Although Chen Qian knew that the Marquis of Nan'an's mansion would definitely dislike Sixth Sister, he did not expect that Sixth Sister's relationship with Third Sister and Ninth Sister had completely broken down. He still thought that he could at least use the reputation of the Prince of Yi's mansion and the Marquis of Pingyuan's mansion, and felt that marrying Sixth Sister would not be without any benefits.
In An Yuanliang's study, Chen Qian finally met An Yuanliang.
These days, Chen Qian has been preoccupied with Xu Hui, neglecting to visit his father-in-law more often. He suddenly realized this and hurriedly tried to make amends. After all, in the entire Nan'an Marquis's mansion, only An Yuanliang truly supported his marriage to Liu Niang.
"Greetings, Lord Marquis." Chen Qian stepped forward respectfully and bowed, not daring to be presumptuous or frivolous in addressing him as "Father-in-law."
In front of An Yuanliang, he always presented himself as a humble and polite junior. Even though he had an ambiguous relationship with Liu Niang, he claimed it was "due to his feelings" and that he had no choice but to act as he pleased. To others, this sounded ridiculous, but An Yuanliang was quite taken with it.
After all, in An Yuanliang's eyes, Chen Qian was just a man of strong emotions, much like himself in his youth. Furthermore, Chen Qian was good at flattery and generous with his money. Having figured out An Yuanliang's preferences, he catered to them this time, making it difficult for An Yuanliang not to like him.
"What have you been busy with these days?" An Yuanliang asked, adopting the airs of a father-in-law.
An Yuanliang dared not offend his third and ninth sons-in-law, as he couldn't put on airs in front of them. His fifth son-in-law was somewhat better, though they didn't have much contact on a daily basis; his fourth son-in-law was merely an illegitimate son, and he was very respectful in front of him. But this future sixth son-in-law was someone An Yuanliang loved like a son.
"Replying to Your Excellency, I have been busy with the arrangements for the new house, and in addition, some of the Chen family's business has moved to the capital, so naturally I have to take care of everything from top to bottom." Chen Qian calmly gave the reason he had prepared in advance, and said with a hint of apology in his tone, "I have been busy these days and have not been able to come and pay my respects. Please do not take offense."
As he spoke, Chen Qian handed over a sandalwood box carved with a lotus scroll pattern. "This is a small token of my appreciation, please don't find it offensive."
An Yuanliang took it, opened it, and saw a pair of exquisite Hetian jade paperweights inside. The carving was very fine, and the jade quality was exceptionally high. An Yuanliang had always enjoyed indulging in refined pursuits, so he was naturally very pleased to see such a pair of paperweights.
"You've put your heart into this." An Yuanliang's words expressed his trust in Chen Qian.
Hearing his words, Chen Qian finally felt relieved. He had indeed been very busy these days, managing the Chen family business. But as for decorating the new house, he had barely been involved. He had left everything to Changqing, as long as it looked presentable.
After all, the wedding day is for entertaining guests, and we can't afford to lose face.
As for the specific arrangements, Chen Qian was too lazy to worry about them.
He spent most of his remaining time with Xu Hui. He suddenly realized that, if you looked at it from the right angle, Xu Hui and An Jiuniang did look somewhat alike.
We must take Xu Hui into our service before Liu Niang enters the house.
Chen Qian silently made his plans. After all, it was normal for him to have a concubine before marriage. As long as he didn't overly elevate Xu Hui and completely suppress Liu Niang, no one could say anything. He could simply not give Xu Hui a formal title; what could An Liu Niang do about it?
“My parents wrote from Yangzhou, saying that they will definitely come on the day of my wedding with Sixth Sister,” Chen Qian said earnestly. “They asked me to apologize to you, but I really can’t get away from home.”
As he spoke, Chen Qian respectfully handed over a letter.
The head of the Chen family spoke earnestly, and An Yuanliang was not one to be forceful; instead, he offered Chen Qian a few words of comfort.
