shi's waist, which had swollen like a steamed bun, and his heart was even more chaotic.

  She threw herself into Li's arms, tightly wrapping her arms around Li, absorbing the warmth of Li's body.

  "I'm fine, I'm fine... it's just a bit..."

  Li naturally believed it, but didn't dare ask more questions, and could only anxiously look at Ying Fen.

  Ying shook her head lightly.

  She saw the girl and the old man pulling each other.

  If madam finds out, she will definitely scold the young lady.

  She resolutely held her silence.

  Li could only press down her confusion and gently patted Shen Muqing's back, comforting her like a baby.

  The house was quiet and still. Everyone held their breath and remained silent. They were afraid of making any noise that might provoke Li, who was in a bad mood.

  Outside the curtain, a maid softly said: "Madam, the wife of Director Liu of the Five Cities Military Command has come to visit."

  Li patted Shen Muqing in his arms: "Get up! We have guests!"

  Shen Mu Qing reluctantly left Li's embrace and went with Ying to the east wing room.

  Soon, the busy mother accompanied by Mrs. Liu Jin walked in, and the sound of serving tea and water, chatting and asking about each other's well-being filled the room.

  Shen Mu Qing lay on the large kang in front of the window, gazing at the white jade and emerald narcissus flowers floating in the glass case on the kang table, their fragrance wafting to the clouds nine days high.

  How did things become like this? I even found out where Xiao Sa lived and was prepared to go to his place before the New Year, to personally and seriously explain this matter to him... I had even mentally prepared myself for being scolded by Xiao Sa... But how did he find out? Was it when Zhu Ji knelt down in front of me or when Liu Yu proposed marriage to that old Hanlin's grandson?

  A faint sound of laughter broke her reverie.

  "...Then I'll go back first and come visit you again in two days." It was the voice of Liu Jin's wife, "You're not feeling well, so don't see me off, there are maids to do it!"

  "I won't be polite with you either, to be honest, I've been feeling really uncomfortable these past few days." Li said with a pleasant tone, "You also know that with only this one daughter, such a big matter, we have to discuss it with the old master first."

  "That's natural." Mrs. Liu Jin smiled and said, "I was a bit anxious..."

  Shen Mu Qing heard Li Shi's bright laughter: "Orange fragrance, you can help me see off Mrs. Liu!"

  After a burst of noise, the house returned to its former tranquility. Xiang came over and invited Shen Muqing: "Madam is asking you to go sit with her."

  Shen Muqing went to the Li's residence and rested in the west wing. Mrs. Li was sitting by the window on a large kang, her face heavy with worry.

  Seeing Shen Muqing, she beckoned her daughter over and signaled her to sit down beside her. Then, turning to Cheng Xiang, she said: "All of you withdraw!"

  Tangerine fragrance responded, and the maidservants and daughters-in-law who were serving in the house all retreated.

  Li asked Shen Muqing: "What did you gain from going to Wanjiazhai?"

  Shen Mu Qing opened the window and told Li Shi: "I heard from the big shopkeeper that in recent years, the Liang family seems to be struggling to make ends meet."

  Mr. Li nodded: "I also heard some rumors that the Liang family has been losing a lot of money since their ship sank in the big tsunami in Shun Kang's fifth year, and it seems they still haven't recovered until now."

  Shen Muqing had also heard about this matter. When the emperor first opened up maritime trade, some knowledgeable officials in the court saw the business opportunities and many people wanted to find ways to set sail. The Shen family had also considered this at the time, but firstly, Shen Jian's official position was not high, and secondly, they couldn't raise the capital. Those who took the lead in eating crabs naturally made a fortune. Unexpectedly, in the autumn of the fifth year of Shunkang, a huge tsunami suddenly occurred, lasting for twenty days, and many ships sank into the sea. At that time, there were even people who hanged themselves to death because of this. Unexpectedly, the Liang family was also implicated.

  "It seems that someone deliberately wants to tell us about this!" Shen Mu Qing said thoughtfully, "It's definitely not the Eldest Madam... Without her consent, even if the Liang family wanted to form an alliance with our family through marriage, it wouldn't be possible... It's also impossible for it to be Madame Liang. If she didn't agree, she could just pretend to go along with it on the surface while opposing it in secret... As for Liang Yu Hui, it's even more impossible for her to say anything. The Second Young Master and the Second Madam... don't seem like people who are in charge..."

  Shen Muqing raised her head and looked at Li Shi.

  Li smiled slightly: "Wang Wenxiu!"

  Shen Muqing nodded: "It's probably her." Shen Muqing then recounted the situation of his visit to the Liang family that day, "Even the things belonging to Madame Liang she said were gifts, it seems she has a say in the Liang household. Having the maids by Madame Liang's side do some tasks for her is not difficult either."

  "Both of you have similar social status," Li also agreed, "If it happens, it will be the easiest for people to compare and for you two to compare with each other. I think the Liang family must attach great importance to marrying into our family, otherwise, Wang Wen wouldn't be so nervous!"

  No wonder people say big families are complicated, this marriage thing is still uncertain if it can be accomplished, and now trouble has arrived...

  Shen Muqing felt a bit annoyed in her heart and didn't want to talk about this matter with Li Shi anymore. She changed the subject: "Just now, Mrs. Liu Jin came, what did she say?"

  Li furrowed his brow:

  "Speaking of marriage!"

  Liang's family?

