Harem Daily Life

Chapter 993 Negotiation

The Zhou family lived in the south of the city, a concentrated residential area for merchants, where every family had a large mansion, each more luxurious than the last.

Three streets east of the Zhou family's house lies the Hua family's residence, a walk of less than the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, though a carriage would be even faster. The two families had some business dealings and gradually became acquainted, which is why the Zhou family arranged a marriage between them. They were attracted to the Hua family because they had only two daughters, and the eldest daughter was skilled in business.

Ever since the marriage changed and she went from being the eldest daughter of the Hua family to the second daughter, Old Madam Zhou had never been happy. Later, when she learned that the eldest daughter of the Hua family was engaged to Prince Jin, she slowly became happy and thought about preparing a dowry for Hua Yurong so that the Zhou family could also get on Prince Jin's good side.

However, the good times didn't last long. The day before yesterday, Zhou Chen was escorted back by Prince Jin's guards and ordered to be properly disciplined. The Zhou family was trembling with fear, afraid that there might be more to the story.

After waiting for three days, Zhou Chen heard that Hua Ruyan had been punished by people sent from the palace and had been given ten strokes of the cane. His face turned pale, and he hid in his room, not daring to come out to see anyone.

Standing at the door with a bowl of food, Zhou's mother pleaded earnestly, "Chen'er, you must eat something! Your body won't be able to take it if you don't eat!"

Madam Zhou also said, "It's no use being afraid now. In the end, you're a victim too. Who told the Prince of Han's mansion to poison you? Hurry up and come out, eat your meal, and go to the Hua family to check on them. You can't be so impolite at a time like this!"

His fiancée was injured; how could he not come to inquire about her well-being? Old Madam Zhou urged him several times, but there was no response from inside the house.

A servant came running up in a panic, shouting from afar, "Madam, Madam, Master wants you to go to the front yard immediately! People from the Marquis of Jing's residence have arrived!"

Old Madam Zhou and Madam Zhou exchanged a glance, both seeing panic in each other's eyes.

Madam Zhou helped Old Madam Zhou to the front yard, where they saw Old Master Zhou waiting to the side like a grandson, while Marquis Jing and his wife sat upright, as if they were the masters of the Zhou family.

Madam Zhou's eyes darkened slightly. After they were seated, she asked, "May I ask what brings you here, Lord Marquis and Madam?"

Lady Jinghou's face was cold: "Of course, we want an explanation. Your grandson ruined the reputation of my young lady. There should be a solution."

Old Madam Zhou narrowed her eyes: "Speaking of which, my grandson was drugged by your steward and is delirious. The government just sent two thousand taels of silver in compensation yesterday. Why are you here today demanding an explanation? Shouldn't we be the ones demanding an explanation?"

Lady Jinghou sneered, "The steward is responsible for his own actions. He's the one who administered the medicine. If you want an explanation, go find him. We've come here to demand an explanation from him. If you've ruined someone's reputation, you should at least show some responsibility and offer a generous reward!"

Madam Zhou exchanged glances with the rest of the Zhou family, and each of them began to make their own calculations.

Zhou Chen's father had some concerns: "My son is already engaged. Even if... even if we have to take responsibility, the second young lady of the Marquis's mansion can only be a concubine. If the Marquis's mansion agrees, our Zhou family will naturally take care of the second young lady for the rest of her life."

Zhou Chen's father wasn't stupid either. He heard that Jing Yuwei had been crippled, so who would want to marry her as the mistress of the house? Even if she had the Marquis's mansion backing her up, it wouldn't work. Hua Ruyan had a brother-in-law who was a prince backing her up.

Marquis Jing originally didn't want to talk to a group of merchants, but when the Zhou family said they wanted his daughter to be a concubine, how could he remain silent?

