An Yuanliang inwardly cried out in alarm. Chen Qian thought he was going to marry Jiu Niang... but Chen Qian had never met Jiu Niang. He was only going to marry a girl from the Nan'an Marquis's mansion! Back then, Chen Qian only asked to marry Jiu Niang because she had the worst reputation at the time, and Chen Qian, with his status, had some hope of marrying her.
Even a concubine's daughter from a noble family doesn't marry into a merchant's household easily! By casually promising Chen Qian a daughter, he's already doing Chen Qian a favor, and he'll surely be grateful.
“My dear nephew’s sincerity has not only moved me, but also Madam!” An Yuanliang did not dare to mention that it was not An Jiu. He was afraid that Chen Qian had heard of Jiu Niang’s beauty and that was why he wanted to marry her. He was afraid that even if the cooked duck flew away, he would lose more than he gained. “Madam naturally agrees.”
Chen Qian picked up his cup, concealing the cold smile on his lips.
This Marquis of Nan'an is incredibly audacious! He actually tries to deceive everyone and stuff all sorts of people into his circle?
Chen Qian originally intended to expose An Yuanliang and reject him outright. However, after talking with Master Fu yesterday, he changed his mind.
Whoever it is, he must agree to marry her first so that he won't sever ties with the Marquis of Nan'an's household. Then he and the Marquis of Pingyuan will be brothers-in-law. An Jiu is ignoring his advances; she wants to marry the Marquis of Pingyuan, right? He'll make sure she doesn't get her way!
What a man can't stand most is his wife having an affair with another man.
A surge of resentment immediately rose in Chen Qian's heart.
Marquis Pingyuan rarely stays in the capital and probably knows very little about An Jiu's affairs. It's likely that he was captivated by An Jiu's beauty at Princess Yunyang's residence that day, and thus requested an imperial decree for their marriage. The rumors circulating in the capital are false, fabricated, and easily believed; Marquis Pingyuan can disregard them…
But what if he himself presented one piece of solid evidence after another to Marquis Pingyuan?
Could Marquis Pingyuan, Lu Mingxiu, still tolerate this?
Chen Qian had put a lot of effort into An Ran Shuo. Among the gifts given to her by the Qingxiang Marquis's Mansion and to the women of the Nan'an Marquis's Mansion, he spent a lot of money to bribe An Yuanliang's servant to ensure that the jade rabbit was delivered to her without any error. An Jiu remained unmoved.
Chen Qian immediately turned his anger on An Ran.
Seeing the powerful Marquis of Pingyuan, An Ran had long forgotten about himself!
He had previously thought An Yuanliang was arrogant, but for a moment he forgot that he himself was also arrogant. Why should An Ran like him and insist on marrying him? His secret acts of sending letters and handkerchiefs were tantamount to adultery, which would only bring An Ran endless trouble!
If it were ever exposed... Chen Qian thought darkly to himself, An Jiu would only be abandoned by the Marquis of Pingyuan, and then she would cry and beg, but all she could do was become his concubine...
With that in mind, Chen Qian went along with it and did not refuse An Yuanliang.
He could simply agree for now, stalling An Yuanliang until the right moment came before refusing or actually marrying one of the concubine's daughters.
They couldn't possibly have another person in the house who was just for decoration. The Chen family was so wealthy and powerful, how could they be afraid of not being able to support one person?
"I am deeply grateful for the favor shown to me by Your Excellency and Madam!" Chen Qian said, feigning respect. "Please rest assured, Your Excellency, if I can marry Miss Jiu, I will cherish her like a precious treasure and will not let her suffer any grievances! Please trust me!"
An Yuanliang listened and happily agreed.
He didn't notice the oddity in Chen Qian's words. Chen Qian's words were all about Ninth Miss, how well he treated her. If the person they married wasn't An Jiu Niang, and Chen Qian broke his promise, they would be completely helpless!
Chen Qian could also counter-accuse the Marquis of Nan'an's mansion of breaking its promise and deceiving him.
Therefore, despite his anger, Chen Qian never mentioned that he knew the imperial decree had betrothed An Jiuniang. After all, he was just a merchant and didn't know about the affairs of aristocratic families, so no one could claim to know.
At that time, the Marquis of Nan'an's mansion will probably be put on the hot seat, and that won't be a pleasant experience.
An Yuanliang thought he had accomplished a great mission.
As expected, Chen Qian readily produced many land deeds for him to sign.
As the wine flowed freely and the atmosphere warmed, the two began addressing each other as father-in-law and son-in-law, clinking glasses and exchanging toasts. Chen Qian gave Changsong a wink, signaling him to get some easily intoxicating wine and pour it for An Yuanliang.
While he was drunk, Chen Qian took out a piece of paper and tricked An Yuanliang into writing Ji Zhi's name on it.
An Yuanliang vaguely saw that he had agreed to marry his daughter to Chen Qian... He even laughed at Chen Qian, saying that he would not go back on his promise.
Chen Qian blew on the ink to dry it, stared at the thin paper for a long time, a sinister smile appeared on his lips, and then carefully put it away.
Seeing An Yuanliang already passed out drunk at the table, Chen Qian ordered someone to take him home. Seeing An Yuanliang's completely intoxicated state, Chen Qian sneered, turned, and left Zuiyue Tower.
Trying to outsmart him? Not so easy!
******
Early that morning, An Ran packed her belongings and personally watched as the camphor wood box sent by Lu Mingxiu was loaded onto the carriage before she felt at ease.
An Mu and An tide were overjoyed to hear that they could go out with their sister, and they arrived at the Nan'an Marquis's residence early to wait. Wu Mama led them in to kowtow to the Grand Madam before taking them to An Ran's Ningxue Courtyard.
After more than two months apart, An Ran and her siblings An tide and An Mu were all very excited to see each other again.
Anxi was very sensible. No matter how happy she was to see Anran, she still greeted her respectfully as "Miss." Anmu, having been taught by her older sister, also greeted people respectfully in front of others.
An Ran felt a pang of sadness and her eyes reddened.
Not wanting outsiders to notice, she nodded in agreement.
The carriage drove smoothly towards the outskirts of the capital. An Ran pulled An tide along, constantly asking about their lives these past few days.
Unlike when they arrived, An Mu could no longer ride in the same carriage as An Ran. Therefore, only An Ran and An Xi, along with the servants Cui Ping and Jinping, were in the first carriage. Qing Xing, Qing Mei, Tao Zhi, and Tao Ye took An Mu to ride in the second carriage.
Finally, two more carriages carrying servants and belongings, along with a large entourage, headed towards the outskirts of the capital.
"How have you and Xiaomu been at Aunt Wu's house these days?" Having never been separated from her two children for so long, Anran couldn't wait to ask Anxi, "How is Xiaomu's homework?"
Anxi was clever. Seeing that her sister didn't avoid Cuiping and Jinping, she knew they were trustworthy people. She smiled slightly and said, "Sister, don't worry, we're all fine. Aunt Wu takes special care of us, just like her own sons and daughters."
“Xiao Mu studies very hard. He even said he wants to become the top scholar in the imperial examination, and he wants to—” Thinking of An Mu’s joking words, An tide suddenly realized that it was inappropriate with Jinping and Cuiping present, so she stopped talking.
An Ran immediately recalled An Mu looking up with her little face and asking questions earnestly.
"If I become the top scorer in the exam, will my older sister be able to live with us?"
She was deeply moved, but she just smiled and said, "You ignorant child, how easy is it to become the top scholar?"