  "No." Li's eyebrows furrowed even more tightly. "It was to act as matchmaker for the fourth son of Lu Heng, commander of the Imperial Guard."

  Deeply shocked and saddened.

  Li coldly snorted and said, "As for the Lü family, they were never within my consideration range. And their fourth son, he's been known as 'idiot' since childhood. He's good at fighting, but if you ask him to write an article, I'm afraid he can't even write two words without mistakes..."

  Shen Muqing suddenly thought of another identity of the empress, and also the matter of Shen Zhen presenting a plan to the emperor to get rid of the King of Town An... or perhaps, her marriage was not just a simple matter.

  It all started from this.

  First, Shen Zhen presented his plan, and then her matter was settled. The Dai family came from a thousand miles away to discuss and decide on their move, and then there was the Lü family, one ring linked to another, one case followed by another... It seemed as if there were a pair of invisible hands forcing them into submission...

  Shen Mu Qing's expression changed slightly as she pursed her lips and said, "Has there been any response from the Liang family yet?"

  Li did not answer her, but stared blankly at the tea cup in his hand.

  After Li beat Shen Muqing, Shen Muqing was completely convinced of Li. She knew that Li was thinking about the problem, so she didn't dare to disturb her and sat down beside Li to give her a gentle massage on her legs.

  It was unknown how long it had been, but Shen Muqing's arm had become somewhat sore. Suddenly, a small maid outside reported: "The young lady of the Deqing Marquis' manor has come to pay her respects to the madam!"

  Mr. Li was overjoyed and immediately sat up straight, saying: "Quickly, invite him in, quickly!"

  Shen Mu Qing let out a sigh and retreated to the eastern wing of the house.

  Unlike the lively scene when Madame Liu arrived, the two ladies-in-waiting of Duke Deqing's mansion, Wang and Li, exchanged a few words before dismissing their attendants. The two women chatted in the western wing for half a day, with Lady Li personally escorting Lady Wang to the second gate.

  When Li returned, her spirits had obviously lifted a lot. She even called out to Wang's mother: "Tell the master to let him come here."

  Wang's mother left at his call.

  After dinner, Shen Muqing was driven back to An Garden by Li early. As soon as Shen arrived, the couple sent away the people around them and started talking in a low voice. Shen Muqing knew that Li wanted to discuss her own marriage with Shen. The others in An Garden were also very nervous.

  Shen Muqing's future is closely tied to theirs.

  Ying Fen sent Qing Bi and Yue Gui to gather information.

  Two little maids openly stuck their ears on the door to listen, and the people in Chaohui Hall just smiled when they saw it.

  "Madam has arranged for our daughter to marry into the Liang family!"

  "The old master disagreed and said how could they be in-laws with Wang Shengyun."

  "The lady said, 'This is what they mean by heroes thinking alike!'"

  "The old man didn't say a word, his wife was persuading him."

  "Madam said that tomorrow we will go to the Liu's house to visit Mrs. Liu. She also said that since we have lost face in front of her today, tomorrow we should raise her up and make her our family's matchmaker. We cannot afford to offend Mrs. Liu!"

  Two little maidservants were running back and forth like butterflies.

  The several maids in An Yuan's courtyard all cheered and clapped with joy.

  "It's great that our daughter is married into the Liang family! Since Liang's daughter likes our daughter so much, with a younger sister-in-law speaking up in front of her mother-in-law, the relationship between the two families will be much simpler."

  "Liáng Gōngzǐ is a warm and gentle person, who treats others with kindness. With such an uncle, we can also breathe a sigh of relief!"

  Yingfen loudly scolded several young maids: "Looking at the young lady's soft heart, speaking up is unscrupulous. From today on, all of you must learn to behave properly, lest you follow the young lady to the Liang family and be ridiculed by your sister-in-law!"

  Several little maidservants immediately trembled with fear.

  If it were in peacetime, Shen Muqing would have just stopped him, but thinking of Li's beating a few days ago and thinking that if he really got engaged to the Liang family, his own people at home should also establish some rules, so as not to bring trouble when they go over.

  Ying Fen saw Shen Mu Qing and for once kept silent, feeling more confident. The next morning, she went to Wang Mama's place and followed her around for half a day before returning to An Yuan.

  "You're in such a hurry to learn from Aunt Wang." Mingxia teased her, "The housekeeper here is left for Zhuji, do you also want to intervene?"

  "English translation: "What's it to you? In the future, when the young lady gets married, we'll all be accompanying her as part of Shen's household, receiving our allowance from them. If she wants to set up several concubines, who dares to say a word against it?"

  "What if Brother-in-law doesn't agree?" Mingxia covered her mouth and smiled.

  "What can you do if I don't agree?" Yingfen said disapprovingly, "I only listen to my sister, and in the future, I'll listen to Young Master... what business is it of mine!"

  Ming Xia burst out laughing: "Young lady, young lady, come quickly! Ming Xia says that from now on, you won't even listen to Master's words!"

  As soon as she entered the house, Li's mother smiled and said, "You girls should be more reserved in your speech, or else people will say that our girl doesn't know any manners."

  Yingfen was about to argue with Mingxia for a few more sentences, but seeing Li's mother arrive, she hastily swallowed her words. Smiling, she said: "Mom is always busy in the Xiangtuan Garden every day, how did you have time to come to our place?"

  Back to top

  Tip: Enter "Panda Literature" in a search engine to find this site, thank you.

  Chapter 63: Mu Qing's Personal Matter