W Chapter 88
by VolareThe Li Huiyuan household was simple.
His parents were alive and well, with two older brothers and a younger sister.
The older brothers had already married and had children, and the younger sister was also married off.
Only he alone, due to the imperial examinations, had not settled his lifelong affair.
His mother, Wei Qinglian, was not in good health and had to take medicine all year round, and she couldn’t do heavy work.
All the chores in the house were done by the two daughters-in-law, who also had a certain say. The whole family’s food, drink, and everything else were arranged by them.
His father, Li Pingyuan, also had the title of a student. He had no one in his family who had studied before, his family fortune was not abundant, and he had no savings, so he could only stagnate.
The eldest, Li Huiliang, and the second eldest, Li Huisan, were not cut out for studying. One was dull, and the other couldn’t sit still.
Fortunately, the third son, Li Huiyuan, was intelligent from a young age and could endure his temper, which gave Li Pingyuan a glimmer of hope.
The year the third son passed the examination to become a student, Li Pingyuan thought that the Li family was finally going to make a name for themselves.
He never expected that the third son was indeed a good student, but he was also too unlucky.
Every imperial examination was delayed by the mourning period.
The first two times, Li Huiyuan comforted Li Pingyuan, saying that as long as the mourning period passed, it would be fine, and his father didn’t have to worry.
This time, he had already passed the scholar examination, and was even among the top, able to study at the county academy.
There was only one step away from changing the family’s fortune, just a matter of a few months.
Who knew that at this critical moment, his maternal grandfather passed away.
This time, Li Pingyuan couldn’t even care about feeling sorry and sad, and was worried all day long, fearing that Li Huiyuan would not be able to bear it.
No matter how tough a person is, they cannot withstand such double blows again and again. It was truly physically and mentally exhausting.
Even he, after experiencing this repeatedly, had the idea of just giving up.
Since learning of his maternal grandfather’s death, the third son had been like a lost soul, looking both frightening and heartbreaking.
Li Pingyuan thought that Li Huiyuan’s spirit would be broken, but he had no other way, and couldn’t persuade him.
He could only keep a close eye on him, so that nothing unexpected would happen.
Everything else depended on the third son to digest on his own.
Fortunately, the third son had made it through, and regained his previous momentum. Once his spirit returned, he would be fine.
Wei Qinglian called out from the inner room, and Li Pingyuan put down the book in his hand and went in.
“The third son went out early in the morning, has he come back yet?”
Some time ago, Li Huiyuan’s lifeless appearance had frightened Wei Qinglian.
She was afraid that her son would have suicidal thoughts. As long as Li Huiyuan was away for a slightly longer time, she would feel flustered and start to imagine things, scaring herself.
“Not yet.”
Li Pingyuan understood that his wife was worried about their son, and because of her health, she couldn’t go out to wait for him herself, so he gently persuaded, “You don’t have to worry, Huiyuan was smiling when he went out. You should lie down quickly and cover yourself with the quilt. The weather is cold now, and your body is weak. Catching a cold will only make you suffer.”
Wei Qinglian lay back down, half believing, half doubting. She had caught a cold the day before and fainted.
She had only woken up yesterday, and was afraid of her condition worsening, so she didn’t dare to get out of bed.
She was afraid of catching another cold from the wind.
Wei Qinglian cherished her body very much. No matter what, she had to hold on until the third son finished the imperial examinations.
The couple talked for a while in the room, and heard movement outside.
Wei Qinglian was just about to ask Li Pingyuan to go out and see if it was the third son who had returned, when she heard a familiar voice calling out, “Dad! Mom!”
The cheerful tone surprised the couple. Since learning of his maternal grandfather’s death, Li Huiyuan’s emotions had been low and depressed.
He had been a little better recently, but he had hardly been happy.
What on earth had happened that the third son was so happy?
Li Huiyuan came quickly. When he lifted the curtain, Wei Qinglian also sat up.
Receiving his parents’ gazes, Li Huiyuan thought about what he was going to say later, and felt very embarrassed.
