After the whole family was swept away, I lay down flat

Chapter 749 Shelved
A few days later, Haitang received a letter from Wu Qiong.

Wu Qiong described her surprise in the letter, because the wife of the Duke of Zhenguo asked Mrs. Zhou Liu to talk to her privately, telling her not to worry, because for some reasons, her marriage might not be decided for the time being, and the matchmaking would also be delayed. However, the wife of the Duke of Zhenguo and Mrs. Zhou Liu both assured her that they would find a good family for her in the future, so she should be patient.

Why would Wu Qiong be anxious? She was actually not in a hurry to get married, and would rather stay at home for a while longer. Her brother's marriage was not going well, which made her very distressed. She thought she would not be able to live in her brother's and his wife's home before getting married, but she did not expect that there would be a surprise after a turn of events.

Although she was still worried about her brother's marriage, as long as she did not marry before her brother got married, she could live in "her own" home for a while. Besides, her brother would obviously return to Beijing in the future. If she married in Chang'an, wouldn't she be separated from her brother thousands of miles away in the future? She would rather wait until her brother came to Beijing, and then go back to her hometown with him to discuss marriage, even if she would be an old maid by then and it would be difficult for her to get married, it would be better than being left alone in a foreign land.

The people of the Zhenguo Mansion and the Zhou family treated her very well, and she lived a comfortable life here without any grievances. However, living under someone else's roof was not what she wanted after all; no matter how well the Zhou family treated her, they were not her real family...

Wu Qiong couldn't tell her good friends like Zhou Xuejun and Zhou Huajun about what was in her heart, for fear that they would accuse her of being ungrateful. But she was not so defensive towards Haitang, because she knew that Haitang would not tell these things to the Zhou family.

After reading the letter, Haitang couldn't help but sigh.

Wu Qiong didn't know why the wife of the Duke of Zhenguo and her mother-in-law suddenly put aside the matter of finding a match for her. She just thought that it was because her brother's marriage was not going well and they were too busy to arrange it for her. However, Haitang had already known the whole story from Jin Jiashu.

Ever since this young master heard her small suggestions that day, he instantly became more thoughtful. No one knew how he did it, but he quickly impressed Wu Ke and became Wu Ke's best friend.

Now Wu Ke seems to suspect that Xin Zhifu's choice of him as a son-in-law may not only be out of speculation, but also to gain more political capital for himself after the new emperor ascends the throne, and also to curry favor with the current emperor. Xin Zhifu intervened and intercepted Wu Ke's marriage. If the marriage is successfully arranged, he will not worry about being settled by Concubine Xu and the old family of Wu Men after the new emperor ascends the throne in the future; but if the emperor does not like it, he will go with the flow to prevent Wu Ke from marrying a well-established family, so that he will not get the help of Yue's family and have the opportunity to return to the capital and make a comeback. No matter which direction things develop, Xin Zhifu will always be the one who benefits. As for the impact of Wu Ke's marriage being blocked on them, Xin Zhifu does not care.

With such suspicion, Wu Ke no longer thought about marrying the daughter of the Xin family. He thought this was the best marriage he could get in Chang'an, but the facts proved that he just fell into someone else's trap. Even if he could successfully marry the daughter of the Xin family, he would not have a good life in the future, and he might continue to be plotted against by his father-in-law.

Unfortunately, he didn't dare to offend Prefect Xin for the time being. He could only pretend to be unaware and continue to flatter him, and then find a way to get out. But he was not sure whether Prefect Xin was targeting only him. Thinking that his cousin Wu Qiong was about to leave mourning and would have to get married at that time, he became worried, fearing that his sister would also be plotted against. His marriage was not going well, and at most he would marry two years later, which was not a big deal. But his sister was a weak girl in the boudoir. If there was any change in her marriage, her whole life might be ruined. In order to avoid being plotted against, the best way was to not show Wu Qiong a date for the time being, so as not to fall into someone else's trap.

