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"Ah, indeed," a voice of surprise and realization emerged from the crowd. A young girl dressed in white with light green vine embroidery stepped forward, her eyes sparkling as she gazed at Qiu Mingqi with affection, her tone gentle. "Young Marquis, how could Fourth Miss possibly be worthy of you? I think you should reconsider, lest you regret it!"
"Young Marquis," Qing Luan raised her stubborn little face, calling out anxiously as she awaited his answer. "You can't treat me like this!" She felt nauseous.
Qiu Mingqi reveled in the admiration from the women around him, and when he met Zhuang Youlan's tender gaze, he thought for a moment and pretended to be helplessly pained as he said to Qing Luan, " Luan'er, even if I agree, my mother won't. I don't want you to suffer..." His words were laden with a sense of helplessness.
Pah! Yin Hong scoffed inwardly and then supported her mistress, indignantly saying, "Young Marquis, you said you would marry her openly; how can you go back on your word now?"
"Shut up! Who gave you the right to speak here?" Chen Yan'er glared angrily at the maid who had spoken up, thinking of a way to get rid of such a sharp-tongued servant before she ruined her plans.
"Exactly, there's no decorum at all; it seems she truly lacks experience," someone nearby whispered in agreement.
"Sigh, after being away for so many years, how can she compare to Sister Yan'er, who is so cultured and knows proper etiquette!"
"Right? How can a little girl scold the Young Marquis? What kind of behavior is that?"
The sharp criticisms fell upon Yin Hong, forcing her to lower her head in silence.
"Marriage is a serious matter that should be decided by the parents," Zhuang Youlan finally spoke softly with a gentle smile. "If there are private arrangements made, it would be looked down upon. If Young Marquis truly has intentions towards me, please send a formal proposal; otherwise, discussing it here is pointless!"
"That's right," someone else exclaimed in sudden understanding. "Without a formal proposal, it's nothing at all! So Fourth Miss isn't... oh dear, how embarrassing! How could this happen?"
The crowd looked at Qing Luan with disdain and contempt, as if she had committed some unspeakable act, completely forgetting that these notions were merely fabrications of their own making.
Qing Luan coldly laughed to herself at their disdainful gazes, committing their appearances to memory, vowing to repay them one by one. "Young Marquis, I didn’t... it was you who said you wanted to marry me..." She thought to herself that this would only further solidify their accusations, making the spectacle even more entertaining.
As soon as Qing Luan finished speaking, before Qiu Mingqi could explain, the nearby Young Ladies began hurling insults at Qing Luan, calling her shameless and accusing her of having private dealings with a man. Eventually, they even accused her of stealing someone else's man. Qing Luan felt an urge to laugh out loud but had to suppress it painfully, lest she ruin her own performance and fall into disgrace.
"Oh dear, I invited everyone here for some fun, but I didn’t expect such a thing to happen," Chen Yan'er feigned innocence as she explained. Looking at the crowd with a look of regret, she continued, "Everyone says my Fourth Sister is having private dealings with the Young Marquis, but my Fourth Sister claims it was the Young Marquis himself who said so. However, marriage is a serious matter that must be discussed with our parents. For such an important issue, we should just ask my mother; isn’t that right?"
"Yes, let’s go ask Madam Chen what she has to say," someone suggested, and everyone agreed. In the blink of an eye, they all abandoned Qing Luan and headed toward the front courtyard.
"Young Marquis," Qing Luan called out tearfully to the departing Qiu Mingqi. " Luan'er has nothing else but you; don’t let down Luan'er ’s heartfelt feelings!" Damn it, I wish I could stab you! Hypocrite, despicable scoundrel!
Qiu Mingqi met her pitiful black eyes and hesitated for a moment. But recalling Huang's words, he ambiguously replied, "As long as your mother stands by you, I will definitely keep my promise..." But if she doesn’t support you, don’t blame me.
Huang would stand by her side? Ha! Unless the sky were to fall, she wouldn’t even think about helping her; it would be a joke if she did.
Qing Luan didn’t respond; she merely cast him a faint glance before lowering her head and walking toward those figures—without her, the lively scene couldn’t continue.
Qiu Mingqi watched her retreating figure and felt a moment of confusion within himself. He suddenly realized that he didn’t understand the woman in front of him at all. She appeared fragile, yet sometimes he felt there was more to her than met the eye. Especially just now; he had expected her to cry and plead for mercy, but all she did was give him a resentful glance before lowering her head... In that moment when she bowed her head, he thought he saw a hint of a sarcastic smile at the corner of her mouth. Was he mistaken?
Yes, he must have been mistaken. Having been trapped like this, she was already at her wit's end; what could possibly be left for her to mock? In this life, even if she became a servant or maid, she could only follow him.
"What’s going on?" Huang asked irritably as he opened his eyes upon hearing the commotion.
"Madam, it's the Third Miss," Gui Mama said with a smile. "She has brought those young ladies to see you."
Huang understood that her daughter's scheme had succeeded, but she still felt a sense of unease. For some reason, over the past few days, her daughter's eyes had been darting around as if something was about to happen. "Let them wait in the hall for a moment; I will go out immediately," she instructed, but her thoughts drifted back to a few days ago.
"Mother, are you really going to marry Chen Qingluan off to the Young Marquis?" Chen Yan'er questioned sharply.
"That's what your father wants," Huang replied dismissively. "As long as she marries the Young Marquis, your grandfather will gain another ally. Isn't that a good thing?" Sighing, she thought about how troublesome her daughter could be.
"An ally?" Chen Yan'er scoffed, mocking her mother. "Mother, have you lost your mind or been drugged? How can you be so foolish?"
Huang looked at her daughter in confusion and asked, "What's wrong with that?"
"Mother, you really are naive," Chen Yan'er said in exasperation when she saw her mother was still oblivious. "You are not Chen Qingluan's biological mother. Even if you arrange a good marriage for her, she may not appreciate it. Right now, she seems obedient, but don't forget how stubborn she was in the past. And if she marries the Young Marquis, we will have to lower our heads when we see her. If she truly decides to go against us, can we fight back?"
Whether out of genuine concern or deliberate intent, she did not want Chen Qingluan to marry the Young Marquis. Only by preventing that could she alleviate the resentment in her heart.
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Midnight... and another midnight...
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