Qiu Sanniang’s marriage was settled!

This news spread to every corner of Qiu Mansion, causing the long-dormant sparks to suddenly ignite into a roaring sea of flames, invisible tongues of fire rolling halfway to the sky.

In the inner storeroom, Anshun’s wife, who had heard from the old mistresses about Madam’s plans, was cracking melon seeds and gossiping with her subordinate servants. “What do you all think—is our eldest miss lucky, or does she truly have ability? Madam pushed Sixth Miss and Seventh Miss in front of people, so confident it would be one of those two, yet they took a fancy to Third Miss instead. On the day the Wei family returned the invitation, Third Miss was at the hermitage copying scriptures and chanting prayers—no one went to inform her, nor did she have another chance to show her face. Can we only say that Madam Wei from the capital took a liking to Third Miss from their very first meeting?”

One of the servants said, “However, our eldest miss is so beautiful—you couldn’t find a second one in all of Luo Zhou. It’s possible to fall for her after just one meeting.”

“That’s true. Speaking of appearance, Sixth Miss and Seventh Miss fall far short. I know the late First Madam was a beauty chosen from a hundred—Third Miss looks like she came from the same mold as First Madam. No wonder the master especially dotes on Third Miss, not even paying much attention to Ninth Miss, whom Madam bore.” Another somewhat older servant said.

“It’s a heaven-sent fate that cannot be blocked. Originally Madam spoke absolutely, and Matchmaker Xie left in a huff. Who knew that before reaching the main gate, the matchmaker got a stomachache and had to borrow a place to relieve herself. This delay allowed the people the master sent to find her and bring her back. They said basketfuls of nice words and promised double red envelopes before the matchmaker calmed down. We’d better be more polite to Third Miss’s household now. No matter how much Madam dislikes it, once Third Miss marries into Prince Jing’s mansion, she’ll have to curry favor with her nicely. She’s counting on this marriage alliance to secure official positions for the young masters, bring glory to the ancestral gates, and prosper the Qiu family business.” This is how Anshun’s wife conveyed it.

Anshun’s wife’s thinking was also the thinking of most servants in the mansion. After all, forming marriage ties with the Great Zhou’s royal nobility meant the Qiu family was climbing extremely, extremely, extremely high. Even if Qiu Sanniang didn’t become a future princess consort, with her husband’s influence, wouldn’t it be easy to obtain a first-rank imperial appointment? An imperial appointment—Amitabha! They common people would have to burn incense and worship.

While most servants thought Madam would be furious, Zhang Shi instead had people set up a lavish dinner in the main courtyard, inviting the female family members from each household, including Qiu Sanniang, saying they should celebrate as one family.

Qiu Sanniang entered the long-unfamiliar main courtyard. Since the night Zhang Shi had disciplined Mo Zi, she hadn’t been permitted to enter this courtyard. This had originally been where her mother lived. In her hazy childhood memories, flowers and plants had flourished here, and everyone wore smiles on their faces. Now things were not the same and people had changed. In this family, aside from her father, there was no one left who cared about her. Since that was the case, marriage was for the best.

“Third Miss has arrived.” The little maid hurriedly announced into the main room.

Inside, Ai Xing and Ai Tao came out to lift the curtain, calling out in unison that Third Miss had arrived, then sweetly offered congratulations.

Although these two maids had always been the most skilled at bullying with borrowed power, Qiu Sanniang deeply understood the principle of not striking a smiling face. At times like these, she especially couldn’t be petty. Therefore, without much talk, accompanied by Bai He and Lu Ju, she gracefully smiled and went over.

Entering the room, she didn’t see the dining table. Jiang Suxin’s voice came from the inner chamber. “Sanniang, come in quickly. Madam and I are talking inside.”

Though Qiu Sanniang had a temper, when it came time to put on an act, she didn’t falter in the slightest. Walking to the inner chamber, she paid respects to Zhang Shi and said, “How is Mother’s health? I see your complexion looks quite good.”

