The cousin's family is extremely wealthy; she deserves to be a concubine.

While drinking tea, she glanced at Hua Sirong discreetly and saw that Hua Sirong had her head down, seemingly lost in thought, as if she had heard but not heard.

She suppressed the pounding in her heart and brought up the topic that Seventh Sister had mentioned yesterday.

"Your mother raised the seventh daughter, so naturally you think she's perfect in every way and deserves the best man in the world. But we family know our own situation; the seventh daughter's personality isn't suited to dealing with all that deceit and treachery."

If our old Marquis were still alive, or if our Marquis held real power, I would definitely teach our Seventh Miss with all my heart and give it my all.

Without the support of a powerful maternal family, the Seventh Miss's future in that place is uncertain, her fate hanging in the balance.

Granny Xin fell into self-reflection and doubt...

“Since the palace and the family value the Sixth Miss, I, as her legal mother, naturally cannot hinder her future. However, you, relying on your relationship with the Seventh Miss, have secretly instigated her to compete and snatch things, which has violated my taboo.”

Granny Xin quickly apologized, "This servant originally thought that our young lady was slightly better in status, how could she be outdone by the one born to Concubine Shui?"

He then spoke a few more words to the young lady, saying, "If all three young ladies of the household go together, what if the noble lady in the palace changes her mind at the last minute? Wouldn't that be an opportunity for our young lady?"

“If one day, the Sixth Miss becomes a noble lady in the palace, our Miss is clearly the legitimate daughter. Even if she marries into a noble family, she will still have to bow down to the noble lady. If that day really comes, wouldn’t our Miss be wronged?”

Seeing that Granny Zhang seemed to be swayed, while her niece remained as deadbeat as before, Madam Shen, who herself had not been persuaded, retorted, "What you said makes a tiny bit of sense. If you say that, does that mean everyone in the world should send their daughters to that place to be considered loving their daughters?"

Granny Xin wanted to say something more, but was interrupted by Madam Shen, "Alright, the Marquis and I will handle this matter ourselves. It's not something a wet nurse like you should worry about."

Considering you've served the Seventh Miss quite diligently over the years, I'll only punish you with half a year's allowance. If you repeat this offense, I'll expel your entire family from the manor to fend for themselves."

Granny Xin quickly kowtowed to express her gratitude, repeatedly saying that she would serve the young lady well in the future and would never dare to say anything nonsense in the young lady's ear again.

After Granny Xin left, Madam Shen asked Hua Sirong for her opinion on the matter.

Hua Sirong knew that she couldn't avoid this question today, so she carefully replied, "Parents who love their children will surely plan far ahead for them. Aunt and Aunt Xin are both thinking of my cousin, so it's hard to tell who is right or wrong for the moment."

Noticing her aunt's apparent dissatisfaction, she added, "Regarding this matter, although it is an arranged marriage, the person involved is my cousin. Why not ask my cousin, who is directly involved? Besides, my cousin is still young, and there is room for maneuver, so there is no need to worry too much."

After she finished speaking, her face flushed, as if she were thinking of herself. The whole message she was conveying was that you should ask the person in question who you want to marry.

Shen made no judgment, but simply smiled and called for Wenqin and the others to set out the meal.

After having lunch and asking Hua Sirong a few more questions, they finally let her go home.

"Does my niece seem ambitious to you, Granny?" Madam Shen asked Granny Zhang with a leisurely smile.

"It's hard to say. Although Miss Biao came to the capital as if fleeing from disaster because she didn't want to be a concubine, what if she had been presented with a young nobleman from a duke's family at that time?"

"Would she be willing to marry someone as talented as our young master?" It's hard to say what hasn't happened yet. Since this young lady came to our mansion, she has kept to herself and rarely left the house. This old nanny really can't see through her.

Therefore, I dare not speak nonsense.

"I noticed that Miss Biao blushed just now, she must be envious of the wealth and status in the palace." The power of being second only to the emperor, even becoming a concubine would be a blessing for a merchant's daughter like Miss Biao.

Judging from her own experience, Wenqin didn't think Hua Sirong would remain unmoved.

Granny Zhang picked up the conversation, "This matter is easy to handle. If Madam is willing, she can let Miss Biao take a look at our young master from afar. Naturally, she can tell from this whether Miss Biao has such intentions."

Although Madam Shen thought it was a good idea, she was unwilling to risk her own son and was still somewhat hesitant.

"No rush. I've planted a seed in her heart today. If she really has this intention after a year, I'll grant her wish and use the resources of the Marquis's mansion to hire a tutor from the palace for her. After a few months of training, she'll be able to put her to use."

"Madam is so kind; you haven't even gone to such lengths for our Seventh Miss," said Granny Zhang, adding a compliment.

When Wenqin saw that the madam did not agree to Zhang Mama's suggestion, she couldn't help but feel secretly pleased. She didn't want the young master's harem to have such an outstanding talent as a cousin.

And they never doubted that a merchant's daughter would give up a promising future, even if it meant becoming a concubine.

Back at Qingwu Courtyard, Hua Sirong looked listless.

Wang's mother thought it was because the weather was getting warmer and her daughter was tired from leaving the hospital today.

"Chunyan went to the kitchen and brought out some cold drinks. Please have a couple of sips, Miss." Mama Wang presented them to Hua Sirong like a precious treasure.

"Mom." Hua Sirong took two sips, but she had a thousand words in her heart, yet she didn't know who to say them to.

While Madam Wang couldn't offer much help to Hua Sirong, she genuinely cared for her. She quickly took the young lady's hand and asked softly, "Did something happen when you went to Madam's place today, young lady?"

Wang's mother also went with her, but she was arranged to rest somewhere else. When the girl was about to go back, she was called to go with her.

Therefore, Wang's mother was unaware of what happened in Yimei Garden today.

"I'd rather be a poor man's wife than a rich man's concubine." Hua Sirong wrote this line on a piece of paper and silently recited it several times.

"Mother, do you think if I marry a scholar from a poor family, will he be able to protect me?" Before today, Hua Sirong and her mother-in-law had planned to use the Marquis's family's influence to find a scholar's family. She didn't even mind using her dowry to pave the way for her husband's family.

This plan was originally excellent, but reality slapped Hua Sirong in the face; the Marquis's mansion would not allow her to take advantage of the situation unconditionally.

Moreover, the Marquis's mansion may hope to use her to gain greater benefits.

Madam Wang was puzzled. Given her daughter's status, it would be very difficult for her to marry into a wealthy and powerful family, but her daughter was too proud to condescend to become a concubine.

"With the Marquis's mansion backing her up, even if she marries into a powerless family, she won't be bullied." If the young lady also has a large sum of money, she might even be able to marry a down-on-his-luck nobleman by leveraging the Marquis's mansion's influence.