PROOFREAD BY AFREANA

Chapter 91.2

An Ruochen saw the letter from Mr. Zhou and knew that there would be a major event in the city tomorrow. She and Lu Daniang discussed whether the spies would be there. They must pay attention to this. The Government and the military are waiting, so the spy must have something in mind. They can’t be careless. Maybe this time will become an opportunity.

Lu Daniang understood. Using the excuse of the envoy’s visit to the Purple Cloud House and the need to arrange appropriate decorations, she went to buy things. She made a good list and brought a few maids along with her. Ordered this girl to do this, that girl to buy that. After all the maids went on their errands, she quietly contacted someone.

An Ruochen did not go out of the residence. She wrote a greeting card and sent it to the Xue House, intending to visit them after Huo Mingshan’s matter was settled. Unexpectedly, without waiting for the Xue House’s reply, Mrs. Xue took a sedan chair and rushed directly to the Purple Cloud House.

An Ruochen was pondering over the connection between Huo Mingshan’s entry into the city and the activities of the spies when she heard the guards report that Mrs. Xue was asking for an audience and was a bit surprised to hear that the Xue family was in such a hurry.

Mrs. Xue was in her early thirties, with gentle eyebrows and eyes, courteous and dignified.

An Ruochen greeted her courteously. At first, Mrs. Xue was polite and said that her family was busy and negligent, that she hasn’t been able to meet with the General, and that she hasn’t been courteous, so it was the Xue family who were in the wrong.

An Ruochen laughed and said that she was too polite. When the families wanted to flatter the General, they relied on the female family members or stewards. She had walked around to send gifts and invitations. Mrs. Xue interacted with the female family members of various families, so she must be aware of it. But the Xue and An family were incompatible, so they did not want to get involved with her. Furthermore, she heard that Master Xue was a refined and proud person. He couldn’t bear to see those businessmen flattering the officials, which was the reason he did not befriend An Zhifu and Qian Pei that character. Big Long once visited her An family. Zong Zeqing seemed to be a good friendship with the An family. Therefore, Mr. Xue avoided them as well.

An Ruochen did not move and observed Mrs. Xue’s expression. In her heart, she thought that the Xue family couple really regarded their son as their life. For their son’s wedding, they put their face aside to go to the An family to seek marriage. They were rejected but did not give up, and were instead willing to come to socialize with her.

After a few words of courtesy, Mrs. Xue hurriedly got to the point and asked An Ruochen if she knew about their Xue family’s visit to the An Residence to propose marriage.

“I have heard about it in passing. I wanted to pay a visit to Madam and also wanted to discuss this matter with you.” An Ruochen said.

Mrs. Xue’s face showed joy. She said, “I wonder if there is any intention on Master An’s end? As long as the marriage can happen, everything is negotiable.”

An Ruochen lost her smile, “My father wouldn’t let me pass on his words. Since he hasn’t asked a matchmaker to find Madam to discuss it, he hasn’t changed his mind.”

Mrs. Xue immediately showed her disappointment.

An Ruochen said, “In fact, I myself was looking for Madam to talk about this matter. I think this marriage is not bad. My father has his concerns and calculations, but those are unimportant to me. As long as my second sister is happy, I’m willing to intervene.”

Mrs. Xue pulled herself together and said, “I went to the An Residence that day and did not see the second Miss. Master An’s refusal was decisive, but my family was sincere about the marriage. If you can help me, my Xue family will be grateful.”

An Ruochen laughed: ”Gratitude is not necessary. Mrs. Xue, tell me about this matter. After all, Master Xue doesn’t like my father’s reputation as a businessman. Suddenly talking about marriage, I am also quite skeptical. After I find out the reasons, I will talk to my second sister. Whether she’s willing or not, it’s still up to her.”

After hearing this, Mrs. Xue didn’t even care if this An Ruochen had already left the An Residence, whether or not there was indeed a way to facilitate this marriage. In short, catching onto hope is good. So she spoke in detail.

Her son, Xue Xueran, has been weak since childhood. At the age of ten, he got seriously ill, and since then, his body has not been well. These past few years, she had looked for a good doctor, but his condition is still recurring. She often went to the Baoning Temple to pray for her son’s well-being. About a month ago, she talked with the abbot of the temple, Master Jingci, about her son’s condition, saying that the doctor said that Xue Xueran might not be able to get well, so she could only delay it like this. It would be good if nothing changed, and if he was properly nourished, he could live for another ten years. Mrs. Xue was anxious and shed tears. Master Jingci said, if there is no way out, why don’t we try to use fate to help our luck?

So Mrs. Xue gave Xue Xueran’s eight characters to Master Jingci, who provided a prediction for Xue Xueran, wrote a few matching birthdays and eight characters, then asked Mrs. Xue to go and look for them. Saying that if, within three months, she can find a girl with matching birth characters, she might be able to find a suitable match, which might be helpful.

After Mrs. Xue got the eight characters, she quickly searched for matchmakers all over the city to find a girl whose characters were a match. Generally, when a girl reaches marriageable age, she will have a matchmaker to inquire about her marriage status, so they all have a lot of eight characters in their hands.

After careful inquiries, they found three girls with compatible characters. But one was already married while the other was engaged. The girl who was engaged, her wedding date was coming soon, and the couple were childhood sweethearts, while their families were also friends, there was no possibility of ruining the marriage. The remaining one was the An family’s second Miss, An Ruoxi.

Mrs. Xue said, regarding the marriage with the An family, as An Ruochen said, her husband, Xue Shu’en, was indeed reluctant. After hesitating for some days until a month was about to pass, she was afraid that if they delayed the matter, it would be too late. She tried her best to persuade him and finally got the nod of the master.

So, she prepared a generous gift and brought the matchmaker to the An family to propose marriage. She understood that the An family must have doubts. Therefore she did not hide and lie maliciously but chose to openly relay Master Jingci’s words. She hoped that the An family would not dislike her son’s frailty. After An Ruo Xi entered the door, she would treat her like her own daughter. All the conditions, bride price, etc., she would let the An family make the arrangements, and everything was negotiable.

Words have been said to this point, but An Zhifu surprisingly did not give in. And his words of refusal were quite unpleasant to the ear.

Mrs. Xue returned to the house and spoke to Master Xue about it. She didn’t relay those harsh words, wanting Master Xue to show up himself. Although Xue Shu’en was not happy, he still wrote an invitation to An Zhifu to have dinner with him. An Zhifu unexpectedly also refused.