He slowed down his pace, trying not to appear too eager, but the fast speed of his speech still revealed his excitement and eagerness at this moment.
“Dad, Mom. I want to ask you to find a matchmaker for me, to help me propose marriage to Xiao Liucun.”
A stone stirred up a thousand waves.
Li Pingyuan and Wei Qinglian didn’t react at first.
The third son, who usually only had studying and imperial examinations in his mind, actually had someone he liked!
When did this happen?
They hadn’t noticed at all!
Li Pingyuan was the first to react. He didn’t dare to ask too much, and only asked, “When did you take a liking to this person?”
Li Huiyuan blushed and said, “Late spring last year, he praised my handwriting…”
The couple had never seen such an expression on their son’s face. He had actually kept the person in his heart for so long.
Establishing a family and starting a career, first a family and then a career, was also common sense.
Plus, Li Huiyuan sincerely liked her, and this had swept away his previous gloom, so the parents didn’t want to spoil the mood and didn’t say anything else.
They only asked in detail about the situation before making a decision.
After all, marriage was not a child’s play, and they had to carefully consider it again and again.
This time, the couple asked in detail, and Li Huiyuan spoke about Ling Xing’s situation for the first time, feeling extremely nervous.
Half of it was nervousness from thinking about Ling Xing, and the other half was fear that his parents wouldn’t like Ling Xing.
When they learned that Ling Xing was a widower, Wei Qinglian frowned, and Li Pingyuan was not very satisfied either.
When they heard their son say that he had perked up this time because that Ge’er named Ling Xing had affirmed him, the couple exchanged glances, realizing that was the reason.
No wonder he was half-dead when they went to the county town last time, but came back to clean the house and reopen the private school.
Finally, when they learned that their son had a one-sided crush on the person, and was rushing to find a matchmaker this time because he was afraid that the other person would be married off to someone else, the couple’s faces turned pale.
After talking for so long, it turned out that their son was head over heels in love.
Wei Qinglian and Li Pingyuan didn’t reply directly, but instead asked Li Huiyuan to go out first, as they wanted to discuss it.
Li Huiyuan wanted to say that he wouldn’t marry anyone but Ling Xing, but felt it was inappropriate, as if he was threatening his parents to agree, so he didn’t say it after all.
Inside the house, Wei Qinglian frowned and said, “Putting aside that Ge’ers are not as good as women at giving birth, just the fact that he has been married before is a bit of a mismatch.”
Li Pingyuan nodded. “He’s also running a business, too much of a coppery smell. Marrying him back home might affect the third son.”
Wei Qinglian agreed. What she said was not as subtle as Li Pingyuan’s words.
“Our third son is a scholar, a Xiucai. Marrying a wealthy family’s pampered daughter is fine, but marrying a Ge’er who shows his face all day long and does his own business is really not okay. With such a mercenary appearance, if he goes out to gather with literati and elegant guests in the future, and mentions his family, wouldn’t he be ridiculed?”
In short, they did not agree to let their son marry a widower, especially a widower who showed his face and ran a business.
Li Pingyuan sighed and asked, “Seeing the way the third son is, he is truly fond of him. If we don’t agree, the third son will probably be heartbroken.”
Before, heartbroken was heartbroken. It would be fine after a while anyway, but now it was a bit special.
Their son had finally perked up, and it was the person he had been thinking about for two years. If they didn’t agree, there might be problems on their son’s side.
Wei Qinglian thought for a while and suggested, “Why don’t we find a matchmaker to propose taking him as a concubine?”
Li Pingyuan shook his head. “Absolutely not. Taking a concubine before getting married is against the rules.”
Only then did Wei Qinglian remember that this was the case.
But she was also a thousand times unwilling to let her son marry a widower.
Li Pingyuan stroked his beard and said softly, “It’s rare for the third son to regain his spirit. We must come forward to help him with this matter. In my opinion, just marry him in. After the third son gets a high rank, he can marry another woman as an equal wife. In this way, it will both satisfy the third son’s wishes and meet our hearts. A win-win situation.”
