Reborn to Be A Noble Wife - Chapter 181

Chapter 181 Second Lady Duan who Snatched Other’s Engagement

In Imperial Banquet Minister’s Mansion, Second Lady Duan Jinxiang was not in a good mood.

A few days ago, she was in good spirits. To be able to get engaged with the reputable Young Master Yongning and become his future wife was great news.

Duan Jinxiang had always heard of Young Master Yongning. She heard that he was a very good person. Even though his fiancee had no talent and no beauty, he did not mind. Instead, he insisted on this engagement that was said to be a prenatal betrothal. Moreover, there were no rumors of him engaging in lustful pre-marriage activities.

In the past, she could only feel sentimental. And when she finally saw Young Master Yongning, she decided on him.

The two families did not have much entanglement before deciding on the new engagement. After the engagement between Young Master Yongning and the blind Fourth Lady Qu had been called off, Duan Jinxiang felt very proud.

With her talent and beauty, Duan Jinxiang felt that she was the woman who was worthy of Young Master Yongning.

However, what happened next made Duan Jinxiang unhappy. It was said that Young Master Yongning wanted to marry a concubine first, and the concubine-to-be was the same as herself, so Duan Jinxiang felt quite helpless. It was said that Young Master Yongning saved Miss Yu on the streets, and Miss Yu was willing to be a concubine because Young Master Yongning was still engaged at that moment.

The engagement was decided way earlier before Young Master Yongning saved her.

How was this going to make others think of her? Both of them were saved by Young Master Yongning. After Yu Qingmeng was saved, she was grateful and volunteered to be a concubine. However, Duan Jinxiang threatened Young Master Yongning, forcing him to call off the previous engagement. In the end, the “poor” Fourth Lady Qu could not marry him while Duan Jinxiang engaged to Young Master Yongning.

This was clearly an ungrateful act.

Whenever Duan Jinxiang had been out recently, she had been judged by others. She did not care at first, but ever since hearing several ladies who were close to her in the past talk about her behind her back, she had been down in the dumps.

Behind her, those ladies said that she was fierce and ugly and that she would definitely be abandoned in the future. They said that those who snatched others’ engagement would not have a good ending. They also said that Yu Qingmeng was extremely beautiful and was a good match with Young Master Yongning. It was also said that Yu Qingmeng was a gentle and considerate person, who was a lot better than Duan Jinxiang. They also said that Yu Qingmeng and Young Master Yongning were now in love with each other, so it would be impossible for Duan Jinxiang to have a place in the Marquis Yongning’s Mansion in the future.

Some things said were even harsher. Duan Jinxiang was so angry that she wanted to rush forward to argue with these ladies. But when she wanted to say something, the crowd would disperse.

No one actually paid attention to her. Slowly, there were more and more rumors. And the Young Master Yongning that she fell in love with at first sight had never come again after coming here once.

Duan Jinxiang was burning with anxiety in her heart. Even after her mansion invited Young Master Yongning over, he did not come. The reason was that he had been busy making preparations for his official career recently. When he was free, he would come over to discuss the marriage between the two families. It was obvious that he did not care too much about this marriage. Thus, Duan Jinxiang was so furious that she grew more and more bad-tempered, and she even had no appetite these days.

“Second Lady, someone from Qu Mansion is here, asking to see you.” A maid hurriedly ran into her room and reported.

“No.” For a while, Duan Jinxiang did not figure out which Qu Mansion it was. She just replied impatiently. Her mind was full of Young Master Yongning. She only wanted to see Young Master Yongning, even just once. She did not want to see anyone else.

“My lady, please ask her in. She said that it’s something related to you and that you should decide for yourself.” The maid said vaguely.

“Bring her in!” It seemed that it really had something to do with her. Duan Jinxiang waved her hand and commanded impatiently.

The maid left and soon entered with an old maid.

“Greetings, Second Lady Duan.” The old maid smiled and went forward to salute.

“Who sent you?” Duan Jinxiang asked reluctantly. She glanced at the old maid a few times. She had never seen the old maid before!

“Second Lady Duan, I work for Vice Minister Qu’s Mansion’s Second Madam. She would like to invite you to the mansion to have a chat and to meet Miss Yu,” said the old maid.

“Which Miss Yu?” Duan Jinxiang hadn’t realized who the old maid was referring to.

“Miss Yu is the lady who has already married into Marquis Yongning’s Mansion. She was our madam’s niece.” The old maid explained.

When the old maid mentioned this, Duan Jinxiang’s face immediately sank. “Yu Qingmeng?”

“Yes, she is Yu Qingmeng.” The old maid said with a smile.

“She’s just a concubine, and you call her ‘lady’? Qu Mansion’s ladies are really… lowly!”

Duan Jinxiang sneered. She had long been full of anger in her heart. Most of it was because of Yu Qingmeng. In her opinion, Young Master Yongning must have been bewitched by Yu Qingmeng. That was why he was ignoring her.

“Our Fourth Lady said that even if Miss Yu is a concubine, we can’t… In our mansion, we are still used to calling her Miss Yu.” The old maid explained.

“Your Fourth Lady is really generous.” Duan Jinxiang jeered. “But I am different from her. This matter has nothing to do with her.”

Duan Jinxiang looked down on Qu Moying the most. The fact that Young Master Yongning had given up on her and engaged with Duan Jinxiang instead had explained the problem—it would be a great loss for Young Master Yongning to marry Qu Moying. How could a blind, uneducated Fourth Lady Qu match the handsome Young Master Yongning?

This engagement should have been called off long ago. If Qu Moying had known that she was not worthy of Young Master Yongning long ago and had called off the engagement early, Duan Jinxiang would not have been criticized so much now.

