An ugly girl starts off, then becomes a beauty

When Fang Ai heard this, she naturally wanted to ask the reason. She explained that Zong Xiang and Wei Chu were both from Yunyuexie, and Fang Ai had personally taught them and knew their personalities. It was surprising that they were suddenly going to be sent out to get married.

Aunt Cheng didn't hide too much, and she told the general idea politely, "It's the beginning of spring, and the little girl has started to think about climbing up the social ladder. In fact, she is from the eldest lady's family, and she has good looks, temper, and talents, but--" She looked cryptic, "I heard you say that the Marquis had beaten me before?"

Fang didn't have time to respond, "You mean, Zong Xiang was also...?" Cheng nodded suddenly, "He was kicked down, and he is now recuperating in his room."

It seems that he went to someone suddenly. According to the Marquis's personality, he hates such things the most. Moreover, he has been trained in the army since he was a child and has been on the battlefield. There are many eyes in front and behind him, guarding against him. Fang Ma shook her head helplessly, "There is a family, and if you want to send him, send him far away. There is an uncle in Cen Yu's family who lives in Qishan and is not married. I will go and ask about him later."

Aunt Cen was an old maid working in the front yard. She had some friendship with Aunt Cheng and was easy to deal with. Aunt Cheng nodded with satisfaction and immediately went back to Wuyuan to tell the young lady about this.

At that time, Sang Ling was still drawing some pictures of beauty products in the room. Dai Chengjun had just arrived and sat opposite her, chattering. If he talked too much, he would drink water, and if he drank too much water, he would go to the urination. He had just gone to the East Office behind the wing room when Cheng came in and replied, "It was agreed that the man is a brother of Cen's family. Now he works in Qishan. His whole family is in the fields. They have no worries about food and clothing. In addition to the dowry we gave her, it is considered a good result for her."

Sang Ling paused with the wolf hair brush in her hand. She still had complicated thoughts when she mentioned this matter. She took a deep breath and said "Okay".

Then she heard Cheng Gu sitting on her knees and gossiping, "Guan Gu said that the Marquis had beaten someone for this before. In the first few years, there were maids who didn't know the rules and climbed into the bed..." Before she finished speaking, Sang Ling interrupted her, "There are guests coming. Let's talk about this later."

The young lady's eyes turned and she still reminded him, "I am too lazy to bother with this matter. You can arrange the dowry and pick out the good ones. Just say nice things and don't be too harsh. After both sides have discussed it, just send the person away. You don't need to come to me for explanation."

This time, she simply hardened her heart and got it done in one go, so she wouldn't have to feel endless regrets.

Therefore, from that day on, Zong Xiang was never seen again, and Wei Chu, Xiao Yuanxing and Yan Yao were left to serve him.

Wei Chu was now the maidservant closest to her. She wanted to say something several times but stopped herself. Sang Ling did not show any expression, but neither side mentioned anything.

On the surface, this marriage went smoothly.

After all, she was a maid from a noble family with a decent reputation. In addition, Zong Xiang was pretty and charming, so Aunt Cen was quite satisfied with her. She spoke well of her to her brothers, and they happily proposed to her.

At the end of the month, the Cen family came to pick them up in person. Zong Xiang went to live in the back room the night before, and there were a few old ladies nearby to prepare for the wedding.

Yuan got the news and came back to report to Cheng, who then relayed it to Sang Ling, "The person has been taken away. Yuan said that the young man from the Cen family is good-looking, but a little dark. I said, how can a farmer not be dark-skinned when working in the fields? As long as the person is a good person, it's fine. But that girl is always crying, and it's unlucky if she doesn't come. She said several times that she wanted to come and kowtow to you, but I refused. After all, that thing..." She kept the words to herself, and she was still angry when she mentioned it now.

How could she be so foolish? When my wife first married into the family, she wanted to help the Marquis change his clothes, but he wouldn't let her. The servants in the room should know what kind of person the Marquis is. Why did she rush to humiliate herself?

Sang Ling listened in a daze. He was about to keep his eyes on the account book, but he changed the subject quietly, "Today is the Cuju match. Did Auntie Fang tell you when mother will be back?"

"He should have come back after having dinner in the palace." Cheng Ai replied, "At first, we didn't say that the Marquis had gone back, but later we heard that he was also invited. If we had known this, we should have gone too."

Sang Ling had originally planned to go with them. She had made an appointment with Dai Chengjun to go there to deliver mascara, but then something happened on the farm. Several tenants came to have disputes with the owner, and she wanted to listen to the story, so she didn't go. After thinking for a while, she let out a sigh and said, "Things have to be done one by one. If I don't go, I won't go. Isn't there a horse race next month?"

The horse racing meeting in Xiaonanshan is not as limited as the Cuju competition in the palace. They have plenty of opportunities and don't have to worry about just one or two chances.

Old Madam Cheng didn't share Sang Ling's idea. She just felt sorry that the young lady didn't follow the Marquis to show up in the circle of nobles, so she stammered in response and planned to go to the child's room to see the young lady. Just as she turned around to pour water, she heard a voice behind her, "Go and ask about her life in the Cen family from time to time in the past few months. If she's been bullied--" She swallowed and didn't say anything else. Old Madam Cheng naturally understood what she meant, and sighed, "I know. After all, she left our place, so we should be careful."

*

On the second day after the Cuju match, Dai Chengjun came and explained everything in detail to Sang Ling.

The daughter of the Dai family was saying, "You said you couldn't go, so I called Ah Le. I thought she couldn't go either, so I just tried it out. Who would have thought she would really come? I wondered why she would come out? But when I asked her, she didn't say anything. I felt that she had become much more depressed and always kept silent. She was not like when she was in school before, and she could still quarrel with me. Later, I told her about our opening of Xianglianju, and she finally showed some interest and asked me a lot of questions. Just as you said last time that you wanted her to be a partner with us, I mentioned this matter. I thought she would disagree. After all, she has a lot of things to do now and can't come out all the time. Who would have thought that she agreed. I said I would ask you, how come you are the one who is in charge of this place, and I just follow you. She didn't say anything, but later asked me for a tube of mascara and went back."

Dai Chengjun is now a frequent visitor to the Marquis's residence. A seat has been specially reserved for her in the Wuyuan Hall. Xiao Yuanxing comes in with a food tray, kneels down beside the table and serves cakes. Wei Chu and Yan Yao wipe the ash on the long table and Boshan stove in the corner. Sang Ling smiled and said, "That's perfect. We will go to the horse race together next month, and the three of us will discuss it together."

"Okay." Dai Chengjun looked around her room, still curious, "Before, I saw you were served by four maids, and there were two twin sisters following you. How come I didn't see that one these two times? The one with freckles on her face."

After the words fell, there was a moment of silence in the room. Wei Chu paused with the rag in his hand, and subconsciously glanced over. He saw that the young lady still had a gentle smile on her face, but her eyes were looking at the incense burner in front of her. She said, "Something happened. I sent her away. Don't ask."

I also know that Dai Chengjun likes to pry, and as the saying goes, family disgrace should not be made public, so this kind of thing should not be made public.

Seeing her solemn expression, Dai Chengjun pursed his lips, and then went to lift the lid of the stove. He made two clicks of the tongue and continued, "I haven't been too ostentatious these past two days. I only gave the ointment to two ladies. I thought it was too much to give at once, which was deliberate."

Sang Ling nodded and said, "You can't become fat in one bite. I didn't expect to make a profit in the early stage. I have to take it slowly."