After dinner, the Old Master went to Huan Sha Wu.
The Yang family had other concubines, but for this past half year, the Old Master had exclusively favored the three sisters at Huan Sha Wu. Even the First Madam felt something was amiss.
“After all, they’re the King of Minyue’s people—how can he favor them to this extent?” She complained to Seventh Miss.
After eating, the First Madam sat with Seventh Miss in the western side room to talk.
The western side room was a place to receive guests.
Unlike the eastern side room, which was the First Madam’s bedroom and conveyed intimacy and trust.
The First Madam probably hadn’t completely trusted her yet.
Seventh Miss smiled slightly.
This was quite natural… No one would rashly treat a seven-year-old child as a confidant.
“Father is getting older. Perhaps sometimes he just wants to be around young people.”
At this age, everyone had such thoughts. Precisely because one was no longer young, being able to watch young people move around and talk, brazenly radiating youthful vitality… was also a kind of enjoyment…
The First Madam couldn’t help but smile.
“You’re quite clever.”
How could an ordinary child understand so much?
Seventh Miss lowered her head, somewhat stiffly responding to the First Madam with a smile.
This was the first time the two had talked alone.
She hadn’t yet fully grasped the First Madam’s temperament.
“Your Third Sister’s marriage may face changes.” The First Madam paid no attention to Seventh Miss’s constraint but pondered to herself.
Oh?
Among great families, keeping one’s word was paramount. Both sides had reached tacit understanding—unless the Yang family wanted to antagonize the Wang family, why would they go back on their word?
Seventh Miss raised her head, watching the First Madam with puzzlement and concern.
The First Madam sighed. “The Wang family has gotten a bit too close to the First Prince!”
Seventh Miss immediately understood.
Though living in a deep mansion, she wasn’t very clear about matters outside.
But she had heard from Fifth Miss about the relationship between Madam Xu’s aunt and the Crown Prince.
With the First Madam adding this statement, what wasn’t clear?
“In Father’s position, every word and deed must be extremely cautious.” She echoed the First Madam’s view. “As an established family, the Wang family should be more prudent. Unexpectedly, they’ve declared their position so early. Better not to complete this marriage—otherwise if it implicates our Yang family in the future, that would be Third Sister’s fault.”
The First Madam’s lips curved slightly.
This child was truly rather exceptional.
When First Miss was this age, she could only advise the First Madam on small household matters. She didn’t understand major matters outside.
Perhaps traveling the long road from Baoji to Suzhou at such a young age had broadened her horizons beyond ordinary people! With just one hint, she had grasped the key points.
The First Madam’s interest grew.
“Though the marriage temporarily cannot proceed, we must wait for the Wang family to come propose before we can politely refuse. Otherwise, rashly writing to reject would seem presumptuous.”
Sending someone to ask the Old Master’s opinion on the match and actually coming to formally propose were still two different matters.
What the First Madam meant by “coming to propose” was requesting an official matchmaker to enter the second gate, with the matchmaker bringing four-colored gifts to the outer courtyard to formally propose.
Generally, families like the Wang and Yang would ascertain the other party’s intentions before formal proposals. No one had such audacity to rashly bring gifts to propose.
However, before the official matchmaker came, some changes in the marriage were quite natural. Who knew if the Wang family, after asking the Old Master’s opinion, would actually come? If they changed their minds while the Yang family sent a letter to explain, they would become a laughingstock. They could only wait for the Wang family to actually send someone before refusing.
“Though the Wang family is close to the First Prince, they’re still a prominent Fujian family.” Seventh Miss quickly grasped the First Madam’s meaning. “Embarrassing them like this would inevitably cause them to harbor resentment toward us.”
The Wang family had managed Fujian for years. Even though the Old Master governed Jiangnan, he had to rely on Master Wang. Such a deeply rooted family might suffer greatly in political upheavals but wouldn’t be destroyed overnight. That being the case, they needed to leave room for future meetings.
The First Madam showed a worried expression.
“What kind of mess has Fourth Concubine created!” Before Seventh Miss, she complained without restraint. “She caused the trouble, but I have to clean up the mess!”
Yet Seventh Miss’s heart was pondering whether the First Madam had a preset response plan.
Marriage arrangements in large households had many protocols and variables. A marriage falling through, though not exactly common, wasn’t unprecedented.
By rights, the First Madam could exercise her authority as household mistress and write a letter to Madam Wang—the matter might be dropped.
The excuse was easy to find—just say she was also looking at matches for Third Miss in the capital… Could the Wang family chase after asking which family?
Then, delaying another year or two and truly finding Third Miss a family in the capital, this matter would pass.
No matter how naive the First Madam was, she could think of this method of simultaneously deflecting and striking, regrasping Third Miss’s marriage into her own hands, right?
Of course, she could also follow this line of thinking. However, that would only make the First Madam think her clever, not particularly special.
The person the First Madam hated most now was probably Fourth Concubine, right?
Seventh Miss smiled slightly.