To demonstrate his "true feelings" for Liu Niang, Chen Qian took out another exquisite brocade box, opened it himself, and handed it to An Yuanliang for inspection. "My lord, this is a small token of my appreciation, which I wish to give to Liu Niang."
An Yuanliang looked inside and saw a bright red velvet cloth lining the brocade box, on which sat an exquisite set of red gold South Sea pearl jewelry.
A performance must be complete.
By presenting the gifts to An Yuanliang so openly and honestly, Chen Qian had made it clear that they were not being exchanged privately, yet he still managed to show his affection for his sixth wife. An Yuanliang looked at Chen Qian with even greater satisfaction.
An Yuanliang even laughed loudly, "You little rascal, you've got a good plan. I bet your visit to me is just a pretense; you're really here to deliver something to Sixth Sister!"
Chen Qian tried to remain calm, but his slightly flushed face betrayed his true feelings. Like a naive young man experiencing his first love, he seemed somewhat flustered and awkward in front of An Yuanliang.
"Don't worry, I will definitely hand it over to Sixth Sister!" An Yuanliang, in a very good mood, brought in the servant and handed over the brocade box in front of Chen Qian, giving him a brief instruction.
Chen Qian quickly stepped forward to express his gratitude.
An Yuanliang wanted Chen Qian to stay for lunch, but Chen Qian said he had other things to do at noon and declined.
After Chen Qian left, he instructed Changqing to secretly bring Xu Hui over and also told him to get some aphrodisiacs to enhance the experience.
Upon hearing this, Changqing felt that his uncle had acted somewhat impulsively. At this crucial moment of the wedding, if word got out, all their previous efforts would be wasted. However, Chen Qian was full of confidence and insisted that Changqing handle it.
Anyone who makes him unhappy will not be able to live a comfortable life.
******
Seventh Sister and Tenth Sister resumed the life that Sixth Sister and Ninth Sister had before entering the mansion. The two of them went to Tingfeng Pavilion together for lessons, and in the afternoon they practiced the zither and learned needlework.
These days, however, Seventh Sister has been getting more and more criticism from her master about her needlework, while her time for practicing the zither and attending Mr. He's lessons has been squeezed out. Tenth Sister keenly sensed something unusual about this.
It seems that Seventh Sister's marriage has been settled, but this time Zhao Shi is tight-lipped and hasn't revealed a word of it.
Shi Niang became increasingly cautious in her actions.
Sixth Sister had long since stopped attending classes and spent her days embroidering her dowry in her room. She had already finished embroidering two purses when suddenly a maidservant came to report that the Marquis's servant had come to deliver something to Sixth Sister.
Sixth Sister raised her head, a hint of doubt in her eyes.
"Do the other two girls have them, or is it just me?" Seventh Sister and Tenth Sister haven't returned yet, so their father sent someone to deliver things to her.
However, all that was seen was a young maid carrying a beautiful brocade box. Looking at the familiar patterns on the box, Liu Niang's heart stirred.
This brocade box is exactly the same as the box Chen Qian gave to the sisters when they received the Hetian jade zodiac ornaments!
Could it be that he really sent this?
Before opening it, Liu Niang felt no joy. She could imagine Chen Qian's disgust and hatred towards her, but he had no choice but to marry her. Why bother sending these things as a pretense? Was it just to confirm that he truly admired the sixth daughter of the Marquis of Nan'an's family?
Sixth Sister sneered inwardly.
Those were notes he wrote to An Jiu and passed on privately, yet in the end, he was framed for them.
This is a classic case of trying to steal a chicken but losing the rice instead.
With a maidservant nearby, Sixth Sister couldn't let her emotions show. So she pretended not to know anything, told the servant to go back and thank An Yuanliang, and then happily opened the brocade box.
On the bright red velvet cloth was a set of gold South Sea pearl jewelry.