Old Mrs. Xia, advanced in years, was still dignified despite her anger, sitting steadily.

After Mrs. Zhen paid her respects, Old Mrs. Xia signaled her to sit: "You’ve heard, haven’t you?"

Mrs. Zhen nodded awkwardly: "Yunluo came to me and cried."

"Cry, who wouldn’t cry? If it were me, I’d cry to death too!" Mrs. Miao’s tone was harsh, obviously quite upset.

Old Mrs. Xia glanced sideways at Mrs. Miao without speaking, only pressing her lips tightly together. Mrs. Miao felt a chill at the back of her neck and lowered her head.

With a light huff, Old Mrs. Xia was slightly satisfied and asked Mrs. Zhen, "What did Yunluo say?"

On the way over, Mrs. Zhen had already rehearsed what she wanted to say. Seeing the old lady ask, she replied, "Yunluo gave me a hint, saying she already knew about the two families discussing the marriage beforehand."

As expected, at this, Old Mrs. Xia was not surprised, but her expression turned a bit darker.

Mrs. Zhen continued, "She heard it from Yunuo, and was just shocked and a bit bewildered at the time. But marriage is a matter mandated by parents, with the old lady and old master making the decisions. As a young girl, what could she have said? She just kept it to herself, waiting for the old lady’s decision. As a result, before we could finalize with the Marquis Mansion, rumors started outside. Yunluo felt that regardless of what you originally thought, now, for reputation’s sake, the marriage must proceed."

Old Mrs. Xia’s eyes deepened: "Did Yunluo say whether she’s willing or not?"

"How could a child whose mind isn’t settled know anything?" In this matter, Mrs. Zhen would never tell the truth, "It’s just about being obedient, but I think she’s a bit flustered now."

Mrs. Miao snorted internally; she’d learned from Du Yunying what was going on. What unsettled mind, Du Yunluo clearly had her own ideas.

But saying such things would only harm Du Yunying, and Mrs. Miao wasn’t foolish enough to do that. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Seeing Old Mrs. Xia’s displeasure, Mrs. Miao still boldly said, "Poor thing, what’s she flustered about?"

Mrs. Zhen followed Mrs. Miao’s words, "Afraid of being looked down upon, people saying the two families hastily arranged the marriage to cover shame, especially since there was no word of it before. Old lady, second sister-in-law, I’m not saying this to criticize, but it’s not just Yunluo who’s worried. Yunruo’s husband’s family cares a lot about face, Yunying is about to come of age... Outsiders’ words aren’t pleasant, and within the family, Yunluo is afraid her sisters will be angry at her for this issue..."

These words caused a sourness in Mrs. Miao’s heart, and she took out a handkerchief to wipe the corners of her eyes: "This child! It’s clearly not her fault, yet she has to deal with a heap of trouble and anxiety, it’s really..."

Though speaking as if about Du Yunluo, Mrs. Miao was certainly feeling sorry for Du Yunying as well.

Du Yunying was truly the real victim of unforeseen disaster!

Old Mrs. Xia was also distressed. She had a soft spot for Du Yunluo, and seeing her suffer in silence was unbearable, sighing: "Tomorrow, Mrs. Shi should come by, let’s hear what Marquis Mansion has to say first."

Mrs. Zhen acknowledged and then said, "Madam, I have an idea, but I’m not sure if it’s appropriate, so I came to discuss it with you."

Old Mrs. Xia took a sip of tea, signaling Mrs. Zhen to continue.

"Rumors are flying outside because no one knows the two families were already discussing marriage; they think Yunluo acted out of line. This matter cannot be explained away with words alone. I wonder if we could ask the Marquis Mansion to request an imperial decree? I know it’s hard to obtain, but if there is an imperial decree, who dares to look down on our Yunluo? Who would belittle a daughter of the Du family?" Mrs. Zhen finished, giving Mrs. Miao a knowing look.

Mrs. Miao shivered slightly, her mind racing.

Given the circumstances, even if she caused a scene at Lianfu Garden, she couldn’t reduce Du Yunying’s losses and might anger Old Mrs. Xia, which might jeopardize the previously discussed bridegroom candidate.

But if, as Mrs. Zhen suggested, the Dingyuan Marquis Mansion could request an imperial decree to marry Du Yunluo, then Du Yunying might also gain some face, wouldn’t she?

After all, it’s said that Du family sisters are close, and Du Yunying often went places with Du Yunluo; if someone lost face, it affected them both, and with gains, they shouldn’t be left out, right?

Mrs. Miao was not trying to take advantage, but she thought that since they had already suffered losses, they might as well try to gain something back.

Seeing Mrs. Zhen signal her, Mrs. Miao made up her mind, "Madam, I think what my third sister-in-law said makes sense. Getting married with an imperial decree, we’ve never had such a glorious daughter in our family."

Knowing Old Mrs. Xia was biased, Mrs. Miao deliberately emphasized the word "glorious."

Du Yunluo was the apple of Old Mrs. Xia’s eye. If she could be gloriously married off, surely Old Mrs. Xia wouldn’t object?

Old Mrs. Xia amusedly looked at her two daughters-in-law, "You surely know how to ask big. Do you know what that is? That’s an imperial decree! Since the establishment of the Du family, only the old master managed to obtain an imperial decree for the ancestral hall."

Mrs. Miao was extremely disdainful internally; she remembered Old Mrs. Xia’s tone when speaking about the scholar’s exams, as if imperial decrees were impossible while the scholar’s exams were easy!

Despite feeling indignant, her words did not dare revisit old grudges, and Mrs. Miao replied with a laugh, "Precisely because it’s hard to obtain, it requires some effort. Our two families did plan this early on, but Dingyuan Marquis Mansion hadn’t held a celebration in years, plus it’s a significant event for the Young Master, thus they agreed to ask for an imperial decree when presenting at court during the Dragon Boat Festival..."

Thinking while speaking, Mrs. Miao managed to make the whole situation reasonable.

As angry as Old Mrs. Xia was, seeing Mrs. Miao storytelling like this, she found it both infuriating and amusing, "You’ve explained everything with face and content!"

Mrs. Zhen also smiled lightly, Old Mrs. Xia eased up, making the underlying matters more manageable, "Madam, delaying things could change circumstances, about Princess An Ran..."

Old Mrs. Xia nodded with narrowed eyes, "Alright, I understand what you mean. Yunluo is my granddaughter, of course I have to consider her. Originally, we’re supposed to marry off the girl with honor, who’s to say otherwise? Even the proper customs would be considered misplaced."

Mrs. Zhen agreed, exchanged some more words, and seeing there was nothing more, she withdrew.

Mrs. Miao initially wanted to bring up Du Yunying again, but fearing it might be overdoing it, she also left with her.

The two sisters-in-law left Lianfu Garden one after the other.

Mrs. Miao called out to Mrs. Zhen, "Third sister-in-law, as mothers, I won’t go around in circles with you. Yunying’s coming of age ceremony is the big concern on my mind right now."

Mrs. Zhen raised an eyebrow. Mrs. Miao had just helped her out, and now she was here to ask for a favor in return.

Fair enough, you help me, I help you, both sides owe nothing to each other.

Smiling, Mrs. Zhen tidied the collar of her cape, "Yunying’s coming of age ceremony is in about half a month, right? Rest assured, second sister-in-law, since the old lady agreed to you, she won’t go back on her word. Since we’re out here today, there’s no reason to return and ask again. Tomorrow or the day after, I’ll help bring it up for you."

With those words providing some reassurance, Mrs. Miao was somewhat relieved, thanked her, and the two parted ways.