Chapter 252: The First Step
Hangcheng, the Wei Educational Commissioner’s residence.
Upon receiving the report that the Young Lord would be coming for dinner, Mrs. Fu hurried to the kitchen to arrange the dishes.
From the soup to start to the tea afterward, everything was meticulously arranged. Mrs. Fu breathed a sigh of relief and emerged from the kitchen, then went to the dining hall to oversee the changing of flower pots, fruit platters, curtains, screens, and mats.
The three Wei sisters followed their mother from the kitchen into the dining hall.
Mrs. Fu sat on the couch by the wall, watching her eldest daughter, Fourth Mistress Wei, stand in the middle of the dining hall, inspecting and directing everything. Her second daughter, Sixth Mistress Wei, and her third daughter, Seventh Mistress Wei, sat on either side of Mrs. Fu, watching their sister’s commands and chatting.
“Why is Cousin coming for dinner?” Seventh Mistress asked.
“How can you speak like that!” Mrs. Fu lightly tapped her youngest daughter on the head.
“I wanted to ask that too. Cousin never visits without a reason,” Sixth Mistress said with a smile.
“Exactly, Mother said the same thing,” Seventh Mistress immediately chimed in.
“We’ll know when he gets here,” Mrs. Fu said with a smile.
“Let’s guess!” Sixth Mistress leaned forward, smiling at Seventh Mistress.
“Looking for Father?” Seventh Mistress answered quickly.
“Definitely not. If he were looking for Father, Cousin would have gone to the yamen,” Sixth Mistress flatly denied.
“Then he’s looking for Mother,” Seventh Mistress immediately offered a second guess.
“I think so too,” Sixth Mistress nodded.
“Then you two guess again, if he is indeed looking for your mother, what could it be about?” Mrs. Fu asked with a smile.
“It’s definitely not to pay respects or anything,” Sixth Mistress said with a smile first.
“Nor is it to ask for academic advice. Cousin dislikes studies; he’s most afraid of Father talking to him about them,” Seventh Mistress giggled.
“Don’t talk nonsense,” Mrs. Fu tapped her youngest daughter again.
“You should say: Cousin is dedicated to his studies, but his official duties are too demanding, leaving him no time!” Sixth Mistress couldn’t finish her sentence before bursting into laughter.
“What are you laughing at?” Fourth Mistress asked, having finished placing the last flower pot and sitting down in an armchair by the couch.
Sixth Mistress and Seventh Mistress spoke one after another. Mrs. Fu looked at her eldest daughter and asked with a smile, “What do you think it’s about?”
“Has Aunt found him a marriage?” Fourth Mistress answered very quickly.
“It’s best if it’s not that. If it really is about that, I’m afraid it won’t work out nine times out of ten,” Mrs. Fu sighed.
If the Princess Consort had found a marriage for the Young Lord, and he came to her about it, then by convention, he had already refused and wanted her to persuade the Princess Consort, so as not to upset her.
“Mother, think on the bright side. Perhaps he’s here to ask Mother about the young lady’s temperament and character?” Fourth Mistress said with a smile.
“I don’t think so. That Cousin of yours, if you tell him about someone, he just looks at you like this,” Sixth Mistress turned her head, lifted her chin, and looked diagonally down at Fourth Mistress from the corner of her eye.
“And he’d say: ‘Your mother knows you’re gossiping about others like this?’” Seventh Mistress immediately added.
Fourth Mistress couldn’t help but laugh.
“The Young Lord admonishing you both is for your own good!” Mrs. Fu said, a mix of annoyance and amusement.
“Perhaps he’s found someone himself and wants Mother to be the matchmaker,” Seventh Mistress said with a smile.
“You’re talking more and more nonsense,” Mrs. Fu tapped Seventh Mistress.
Fourth Mistress Wei felt a slight stir in her heart.
After tidying the dining hall, the four of them, mother and daughters, came out. Fourth Mistress Wei tugged at Mrs. Fu, and the two of them fell a few steps behind. Fourth Mistress Wei linked arms with Mrs. Fu and asked in a low voice, “Mother, does Aunt know that Miss Li?”
