As soon as Huang Jingshan spoke, she disrespected Mrs. Qin.
Not even considering the different stances of the men in both families, Huang Jingshan and Mrs. Qin were simply not on the same wavelength.
Mrs. Qin didn’t know what she was thinking, knowing full well that the two of them were not on the same level, yet she dared to question Huang Jingshan.
She was certain that Huang Jingshan, being younger and having a more delicate reputation coupled with her aloof demeanor, would dismiss the topic or change it, allowing Mrs. Qin to take the opportunity to "confirm" the rumors of an affair between Tong Huaqiong and the Mighty General.
Mrs. Qin’s face was very unpleasant.
When Huang Jingshan spoke, her words were as icy as her expression, making people’s teeth ache.
"What does Mrs. Qin want to find out? I’ve only heard of the Mighty General fighting battles everywhere and making significant contributions to Dasheng. I don’t know what nonsense about childhood sweethearts you’re talking about. To slander Aunt Tong and the Mighty General just because they both come from Ning City is utterly ridiculous," Huang Jingshan’s tone became increasingly icy in her retort.
Mrs. Qin, embarrassed by the rebuke, said, "It was just a joke, why take it seriously, Mrs. Lu?"
Huang Jingshan replied, "Mrs. Qin knows better than anyone whether it was a joke or not. What kind of joke involves insinuations about illicit relationships? If Mrs. Qin is really curious about who the Mighty General’s first love was, perhaps you should ask the Mighty General himself rather than spread rumors in private."
"The principle that ’trouble comes from the mouth’, Mrs. Qin, you surely understand better than I do. If false rumors about Aunt Tong start spreading from today, you should be prepared for the consequences. The last person to offend Aunt Tong, Princess Ming Yue, is still at Longhua Temple. Do you think you are more honorable than Princess Ming Yue?"
Mrs. Qin found herself speechless at the rebuke, immediately regretting having gossiped about Tong Huaqiong and the Mighty General. Like Mrs. Min, there is no advantage in offending Tong Huaqiong. But being reprimanded openly by Huang Jingshan made her feel humiliated, so angry she wished to get up and leave, yet as the Crown Prince had not left, she did not dare to leave first.
Huang Jingshan left Mrs. Qin at a loss, feeling indescribably satisfied inside.
She didn’t think having a past romantic connection with the Mighty General made Aunt Tong any less dignified, she simply disliked Mrs. Qin’s sneaky ways of stirring things up between the two.
The confrontation between Huang Jingshan and Mrs. Qin naturally reached the ears of others.
No one dared to delve into whether there was a childhood romance between Tong Huaqiong and the Mighty General after all.
At this moment, Mrs. Zhao awkwardly chuckled, speaking to the elderly Mrs. Huang sitting beside her, "At first, when my mother-in-law asked me to come to Shengjing to see my daughter, I wondered what kind of place Shengjing was, full of aristocrats, right? As a rustic woman, who behaves improperly and speaks rudely, always loving to gather and gossip, wouldn’t I be laughed at there? But only after coming here did I realize, the people in Shengjing aren’t much different from us in the village."
"Just as fond of gossip, just as fond of gathering to chat and laugh."
Old Mrs. Huang laughed and agreed, "All people eat the same grains, who is more noble than anyone else? People in Shengjing gossip just as much as we do, only when they speak it’s about which family’s young master and which family’s young lady were engaged, or whose son wrote a brilliant essay."
The words made many people laugh.
The third wife of Duke Ning and Mrs. Qin felt uncomfortable with the veiled remarks from the two elderly ladies.
Who said rustic old ladies are the genuine kind, able to scold without uttering a dirty word, yet able to make someone speechless.
Isn’t this clearly saying that they’re gossips?
But they couldn’t vent their anger on the two elderly women, since they didn’t call out names after all.
Thus, the topic of Tong Huaqiong and the Mighty General was brushed over.
Just like Mrs. Zhao and Old Mrs. Huang said, people in Shengjing also enjoy discussing trivial matters when they gather.
Soon, everyone found themselves embroiled in discussions about the engagement between Gu Taohua and Su Chengmin.
"I think the daughter of Sui Feng Village Lady is a good one, beautiful and capable, no worse than our Shengjing girls."
"Logically, when the eldest son of the Su Family gets engaged, Lord Su and his wife should be arranging things and attending, why is it instead his grandmother and uncle arranging everything, anyone not in the know might think Su Chengmin is a child of the Min Family."
