The old madam understood what Madam Xiao meant. If it was the Empress or the Crown Prince, then the matter wasn’t just about Mingxi, but also about Duan Wang.
This was a major issue, but what could the old madam do? She could only inform her husband and see what action he would take.
Madam Xiao sighed with relief after leaving Rongan Hall. The day’s events were finally over. Now that her tense nerves had relaxed, she felt the weight of exhaustion in her body.
She still couldn’t rest; she had to go pay her respects to her mother-in-law. Her face looked pale, and being a daughter-in-law was not easy.
At dinner, the old madam told her husband about the issue with Li Peilan. The old man had not been well lately, and after hearing the news, he didn’t speak for a while.
The old madam asked, “How should we deal with this?”
The old man looked at his wife and said slowly, “When soldiers come, we fight; when water comes, we dam it. There’s no solution to it.”
The old madam: …
It would have been better if he hadn’t said anything!
She was frustrated. The old man was becoming more exasperating the older he got.
Seeing the look on his wife’s face, the old man continued, “Li Peilan is still young. Even if it reaches Duke Cao’s family, they can easily dismiss it with a word. Today, Fuchang Marquis Madam has already passed a message to the Duke Cao’s wife. If they are willing to be more restrained, this matter won’t happen again. If they push further, we can still test the waters.”
The old madam knew her husband had a plan in mind, so she didn’t rush to argue.
She was an old woman; how could she fly and fight?
“The most important thing right now is the exam for Duan Qi’s class. Everything else can wait.”
When the old madam spoke of this, she became serious. “Though it’s only an exam for a scholar, passing the exam will allow participation in the provincial exams. If one of our family’s offspring could become a scholar, it would be a great thing.”
In noble families, sons and daughters grew up in luxury, rarely facing hardships. Few could endure the grueling study required for success in the exams.
The Dingyuan Marquis household was on the decline, and the old man’s sons were of little help, so the family had to rely on the younger generation to revive it.
As the exam date drew closer, the people of the Dingyuan Marquis household grew anxious.
Meanwhile, Xiao Muchen arranged to meet Mingxi at Fang Xulin’s teahouse. This time, he wasn’t accompanied by Qi He, but by Fang Chengda. It was a good opportunity for the father and son to meet.
Fang Momo managed the internal affairs of the Wang family, Fang Xulin ran a private restaurant, and their son Fang Chengda worked for Wangye, often too busy to meet for days or weeks.
“Is it true that Duke Cao’s family has been causing trouble for you?”
“Who said that?” Mingxi was surprised. It had been several days since this incident, why was it being brought up again?
“It must be true,” Xiao Muchen said firmly.
Mingxi fixed her gaze on him. “It’s just a small quarrel between girls, nothing serious.”
“Anything involving you is a big matter for me.”
Mingxi: …
Looking at Xiao Muchen, she couldn’t help but feel a strange inner conflict between the man before her and Duan Wang of her past life. It was like a tug-of-war in her mind.
“Duke Cao’s family is negotiating a marriage with Duke Wei’s family.”
Mingxi was momentarily unsure how to react. “Who?”
Li Peilan and Xu Heng?
“The Crown Prince is trying to win over Kang Wang, or perhaps to pull in Duke Wei and create a rift between Duke Wei and the Fengcheng Marquis,” Xiao Muchen said, his black eyes expressionless, as if speaking about someone else’s matters.
Mingxi understood his meaning. Among the Wangyes, Kang Wang was the easiest to control, and the emperor had chosen a Wangfei from Fengcheng Marquis as his wife, which gave Duke Wei more influence.
If Li Peilan married Xu Heng, Duke Wei’s stance could change at any time, which was a crucial matter for the Crown Prince.
Duke Wei controlled the military, and the Crown Prince had set his sights on him.
Fengcheng Marquis had just earned military merit in Xinan, and Kang Wang’s status had naturally risen due to his future father-in-law’s rising importance.
“This marriage cannot go through,” Mingxi said firmly.
Xiao Muchen smiled. “It seems we are of one mind.”
Mingxi nearly swallowed her words. Couldn’t he just speak plainly?
“At this point, we must be cautious. We can’t damage Li Peilan’s reputation; otherwise, we’ll be making enemies with both Duke Cao’s family and the Crown Prince. It’s better to quietly dissolve the engagement without anyone noticing.”
This seemed difficult, Mingxi frowned.
“Duke Wei is known for his integrity, and because of this, Duke Cao’s family does not dare to act too openly,” Xiao Muchen said. “Though Duke Cao’s family has the Crown Prince behind them, Duke Wei won’t take a side so easily. He certainly doesn’t want this marriage.”
“So, the best course of action now is to find a Young Miss who catches the eye of Duke Wei, whose family background need not be too impressive, but whose character must be excellent.”
Mingxi pondered for a moment before speaking slowly, but at the moment, she couldn’t think of anyone suitable for such a role.
“I have someone in mind, but you may need to make an introduction.”
“Me?” Duan Mingxi looked at Xiao Muchen suspiciously. No wonder he asked her out for tea—he had something in mind. “Which family’s daughter?”
“The second daughter of Fuchang Marquis.”
“Xiao Ling?” Mingxi was truly surprised.
Xiao Muchen nodded and slowly said, “Qian Jieyu has already made her way to Royal Mother.”
“What does Qian Jieyu have to do with this?” Mingxi was even more confused. Wasn’t this about Duke Wei?
Duke Wei was only close to Fengcheng Marquis, and there was no connection with Kang Wang.
Xiao Muchen slowly explained, “Don’t just focus on Duke Wei. You have to consider that since Duke Cao dared to bring up the marriage matter with Duke Wei, it is likely backed by the Empress and the Crown Prince’s pressure. Although Duke Wei is a military officer, he is not rash or impulsive.”
Since this was related to the imperial palace, it could only involve a concubine who had experience negotiating with the Empress.
Duke Wei must have sought help from Marquis Fengcheng, who then sought out Qian Jieyu, and Qian Jieyu chose to approach Consort Shu.
This favor now rested with Xiao Muchen.
Mingxi: …
Her eyes suddenly brightened as she thought deeply about the matter. After a while, she looked at Xiao Muchen and asked, “Did Duchess Wei select Xiao Ling?”
Xiao Muchen nodded, “Actually, Duchess Wei had intended to send someone to Fuchang Marquis’s residence after the Mid-Autumn Festival, but unexpectedly, Duke Cao intervened and caught them off guard.”
Duan Mingxi understood now. If Duchess Wei were to approach Fuchang Marquis’s residence with a proposal now, Fuchang Marquis might not want to go against Duke Cao, and this marriage would certainly not be agreed to.
Duchess Wei was a reasonable person. At this moment, rather than putting Fuchang Marquis in a difficult position, she turned to Qian Jieyu, who then sought out Consort Shu. She would rather owe Consort Shu and Duan Wang a favor than get Xiao Ling involved.
Recalling the fate of Xu Heng in her previous life, Mingxi sighed deeply.
In her past life, she had no connection to Xu Heng, and the only reason she knew about him was because of Bai Zhiwei.
Who would have thought that this time, she would have such an entanglement with him?
“If Consort Shu gets involved, wouldn’t she offend the Empress and the Crown Prince?” Mingxi asked.
“Hasn’t she already offended them? What’s one more offense?”
Hearing this, Mingxi thought to herself that Consort Shu and her son had indeed been able to confront the Empress and Crown Prince in her previous life.
They were fearless.