Wei Qinglian thought it was feasible. “Then, before the equal wife enters the door, it’s best that the third son doesn’t have children with that Ge’er. That way, there will be more willing to marry at that time.”
“That’s great. I’ll go find a matchmaker now.” Li Pingyuan left the room with a cheerful mood.
He came out and saw Li Huiyuan sitting on a stool in the hall waiting. Seeing him come out, he immediately stood up and asked anxiously, “Dad, how did you and Mom discuss it?”
Li Pingyuan would not tell Li Huiyuan about the equal wife matter in advance.
His son was currently in high spirits and not rational enough. If he told him, he would definitely not agree.
He would wait until he got a high rank in a few years and then tell him. At that time, there would be entanglements of official interests, and the things of love would also settle and not be worth mentioning.
Li Pingyuan patted his son’s shoulder and smiled kindly. “Of course, we’re listening to you. We’re going to find a matchmaker to propose marriage for you.”
Li Huiyuan was overjoyed and couldn’t help but take a few steps outside, calming the turbulent emotions in his heart.
Matchmaker Wan was one of the best matchmakers in Yunxia Town.
Because of her good reputation and high success rate, basically every match she made was successful. Not only people in Yunxia Town came to her for matchmaking.
Families in the surrounding towns who sincerely wanted to marry would also take the time and effort to come to Yunxia Town to find her.
To put it exaggeratedly, the marriages she had made could circle Yunxia Town once.
The time before the New Year was a good time to look for a partner, get engaged, and then get married in the spring.
She was very busy every day, her schedule was full, and when she was particularly busy, she had to run to three or five families a day.
She originally didn’t want to take the Li family’s matchmaking request.
She was too busy and in a hurry to go.
But the scholar Li actually bowed to her, a lower-class matchmaker, and politely asked her to come forward to propose marriage.
Matchmaker Wan, who had never been a matchmaker for a scholar, immediately had her head heated and nodded in agreement.
Already on the way to Xiao Liucun, Matchmaker Wan was thinking about being treated as an honored guest by the scholar, and was determined to make this marriage happen.
After arriving at Xiao Liucun, Matchmaker Wan got off the ox cart and found a nearby family to inquire about where the Shen family lived.
The villager sized up Matchmaker Wan and didn’t directly say where the Shen family lived, but instead asked vigilantly what she was looking for the Shen family for.
Matchmaker Wan smiled. “For matchmaking!”
Hearing that it was for matchmaking, the villager didn’t dare to delay things, fearing that he would ruin a marriage, so he quickly pointed the way.
“Go straight ahead, and the blue brick house at the foot of the mountain is the Shen family.” The villager also kindly reminded, “Matchmaker, hurry up. The Shen family has had several matchmakers blocking their door every day recently. If you go late, you might not get a chance.”
Matchmaker Wan was shocked and hurried to the Shen family.
She knew about Ling Xing.
There were few people and things in Yunxia Town that she didn’t know.
When she heard Scholar Li say that he wanted to marry Ling Xing, she was indeed surprised. She didn’t expect these two to be able to get together.
On second thought, that Ling Xing was capable and good-looking, so it was normal for Scholar Li to develop feelings for him.
Even a figure like Scholar Li didn’t mind that the other person was a widower and had been married before.
Let alone others.
However, Matchmaker Wan quickly adjusted her mindset and stabilized herself.
There was no one in the entire Yunshui County who was more suitable than Scholar Li.
Either they were too high in status, and Ling Xing could only be a concubine. Or they were too low in status and not a good match.
The ones in the middle who were about the same were not necessarily willing to marry such a capable Ge’er who would be overshadowed by him.
Matchmaker Wan stabilized her mind. After approaching the Shen family, she indeed saw several women in front of the door.
Counting them, there were five, all matchmakers.
There was a relationship network between matchmakers. Even if they weren’t familiar, they had seen each other once or twice and had a little impression.
Matchmaker Wan only felt that the five matchmakers in front of the Shen family’s door looked somewhat familiar, but couldn’t name them.
But the five matchmakers all recognized her.
