in2ebook Chapter 596: Plan Failed
Chapter 596: Plan Failed
Two days later, Chen really went to her sister's house and took her niece over, with the nice excuse of letting her stay for a while to keep her company and relieve her boredom.
The girl's name was Huo Lingyi. She was fifteen years old, slender, with a cherry mouth, bright eyes and white teeth. She was a beauty.
The elders told Huo Lingyi that they intended for her to marry Gu Xiuhong. She was very satisfied with this handsome and talented cousin. She cooked soup and made cakes herself and sent them to Gu Xiuhong's study. However, she was rejected several times and gave up the idea when she learned that her cousin had no interest in her.
Even with her aunt Chen's efforts to bring them together, she did not have the same enthusiasm for Gu Xiuhong as she did at the beginning, and was just perfunctory about it. After all, she would not have trouble getting married, so she would not relentlessly pursue a man who did not like her.
Therefore, Gu Xuanyi liked her very much and felt that her personality was in line with her standards for choosing friends. She took the initiative to talk to her and play with her. After a while, they became familiar with each other and were inseparable every day.
Chen watched helplessly as her niece was seduced by her niece and ran away without even looking at her own son. She was so angry that she went straight to Zhang and complained, "Sister-in-law, you asked me to bring my niece to your house. Are you trying to find a playmate for Xuanyi or to match her up with our Xiuhong?"
Zhang was stunned by her accusations. This sister-in-law was reasonable most of the time, but this was the first time she was so unreasonable. But what did this have to do with her? She immediately retorted: "Second sister-in-law, when I gave you advice, you agreed at the time. Who could have predicted what would happen later? Miss Huo didn't like Xiuhong, but liked our Xuanyi. Is this my fault?"
Chen was even more angry: "What do you mean I like your Xuanyi? Don't forget, your Xuanyi is a girl, can you please speak properly? Lingyi is the daughter-in-law I have in mind."
Zhang snorted lightly and said unhappily, "You also know that our Xuan Yi is a girl, right? You don't have to treat our Xuan Yi as an imaginary enemy. I won't compete with you for your daughter-in-law. What's the point of getting anxious with me? Why didn't Miss Huo like your son? Can't you look for the reason from your son?"
As soon as these words were spoken, Chen instantly lost her temper. She looked at Zhang, her lips moved slightly, but in the end she said nothing and sighed dejectedly.
How could she not know the reason about her son?
Her son liked the widow. She secretly went to see the widow. She was not a beauty that could topple a country. She was only gentle and pretty, far inferior to her niece Lingyi. She didn't know what her son liked about her. Lingyi had a good family background, was young and beautiful. Anyone who was not a fool would know that she should choose Lingyi.
It was rare for Zhang to silence Chen, but seeing her sad face, she couldn't be happy for a moment. After all, she was a mother, and she couldn't bear to see another mother who was also worried about her child suffer. She said with a smile: "Now you understand my worries, right? Our Xuanyi doesn't want to get married, I'm so worried that I can't sleep well. Your Xiuhong is willing to get married, but he has chosen a widow."
Chen replied, "That's different. I didn't feel bad that Xiuhong didn't want to get married before, but I feel bad that he wants to marry a widow now. If Xuanyi falls in love with a widower, and that widower is old and has an ordinary family background, would you still want her to get married?"
"The widow is twenty-two this year, two years older than Xiuhong, but not too old." Zhang said, then asked, "What is Xiuhong's attitude now?"
Chen's face darkened, and she said, "What attitude can he have? He has to marry the widow. Anyway, I will never agree to him marrying a widow. The only condition for letting the widow marry is that he must marry a lady from a well-off family who is of equal status as his legal wife. After the legal wife gives birth to a legitimate son, he can take her back. I have no objection."
Zhang was thoughtful and gave her a suggestion: "Second sister-in-law, it's useless to start with Xiuhong, why not start with the young widow? Invite the young widow to talk. If she really likes Xiuhong, then she should let Xiuhong marry a wife who is of equal status and helpful to Xiuhong. Let her help persuade Xiuhong. Otherwise, don't allow her to be his wife or even his concubine. Xiuhong can afford to delay, but she is a woman and not young anymore. She can't afford to delay."
After hearing this, Chen was a little moved, but hesitated, and said, "Isn't this a bad idea? It's my son who insists on marrying her, why should I go after her? If it gets out, people will say that I can't control my son and go after the girl."
Zhang rolled her eyes at her and said, "Okay, you are so noble. If you have the ability, you can convince Xiuhong to marry a wife who is well-matched with you. Otherwise, you have to convince the widow."
Chen remained silent. Not only she, but even her husband didn't have this ability. No matter how much they tried to persuade Xiuhong, he just wouldn't budge.
Zhang asked, "You weren't the kind of person who cared too much about family background before, why do you care so much about it now?"
Chen sighed softly, "I don't care too much about family background, but I care that she is a widow. If she is not a widow, even if her family background is lower, as long as she has good manners and good character, I can grit my teeth and nod my head in agreement."
Zhang said, "My third sister-in-law's father's third and fourth wives were both widows who had been married before. Didn't Mr. Meng marry them anyway?"
Hearing this, Chen's mouth twitched, and she said unhappily, "How can they be the same? How can Master Meng be compared with my son? He is not an innocent young man. Not only is he old, he has also been married, has sons and daughters, and has several concubines. Could it be that he still wants to marry a girl of fifteen or sixteen? Even if he wants to, no family with a similar status will marry a girl to him."
Zhang was stunned, then nodded: "That's true."
Chen said with a stern face, "Tell Xuanyi to stop pestering Lingyi all the time. She is the daughter-in-law I chose for myself, not a playmate for Xuanyi."
Zhang corrected her, "Second sister-in-law, it's not Xuan Yi who is pestering Miss Huo now, it's Miss Huo who took the initiative to look for Xuan Yi to play. Early this morning, Miss Huo took Xuan Yi out to meet friends."
Chen: "..."
Zhang glanced at Chen and said, "Xiuhong should be back by now. Second sister-in-law should have a good talk with Xiuhong."
As she spoke, she couldn't help but sigh, feeling melancholy. "In fact, it's a good thing that the child wants to get married. If our Xuanyi can find someone she likes, even if he's a widower, that's a good thing. At least she has figured it out. But now, she doesn't like anyone. She's going to become an old maid. I'm really worried."
Chen's lips moved, but she finally resisted the urge to argue with her. She just glared at her and left in anger.
Zhang didn't try to persuade her to stay. She looked at her leaving figure and muttered, "I didn't say anything wrong. What's the point of being angry with me? If one plan doesn't work, then come up with another one. Who told you to give birth to a stubborn son who had to marry a widow?"