Luo Yan was extrely surprised by Mrs. Liu’s visit, feeling anxious and at a loss.
She didn’t know how to face Li Xuan’s mother, even feeling a bit guilty.
If possible, Luo Yan didn’t want to et with Mrs. Liu at all.
But since Mrs. Liu was going to stay in Beijing for a long while, avoiding her wouldn’t be possible.
To Luo Yan’s surprise, Mrs. Liu was not only gentle and kind when they t, but she also warmly handed her a treasured heirloom from Earl Chengyi’s mansion, which astonished Luo Yan.
"Child, you truly have suffered," Mrs. Liu said, patting Luo Yan’s hand with a face full of apology, "I am well aware of your situation, Yan. It is my Xuan who has wronged you.
This little scoundrel, sotis I really want to reshape him from scratch. Our old Li family has been a lineage of devoted lovers for generations. How could it co to and give birth to such a frivolous and worthless scum?"
Leng Yurou, standing beside them, couldn’t help but blink, thinking it wasn’t so much a lineage of ’devoted lovers for life’ but rather ’n who fear their wives like tigers.’
Upon hearing this, Luo Yan couldn’t help but give a bitter smile, thinking that she was really not in a position to bla Li Xuan for this issue.
When she first ca to be by Li Xuan’s side, he already had soone he liked.
Then Mrs. Liu’s tone shifted, "Yan, now that you and Li Xuan have co this far, we can’t avoid discussing marriage any longer. I wonder if you are willing to marry into my Chengyi Li family?"
Luo Yan was taken aback by these words and looked at Mrs. Liu in utter surprise, "Madam, what did you just say? Marry into...?"
She suspected she had heard wrong.
"Yan, I’m asking if you would be willing to marry into my family," Mrs. Liu said with a serious nod, "If you’d like, my Li family will certainly give you a proper wedding. Though my son is reckless and frivolous, our Li family must not wrong anyone and must take responsibility."
Her intentions were sincere; she truly wanted to welco Luo Yan into their family with a proper marriage, to give the girl a rightful status.
Anyway, that rascal Li Xuan had already made people in the clan inquire whether there was any distant relative he could marry as well.
Luo Yan’s cheeks flushed instantly, her heart was filled with mixed feelings and she felt sowhat daunted, "Madam, how could this be possible? Li Xuan is the current County Prince, a regent minister. Yet Yan is a person with no background, and moreover—"
She had once transford into Demoness Zidie, becoming a blacklist robber and making enemies with nurous powerful families in Jiangnan.
"What’s impossible? You are the daughter of Yushi Xia Guangwei, truly a refined and noble lady. You are an excellent match for my family. As for the past matters with ’Zidie,’ you have nothing to worry about," Mrs. Liu reassured, her face calm as she held Luo Yan’s hand, "Not to ntion that the ’Purple Butterfly’ on the blacklist has been dead for quite so ti. Even if soone brings up this issue, I would like to see who would dare to cause trouble for Chengyi Earl’s mansion or Fen Yang Mansion."
She genuinely didn’t care about the so-called ’powerful families’ that Zidie had offended. With her son Xuan and her husband’s current status in The Court, which bug would dare to chirp?
A sparkle appeared in Luo Yan’s eyes, like the first light of a blossoming peach blossom, but the brightness quickly faded, her delicate face turning sowhat pale, "Thank you for your kind intentions, Madam, but I fear I do not deserve such good fortune."
Mrs. Liu was utterly surprised but did not dwell on the issue, and with a slight chuckle said, "What’s this about not deserving good fortune? Think it over carefully, Yan. There’s no rush to reply. Oh, I’ve heard you’re about to reach the heavenly level, right?"
Su Zhaojun and Leng Yurou, standing by, keenly noticed a fox-like gleam flash in Mrs. Liu’s eyes.
The two exchanged glances, sensing that Mrs. Liu was about to reveal her true intentions.
"I am now at the eleventh house level, soon to break through to the twelfth," Luo Yan replied, treating Mrs. Liu as a trustworthy elder, without any guard up, "If nothing goes wrong, my promotion to the heavenly level is just a year or two away."
Mrs. Liu’s pupils dilated instantly, thinking to herself that was too fast. Her husband had just recently entered the eleventh house level, but to improve his cultivation further seed like an indefinite prospect.
Keeping a composed appearance, she said, "Yan, have you never thought of having a child with Xuan?"
"Huh?" Luo Yan was stunned for a mont, not understanding why Mrs. Liu would suddenly switch the topic to this?
Mrs. Liu seed to be genuinely considering Luo Yan’s interests, "Yan, you and Xuan have been deeply in love, vowing to each other through life and death. But wouldn’t it be regrettable if there was no child between you two? I know well that for cultivators like you, it becos difficult to have heirs once you reach heavenly level. You wouldn’t want to be left with lifelong regrets."
Luo Yan finally realized what Mrs. Liu was getting at, and her face turned fiery red.
Mrs. Liu went on, "Moreover, I’ve heard that The Court bestows great hereditary honors on your Xia clan as brocade clothed Qianhu. Yet your Xia lineage has not decided on an heir, have they?
If you do not wish to marry Li Xuan, have you considered having a child of your own to carry on your father’s line? Other people’s children can never be as close to one’s heart as one’s own."
