Knowing the situation was critical, the two readily agreed and set about doing it.
After Chen Qian and the other two left, he stood in front of his desk, sighed deeply, and slumped back in his chair.
These days, almost all his hard work has been wasted! But he absolutely cannot expose himself; if he leaves a glimmer of hope, he may still have a chance to make a comeback.
We can also seek help from Master Fu!
Chen Qian suddenly felt a glimmer of hope, like a drowning person grasping at the last straw.
He won't just be finished like this!
******
Liu Niang was still eagerly awaiting a letter from Liu Mama in the mansion.
She heard that the Lady of Dingbei Marquis had come to the Marquis's residence and stayed in Rong'an Hall for a while, and then she suggested going to see Anran.
Sixth Sister's heart skipped a beat. She quickly instructed her maid to help her with her makeup and dressing, making sure she looked dignified and elegant. Perhaps she could pretend not to know that the Lady of Dingbei was coming and have a chance encounter with her. If the Lady of Dingbei saw her like this, perhaps she would think she was suitable for Fang Ting!
If the Lady of Dingbei Marquis could take a liking to An Jiu, why couldn't she take a liking to her?
Thinking this, she quickly finished tidying up and was about to leave when she discovered that there was an extra maid in the courtyard who wasn't from her own household. Standing guard under her veranda was none other than Jian Tong, the maid who served the Grand Madam.
"Sixth Miss, the Grand Madam ordered me to serve you. Please rest assured and recuperate." Jian Tong smiled slightly, but did not yield an inch.
Sixth Sister immediately had a bad feeling.
Chapter 106
In order to appease An Yuanliang, Chen Qian promised many things, all of which were given to the Marquis of Nan'an's mansion as betrothal gifts. In addition, there were also private gifts given to An Yuanliang that were not included in the official gifts, which indeed made An Yuanliang "bury the hatchet" with him.
In the midst of their drinking and conversation, Chen Qian slowly revealed another matter he had been keeping hidden: his family lived far away in Jiangnan, and he hadn't yet had a chance to tell his parents about his relationship with Liu Niang. Of course, he couldn't tell An Yuanliang this directly; he only said that he had already written a letter and obtained his parents' consent.
Chen Qian also said that he absolutely could not wrong Sixth Sister, and that all six rites had to be completed, which would take some time to prepare. However, An Jiu Niang's wedding was approaching, and he was afraid that it would clash with the ceremony, so he thought of postponing these preparations.
Fearing that An Yuanliang would be unhappy, he promised to deliver the things he had previously made to An Yuanliang ahead of time.
Seeing Chen Qian's sincere words, and considering that Sixth Sister was going to marry far away and it would be inconvenient for her, and that preparing her dowry and other items would still take time, and that Zhao Shi had already made it clear that everything should be prioritized for Ninth Sister, it seemed that before Ninth Sister's wedding, there would be no time to arrange Sixth Sister's wedding.
Therefore, An Yuanliang had no objections and readily agreed.
After a hearty meal, Chen Qian saw An Yuanliang off with even greater respect before returning alone to his rented house in Beijing.
Changxing held a letter from Yangzhou in his hand.
"Sir, the master and mistress have sent letters." Seeing Chen Qian's unpleasant expression, Changxing hurriedly said cautiously, "They were delivered early this morning."
Chen Qian accepted it with a stern face.
He needed to inform his parents about his proposal to Liu Niang in order to get through this. If he didn't want to implicate his family, he had to get their approval. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to explain it to Fang Yu, and neither the Marquis of Nan'an's mansion nor the Marquis of Dingbei's mansion would let him off the hook.
How should I put it?
Chen Qian hadn't opened the letter yet; he was just lost in thought at his desk.
Sixth Sister is an illegitimate daughter of the Marquis of Nan'an, and the Marquis of Nan'an's influence in the capital is not enough to help the Chen family stabilize their business. However... the Marquis of Nan'an has two daughters who are married very well! Yun Shen, the heir of the Prince of Yi's mansion, and Lu Mingxiu, the Marquis of Pingyuan, will both become his brothers-in-law.
If you use this reason to persuade your parents, it should be easier!
But Chen Qian was not willing to give up.
He was the one who fell in love with Jiu Niang first, and they were almost able to marry each other! But then the Marquis of Pingyuan appeared out of nowhere and forcefully quelled the rumors in the capital by directly requesting the Emperor to grant them a marriage decree.
Chen Qian knew he couldn't defy imperial power, so he had no choice but to accept his fate. However, he still harbored some ambition, which led him to make a foolish mistake and get involved with Liu Niang.
Sure enough, something bad happened, and he could only swallow his anger and suffer in silence.
And An Liu Niang, who had caused him to end up in this predicament... Chen Qian thought bitterly, he would definitely marry her. If she behaved herself after marriage, he could leave her aside and still live in peace. But if she was unruly after marriage, he would not tolerate her insolence.
Chen Qian opened the envelope.
As he expected, his father's letter revealed his dissatisfaction with him. He had been stuck in the capital for half a year, yet the family business hadn't improved much, and he hadn't seen any positive impact on the Chen family. Meanwhile, the money he spent was increasing, flowing out like water, but yielding no results.
The Chen family has been in business for generations and would never do a losing proposition. They donated most of their assets to the army in the past, which is why they are now imperial merchants and have risen to a higher level.
Chen Qian's current behavior has disappointed his father.
It's important to know that the Chen family didn't just have Chen Qian as their only son; they also had three sons born out of wedlock. Although Chen Qian's maternal family was also wealthy merchants, they couldn't compare to the Chen family. While Chen Qian held the title of the eldest son, his younger brothers were all eyeing the inheritance covetously, wanting to claim a larger share.
Therefore, he was under great pressure, which is why Ding did not stay in the capital for long and went back to take charge.
Chen Qian glanced at the letter hastily, then irritably crumpled it into a ball and raised his hand to throw it on the ground. But remembering that he had to reply, he had to put it back.
The next letter was from his mother, Ding.
Ding's letter also urged him to return to Jiangnan as soon as possible; if things didn't go well in the capital, his father would handle it. His three younger brothers were growing up and were no pushovers either. Two of their concubines, though from respectable families, felt entitled and dared to try and make trouble while Chen Qian was away.
The combined business of the shops they managed was beginning to surpass Chen Qian's.
Chen Qian frowned deeply.
He first wrote a reply to his father, using proper and formal language to explain how he had devoted himself to serving the Marquis's family, and also took the opportunity to mention his desire to marry Liu Niang. He explained that marrying Liu Niang would be of great benefit to the Chen family.
In his subsequent letter to Madam Ding, he wrote in even greater detail, asking her to help persuade his father to agree to his marriage proposal to Liu Niang.
If we only consider social status, it would be an honor for him, as the son of a merchant, to marry Sixth Sister. However, marrying Sixth Sister wouldn't bring any real benefits... This was what angered Chen Qian the most. It would be different if it were Ninth Sister. Not only was Ninth Sister the person he fell in love with at first sight, but she was also deeply loved by his elder sister, the Princess Consort of Prince Yi.
His mother, Lady Ding, had sought help from Consort Li and had indeed received considerable assistance. However, Consort Li was ultimately defeated by the combined forces of the Prince's Consort and the Heir Apparent's Consort, rendering their previous investment in her futile.