0p0 Chapter 670 mentions marriage!
Chapter 670 mentions marriage!
Although Madam Fu was honest, she was not stupid.
After his master's reminder, he immediately understood.
Even though they are her family, she can't just get too close to them without any regard for propriety. Now, isn't this just causing trouble for herself?
If Zhang Ruilan is her own niece, how could she not have feelings for her?
However, compared to his master and son, he was naturally not quite up to par.
Madam Fu knew she had made a mistake and displeased the Princess. Therefore, she needed to find a way to express her stance to the Princess. Giving a gift was obviously too vulgar, and having dealt with the Princess several times, she knew the Princess didn't seem to value such material possessions much.
Besides, the Fu family sends one or two hundred thousand taels of silver to the Prince's Mansion every year. Isn't all of this considered filial piety?
Two days later, Madam Fu visited again.
This time, Madam Fu didn't say anything else, but simply sent over some fresh fruits.
"Your Highness, these are all grown on the estate outside. They were just picked this morning. They look quite fresh, so I brought them over to Your Highness immediately. Also, these fish are all raised in the fishpond next to the estate. Please have a taste."
To be honest, Mrs. Fu was really clever this time.
What treasures doesn't the Prince Chang Le's Mansion have? What delicacies doesn't it have?
But these novelties gave Mu Xin Nuan a refreshing feeling at first glance.
"Thank you, Madam Fu. This fish does look quite good. Don't laugh at me, Madam Fu, but I really do enjoy eating fish."
Upon hearing this, Madam Fu felt relieved. After considering for a moment, she said, "Your Highness, when my sister-in-law came over that day, she really didn't know how to speak or handle things. Instead, she made you angry. You don't know, when I left the mansion that day, I felt quite ashamed."
“Madam Fu, what are you saying? We’re all family here. To be honest, although this girls’ school was started by me, the princess, the higher-ups are watching it closely.”
Madam Fu leaned slightly towards Mu Xin Nuan; a woman's natural inclination to listen to gossip is unchanging.
"Now everyone probably knows that there are more than a dozen female officials in this girls' school, all of whom were sent by the Empress. Originally, I was worried that the Empress would not agree. But later, when I learned that the courses offered in our girls' school were all about teaching women etiquette and manners, I was naturally happy."
"Think about it, the Empress Dowager is the mother of the nation, a role model for all women in the country. She should be in charge of educating all the women in the world. Now that we have this girls' school, it will naturally be able to teach us women to be more dignified."
Madam Fu nodded. "What the Princess says is true, that is indeed the case."
"Don't laugh at me, Madam Fu, but in the letter I wrote to the Empress Dowager, I really didn't dare to hope that she would send female officials over. Now that they have come, do you think it's just for teaching purposes?"
Madam Fu was taken aback, her eyes darting around. "Could it be that Her Majesty the Empress is worried?"
Mu Xin Nuan nodded slightly to her, "Yes, isn't that right? Firstly, Mother was worried that our girls' school would corrupt some good girls. Secondly, she felt that sending some people over to teach them was definitely the right thing to do."
"What the princess says is true."
Mu Xin Nuan glanced at her, waved her hand, and only Aunt Fang and Rong Yue remained in the room.
“Madam Fu, to be honest, news of Miss Zhang’s character has already reached the ears of the ladies at the girls’ school. If I were to intervene and grant her admission through special permission, wouldn’t that be deliberately violating the rules of the girls’ school?”
Mrs. Fu's heart skipped a beat. She hadn't expected that these ladies would also know about this.
“Madam Fu, you’re no stranger here, so let me tell you the truth. This Miss Zhang’s reputation in Yanzhou City is really not good these days. If you don’t believe me, you can send someone to inquire. The other day, when Miss Chu left your residence, she was actually blocked by her on the way. But Miss Chu is kind-hearted and didn’t hold it against her, so she took another route.”
Hearing this, Mrs. Fu felt incredibly ashamed.
She's my niece, after all, from my own family. How could she do something so disgraceful for a young lady like her? It's really too much.
"Thank you for the reminder, Your Highness. I will certainly ensure that my sister-in-law gives me proper guidance on my journey."
"To be honest, this Miss Zhang isn't necessarily a bad person; she's just been spoiled by her family. No matter how much you pamper a child, they still need to learn everything they should. They also shouldn't have any inappropriate thoughts. Mrs. Fu, don't you agree?"
"Yes, Your Highness is right. To be honest, Your Highness, I feel a little ashamed to sit here."
“Madam Fu, there’s no need for that. Miss Zhang is Miss Zhang, and you, Madam Fu, are Madam Fu. How can you confuse the two?”
Upon hearing this, and seeing Mu Xin Nuan's slightly smiling face, Madam Fu felt a little calmer.
The princess's words clearly told her that she was herself, and Madam Zhang was Madam Zhang, and they could not be treated the same. In other words, the princess was not angry with her at all.
"Thank you for your generosity, Your Highness."
Mu Xin Nuan saw that the conversation had been open and frightened her before, so it was time to get down to business.
"I've heard that the eldest son of the Fu family is still unmarried?"
"Yes, Your Highness."
Mu Xin smiled and said, "Madam Fu, please have some tea." As she spoke, she picked up her own teacup and, using the teacup as a shield, carefully observed Madam Fu's expression.
"I do intend to arrange a marriage for your son, but I wonder if he would be willing?"
Upon hearing this, Madam Fu immediately put down her teacup and said with gratitude, "It is our Fu family's good fortune to be valued by the Princess. Besides, the girl the Princess has chosen must be excellent."
Mu Xin Nuan raised an eyebrow slightly. "To be honest, this young lady's background isn't particularly good, but she has a good adoptive father. Furthermore, she herself is an extremely resilient person. The reason I like her is because I see that she can persevere in adversity, which is why she is where she is today."
Madam Fu was completely confused by these words. After hesitating for a moment, she asked somewhat embarrassedly, "May I ask which family's daughter Your Highness is referring to?"
Mu Xin Nuan immediately concealed her earlier admiration for Chu Chu, "I was just mentioning this briefly. She's a young lady, so I should at least ask her godmother first, right? What if she's not happy about it? Wouldn't that ruin her reputation?"