The First Madam was stunned.

The greatest taboo in marriage proposals was to be so direct and face-to-face.

For the moment, the First Madam hadn’t yet considered the advantages and disadvantages of this match.

But with Madam Li sitting right across from her, whether yes or no, she had to provide some response.

The First Madam could only smile and say, “A child as excellent as Eleventh Young Master—how could it be called taking advantage!” After pondering a moment, she continued slowly, “It’s just that Little Seven has four older sisters who haven’t yet been betrothed. It wouldn’t be proper to arrange her marriage first.”

Madam Li quickly said, “I’ve been too hasty!”

For families like the Yang and Li households, marriage arrangements had to observe proper order.

Eleventh Young Master also had several concubine-born brothers ahead of him who weren’t yet betrothed. Never mind the distant ones—even Tenth Young Master was already sixteen and still unmarried.

The First Madam went with the flow. “Let’s wait a few more years. Little Seven is still quite young this year after all.”

Madam Li sighed with the First Madam. “These days it’s not easy to arrange a satisfying match for one’s children. Finding someone with matching family status and comparable appearance and character—where are such good matches to be found? Our Fourth Son is already eighteen this year, and isn’t he also delayed without a marriage arranged?”

The two madams chatted at length, then Madam Li rose to take her leave and returned to the guest quarters to rest.

The First Madam leaned by the window, falling into thought.

Nanny Liang personally brought in a small chicken-blood red bowl and entered the room. “Madam, don’t just sit there lost in thought—have a few mouthfuls of bird’s nest first.”

The First Madam half-raised her body, accepted the small bowl, and stirred the sugar water inside absently. “This Madam Li is quite interesting.”

Nanny Liang hadn’t been attending the First Madam and didn’t know her meaning, so she responded vaguely with agreement.

The First Madam smiled and recounted Madam Li’s proposal.

“This Madam Li truly is calculating…” Nanny Liang also praised admiringly.

Though Eleventh Young Master was a legitimate son, whether considering his age or his late mother’s background, he couldn’t compare to the Eldest and Third Young Masters born to the first wife.

These years she had grown closer to Madam Li.

By proposing a Yang family concubine-born daughter for him, Madam Li could strengthen relations between the Yang and Li families, win over Eleventh Young Master, and invisibly suppress the power of the Eldest and Third Young Masters.

After all, Master Yang was Master Li’s superior of many years. If the Seventh Miss truly married into the Li family, Eleventh Young Master would naturally gain more favor from Master Li.

But the Seventh Miss was also a concubine-born daughter… In the future, Madam Li wouldn’t need to worry—naturally she could arrange an even better match for Twelfth Young Master.

“This is a move that kills three birds with one stone.” The First Madam sighed.

Nanny Liang couldn’t help being somewhat curious. “So do you think this should be accepted or…”

The First Madam smiled and waved her hand. “The Seventh Miss isn’t my birth daughter after all. It wouldn’t be right not to ask her opinion about marriage… Besides, there are still so many older sisters ahead of her. With Third Miss’s marriage still unsettled, why such haste?”

She felt somewhat regretful. “If I’d known, I should have spoken first. I was rather impressed with the Li family’s Fourth Son—his age isn’t far from Third Miss’s, making him a good match for her.”

Speaking of which, Li Fourth Son was three years older than Third Miss—the age difference wasn’t great.

His birth mother, Concubine Cui, was currently managing the Li household affairs and was naturally a favored person before Master Li. Fourth Son himself couldn’t be said to lack learning—at such a young age, he had already passed the provincial examination.

However, there was just one problem…

Nanny Liang also smiled. “Your idea is excellent, and here I thought you’d forgotten about Third Miss! Li Fourth Son truly is an outstanding youth, and he’s close with Eldest and Third Young Masters too. The Master couldn’t find fault with him!”

The First Madam hummed in agreement and pushed the chicken-blood red bowl aside. “After entertaining Madam Li for half the day, I’m rather tired. You may go. After dinner, have the Seventh Miss stay behind to keep me company and chat.”

