Chapter 671: Chapter 604, A Turn for the Better_1 Chapter 671: Chapter 604, A Turn for the Better_1 “You didn’t hear wrong, did Uncle and Auntie Second really agree to form a marriage alliance with the fourth branch of the Zhu Family?” Daohua looked at Wang Manman with astonishment.

Wang Manman nodded hurriedly, “It’s true, I heard it with my own ears, I reckon that even now the Second Madam and Second Master are still in the Old Madam’s courtyard discussing this matter.”

As she spoke, she smiled.

“It must be because of the compliments you paid Miss Zhu yesterday, which Uncle Second overheard, so he went to find the Second Master and Second Madam early this morning.”

Daohua’s expression was somewhat wistful, “I didn’t expect my brother to be so efficient with his actions, managing to get Auntie Second to agree to this marriage so quickly, his persuasion skills are indeed strong.”

Wang Manman said with a laugh, “Isn’t that the truth? The Second Madam was so adamantly opposed to this alliance before, but after Uncle Second spoke to her, she agreed just like that. It really is true that a mother can’t say no to her own son.”

When Daohua went to the Old Madam’s courtyard, she overheard the Old Madam Yan telling Madam Li, “In a few days, it will be Zhi Gao’s birthday. Send a card to the Zhu Family. Once the fourth wife of the Zhu family comes, we will take Miss Zhu’s birth details and discuss the wedding date with the Second Master and his wife.”

Madam Li said with a smile, “I will follow Mother’s instructions in everything.”

…

At Xingzhou, the home of Zhu, the Prefectural Instructor.

After Mrs. Zhu returned, she recounted her visit to the Yan Family to the Prefectural Instructor Zhu.

Prefectural Instructor Zhu, upon hearing that the Yan Family had not taken a liking to Zhu Qiyun, felt it a pity but said nothing.

Madam Zhu the fourth and Zhu Qiyun, however, were quite disappointed. The clan was pressing hard, and some of the Clan Elders wanted to use Zhu Qiyun to climb the social ladder by marrying her to a person of power. When the fourth Madam Zhu returned, out of anxiety for her daughter’s marriage, she had even developed several fever blisters around her mouth.

Zhu Qiyun appeared resigned and kept comforting her mother, “Mother, I no longer fancy the idea of growing old with a husband. Let’s just consider the family of the Magistrate of Pingzhou. Marrying into their family would, after all, benefit my brother’s career prospects.”

Madam Zhu the fourth’s face bore a trace of bitterness as she harbored intense resentment against the Clan Leader’s wife. If it weren’t for the Clan Leader’s wife’s matchmaking, how could her daughter be engaged to the Zhuang Family? Now that the Zhuang Family had brought shame upon themselves, the Clan Leader’s wife refused to step in to help them, coldly watching as her daughter was being pushed into the fire pit by the clan members.

Madam Zhu the fourth held Zhu Qiyun’s hand tightly, “Don’t be afraid, I will never let you marry a fool. I refuse to believe that, by offering all the family’s books as your dowry, we won’t be able to find a decent family for you to marry into.”

Zhu Qiyun hurriedly interjected, “Mother, I know you love me, but you also have to consider my brother. If you give away Father’s possessions as my dowry, what decent marriage gifts will remain for my brother when he seeks a wife?”

Madam Zhu the fourth said, “Your brother is a man; even if he takes an illiterate woman as a wife, as long as he works hard, there’s still a chance for him to turn things around.”

“But it’s different for you. Life itself is difficult for a woman. Without a good husband to protect you, what life would that be? A fool can’t even take care of himself, only bringing you endless trouble. I won’t let you fall into the fire pit.”

Zhu Qiyun’s eyes reddened instantly, and she couldn’t help but lean on Madam Zhu the fourth’s shoulder and sob.

She never expected her fate to be so cruel.

Seeing her daughter like this, Madam Zhu the fourth also silently shed tears.

Before Madam Zhu the fourth could look at prospective suitors for Zhu Qiyun again, the second Clan Elder from the Zhu Family arrived in Xingzhou.

“The wife of the Prefectural Governor of Pingzhou has sent word,” she said, “thinking highly of Qiyun, you should get ready, and tomorrow you will accompany me to Pingzhou to finalize the details of the marriage arrangement.”