Mrs. Fu glanced at her daughter, then after a moment replied, “Probably not.”
“You didn’t tell Aunt?”
“That’s a foolish question. Prince Rui’s Mansion has two villas in Jiangnan and over a thousand stewards and servants; do they need me to inquire about things for her? Besides, you know the rules of their Prince Rui’s Mansion; they are most averse to prying and inquiring. You shouldn’t have asked such a question,” Mrs. Fu said with a frown, lightly reprimanding her.
“I understand,” Fourth Mistress Wei furrowed her brows, not because of her mother’s scolding, but because she hadn’t expected her aunt to be unaware of that Miss Li.
After seeing Gu Yan off, Mrs. Fu sat down and drank half a cup of tea, then called her eldest daughter, Fourth Mistress Wei, in.
Mrs. Fu gestured for her daughter to sit beside her and said in a low voice, “Your seventh sister was actually right.”
“Ah? Miss Li?” Fourth Mistress Wei’s eyes widened.
“Yes, guess what he said to me first?” Mrs. Fu lowered her voice considerably. “He asked me: ‘What can I do to be best for A Nan?’ Look at that! He’s truly concerned.”
“I told you long ago that Cousin is very fond of Miss Li, but you didn’t take it to heart at all. Someone like Cousin, when does he ever worry about other people’s meals or pastries? What Miss Li wants to eat or drink, Cousin explained it very meticulously!”
Fourth Mistress Wei let out a long sigh. Regarding this unexpected major event, at least for now, her heart was filled with gossip and excitement. She hadn’t thought much about the shock and countless chain reactions this matter would cause.
“How could I have imagined this! Your Cousin has always been aloof since he was young. Alas, I truly didn’t expect it,” Mrs. Fu said with deep emotion.
“Will Aunt agree?” Fourth Mistress Wei asked worriedly.
Mrs. Fu gave her daughter a speechless sideways glance.
“I asked the wrong question,” Fourth Mistress Wei reacted extremely quickly. “Cousin asked how to be best for Miss Li. This means he won’t allow Aunt to refuse. Alas! Aunt has such a stubborn temper, only Cousin can control her, but alas!”
“Alas!” Mrs. Fu sighed in agreement. “In their mansion, the Prince is the one with the softest temper, alas!”
The mother and daughter sighed for over ten breaths. Fourth Mistress Wei held her breath slightly and asked, “What did you tell Cousin?”
“I told him to take Miss Li back to the Capital City first,” Mrs. Fu said in a hushed voice. “With Miss Li’s background, it’s not that we look down on her, but her background is worlds apart from the Prince’s Mansion, too much of a difference. Secondly, the customs and traditions of Pingjiang Prefecture and the Capital City are also vastly different.
“That Miss Li is a determined young woman, not someone who blindly covets wealth and power. A trip to the Capital City, for the Young Lord to see, and for Miss Li to see, perhaps it will be the Young Lord, perhaps it will be Miss Li, who will see this unsuitability.”
“Then, if after seeing, Cousin still thinks Miss Li is good, and Miss Li also feels it’s suitable?” Fourth Mistress Wei asked with a frown.
“Once Miss Li enters the Capital City, it will be your Aunt’s business. If everything is suitable, then it will be a great joyous occasion!” Mrs. Fu gave her daughter a disdainful sideways glance.
Fourth Mistress Wei let out a sound of realization. She understood. Her mother was entrusting the person to the Capital City, placing her before her aunt. That was true, this wasn’t something they, as relatives, could interfere with or decide. But…
“Then we must have an attitude, right? Should we return to the Capital City with them? If we go back together, and once we reach the Capital City, if Aunt feels it’s not suitable, how will I interact with Miss Li?” Fourth Mistress Wei asked a string of questions.
“We’ll see when the time comes,” Mrs. Fu rubbed her temples. She had a headache.
