Hearing about this marriage, which made An Yuanliang feel proud, he relaxed and said with a smile, "We should make proper preparations. I ran into Lord Chu today after leaving the office, and he said that many powerful figures from the court will be coming!"
"Princess Yunyang also said that she will definitely be there to attend the ceremony," Zhao said smugly.
At this moment, Madam Zhao seemed quite proud. She even thought she should find a reason to send Yu-ge'er to An Ran's side in the next few days, so as to cultivate some sibling affection. From now on, Yu-ge'er would have a brother-in-law, the Marquis of Pingyuan, so naturally they couldn't be too distant.
Third Sister persuaded Zhao Shi several times. Zhao Shi was not stingy, so she prepared a very generous dowry for An Ran and married her off in a grand manner, so that An Ran would still remember the kindness of her maternal family after arriving at the Pingyuan Marquis's mansion.
“Ninth Sister’s dowry should naturally be more substantial. Although she is born out of wedlock, her marriage was bestowed by the Emperor. My intention is to make it comparable to Third Sister’s.” After thinking it through, Madam Zhao appeared very virtuous. She said carefully, “Sixth Sister, Seventh Sister, and Tenth Sister, their dowries should naturally be less substantial.”
It's impossible to treat everyone equally in this kind of situation. An Yuanliang thought it made sense, so he nodded in agreement.
The couple started talking about these things again, seemingly having forgotten about Sixth Sister's matter.
When An Yuanliang went out on business, a maid came to inform him that the Lady of Dingbei Marquis had arrived.
Since Zhao could not make such a decision on her own, she hurriedly sent someone to Rong'an Hall. After receiving a reply from the Grand Madam, she directly invited the person to Rong'an Hall.
The Dowager Lady wore a dark blue jacket adorned with five bats and auspicious grass patterns, and a light pink skirt underneath. Her hair was neatly combed, and she wore several pieces of jewelry inlaid with red gold and kingfisher feathers. She sat regally on a black lacquered mica swastika bed covered with a sapphire blue brocade rug with five bats and floral patterns, her face solemn and dignified.
When the Lady of Dingbei entered and paid her respects to the Grand Madam, she saw that the Marquis of Nan'an was dressed in full regalia and knew that the Marquis of Nan'an's residence was on high alert.
In contrast, she was dressed very simply. She wore a camel-colored silk jacket with floral patterns, and two pieces of red gold jewelry adorned her temples.
"What happened at Princess Yunyang's residence yesterday was because Ting-ge'er was drunk and offended the Sixth Miss." The Lady of Dingbei Marquis apologized humbly. "After returning, I also scolded him severely and punished him by confining him. Seeing that the Ninth Miss's wedding is approaching, and I suppose the Sixth Miss is also engaged, we are willing to contribute five thousand taels of silver to add to the Sixth Miss's dowry."
After saying that, she took a red lacquered and carved box from the maid, and without a doubt, she guessed that it contained silver notes.
Even though Zhao disliked Liu Niang, she was still furious after hearing what the Lady of Dingbei said. The reputation of the Nan'an Marquis's Mansion was at stake. Was she just going to let it go like this? However, Zhao had been instructed to act according to the Grand Madam's wishes, so she held back and remained silent.
Upon hearing this, the Dowager Lady raised an eyebrow and asked, "Sixth Sister's innocence is still intact inside. Is the Marquis of Dingbei's mansion just trying to gloss over this?"
As expected, the Dowager Lady got straight to the point. Lady Dingbei sighed inwardly. Even if Fang Ting was the victim in this matter, so what? If Fang Yu were implicated, it would only make others laugh at the infighting among the brothers of the Dingbei Marquis's family.
When she and Marquis Dingbei saw the gifts sent from Princess Yunyang's residence, they were furious. They never expected Fang Yu to do such a thing; although Fang Yu was usually unconventional, he had never acted in a truly outrageous way.
After summoning Fang Yu and interrogating him, the couple, faced with the evidence before them, found him to be telling the truth after he stammered and offered a few vague excuses. They decided to put dealing with Fang Yu aside for now and focus on stabilizing the Yunyang Princess's residence and the Nan'an Marquis's residence.
Lady Dingbei first went to Princess Yunyang, begging her not to reveal these things to the Marquis of Nan'an's residence. Lady Dingbei knew that Princess Yunyang liked An Jiu and might tell Jiu Niang about it. However, Fang Ting had previously been engaged to An Jiu and might not be willing to let her sixth sister marry someone she had broken off her engagement with.
Moreover, it was indeed strange that Sixth Sister would appear there; upon closer examination, it's possible that Sixth Sister harbored some improper thoughts.
She promised to resolve the matter properly, and Princess Yunyang didn't say anything more.
