How can young Choi Thirteen understand human nature as well as Chen Qu Shui who has experienced many vicissitudes of life?

  Moreover, there were some things she could say to Chen Qu Shui.

  Choi Thirteen knew, and it was as if his grandmother knew.

  She had previously failed to marry into the Wu family and refused the He family's proposal. If she were to break off the engagement with the Wei family again, especially since it was her own initiative... that would be too shocking! As a result, she would have no chance of getting married. Even if her doting grandmother found out, she would definitely not agree. She didn't even dare mention a word about it in front of her grandmother!

  But she didn't want Chen Qu Shui to take risks for her sake.

  "There's no rush." Du Zhao said evasively, "We'll talk about it later, anyway there's still plenty of time now."

  Chen Qu Shui naturally knew Du Zhao's mind.

  "He looked at her seriously and said: 'Miss, are you really prepared to break off the engagement with the Wei family?'"

  Dong Zhao had previously told him that the engagement with the Wei family was just a temporary measure. However, he found that after Dong Zhao met Wei Tingyu, she showed an unusual tolerance towards Wei Tingyu, and Dong Zhao wasn't someone who blindly followed others... It can be seen that Dong Zhao's impression of Wei Tingyu was very good.

  In Chen Qiushui's view, Wei Tingyu is handsome and generous, but lacks a strong sense of direction. He would make a good friend, but as a husband, this weakness could be fatal. He can be swayed by his wife's opinions and also change his mind due to friends' teasing, which makes people feel uncertain.

  Moreover, Dou Zhao's marriage to the Wei family would likely require her to bring a large dowry to support the daily expenses of the Juning Marquis manor, making others think that she had married up into a good family, but in reality it was not the case.

  The lady of the Wei Mansion is going to marry into the Jin'ning Marquis's mansion within a hundred days, that's proof!

  Wei Tingyu has a title of Marquis, but other than that, he is really ordinary.

  But in this world, as long as one is willing to fight and the other is willing to be hit, outsiders are best not to intervene.

  Dòu Zhāo, having set her sights on Wèi Tíngyú, would only suffer some financial loss by marrying him. This was nothing to Dòu Zhāo. The marriage could be considered a match between two respectable families.

  Unexpectedly, Old Duke of Jin Ning suddenly passed away, and Wei Tingyu had to observe a three-year mourning period.

  Dou Zhao had him investigate the Wei family's affairs, but he himself remained inactive, with an ambiguous attitude, making it unclear what Dou Zhao was really thinking.

  "Of course it's true." Du Zhao's expression was serious and his eyes were firm. "I wouldn't joke about something like this."

  Chen Qu's words were not acknowledged with a nod.

  Dong Zhaonan made up his mind and it was settled.

  Even if this time does not achieve the goal, two people unite their hearts, and their benefits are cut off, then they will continue to work hard.

  Besides, Dou Zhao has half of the Dou family's property by her side. And with the help of people like Duan Gongyi and Chen Xiaofeng, relying on the Dou family's big tree, even if she doesn't marry for a lifetime, her life won't necessarily be worse than marrying into the declining Jining Hou Mansion. Why bother to curry favor with the Wei family?

  Even if it's a marriage, as long as the fault lies with the Wei family, Duan Zhao can marry a kind and gentle son from an ordinary scholarly family, and instead be able to take charge of everything herself, which might not necessarily be a bad thing.

  Moreover, Dou Shiying has no son under his knee, and leaving the eldest daughter at home to marry a husband is also acceptable... No matter which path she takes, it's better than marrying into the Jining Hou Mansion!

  He couldn't help but smile and said: "Miss, wait for me a moment." Then he left the hall directly.

  Dong Zhao waited for him curiously in the hall.

  Before long, Chen Quzi turned back.

  He wore a half-new fur hat, hanging his head and hunching his back, wearing a tattered cotton robe. With his eyes downcast and his hands clasped together, he looked like a fallen scholar, where was the elegance of just now?

  Tongue-tied and speechless.

