Chapter 135: Selection of the Mistress
next year?
The tea in Liu Yu's cup sloshed, and he looked at Mr. Chen San who was sitting opposite him in surprise.
Does he have a candidate for the mistress in mind?
But I haven’t heard from the old lady recently that there are new families to visit!
She thought of a possibility, could it be Miss Shen?
The Chen family had experienced this ordeal, and even she could see clearly that the current situation of the Chen family urgently needed to be changed. It was in great need of a mistress with courage and ability.
It wouldn't be surprising if Mr. Chen Sanye changed his mind.
It turns out that everything can be found, but she just feels uncomfortable in her heart. What's going on?
Liu Yu didn't want to admit that the different treatment she had received in the past still had an impact on her.
Chen Xiyao swallowed, put the teapot back on the stove, and subconsciously turned to look at Liu Yu.
Feeling her gaze, Liu Yu smiled at her as if nothing had happened, and turned to Mr. Chen San: "Mr. Chen, it is a blessing for our Chen family that you can think it through. The Chen family's East Courtyard needs a mistress..." Miss Shen is also suitable to be a mistress, but she did not say this.
"Indeed." Mr. Chen nodded.
The smile on Liu Yu's face froze for a moment.
Qin Ke always felt that the atmosphere was weird ever since Mr. Chen San said they would get married next year.
But he was more curious about which girl could catch the eye of Mr. Chen San, so he asked:
"Uncle Shi, who is that? Do I know him? What are his abilities? Is he pretty?"
Uncle Chen San looked at Liu Yu with a burning gaze, and replied with a smile on his face: "She is the most outstanding person I have ever seen, except for my mother. She is really beautiful."
"Such a high evaluation? I must meet him some other day."
Chen Xiyao even felt strange for Bao'er, and her eyes fell on Master Chen San.
Liu Yu looked at him steadily, with mixed feelings in his heart, but the gentle smile on his face remained.
Facing the gazes of the crowd, Master Chen San just smiled. He put down the teacup in his hand and stood up. His eyes stayed on the three bunches of red plums placed on the wooden railing of the pavilion for a moment. He turned to Qin Ke and said, "Let's go! There are still some things in the court. I want to talk to you."
Qin Ke nodded and was about to stand up.
Chen Xiyao held him back and asked expectantly, "Brother Ke, the day after tomorrow is my birthday, can you come?"
Qin Ke pulled out the sleeve from her hand and took two steps forward, seemingly unintentionally increasing the distance between them. He smiled and nodded, "Okay, I'll be there."
"It's freezing cold, so don't stay outside for too long."
After giving their instructions, Mr. Chen San and Qin Ke disappeared into the distance.
After they left, Liu Yu and the other two lost interest in playing and went back after a while.
Liu Yu had just returned to Qinyuanju and put up the plum blossoms, but before she had time to trim the branches, someone from Shou'an Hall came and asked her to come over.
When she arrived at Shou'an Hall, the old lady not only invited her, but also the other three wives, Mrs. Wu, Mrs. Li, and Mrs. Yao, except for the second wife, Mrs. Chang. All of them were present.
Li and Yao sat on the left, and the doctor sat alone on the right.
When the old lady saw Liu Yu coming in, her smile became even more intense. She pointed to the seat below the eldest lady:
"Aunt Liu, please sit down too!"
Liu Yu opened her mouth to say something, but swallowed the words back and sat down at the seat the old lady pointed out.
Yao, who was sitting opposite her, smiled at her in a friendly manner.
Liu Yu smiled back with mixed emotions.
"I called you here today because Yao'er's birthday is coming soon. I plan to hold a big party. What do you think?"
The Chen family had just gone through a life-and-death ordeal, and with so many people released from the mansion, they really needed a big banquet to cheer for the family and to tell those hiding in the dark that the Chen family had returned with even greater strength than before.
Make the strong fearful and the weak afraid, so that they dare not have any other thoughts.
"I agree…"
"I have no opinion."
The old lady nodded and said, "That's great. In previous years, Wu always prepared Xiyao's birthday. This year, your sister-in-law is getting worse and worse, and I'm getting old. I'm going to prepare this matter and let the three of you share some of the burden and take her along. What do you think?"
"Mother, is it inappropriate for Aunt Liu to be with us?" Li mustered up the courage to ask her doubts.
Although she could only be a daughter, she was married to the Chen family in a grand sedan chair. When Aunt Liu, a concubine, organized the birthday of the young lady of the Chen family, the ladies and girls in the capital circle would laugh at the Chen family for being unruly.
Mrs. Chen knew her fourth daughter-in-law. She was timid and short-sighted. She only focused on giving birth to a son and didn't even know who helped her.
It seemed that she had to make it clear: "This time, the Third Brother was able to successfully overcome the difficulties, and Yu'er played an indispensable role. In the future, don't use her status to make things worse." The old lady pointed at Li and said, "If you want to talk about it, other people's status may be higher than yours."
Everyone understood that the old lady wanted to honor Liu Yu.
Mrs. Wu had known about this for a long time and was not surprised by what Liu Yu had done these days. She was very pleased to have such a capable and resourceful woman who could be the daughter-in-law of the Chen family.
The old lady had already made it clear, so Li didn't dare to have any objections.
The happiest person was Yao. Fifth Master said that Liu Yu had saved her life.
Seeing that the daughters-in-law no longer had any objections, he immediately prepared to make the decision.
Liu Yu stood up and bowed to the old lady:
"Madam, I'm afraid I'm not up to the task."
The old lady knew Liu Yu's ability best. She smiled heartily and put down the teacup: "Aunt Liu, you don't need to belittle yourself. I believe you can do it."
"But..." Liu Yu hesitated to speak.
"If you have any concerns, please feel free to tell me." He was especially patient with Old Madam Liu Yu.
Now that things have come to this, Liu Yu expressed his concerns.
"Are you afraid that the third son's wife will have objections in the future?" The old lady had a strange look on her face, thinking to herself, didn't she tell Yu'er about what her son came to her to ask for a few days ago?
The old lady looked at Liu Yu, who was in a low mood.
Since her son didn't say it, should she tell him in advance?
After thinking about it, the old lady decided not to say anything so as not to ruin her son's surprise.
"Madame Liu, you also said it was for the future, so this matter is settled. Madam Liu, you should learn from the eldest daughter-in-law." The old lady made the decision directly.
Li felt strange and uncomfortable when she heard these words. She even looked at Liu Yu with dissatisfaction all the way out of Shou'an Hall.
They were all sisters-in-law, so Wu pretended not to notice and invited them to go to the main courtyard together.
After some discussion, since Wu was in poor health and was ill, she was responsible for the banquet, Liu Yu was there to help, and Li and Yao were responsible for welcoming the guests and sending the invitations...
Li was dissatisfied with such an arrangement. The most important thing in a banquet is the arrangement of dishes and personnel. If Liu Yu was Mr. Chen Sanye's wife, she would not say anything, but she was a concubine!
"Sister-in-law, isn't it inappropriate for Aunt Liu to be in charge of the banquet? The people coming that day are all prominent families. Don't mess it up, or it will bring shame to our Chen family."