I dress up as a poor noblewoman, and I bring my whole family home with my literary talent.

Chapter 75 The dangerous move of the army
Song Lingyi's move is a gamble

The Zhou family can't afford to lose this person. If Song Xianglan is engaged to Zhou Yisheng, it would not be an interference and abandonment. That girl was just Zhou Yisheng's mistress before he got engaged. All the vows of love are nonsense. Breaking off relations with her is just Zhou Yisheng's timely loss-cutting.

There is no one in Chang'an who doesn't have some gossip. At most, it is just a joke after dinner, which will pass in a few days. If the Song family and the Zhou family don't have an engagement, it will be a private transaction and interfere in other people's feelings. Not only will the second sister's reputation be ruined, but the Song family will also end up in a complete failure, and she will not be able to see anyone in the Taishi Bureau.

But they all forgot a crucial link.

"Ruozhao, your second daughter is engaged, so why hasn't her future husband shown up?" asked Mrs. Luo.

"Yes, with such a big thing happening, how could the in-laws not be here?"

Mrs. Zhou said, "My in-laws are busy today, and the engagement has just been made. I will invite you all to the mansion for the engagement party another day."

Madam Luo knew that the matter was not that simple, so she did not ask any more questions. However, there were many people who were curious about the matter and wanted to get to the bottom of it, in order to embarrass the Song family.

"What a coincidence?"

"I wonder which family your second daughter has been arranged to marry?"

……

Zhou Xiaoniang hesitated for a moment. If she answered casually, she would be easily exposed, but if she didn't answer, her lie would be exposed.

Song Lingyi was calm and composed, and smiled: "Who else could it be? Of course it's Zhou Yisheng, the son of the Zhou family."

Song Xianglan was so nervous that she subconsciously squeezed Song Lingyi's hand.

Zhao Yinxian, who was squeezed behind the crowd, was so surprised when she heard Zhou Yisheng's name that she covered her mouth. It turned out that it was not Song Lingyi who was looking at Zhou Yisheng, but her second sister...

Xie Yanshu murmured doubtfully: "Zhou Yisheng? I don't think I've heard of any pregnancy in the Zhou family—"

The rest of his words were swallowed by Zhao Yinxian in time, "Say less!" Her eyes kept hinting

The Zhou family had the special permission of His Majesty and still enjoyed the salary of a fourth-rank commander. Madam Zhou was the legitimate daughter of the Earl's mansion. Even though she was an orphan and a widow, no one dared to bully her in Chang'an. The Zhou family had good conditions, but it was not easy for Madam Zhou to find a daughter-in-law who was well-educated and had a good family background.

When a wealthy family is looking for a son-in-law, they have to consider the other party's future prospects.

If Mr. Zhou were still alive, marrying into the Zhou family would definitely be a good match, but the pillar of the family is gone, and his son is just a sinecure, a fool who can only write and linger in the flowers. In a situation like the Zhou family, families with slightly more prominent family backgrounds would not be willing to marry their daughters into the Zhou family.

The Song family was not of high status, but Mr. Song had just been granted an official position by His Majesty, and Song Lingyi was also promoted by His Majesty as an exception. She was also the disciple of Master Ye, and had a promising future. Even if the Zhou family thought highly of themselves, they had to consider the consequences of denying the engagement.

Song Lingyi also figured this out before she dared to reveal in public that it was the Zhou family. If Mrs. Zhou was a smart person, she would choose to go with the flow and preserve their respective reputations.

Master Song wiped the sweat off his forehead with his sleeve, pretending to be calm and turned back: "Everyone! The time has come, it's time to start the feast, everyone go in."

The banquet officially began in the left hall. Lu Jing and Xie Yanshu sat opposite each other. When their eyes occasionally met, Xie Yanshu's eyes were always scrutinizing. Lu Jing noticed his hidden hostility, his eyes were dark and difficult to discern, but his face remained calm.

Ye Xuan was sitting next to Xie Yanshu. He held his chin with one hand and looked at the two of them with a meaningful smile on his face.

Mr. Song picked up a glass of wine and said, "Thank you all for coming to my and Liao Liao's promotion banquet today. This glass of wine is for you all."

gulp
After drinking a few glasses of sake in succession, Master Song became exhausted. He staggered from side to side, lying drunkenly on the table. He called for a servant to help him out to the left hall to relieve himself.

As a result, as soon as the man walked out of the living room, he walked briskly towards the woodshed in the backyard as if nothing had happened.

Ah Zhu stood guard at the locked door of the woodshed, while the noise inside never stopped. The person inside must have had his hands tied and his mouth covered, so he could only bang against the door with his body. But it was just a waste of effort. Last time, Song Zhirou did the same thing and almost broke apart. Master Song specifically asked Ah Zhu to find a more familiar door.

Master Song looked around and confirmed that no one was following him. Then he whispered to Ah Zhu, "Who is this girl? Do you think someone sent her to slander the Song family's reputation?"

How could Ah Zhu know all this? Now was not the time to investigate whether it was slander or not. "Master, this girl is really restless. We have to think of a way. It's not a good idea to keep her locked up in the woodshed. What if she goes out and sues the officials... and sues us for abusing lynching?"

Mr. Song was so anxious that he gritted his teeth and said, "What can I do?!" None of his own daughters are worry-free!

Today's disturbance has calmed down on the surface, but we still need to communicate with the Zhou family! At this critical juncture, we must not let this girl go!
Mr. Song's eyes turned fierce, "Otherwise, don't let her go out..."

……

The farce just now seemed to be forgotten. At the dinner table, the guests enthusiastically congratulated Song Lingyi on her promotion.

Song Xianglan sat at the table, in no mood to eat or drink. If the women at the table said even one more word to her or smiled at her, she would wonder if they were laughing at her.

After sitting for less than an incense stick of time, she wanted to go back to the backyard to have some peace and quiet. As soon as she stood up, Song Lingyi stopped her and wouldn't let her leave.

Song Lingyi smiled brightly and said, "Second sister, you can't leave."

Song Xianglan was about to cry. What happened today had already exceeded her psychological endurance. She could only hope that Zhou Yishen was thinking about her and caring about her and would not rush to deny the engagement, otherwise the Song family would be doomed!

"No...I..." No, she felt tears were about to flow as soon as she spoke.

Song Lingyi saw that she was about to lose control of her emotions, so she pretended to have a stomachache and asked Song Xianglan to help her go out to rest. After pulling her to a secluded place, she was no longer polite and said, "Second sister, I don't want to blame you for anything, but you have to hold on in front of everyone. It's hard to convince people with an engagement as a cover, so it can only temporarily shut you up. If others find out that you are out of control, they will definitely be more suspicious!"

Song Xianglan burst into tears: "It's all that woman's fault... She can't get Brother Yi's love, so she wants to drag me to death with her..."

Even at this point, he still called her 'Brother Yi'. Song Lingyi suppressed her anger and didn't roll her eyes. "Second sister, you should blame Zhou Yisheng. He was the one who first approached Qin Muchu and played two girls at the same time. If he really liked you, would he still do this?!"

(End of this chapter)