After being forced to leave the marriage, I became the wife of a top scholar.

Chapter 70 Get your wish
The four people sitting in the carriage heard the commotion outside, especially Madam Du, whose expression was rather unpleasant, but in the end, she didn't say anything.

Upon hearing this, Furong blushed slightly, but she was more worried about Young Master Du's situation at the moment, so she didn't take it to heart.

Bai Wanqing seemed immune to the rumors, her face calm and composed. Wang Mama, however, was sweating profusely, not daring to lift her head or look at her mistress, because these words were also something the young master had instructed her to spread at the opportune moment.
Good heavens, if the young master is exposed in the end, she's afraid she won't be able to stay in the Du family anymore.

The Du family's carriage was indeed very large, with plenty of room for four people. Bai Wanqing and Bai Furong sat quietly to the side. Madam Du felt that Furong was not as foolish as the rumors suggested.

She was startled when the thought first crossed her mind. She quickly looked away, trying to clear her head.
Before long, the carriage stopped in front of the Du family's house.

Bai Wanqing and Bai Furong got off the carriage. Furong turned around and helped Madam Du. Unconsciously, Madam Du added another point to Furong's mind. No wonder Huan'er said that Furong treated him well and was willing to risk her life to save him. She used to think that this was just something he made up in order to marry Furong. Now she saw that Furong was indeed a thoughtful person.

Bai Wanqing looked at everything in front of her and gently curled the corners of her mouth.

Soon, Madam Du arrived at Du Huan's courtyard with her two sisters. However, upon reaching the gate, Madam Du faced a dilemma. This was, after all, a man's courtyard; if word got out that unmarried women were entering, what would become of their actions?
No, people have already been spreading rumors, but if we just go in like this now, wouldn't that confirm the rumors circulating on the street?

Granny Wang seemed to have forgotten about it and led the young lady inside. By the time Madam Du came to her senses, the two had already entered the house.

Madam Du felt that something was amiss, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Never mind! Huan'er's illness is the most important thing.

When she entered the room, she saw Furong wiping the sweat from Du Huan's forehead. Du Huan opened his eyes, looked at Furong whom he hadn't seen for several days, and his eyes immediately reddened. "Furong," he said, and then, this grown man started to shed tears with a pitiful expression.
Furong thought Du Huan was in pain or feeling unwell and asked him about his condition.

Madam Du, who was standing to the side, thought that her nephew was a good-for-nothing. He was such a grown man, yet he was crying and sobbing in front of so many people.
Wait a minute, why does she now feel that her nephew is even more despicable?
Listening to Du Huan's complaints, Fu Rong helped him up with a pained expression. He hadn't been able to eat anything before, but after being with Fu Rong, he drank two small bowls of porridge in no time.

Madam Du gave a speechless twitch of her lips, while Granny Wang reminded her from the side, "Miss Bai, why don't you take our young master's pulse and see if his condition is serious?"

After saying this, Granny Wang broke out in a cold sweat, because she finally noticed her mistress's stern gaze.

Taking a pulse? Furong shook her head, "I don't know how to take a pulse?"

Madam Du asked, "Aren't you Doctor Luo's apprentice? Doctor Luo said that only you can do it."

Madam Du couldn't bring herself to say what she was going to say next. Yes, lovesickness—to get better, of course, one must be overwhelmed by concern! Overwhelmed by concern!

When Furong saw Madam Du asking, she politely stood up and replied, "Furong has only just started learning medicine from Master Luo and cannot treat patients yet, but Furong will ask Master Luo to cure Young Master Du. Please rest assured, Madam Du."

As Furong spoke, her eyes blinked repeatedly. Madam Du finally understood the purity her nephew had spoken of; Furong's eyes held only Du Huan, and no one else.
Madam Du glanced at her nephew on the bed, then at Furong who was taking good care of him, and could only sigh. She called Bai Wanqing out, and they went to the front hall. Madam Du ordered someone to bring tea and said to Bai Wanqing, "I can see that Huan'er really likes your second sister."

Bai Wanqing hummed in agreement.

"Your second sister is also genuinely good to my nephew."

Bai Wanqing slowly said, "Indeed, they are good. Madam Du, the two of them have been through life and death together. I'm afraid neither you nor I can understand their bond."

Madam Du nodded in agreement, "You've worried a lot about Furong's matter, haven't you?"

“I know even if you don’t say it. The reason why Doctor Luo was able to take Furong as his grand-disciple must be because you were the matchmaker. Otherwise, everyone would know that Doctor Luo doesn’t take on disciples easily, and most of his disciples are male. The only female disciples are your mother and you, his grand-disciple.”

Bai Wanqing did not deny it.

"You must know about my grandmother's situation, right? That's why you had Furong become a disciple of Doctor Luo. Are you afraid that Furong will be bullied by the Du family after she enters our family? But how can you be so sure that I will agree to the marriage between Du Huan and Furong in the end? You know, I rejected your Bai family in front of Madam Chen." Madam Du pondered for a long time but still couldn't understand how Bai Wanqing was so sure that she would agree in the end, and even used this as an excuse to get Madam Chen to agree to Furong becoming a disciple.

