The daily struggles of divorced women in ancient times

Less than an incense stick of time later, Mrs. Qiu knocked on the door. Xia Mianwan told Rumeng to take good care of Qin Qinqing and went out.

"Mrs. Qiu, my cousin needs to rest. Let's go somewhere else to talk." Xia Mianwan said with a smile.

Mrs. Qiu was having trouble figuring out Xia Mianwan's thoughts, so it would be better to talk about it somewhere else to avoid Qin Qinqing making a fuss, which would be embarrassing.

Mrs. Qiu led Xia Mianwan to the small pavilion next to the yard.

"Mrs. Qiu is so anxious...is the front part over?" Xia Mianwan asked.

Mrs. Qiu nodded and said, "This matter cannot be concealed. The young ladies of each family have told their own masters, so I might as well end it early."

After Mrs. Qiu finished speaking, she saw that Xia Mianwan was actually interested in picking up the teacup on the table to drink tea, and she couldn't help but feel a little anxious, "I wonder what Mrs. Pei thinks about this matter?"

Xia Mianwan raised her eyebrows and asked, "What do you mean, Madam?"

Mrs. Qiu was even more confused about Xia Mianwan's thoughts. She pondered for a while and said, "The marriage between the prince and my daughter has been agreed upon. It's just a matter of getting it done."

"Congratulations, Mrs. Qiu." Xia Mianwan said.

Xia Mianwan was ruthless, but it didn't look like he was conspiring with Qin Qinqing. After thinking for a while, his love for his daughter finally prevailed.

Madam Qiu said frankly, "Madam Pei, you should have understood today's matter. I want the Pei family's explanation. I am not afraid to tell you that the marriage between our Qiu family and the Xu family will not be invalidated. If your Pei family insists on making our family suffer this loss, we will suffer it. But your daughter can only be a concubine at most, not a co-wife, and it will not ruin the marriage between our two families."

Are the Xu family and the Qiu family so deeply bound?

When Pei Yanxu left Beijing, he mentioned the Xu family to Xia Mianwan, saying that something was wrong with the Xu family.

The current emperor is in his prime, and the crown prince is intelligent and kind. In Pei Yanxu's opinion, if the crown prince succeeds to the throne, he will be an excellent ruler who will maintain the status quo.

However, ever since the Xu family sent a legitimate daughter into the palace, their attitude has become ambiguous.

Thinking of this, Xia Mianwan immediately said: "Madam Qiu, the Pei family has no explanation. My cousin is from the Qin family, not our Pei family."

Mrs. Qiu looked at Xia Mianwan in surprise. She never expected that Xia Mianwan would say that.

What does this mean? Wasn't today's incident planned by the Pei family?

"I don't know... whether the young lady's meaning... can represent the Pei family's meaning?" Mrs. Qiu was still a little unsure.

Xia Mianwan looked at Madam Qiu with amusement, "Madam Qiu, you don't believe that I, the young lady of the Pei family, can be in charge, but you want to believe that Miss Qin is under the care of our Pei family? One thing is one thing."

The Qiu family naturally had ambitions when they married into the Xu family.

Although what happened today happened suddenly, after discussing it with her master and Duke Xu, she found that it could be said to be an accident.

If it was the Pei family who set up the trap, that would naturally be the best.

If not, that’s fine too.

It's just that the prince has one more concubine, but Master Pei's influence in the court is real.

But Xia Mianwan's words forced Mrs. Qiu to rethink.

The Xu family and the Qiu family need the cousin of the Pei family, but they don't need the eldest daughter of the Qin family.

"Since this is what happened today..." Mrs. Qiu was still uncertain.

Xia Mianwan took over Madam Qiu's words, "Today's incident is not a big deal. Although my cousin was rescued by the prince, he was self-disciplined and polite. Madam Qiu really found a good husband for Miss Qiu. But after all, there is a difference between men and women, so it is not convenient for the Qin family to go over and thank them specially. As for my cousin, she was also engaged a long time ago. Madam, don't worry, the in-laws are also polite."

The Pei family really has no intention, so the Qin family girl probably had this idea of ​​her own.

"Mrs. Qiu, sometimes you may be too clever, right?"

Mrs. Qiu knew that it was meaningless to talk more today, and the Qin family's daughter was restless. After all, she still cared about her own daughter, so she said, "If that's the case, then I'm relieved."

Xia Mianwan nodded and took out a magnifying mirror from her arms.

"I bought this flower mirror from a merchant overseas. I only got three of them in total. I'm giving this one to Miss Qiu. I hope she is not disturbed by today's incident."

Even though Mrs. Qiu had been the wife of the Minister of Revenue for many years, it was the first time she had seen such a clear mirror. After taking the mirror, she simply couldn't let it go.

Seeing that Mrs. Qiu liked it, Xia Mianwan finally smiled and said, "Sister Yang told me that you loved to be coquettish when you were young, so I specially prepared this mirror."

When Madam Yang was mentioned, Madam Qiu felt a little embarrassed.

Madam Yang had a good relationship with her over the years, and she probably trusted her, so she asked her to take care of Xia Mianwan, but she still...

Mrs. Qiu sighed. After all, a married woman must obey her husband. Since she is a wife of the Qiu family, the interests of the Qiu family are the most important thing at the moment. As for her sister, she is sorry. Master Yang does not pursue fame and fortune, but her master is already in the officialdom and cannot escape.

Feeling a little embarrassed and awkward, Madam Qiu said, "Thank you, Madam Pei."

Seeing that it was past the time, Xia Mianwan did not want to stay any longer. "My people have arrived. I will take my cousin back now."

Mrs. Qiu nodded and said, "Go slowly."

When they returned to Pei Mansion, Qin Qinqing had not woken up yet. Xia Mianwan did not send her back to Yimeyuan, but sent someone to call Madam Qin to Shaoguangyuan.

"Young Madam, where should we send our cousin?" Ruzhu asked.

Xia Mianwan thought for a moment and said, "Let's place him in Qinglingyuan first."

Qingling Courtyard is the farthest from the main courtyard in the entire Pei Mansion. There is no small door in the courtyard, so it is particularly suitable for surveillance.

Madam Qin started to feel uneasy when she learned that Xia Mianwan had asked many maids in the house to go to the Qiu Mansion. Qin Qinqing never came to Yimeyuan, which also made Madam Qin feel very anxious and she didn't know what to do.

"Aunt, sister-in-law asked you to go to Shaoguangyuan."

Mrs. Qin saw Pei Yanyue and asked quickly, "But what happened to your cousin?"

Pei Yanyue didn't know what exactly happened, so she shook her head and said, "My cousin should be fine."

Mrs. Qin only heard that her daughter was fine, but did not hear the word "should". She breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I'll go to Shaoguangyuan now."