Chapter 143: Madam Qin Learns the Truth

"Is what you are saying true? Did Lord Jin really say that his niece's birthday is the most important day of all?"

"How would this humble servant dare to deceive you, Madam? It was my third son who came back from outside and heard it all. The Qinhuai River was bustling with activity that day, and everyone was talking about Lord Jin's breathtaking generosity!"

"Generosity indeed, but will it really benefit Eighth Miss Xue?"

"Of course it will!" the maidservant replied. "My third son said that Lord Jin didn't even let Seventh Miss Xue board the boat, but Eighth Miss Xue went right in with him! At first, he didn't even know Seventh Miss hadn't gotten on; someone else mentioned it. But Eighth Miss boarded the boat—that is absolute fact, confirmed by two of the Xue family's maidservants. My third son was standing right beside those two maidservants. They were looking for Eighth Miss, and when they pointed at the boat and cried with joy, they shouted that they had found her, that it was Eighth Miss!"

"So in short, you mean that Lord Jin holds Eighth Miss Xue in extremely high regard? Then why haven't we heard anything about this before?"

"Before now, Eighth Miss kept a low profile at home, so no one paid attention to her! Lord Jin knows for a fact that she is... Besides, Lord Jin has never married or taken a wife; men like that dote on their nieces above all others!"

When Eldest Master Qin stepped into the room, his wife and the maidservant were right in the middle of this conversation.

Eldest Master Qin walked in, his face dark as he glared at the maidservant. "What kind of nonsense are you filling the mistress's head with? It's because of people like you that the mistress's reputation gets dragged through the mud!"

Blushing deeply from the scolding, the maidservant cast a nervous glance at Madam Qin and hurried out.

As soon as she left, Eldest Master Qin sat down on a mat opposite his wife. Madam Qin let out a cold laugh. "Does the household master no longer even bother to spare me a glance when he lectures me?"

Had she really been spoiled to this extent?

Seeing the hostile look in Madam Qin's eyes, Eldest Master Qin sighed. "If you truly cared about Eighth Miss, you should have gone to the Xue family today instead of gossiping at home!"

Today was the coming-of-age ceremony for Xue Zhenanzhi. If Madam Qin truly valued this prospective daughter-in-law, she should have gone to show support and save face for her. But she hadn't gone—she stayed away deliberately because she refused to afford Xue Zhenanzhi that dignity.

"Who cares about her?" Madam Qin rolled her eyes. "Does the master genuinely not understand, or are you just playing with me? I couldn't possibly go; I had to put her in her place right from the start, don't you know that?"

"You want to put her in her place? Just the day before yesterday, the Emperor went out of the palace to inspect the military training grounds and praised Old General Xue once again, bestowing upon him a personal set of armor. Do you have any idea how many people are trying to curry favor with the old general right now? And here you are treating such a magnificent match like an enemy. I think you've truly lost your mind!"

"Really? Is that actually true? A set of armor?!" Madam Qin was somewhat surprised, though her surprise quickly faded into expectation. Xue Qiu was the backbone of the Xue family, and a capable man in his own right; it was hardly strange for the Emperor to bestow a reward upon him.

Eldest Master Qin gave her a firm confirmation. "It couldn't be truer. You'd better figure out how to mend fences!"

Mend fences?

Madam Qin said earnestly, "I heard that the niece Lord Jin dotes on most is also Eighth Miss. You know who Lord Jin is, right? The wealthy brother of the Jin clan!"

Yet because Madam Jin had been foolish back then, the Jin family had severed ties with the Xue family!

Eldest Master Qin knew who this person was.

Eldest Master Qin nodded.

Madam Qin suddenly broke into a smile. "With a doting maternal uncle, and a second grand-uncle who can back her up, Eighth Miss's fortune is truly remarkable. That being said, our plans to call off the marriage will have to be reconsidered!"

"You're still thinking of calling off the marriage with the Xue family?" Eldest Master Qin disapproved. "To go back on one's word is truly not the behavior of an honorable person. Besides, there is nothing wrong with this match with the Xue family!"

