novelraw Chapter 384 - 376: Thoughts
Chapter 384 - 376: Thoughts
After Sister Ran and Sister Jian came in, they both greeted, especially Sister Jian, who thanked Lin Youning in front of Mrs. Gu Sr. and Gu Yifeng.
She admitted that she didn’t take good care of Sister Ran while at the Wu Mansion.
"We’re all family, Sister Jian, there’s no need to be so polite." Lin Youning smiled and let her stand up.
Only then did Sister Ran step aside and sit down.
As for Sister Ran, who made the mistake, she followed Sister Jian’s lead without speaking, which clearly left Mrs. Gu Sr. dissatisfied with her attitude.
However, since it was a festival today, Mrs. Gu Sr. didn’t say anything.
But suddenly Mrs. Gu Sr. got an idea, "Sister Ran and Sister Jian are not young anymore, it’s time to find them a husband. Mrs. Dong is busy taking care of Brother Zong and has no time for this. Sister Hui is too young to make decisions for her sisters. When you have time, take a look for suitable families for them. After choosing, submit them to me, then I’ll let them have a look themselves."
"Aunt is aware that I don’t have much contact with other noble families in the Capital, so I don’t know which families have unmarried sons. Entrusting this to me, it’s not about whether you trust me, even I don’t trust myself with this." Lin Youning understood that her aunt trusted her, but she didn’t want to take on this responsibility.
Mrs. Dong, the legitimate mother, was still around. If Lin Youning helped arrange marriages for these people, considering Mrs. Dong’s nature, who knows what she might do behind the scenes.
Moreover, this was a thankless task that Lin Youning didn’t want. If it ended up successful, but something happened after the marriage, she would still be blamed.
Gu Yifeng didn’t like it either, so he spoke up, "Since Mrs. Dong is busy, I’ll let my advisors look into this. It’s not appropriate to hand this to Sister Ning, after all, it’s a cross-house arrangement. Since Mrs. Dong is present, it’s better she doesn’t involve herself, as it wouldn’t look good if it were known."
Mrs. Gu Sr. nodded, "I suggested it because I thought Sister Ning had a good eye for things, so I wanted her to help choose. Since both of you have spoken up, I’ll leave it to you. Let your advisors inquire about suitable families."
Sister Ran and Sister Jian sat to the side, heads lowered, since it concerned their lifelong matters, it wasn’t appropriate for them to interfere.
Sister Ran, however, was not satisfied. Seeing that her grandmother assigned the marriage arrangements to Lin Youning who then refused, thought she was perceptive.
As the father, when Gu Yifeng spoke, naturally no one questioned him.
After the meal, Mrs. Gu Sr. mentioned the matter to Mrs. Dong, who laughed and said, "With the Marquis here, I naturally have nothing to worry about. But these days, since my health is poor and Brother Zong needs attention, I’ve neglected the matters of the two sisters."
"Originally, these matters shouldn’t be handled by the eldest child. But since you have to care for Brother Zong, and Sister Hui is already helping you with household matters, there’s no need to discuss this further. Brother Zong is the legitimate son of the house; you should take good care of him. Brother Xuan has already been separated, and today being Mid-Autumn, he and his wife didn’t come over. Did they send any messages?" Mrs. Gu Sr. asked while sipping tea without lifting her eyelids.
"In the morning, they sent a message saying that the Prince Mansion invited them, so they won’t come here today. Now that they have caught the Eldest Prince’s eye, how could they have time to come back here? Besides, it was the Marquis who arranged their separation. They probably still feel upset." Mrs. Dong glanced at Lin Youning and continued, "This is something the eldest cousin should advise on. These days, with the Marquis not at the mansion, even by the time I found out, the Marquis had already separated them. I imagine the eldest cousin knew beforehand. Since the elders are still around, how could separation be an option? The Marquis indeed acted hastily; the eldest cousin should have intervened. If the Marquis can’t be persuaded, there’s always Mrs. Gu Sr. here."
"This matter didn’t need to be discussed with me. If he wanted to separate them, then so be it." Mrs. Gu Sr. directly interrupted Mrs. Dong. "Considering the elders are around, starting out their own lives isn’t a bad idea. Whether they live well depends on themselves. Besides, now that Brother Xuan is aligning with the Eldest Prince, and our Marquis Mansion doesn’t take sides, separating them is better. It avoids implicating the Marquis Mansion if anything happens."
Mrs. Dong chuckled quietly and said nothing, until she heard Brother Zong crying inside, and stood up to tend to him.
Mrs. Gu Sr.’s face was full of displeasure, which everyone could see, understanding that Mrs. Dong’s persistent targeting of Sister Ning was the cause.
Gu Jiafeng also looked unhappy and leaned to whisper to Sister Ning beside him, "You’ve been here all day, better go back to the mansion and rest."
Lin Youning had long wanted to leave and didn’t want to listen to Mrs. Dong’s cynical remarks.
Mrs. Gu Sr. also stated, "Yes, tonight is just for moon-gazing and having some snacks. Now that you’re pregnant, you should prioritize the child you’re carrying. Let the eldest child accompany you back."
Mrs. Dong, hearing this from inside, couldn’t help but stride out, "Even though the Marquis shoulders both households now, today is the Mid-Autumn Festival, a time for family reunions. Usually, when the Marquis is in the East Mansion, I say nothing. But now on a festival day, the Marquis going there and leaving the family here is not proper."
"So you still care about rules, yet for all that you do, I haven’t said much. Now, at this point, you’re talking about rules?" Mrs. Gu Sr. did not even glance at her and simply waved at Gu Yifeng and the others, "Alright, you all may leave too. I’m tired. You can gather around and enjoy the festivities in your courtyard tonight."
Mrs. Dong’s eyes could almost shoot fire, "Madam, where do I lack understanding of rules? Since the Marquis started handling both affairs, he has stayed at the East Mansion, and I’ve said nothing. Now, in front of the younger generation, you blame me like this, how can I maintain my authority in this mansion in the future? Or is it that Madam is simply partial to Sister Ning? Why not just give the Marquis to the main household, and stop finding such justifications to blame everything on me?"
"Outrageous." Mrs. Gu Sr. struck her hand, booming her shout, "Losing your manners increasingly, look at your demeanor now, and what you’ve done all day. Which part did I say was wrong?"