PNB Chapter 286 Making things difficult
Chapter 286 Making things difficult
Before returning to the village, Li Xiaonuan went to see Su Shi and Li's father. Of course, this time, Su Shi and Li's father accompanied her.
Previously, Zhou Liufeng had risked leaving the mansion to deliver the drawings from Li Xiaonuan to Prince Jing, which was a great achievement.
Then, Zhou Liufeng took the opportunity to ask that Chu Xun'er and the Second Young Master Chu be pardoned.
Unexpectedly, Prince Jing agreed. However, Prince Jing did have his conditions.
That is, Chu Xun'er must be Zhou Liufei's wife for Prince Jing to do this favor.
Thus, the current situation has come to be.
That is, before Li Xiaonuan even returned to the village, she was rejected by her fiancé for the third time.
This time, Chu Xun'er and her brother are going back to the village with Zhou Liufeng.
After returning to the village, the wedding was held before the Lunar New Year.
However, at this point, Su and Li had no choice but to state the following fact.
That is, Li Xiaonuan and Zhou Liufei were not formally engaged; it was just that their parents had privately agreed to the engagement.
Nowadays, breaking off an engagement no longer requires the involvement of a third party; both parties simply need to exchange tokens of affection.
Thus, a seemingly complicated annulment ceremony was resolved in just a few words.
With the marriage arrangements clarified, Li Xiaonuan felt completely at ease.
At this moment, she couldn't help but think that if Wei Yu were in the capital, he would probably be...?
However, this is just wishful thinking. After all, Wei Yu is currently in the Northwest.
Moreover, the current situation is more severe than the previous overt struggles.
The entire Qi-Song region is now trapped in a scheme that has been in the works for decades. If we're not careful, it could really escalate into a large-scale war.
They said they wanted to go back to the village, but they couldn't make it for the time being. In two days it would be the twelfth lunar month, and Su and Li were quite anxious.
But Li Xiaonuan knew that she had not yet finished explaining what had happened in the capital.
First of all, the drawings she gave to Prince Jing needed to be properly explained and arranged.
Secondly, after Doctor Qi returned to the capital, Li Xiaonuan and her family did not visit him at all.
Furthermore, they also had to prepare generous gifts to express their gratitude to the Qi family for sending the Sixth Miss to the villa to protect them from disaster.
Finally, there's the matter of Zhou Fangfang and her brother. I wonder if they'll be going back to the village for the New Year.
Although the two siblings hadn't planned to return to the village before, it's uncertain whether they'll change their minds after this incident.
However, Li Xiaonuan thought to herself that Zhou's eldest brother definitely wouldn't go back. Because the emperor was going to hold the imperial examinations ahead of schedule.
The imperial examinations will be held earlier next year on the second day of the second lunar month, the day the dragon raises its head.
Having grasped these key points, Li Xiaonuan began preparing the necessary gifts for the visit to the Qi family residence and then went there with her family.
Compared to the last visit, this was the first formal initiation ceremony.
Today, Doctor Qi invited all the elders of the Qi clan in the capital. From this moment on, Li Xiaogang was truly formally accepted as a disciple of the Qi family.
This time, Xiao Gang is going to accompany Qi Ji to the Qi Clan Ancestral Hall to recognize his ancestors.
Just like last time, as soon as they entered the gate of the Qi residence, Li Xiaonuan and Madam Su were invited into the inner courtyard.
Today, the Qi family mansion is bustling with activity, especially the inner courtyard, where beautiful women gather and flowers bloom in vibrant colors.
Surrounded by a group of wealthy ladies, Su Shi and Li Xiaonuan looked so out of place and out of place.
However, with the deliberate care of Madam Qi and Doctor Fei Fei, and the presence of the domineering Sixth Miss as a mediator, Su Shi and Li Xiaonuan did not appear so awkward.
"Madam Su, Miss Li will be twenty next year. I wonder if she has found a good husband yet?" The speaker was the wife of a head of the Imperial Medical Academy from the main branch of the Qi family.
Seeing that the man was sincere and had a kind smile, Madam Su replied without suspicion, "My daughter has a hard life and still hasn't found a good husband. But I've discussed it with her father, and if my daughter can't get married, we two old folks will take care of her and won't cause trouble for her two brothers."
The lady was surprised that Mrs. Su would actually answer truthfully. Although she was secretly overjoyed, she said awkwardly, "As parents, we always have to worry about our children. You've worked hard."
A woman in her thirties behind the lady chuckled and chimed in, "The parents are good parents, but the children are not good children."
After hearing this, Su realized that the other person had ill intentions.
She had just been grateful, thinking that the lady was kind and genuinely talking to her about her children.
Seeing that Madam Su's face turned purple with anger, the woman who had just spoken up smugly again: "Madam Su, although we are only doctors, our status is not low. If your family wants to marry into the family, I'm afraid it won't work. Our Ji'er will eventually marry a noble lady from the city. However, if Miss Li is willing to be a maidservant, that would be acceptable."
"Madam, my Xiaonuan would rather never marry than become someone's concubine. Furthermore, we have never considered climbing the social ladder by marrying into your Qi family," Madam Su said righteously.
"You talk as if you have a lot of backbone, but you still desperately tried to get in. Otherwise, what family would take their daughter, who has been rejected twice, all over Qi and Song? Everyone knows how your son got into the Qi family." This was Qi Ji's aunt's reply.
“Mother-in-law, she’s not trying to climb the social ladder. She’s never approached anyone from our clan before. It was Second Uncle who went to her. Didn’t you notice who that Miss Li looks like?” The speaker was Qi Ji’s aunt’s daughter-in-law.
After being reminded by her daughter-in-law's words, the ladies present thought carefully and finally managed to roughly match Li Xiaonuan's appearance with Chu Lin's.
Madam Su wasn't stupid; she knew perfectly well that these people had come specifically to make things difficult for her and her daughter.
No wonder they went to such lengths to fool Lady Qi and Doctor Fei Fei just now.
"Ladies, as you all say, our family is truly unworthy of your status. However, even if you were willing to lower yourselves, it wouldn't work. Our Xiao Nuan is very capable. She doesn't want to be confined to this inner courtyard, where all she knows is scheming and backstabbing." Madam Su was once a young lady in the inner courtyard herself, so she naturally knew about the intrigues and entanglements there.
Su's words implicated everyone present.
Those who were observing from the sidelines chuckled and said, "Madam Su, we're just discussing the matter at hand. How did it escalate into scheming and backstabbing?"
In fact, Su's words struck a chord with many of the ladies present. Therefore, they were even more furious.
Originally, Qi Ji's excuse that he had already found a marriage partner, which ruined their plans, was already enough to make them angry.
They kept wondering who Qi Ji's marriage partner would be.
At first, they thought it was Sang Qiqi. But later, Qi Ji never went to the Sang residence again.
Later, they discovered that Qi Ji had close ties with the Li family from Yongzhou Prefecture, so they sent people to keep an eye on it.
Through this attention, they came to know about Li Xiaonuan's special existence.
Li Xiaonuan looks like Chu Lin, a consensus shared by the women in the Qi clan who harbored ulterior motives.
Back then, the entanglement between Qi Ji, Chu Lin, and Wei Yu was known to almost everyone in the capital.