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"But Mother! Isn't Lady Dou your childhood sworn sister? She wouldn't look down on us!" The fifth daughter, Le Shan, blinked at this moment, speaking with a puzzled expression. "Otherwise, she wouldn't have stepped in to help us just now!"
"What do you girls know?" But Madam Li was, after all, far more astute than her five daughters. She frowned and said, "Do you truly believe there were only my sworn sister and her daughter in that Marquis's carriage just now?"
"Ah?" At Madam Li's words, the four daughters were instantly stunned. They truly hadn't considered this question before. After all, wasn't it just Wang Yingxue and Dou Ming who got out of the carriage at that time? If there were others, why didn't they alight?
"Mother! Are you saying the Marquis of Jining might have been in the carriage then?" The third daughter, Kang Ning, was the most intelligent among her sisters. Her eyes darted, and she immediately thought of this possibility.
"Not 'might have been'!" Madam Li pursed her lips, looking at her third daughter with a hint of satisfaction. At the same time, she thought to herself, it's a good thing one of my girls inherited my intelligence!
"The Marquis of Jining was definitely in the carriage then!" Madam Li said, word for word, with great certainty.
"Ah?" This time, all four daughters were dumbfounded! This was a Marquis! This was a legendary existence in their lives since childhood! After all, outside the capital, Dukes and Marquises were truly rare! These young merchant ladies could only occasionally hear about these fascinating nobles in storybooks. So, the four daughters hadn't dared to think in that direction at first!
However, upon hearing their mother's words, they instantly understood the reason behind it! That's right! The relationship between Wang Yingxue, Dou Ming, and the Marquis's residence was, to put it plainly, that of a concubine and the concubine's mother. Strictly speaking, they weren't even considered proper in-laws! And she hadn't even married in yet! In such a situation, how could they flaunt themselves around town in the Marquis's carriage? The only explanation was that the true owner of the Marquis's residence must be in the carriage! Either the Marquis himself or the Marquis's primary wife, the First Lady! And if it were the First Lady, that would be Wang Yingxue's stepdaughter! There would be no reason for her not to come down and meet and greet them!
That left only one possibility: the person in the carriage was the Marquis! He simply didn't want to deal with a merchant family like theirs, who had come from afar to seek refuge with relatives!
However, they did not know at this moment that Wei Tingyu had not gotten out of the carriage simply because he was too lazy to get involved in these women's affairs! After all, there was no real danger threatening their lives! They had mistakenly believed it was because their status was too far beneath that of the Marquis of Jining, and he disdained to meet them!
Even though they thought this, Madam Li and her daughters didn't feel any resentment. After all, the chasm between nobles and merchants in these times was simply too vast, almost insurmountable! One must know that He Weifang's maiden family, the He Residence, was originally considered a prominent wealthy family in the Eastern Capital! Yet, at the banquet to welcome Wei Tingyu and the County Princess Ji'an, their family head wasn't even qualified to sit at the main table! And a small merchant family from the outskirts of the Eastern Capital like the Li family didn't even have the right to know about such banquets!
"But what kind of person is the Marquis of Jining? Why would he be willing to accompany Madam Wang and her daughter to the entrance of the Fan Residence?" However, the eldest daughter, Shou Hua, thought of another problem at this moment. She frowned and asked. "You must know that many people in the capital recognize the Marquis of Jining's carriage!"
"If it were seen parked at the entrance of the Fan Residence, with a group of women in front pulling and shouting incessantly..."
"Wouldn't that be a loss of face for the Marquis of Jining's residence if it got out?"
Shou Hua's question was spot on; as soon as she spoke, her younger sisters also furrowed their delicate brows, because this matter indeed seemed illogical.
"Isn't that simple?" However, their mother, Madam Li, now wore a meaningful smile on her face and said, "It can only be because the Marquis dotes too much on my sworn sister's daughter!"
"You girls should learn from this too! A lang jun's favor is sometimes illogical!"
"As long as he likes you, he'd be willing to pluck the stars from the sky for you!"
"If he doesn't have you in his heart, even if you humble yourself into the dust, he wouldn't spare you a glance!"
"So in the future, if you marry out, you must remember to strive to capture your lang jun's heart! There is nothing more important than this in a noble mansion!"
Madam Li did not miss this opportunity and quickly gave her daughters another round of education. At this moment, she also understood that her second daughter, Fu Hui, was being bullied so much by her in-laws precisely because her personality was too rigid and unyielding, unable to adapt, and thus unable to capture her lang jun's heart! She naturally understood Fu Hui's situation in the Fan family, so although there was a lot of anger in the words she spoke at the door earlier, as a mother, Madam Li did not overly blame her daughter!
Wang Yingxue seemed very happy, even excited, by the arrival of her sworn sister. She proactively helped Madam Li find an inn with a good environment and reasonable prices, arranging for the mother and daughters to stay there. Madam Li then expressed her gratitude to Wang Yingxue before turning and elegantly walking towards the Marquis's carriage parked nearby.
