stonecrandall Chapter 128 Visiting
Chapter 128 Visiting
Chapter 128 Visiting
Old Mrs. Wang naturally did not want Wang You to marry a concubine's daughter.
If we compare a family to a school, then lineage is like the reputation of a university.
The legitimate sons were those who passed the entrance exam, while the illegitimate sons were like auditors.
This may not be the most accurate way to put it, but the ancients' emphasis on family background and the distinction between嫡 (legitimate) and 庶 (illegitimate) was probably for similar reasons.
Getting married is like a company hiring; they'd definitely prefer someone from a prestigious university.
Even if the company is small and can't recruit graduates from prestigious universities, it still needs to find a regular graduate.
It is not to say that those from non-prestigious universities are necessarily inferior to those from prestigious universities.
But this is generally true.
The reason why Madam Wu took a liking to Minglan was essentially because Minglan was taught by Old Madam Sheng.
Take Minglan and Molan for example. Both of them are daughters of concubines, but if Minglan had not been raised by Old Madam Sheng, even if she is smart, she would not have performed so well.
Of course, it's not to say that all children born out of wedlock are like Mo Lan.
However, most illegitimate children are certainly not as capable or insightful as legitimate children.
Even if a child is raised by the principal wife, how many principal wives can truly treat everyone equally?
It's already quite good if they can avoid making things difficult for their children. How can you expect the principal wife to care for the illegitimate children as much as the legitimate children?
Grandma Wang wasn't unaware that Minglan was raised by Grandma Sheng and was different from the other illegitimate daughters, but the concepts of social status and legitimacy were deeply ingrained in people's minds, so she didn't think much of it.
However, Wang You's attitude was very firm; he was absolutely unwilling to marry a woman from the Kang family.
With Lady Kang pressuring him, marrying Minglan became a compromise.
The most important thing was Wang You's question just now. She had also thought about how she should face Madam Wang if Wang You really married a woman from the Kang family.
Given her chaotic state of mind, she had no choice but to agree.
"Grandmother, to prevent any unforeseen complications, we shouldn't wait until tomorrow. It's best to settle things now!" Wang You said.
"The traitor!"
Wang Min cursed, "Your mother is in poor health now, and you actually made her drag her sick body to propose marriage for you? Do you have even a shred of filial piety?"
Wang You smiled bitterly to himself. He didn't want to rush things, but he was worried that things might get complicated if he waited too long.
It's fine if Kang Wangshi delays for a day, but if the old lady realizes what's going on, then it will be troublesome.
Given the old lady's wisdom, it's certain she'll realize what's going on once she calms down; he wouldn't dare delay.
Of course, Wang You couldn't answer like that.
"Father, it's not that I'm unfilial, but given my aunt's personality, she might have bribed some of the servants in the house. If she finds out, it will be too late," Wang You said.
"That's still not allowed—"
"Stop talking!"
Grandma Wang raised her hand and said, "You-ge'er is right, this matter cannot be delayed."
"Mother, your health is the most important thing. If it's really too much, I'll make a trip for you," Wang Min said.
"You can't go."
Grandma Wang shook her head and said, "I heard that your brother-in-law promised Grandma Sheng that she would arrange the marriage of the sixth daughter of the Sheng family. And if your sister hears this, she'll throw a tantrum. Can you control her?"
"I—" Wang Min was speechless for a moment.
He had no way to deal with his two younger sisters. Madam Kang was like a madwoman, even threatening the old lady, so she wouldn't listen to him.
As for Madam Wang, she was raised in her uncle's house since childhood, and the brother and sister didn't have much contact with each other.
If things really escalate, we won't give him any face.
"What about your health?" Wang Min asked with some concern.
"It's alright, I was caused by that wicked creature, I won't die for now," said Old Mrs. Wang.
"I wouldn't dare say that," Wang Min quickly replied.
"Alright, have someone prepare some gifts, I'll change my clothes and leave." Old Mrs. Wang waved her hand and said.
"yes!"
Wang Min bowed and agreed, telling Madam Feng to take care of things here, and then looked at Wang You and said, "Why aren't you going back to change your clothes?"
"Grandson takes his leave!"
After bowing, Wang You followed Wang Min out of the house.
Leaving the Jingxin Hall, he waved away his attendants and looked coldly at Wang You, saying, "You've really gone to great lengths to marry that sixth daughter of the Sheng family. You've schemed against your grandmother like this; have you even learned anything from the classics?"
"Father, I never expected my aunt to do this."
Wang You smiled wryly and said, "I was thinking that if my aunt came to our house and made a scene, then you and Mother would consider what I said before."
He wasn't lying. The outcome, while in line with his expectations, was unexpected.
According to his original plan, once Madam Kang found out, she would definitely come to the Wang family to make a scene, and the old lady's attitude would soften.
