Chapter 231 : Marriage Proposal (1)

After the Lantern Festival, the Lady of Taining had requested First Lady Zhou to be her middleman. She wanted First Lady Zhou to speak with the Han family and told them that the Chen family were ready to ask for an official matchmaker to propose.

Wealthy and influential families like the Chen were very strict in their acts. They would only propose marriage when they got a definite answer from the other party. Otherwise, it would not look good if the matchmaker had come only to be rejected.

When the First Lady Zhou went to the Han family, she went straight to the Main Courtyard and spoke to Old Lady Han. The First Lady Zhou said, “Gumu, this marriage is tough to find even if you used a lantern.” First Lady Zhou’s daughter, Zhou Shihua, was already married. If First Lady Zhou still had a daughter, she would have been interested in arranging a marriage with Chen Ran.

Old Lady Han simply nodded in agreement, without needing First Lady Zhou to waste her time to explain. Not to mention Chen Ran himself was already very good. As far as the Chen family was concerned, Yuxi wouldn’t lose any money if she married him.

The First Lady Zhou thought it would take much argument, but she didn’t expect the Old Lady to be forthcoming. “This child, Yuxi, is truly blessed.” So many people had admired Chen Ran, but in the end, his marriage fell onto Yuxi’s lap. What else could she say, other than Yuxi had been blessed?

As soon as the First Lady Zhou left, Old Lady Han instructed Old Woman Luo, “Go call Yuxi over.” If it had been in the past, Old Lady Han would have asked someone else to inform Yuxi, and that would have been the end of it. But now, the situation was different. Since she had promised Qiu Shi, she would have to persuade Yuxi personally.

When Yuxi saw Mama Luo and heard the Old Lady was looking for her, she knew something was wrong, and it was not a small matter. If there was nothing wrong, the Old Lady would not have been looking for her, let alone asking Mama Luo to come over herself.

Without hesitation, Yuxi went with Mama Luo to the Main Courtyard at once. On the way, she pretended to be very casual as she asked, “Mama, why is Grandmother looking for me?”

Mama Luo smiled and said, “Miss will know once Miss gets to the main house. It’s a good thing.” If it weren’t for the Old Lady’s serious look at that time, she would tell Yuxi the happy event right away.

Yuxi’s heart thudded. Good things? What good things could there be for her now except for her marriage? Thinking of her marriage, Yuxi asked, “Mama Luo, did Biao Jiumu come over recently?”

Mama Luo smiled a little, not nodding or denying. The Fourth Miss was now different from before. With such a good marriage, it would bring a change to her fortunes.

Yuxi’s mind instantly had a definite idea of what her Grandmother was doing.

When the Old Lady saw Yuxi, she didn’t play any dumb riddle. She directly told her the First Lady Zhou’s intention for her visit. “I heard your mother say that you are not satisfied with the Chen family’s marriage proposal?”

Yuxi had prepared herself, and naturally, she responded with statements where one drop of water couldn’t even leak out. “Grandmother, the Marquis Taining’s family is even more powerful than our Duke’s family. While Chen Ran is a jieyuan. No one can pick a single bad thing about his family or Chen Ran. I heard that even the First Madam Yu family wants to marry her daughter to him!”

The Old Lady did not change her expression and asked, “If you have anything to say, say it directly. There is no need to go round the curves and skirt the corners.” This girl was so thorough that she might say something different.

Yuxi said, “Grandmother, it is because this marriage is so good that I find it strange. Grandmother, how can a family, like Marquis Taining, take a fancy on someone like me? I’m not belittling myself. I truly don’t deserve Chen Ran just based on my terms. Without speaking about other things, just because I have such a bad fate, there is no way for the Lady of Taining to take a liking to me.” After a pause, Yuxi asked the Old Lady, “Grandmother, if it were you, would you marry your son to a daughter-in-law who has a bad fate?”