Upon hearing this, Zhu Family’s fourth madam could no longer maintain proper etiquette and decorum, and immediately roared with a flushed face and ears, “Unless I die, I will never agree to marry Qiyun off there.”

As the second Clan Elder saw the fourth madam’s state, his expression became very ugly, “Fourth daughter-in-law, look at yourself, how do you appear now? The fourth son is dead, and Jun Hui isn’t capable of holding up the family yet. We have the right to decide on Qiyun’s marriage matters.”

The fourth madam’s body swayed, and she fell to her knees before the second Clan Elder with a ‘thud’, “Uncle, you have watched Qiyun grow up, how can you bear to watch her leap into a pit of fire? Please, give me a little more time, I will definitely find a good marriage for Qiyun very soon, without causing any trouble to other girls in the Zhu Family.”

The second Clan Elder huffed, “Have we given you little time? The fifth brother’s daughter is speaking of marriage, she can’t have an older cousin who has been engaged at home and then had the engagement broken off.”

The fourth madam was furious, “For the sake of my younger brother’s daughter, do we have to ruin my daughter’s life? Can’t she wait just a bit longer?”

The second Clan Elder glanced at Zhu Qiyun standing at the door, silently shedding tears, and then remained silent, “To blame, one could only blame Qiyun’s misfortune.”

The fourth madam became enraged, “Is it my daughter’s misfortune? Clearly, it is the Clan Leader’s wife; initially, I did not agree to engage her so quickly to the Zhuang Family. It was she who thumped her chest to assure me, claiming the Zhuang Family was a good family. Now that the Zhuang Family has committed disgraceful acts, she has recoiled. Why don’t you blame her?”

The second Clan Elder also became angry, “Fourth daughter-in-law, I think you are becoming more insane. You don’t even know what should be said and what shouldn’t. Do you still want to remain in the clan?”

The fourth madam could not care about anything else now, “What good is it to stay in such a family? You are just bullying us because we are orphans and a widow. If the old master knew from the underworld how you are treating his children, he probably wouldn’t want to acknowledge the ancestors of the Zhu Family anymore.”

“How dare you!”

The second Clan Elder was so angry that his beard bristled, and he pointed at the fourth madam with trembling fingers.

Seeing the fourth madam losing control of her emotions, Zhu Jiaoyu quickly intervened to smooth things over, “Uncle, the sister-in-law is just worried about Qiyun; don’t take it to heart.”

The second Clan Elder huffed and said with a wave of his sleeve, “Fourth daughter-in-law, don’t forget that besides Qiyun, you also have Jun Hui. Once you lose the clan’s protection, I want to see how far his sickly body can get.”

“You…”

The fourth madam wanted to argue, but was muffled by Zhu Qiyun, who had rushed over to her.

Zhu Qiyun, with tear-stained cheeks, shook her head at the fourth madam. Once the fourth madam calmed down, Qiyun turned to the second Clan Elder and said with a calm gaze, “I am willing to marry, but does grandfather have to press us this much because he thinks that our fourth branch will never rise again?”

The second Clan Elder furrowed his brows, they were all clan members, and he did not wish to push things too far. After all, Jun Hui was genuinely good at studying and given good health, he could have a chance to succeed.

With this in mind, he sighed, “Qiyun, your granduncle doesn’t wish to pressure you. When your mother insisted on bringing you back from the Zhuang Family, I said then that living at home might not be better than staying at the Zhuang Family. But you all wouldn’t listen. Now that it has come to this, in the end, it’s the situation you made for yourselves.”

Zhu Qiyun sneered, “I accept my fate, granduncle, there’s no need to obfuscate matters here. Everyone knows in their hearts who is right and who is wrong.”

The second Clan Elder was taken aback, huffed, and then looked to Zhu Jiaoyu and his wife, “I can’t get through to them; you two need to have a good talk with them.”

Having said that, he prepared to leave with a fling of his sleeve.

However, at that moment, a doorman came in quickly with a card from the Yan Family, smiling at Zhu Jiaoyu and said, “Master, Madam, the Yan Family’s Madam has sent an invitation for our family. She invites the Madam and the fourth madam along with the two young ladies to attend the birthday banquet of the Magistrate of Ningmen Prefecture on the twentieth day of May.”