Do you know that my grandfather was entitled to be enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple?

Chapter 53 The Understanding and Reasonable Madam Wang

Thinking of this, Sheng Hong felt a surge of jealousy.

Wang You then became the object of everyone's praise.

This made Wang You a little embarrassed, so he changed the subject, saying, "Did Mother send me a letter?"

Wang You asked this question because Feng Shi and Sheng Hong showed no surprise or astonishment at seeing him.

It was as if they knew all along that I would come.

Sure enough, upon hearing this, Madam Feng asked in confusion, "You came to Yangzhou because you received a letter, didn't you?"

Wang You said, "There must have been a delay on the way. I did not receive the letter when I left Bianjing."

"Then how did you know to come to Yangzhou?" Madam Feng asked in surprise.

Madam Wang laughed and said, "It must be that You-ge'er misses his aunt and came to visit me on his own."

"My nephew is indeed preparing to visit his aunt, and he even bought some gifts for her in Bianjing."

"Look how good my nephew is! He even bought me a gift when he went to Bianjing."

Upon hearing this, Madam Wang was overjoyed and boasted about Wang You's filial piety.

Wang You didn't explain, but said, "I just set off from Bianjing when I encountered a ship decorated with red ribbons and carrying betrothal gifts. After inquiring, I learned that it was the Zhongqin Earl's Mansion from Bianjing coming to Yangzhou to deliver betrothal gifts, and the recipient was the Vice Prefect of Yangzhou."

I originally planned to go home first and then visit my aunt. But as soon as I heard it was my aunt's house, fearing I wouldn't have enough time to get home, I came straight to Yangzhou.

"What a coincidence! You-ge'er actually ran into your in-laws on the way, otherwise you might have missed your cousin's big day," Madam Wang said with a smile.

Her nephew passed the imperial examination for child prodigies and was granted the title of Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), and was even appointed as a compiler in the Hanlin Academy.

When the in-laws arrive, introduce the nephew; that would be a great source of pride.

If Wang You hadn't encountered the hiring ship and had returned to Shouzhou, even if he had heard the news, he wouldn't have been able to get there in time.

Even if they found out later, they had already missed the opportunity to show off.

In Madam Wang's view, all of this was the will of Heaven.

However, her joy was short-lived, for she soon saw Wang You exclaim in astonishment, "The betrothal gifts were from the eldest son and wife of the Earl of Zhongqin's household, not from the Earl of Zhongqin himself."

The smiles on everyone's faces froze as soon as Wang You said this.

Madam Wang looked at Sheng Hong and questioned, "Didn't you say that the Earl of Zhongqin said that he and his wife would personally come to Yangzhou to propose marriage?"

According to etiquette, when the groom presents the betrothal gifts, it is not necessary for the parents to be present; it is also appropriate to send an elder from the clan.

However, the fact that the groom's parents went in person shows that they value the bride.

When Sheng Hong returned to Yangzhou and mentioned the marriage to Madam Wang, he also mentioned that Earl Zhongqin had promised that the couple would personally come to Yangzhou to present the betrothal gifts.

Now, not only did the Earl of Zhongqin and his wife not come, but they actually sent two juniors instead.

Wouldn't I be laughed at to death?

Upon learning this news, Sheng Hong felt a surge of anger.

He ignored Madam Wang's questioning and instead looked at Wang You and said, "Brother You, are you mistaken? Perhaps it was the Earl of Zhongqin and his wife who came with their eldest son, but they are old and it was Yuan's eldest son who took care of things on the way."

As he spoke, Sheng Hong gave Wang You a wink.

Wang You understood perfectly well, but pretended not to notice and shook his head, saying, "Impossible. The Yuan family has two large ships, decorated with red ribbons and colorful streamers, attracting a lot of attention. Many people went to inquire about them. Only the eldest son of the Yuan family and his wife, along with some servants, were there; there was no one else."

