Chapter 70: Mei You You Lian, Bai Shi, and Intentions [Many thanks for everyone's support!]

"Brave sir, this is my home. My daughter thanks you for protecting her all the way. Please wait a moment."

Saying this, the woman pushed open the courtyard gate.

"Father, Mother, I am back."

"You Lian'er, did you buy the medicine?"

A woman with rough hands and face came forward to greet her.

"Mother, let us not speak of that yet; just now on the street, a group of rich idlers troubled your daughter, but it was this brave sir's master who saved me."

Qi Sheng looked toward the courtyard; it was somewhat dilapidated, yet reasonably tidy.

"Brave sir, please come inside and sit."

Understanding his lord's meaning of 'properly handling' the matter, Qi Sheng naturally did not decline.

The two entered the courtyard.

The girl's mother spoke while weeping:

"This humble woman thanks you, brave sir. My daughter, Mei You You Lian, is not yet betrothed; if those ruffians had ruined her reputation, how could she have lived afterwards?"

As she spoke, the woman was about to kneel before Qi Sheng.

"For this great kindness, please, brave sir, convey our thanks to your master."

"It was but a trivial effort; Auntie, there is no need for such politeness."

In the courtyard, there was also a man so thin he was little more than skin and bones, lying on a bamboo couch; he wore the green robe of a scholar and held a book in his hands, reading.

The girl went into the room, brought out a bowl of medicine, and came to her father's side, saying:

"Father, it is time to take your medicine."

The man's eyes were full of desolation, yet as he looked at his daughter, his expression was one of concern as he said:

"My illness is beyond the reach of medicine and stones; it is only you, mother and daughter, who suffer."

His tone was so sincere that Qi Sheng felt a pang of sorrow in his heart.

As the man spoke, he seemed to think of something, and two lines of tears flowed from his eyes.

"I am the one who has burdened you, mother and daughter. Since childhood, You Lian'er has been weak and sickly; at such an age, her frailty has already shortened her prospects for marriage. As her father, I ought to die, so as to relieve you both of this burden."

The woman's mother also fetched a stool and placed it beside Qi Sheng.

"Brave sir, please sit quickly."

Having said this, she turned to the frail man and said:

"Husband, if you die, I will surely follow you; it is only my poor You Lian'er whom I pity."

Qi Sheng rose slightly, bowed in respect, and then sighed, saying:

"To be honest, among those rich idlers on the street just now, one was actually my master's nephew. Please accept this silver as compensation from my master."

The woman's mother was about to refuse again, but Qi Sheng said:

"It is also for your husband's health."

"Then we thank you."

"There are matters in the mansion to attend to, so I shall take my leave now."

Having said this, Qi Sheng rose and departed.

In the courtyard, the frail man endured the bitterness and drank the medicine from the bowl.

He sighed softly.

"You have suffered."

After leaving the courtyard, Qi Sheng asked for the location of the neighborhood head and went with another personal soldier to pay a visit.

A quarter of an hour later, Qi Sheng mounted his horse and returned to the Lady Ningyuan Hou Fu.

Night.

In the Lady Ningyuan Hou Fu, within the main lady's courtyard, Chang Mama stood behind Bai Shi, removing her hairpins and ornaments.

"Miss, the lord has gone to the ancestral hall again."

"Mm, having returned from such a dangerous place in the north, he must offer sacrifices to inform our ancestors."

"Earlier this evening, the lord's personal attendant, Manager Qi Sheng, only just returned to the mansion."

"Is there some matter?"

"Mm, Manager Qi did not have time to explain in detail before the lord summoned him to the study; he only said that Bing-ge'er of the fifth branch harassed a common girl on the street, and he went to handle the aftermath."

"That entire fifth branch family is a case of a crooked top beam producing a crooked lower beam."

Chang Mama placed the exquisitely crafted jewelry into the chest, then walked back to Bai Shi's side to help arrange her hair:

"Miss, my heart feels uneasy for some reason; I cannot say why."

Thinking of Gu Yankai's evasive gaze, Bai Shi's heart sank as she said:

"It is nothing; now I have both a son and a daughter, and Yu-ge'er is also a good child; we are no longer as we were in those years."

"What Miss says is true; this old woman never dared to imagine that in my lifetime I would have the occasion to enter the palace."

"Mama, I am thirsty."

"Oh dear, my Yi-Hua Jie'er, Mama is coming."

Bai Shi stood up and stretched slightly.

"Tomorrow we shall go to the Xu family's to fish."

"Mother, fishing? Yi wants to eat fish." Having said this, Gu Gu Tingyi murmured sleepily and drifted back to sleep.

Later that night, Gu Yankai returned to the main lady's courtyard.

After speaking a few words of human concern, he glanced at Gu Gu Tingyi, washed up, and went to sleep.

The next day.

Upon receiving news that Bai Shi was coming, Sun Shi instructed the Xu family's steward to go out and purchase many fine goods.

At the hour of Chen,

Bai Shi had already arrived at the Xu residence.

While allowing Xu Xu Anmei and Gu Gu Tingyi to make a racket nearby, laughing loudly, the two matriarchs of the households chatted about gossip.