Hearing this, Luo Yan felt a stir in her heart, a flicker of consideration crossing her eyes.
But at the mont, Luo Yan felt an overwhelming shyness; she got up as though her seat were on fire, bowed, and excused herself, "Madam, there are many official duties to attend to at the Liudao Division, so I must take my leave now."
Before she could finish speaking, she hastily fled the prince’s mansion’s main hall.
Mrs. Liu watched Luo Yan walk away into the distance, then turned her gaze to Yue Qianqian, who silently stood by the side.
She thought that the girl was so gentle and easy to bully that there was no need for the kind of tact she used with Luo Yan.
Mrs. Liu considered for only a mont before deciding to get straight to the point, "Qianqian, I have heard that your parents also wish to find a son-in-law, to have a male offspring to continue the Yue family line. Why don’t you consider Xuan and marry into our Li family—"
Like a startled rabbit, Yue Qianqian bolted to her feet. She bowed to Mrs. Liu and then ran toward the back hall as if she had wind-fire wheels on her feet.
Mrs. Liu called out loudly, "Eh? Child, don’t leave. I’m serious, Xuan being the one to marry in won’t work. However, our Li family has always been open-minded; we can discuss whose surna the children take."
Ever since Yue Qianqian obtained the ’Faceless God Puppet,’ her cultivation soared rapidly once she no longer had to use her own flesh to frequently summon spirits, and in an instant, she was out of sight.
Mrs. Liu thought to herself that she had miscalculated, not expecting the girl to be so shy. If she had known, she would have held onto Yue Qianqian’s hand and not let her escape.
At this mont, her gaze then swept over to Leng Yurou.
Leng Yurou blushed slightly as soon as she realized what Mrs. Liu was thinking. Not giving Mrs. Liu the chance to speak, she stood up to take her leave, "Mother, you rest here; I will attend to the Shenqi Union affairs and then return to accompany you."
"This child!" Mrs. Liu helplessly watched Leng Yurou depart, "Her heart is clearly set on Xuan, yet she spends her days in the workshop. Is there gold or silver in there? Or so kind of treasure?
I had her co to Beijing to do this? To stay in the workshop, can that fulfill her wishes?"
Su Zhaojun couldn’t help but smile subtly, "Mother, don’t say that. There really are mountains of gold and silver in her workshop. The order The Court placed with the Shenqi Union this ti amounts to several tens of millions of teals."
Mrs. Liu was stunned and then slightly depressed, "Is silver more important than a lifeti event? Even if she does not wish to marry in, doesn’t she want to leave a descendant for her Leng family?"
Su Zhaojun laughed silently. She knew Mrs. Liu liked Luo Yan and Yue Qianqian, but her most cherished and loved was Leng Yurou, whom they had raised from a young age. Mrs. Liu had even specially saved up one hundred thousand teals for Leng Yurou’s dowry, but now it seed unnecessary.
"Mother, you are wrong there. Yurou grew up in our ho; she does not care whether the Leng family is left with a descendant or not."
Mrs. Liu rubbed her temples, feeling a headache, "Daughter-in-law, what do you think?"
"What do you an by ’what do I think?’" Su Zhaojun pretended to be confused, "Are you talking about Luo Yan and Qianqian? It’s clear that you are fond of them, really fond."
—Not at all like her domineering attitude toward her own daughter-in-law at the beginning.
Mrs. Liu thought, how could she not be fond of them? That kid Xuan never does anything productive, and the girls he manages to entangle with him each have the potential to annihilate the whole Earl Chengyi’s mansion.
What choice did she have as a mother-in-law if not to pamper and cater to them?
Mrs. Liu frowned deeply, "What are you talking about? I am asking if they were persuaded by what I said?"
"Hard to say," Su Zhaojun shook her head. "Master Zhang and Madam Xue should understand your intent, but if Xue Yunrou herself is not inclined, all their efforts are useless; Yue Qianqian, that child, is soft on the outside and steel on the inside, seemingly easy to bully but quite resolute herself;
As for Yurou, she is currently wholly devoted to chanical arts. It’s easier expecting the sun to rise from the west than for her to take the initiative. As for Xia Nanyan, she seems to be interested, though she appears to have so concerns."
She then asked with subtle confusion, "I’m a bit puzzled, Mother. You’ve been toiling all day just to seduce them into having children. But even if they bear children, what does it have to do with our Li family?"
After hearing this, Mrs. Liu smiled, her expression full of self-satisfaction, thinking that the connection was indeed significant.
The imdiate priority was to make them willing to have children.
As for the children’s affiliation after they were born, that could be discussed later!
And what if luck was on their side and they had twins? Even better, a whole litter?
At this mont, Mrs. Liu looked expectantly toward the west side of the mansion, "Are all those gifts accounted for correctly?"
"They are all prepared! Moreover, I asked, and tomorrow is also an auspicious ti," Su Zhaojun nodded slightly and then asked with a smile, "Are you sure, Mother? Won’t you ask your brother-in-law for his opinion?"
"Why ask him? The matchmaking command from the parents, the words of the go-between. If I let him do as he pleases, I fear I won’t see a child in this lifeti."
Mrs. Liu’s face was full of anticipation, "Let’s get an early night’s sleep. We’ll head over first thing in the morning!"
She, too, had been looking forward to that child for a long ti.
Reviews
All reviews (0)