Sheng Hong had just given him a look, clearly wanting him to lie and appease Madam Wang.

Given Madam Wang's temperament, even if the Yuan family were a noble family, she would not tolerate such humiliation of her daughter.

In fact, in the original drama, Madam Wang only found out that the Yuan family had sent Yuan Wenchun and his wife on the day of the betrothal, which was problematic in itself.

It's impossible for the Yuan family to have such perfect timing, arriving in Yangzhou exactly on the day of the betrothal.

What if something unexpected happens on the way, causing delays and causing us to miss the appointed date?

Therefore, the Yuan family must have arrived in Yangzhou in advance, and the Sheng family also needed to send someone to contact the Yuan family.

Since the Yuan family had come from afar to propose marriage, it was impossible for them to bring enough people to carry the betrothal gifts.

All of these require the Sheng family to make contact and arrange manpower.

Sheng Hong most likely already knew about this news beforehand and deliberately kept it from Madam Wang.

He knew Wang Da Niangzi's temperament very well, so he chose to tell her on the day of the betrothal.

By then, all the guests had arrived, and for the sake of her daughter, Madam Wang would restrain her temper no matter how angry she was.

Indeed, when Madam Wang found out, she angrily declared that she would not marry him.

Only after Sheng Hong's persuasion and reassurance did he manage to endure it.

Sheng Hong's actions weren't entirely wrong; if things really turned sour and the marriage fell through, the impact on the woman would be even greater.

The sayings "to err is human, to forgive divine" and "a prodigal son's return is more precious than gold" are all directed at men.

This world is not fair to women. No matter how spoiled a man is, as long as he repents later, he can be accepted.

Gu Tingye is a good example. As a notorious playboy in Bianjing, he reformed himself and studied for several years.

When he proposed to marry the granddaughter of Grand Tutor Yu, Madam Yu disagreed, but after talking with him, Grand Tutor Yu was inclined to agree to the marriage.

And what about the woman?

After the divorce, Shulan could only marry a peasant family.

This demonstrates the inequality in the status of men and women.

This situation remained a common phenomenon even in later generations.

Even if the marriage between the Yuan and Sheng families falls through, and it is the Yuan family's fault, Yuan Wenshao will still be able to find a wife once the news gets out.

Even if Hualan were to marry into a family of equal social standing, it would be very difficult.

Sheng Hong's choice to remain silent was also due to this consideration.

But does the Yuan family have absolutely no scruples?

Yuan Wenshao was already twenty years old, which was considered quite old in ancient times.

If he gets caught up in this kind of turmoil again, even if he manages to marry a wife, his social standing won't be much better.

This was clearly unacceptable to the Yuan family.

The reason the Yuan family dared to pull these tricks in the marriage was because they were confident that the Sheng family valued their reputation.

If Sheng Hong had been even slightly more assertive, the Yuan family wouldn't have dared to act so recklessly.

Wang You's refusal to cooperate with Sheng Hong is a way of forcing him.

"I'm not getting married! I'm not getting married!"

Madam Wang angrily retorted, "This is utterly disrespectful! I'd rather raise Hua'er for the rest of my life than let her suffer such humiliation!"

"What nonsense are you talking about? We haven't even figured things out yet. Perhaps the Earl of Zhongqin and his wife are tied up with something?" Sheng Hong quickly advised.

"Can't get away?"

Madam Wang sneered, "What could be more important than my son getting married? Besides, if something were to happen, shouldn't you at least send someone to let me know? I'm not an unreasonable person."

Wang You: "..."

"Bianjing is a long way from Yangzhou. If something happens suddenly, how will we be able to get there in time?"

Sheng Hong said, "Don't be in a hurry. Once the person arrives, ask him for the reason. If it's reasonable, then let it go. Otherwise, I won't let it go."

Although the two families were relatives, Feng was reluctant to speak up too much about such matters.

Sheng Wei then suggested, "Brother Hong, why don't you go ask Second Aunt?"