  Chen Qu Shui stood up straight, and his spirit was revitalized.

  "How's that?" he said with a smile, "My hand is not bad, right? This was learned from following a street performer back in the day. The people guarding the British Consulate won't recognize me. Even if they do, they'll just think I've fallen on hard times after leaving the consulate and ended up on the streets, they definitely won't think of what happened back then."

  Dong Zhaonan couldn't help but laugh.

  She asked Chen Qu Shui: "Do you have a good idea?"

  Chen Qu Shui knew that Duan Zhao had compromised and smiled: "Miss, what did you plan to do originally?"

  Since I've entrusted this matter to Chen Qu Shui, I should naturally be honest with him!

  Dong Zhaoyi pondered and said, "Wei Tingzhen is a greedy person. The two old ladies by her side, Jin and Lü, are both people who can be talked to. Since the two have never gotten along, if we can make good use of their contradictions and spread rumors that I am in an unfavorable position with Wei Tingyu, this matter will definitely be accomplished with half the effort."

  "This plan is excellent." Chen Quanshui smiled and nodded at Dou Zhao, his head bobbing up and down.

  The two people were surprisingly in harmony on this matter!

  "I'll set off for Kyoto as soon as possible," Chen Quanshui said with a smile, "In a few more months, the Duke of Jining will have finished his mourning period. Some things need to be taken care of ahead of time." With him in Kyoto, this matter would not get out of control. He paused, then continued, "This matter involves women from the inner palace, I'd like to borrow someone from you, miss."

  Dong Zhao smiled and said: "Are you referring to Su Xin?"

  Chen Qu shook his head and said, "I want to borrow Hong Gu."

  Dòu Zhāo Wēi Lèng.

  "It's just that Hong Jie is a bit older and can talk more with those aunties, plus she looks simple and honest on the outside, making it easier for people to believe her. If the person speaking looks too clever and capable, they're actually more likely to arouse suspicion."

  To put it bluntly, the fact that Hong Gu is a rural woman means that those ayis think they are superior to her because they work in the Hou or Gong residences and have more experience and knowledge. As a result, they will be less vigilant around Hong Gu and it will be easier to trick them.

  "It's just Aunt Cui's place..."

  "Miss, don't worry." Chen Quanshui said with a confident smile, "I just asked Hong Gu to help me out by saying a few words at the crucial moment, I'm not asking her to break off the engagement."

  Even if some clues were leaked, Wei Tingzhen knew that she had planned for Wei Tingyu in this way. With her love for her brother, she would rather die than retreat from the marriage. It's just that at that time, she would have to bear the blame of retreating from the marriage herself, but it would still achieve her goal.

  Dong Zhao no longer hesitated and nodded: "Then I'll have to trouble Mr. Chen."

  Chen Qu Shui was polite for a few words, smiled and discussed some details with Dou Zhao, and started preparing for the trip to Beijing.

  In just a few days, Grandmother called Dou Zhao over to talk: "Mr. Chen came and said that in a few days he would go to Kyoto to settle the accounts of the shop, thinking that the Wei family would be out of mourning in July, and he wanted to bring Hong Jie together to pay his respects to Mrs. Wei, and then discuss marriage between the two families later. There is also someone who will act as a matchmaker. I was afraid that Hong Jie would be shy when she went, but Mr. Chen said that since the Wei family had lived in Kyoto for a long time, they had seen all kinds of people, and the more honest one was, the more it showed our sincerity. The better. I thought about Mr. Chen's words and found them reasonable, so I agreed. Do you have any other instructions for Hong Jie? Let me instruct her later.

  Dong Zhaixin thanked her grandmother with a guilty conscience and only instructed Hong Gu: "Whatever happens, just listen to Mr. Chen."

  Hong Gu nodded repeatedly, took out a few pieces of silk and Hangzhou brocade clothes from the bottom of the trunk, tidied them up carefully, and followed Chen Qu Shui to Kyoto.

  Fan Wenxu and Cui Shisan received the news early and brought Tian Fugui to welcome Chen Quanshui outside Chaoyang Gate.