Nanny Liang smiled and agreed.

These past years, whenever the First Madam encountered matters, she always thought to consult the Seventh Miss first.

#

After dinner, the Seventh Miss indeed remained behind.

Already familiar with the routine and with much unnecessary formality dispensed with, she seated herself below the First Madam and fixed her with an inquiring gaze.

The First Madam couldn’t help smiling: this Seventh Miss was sometimes so mature, almost rivaling the First Miss, and at other times so childlike.

She then, with additions and omissions, told the Seventh Miss about her idea of betrothing Third Miss to Li Fourth Son.

But she didn’t mention Eleventh Young Master’s matter.

The Seventh Miss couldn’t help hesitating.

This Li Fourth Son’s reputation was indeed known throughout Suzhou—at least the Seventh Miss had heard of him.

Li Fourth Son was eighteen this year, also a talented youth. Everything about him was good—his literary talent even surpassed Eldest and Third Young Masters. It was just his temperament that was somewhat peculiar.

The Great Qin didn’t prohibit male romantic relationships, especially in the Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Fujian region. For handsome young men to have a few same-sex lovers wasn’t strange. The Seventh Miss herself had no discriminatory feelings toward same-sex love.

However, Li Fourth Son’s romantic history was rather dramatic. He had maintained a stable romantic relationship for three or four years with a leading young male entertainer from the South Wind Hall. That Xiao Yu of Night Chu Study was Li Fourth Son’s person—this was known to everyone in Suzhou city.

Over these three or four years, Li Fourth Son had fought at least seven or eight times over Xiao Yu, offending numerous dandies from official families. Whether Master Li flew into a rage and tied him up to keep him home, or beat him until he couldn’t get out of bed… Li Fourth Son simply couldn’t leave that young entertainer.

Setting this aside, he was indeed an ideal marriage prospect—provided, of course, that his wife could tolerate Li Fourth Son’s heart forever holding another man.

A reportedly very handsome man at that.

Thinking of Third Miss’s round face, the Seventh Miss was somewhat speechless.

“He is a good candidate!” She weighed her words carefully. “However, the Li family’s relationship with ours is ultimately too close. Li Fourth Son probably defers to Father, so he wouldn’t dare do anything outrageous for the first couple of years.”

The First Madam just wanted to torment Third Miss—if Li Fourth Son didn’t dare create trouble, she would be disappointed.

The First Madam was somewhat amused. “You’re still too young after all. Never mind about the first couple years… A woman’s heart will never like seeing her husband philandering outside.”

The Seventh Miss also felt she had misspoken.

Though the First Madam didn’t hide her intention to torment Third Miss, she herself shouldn’t follow that line of thinking to offer advice.

“Madam Li probably wouldn’t be willing, would she?” She changed tack. “Though Little Seven doesn’t know much about Li family affairs, just seeing that Fourth Son doesn’t hover around Madam Li shows…”

The First Madam’s expression grew thoughtful.

No matter how poor Third Miss’s relationship with the First Madam, she was still a Yang family daughter.

Whoever married a Yang family daughter would naturally gain some advantage in the Li household… Li Fourth Son was also concubine-born and was worried about not having a powerful wife’s family for support.

Madam Li probably wouldn’t be happy to see yet another older son grow in power.

Her gaze at the Seventh Miss softened. “Little Seven still sees most clearly.”

The Seventh Miss secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Though she couldn’t do much good regarding Third Miss’s marriage, at least she could prevent Third Miss from marrying such a… man born in the wrong era.

“We’ll see.” The First Madam was noncommittal. “If the Li family wants to form a marriage alliance with us, they can only choose between Third Miss and Fourth Miss.”

The Fifth Miss was a legitimate daughter from the primary wife, of noble status—naturally she wouldn’t marry beneath her station.

Her in-laws would have to at least equal the Marquis Dingguo Sun family. Though the Li family was illustrious, compared to old aristocratic families like the Sun family, they were still several grades lower.

