In her stunned state, Nanny Fu heard Ziteng say in a flat tone, “This way, the First Madam can manage better and won’t offend either the First Madam or Sixth Miss regarding marriage arrangements.”
A flash of insight crossed Nanny Fu’s mind—that was exactly right!
Although Sixth Miss was currently confined to quarters, the reason for her confinement had not been explained publicly. This way, when the time came, they could find an excuse of illness, so while it would greatly affect her marriage prospects, finding a family of suitable social standing wouldn’t be impossible.
After all, Sixth Miss was Lianpin’s younger sister, a legitimate daughter whose status was even a rank higher than Qin Yue’s. Therefore, if Xu Shi hadn’t been imprisoned, her marriage would certainly have been arranged with someone excellent.
Now, even though Xu Shi was imprisoned, as the elder sister-in-law, Dong Shi would certainly do her utmost to find a marriage match. This marriage arrangement was destined to be very difficult to arrange.
If they sought a better family, the other party would surely be well-informed and generally wouldn’t want Qin Yunyun. If they sought an ordinary family, Xu Shi and Qin Yunyun would absolutely be dissatisfied, and then they would certainly give Dong Shi harsh words, saying she wasn’t putting in effort, saying she was kicking them while they were down—all manner of accusations could be made.
Dong Shi would have a very difficult time pleasing anyone in this matter—it would be very hard to handle.
If Concubine Li caused such a commotion, it would make things much easier for Dong Shi.
So Qin Yunyun had such disgraceful conduct—Dong Shi had no choice but to quickly arrange her marriage to avoid complications from delay.
Even if Xu Shi and Qin Yunyun had complaints in the future, Qin Yongtao would suppress them, and Dong Shi would have justification to defend herself.
Nanny Fu murmured, “I didn’t realize First Miss was also so clever.”
Hong Juan said, “First Miss actually has more consideration than the First Madam.”
Lu Ye said, “Speaking of it this way, it’s quite possible that this matter was deliberately leaked to Concubine Miao by the First Madam herself.”
Qin Shuying smiled faintly—their speculations all made sense.
Of course Qin Yue was intelligent. If she weren’t intelligent, could she have helped her mother establish a firm foothold in the south? Could she have schemed to make Qin Wei, who always outshone her, suffer such a great loss that she had no choice but to follow her legitimate mother back to the capital? Could she have forced Concubine Miao, who had been favored for over ten years, to bow her head?
After three days of interaction, Qin Yue had left a good impression on her. However, knowing a person’s face but not their heart, whether she would eventually turn her blade against herself remained uncertain.
The next day.
The young misses began attending lessons together, and Qin Yue’s behavior was just as measured as it had been at Princess Imperial’s residence.
Qin Shuying found interacting with her relaxing—Qin Yue was truly too intelligent.
Upon learning she would be sent to the family temple, Qin Fangfang attempted hanging herself and went on hunger strikes, causing quite a commotion for a while.
Concubine Li had served Qin Yongtao for over ten years and knew how to be humble and submissive. Though she couldn’t be called extremely favored over the years, she still had some say. Now without Xu Shi pressing down on her, her influence became apparent.
First, she made Qin Yongtao change his mind about sending Qin Fangfang to the family temple, then she accelerated the pace of striking against the Sun family. The Sun family was caught by him on several charges, and His Majesty was furious, waving his hand to strip them of their Earl title.
Without the Earl title, the Earl’s residence was reclaimed. With no prospects in the family, the Sun family couldn’t even afford a decent mansion, ultimately having to buy a four-courtyard residence in Chongde Ward.
The family had forty to fifty masters alone, plus servants—how could they all fit?
The liveliness of that situation need not be mentioned.
Sun Qingping’s sister, who was the concubine-born daughter-in-law of Duke Chu’s residence, was after all from Duke Chu’s household and occasionally helped her natal family. It was only through her assistance that the Sun family managed three meals a day.
As for Qin Fangfang, she had already been cast out by the Sun family. Qin Yongtao found legal precedent to completely sever Qin Fangfang’s ties with the Sun family, making marriage and betrothal matters unrelated.
Dong Shi began frequently entering and leaving the Qin residence, seeking marriage prospects for Qin Yunyun and, incidentally, for Qin Fangfang as well.
Since Qin Fangfang no longer needed to go to the family temple, Qin Yongtao also agreed to let her remarry. For Qin Yongtao, a daughter’s remarriage naturally meant gaining an ally.
Presumably, this was how Concubine Li had persuaded Qin Yongtao.
Logically, with the Old Ancestor present, Qin Yongtao shouldn’t have been so enthusiastic about this matter. However, the Old Madam had been engaged in Buddhist devotions for many days and didn’t allow interruptions. When Qin Yongtao’s intentions were conveyed to her, the Old Madam agreed.
After Qin Yongtao left, the Old Madam sighed and said to Nanny Gu, “Although it was Eighth Girl’s own wrongdoing that trapped her, she is only fourteen years old after all. I couldn’t bear to see her spend her life alone with temple lamps and ancient Buddhas. I hope from now on she will understand how to cherish her blessings, know restraint, and treasure this chance for rebirth.”
Nanny Gu deeply agreed, saying, “Old Madam, it’s precisely because you are such a kind grandmother that you think this way. Being born into the Qin family, all the young misses have good fortune.”
If Qin Shuying had been present, she would certainly have agreed with Nanny Gu’s words.
Qin Yaoyao was a concubine’s daughter, yet the Old Madam had always cared for and cultivated her. Qin Fangfang was a concubine’s daughter—in other families, she would likely have been confined to a Buddhist hall long ago, yet the Old Madam pitied her youth and gave her a chance to reform. Even when Qin Yunyun treated her sisters that way, the Old Madam only confined her to quarters, which was actually giving her a chance to reform as well.
But would Qin Fangfang think this way?
Would Qin Yunyun think this way?
On this day, during her morning rest period, Qin Shuying was strolling in the courtyard when she was startled to discover Qin Yongtao standing under a scholar tree, looking as if he were waiting for her.
Qin Shuying approached and paid her respects: “Greetings to Uncle.”
Qin Yongtao calmly looked her over and said, “During this time, the Old Madam hasn’t required you to pay morning respects, so I haven’t seen you either. Today I have something to ask you—was it you who spread the news about the Mu family matter?”
Qin Shuying respectfully replied, “Uncle, regarding the Mu family matter, though your niece knows about it, she was not the one who spread it. Many noble ladies know about this matter, so it was likely spread by someone at odds with the Mu family. As a daughter of the Qin family, your niece naturally must prioritize the Qin residence’s reputation and safety above all else. If your niece had done this, it would inevitably leave traces.”
“Is that so?”
Qin Yongtao’s gaze was piercing as he calmly observed this niece.
Qin Shuying’s words did have some merit.
What Qin Shuying had said to Princess Fu’an at Princess Yongjia’s residence had been heard by so many people present. Besides Princess Yongjia and other masters, several attending servants had also heard it, and whether they would keep it secret was uncertain.
Moreover, Princess Fuping and Princess Fu’an belonged to different factions. With such a good opportunity delivered to Noble Consort De, she had no reason not to use it. However, Noble Consort De was not a simple woman with only beauty and backing—if she were to exploit this, she absolutely wouldn’t adopt the method of widespread publicity.
Quietly observing developments would be the best approach for Noble Consort De.
The next day, the entire capital knew about the Mu family matter. In this, someone was certainly pushing the situation’s development.