Allure of a Country Maiden
Chapter 680 - 678

Chapter 680: Chapter 678

Mrs. Zhu shook her head, "I appreciate the good intentions of Marquis Shengping’s Mansion. Yan’er is naive, I do not know what conditions she negotiated with the Marquis’s eldest son. However, marriage is a lifetime event, it should be a joyous occasion for both families, not a business transaction, I would never gamble my daughter’s happiness, so I cannot accept this marriage proposal."

Mrs. Tan: "..."

The more Mrs. Zhu explained herself, the more confused Mrs. Tan became! Could it be that there’s something she and other family elders didn’t know?

What conditions did Miss Zhu agree to with Jingrui? And what exactly is this so-called business transaction?

No, given Jingrui’s current status and the Shen family’s background, would he need to use marriage as a bargaining chip?

Was there a misunderstanding?

Mrs. Tan wanted to say something but Mrs. Zhu interrupted her, "Mrs. Liu, you don’t need to waste your breath. My mind is made up and I appreciate the consideration of Marquis Shengping’s wife."

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Tan didn’t know what to respond. No, the situation was that Mrs. Zhu had not given her a chance to speak. She got up: "Sorry for the disturbance, but Mrs. Zhu seems to have misunderstood. I have to excuse myself now and hopefully, we can discuss this another time."

She had to consult with Jingrui about what had happened, because Mrs. Zhu’s response was suspiciously strange.

Although the marriage proposal was unsuccessful, Mrs. Zhu also worried that their rejection might offend the Marquis Shengping family. Therefore, she personally escorted Mrs. Tan from the mansion.

Upon returning to her room, Mrs. Zhu felt unease. Thinking it through, she decided to send a maid to fetch Zhu Yan.

Early this morning, the manager of the shop had come to see Zhu Yan on urgent business. Zhu Yan and the manager had promptly left the house, after a brief conversation.

Mrs. Zhu anxiously waited the entire day until her weary daughter returned at dusk.

"Mother, did you need something?" asked Zhu Yan as she walked into her mother’s room, so weary that she leaned over the table.

"You, child, sit properly" reprimanded Mrs. Zhu, although her tone was affectionate towards her daughter who had been working outside all day.

Mrs. Zhu’s maid quickly poured a cup of hot tea for Zhu Yan.

Zhu Yan took a sip and finding the temperature perfect, she drank it all in one gulp.

After working relentlessly the entire day, she didn’t even have time to drink a sip of water.

"What happened at the shop? You seem very tired. Have you eaten yet?" As she noticed her daughter’s attempted concealment of fatigue, Mrs. Zhu momentarily forgot the issue she had been brooding over the whole day.

Zhu Yan pondered for a while before reluctantly admitting, "Haven’t had a chance yet. This morning, my uncle was arrested."

Mrs. Zhu was so alarmed on hearing this that she spilt the tea she was holding. The spilled tea soaked the beautiful cloth on the table.

Mrs. Zhu quickly stood up to avoid getting wet.

The maid rapidly approached to clean the mess.

"Mother, do not panic! The Imperial Court has already investigated and found that it was my uncle’s wrongdoing alone, that bears no relation to us" reassured Zhu Yan as she straightened her body to make room for the maid to replace the tablecloth.

It was indeed fortunate that her grandfather had wisely decided to distribute the family assets, ignoring his wife and family’s opposition, or else her family would have been inevitably dragged into this debacle.

Her grandfather was always wise. He had always said that her uncle was not a man of integrity and could never be trusted to handle the family’s assets.

Yet her father, always tenderhearted towards his brother, had handed over part of the family property to his care after falling ill.

Nobody had expected that in just three years, her uncle would almost bring about a disaster!

Fortunately, one trustworthy manager from their water transportation service had risked his life to alert them, and, coincidentally, Marquis Shengping’s family had just returned to their hometown for a celebration. If not for these occurrences, today it would’ve been more than just his uncle’s family getting arrested.

After hearing this, Mrs. Zhu felt slightly relieved and sat back down. She instructed the maid to bring some food for Zhu Yan from the kitchen.

Once the maid had left the room, Mrs. Zhu remembered Mrs. Tan’s visit earlier in the day. Considering her brother-in-law’s recent arrest and the fact that her family was unscathed, only confirmed her suspicion.

"Yan’er, you silly girl. Marriage for a woman is like a second birth. You should never treat such a significant event lightly. Even if it’s for the sake of saving our family, you shouldn’t use it as a bargaining chip. I will never allow you to gamble with your own happiness!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yan assumed that her mother thought they had evaded the crisis due to her successful honey trap. Zhu Yan laughed lightly and clarified, "Mom, you’re mistaken. It’s true that the Countess of Rui’an helped us this time, but I did not use my marriage for the deal. I explained the truth, and she helped me by thoroughly investigating the case!"

The donated grain was given to the Imperial Court, and it has nothing to do with Marquis Shengping’s Mansion.

"And talking about trading, are we in a marketplace? That’s harsh! Even if I did attempt to use a honey trap to climb up the social ladder to Marquis Shengping Mansion, hoping that by being related by marriage, they can help save our family, they would also have to be interested in me for it to work!" exclaimed Zhu Yan.

"You needn’t lie to me! If your honey trap wasn’t successful, why would they send Mrs. Liu to propose a marriage?"

"Mom, what are you getting at?" Asked Zhu Yan, thinking she misheard. Or maybe her mother misspoke. She had to clarify again.

"This morning, Mrs. Liu came to the house to propose marriage on behalf of Marquis Shengping’s eldest son. Are you sure you didn’t use your marriage to achieve your ends?" Mrs. Zhu questioned as she noticed Zhu Yan’s face filled with disbelief.

Zhu Yan, finding the situation both amusing and confusing, retorted: "Mom, have you seen the eldest son of Marquis Shengping? He’s incredibly handsome and talented and already a scholar at a tender age. His father is a Marquis, and his sister is a future Imperial Consort. With his status, he can marry any girl he wants —even the daughter of the Magistrate has shown interest in him, let alone all the distinguished young ladies in the Imperial Capital! Which eye of his would even consider someone as ordinary as me?"

"Why couldn’t he? Where do you fall short of him?" A murmur escaped Mrs. Zhu’s lips. Her daughter was as beautiful as her and as smart as her father. How was she ordinary? She would not be a disgrace even if she married Marquis Shengping’s eldest son.

Any man with eyes would find her daughter appealing.

Reading her mother’s emotion, Zhu Yan helplessly retorted: "Mom, in your eyes, I am, of course, the best daughter but there are many girls prettier or smarter than me. Countess Rui’an alone outweighs me on every possible metric! How could they possibly be interested in someone like me when they have such a dazzling sister?"

Indeed, the moment she saw Countess Rui’an, she had known her honey trap plan was doomed to fail.

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