Eldest Young Madam Lu said, “How the three madams choose to handle this isn’t for juniors like us to decide. All we can do now is investigate the candidates.”
That was true enough.
Since the Old Madam had entrusted her with the task, Jiang Lingyuan naturally had no intention of declining.
She nodded immediately.
“Then please give me the list, Eldest Sister-in-law. I’ll have people start looking into them right away. We should be able to uncover some things that aren’t publicly known.”
Eldest Young Madam Lu smiled.
“No wonder Grandmother told me to discuss this with you.”
She handed the list to Jiang Lingyuan without asking how she intended to conduct the investigation.
The following morning, during the family’s daily greetings, Third Madam appeared unusually dispirited.
When asked what had happened, she finally revealed that there really had been something suspicious about the second legitimate daughter of the Vice Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies.
The young woman had actually been born to her father’s mistress and had been raised in the entertainment quarter. Only in the past two years had her father brought her home, and only because his legitimate second daughter had died of illness.
Unwilling to lose the political advantage of marrying off another legitimate daughter, the vice minister had simply passed off his mistress’s daughter as one.
After learning the truth, Third Madam had been both furious and alarmed. At the same time, she felt immensely relieved that she had first sought Old Madam’s advice and suppressed her original intentions.
Otherwise, if such a daughter-in-law had entered the family, she would almost certainly have thrown the household into chaos.
Everyone present gasped in surprise.
Old Madam, however, remained calm.
“This is exactly why one must thoroughly investigate a prospective marriage. Otherwise, it’s all too easy to suffer a loss.”
Third Madam nodded repeatedly, “After this experience, I certainly won’t dare make decisions on my own again. I’ll leave everything to Mother.”
Though she herself had entered the family as the wife of a concubine-born son, the Old Madam had never treated her harshly.
For that, she was deeply grateful.
Old Madam continued,”There’s no rush with the Fifth Young Master’s marriage. Keep looking, and when you’ve found another suitable candidate, let me know.”
Third Madam hurriedly agreed.
“Yes, Mother.”
Jiang Lingyuan merely smiled quietly, accepting none of the credit.
The reason Third Madam had learned the young woman’s background so quickly was because Jiang Lingyuan had discreetly arranged for the information to reach her.
After all, Third Madam was her Third Aunt-in-law.
She didn’t want an unsuitable woman marrying into the family.
It wasn’t because she believed daughters born to mistresses were inherently bad. Rather, this particular young woman’s temperament was… difficult, to put it mildly.
Changing the subject, Old Madam said,”Speaking of which, our family still has three young ladies whose marriages must be carefully arranged. As their mothers, you should all give the matter proper attention.”
Deliberately, she had not summoned the young ladies themselves that morning.
Eldest Madam was still distracted by the recent affair involving Nanny Jin. She hesitated before replying,”We’ll follow Mother’s arrangements in everything.”
Second Madam said directly,”I already have several candidates in mind. I simply wasn’t sure how to bring the matter up.”
Although she could sometimes be rather sharp-tongued, Second Madam genuinely devoted herself to her children.
Old Madam replied,”Just tell me who they are.”
Hearing that Old Madam intended to take charge personally, Second Madam quietly relaxed. She had never dared act presumptuously before her mother-in-law. More than anyone, she knew just how formidable the old matriarch truly was.
Fourth Madam hesitated.
Recalling the information her daughter had uncovered the previous day, the temptation in her heart ultimately won out.
“Mother, Lian’er is still younger than Fourth Miss and Fifth Miss. There’s really no need to hurry with her marriage.”
Even without the possibility she was secretly hoping for, if the daughters of the first, second, and third branches were all searching for husbands at the same time, how could the very best matches possibly fall to her own daughter?
In the end, it all came down to one thing.
Her husband had died young. There was no father left to support her daughter.
Old Madam looked steadily at Fourth Madam.
Only after a long silence did she speak.
“She’s already thirteen. That’s no longer particularly young. If we arrange the engagement now, marrying in another three or four years would be just right.”