His parents already disliked Kang Wangshi, and seeing that the old lady's attitude was softening, they worried that if the old lady agreed, she might consider what he had said before.
He never expected that Lady Kang would go to such extremes.
But thinking about it carefully, it's normal. Although the old lady is biased, it's different from other people's biases. She feels more guilty.
When parents see one of their children doing poorly, they will tend to show some favoritism, regardless of whether it is due to the child's own shortcomings or other reasons.
They would repeatedly ask their other children to take care of them.
Conversely, if this child lives a better life than the other children, she will also ask her to help her other siblings.
As the saying goes, the squeaky wheel gets the grease.
In the eyes of parents, if one child cries while the others don't, then they will definitely have to take care of the one who is crying.
Therefore, it was impossible for Old Madam Wang to simply agree to Wang You marrying her daughter just because Madam Kang said so.
What's more, given that his son, daughter-in-law, and grandson were all unwilling, yet still agreed to marry Wang Da Niangzi's daughter.
He estimated that in the original drama, Madam Kang also threatened her in this way before Old Madam Wang finally agreed.
But by the time I realized it, it was too late.
To be honest, he felt a little scared after figuring this out.
If the old lady gets seriously ill from anger, her parents will definitely hate her and will never agree to let her marry Minglan.
He will live with guilt for the rest of his life.
"Let's assume you're telling the truth."
Wang Min sneered, "If you ever dare to scheme against your own family again, I'll disown you as my son."
He wasn't that angry last time when he was fooled by Wang You and heard Feng's guess.
Wang You was a man of strong opinions from a young age, and it was thanks to him that Wang You was able to enter the capital.
From then on, he no longer treated Wang You entirely like a child.
Moreover, he didn't place too much importance on social status. Although he didn't approve of Wang You marrying Minglan, he wasn't completely against it either.
However, Wang You's schemes were directed at Old Mrs. Wang without considering whether she could accept them, which infuriated him.
It's rather cold-blooded to scheme against blood relatives and act as if they don't care about life or death.
Wang You watched his father's departing figure and sighed.
"Mother, sister-in-law."
When Madam Wang learned that her mother, sister-in-law, and nephew had arrived, she hurriedly came out to greet them.
"Why did you come at this time?"
It was almost lunchtime, and even my own mother wouldn't normally come over at this time.
"I—I have something to discuss with your mother-in-law." Old Mrs. Wang glanced at her daughter, hesitated, but still didn't tell her her purpose directly.
"What's the matter that made Mother come over in such a hurry?" Madam Wang asked, puzzled.
No matter how important the matter is, unless it's extremely urgent, they won't come knocking at this time.
Their arrival at this time seems more like they're looking for trouble.
But looking at her mother's expression, it didn't seem like it, and Madam Wang really couldn't figure out what was wrong.
"You'll find out soon enough," said Mrs. Wang.
Upon hearing this, Madam Wang could only instruct her servants to report to Shou'an Hall first, and then she went forward to help her mother, and the group headed towards Shou'an Hall.
After walking for a while, Madam Wang suddenly asked, "Mother, could it be that my sister went to complain to you?"
After much thought, the only possibility she could think of was that Madam Kang wanted to marry her daughter to Sheng Changbai, but she disagreed, so Madam Kang went to her mother to complain.
Because she had told Madam Kang that it was Old Madam Sheng and Sheng Hong who disagreed.
The reason why Old Mrs. Wang came to visit was probably to talk to Old Mrs. Sheng about this matter.
"Mother, this is really not my fault. I was actually thinking of making my sister and sister even closer through marriage. I've met that girl Yun'er, and she's perfect in both looks and personality."
But it seems my mother-in-law and husband have already made plans for my daughter's marriage, and I really have no choice.
"I promised my sister I'd try harder to persuade my mother-in-law and husband to agree," said Madam Wang, feeling wronged.
Wang You didn't know how to evaluate Madam Wang. Madam Wang acted too stupidly and was actually quite annoying.
But to be honest, aside from her frequent foolishness, Madam Wang still had many good qualities.
No matter how much she hated Lin Xiaoniang, she never thought of using any ruthless means to deal with her.
The only direct approach was to bring back Consort Wei, hoping to make her compete with Consort Lin for the emperor's favor.
Although this method is a bit stupid, if you think about it the other way around, how bad can a wife be if she can use such methods to deal with a concubine?
Besides, Madam Wang has another advantage: she cherishes family ties very much.
Everyone disliked Madam Kang, including her two biological daughters, Hua Lan and Ru Lan.
Hua Lan repeatedly advised Madam Wang to have less contact with Madam Kang, and even said that Madam Kang had no good intentions.
But Madam Wang didn't listen at all. Even though Kang Wangshi stole her son-in-law in the drama, she still believed Kang Wangshi's words later on.