"This humble commoner, on behalf of my entire family, thanks the Marquis for his great kindness!" And amidst the bewildered gazes of those around, Madam Li bowed slightly towards the carriage and spoke.
Wei Tingyu, who had originally been resting with his eyes closed, now curiously opened them. Because this part was not in the original plot! He was curious to see how things would unfold next... What was Madam Li's purpose in specifically coming to bow to him?!
Wang Yingxue and Dou Ming were also dumbfounded. They hadn't expected Madam Li to know that the Marquis was in the carriage, and even take the initiative to perform a grand bow to him!
"How did you know this Marquis was in the carriage?" Wei Tingyu did not alight from the carriage, nor did he pull open the curtains. He simply asked directly.
And Madam Li, whose heart had been pounding wildly, immediately breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing the deep, powerful voice from within the carriage. It seems I guessed correctly, otherwise, this action would have been a complete disgrace!
"This humble commoner faintly felt an overwhelming noble aura from the Marquis's carriage even from the carriage behind," Madam Li certainly wouldn't tell Wei Tingyu her reasons for guessing, but instead immediately flattered him, "That is why I boldly speculated that a noble person must be in the carriage! Fortunately, my feeling was not wrong!"
Overwhelming noble aura? Wei Tingyu immediately chuckled upon hearing this. Good heavens! Madam Li's desire to curry favor with the Marquis's residence is a bit too direct, isn't it? However, he did not look down on the other party because of this. After all, as a mother, bending and bowing for the future of herself and her daughters was nothing shameful! Instead, it made Wei Tingyu feel a hint of admiration for this woman, who was adaptable, bold, yet composed!
Thinking of this, Wei Tingyu reached out and lifted the curtain, and then his entire face appeared in the sight of everyone present. This instantly froze Madam Li and her four daughters! Because upon seeing Wei Tingyu, they almost simultaneously gasped in their hearts. After all, in the original impressions of these women, shouldn't a so-called Marquis be a pot-bellied, greasy-faced middle-aged man or a doddering old man? But Wei Tingyu at this moment truly shattered their preconceived notions! This rather handsome and rugged face clearly belonged to someone in his early twenties, so young and promising, and he had even inherited the title of Marquis of Jining! No wonder Wang Yingxue's posture swayed as she walked; with such a son-in-law, it was impossible not to be proud!
If Madam Li had originally felt a hint of envy towards Wang Yingxue for having climbed into kinship with the Marquis of Jining's residence, that emotion was now almost developing into jealousy! Of course, she was just itching inside; she had no intention of harming anyone because of it!
"This Marquis deeply admires Madam Li's tireless efforts and concern for her daughters' marriages!" Anyway, at this moment, exchanging pleasantries was acceptable for everyone involved, and Wei Tingyu had no reason to feel embarrassed. He just smiled and nodded at Madam Li. Then, without waiting for her reply, he turned directly to Wang Yingxue and said, "It's getting late! We should go!"
"Yes!" Wang Yingxue had originally felt a bit of jealousy when she saw her sworn sister striking up a conversation with Wei Tingyu. But now she was happy and quickly nodded, then took her daughter and got into the Marquis's carriage.
"Madam Li! Once you've settled in, remember to come to the Dou Residence and have a good chat with me!" After getting into the carriage, Wang Yingxue spoke through the curtains to Madam Li outside.
"Don't worry! I'll come find you as soon as I have time!" Madam Li also smiled and nodded, replying, "I have so many things on my mind to tell you after all these years."
"This lady! Young ladies! We have already prepared the best rooms!" After seeing the Marquis of Jining's carriage gradually depart, the owner of the inn personally came forward, bowing and scraping, and spoke to Madam Li and her five daughters.
"Best rooms?" Madam Li was startled, then blinked and said, "We didn't book the best rooms?! We booked the 'Earth' class middle rooms! The best rooms are too expensive; we can't afford them!" After all, this was the capital, and the lodging fees at inns were several times more expensive than where they originally lived! Just now, after inquiring, Madam Li had gritted her teeth to afford the middle rooms. She truly couldn't bear to spend money on the best rooms!
"Oh, what are you saying, ladies?!" However, the owner quickly shook his head upon hearing this, while instructing the errand boy to help Madam Li and her party carry their bags and wooden boxes upstairs, and said, "It is already an honor for me that esteemed guests like yourselves would deign to stay here! How could I be so tactless?"
"Don't worry! I'll still charge you for the middle rooms, but I'll directly upgrade you all to the best rooms!"
This owner was certainly no fool. After seeing Madam Li exchange a few words with the Marquis of Jining just now, he immediately understood. After all, how could someone who had run an inn in the capital for so long not be a shrewd person? Anyway, the best rooms were currently empty, and directly upgrading Madam Li and her party to the best rooms would cause him no loss, and he could gain favor for free!