“Indeed, our Fourth Lady has nothing to do with this matter now, but in the past, she… she did… have a little.” The old maid seemed to have remembered something.

“A little, in the past? How?” Duan Jinxiang seemed to be looking for trouble. She questioned snappily.

“It’s… it’s not just the past. She still has something to do with this matter now.” Qu Mansion’s old maid seemed to be a little panicked, and she lowered her head in panic. The more she was being looked at, the more flustered she felt.

Duan Jinxiang was just saying it casually, but now seeing the old maid’s reaction, she suddenly reached out to slam the table. “Didn’t they cancel the engagement? Are they still in contact?”

“No, they’re not. It’s just that Young Master Yongning gave her some things before. It didn’t matter. He just felt that our Fourth Lady was pitiful.” Qu Mansion’s old maid shook her hands and said hurriedly.

“He actually gave her some things? This is ridiculous. Her engagement was annulled, yet she actually dared to still be in contact with her ex-fiance. What a disgrace.” Duan Jinxiang was so irritated that her nose was out of joint. She suddenly stood up and went up to the old maid, shouting, “Tell me, what did he give her?”

She had already been jealous of Yu Qingmeng. Now, there was actually Qu Moying. Thinking that Qu Moying might still be pestering Young Master Yongning even now, and that could be the reason why he did not want to see her, Duan Jinxiang was so angry that her lungs were about to explode. She only felt that she was unable to stomach this insult.

Did the Vice Minister Qu’s Mansion’s Fourth Lady have such low self-respect that she was even willing to be a concubine so as to stay by Young Master Yongning’s side?

Duan Jinxiang would never agree to it!

“No… nothing. It’s just that our Fourth Lady fell before, and Young Master Yongning heard that the wheelchair Fourth Lady was using could not move smoothly, so he specially went to Qingyun Temple to find some grease to make it more convenient to move the wheelchair. There is really nothing else.” Qu Mansion’s old maid panicked and spilled everything.

“What a bitch!” Duan Jinxiang was so angry that her face turned green. She pulled the flowers from the vase next to her, crushed the petals, and threw them on the ground.

She wished that she could go to Qu Mansion to disfigure Qu Moying right now and tear off her eye veil so that her ugly eyes would be exposed in broad daylight. Duan Jinxiang would like to see if Qu Moying would still seduce Young Master Yongning by then.

“Second Lady, calm down first.” An old maid stood out from behind Duan Jinxiang and softly comforted Duan Jinxiang. She was sent by Duan Jinxiang’s birth mother to serve Duan Jinxiang, and she was a relatively steady person.

Duan Jinxiang listened to her advice and coldly glared at the old maid. She then returned to her chair and sat down.

“Your Second Madam invited my lady to see Concubine Yu?” After the old maid comforted Duan Jinxiang, she asked Qu Mansion’s old maid with a fake smile.

When mentioning Yu Qingmeng, she directly used the word “concubine” to address her.

“Our Second Madam thinks that the two families will have to have contact in the future, so she would like Miss Yu and Second Lady Duan to meet first, saying that we can’t let a trifling matter affect our harmonious relations. We should be kind to each other in the future. Young Master Yongning may come over too.” Qu Mansion’s old maid hurriedly replied with a smile.

Her words were very polite, but they angered Duan Jinxiang even more.

Her family had invited Young Master Yongning over several times, but he kept saying that he was busy. However, he might appear now just because of the matter of a concubine.

“Alright. We will go to see Second Madam Qu tomorrow.” The old maid agreed on behalf of Duan Jinxiang.

“There is another thing I have to trouble you with, Second Lady Duan.” Qu Mansion’s old maid said again.

“What is it?” Duan Jinxiang asked coldly.

“Our Second Madam has been recuperating recently. When you come over, please say that you are visiting because you heard she was ill.” Qu Mansion’s old maid exhorted carefully.

“She is sick yet she is so worried about a mere concubine. How kind,” Duan Jinxiang sneered.

Right now, the one being talked about the most in the capital was this Second Madam Qu. They all said that she was not a good person and that she was vicious. She was cruel to her husband’s ex-wife’s daughter, but unexpectedly, she would be so concerned about a concubine.

The ironic meaning of Duan Jinxiang’s words was too obvious. Qu Mansion’s old maid did not dare to answer, so she could only laugh dryly.

“Please report to your Second Madam that our Second Lady will come to visit tomorrow.” Duan Mansion’s old maid said.

Seeing that the matter had been settled, Qu Mansion’s old maid said goodbye to Duan Jinxiang. Duan Jinxiang waved her hand impatiently, indicating for the old maid to leave.

After Qu Mansion’s people left, Duan Jinxiang said to her old maid unhappily, “Why should I go and visit her? She is not anyone to me. Why don’t you think about what the people outside say about her? On what ground can she ask me to visit her?”

Duan Jinxiang had heard about Second Madam Qu.

“Second Lady, don’t you want to see Young Master Yongning?” Her old maid asked with a smile.

“He might not come. She is just a relative of his concubine, not a close relative of his!” Duan Jinxiang was not convinced. As long as she thought that Yu was Yu Qingmeng’s aunt, she was not willing to go visit Yu.

“Second Lady, Second Madam Qu is not only a relative of his concubine but also Fourth Lady Qu’s nominal mother. Young Master Yongning was engaged to Fourth Lady Qu before, and then it was proven that Second Madam Qu had the intention to frame Fourth Lady Qu. If the engagement annulment is because of Second Madam Qu, then it has nothing to do with you.”

The old maid reminded.