Chapter 769: 320 Marquis Weiyuan’s Mansion proposes a marriage_2
Another maid chimed in, "Even though Miss Lian has broken off the engagement with the Shen family, in terms of looks and talent, how could she be a match for the Third Young Master? I don’t know who’s been filling the Third Young Master’s head, to actually make the Marquis send matchmakers to propose."
Since returning last year to now, An Zhichen had been mostly stationed in the barracks, spending very little time at the Marquis’ household. Within the household, aside from Marquis Weiyuan showing some concern, both Lady of Marquis Weiyuan and the Heir’s Wife paid him little attention. As a result, the servants beneath acted with a certain disregard.
An Zhichen walked up to the two maids, his face expressionless, and said, "Go, call the steward here!" After all, he was the master of the house. Being slandered in such a way, if he did not demonstrate his authority with a thunderous approach, they would really think he was a pushover!
Looking at the steward, An Zhichen said coldly, "What punishment does one deserve for idly discussing the master’s affairs?"
The Chief Steward, upon seeing the Third Young Master bristling with anger, broke out into a sweat and said, "For idly discussing the master’s affairs, the punishment is twenty heavy strikes with the cane." He was fortunate that he had always known that the Third Young Master was not to be trifled with, so he had always treated him with the utmost respect. Whoever was careless had simply walked into the line of fire.
An Zhichen was not one for idle talk, "Carry out the punishment here." He wanted to see how many would dare to so carelessly gossip about him in the household in the future.
Scared out of their wits, the two maids cried and knelt for mercy, "Third Young Master, we know our mistake, we beg you to forgive us."
An Zhichen was unmoved by the maids’ pleas. He watched as they were beaten until they were out of breath, only then did he huff coldly.
An Zhichen let out a cold huff and left the Marquis’ house, then returned to the barracks. He was utterly indifferent to the storm of gossip his actions in the Marquis’ house had stirred.
Soon, word of the event spread far and wide. As the rumor passed through the mouths of many, it became easy to twist the truth. In the end, An Zhichen was portrayed as a ruthless murderer, a demon who took life without blinking an eye.
With this reputation, An Zhichen’s marriage prospects became even bleaker; not only were those of equal status unwilling, but even families of lower status were also resistant. No family was willing to marry their daughter to a murderer.
Knowing that the Marquis Weiyuan’s Mansion had come proposing, Mingzhu did not hesitate to leave her dowry behind and rushed to Ma’s Mansion to look for Yueyao.
In recent times, Yueyao had been earnestly studying Poetry and Songs. The boxes of books Mr. Yu Shan sent to Yueyao were all poetry collections. Mr. Yu Shan’s intent in gifting these books to Yueyao was very clear: he encouraged her to work hard on her poetry. For a perfect painter, excellent artwork was a basic requirement, but in addition, one must also be able to write beautifully and compose splendid poetry.
Yueyao had limited talent in poetry and had not spent much effort in this area over the years. If it were not for some basic skills from her previous life, Yueyao doubted she could have persisted and would have given up early on.
Mingzhu, seeing Yueyao behaving as if nothing had happened, raised her voice, "How can you be so nonchalant?"
Yueyao was puzzled, "What’s the matter? What happened?" Zhuang Ruolan had not told Yueyao about An Zhichen’s proposal, neither had Xiang Wei.
Mingzhu asked curiously, "Don’t you know my cousin sent a matchmaker over to propose? Don’t tell me you don’t know about this?" Looking at Yueyao, she indeed seemed clueless.
Yueyao expressed her surprise, "This has happened? Xiang Wei, how come you didn’t tell me?"
Xiang Wei quickly explained, "Miss, you have been busy these past few days. I was afraid of disturbing you, so I didn’t mention it."
Yueyao didn’t think much of it, as several families had come proposing since her broken engagement, but they were all ultimately rejected. "Mingzhu, did you hear that? It was already rejected by my cousin-in-law," she said.
Mingzhu took a deep breath, almost infuriated by Yueyao’s calm demeanor, "Such a big matter, and yet you act as if everything’s normal. You’re truly trying to kill me with frustration."
Yueyao’s face was one of innocence.
Mingzhu, feeling morose, said, "Fine, let’s not talk about that. Anyway, what kind of spouse are you actually looking for? I’ll have my sister-in-law keep an eye out." Of course, she’d also look out for suitable candidates for Yueyao after her own marriage.
Yueyao shook her head, "I have no particular expectations. Right now, all I want is to finish reading the poetry collections that my teacher has given me and to be able to compose good poetry."
Mingzhu was utterly defeated by Yueyao, feeling that Yueyao was beyond hope, "Forget it, I’m overthinking things." What could Yueyao possibly see in An Zhichen? She’d worried needlessly.
After waiting for Mingzhu to gabble on, Yueyao then asked, "How is your wedding dress embroidery coming along? My cousin’s wedding dress is finished, and I think it’s very beautiful. Do you want to go see it?"
Mingzhu considered and then replied, "Sure, let’s go have a look." She must compare them; her own wedding dress mustn’t fall short of others’ wedding dresses.
After viewing Ma Linlin’s wedding dress, Mingzhu nodded her head in praise, "Your wedding dress is really beautiful. It’s a lot more beautiful than mine."
Ma Linlin modestly said, "How could it compare to yours!" However, the upturn of her lips revealed that Ma Linlin was in very good spirits.
Once they returned to Begonia Garden, Mingzhu couldn’t wait to proudly tell Yueyao, "Yueyao, let me tell you. Your cousin’s wedding dress doesn’t compare to mine in embroidery. The materials used are not the top quality gold and silver threads, and the gems and jade were not as fine as mine, my wedding dress is far superior."
Yueyao glanced around the room, it was filled with their trusted confidantes, so Yueyao wasn’t worried that Mingzhu’s words would be overheard and remarked, "It’s good you didn’t say those things earlier." If Mingzhu had made those comments earlier, she’d definitely have been driven out.
Mingzhu said cheerfully, "You think I’m foolish?" Such words should never be spoken in front of the person concerned; that would be senseless.
Yueyao doused Mingzhu’s enthusiasm, "Even if your wedding dress embroidery is exquisite, it wasn’t done by you. My cousin personally embroidered her wedding dress, stitch by stitch."
Mingzhu looked at Yueyao reproachfully, "You just can’t stand to see me happy."
Yueyao kept laughing, "If I don’t throw cold water on you from time to time, I’m afraid you’ll relapse into your old ways." In fact, Mingzhu’s behavior has become much more restrained, at least she was very decorous in front of others. Only because of her closeness to Yueyao did she make no effort to hide her true nature. Yueyao, on the other hand, always enjoyed knocking Mingzhu back a peg to keep her in line.