The Old Lady’s eyes narrowed for a moment before asking, “You think the Chen family wants to marry you for another reason? But what do they want from you? And what good things do you have for them to calculate against you?” The Old Lady’s words could be said to have drawn blood on the first prick. Not to mention that Yuxi had nothing for the Chen family to calculate. Even the Han family had nothing for the Chen family to plot for.

Yuxi had to admit that ginger got spicier as it got older. These questions immediately blocked her from saying anything. Luckily, she was fully prepared to argue. “Grandmother, I don’t know what exactly they are after, but I think the Chen family is not as good as what is rumoured outside. At least, as far as I know, there are many crises within the Chen family.” How could the Chen not be in danger when its next heir followed such a traitorous prince?

The Old Lady’s eyes flashed. “What kind of crisis?”

Yuxi briefly spoke about the 9th Prince’s possible treason, then said, “The Chen family has put all their treasure on the 9th Prince. Once the 9th Prince’s treason is exposed, it will severely damage the Chen family. If not, it can destroy them.”

The Old Lady’s hand grasping the Buddha bead trembled, but this action was very obscure. Even Yuxi could not see it. “Did your Dage tell you this?”

Yuxi nodded and said, “It was Dage who told me. Earlier, I asked for Dage’s help in looking into Xinrong Jiejie’s affairs, and I accidentally overheard these words.”

The Old Lady’s sharp eyes seemed to be able to see through people. No one knew better than her how cautious Jianming was. How could such a vital matter be accidentally overheard by Yuxi? The Old Lady didn’t even need to ask. She knew that Han Jianming must have deliberately let Yuxi know about this matter. As for why Han Jianming did it, the Old Lady didn’t know, and she wouldn’t ask if Han Jianming wouldn’t tell her himself.

Yuxi’s scalp tingled at the Old Lady’s sharp stare, but she endured with all her will and did not show any trace of timidity.

After some time, the Old Lady turned the Buddha beads again. She stated, “If you disagree with the Chen family’s marriage proposal just because of this, you don’t need to worry yourself about it. Even if the things done by the 9th Prince are exposed, the Chen family will still be fine.”

Yuxi looked puzzled as she asked, “Is the Chen family that powerful?” If that incident broke out and the Chen family still managed to get away with it, how deep must the inside story be!

The Old Lady slowly explained. “It was the Emperor’s wish for Marquis Taining’s Shizi to assist the 9th Prince. They didn’t do it to gain more merit through the dragon’s seed. The 9nth Prince did this more than ten years ago. At that time, Marquis Taining’s Shizi had not yet followed him. So, even if this matter broke out, the Chen family could still get away with it.” But, if this matter did break out, the Marquis Taining’s Shizi would get into trouble too.

For the Old Lady, it was better for this matter to be out in the open. Once the treason was exposed, the 9th Prince would have no chance of taking the throne, and the Song family would support the 10th Prince next. If the 10th Prince took the throne, Yuchen would be the next Empress. With the Marquis Taining’s Shizi mixed in with the 9th Prince’s treason, Chen Ran would become the next Marquis Taining’s heir. And Yuxi would become the future mistress. By then, the Han family would surely be able to take advantage of the opportunity to rise back to the top and never have to live in other’s favour again.

Yuxi understood her Grandmother’s words. “Grandmother means that I cannot refuse this marriage?” Or rather, the Old Lady would not allow her to refuse the marriage at all.

The Old Lady said, “I told you. Even if you have been adopted to the Main House, you are still the young Miss of the Han family.” It took a lot of manpower, material and financial resources to carefully raise a young miss. She was nurtured for a future marriage that could benefit the family. Otherwise, the Old Lady wouldn’t have gone to so much trouble that day.

Yuxi understood what the Old Lady meant by this. This marriage would benefit the family, so there was no room for refusal even if she disagreed. “I understand.” What the Old Lady had decided was not something she could change. Therefore, Yuxi wouldn’t waste her spirit just to argue. However, just because she couldn’t make sense to her Grandmother didn’t mean that Dage couldn’t.

Han Jianming did not understand why Yuxi was so resistant to this marriage. “Yuxi, if you can give me a reasonable reason, I can help you to convince Grandmother.”

