Old Madam Bai left the Lai Family and went straight to Tan Palace.
Xiao Minglan heard that the people of the Lai Family had a misunderstanding and was slightly stunned. She then heard Old Madam Bai say, "They seem to think you intend to marry a girl named Yuanyuan from the Lai Family."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Minglan also recalled Lai Yuaner.
—That’s Lai Wenyan’s youngest daughter, who visited Tan Palace that day.
Xiao Minglan suddenly thought that perhaps giving Lai Yuaner a bracelet might have caused the misunderstanding.
"I guess it was my action that led them to misinterpret."
Tang Li’s identity had never been publicly disclosed by the Lai Family, and they only mentioned her as a distant relative living temporarily with them.
Since the Lai Family was playing dumb, Xiao Minglan didn’t expose the truth. That day, when Old Madam Lai brought her daughter-in-law and granddaughter to Tan Palace, she indeed gave Lai Yuaner a bracelet as a gesture for Tang Li’s sake.
She thought of it simply, but others might not.
"I understand the Lai Family’s misinterpretation," Old Madam Bai continued, "That Tang Li isn’t their granddaughter after all, and of course, they would hope for their own child to be favored. At the end of the day, it’s about relations; if Tang Li were to marry His Excellency, the Lai Family wouldn’t gain any benefit."
Old Madam Bai was straightforward and spoke without much concern: "As soon as I went in, they were almost ready to use a grand sedan chair to carry me, but when I was leaving, they didn’t even call a servant to see me off."
Xiao Minglan already knew who Tang Li’s grandfather was.
If the marriage was successful, Lai Wenyan wouldn’t be afraid to publicly acknowledge his daughter.
Although Xiao Minglan didn’t involve herself in political matters, she understood human nature. Years ago, Lai Wenyan hid this daughter, fearing others would dig into it, and now he wouldn’t be without fear, unless he was out of his mind.
At this point, Xiao Minglan invited Old Madam Bai to stay at Tan Palace for lunch.
Old Madam Bai had come to Tan Palace after arranging the marriage proposal, and Song Baiyan knew about it. But he didn’t rush to inquire, choosing to finish his meeting first, and by the time he went upstairs, Old Madam Bai had already left.
After lunch, Xiao Minglan was folding paper ingots in the living room.
Seeing her son arrive, she put down the tin foil and said, "Wait until you finish eating, and we’ll talk."
Song Baiyan sat down on the sofa: "Not hungry."
"I think you’re so anxious that you’ve forgotten what hunger is."
Faced with the teasing, Song Baiyan smiled.
Xiao Minglan put away the paper ingots and then said, "The proposal has been made; as for the outcome, we need to wait for the Lai Family’s response."
Or rather, to wait for Tang Li’s response.
As long as Tang Li agrees, the Lai Family wouldn’t dare cause trouble.
Xiao Minglan also told Song Baiyan about the Lai Family’s mix-up: "That day, when they came to Tan Palace, I should have mentioned it, to avoid any misunderstanding."
"It’s not a big deal," Song Baiyan said again, "If I had said it earlier, it would have been more likely to cause complications. It’s just a misunderstanding; correct it in time, and it’s fine."
"I did hear, though, that you were praising Councilman Lai’s daughter in front of him earlier."
So, the other party certainly misunderstood as well.
Song Baiyan had his considerations. Since he intended to propose, he felt it necessary to give some indication so that the Lai Family could prepare. As for not explicitly mentioning Tang Li, it was because he didn’t want complications; announcing it prematurely would just make the situation widely known.
Sometimes, widespread knowledge isn’t necessarily a good thing.
Xiao Minglan recalled another question: "You had me ask Yiqian’s mother to propose; did you not inform Tang Li?"
"No need to inform her," Song Baiyan placed his right hand on his leg and continued, "Tonight, I’ll personally visit the Lai Family to clarify what’s clear and straighten out what’s unclear."
Xiao Minglan was somewhat surprised.
Regarding the marriage, why did she feel it was her own son who was the anxious one?