The Lady of Taining was a person of action. As soon as Wu Shi’s seventh seven was over, she asked for First Lady Zhou’s help in sending word to Qiu Shi that she wanted to tie the knot with the Han family.

When Qiu Shi heard First Lady Zhou’s words, she almost agreed. Still, she thought of her son’s reminder. She steadied herself and said, “The Chen family is naturally a very good family. It’s just that Yuxi’s San Shen has only passed away less than three months, so it is not appropriate to talk about her marriage right now.”

First Lady Zhou didn’t expect Qiu Shi to give this kind of answer. “That child, Chen Ran, I don’t even need to tell Dimei that there are many people in the capital who have set their eyes on him! It’s a blessing that the Chen family is interested in that child, Yuxi. What are you still hesitating about?” She implied Qiu Shi not to act unreasonably and just say yes!

Qiu Shi responded with a bitter smile, “Biaosao, it’s not that I don’t want to agree, it’s just that it doesn’t make sense! Although Yuxi has been adopted under my name, it has not been announced to the public. If we quietly settle the marriage now, it will be bad for Yuxi’s reputation if word gets out.”

First Lady Zhou felt that Qiu Shi’s honesty was too much and said, “The Lady of Taining only asked me to find out your opinion on this matter. She didn’t say that the marriage has to be settled right away. As long as you agree, the two families will at least have an idea in their hearts. When your family is out of mourning period, it will not be too late to discuss their marriage.”

Qiu Shi was very moved, but she kept remembering Han Jianming’s words, making her sway left and right in making her decision.

Seeing Qiu Shi’s silence, the First Lady Zhou added, “Dimei, I heard that the Eldest Madam Yu wanted to betroth her youngest daughter to Jieyuan Chen. But the Lady of Taining thought Yuxi was a kind and warm-hearted girl because she had saved the life of the Second Master Chen. So she wanted to take her as her daughter-in-law and politely refused the Yu family. Dimei, you already know what kind of daughter-in-law the Chen family is unable to marry? But if Yuxi misses out on the Chen family, it will be difficult for her to find such a good family in the future.”

Lady of Taining naturally wouldn’t say that her son had a crush on Yuxi. She only said that she, herself, had taken a liking to Yuxi. From the way First Lady Zhou spoke, Yuxi seemed to get herself some dumb luck. Otherwise, why wasn’t it someone else who had saved Chen Ran? Of all things, he had to bump into her.

When Qiu Shi heard this, she immediately took her stand as she said, “It is Yuxi’s good fortune to marry into the Chen family. It’s just that, my Mother who had personally brought up Yuxi, so I still have to ask her about Yuxi’s marriage.” From Qiu Shi’s words, she indicated that she agreed to the marriage. But she was not the one who could decide to beat time with clappers. With these words, she had retained a leeway for the proposal.

The First Lady Zhou smilingly said, “It is enough to have your words.” Her Gugu was not senile, so how could she not agree to such a good marriage. This marriage could be said to have been finalised.

After sending off the First Lady Zhou, Qiu Shi immediately went to the Main Courtyard and told the Old Lady about it. “Mother, the Chen family manners are good, and Chen Ran is also a progressive man. This marriage is perfect.” If the Old Lady agreed, the marriage would be a done deal.

The Old Lady was much calmer than Qiu Shi. She was not so happy that she lost her senses, just because the Chen family had come to her door to propose marriage. She asked, “Why did the Chen family come to propose marriage?” If this had been before the accident, it would not have been surprising that Lady Chen would have taken a fancy to Yuxi. However, it was strange that the Chen family would come to the door to propose marriage when Yuxi had such a terrible reputation for having a bad fate.

Without hesitation, Qiu Shi relayed what Han Jianming had told her that day. “That child Yuxi was somewhat resistant because of the previous rumours and specifically asked Jianming to tell me that if the Chen family came to propose marriage, I should refuse the marriage.”

