newbobooks Chapter 350 Private Meeting
Chapter 350 Private Meeting
"Miss Zijing, watch your step."
Zhou Mu unabashedly reached out his hand, intending to help Miss Zijing off the boat.
Jiang Zijin skillfully placed her delicate hand on it.
The girl put on a veil before disembarking.
Her flowing robes and the veil revealing glimpses of her stunningly beautiful face add to her ethereal charm.
The teenagers were mesmerized by it.
"What are you doing here?"
An untimely voice broke the ambiguous atmosphere.
Jiang Zijin felt a chill and subconsciously withdrew her hand.
How could there be anyone?
I looked around just now, and there was no one there.
And what about the maids and servants guarding the shore? Are they all dead?
Before Jiang Zijin could even see who it was, her veil was suddenly ripped off.
The man slapped her across the face, saying, "Where did this slut come from, trying to seduce my Mu-ge'er?"
Lu Wan was furious, while Jiang Zijin was only thirteen or fourteen years old. With this slap, she knocked the little girl to the ground.
"Sister-in-law, why are you hitting people?" Zhou Mu quickly stepped forward and pulled Lu Wan away.
Jiang Zijin was stunned by the sudden slap; her head was buzzing and her face was burning.
Who has she provoked?
It took them a while to realize who it was before they could see clearly.
She and Zhou Mu rarely met alone; her visit today was simply because she couldn't refuse his hospitality.
She had originally planned to stop getting entangled with Zhou Mu, but unexpectedly, Lu Wan saw her when they parted.
It turned out to be the persistent Lu family members again.
Jiang Zijin lay on the ground, tears welling in her eyes, looking at Zhou Mu with a pitiful expression.
This distressed Zhou Mu greatly, and he quickly helped her up and shielded her behind him.
He looked at Lu Wan with some anger, "Sister-in-law, why did you hit Miss Zijing? She didn't provoke you."
Her sister-in-law came from a military family and was domineering and unreasonable, but she was also very good at managing household affairs.
Her mother valued this aspect of her, and even when her brother wanted to divorce her after the Lu family's troubles, her mother stopped him.
He just mentioned in passing that she should sever ties with the Lu family.
And then she actually did it.
He is a ruthless person.
"Brother Mu, are you crazy or stupid? You're already engaged to Miss Shen and you're still having a secret rendezvous with this illegitimate daughter. If the Shen family finds out, what will become of them? Come with me back." Lu Wan didn't want to get involved in her brother-in-law's messy affairs at all.
But this was what my mother told me to do.
A marriage alliance with the Duke's family would benefit both the Prime Minister and his son's future.
It's said that men marry down and women marry up, so Zhou Mu must have been incredibly lucky to be chosen by the Shen family.
At this critical juncture, he's actually having a secret rendezvous with another woman; he completely disregards the Shen family.
Lu Wan wanted nothing more than to kick him twice.
Zhou Mu never wanted to marry Miss Shen in the first place, but now he saw Miss Zijing being wronged.
He, who was usually so gentle and refined, almost jumped up.
After Zijing rejected him, he had thought about giving up, but he was caught red-handed.
For the sake of Miss Zijing's reputation, he was determined to take on this responsibility.
Zhou Mu said very seriously, "Sister-in-law, you don't need to worry about this. Miss Shen is not the person I want to marry. I will go to the Shen family to cancel the engagement. As for Miss Zijing, I will personally go to inform my father and mother and marry her after her mourning period is over."
Jiang Zijin's face flushed red and then turned pale.
I feel so choked up.
It's just a boat trip on the lake, who would want to marry Zhou Mu!
Madam Shen happened to overhear Zhou Mu's arrogant words and wished she could slap him a few times.
She looked at Zhou Mu with disdain, "Zhou family brat, who do you think you are? No title, no official rank, just a good-for-nothing playboy. If my son hadn't taken a liking to you, do you think you could have married my daughter with your character? You're only fit to marry a concubine's daughter from a vice minister's family."
She was the birth mother of the imperial concubine and the maternal grandmother of the eighth prince.
Her daughter, Jiu'er, is Consort Shu's younger sister. What prince or duke can't marry her? This boy is blind and has no good fortune.