A sharp gaze swept over Zhou Chen's father, and he said, "How dare you! It is already an honor for your Zhou family that the daughter of the Marquis's mansion has married into your family. How dare you say in front of me that you want her to be a concubine? Hmph, don't think that just because the Prince's mansion has become the Marquis's mansion, you can treat her however you want. My daughter of the Marquis's mansion should naturally be the mistress of your Zhou family. If she does not comply... then I will make him a eunuch just as Zhou Chen has ruined my daughter of the Marquis's mansion, and he will never be able to get married again."

Marquis Jing was already in a bad mood, and these past few days he had been frequently reprimanded by His Majesty. His anger was hard to dispel, and his words were extremely ruthless, frightening the Zhou family so much that they dared not utter a word in rebuttal.

Seeing that her son and daughter-in-law were neither willing to step forward, Old Madam Zhou had no choice but to say, "But we have a marriage agreement with the Hua family. If we break off the engagement, wouldn't that be breaking our promise? We can't let the Hua family's marriage be ruined!"

Lady Jinghou smiled and said, "Having ruined it once, I don't care about ruining it a second time. You have three days to cancel the engagement with the Hua family, otherwise, my lord will really have to take action."

After Lord Jing and his group left, the Zhou family members all looked worried and distressed.

"Mother, what should we do now?" Zhou Chen's father was sweating profusely with anxiety. He only had one son, and he couldn't afford to ruin his future!

Zhou Chen's mother cried, "I only have one son. If anything happens to him, I won't live anymore!"

Looking at her incompetent son and her daughter-in-law who was threatening suicide, Madam Zhou finally made a decision: "How about we go to the Hua family to negotiate? We can say that the Marquis's mansion is forcing us, and ask the Hua family to be lenient and let me marry into their household as a concubine?"

Zhou Chen's mother said anxiously, "But what if the Hua family doesn't agree? Who would want to be a concubine out of the blue?"

She guessed correctly. When the Zhou family came to the Hua family with gifts, trying to persuade them to be patient and let Hua Ruyan become a concubine, Hua's father and mother were shocked and completely disagreed with the idea.

"Brother Zhou, our two families have been friends for many years. How could you say such derogatory things about my Hua family?" Father Hua was so angry that his breathing was heavy. "Even if this engagement is called off, I will never agree to let my daughter be a concubine!"

Seeing that the two were about to argue, Zhou's mother quickly mediated, saying, "It's not that we want to do this, it's just that the Marquis of Jing's family is forcing us too much, insisting that my Zhou Chen marry Miss Jing as his principal wife! Besides, if Miss Hua breaks off the engagement again, what will outsiders think? We can't have both of the Hua family's daughters leaving behind a reputation for breaking off engagements, can we?"

Hua's mother was displeased upon hearing this; the Zhou family was simply going too far!

"Why should my eldest daughter break off the engagement? Isn't it because your Zhou Chen is weak-willed and secretly plots against us? We accept that our second daughter is young and easily bewitched and insists on marrying your son, but you can't treat people like this. You want my Hua family's daughter to be your Zhou family's concubine? I heard that the woman from the Marquis of Jing's mansion is already crippled, and you still want to marry her into the family as the mistress of the house. My Hua family's daughter will not serve such a vicious mistress. This marriage is better off not happening!"

Unable to persuade the Hua family, the Zhou couple turned to Old Madam Zhou, who swallowed her pride and said, "Nephew, in my heart, I definitely prefer the Hua family's daughter to be the matriarch of our Zhou family. It's just that this unexpected woman has suddenly appeared and is clinging to our Zhou family. I can assure you that Ruyan is nominally a concubine, but in reality, she is the matriarch. That Miss Jing is already crippled; how could she possibly manage the household affairs of the Zhou family? In the end, Ruyan will still be in charge of the household in the future."

A hint of wavering appeared on Hua's father's face, but Hua's mother frowned and said, "I heard that Jing Yuwei is going back to Yanzhou with the Marquis and his wife. If Zhou Chen wants to be their son-in-law, won't he go with them? Hmph, don't try to trick us again. I'll say it right here: if you want my daughter to be your concubine, don't even think about it!"