What reason could Yuxi have? She just felt that there was something wrong but could not precisely say what was wrong. “Dage, I just feel that the Chen family is up to no good.”

Han Jianming smiled. “Then tell me, where did you feel the Chen family is up to no good?” Han Jianming thought differently from the Old Lady; the Chen family was undoubtedly good, but Yuxi’s marriage didn’t have to be with the Chen family. Their family might benefit more by allowing Yuxi to marry a young general with military power in his hands. As for whether Yuxi would have a lousy time marrying such a man, Han Jianming was not worried at all. Given her intelligence, it was unlikely that she would have a bad life as long as she had the mind to do so.

Yuxi’s mind started to turn as she said, “Chen Ran is not as good as what is said outside. I think he might have a little problem in his head?”

Han Jianming chided with amusement, “Yuxi, it’s fine that you are unwilling to tie the knot because you don’t like Chen Ran, but you can’t make up any nonsense!” For a man who could even win the title of jieyuan, she even dared to accuse him of having a brain problem. If word about this got out, how many people would attack her for it!

Yuxi was not making things up and told Han Jianming all the four times she had met Chen Ran. She reasoned out, “If he had taken a liking to me, he wouldn’t have ignored me on the first two occasions. By the third time, he suddenly struck up a conversation without any reason at all. The fourth time was even more outrageous. He would even go so far as to say he wanted to speak to me alone. Dage, doesn’t he know that men and women should not touch hands when they give or receive things?”

After listening to Yuxi’s ramblings, Han Jianming finally understood. “Yuxi, it’s not that the Chen family has ulterior motives towards you. It’s you who don’t have confidence in yourself. You feel that the Chen family is too high and Chen Ran is too good for you.” Because she felt that she was unworthy, she thought that the Chen family would have ulterior motives when they abruptly came to her door to propose marriage.

Han Jianming concluded that Yuxi’s refusal to the marriage was due to her inferiority complex. “Yuxi, although the Han family is not as influential as the Chen family in the Imperial Court, the two families are still a good match. Moreover, Chen Ran is not the eldest son, and you are excellent in every way to match Chen Ran. So why do you suddenly have this inferiority complex?”

Yuxi froze for a moment and smiled bitterly, “Dage, I’m not.” It wasn’t that she had an inferiority complex, nor did she think she didn’t deserve Chen Ran. It was that the shadow the Jiang family had cast over her was too deep. Chen Ran and Jiang Hongjin were too similar in some ways. Both had good family backgrounds and were excellent in their own right. Most importantly, Chen Ran had somehow taken a liking to her and then come to her door to propose marriage. How could she not be frightened by such a situation? She was afraid of escaping from the Jiang family’s wolf’s den, only to enter the Chen family’s tiger’s den.

As Han Jianming watched Yuxi grow sorrowful, he felt a little bad in his heart. “Yuxi, if the Chen family marries you for ulterior motives, Dage will adamantly refuse. But in fact, this is not the case. Yuxi, Dage won’t want you to miss out on such a good marriage just because of a momentary inferiority complex.”

Yuxi was silent for a moment and asked, “Dage, are you sure this is a good marriage and not a fire pit?”

Han Jianming answered while feeling both amused and annoyed. “If it is a fire pit, do you think Dage will still push you in? Or, in your mind, Dage is a cold-blooded and ruthless person.”

Yuxi hurriedly shook her head, “No, of course not.” Although Dage was sometimes a bit ruthless in his methods, he was a very affectionate person.

Han Jianming also stopped talking and looked at Yuxi with a smile that didn’t look like a smile.

At this point, Yuxi could only admit, “Dage, I’m just scared.” She was afraid. Afraid of falling into the same situation she had in her previous life.

Han Jianming said, “Normally, I think you are quite capable, but whenever it matters the most, you screw up. What are you afraid of? The Chen family is not a wolves’ lair and tiger’s den. Do you think they can just wipe you off without valid reason?”

Yuxi was lectured so thoroughly that she didn’t dare to look up.