Zhou Mu was stung by Madam Shen's words, his face flushed with shame, and he couldn't utter a single word of rebuttal.
Yet he still protected Jiang Zijin.
When Lu Wan saw that Madam Shen had actually come, she knew that the marriage was probably going to fall through.
With nowhere to vent her resentment, she pulled Jiang Zijin out from behind Zhou Mu and said angrily, "Madam Shen, my Mu-ge'er wasn't like this before. He didn't even have a maidservant by his side. It was all because of this little illegitimate daughter. She seduced my Mu-ge'er. She even took the opportunity of delivering makeup to the ladies to spread rumors about my niece and ruined my niece's reputation. This caused Lord Shen to be scolded by the Emperor and forced your young master to marry that widowed county princess."
Sure enough, Madam Shen became even angrier when she heard that the county princess was widowed.
Her gaze fell on Jiang Zijin's face. "It was you! Beat her up. If you break her, it's on me."
Jiang Zijin was startled and turned to run.
An old woman grabbed him by the hair and gave him a severe beating.
Zhou Mu went up to protect her, but he was also slapped several times by the old nanny, even more severely than Jiang Zijin.
Jiang Zijin collapsed to the ground, her hair disheveled, her face bruised and swollen, looking utterly pathetic.
She had never suffered such humiliation before; overwhelmed with anger and grief, she fainted.
Miao Miao's eyes were covered by the princess, so she didn't see the fight.
But just thinking about it is exciting.
Of course, she also heard Lu Wan's words; the one spreading the rumors was Jiang Zijin.
Sure enough it was her.
Miao Miao pointed at Jiang Zijin, who was being carried away by Zhou Mu, and complained to the princess, "Mother, it was her, that third sister of the Jiang family. She tried to push me into the water before, she wanted to drown me, and now she's trying to harm Cousin Yun. She's so wicked!"
It was she who ruined Yun Jie'er's reputation, leaving it irreparable.
It's impossible to explain to each person individually, and even if I did, they wouldn't believe me.
Princess Yuqing rubbed her daughter's head and agreed, "It was too bad, but now you have your mother, and your mother will not let you be bullied anymore."
As for the father and daughter, good days are ahead for them.
The Shen family will likely not let this go until they've exhaled their last breath.
The Lu family's old residence.
It was also on the same day.
The general's aunt, Madam Qin, came to propose marriage.
She even proposed to her nephew Qin Lang, who was fighting on the frontier.
She bowed respectfully, "Madam, if I may be so bold as to guess, you sent my family an invitation, probably hoping that I would come and meet Miss Yun, right?"
“Of course.” Grandma Lu nodded.
During their years in exile, they were able to survive in such a harsh environment thanks to the young man who took care of them and sent them medicine, supplies, and seeds to Yazhou on several occasions.
After their exoneration, they were escorted back to Beijing.
At such a young age, he had already risen to the position of Lieutenant General.
He is a malleable talent.
Hearing the old lady say this, Aunt Qin mustered up her courage and said, "Originally, I didn't dare to say this, but now there are rumors all over the place slandering Miss Lu. I know that Miss Lu is not like the rumors say. She is a pure and innocent girl. Qin Lang told me about what he saw and heard in Yazhou. He also greatly admired Miss Lu's perseverance. So today I have taken the liberty of coming to your door to ask for Miss Yun's hand in marriage for my nephew."
She knew that the two families were vastly different in social standing.
But since Madam Lu also has this intention, why doesn't she try to fight for her nephew?
If it weren't for those rumors, her son Alang probably wouldn't have had a chance at all.
That child had a hard life; he lost both his parents at a young age and was taken in by the couple. But after only a few years, he went north to join the army.
I thought about finding her a wife in her hometown, but she can't come back even once a year, so she'd just be living alone.
Wouldn't it be better to marry someone in the capital, like the granddaughter of a great general?
This way, we can have someone to look after us in the future.
Moreover, the nephew, who never even glances at other girls, sings effusive praise for this Miss Lu.
She was curious about what the well-bred young lady her nephew had mentioned looked like, which is why she came to the banquet.
He was indeed dignified, composed, and generous, and also quite handsome.
No wonder Qin Lang looked down on the girls from his hometown.
……