What happened at the waterside pavilion was difficult to explain, and it all depended on how the two families handled it. It was better to keep quiet; Princess Yunyang didn't want it to have any negative impact on Jiu Niang. There were certain things she wouldn't say to the Marquis of Nan'an's residence, and naturally, she wouldn't say them to the Marquis of Dingbei's residence either.
For example, Liu Niang's behavior that day was somewhat furtive, as if she and a servant had entered a secluded little garden first.
These were the new testimonies that she had carefully investigated later. She recorded them all and prepared to send them to the Marquis of Nan'an's residence. Just then, the Lady of the Marquis of Dingbei arrived. Princess Yunyang guessed that she would go to the Marquis of Nan'an's residence next, so she ordered her to be kept from being sent.
It would be bad if they bumped into each other.
Therefore, she readily agreed to the request from the Lady of Dingbei.
Lady Dingbei left, profusely thanking them. Although Fang Yu was in the wrong, he had to swallow his pride and bear it; the only solution was to seek help from the Marquis of Nan'an's residence.
She knew in her heart that although the Marquis of Nan'an's mansion was not as glorious as before, it would still be difficult to get them to settle the matter with five thousand taels of silver.
Seeing the dowager's assertive attitude and Zhao Shi's silence, who had always been indifferent to her illegitimate daughter, Lady Dingbei thought that the Nan'an Marquis's family might have already made plans and might take the opportunity to marry Liu Niang to them.
If it were a proper marriage proposal, I'm afraid Sixth Sister wouldn't be a good match for Fang Ting.
"Madam, I must say something I shouldn't have," the Lady of Dingbei Marquis gritted her teeth and said, "Fang Ting was certainly in the wrong; he drank too much and needed to sober up. But why did your sixth young lady have to go too? Even if it was by chance, given our upbringing, we should naturally avoid her. Why did they enter the waterside pavilion one after the other?"
This is the most flawed aspect of Sixth Sister's plan.
Even though she had given Fang Ting hallucinogenic drugs, given his upbringing, he would never do anything like that. Even if she saw someone he liked and couldn't have, even if she was drunk, all Liu Niang could do was lead Fang Ting into an empty waterside pavilion so she could take advantage of the situation.
But Madam Tai would never back down on this and let herself suffer a loss.
"Oh? From what you're saying, our Sixth Sister is shameless and deliberately seduced Second Young Master Fang?" the Grand Madam said indifferently.
Lady Dingbei shook her head hastily.
As the saying goes, it's best to see through things but not say them. It's good that both sides understand each other's thoughts; saying some things out loud would be a mistake.
"Please take back these five thousand taels of silver." The old lady was not angry, but said calmly, "It seems that the Marquis of Dingbei's mansion is determined not to admit this matter."
If the old lady had gotten angry or humiliated her, the Lady of Dingbei would have found the matter easier. But it was precisely because the old lady remained silent that she was so worried.
The eldest daughter of the Marquis of Nan'an is the heir apparent of the Prince of Yi's mansion. She is raising the heir apparent's only illegitimate son and is currently pregnant. Meanwhile, the mother of the heir apparent's eldest illegitimate son has been sent far away to the family temple, ostensibly for spiritual practice, but in reality, it is a permanent exile. Her position is as solid as a rock.
The ninth daughter of the Nan'an Marquis's family, born out of wedlock, has gone through many twists and turns, and is now the future wife of the Pingyuan Marquis. The Pingyuan Marquis holds a high position and great power in the court, far surpassing the Dingbei Marquis. Moreover, there are rumors that the Pingyuan Marquis took the initiative to request an imperial decree to grant the marriage, and that it was she who helped find the long-lost eldest daughter of the Yunyang Princess. Now, An Jiu's status has suddenly undergone a dramatic change.
Lady Dingbei was worried that Anjiu would hold a grudge.
“We didn’t mean that. We are all parents, and naturally we all love our own children!” Lady Dingbei didn’t dare to be too forceful, so she said, “If you are not satisfied, we can discuss this matter again and we will surely come up with a result that satisfies everyone.”
The old lady nodded slightly and did not make things too difficult for her.
"Your esteemed ninth daughter is about to get married, and I have always liked her very much. I would like to go and say a few words to her." The Lady of Dingbei Marquis said with some difficulty that she had another reason for coming today. She was afraid that An Ran would interfere if she gained power.
She really had no suitable reason to see Anran, and today, to resolve the matter between Liu Niang and Fang Ting, the Grand Madam and Madam Zhao would never allow the young ladies to come.
If it were up to Zhao, she would refuse without even thinking.
But the old lady turned the prayer beads in her hand and agreed.
Lady Dingbei breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly had her maidservant help her, as if to take the opportunity to leave the silver notes with the Marquis of Nan'an's residence. However, the Grand Madam refused, saying indifferently, "If you don't take them back, Madam, I'm afraid Ninth Sister won't be able to see you!"