  Chen Qu closed the door and spoke with Fan Wen.

  "So it seems. The Marquis of Yan'an's birthday is next month, isn't it?" Chen Quanshui said thoughtfully.

  Fan Wen nodded: "The people of the Wang family have been looking for gifts everywhere to celebrate the birthday of Prince Yan'an these days." He was originally from an antique background and still kept in touch with those shop assistants, so he was very informed about this kind of news.

  Chen Qu Shui asked: "Last time I asked you to get close to the wife of the Crown Prince of Jingguo, have you made any progress?"

  The madam of the Duke of Jing's mansion is the aunt of the Marquis of Jin'ning's mansion. The fourth young lady is about to marry into the Marquis of Jin'ning's mansion, and through the people around the madam of the Duke of Jing's mansion, they curry favor with the aunt of the Marquis of Jin'ning's mansion. This is a common tactic used by those who are skilled in business. Fan Wen didn't suspect anything and smiled: "The package mom from our store's kitchen was introduced by the golden lady-in-waiting beside the madam of the Duke of Jing's mansion."

  Chen Qu shook his head in satisfaction and said to Fan Wenshu, "Hong Gu is rare to come to Kyoto, I think it's better to let this Baoma take Hong Gu around the city of Kyoto."

  Fan Wen Shu understood. He called Bao's mother over and instructed her, also rewarding her with ten taels of silver, and ordered a horse-drawn carriage. With a small servant accompanying them, he had Bao's mother take Hong Gu to tour around the city of Kyoto.

  Hong Guo had never seen such a commotion. Her eyes were wide with wonder, and she bought a large number of things: "This is for Aunt Cui, this is for Fourth Miss, this is for Su Xin, Su Lan, Gan Lu, and Su Juan..." It made Bao Mama's eyes redden with excitement, and she became even more enthusiastic towards Hong Guo. When Chen Quanshui had finished preparing the gifts and asked Hong Guo to go pay her respects to Lady Tian, Bao Mama volunteered to accompany Hong Guo to the residence of the Marquis of Jin'ning.

  Wei Tingyu and Gu Yu's business went very smoothly, they only invested a few thousand taels of silver, and the first payment was enough to recover their capital. Tian Shi calculated that by the time the four river sections were completed, they would be able to earn tens of thousands of taels of silver, and then they could hold a grand wedding banquet for Wei Tingyu with great fanfare. Just thinking about it made her feel extremely comfortable, and this life had even more meaning.

  It's said that the Dou family sent someone to pay their respects, and Tian Shi was overjoyed. She hastily invited Hong Gu in, and upon seeing that she was a simple and unassuming woman, her liking for her grew even more. After chatting with Hong Gu for half a day, she rewarded her with a high-quality red envelope and had the nanny invite Hong Gu to stay for a meal before sending her off.

  Wei Tingzhen heard that someone from the Duan family had come to see his mother and thought that the two families were about to set a wedding date, fearing that his mother would carelessly agree to some condition with the Duan family, so he personally rushed over to ask what was going on.

  Mr. Tien thought his daughter was being overly anxious, and smiled: "They're just here to do some business in Kyoto, they came over to ask after your health, why are you so worried?" Then he ordered the maid to bring in some fresh fruit that had just come onto the market.

  The old woman sent by the Tian family to entertain Hong Gu looked at Wei Tingzhen with eager eyes.

  Wei Tingzhen understood and avoided her mother and the nanny's conversation.

  "Auntie, the old lady from the Duan family was sent by Mrs. Cui, the aunt of the Duan family, to discuss with the Seventh Lady of the Duan family in Kyoto about the dowry for the Fourth Miss."

  With the wedding approaching, the Tuo family even sent someone to Kyoto to ask for a dowry. Had she misjudged him all along? Was Tuo Chao just a worthless weed in the Tuo household that no one paid attention to?

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  Sisters and brothers, catch up on the update from April 21st.

  PS: The next chapter will make up for the update on April 2nd, but the timing is a bit uncertain...~~~~~

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