"Last time Lord Su petitioned the Emperor to bestow a marriage on Su Chengmin, and Su Chengmin publicly refused, making his father unable to step down, and leading him to not even attend the engagement ceremony."
"It’s not that he didn’t attend, it’s that the Min Family didn’t even notify him."
...
Everyone noticed that Su Shihang and Mrs. Lu were absent from the entire engagement, whispering about it.
"What does it matter if the Su Family didn’t come, with the Mighty General as his backer, Su Chengmin is much stronger than his partial father. Besides, who has the Emperor’s favor more, Su Chengmin now stands more favored by the Emperor than his father, already young and appointed as the Commander of the Imperial Guard, such capability naturally allows him not to care about his father’s opinions. Lord Su, arranging a royal marriage, harbors scheming intentions. If truly for his son’s interest, he would have begged for the Emperor’s grant of a noble union instead of one with a girl from the countryside, the Lu family girl, only because he is worried that Su Chengmin will become more powerful in the future and hard to control, he tries to hold Su Chengmin tightly now." The one speaking was Mrs. Yao, the wife of Lord Yao.
These words were overheard by Tong Huaqiong.
Tong Huaqiong couldn’t help but take a couple more glances at Mrs. Yao.
As Lian Hengruo’s mother-in-law, Mrs. Yao isn’t considered a good one, but at least her words were reasonable.
Su Chengmin being raised by the Min Family is known to all of Shengjing, but the Su Family not attending Su Chengmin’s engagement was unexpected.
Su Chengmin doing so clearly intends to sever ties with the Su Family.
As there’s a cause, there’s a consequence; some feel the Su Family was unfair to Su Chengmin, which led to today’s situation.
Others feel that Su Shihang is still Su Chengmin’s father, and as a son, he shouldn’t treat his father like this.
No matter what everyone says, in the absence of the Su Family, the engagement between Gu Taohua and Su Chengmin was settled.
Su Shihang had no choice but to acknowledge it, as this engagement was formalized under the witness of the Crown Prince.
The Crown Prince represents the face of the Royal Family, even though Su Shihang is Su Chengmin’s father, he couldn’t oppose it.
Su Chengmin and Gu Taohua exchanged engagement letters, and the marriage was set for the coming spring.
In the evening, the Emperor sent someone from the palace to escort the Crown Prince back.
The Crown Prince reluctantly took his leave from Tong Huaqiong and the others.
Everyone respectfully saw the Crown Prince off back to the palace.
After the Crown Prince departed, the guests also gradually dispersed.
Once all the guests had left, Princess Consort Yu sent over a gift.
Tong Huaqiong opened the box, seeing inside a piece of jade as clear and deep as a pool of emerald water.
It was obviously invaluable.
Tong Huaqiong was puzzled; even though Prince Yu Mansion was already at odds with her, why would they still send a betrothal gift, and why choose to send it only after the engagement banquet was over?
The minds of these upper-class people from Shengjing were beyond Tong Huaqiong’s comprehension, so she decided not to bother trying.
Princess Consort Yu sent the engagement gift to Gu Taohua entirely out of regard for the Crown Prince.
Last time outside the palace, Princess Consort Yu learned from Tong Huaqiong that Princess Ming Yue had harassed Gu Jingzhe and was seething with anger.
She thought that Princess Ming Yue was just momentarily infatuated, not expecting her to request Prince Yu and Princess Consort Yu to make Gu Jingzhe the Prince Consort.
Even knowing that Gu Jingzhe was already married, she didn’t mind.
Prince Yu almost fainted from rage when he heard it, while Princess Consort Yu made excuses that it was all due to Gu Jingzhe’s deliberate seduction and their daughter’s innocence that led to the situation.
Princess Ming Yue denied Princess Consort Yu’s claims outright, stating that Gu Jingzhe, coming from the countryside, couldn’t see the benefits of being the Prince Consort with Prince Yu Mansion backing him. She asked her father and mother to persuade Gu Jingzhe to divorce his wife and marry her instead.
Princess Consort Yu wished she could open up Princess Ming Yue’s head and see how much nonsense was inside.
Due to this, Prince Yu and Princess Consort Yu sent Princess Ming Yue to Longhua Temple that very night.
Princess Consort Yu sent a betrothal gift to Gu Taohua, indirectly warning Tong Huaqiong that Princess Ming Yue might soon be released from Longhua Temple. It was a subtle hint for Tong Huaqiong to keep her son in check.