There was nothing wrong with it, except that back then, when she had explicitly asked for Seventh Miss Xue, the Xue family had forced Eighth Miss Xue upon them instead. It was a glaring sign of disrespect toward the Qin family. If the Xue family looked down on the Qin family, why should she lower herself to look up to Eighth Miss?

Of course, had it been before, she might have kowtowed to the Xue family. But things were different now—both her husband and her son had caught the eye of influential benefactors. Why should she still flatter the Xue family? Why should she continue to placate Eighth Miss Xue? There was simply no need anymore!

"What if I insist on calling off the marriage?" Madam Qin scoffed. "Though, for the sake of Lord Jin and Old General Xue, the terms of the annulment can certainly be negotiated!"

She had her eyes set on their wealth and status.

Eldest Master Qin shook his head. "I advise you to exercise moderation. Since you are entering into a marriage alliance, you should be sincere, lest things fail to go your way and you end up causing a scene!"

"Fail to go my way? What do you mean by that?" Madam Qin stared at Eldest Master Qin.

It meant naturally that if you want their money, they won't give it to you.

If you try to leverage their influence, they won't necessarily agree!

Eldest Master Qin said with a helpless tone, "Do I really need to spell it out? Are Eighth Miss and the Xue family people you can just bully at will, puppets for you to manipulate? Think about it—they are human beings too. How could they possibly swallow such humiliation and submit to you?"

"She wouldn't dare!" Madam Qin declared fiercely. "If she dares to defy me, I will immediately break off the engagement for Jian'lang and spread the word that she was defiled by commoners and is utterly unworthy of him!"

"You..."

"Father! Mother!"

Before Eldest Master Qin could finish his sentence, Qin Jianyu walked into the room.

His outer robe was stained with some unidentifiable filth, his hair bun was loose, and his temples were disheveled, as if someone had grabbed and clawed at him.

Most striking of all was his expression. The proud, spirited look that usually graced the young man's face was now completely dull and lifeless, bearing the unmistakable appearance of someone who had suffered a crushing blow.

"Jian'lang, what happened to you?" Startled, Madam Qin sprang up from the floor.

Qin Jianyu said, "Eighth Miss Xue wants to break off the engagement! Mother, I don't want to call it off anymore—hurry up and think of a countermeasure for me!"

Break off the engagement?

Proposed by Eighth Miss Xue?

You must be joking!

Yet looking at his son's expression, it hardly seemed like a joke.

"How dare she?!" Madam Qin said with intense resentment. "What on earth has happened? What gives that cheap maid the right to call off the marriage? Is it because Old Madam Xue has raised her up in esteem, because Xue Qiu has been rewarded by the Emperor, and because she has a wealthy uncle that she's gotten so arrogant? Does she look down on you?"

Without waiting for Qin Jianyu to reply, Madam Qin turned to storm out. "That wretched girl! I'm going to find her right now!"

Eldest Master Qin hastily stood up to block her path. Even if they were angry, could they really afford to rush over there in such a reckless manner?

Qin Jianyu had already stepped forward to block his mother.

"Mother, you can't go right now—you truly cannot go!" he said in an urgent tone.

"Why not? What gives her the right?" Madam Qin was not one to quietly submit. "Are you afraid because Xue Qiu was rewarded by the Emperor, or because Eighth Miss has a wealthy uncle? Well, I am not afraid at all!"

Ah? Old General Xue had been rewarded by the Emperor again?!

That's right, Eighth Miss also had an uncle named Jin Buhuan, nicknamed the God of Wealth!

Such a fine match, and yet he had actually thought about calling it off earlier—it couldn't be called off now! But looking at the current situation...

"Mother, you really cannot go," Qin Jianyu insisted.

If his mother went to make a scene now, there would be no room left for salvage.

Madam Qin asked in bewilderment, "Why can't I go?"

Eldest Master Qin looked at his son thoughtfully.

Pushed into a corner by his mother's questioning, Qin Jianyu's face flushed bright red. Finally, with a flick of his sleeve, he snapped, "Go if you must! It's just that the Xue family has discovered my affair with Linglong, and they refuse to let the matter rest. If you go now, you will only be asking for public humiliation!"