Before the night was deep, Wen Yiqing gently opened the door and walked out.
Shanshan sat at the door eagerly. She smiled, caressed her daughter's soft face and said, "Mom will be back soon."
The little girl nodded obediently.
The spring night was slightly cool, and the moonlight was shining evenly. She wrapped her coat tightly, held a lantern, and walked quickly through the corridors. Fortunately, it was getting late and I didn't meet anyone on the road.
Arriving at the main courtyard, just as Mrs. Qi was about to rest, she heard a message from her servants that Wen Yiqing was coming to see her. She put on her coat and sat up again.
"Let someone come in quickly."
Uncle Zhongyong has not rested yet. He is busy with official duties on weekdays, but he also looks kind and happy when he sees his daughter.
"It's so late. Qing Niang still has something to do with dad?" Mr. Qi poured her a cup of tea: "Come, sit down and talk."
Wen Yiqing raised her head and glanced at him quickly. She didn't move. She stood and said, "It's just a few words. Qing Niang left after asking."
Uncle Zhongyong put down his cup and said, "Say."
"Shanshan heard a rumor from the third lady during the day, saying that Mr. He and I are about to get married. I wonder if my parents have heard of it?"
Hearing this, Uncle Zhongyong smiled and said: "Good boy, Dad has heard your mother talk about this matter a long time ago. Don't worry, Dad will definitely handle this matter for you and let you marry in a glorious manner. Mr. He is a A good match, if you can marry Mr. He, I will feel relieved."
Wen Yiqing's tone was cold: "Who said I was going to marry Mr. He?"
Zhongyong Burton paused.
He looked at Wen Yiqing, opened his mouth, and then looked at Mrs. Qi with confusion.
"It was my negligence. I forgot to tell you about this." Mrs. Qi came over, took her hand with a smile, and said, "Qing Niang, you don't know that Mr. He specifically asked your elder brother to tell you, I want to marry you. Mr. He is of a clean family background and is highly valued by the emperor. Mom looks at it and there is no one better than Mr. He in the entire capital."
Wen Yiqing asked again: "Does everyone in the house know?"
Even if I don’t tell you everything, I know almost everything.
In the past few days, the servants in the house have been treating her better than before. Even the third lady is not as sinister as before. She thought it was Mrs. Qi who felt guilty and gave special instructions.
Everyone was actually better informed than she was.
Her tone became colder: "Master He wants to marry me. Everyone in the house knows it, but you haven't even mentioned it to me or asked my opinion?"
Mrs. Qi was speechless.
"It's not that Mom doesn't want to ask you, it's just that I haven't found the opportunity. Sister Shan follows you every day, and it's hard for Mom to mention it in front of her." Mrs. Qi waved and asked the maid to bring a copy of the post, smiling. With a genuine expression on his face, he said: "It's not too late for you to know now, Qing Niang, look, this is the dowry list that my mother prepared for you. Do you see what's missing?"
Wen Yiqing was stunned for a moment before repeating: "...the dowry list?"
"You are a girl from our uncle's house, and you are marrying into a good family like Mr. Xiao He. Mom will definitely allow you to marry in a glorious manner." Mrs. Qi looked over the dowry list herself, checking for omissions and filling in the gaps, and said with a bright face. : "Sir Xiao He is a popular person in front of the emperor. I don't know how many people are concerned about his marriage. People all over the capital are watching, but we can't let them underestimate our uncle's house."
Wen Yiqing remained motionless and didn't look at the dowry list, only thinking it was ridiculous.
"I don't agree." She said coldly, "I won't marry."
Mrs. Qi paused while flipping through the dowry list.
Uncle Zhongyong stopped drinking water and raised his head to look over in surprise.
"You won't marry?" Mrs. Qi said incredulously: "Master Xiao He has such a good marriage, why don't you marry?"
Uncle Zhongyong also said: "Qing Niang, do you know what you are talking about?"
Wen Yiqing took a deep breath. Standing in front of her now were her biological parents. They were obviously relatives connected by blood, but it made her feel cold from the bottom of her heart. She looked at the two people in front of her in disbelief: "You didn't even ask me for my opinion. You decided on my marriage without saying a word, and even drafted the dowry list. Could it be...do you have to wait until the wedding sedan arrives? At the door of the house, did you let me know that it was my big day?"
"Qing Niang, I am doing this for your own good." Mrs. Qi said earnestly: "Master He is a rare young talent. You have been married once, and you brought a good sister with you. It is not easy to marry into a good family again. . Since Master He doesn’t mind, why don’t you marry me?”
Wen Yiqing said nothing.