He immediately communicated with the Duke of Zhenguo and his wife. The Duke of Zhenguo and his wife did not think that Xin Zhifu was so cunning, but since Wu Ke had some concerns, there was no need for them to rush to settle Wu Qiong's marriage. They originally just hoped that the Wu brothers and sisters could have a good marriage at the right age, but if the Wu brothers and sisters were unwilling, they insisted on arranging a marriage, which would be thankless. Why bother? The wife of the Duke of Zhenguo asked her daughter-in-law to comfort Wu Qiong. Wu Qiong not only did not feel sad, but was even happier. This made the wife of the Duke of Zhenguo vaguely feel that she seemed to have ignored the thoughts of the Wu brothers and sisters themselves, and only thought that her approach was good for them, so she acted on her own. The Wu brothers and sisters were originally dependent on others, and they had to rely on the Zhou family for everything. Even if they were unwilling in their hearts, they dared not say it out loud. But if they obeyed the arrangements of the Zhou family with grievances, would their married life be satisfactory?

The wife of the Duke of Zhenguo was alert, thinking that they had persisted in providing assistance and shelter for more than ten years. They should not erase the gratitude of the Wu brothers and sisters to the Zhou family because of a momentary negligence, and the Queen Mother's efforts would be in vain. It would be better for the couple not to take charge of the marriage of the Wu brothers and sisters. It would be best to ask them about their wishes and then ask the Queen Mother for instructions. For now, they should think of an excuse to shirk, coax the Xin family and outsiders, and delay the time until the new monarch ascends the throne, and things will be easier.

The attitude of the wife of the Duke of Zhenguo turned cold, and Prefect Xin and his wife soon noticed it. They were not panicked, but felt that it was not a bad idea. They had to wait for a letter from the capital to confirm that the emperor had no objection to his family marrying their daughter to Wu Ke before they could continue discussing the marriage. The representative sent by the family that had previously disagreed with his daughter's marriage had actually left Chang'an long ago. Prefect Xin had no intention of marrying his family again, so naturally he didn't care about their opinions. Anyway, the other party's son had kept a mistress and had a child without telling his parents, which was already in the wrong. How could they have the nerve to say that the Xin family was unfaithful? Therefore, he sent his butler to ridicule the visitor, and the other party ran away in disgrace.

However, this matter had to be kept secret from outside. He needed to use the name of this family to delay the progress of his daughter's date, so as to prevent the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion from urging him to arrange a marriage for their child as soon as possible. If the emperor became furious, he would be in a passive position.

If the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion and the Wu family had a rift with his Xin family because of this incident, he would have a reasonable reason to shirk responsibility. That family did not take good care of their son, dragged the Xin family's marriage, and was reluctant to give a final say. They were wrong in the first place. The Xin family quietly changed the family they were looking for, just pretending that they had never discussed the marriage with his family. This was the normal practice. People who care about their reputation should not make a fuss. If they make a fuss, it would be his family's fault. How could it be said that it was the Xin family's fault? If the emperor agrees to the marriage, he will comfort Wu Ke, say a few good words, and give the other party some advice, and the matter will be over. The benefits that this marriage can bring to the Xin family are still uncompromised...

The three parties had their own considerations, and the marriage of Wu Ke and Wu Qiong was delayed. However, Wu Ke changed his previous worries and felt much better. Even though it was a cold winter and the first snow fell in Chang'an City, he was very excited and took his two classmates Jin Jiashu and Geng Tianyou with him to ride out of the city on horseback to look for plum blossoms in the snow.

Jin Jiashu's riding skills improved greatly, and he became quite famous during this trip. He left in high spirits and returned in high spirits. In the evening, he sent three plum blossoms in full bloom to the Hai family, letting Ma, Hu and Haitang enjoy them separately. He was particularly attentive to the one he picked for Haitang.

Ma was delighted to see her branch of red plum blossoms blooming so luxuriantly. She said, "This flower is in full bloom! We should go out of the city to have a look. If we find any good plum blossoms, we will send a few to your family."

Jin Jiashu smiled and thanked her first, then asked, "What are you busy with now? I wanted to invite Sister Hai and Baoyan to go with me today, but you were not at home, so I missed the opportunity."

Ma replied, "My eldest sister's family has a happy event, and I took the children to congratulate her."

(End of this chapter)