The Seventh Miss mentioned Eleventh Young Master’s particular attention to the Sixth Miss. “…There really is something there. Fifth Sister casually teased him a few times, and he became all proper and avoided her…”

The First Madam couldn’t help laughing loudly. “Eleventh Young Master and Sixth Miss? That absolutely won’t do.”

The Seventh Miss was somewhat puzzled and looked at the First Madam without speaking.

Seeing the Seventh Miss’s bewildered expression, the First Madam laughed even harder.

“This is all talk for later.” After laughing, she casually found an excuse to brush it off. “Families wanting marriage alliances with us aren’t limited to the Li family. The Gui family is still being kept waiting… Sigh, if the Northwest weren’t so desolate, I’d want to marry Fifth Miss there.”

The Seventh Miss could only smile along.

But she remained somewhat doubtful in her heart: was the pairing of Eleventh Young Master and Sixth Miss really so preposterous?

The First Madam’s laughter seemed rather excessive…

Could there be something else she didn’t know about?

But the First Madam had already moved to other topics, so the Seventh Miss could only collect her thoughts and banter with the First Madam.

To be fair, these years of attending the First Madam weren’t as painful as the Seventh Miss had imagined.

Though the First Madam was petty and suspicious, she was after all from an official family, well-traveled and knowledgeable. Whether discussing politics, military affairs, or personnel matters, she had her own perspectives.

As long as there was no conflict of interest, her views were mostly quite fair. Usually when discussing with the Seventh Miss, it was mostly the Seventh Miss who benefited greatly.

After finishing with the First Madam, the Seventh Miss returned to her room.

The Fifth Miss and Sixth Miss sat by the window whispering, not knowing what they were discussing.

Seeing the Seventh Miss enter, both laughed.

“When Madam kept you behind, did she ask about the Li family marriage?” The Sixth Miss asked eagerly.

The Fifth Miss angrily flicked the Sixth Miss’s forehead. “Silly girl, who told you to just blurt it out?”

The Seventh Miss was greatly surprised.

This Third Miss marriage matter was just a notion of the First Madam’s. It hadn’t even come to pass yet… If the Fifth Miss knew, that was one thing, but how did even the Sixth Miss seem so thoroughly informed?

Seeing the surprise on the Seventh Miss’s face, the Fifth Miss grew proud and couldn’t help revealing her cards, forgetting to scold the Sixth Miss.

“Didn’t expect that, did you? Guyu happened to overhear a sentence or two… And after questioning Nanny Liang, what wasn’t clear? What do you think? If you ask me, though the Li family is good, there are ultimately too many people. If it were me, I wouldn’t marry in!”

The Sixth Miss disagreed. “Eleventh Brother’s character is truly excellent!”

The Seventh Miss then thought of the First Madam’s inexplicable laughter.

She suddenly understood.

The Seventh Miss did acknowledge Eleventh Young Master’s character.

But the Li family was absolutely not an ideal living environment. It might even be more treacherous than the Yang family.

A philandering master, a formidable madam, countless concubines, plus over ten young masters each with different thoughts and various abilities!

“…Mother didn’t mention this to me! You mustn’t speak nonsense!”

She couldn’t help growing somewhat anxious.

The Fifth Miss and Sixth Miss were even more delighted, nearly falling over with laughter.

“Who’s speaking nonsense!”

“Nanny Liang told us everything…”

They spent the entire evening bickering.

Not until nearly bedtime did the two sisters let the Seventh Miss go.

The Sixth Miss was timid, so the Seventh Miss shared the larger room with her, giving the single room to the Fifth Miss.

After the two washed up and got into bed, the Seventh Miss softly asked the Sixth Miss, “Is the marriage proposal true?”

The Sixth Miss’s voice was cheerful. “Mm! Really not lying to you! Guyu overheard a sentence or two and came back to tell us… We went to ask Nanny Liang ourselves! All true!”

Somehow, the Seventh Miss felt somewhat guilty.