This isn't just foolishness; it's more about believing in family ties.
Or perhaps because she grew up in her uncle's house, she longed for the affection of her parents and siblings.
If these things were done by outsiders, given Madam Wang's temperament, she would probably hold a grudge for life and would not forgive them easily.
Wang You didn't believe Kang Wangshiqian's stories, and Wang Da Niangzi hadn't heard a thing about them.
However, she was still willing to let Sheng Changbai marry Kang Wangshi's daughter, and was even a little annoyed because Old Madam Sheng and Sheng Hong disagreed.
"Is this really true?" Old Mrs. Wang exclaimed in shock.
It is said that a good woman does not serve two husbands, and a loyal minister does not serve two masters.
It's perfectly acceptable for children to consider several potential marriage partners, but once a partner is chosen, it's impossible to immediately look for another one before deciding to give up on that one.
A few years ago, when the Wang family came to the capital, Madam Kang wanted to arrange a marriage between her daughter and Wang You.
This happened many years ago, but what about now?
Madam Wang just said that she agreed to continue persuading him, which means that it's not certain whether it will work out or not.
Under these circumstances, it's unacceptable for Lady Kang to cause trouble at the Wang family's house today.
Thinking of this, Old Mrs. Wang's face turned ashen with anger, and her breathing became rapid.
Madam Wang was taken aback upon hearing this. She was about to ask her mother if this wasn't the reason for her visit when she heard her mother's rapid breathing and saw her pale face. She quickly asked with concern, "Mother, are you alright?"
"Mother, please calm down."
"1
Mrs. Feng was also very anxious and quickly patted the old lady's back.
"I'm fine!"
Grandma Wang took a deep breath and said, "Let's go, don't keep my mother-in-law waiting."
Madam Wang and Madam Feng helped the old lady walk forward, and she hesitated several times before speaking.
She was curious as to why her mother had looked so angry, but she was also afraid of upsetting her mother.
"Older sister."
"Madam Sheng."
When Grandma Sheng learned that Grandma Wang had come to visit, although she was full of doubts, she still came out to greet her personally.
With Minglan's help, they came out of Shou'an Hall and saw Old Madam Wang and her entourage walking towards them.
The two elderly women, both over fifty and with silver hair, held hands and exchanged pleasantries for a while before Mrs. Sheng said, "I've asked the kitchen to prepare some food. Please eat before you leave, dear sister."
"Then I won't stand on ceremony," Grandma Wang replied with a smile.
It's almost noon now, and it will be lunchtime after we finish our talk.
Her arrival at this time was already considered impolite; if she left without serving food at mealtime, it would be even more impolite of the Sheng family.
Whether things go well or not, she can't just leave without eating.
Upon arriving at the main hall, the two elderly ladies sat down at the head of the table, while Minglan stood beside Old Madam Sheng.
Madam Wang and Madam Feng sat on the left, while Wang You sat alone on the right.
Although Grandma Sheng had doubts, she did not ask them directly, but just chatted with Grandma Wang.
After a while, Old Mrs. Wang stopped chatting and said, "I've come to your door today to arrange a marriage between our families."
Old Madam Sheng was very puzzled. There was no need to ask her about marriage arrangements; she could have just asked Madam Wang and Sheng Hong.
Moreover, she already knew what Madam Wang and the Wang family meant. Even if they wanted to propose marriage, they should wait until Rulan came of age before formally visiting to ask for her hand in marriage.
However, she still nodded with a smile and said, "It's naturally a good thing for relatives to marry into the family. When Rulan marries into the Wang family, her aunt will become her mother-in-law, and she won't be bullied."
Madam Wang smiled brightly, about to agree, but her smile froze when she heard what Old Madam Wang said next.
"It's not Rulan, it's Minglan."
Grandma Wang said, "Minglan is a girl you raised, so naturally we should ask for your opinion on this matter."
Grandma Sheng was stunned when she heard this, but she quickly realized that this must be Wang You's idea.
Although she didn't know how Wang You had persuaded Old Mrs. Wang, she really didn't know how to answer at that moment.
To be fair, she was fairly satisfied with Wang You.
The two families were relatives, and Wang You was studying at the Sheng family's school, so she knew a lot about Wang You's situation.
Wang You is almost seventeen years old, and he doesn't even have a maidservant in his room.
This is extremely rare among the offspring of officials and nobles.
Like Sheng Changfeng, many sons of officials already had a group of beautiful women in their courtyards before they got married.
The only difference is that there are fewer better ones.
After all, even someone as mature for his age as Sheng Changbai had a maidservant.
His family background and character are impeccable, and he's not as unapproachable as Qi Heng.
But the Wang family's target has always been Rulan. Even if Wang You persuades the Wang family to come and propose marriage, who knows if the Wang family will have any objections to Minglan?