Her almond eyes were filled with moisture, and she had to hold back to keep them from falling.
She looked at Uncle Zhongyong and asked in a trembling voice: "Dad, do you know about the genealogy?"
Uncle Zhongyong avoided her gaze, picked up the tea cup and took a sip. Obviously, he knew.
He is the master of this splendid mansion, and nothing can be hidden from him.
Wen Yiqing looked at Mrs. Qi again, holding back tears and said: "You said, even if I am not included in the family tree, I am still your daughter. Let me live in the mansion with kindness and peace of mind. But now it is just Mr. He who comes to visit, You accepted this marriage, if you didn’t want me, why did you need to get me back in the first place?”
"Qing Niang, what are you talking about?" Mrs. Qi said sadly: "If Mom doesn't take you to heart, why bother to arrange for you to marry Mr. He?"
Wen Yiqing asked softly: "Are you doing it for me? Or are you interested in Mr. Xiao He's future?"
"you……"
Mrs. Qi wanted to say more, but something caught her eye.
Her eyes were exactly the same as those of the Qi family, and her moist eyes were as bright as sparks in the light of candles. She is no longer an immature child, nor is she an ignorant girl. She is now a mother, has been in charge of her own family, and has seen the evil in people's hearts.
Her eyes seemed to see her thoughts clearly.
Mrs. Qi calmed down and said, "Qing Niang, could my mother still hurt you?"
Wen Yiqing lowered his eyes in disappointment.
She had a lot to say and ask, but she was so full of emotions that she lost the desire to argue before she spoke. In the end, she just said: "Please reply to Mr. He for me."
"Nonsense!" Mrs. Qi said coldly: "You have been a widow once, and you know how difficult it is to live alone with a child. Now that Mr. Xiao He has taken a fancy to you, why don't you get married?"
Mrs. Qi thought for a while and then said nicely: "If you are worried about your identity, mother has thought about it and will say that you are an adopted daughter and the daughter of our uncle's house in the future. Don't worry, if Mr. Xiao He bullies you, there will be father My mother-in-law is here to support you."
Wen Yiqing responded, "If you don't say it, then I will say it myself."
After she said that, she turned around and walked out without waiting for Mrs. Qi's reply.
"Qing Niang?!"
Mrs. Qi said angrily: "Wen Yiqing!"
She paused, but did not look back. She picked up the lantern she had brought with her and walked out of the main courtyard without looking back, resolutely walking into the dark night.
Mrs. Qi yelled a few more times, only to watch the person walk away. She was so angry that she held her chest: "Why is this girl so ungrateful?"
Uncle Zhongyong frowned: "You did something wrong in this matter as well. Didn't you mention Qing Niang's marriage to her first? Do you still blame her for being angry with you?"
"It's not that I don't want to say it. In the past few days, Sister Shan has been following her every day, and I never found a chance."
"Okay." Uncle Zhongyong waved his hand: "You have a good talk with her tomorrow. When she understands that we have good intentions, she will naturally agree."
Mrs. Qi opened her mouth, knowing that she was in the wrong first, so she could only accept it.
…
After her mother went out, Shanshan sat at the door and waited.
Her mother agreed to tell her about her father, but there were some things she had to talk to her grandparents first. Shanshan waited expectantly. At night, the wet nurse gave her a bath and changed her clothes. Then she lay on the bed and waited with the little wooden man in her arms.
Shanshan made a plan in his mind.
She heard it from her mother first, and then she could tell it to Brother Shitou tomorrow. She loves to tell people how wonderful her mother is. She can recite the same thing several times and can recite it like a stream of stones. After talking about my mother so many times, Shanshan can finally talk about her father.
Late at night, the small courtyard was quiet, and all the servants who were waiting had taken a rest. Shanshan waited until his eyelids were twitching, and when he was about to fall asleep, there was finally movement from outside.
It was the nanny's voice: "Miss, what are you..."
Shanshan woke up with a jolt.
"mother!"
She shouted and climbed out of bed before anyone came in. The bed was a bit high, so the wet nurse or maid usually carried her down. She tentatively put down one foot first, fluttered twice in mid-air, and then put down the other foot. Half of her body hung precariously on the edge of the bed. After a long while, she fell to the ground with the weight of her whole body.
Shanshan let out a long sigh of relief.
She looked down at her feet that were standing firmly, shook her head proudly, then found her shoes beside the bed, and ran out impatiently without waiting to put them on.
"mother!"
Wen Yiqing was talking to the wet nurse. When she heard the voice, she turned around hastily.
But this time Shanshan saw clearly.
Her mother was fine before going out, but now she was crying!