Zhang Shi had merely feigned fainting that night—her health was actually quite fine. However, speaking of complexion, it truly didn’t look good. Just thinking about what happened this morning made her heart seethe with anger, wanting nothing more than to throw a fit at Qiu Sanniang.

Blame whom? Blame three people.

Most blamed was Wei Qiongyu. A childhood companion, a gentle and pliable close friend, had stabbed a knife into her heart. Knowing full well that she wanted to marry Sixth Miss into the family, Wei Qiongyu had shown more favor toward Seventh Miss. And when she had considered accepting Seventh Miss, the matchmaker Wei Qiongyu sent came to propose marriage for the person she most detested—Sanniang. Back when they exchanged letters, though she hadn’t explicitly said she disliked her, whenever she wrote about Sanniang, the words between the lines criticized the eldest miss’s faults. She had thought Qiongyu would surely believe her, which was why she had wanted to use this marriage alliance to strike down eldest miss Sanniang’s arrogance. Who knew it would become a joke now.

Second most blamed was the master. Ill for half a year, he had lain bedridden for half a year. After Sanniang went to the hermitage for seven days, it was as if the Bodhisattva had truly manifested divine power—his health improved day by day. Today, he had even suddenly come to the main courtyard, not only retrieving Matchmaker Xie but also, disregarding her objections, personally agreeing to Sanniang’s marriage with his own mouth. How unreasonable! He had recovered, but now it was her turn to be angered to death.

Third most blamed, Sanniang couldn’t escape. Although she hadn’t appeared from beginning to end, the servant assigned to the master’s courtyard said Sanniang had visited her father early that morning. How could it be so coincidental—not earlier, not later, but precisely when Matchmaker Xie came? Ultimately, she had underestimated her. From where, and who had passed the message to her—she couldn’t possibly know. At this moment, her heart was full of regret. When Sanniang had returned home before the New Year, she had deliberately not given her maids and servants. Later when she wanted to give them, Sanniang refused, making it impossible to insert her own people, resulting in knowing almost nothing about what happened around Sanniang. Now she had been outmaneuvered instead.

“Congratulations Sanniang, felicitations Sanniang.” Jiang Suxin’s gentle voice brought Zhang Shi back from her thoughts. “To form marriage ties with Prince Jing’s mansion’s Third Young Master—not only is this your good fortune, it’s also the Qiu family’s blessing.”

Zhang Shi immediately became alert. That’s right—though Sanniang was a thorn in her eye and flesh, now that the marriage was settled, she couldn’t treat her the same way as before. She had to put on an act and win her over in order to plan for Ming’er and Zheng’er’s future prospects.

Immediately, Zhang Shi softened her harsh manner and changed her expression like flipping a mask, smiling warmly and kindly. She pulled Sanniang to sit beside her with one hand. “Sanniang, I recognized long ago that you have the look of great wealth and nobility. Beautiful and graceful with an orchid heart, after you marry over, you’ll surely win the favor of the Third Young Master and the Prince and Princess Consort. Fourth Daughter-in-law is right—you’re so blessed. As the saying goes, when one person attains enlightenment, even chickens and dogs ascend to heaven. This is our blessing too. You just take good care of your health and don’t worry about anything. Your father and I will handle the dowry—we absolutely won’t let the prince’s mansion look down on us. The betrothal and such matters, feel free to leave to me—I’ll certainly arrange everything properly.”

Qiu Sanniang saw through it all too clearly. This face of Zhang Shi’s—when she had wanted to take the account books and keys from her hands, it had been exactly this kind of false pretense that could raise goosebumps all over one’s body.

“Thank you for your trouble, Mother.” However, as long as she wasn’t yet married, she couldn’t become complacent.

“It’s not only for you. This is a good deed that will bring glory to our Qiu ancestors—how could I not put my heart into it?” Zhang Shi spoke with grand righteousness.

“Madam, speaking of good deeds, I’ve thought of another matter. Though it can’t compare to Sanniang’s marriage, if it succeeds, we should say our family has double happiness arriving.” Jiang Suxin covered her mouth, her eyes smiling joyfully.