Speaking of Hu Yan Jiong from Dengzhou, due to his brilliant performance on the polo field, he received numerous invitations from the polo teams of the capital's nobility.

Sometimes they pulled him onto their team; other times, they competed against him.

After some back and forth, he made quite a few friends,

and the Jinghai Marquis's household received no small number of invitation cards.

This eleventh young master, raised in Dengzhou within the Marquis's residence, was very popular with everyone.

Bai Shi spoke from the side:

"I heard from Wu Lou that the Hu Yan family has received numerous marriage proposals; she has run over there several times herself, only to be politely rejected by the Eldest Lady of the Fifth Branch each time."

With a face full of curiosity, Sun Shi asked gossiper-style: "How did they reject them?"

"They said that the eleventh young master is already the youngest child of the Hu Yan family, still quite young, and they wish to keep him under their care for a few more years."

"That does sound reasonable."

Just as they were about to speak of other matters, Xiao Zhu walked in smiling, squatted to perform a bow, and said: "Eldest Lady, the Eldest Lady of the Yongchang Marquis's residence has arrived."

"Please invite her in quickly."

"Could it be that Wu Lou knows we are talking about her?" Bai Shi said.

"Who knows? With ears like hers, is there anything she cannot hear? Eight times out of ten, she has come to my home to scrape together some benefits."

Wu Da Da Niangzi swept in with wind and fire, nodding once to Bai Shi.

After glancing at Sun Shi, she sat in the seat of the main hall and did not speak a word.

After waiting a moment and seeing that Sun Shi was still looking at her without speaking, she said in a bad temper:

"Oh, so now that I have come, there isn't even a cup of hot tea left?"

Sun Shi and Bai Shi exchanged a glance, confused in their hearts, and looked at Wu Da Da Niangzi with eyes full of puzzlement.

Xiao Zhu, standing to the side, accompanied them with a smile and said:

"Eldest Lady, please forgive our offense; is it not that we haven't prepared the infused drink you love most?"

Wu Da Da Niangzi froze for a moment, then turned her head aside with an air of tsundere pride.

Bai Shi hurriedly stepped in to save the situation, saying:

"Sister, what is this? Did she offend you? Speak up, and I will vent your anger for you."

Wu Da Da Niangzi looked at Sun Shi angrily and said:

"How is it that all the good fortunes have landed on your family!"

With a blank look on her face followed by a bitter smile, Sun Shi said:

"What words are these, Sister? What good fortune has my family encountered?"

Wu Da Da Niangzi took an invitation card from her sleeve and said:

"Take a look and see whose family's card this is."

Sun Shi took it in her hand, glanced at it a few times, and slowly said:

"From the Hu Yan family of the Jinghai Marquis?"

"Yes."

Bai Shi's eyes darted around before lighting up; she slapped the table in surprise and waved her handkerchief, saying:

"Could it be!!!???"

Wu Da Da Niangzi said with a touch of jealousy:

"It is indeed strange; I went on behalf of several Count and Marquis households a few times, yet the Hu Yan family would not loosen their mouths. But this time, Pan Da Da Niangzi of the Fifth Branch directly delivered the invitation card to my Liang family."

Seeing that Sun Shi still looked somewhat bewildered, Bai Shi said from the side:

"You were just talking about them. It's about Brother Jiong."

Only then did Sun Shi react, asking hesitantly:

"Is their family seeking An'er?"

Wu Da Da Niangzi let out a deep breath, pursed her lips, and said:

"Yes, you have finally thought of that."

"Impossible! Our Xu family and the Hu Yan family have always had no interactions. How could they—"

Wu Da Da Niangzi looked at Sun Shi, her eyes full of

'Keep talking.'

'Are you pretending not to understand?'

'How did I end up with a friend who reacts so slowly?'

'Even your family's Brother Jing understands better than you.'

"I remember now! The polo gathering!" Sun Shi suddenly realized.

"Oh, my little sister, you have finally figured it out. Additionally, I have inquired: the Fifth Branch of the Hu Yan family has always controlled the maritime transport to several vassal states in the east," Wu Da Da Niangzi said in a low voice.

Bai Shi, looking surprised, lowered her voice and asked:

"Is it not the Eldest Branch of the Hu Yan family?"

"The Eldest Branch of their family has a title waiting to be inherited; how could they bear to send their descendants to risk their lives at sea! If the descendants of that branch lacked official duties, how could they maintain control? Nowadays, everything is decided by the Fifth Branch."

Taking a sip of the infused drink that had been served, Wu Da Da Niangzi continued:

"Do you think the families in the capital value something else? Do they value that their eleventh young master plays polo well? Or that the eleventh young master cannot compose poetry? If I didn't lack a daughter, I would have long gone to pester them with soft words and hard demands."

Upon hearing this news, Sun Shi still found it somewhat hard to believe; she truly did not understand the intricacies involved.

"Don't overthink it; the Hu Yan family's invitation is merely to gauge your attitude. If you disagree, I shall decline them."

Sun Shi said, "At the polo match, that boy Jiong had no chance to see our An'er; why, then, would he come to propose?"

Wu Da Da Niangzi rolled her eyes: "Give me a definite answer so I may reply to them."

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(End of chapter)