The Old Lady looked thoughtful and said after a while, “When Wu Shi’s 100th day has passed, you will release the news that you have long since adopted Yuxi. At that time, we will discuss the marriage with the Chen family. For now, let’s just put it aside.” The Second Master Chen was not yet old, but his tactics were not that low, as he could get the Lady of Taining to compromise and act as his matchmaker. Without talking about anything else, for that reason alone, she was willing to marry Yuxi off to Chen Ran.

Remembering Han Jianming’s words, Qiu Shi asked, “Mother, Yuxi has a stubborn temper. She has misunderstandings about Second Master Chen. What should I do if she is determined to disagree?” Qiu Shi meant that she hoped the Old Lady would step in to convince Yuxi when that time came. Qiu Shi, herself, was not sure she could persuade Yuxi, but she had great confidence in the Old Lady.

The Old Lady nodded. “You don’t need to worry about this. I will make Yuxi agree when that time comes.” Since Yuxi had a reputation like that, if it weren’t for Chen Ran’s skillfulness, the Lady of Taining would not have agreed to such a marriage. If Yuxi missed this opportunity, she would not have this kind of marriage proposal again. Yuxi was not a fool. No matter what the misunderstanding was, as long as she understood this, she would agree.

A smile appeared on Qiu Shi’s face. “That’s good.”

The Old Lady warned, “Don’t tell anyone else about this for now. Jianming can’t be told either. Everything has to wait until after Wu Shi’s 100th day.” If word regarding this matter got out, it would be detrimental to Yuxi’s reputation.

The Lady of Tai Ning was not surprised to hear that Qiu Shi had agreed. Her son was outstanding in every way, and he was the jieyuan in this year’s provincial autumn examinations. She had personally asked someone to be the middleman, so how could the Han family refuse?

As soon as this matter settled, the Lady of Taining immediately sought out Chen Ran and told him about it. “The First Lady Han has already agreed to the marriage. But since the Third Lady Han has just passed away, it is not good to discuss the marriage. When the Third Mistress has passed her hundredth day, the wedding can be fixed.”

Chen Ran asked curiously, “Third Lady Han has passed away. Why is it possible to discuss marriage in three months? Shouldn’t one observe mourning for three years? Is there something that I don’t know about this?”

The Lady of Taining spoke about Yuxi’s adoption to the Main House. “The Fourth Girl is not a member of the Third House right now. She only needs to observe the mourning for a full hundred days.”

Chen Ran smiled lightly. Han Yuxi was much more capable than he had imagined. If she weren’t capable, she wouldn’t have been adopted into the Main House. As far as Chen Ran knew, a few people in the Main House dotted Yuxi.

Looking at the smile that appeared on her son’s face, the sullen anger that the Lady of Taining had been holding back dispersed a lot. No matter how many flaws Han Yuxi had, her son liked her sincerely and genuinely, and not for the sake of making his mother angry. Since this was the case, it was time for her to adjust her attitude.

The Lady of Taining advised, “Ran-er, when you’re married to the Han girl, you will be an adult. From now on, you have to think twice about what you do in the future and not do whatever you want to do.” The words ‘run away and become a monk’ were not something the Lady of Taining dared to say on his face.

Chen Ran had been thinking about getting his parents to agree to the marriage, but now that they relented to his wish, he remembered that Yuxi seemed to be very repulsed by him. If Han Yuxi disagreed, she would definitely mess up this marriage using her intelligence. This meant that it was still unknown whether the marriage would work or not. “Mother, there is not even the first stroke of the character bā (八 (eight)) yet. It’s still too early for you to speak about this!”

The Lady of Taining did not know what Chen Ran was thinking. She only thought that her son was embarrassed and said with a smile, “Don’t worry. After 100 days, I will ask a matchmaker to propose marriage so that the marriage will be concluded as soon as possible.”