“I… I won’t agree!” She assured the Sixth Miss. “Besides, Mother probably has no intention of agreeing either…”

Sisters rarely married into the same family.

Since the First Madam wanted to marry Third Miss into the Li family, she certainly wouldn’t consider herself.

The Seventh Miss couldn’t help secretly feeling annoyed.

Speaking up for Third Miss was just giving her a casual helping hand—who knew it would implicate herself instead.

The Sixth Miss giggled.

“What kind of talk is that!” She seemed amused by the Seventh Miss. “Who cares about that… Silly child, do you really think I’ve fallen for Eleventh Brother?”

The Seventh Miss was startled.

After several years, she understood the Sixth Miss quite well…

If the Sixth Miss had no favorable feelings for Eleventh Young Master, why would she converse with him so intimately?

Some things could only deceive oneself, not fool those who knew better.

She softly said “Oh?”

“Didn’t I tell you?” The Sixth Miss simply propped herself up on the pillow. “My future husband must be both imposing and capable… After I marry, I won’t need to please anyone! Only others will need to please me…”

The Seventh Miss smiled in agreement. “You’re right, I forgot.”

“Exactly!” The Sixth Miss quickly agreed. “Though Eleventh Brother is fine, Fifth Sister is right! Their household has just as many messy affairs as ours… And he’s lost his mother… I think you not agreeing is absolutely correct. You were raised in the main courtyard. With our family’s status, what kind of family couldn’t we find in the future? Though Eleventh Brother is good, he still doesn’t match you!”

Just a few sentences, yet “Eleventh Brother is good” appeared twice…

Sigh, the Sixth Miss’s status as a concubine-born daughter was even a level lower than her own.

Even if she wanted to marry, it would depend on whether the Li family found her acceptable.

The Seventh Miss smiled. “You’re right, you’re right. Sleep now.”

The Sixth Miss said with a grin, “Then I’m sleeping!” She turned over and lay down, pulling the blanket over her head.

The Seventh Miss also pondered matters, not falling asleep until after the third watch.

The next day upon rising, she felt congested and had ringing in her ears.

Ancient medical conditions were poor—even a minor illness could become prolonged.

The First Madam was very nervous and quickly had ginger soup stewed for the Seventh Miss to drink, then arranged for someone to go down the mountain to fetch a physician.

Before long, Nanny Liang returned with people.

“Just reaching the mountain foot, we encountered Teacher Zhang. Teacher Zhang brought several talented young men wanting to visit the plum grove… This servant took the liberty of agreeing.”

The First Madam had no objection.

Given the Elder Master’s friendship with Teacher Zhang, the Yang family’s mountain estate was of course open to Zhang Weiting at any time.

“It happened that we mentioned Seventh Miss’s illness, and Teacher Zhang asked Second Young Master Quan who accompanied him to come treat the Seventh Miss.” Nanny Liang smiled. “We were worried the Guangfu physicians might lack skill and delay treatment… What good fortune! Second Young Master Quan sent someone back to fetch his medicine chest—he’ll arrive shortly!”

The First Madam could only accept Teacher Zhang’s kindness and had people set up curtains outside for the women to retreat behind.

Madam Li discussed with the First Madam, “They say the Quan family’s young divine physician has the looks of Pan An and Song Yu. Now we’ll finally get to see for ourselves.”

The Sixth Miss leaned by the Seventh Miss’s pillow, relaying Nanny Liang and Madam Li’s words bit by bit to the Seventh Miss.

“Last time Second Young Master Quan came to our home, I didn’t see him. This time, I’ll also hide behind the screen to take a look.”

Peeking at talented young men from behind screens was a rare pleasure for young ladies of the Great Qin’s noble families.

But the Seventh Miss had no mind to engage with the Sixth Miss.

Her heart was full of Nanny Liang’s words: Teacher Zhang brought several talented young men wanting to visit the plum grove.

Feng Jinkě was also a talented young man, and he was Teacher Zhang’s formal disciple…