"Mother! Be careful, it might be a trick!" And at this moment, the fourth daughter, Hao De, leaned in and whispered to Madam Li.
"What if we stay in the best rooms, and tomorrow morning they raise the room rate on us?" The fifth daughter, Le Shan, also nodded repeatedly; she had read about such scams in storybooks before.
"Oh dear! What are you young ladies saying?!" The inn owner waved his hands and shook his head repeatedly, sweat breaking out on his forehead.
"Even if I had the guts of a lion, I wouldn't dare to deceive you!"
"If the Marquis comes looking for trouble with me later, how can I even keep this inn open?"
"Please, ladies, don't say such things. If you continue, I can only prove my innocence with my death!"
The owner's words became more and more exaggerated, and finally, he even put on a posture as if he would immediately bash his head against the steps to prove his sincerity if they didn't believe him, leaving the women stunned. And combining his words with what he had just said, Madam Li and her daughters finally understood. So the inn owner wasn't trying to trick them, but rather to curry favor with the Marquis's residence? But the problem was, they had no real connection to the Marquis's residence, did they? They had just exchanged a few words with the Marquis; was that really worth him going to such great lengths to curry favor? It seems the storybooks I read and the tales I heard were rather conservative!
BANG!
"...What did you say?" At this moment, in the Fan Residence, Master Fan slammed the table, his eyes wide, and stood up. The tea cup he had been holding in his hand was also directly smashed to the floor. And Madam Fan at this moment also looked on with disbelief at the Fan Residence servant woman kneeling and weeping before her. Madam Li's two slaps were truly powerful; at this moment, the servant woman's cheeks were already swollen! And the two red palm prints on her face were very clear, looking as if they had been drawn with a ink stick!
"It's true!" The servant woman seemed to have found her backbone. While covering her cheeks, she sobbed to Master Fan, "That in-law lady, presuming on someone's backing, actually gave me these two big slaps with both hands, Master, just look at my face..."
"I didn't ask you to say that!" However, before she finished speaking, Master Fan immediately walked forward furiously and kicked her again, sending the servant woman sprawling to the ground.
"Ah?!" The servant woman looked bewildered. The words of complaint she had just prepared now completely vanished from her mind, and for a moment, she stared blankly at the family head before her, utterly confused.
"Tell me about the person who backed Madam Li!" Master Fan was so angry that he directly grabbed the servant woman's collar and loudly asked, "What? It's related to the Marquis of Jining's residence again?"
"Yes... yes..." The servant woman only reacted after Master Fan's roar, and quickly nodded. She no longer cared about the grievances in her heart and recounted the original events exactly as they happened. Moreover, seeing the family head's furious expression, she was even more terrified and trembled all over! As a result, her description was completely truthful, not daring to add even a bit of embellishment.
"It's over! It's all over now!" And after hearing the servant woman's description, Madam Fan stood up trembling, her teeth chattering as she said, "Master! It's over now!"
"Who would have thought that this Li family could actually have a connection with the Marquis of Jining's residence?"
"Who is this Marquis of Jining? If he wants to deal with our Fan family..."
"What are we going to do?!"
Madam Fan swayed, looking as if she was about to faint, and the words she spoke sounded as if there was no hope left.
"Shut up!" And Master Fan, upon hearing this, became even more furious, directly roaring at his wife. It was this wife of mine who constantly made things difficult for my daughter-in-law, and even wanted to show off to her mother and sisters who were coming to visit the capital! Now look what happened. Who looks good now?
"But Master..." However, Madam Fan still hadn't figured out the situation! She also understood that crying like this wouldn't help solve anything, but she just couldn't stop! Master Fan was, after all, a merchant, so he quickly weighed the pros and cons in his mind. And hearing his wife still crying and saying discouraging words, he finally couldn't bear it anymore and immediately stepped forward, giving his wife two solid slaps across the face.
With two clear slaps, the entire hall instantly fell silent. Not only did Madam Fan's crying instantly stop, but even the servant woman with the swollen face, who had been sobbing nearby, was now too scared to even breathe. Seeing that his wife's face was almost no different from her own, she was now even more terrified and trembling all over. The master and mistress were so panicked, as if they were about to face utter destruction! Although she, a servant, still didn't quite understand the situation, this feeling of empathy made her heart turn cold.
"If the Marquis's residence wants to deal with our Fan family, there's no way for us to escape!" Master Fan frowned and paced around the hall twice, then said, "But even now, it's not without a way to remedy it!"
"Ah? There's still a way?" Madam Fan's eyes immediately lit up upon hearing this, and she no longer cared about the swelling and pain on her cheeks. She hopefully grabbed her husband's arm and asked. After all, having always lived a life of comfort, she couldn't imagine what kind of painful life they would lead if their family business collapsed because of this incident...