But Fourth Madam couldn’t let go of the wealth and prestige she had set her sights on.
“Mother… I’d rather wait a little longer.”
At that point, Old Madam understood everything.
She said nothing more.
Jiang Lingyuan and Eldest Young Madam Lu exchanged a glance before smiling helplessly.
The very situation they had worried about had come to pass.
The two sisters-in-law subtly shook their heads. Without saying a word, they understood each other even better than before.
Second Young Madam Lu noticed the silent exchange between them immediately.
She realized the two women clearly knew something she did not.
Pressing her lips together, she disliked being excluded.
On the way back, watching Eldest Young Madam Lu and Jiang Lingyuan naturally fall into step together only made her feel worse.
When she had first married into the family, she too had wanted to become close to Eldest Young Madam Lu.
But Eldest Young Madam Lu had never been an easy person to befriend. Yet Jiang Lingyuan had married into the family barely a month ago and had already formed such a close relationship with her.
How could Second Young Madam Lu possibly feel happy about that?
Neither Jiang Lingyuan nor Eldest Young Madam Lu was aware of these petty thoughts.
Walking together, Jiang Lingyuan said,”I’ve been thinking that once we’ve settled on suitable candidates, perhaps Fourth Sister and Fifth Sister should meet them in person.”
“We could simply host a gathering. It doesn’t even have to be at our manor. We could rent a beautiful garden and invite many of the capital’s young ladies and young gentlemen.”
“Families with no interest in currying favor with powerful households would naturally be willing to attend.”
“Besides, our own family has quite a few unmarried young men and women as well.”
Eldest Young Madam Lu laughed.
“So we were thinking exactly the same thing.”
“But first, let’s finish investigating the people on our list.”
“I do wonder what sort of families Second Aunt has chosen.”
Jiang Lingyuan shook her head.
“We’ll just wait until Grandmother gives you the list.”
After all, neither of them had any real authority to make decisions. They were simply the ones responsible for doing the work.
The more time Eldest Young Madam Lu spent with Jiang Lingyuan, the more compatible she found her.
Unable to resist any longer, she said,”A-Yuan, would you help me shoulder some of the household management?”
The Duke of Yu Manor was simply too large.
There were far too many affairs to oversee.
Every day, she spent at least half the day dealing with household administration, and she truly wished someone would share the burden.
Her request was entirely sincere.
The moment Jiang Lingyuan heard it, she quickly waved her off.
“Eldest Sister-in-law, please don’t even think about it.”
“I’m really not suited to that sort of work.”
“You’re far more capable than I am, so naturally you’ll have to shoulder a little more.”
She already had more than enough on her plate. She had absolutely no desire to take on even more responsibilities.
Eldest Young Madam Lu had never cared about skimming profits from managing the household accounts.
Jiang Lingyuan cared even less.
She wasn’t interested in the authority that came with running the household either.
Knowing Jiang Lingyuan genuinely had no desire to interfere, Eldest Young Madam Lu did not press the matter.
“I’m not asking you to take over immediately.”
“You can think it over.”
Jiang Lingyuan laughed. “There’s nothing to think about. I’m truly not cut out for it.”
After returning to Yilan Courtyard, Jiang Lingyuan asked Xunxia, “Have those investigations produced any results yet?”
She owned numerous businesses throughout the capital, restaurants, teahouses, and even informants stationed in entertainment houses.
On top of that, she also had Huaxiangrong. As a result, information constantly flowed her way. It wasn’t that anyone was secretly eavesdropping. Even publicly available information alone was already plentiful.
Xunxia replied,”We should have the results for you by the day after tomorrow.”
Jiang Lingyuan nodded.
“There’s no need to rush.”
“Just make sure every detail is thoroughly verified.”
“To be honest, I have a feeling this matter is far from over.”
After all, the Fourth Madam’s remarks that morning made it impossible to tell whether those ambitions belonged solely to Fourth Madam… or whether Sixth Miss Lu shared exactly the same aspirations.
Either way, their ambitions had clearly grown rather too large.