Chen Ran only said, “Mother should do as Mother sees fit!” However, what he said this time was not as cynical as last time. Even his look had eased a lot.

The Han and Chen families did not make a sound about this matter, but with a mediator, it would have been impossible to keep it a secret. During a conversation with Second Lady Zhou, First Lady Zhou inadvertently let it slip through her lips.

Second Lady Zhou asked incredulously, “Is it true what Dasao just said? Lady Chen wants to match Yuxi for her youngest son?” How could the Chen family take fancy on Yuxi? Even if Yuxi had saved Chen Ran’s life, there was no way they would let her marry him just because of that!

The First Lady Zhou said with a smile, “This is not official yet, and I was entrusted with keeping it a secret. Dimei, the Han family is still in mourning. So it is not advisable to publicise this matter for the time being.”

Second Lady Zhou didn’t even know how she went back to her yard. She couldn’t figure out how Lady Chen could have chosen Yuxi in the end. She couldn’t stop thinking about it. She couldn’t help but talk about it with the Old Woman Min beside her. “Why do you think Lady Chen chose Yuxi?”

The person on the spot was baffled, while the onlooker saw it clearly. Old Woman Min did not think it was Lady Chen who had taken a fancy to Yuxi. “My Lady, if I have to guess, it would have been the Second Master Chen himself who had taken a fancy to Miss Han. The Lady of Taining does not even look at Miss Han.” What mother would give her son a daughter-in-law with a bad fate unless she was his stepmother?

The Second Lady Zhou suddenly realised. “Do you think it’s because Yuxi saved his life that he wants to marry her?”

Old Woman Min replied, “It is possible.” Although it was said that the Fourth Miss Han was excellent in the art of needlework, cooking, and so on, it was not as if the Second Master Chen had never seen anything even better.

As they were talking, Zhou Shiya came over. When she entered the room, she felt that the atmosphere was not right. She asked curiously, “Mother, what are you two doing?”

Second Lady Zhou asked with a smile on her face instead, “Don’t you always want to visit Yuxi in Red Jujube Hamlet?”

The surprise came so quickly that Zhou Shiya couldn’t believe it: “Mother, do you mean you agree with me going to see Yuxi? Mother, you’re not bluffing me, are you?”

Second Lady Zhou felt both amused and annoyed. “When did Mother ever bluff you? You can go if you want to, but you have to return on the same day.”

Zhou Shiya straight out responded, “Then I will go to see Yuxi tomorrow.” It was enough if she could go to see Yuxi. If she hoped she could stay overnight at the hamlet, her mother would surely disagree.

When Yuxi saw Zhou Shiya, she could no longer describe it as a mere coincidence. “Shiya, what brings you here?”

When Zhou Shiya saw Yuxi, she hugged her and shouted, “I thought you were suffering in the country. I didn’t expect you to enjoy yourself here. It has been a long time since I last saw you, and to my surprise, you’ve grown this tall and fat.” She had been so worried!

Yuxi smiled and said, “Didn’t I tell you that I’m fine here?” Yuxi had a good relationship with Chiang Xin. However, after Duan Xinrong’s incident, the two had become somewhat estranged. And since she was rumoured to have a bad fate, the two hadn’t been in touch since. So, by now, Yuxi only had one best friend, Zhou Shiya.

Zhou Shiya muttered and said, “I don’t trust you no matter how well you say it.” If her mother hadn’t disagreed, she would have wanted to come out to see Yuxi much earlier.

Yuxi asked with a smile as she pulled Zhou Shiya’s hand towards the house, “Are you relieved now?” She was even more comfortable at the hamlet than she was at the State Residence.

Zhou Shiya said discontentedly, “Relieved? How can I not be worried! If you stay here any longer, you’ll be fatter than me.” Being scared for Yuxi, she could not eat or sleep well and had lost a lot of weight in the past few months. Of course, such an effect was a surprise.

Yuxi chuckled.