Bai Wanqing smiled faintly and said, "Madam Du, putting everything else aside, I know you are a good aunt who loves your nephew dearly."

After hearing this, Madam Du smiled slightly, "Then Wanqing is also a good older sister who loves her younger sister."

The two exchanged knowing smiles. In the following days, whenever Madam Du visited her nephew, Furong took meticulous care of him. Madam Du could see Furong's dedication, because in just a few days, the rascal had become energetic again, showing no signs of having been ill.

That day, after seeing Furong and Master Luo off, Madam Du returned to her room and said to Granny Wang, "Granny Wang, you've worked hard these past few days. Now that the young master doesn't have anything for you to do, right?"

Granny Wang spoke faster than she thought, replying directly, "No! Everything that needed to be done has been done."

As soon as she finished speaking, Granny Wang trembled in fear. Oh no! Did Madam know everything? Granny Wang was so guilty that beads of sweat covered her forehead.

Madam Du said angrily, "It's one thing if it's someone else, but you're someone close to me! How could you help that scoundrel deceive me?"

Wang Mama felt guilty. "Madam, I...I have done something wrong to you. Please punish me."

Granny Wang knelt on the ground. Madam Du sighed and said, "Enough, enough. I know you really care about Huan'er, but don't forget that your young lady also grew up in the Du family. I can see through all your tricks at a glance."

"Then Madam didn't expose the eldest young master, which shows that Madam also cares for him." Granny Wang gave Madam Du a way out.

“What if it doesn’t hurt? You all have to help him. If I keep twisting it, I’ll look like the worst old witch.”

"Madam is kind," Wang Mama immediately flattered.

"In the end, I can tell that Furong is truly sincere towards our Huan'er. If it were any other woman, she might be intelligent, but she might not be half as sincere as Furong."

"Perhaps this is all fate!" Madam Du sighed. After all, the Divine Doctor Luo, whom she cared about, had now become connected with their Du family by some twist of fate, making some things easier.

Granny Wang immediately agreed, but in her heart she was thanking heavens that they had finally passed this hurdle without any real danger.

As Du Huan's health improved, Madam Du sent a formal invitation to the Bai family to discuss the marriage. Having cleared up any previous misunderstandings between the two families, the negotiations went very smoothly this time. In particular, Du Huan's father was a carefree man, and as long as his son was happy, he had no reason to stop him. In the end, both families were very satisfied.

After seeing the Du family off, Bai Chenming finally breathed a sigh of relief upon returning to his courtyard.

Looking at the betrothal gifts filling the courtyard, Madam Chen was overjoyed. The betrothal gifts from the Du family were even greater than those from the Huang family. When it came to marrying off their daughter, no one was more prestigious than the Bai family.

"Furong! Now that the engagement is settled, you should hurry up and prepare your wedding dress. The one you prepared before can't be used anymore. I've prepared quite a few different things for you. Come to my courtyard and choose one when the time comes." Madam Chen instructed Furong from the side, but Qinglian's face was long and drawn. She could only force a smile when Furong spoke to her.

Seeing how happy Chen was, Bai Chenming felt a bit biased. That evening, he went to Chen's courtyard to discuss how to give the three children their dowries.

Bai Chenming meant to treat everyone equally, but Madam Chen felt that Bai Chenming was biased. "Master, Wanqing has already been married before, and she has already received a dowry. She brought the dowry back with her when she returned from her divorce. Why don't we just use that one? We don't need to add anything more."

Bai Chenming, however, felt that "the dowry had already been almost entirely spent by the Meng family! Even if it were brought back, there wouldn't be much left. And you know the new son-in-law's conditions; Linjia Village is the poorest village. If you let Wanqing marry into that village, at least she'll have some dowry to rely on, and life won't be so difficult."

"As for Qinglian, she is still living in the manor and doesn't need so much dowry."

Madam Chen's eyes reddened. "Master, Qinglian can't compare to her eldest and second eldest sisters. She's going to the Huang family as a concubine. Concubines get a few months' allowance. You don't have to give her that. But you can ask Qing'er to talk to Master Luo and ask him to take Qinglian as his disciple. That way, Qinglian will have someone to rely on!"

Bai Chenming vehemently disagreed, saying, "You're going to harm her by letting her study medicine!"

Chen disagreed, and the two discussed it all night but still couldn't decide how to distribute the dowries among the children.

However, as time went by, the wedding dates for both Furong and Qinglian were set: March 12th for Bai Furong and May 18th for Bai Qinglian.

Furong hadn't expected her wedding date to be set so soon, so she busied herself preparing her wedding dress.

Although Bai Qinglian's arrival was later, she was a concubine, so there were no special customs. The Huang family's idea was to simply choose an auspicious day and send her directly into the mansion. However, Bai Qinglian refused and insisted on following the same procedure as when she was married. The Huang family had no choice but to agree. It is said that Madam Huang had a long argument with Master Huang over this matter.
As for Bai Wanqing, she originally thought that her marriage with Lin Yunche would be postponed again, after all, this was just a smokescreen, but she did not expect that her wedding date would be set in the blink of an eye.

(End of this chapter)