Playing bad and eating melons: The whole court is laughing? No, no

The people who came from the Qin family were Madam Qin and the eldest son of Qin. Minister Lin ordered people to take Zhao Quan and his family away, and warned them that if they dared to cause trouble, they would bear the consequences.

The Zhao Quan family was afraid of Minister Lin, and they also felt that Zhao Quan and Lin Susu were already in a fait accompli, so Lin Susu had no choice but to marry into their Zhao family.

In the living room of the Lin Mansion, Minister Lin sat at the top of the table.

Madam Qin and Mr. and Mrs. Lin sat opposite each other, while the eldest son of the Qin family stood behind Madam Qin.

"It is really presumptuous of me to come here without sending an invitation. I hope Your Excellency will not blame me." Madam Qin spoke first, with a faint smile on her face.

As soon as she opened her mouth, the Lin family sensed something was wrong. Ever since the two families got engaged, Mrs. Qin had always called them in-laws.

"What are you talking about, my in-laws? Our two families are relatives, there is no need to be so formal." Minister Lin said with a smile.

Madam Qin's smile faded even further. "Master Shangshu, I'm not afraid of you laughing at me. I lost my husband when I was young, and raised two children single-handedly. I ask nothing more than that they grow up safely, and that they marry virtuous, dutiful wives in the future, so that we can spend our lives together."

"That's natural. Our Susu is a good child. She will definitely be a good wife and take good care of her grandson-in-law in the future, so that he won't have any worries."

Hearing this, the smile on Mrs. Qin's face completely disappeared.

"Sir, I won't beat around the bush with you. My mother and I are here today to clarify the rumors that are circulating outside."

Madam Lin Da Shao hurriedly explained, "That's all fabricated. Everyone in the capital can see what kind of person our Su Su is. There must be someone who can't stand our Su Su being good and is deliberately throwing dirty water on her. Don't believe the rumors, my dear relatives."

"There's no smoke without fire. Although our Qin family is not as good as your Lin family, we are also a clean and honest family. We would never marry a woman with improper behavior.

Now, people outside are saying that it was my son who offended Susu. But as a mother, I know what kind of person my son is. He would never do such an inappropriate thing.

Minister Lin slammed the table and stood up. "What do you mean? The matter hasn't even been clarified yet, and you're already concluding that my granddaughter has an affair with someone?"

Young Master Qin spoke coldly, "Lord Shangshu and I serve in the same court, so we should know the importance of reputation. If my Qin family had determined that Miss Lin had an affair, what would have come to us today would not be me and my mother, but a letter of annulment."

Although Young Master Qin did not enter the officialdom, he was born into a noble family after all, and he had a certain aura in his words and deeds.

Minister Lin looked at him, and both of them were equally aggressive.

"As her mother, I know exactly what kind of person our Susu is!" Mrs. Lin, the eldest young master, went against her conscience to clear her daughter's name upon seeing this.

"In that case, please ask the doctor to take my pulse!"

Mrs. Qin was able to raise two children by herself, so she is naturally not a weak and easy-to-control woman.

"No!" Madam Lin reacted angrily. "You're asking my Susu to prove her innocence based on nothing more than a fabricated rumor. If this gets out, how will my Susu ever face the world in the future?"

"You, the Qin family, are going too far!" Minister Lin said angrily.

"My Qin family is bullying your Lin family?" Madam Qin stood up with a sneer. "Now, the rumors outside are all because of your family. My Qin family is the one implicated! If you are determined not to hire a doctor, then I will cancel the engagement."

Silence followed the words.

"You can cancel the engagement."

Minister Lin knew that with things having developed to this point, a marriage between the two families was no longer possible.

The granddaughter cannot prove her innocence, and the Qin family will not marry her home without clear reasons.

Rather than making things awkward, it’s better to try to salvage the situation as much as possible.

"Father, we can't cancel the engagement. Otherwise, people outside will think that our Susu is really..." Madam Lin disagreed with canceling the engagement.

Minister Lin glanced at her, then turned to Madam Qin and continued, "You can cancel the engagement, but not at this critical juncture. My granddaughter is innocent, and her reputation cannot be ruined. If you don't agree, then produce the evidence."

Otherwise, the marriage will proceed as usual. Our two families have gone through the three letters and six ceremonies, three matchmakers and six engagements. Logically speaking, Susu is already the daughter-in-law of your Qin family."

"Okay. We'll send the letter of annulment to your house in a month. Please return my engagement letter."

Mrs. Qin wanted to speak, but when she saw that her eldest son agreed to postpone the divorce, she swallowed the words back.

"Why is it your family that's breaking off the engagement? If anyone wants to break off the engagement, it should be our Lin family!"

Madam Lin felt that if the Qin family broke off the engagement, her child would still be criticized and his reputation would be damaged.

"Shut up!" Minister Lin shouted.

Madam Lin Dashao shuddered all over, lowered her head and dared not say another word.

"One month is too short. Our two families will cancel the engagement after three months."

"No," Mrs. Qin refused. "The wedding is three months away, and who knows what might happen next."

"Two months then."

"Let's do as the Minister says." Young Master Qin made the final decision. "Mother, let's go back."

Young Master Qin supported Madam Qin and walked out on his own, ignoring the Lin family and others.

After they boarded the Qin family's carriage, Madam Qin asked, "Che'er, why did you agree to cancel the engagement in two months? We should have done it right away."

"Mother, I'm in the government now. It won't do us any good to break up with the Lin family. Minister Lin is not a broad-minded person. As a minister, it only takes a word for him to embarrass me."

Madam Qin sighed helplessly, "Forget it. I hope the engagement can be cancelled smoothly without any unexpected incidents."

"Don't worry, mother. I, your son, am no pushover, and neither is my younger brother."

At this time in the palace, after discussing state affairs, Emperor Yuan mentioned the flower-viewing banquet held two days ago, intentionally or unintentionally.

He praised the knowledge of each noble lady one by one, and finally turned the topic to Jiang Yueyang.

"Lord Jiang, you have raised a good daughter."

Minister Jiang hesitated for a moment, not knowing whether Emperor Yuan meant what he said literally or was being sarcastic.

"The Queen praised her highly and even told me that if women could take the imperial examinations, Miss Jiang would definitely pass."

Minister Jiang: Your Majesty, are you talking about your own daughter?

"Therefore, I thought, why not let her come to this Hall of Supreme Harmony so that I can see if she really has such talent."

Minister Jiang understood at this time that His Majesty wanted to use his daughter to supervise the officials.

But would his colleagues agree?

as predicted.

The Right Prime Minister frowned and stepped out, bowing and asking, "Your Majesty, what do you mean by this? Are you going to grant her an official position?"

"Yes, I intend to appoint her as a fifth-rank editor, responsible for repairing the books in the library."

"Your Majesty, please think twice! Since the founding of the Great Xia Dynasty, no one has ever been able to skip the imperial examination and become an official, let alone a woman."

Emperor Yuan was displeased, "Right Prime Minister, are you discriminating against women?"