She was too famous, so it was easy to remember only her.
Matchmaker Tian asked in disbelief, “Matchmaker Wan, are you also here to propose marriage to the Shen family?”
Since Ling Xing had the guards drive the matchmakers away on the first day, Matchmaker Tian had left the county town and didn’t waste time like the others.
Instead, she came to pester Xu Youfang again.
Although she was still being rejected, she could feel that Xu Youfang’s attitude had softened a lot.
There was a meaning of calling Ling Xing back to meet someone.
Matchmaker Tian didn’t care about the other matchmakers. Everyone knew how the relationship network worked. The people they introduced wouldn’t be better than hers.
But Matchmaker Wan was different.
Those who sought her matchmaking were either rich or powerful.
Matchmaker Wan could tell at a glance that the five of them had all been turned away.
She didn’t specifically reply to Matchmaker Tian, but instead walked forward and stopped in front of the closed door.
She cleared her throat, crossed her hands and hung them down on her stomach, raised her neck and said loudly, “Is anyone from the Shen family at home? Open the door quickly. I’m here to propose marriage on behalf of Scholar Gong!”
In the yard, Xu Youfang stood up abruptly after hearing what was said clearly.
The bamboo basket fell to the ground, and Cao Manyue went up to help her up, putting the scattered velvet flowers back into the bamboo basket.
She also heard what the matchmaker outside was shouting.
“Mom, should we see this one?”
The ones before were all crooked dates and cracked melons, and they dared to dislike her brother-in-law for being married before. Those who didn’t sound good at first were rejected directly by the family without even needing her brother-in-law to say anything.
But with such good conditions as a scholar, the family really couldn’t make the decision and didn’t dare to refuse casually.
Xu Youfang meant the same thing, and sighed helplessly, “Manyue ah, go open the door and let them in.”
Cao Manyue agreed with a sound of “Aiy”, put down the bamboo basket, and went to open the door.
The Shen family’s yard was originally yellow mud, which was compacted.
Later, they had some money and paved it with blue bricks.
The yard was large and had an open view. The blue bricks underfoot were stable, and they were not afraid of getting their feet dirty on rainy days, and it was easy to clean.
Matchmaker Wan knew at a glance that the Shen family was not short of money. In just two years, they had really made a lot of money.
The other five matchmakersRub Matchmaker Wan’s blessing and all entered the Shen family’s yard.
The Shen family’s men had all gone out to work, and Xu Youfang, Cao Manyue, and Xiao Chun and Xiao Xia were at home.
The two children were well-behaved, and Cao Manyue told them not to come out in the house, so they sat obediently.
Xu Youfang didn’t want to entertain the matchmakers and didn’t invite them into the house to sit.
But she asked Matchmaker Wan, “I wonder which scholar this matchmaker is proposing marriage for?”
Matchmaker Wan saw at a glance that Xu Youfang didn’t really want Ling Xing to meet someone.
She also thought like the other matchmakers, thinking that she wanted to keep the God of Wealth at home and continue to make money for the Shen family.
After all, who would have thought that the real reason was that the youngest son had taken a fancy to his brother-in-law?
“Scholar Li of Yunxia Town, heard that Ge’er Ling was starting to meet people, so he specially asked me to propose marriage.”
Matchmaker Wan paid attention to the changes in Xu Youfang’s expression. Seeing that she looked uncertain, she deliberately asked, “Scholar Li has a title and has not yet married. No matter how capable Ge’er Ling is, he has been married after all and is a widower. Why is Aunt still hesitating so much and not even willing to nod in agreement for a meeting?”
Before Xu Youfang could speak, the matchmakers who had been turned away surrounded her and shouted all over the place.
“Shen family, you can’t suppress Xing Ge’er and not let him remarry.”
“That’s right! In our Yu Dynasty, there is no saying that women and Ge’ers who have been married must remain widows for the rest of their lives.”
“The one proposing marriage is a scholar! You don’t like the matchmakers we introduced, and the scholar doesn’t like them either?”
