Fierce Consort

Chapter 112

The next day, Xue-shi called Yan Ru and Yan Ling over for private discussions. The two of them looked bashful and they didn't have any objections.

Yan Ru liked the scholarly type to begin with. Liang Qi Fan was refined and also a scholar. Just his status alone was enough to make Yan Ru have good inclinations towards him. After seeing him, she liked him even more. As for Yan Ling, being able to marry into a noble household was already a blessing from the heavens. Therefore, she had nothing against it.

Furthermore, Shen Yi Yao had also called Yan Ling over and explained the Dou household's situation. Although it was a little complicated, every family had its problems. Who could guarantee everything would be smooth when marrying into one? Might as well choose a household she knew about. The principal second son of the third branch Dou Qing Bo looked to be a steady one. For Yan Ling, this marriage had many advantages and no drawbacks.

Once things were settled, Shen Yi Yao sent messages over to the two households. The Liang household and the Qingan Count's household responded by saying they would send a matchmaker to the door to propose the marriage once things were prepared.
This won't be mentioned for now. Right as the eldest branch received one blessing after the other, the third branch also had its own blessing.

The concubine the third lord had raised not too long ago was pregnant.

That concubine used to be one of the third lord's senior maids. Her name was Hong Cui. After being elevated, she became known as Concubine Cui.

Concubine Cui was very fertile. Chen-shi hadn't been able to get pregnant again after giving birth to the seventh miss. Unexpectedly, Concubine Cui had just started serving the third lord when she got pregnant.

When the old madam heard the news, she was very happy. Matron Zhao represented the old madam and visited Hong Cui, and had the kitchen raise her allowance by a level. If Concubine Cui wanted to eat something, they shouldn't restrict her.

Chen-shi's face turned a mixture of colors and was very interesting to look at. She had a huge argument with Yan Qu that day and the entire estate heard about it. They had even gotten physical. It was said that during their disagreement, Chen-shi struck at Yan Qu. He wasn't able to endure and gave her two slaps in return.

How could a woman's strength be compared to that of a man? These two slaps caused Chen-shi's face to swell up for several days. Of course, Yan Qu also wasn't much better off. There were several bloody scratch marks on his face, and he remained inside for several days. He even asked off at his job.

The old madam had always kept in mind how Chen-shi had pressured her, and now she had a good reason. The old madam couldn't speak but she had Matron Zhao as her mouthpiece. She ordered Matron Zhao to go to the third branch and give Chen-shi a proper scolding for her. She was punished to copy out the women's scripture a hundred times, and wasn't allowed to go out until she was done.

Chen-shi was in a rage from humiliation so how could she take a servant like Matron Zhao seriously? She insisted that Matron Zhao was falsifying "imperial decrees" and trying to get back at her! It still required the third lord Yan Qu to appear and deal with her before Chen-shi became obedient.

Xue-shi was rather amused at this falling out. It was during this chaos that the Liang household and the Qiangan Count's household came to propose. The households exchanged the personal information of the people in question and a few days later they were informed that "they were a good fit, a match made in heaven" and things like that. Before long, the two households sent someone over to set the wedding date.

After that was done, Yan Ru and Yan Ling were officially betrothed.

Then came time to prepare their dowries.
Because Yan Ru was the oldest and her age was also getting up there, the Liang household was anxious for the wedding to happen. Especially since Yan Yan's wedding was in October. It was best if Yan Ru got married before Yan Yan.