The matchmakers had long been holding back their anger in their hearts because of Xu Youfang’s repeated rejections.
Although this matter required the person to nod in agreement, and it couldn’t be achieved by stalking.
But this Shen family’s heart that they didn’t want Ling Ge’er to remarry was too obvious, but that Ge’er listened to his parents-in-law and didn’t look at anyone.
They had to take advantage of the marriage proposed by Matchmaker Wan to make the Shen family completely let go and be able to meet someone.
Then they could find a way to stuff the people they wanted to introduce in to see her.
Even if they weren’t as good as the scholar, it was possible that Ling Ge’er liked that type.
Xu Youfang knew the laws of the Great Yu Dynasty. Women and Ge’ers who had lost their husbands could remarry as long as they were willing.
There was no saying that they had to remain widows for the rest of their lives.
What Matchmaker Wan said was someone with a title, which was considered a good match…
Under the matchmakers’Try to see, Xu Youfang said helplessly, “I’ll call Xing Ge’er back tomorrow.”
Xu Youfang let go, and smiles turned to the matchmakers’ faces.
They took it as soon as it was good and didn’t plan to continue staying in the Shen family. They all said goodbye politely, saying they would come again tomorrow.
Their attitude was good, with no sign of the fierce appearance just now.
Xu Youfang was very speechless. If it hadn’t been difficult to refuse that scholar, she wouldn’t have been able to let these fewTake advantage of the loophole come in.
They had disturbed her family’sClean for many days, and it was time to settle the score and talk about it.
She said directly, “What are you here for? Those people you introduced, are you embarrassed to come to my house to propose marriage? Tomorrow, as long as Matchmaker Wan comes, if you come again, don’t blame me for not caring about theLove in the countryside!”
She had endured enough these days, and they really thought she was made of clay and had no temper.
No matter how she said it, they wouldn’t listen.
Seeing that Xu Youfang was really angry, the matchmakers weakened their momentum.
In the end, they didn’t even dare to refute and turned around and ran away in a panic.
The next morning, Shen Chengshan and Xu Youfang rented a carriage from the town and went straight to the small courtyard in the county town to find Ling Xing.
Seeing Xu Youfang and the two of them early in the morning, Ling Xing was still stunned for a moment, thinking that something had happened.
As a result, he heard that there was a scholar named Li in Yunxia Town who had asked a matchmaker to propose marriage to his family yesterday, wanting to marry him.
The two elders came to pick him up to go home to meet the matchmaker. Whether it was successful or not, he would talk to the matchmaker.
For a moment, Ling Xing didn’t react to who Scholar Li was. However, since he had a title, he didn’t like it, and he really had to explain the reason clearly.
“Mom thought that meeting at home wouldn’t be at a disadvantage. Everyone around is our own people. It’s just hard for Xing Ge’er to make a trip.”
Xu Youfang explained the reason for meeting at home, so that she could better control the situation in her own home court.
Ling Xing could understand. “Mom’s consideration is comprehensive.”
Xu Youfang smiled, then glanced at the closed door of the east wing. “There’s still no news from Erlang?”
Ling Xing shook his head.
“If there’s still no news in two days, I’ll ask the county magistrate to help find someone.”
Xu Youfang sighed. “That’s all we can do.”
At this point, Shen Lai and Ling Yue had already left. Ling Xing locked the courtyard door and went to the snack shop to tell Liu Qingyu that he was going home for two days and asked him to take care of the shop.
Then he went to Xie Qingya next door and asked him to take care of Ling Yue and Shen Lai for two days.
After settling everything, Ling Xing followed Xu Youfang and Shen Chengshan into the carriage and returned to Xiao Liucun.
The carriage was driving at a steady speed, and Ling Xing was swaying from side to side.
While swaying, he suddenly thought that the Scholar Li of Yunxia Town, could it be Li Huiyuan?
The thought flashed through his mind, and Ling Xing thought it was impossible.
He had met Li Huiyuan a few times and didn’t feel anything unusual.
Now he didn’t know the specific name, so it might be another Scholar Li.
Anyway, he would know after going home.