Upon learning Song Lichuan’s concerns, Tang Chunsheng naturally wouldn’t say anything that might tarnish his sister’s image.
“You saved my sister. Why would she be afraid of you? She’s nothing but grateful!”
Hearing Tang Chunsheng’s words, Song Lichuan’s tightly furrowed brow relaxed, and his expression softened slightly.
“In this matter, both you and my sister were put in a passive position. We need to understand your thoughts. If you’re unwilling, we certainly can’t repay kindness with ingratitude, right? Actually, my sister admires you greatly. Just now, she kept saying how your heroic descent from the sky was as magnificent as a deity…”
Listening to Tang Chunsheng’s exaggerated praise, Song Lichuan’s stern face showed a hint of discomfort, his earlobes flushing red.
He turned and walked toward the corner.
Tang Chunsheng continued to effusively praise Song Lichuan. In his earnest attempt to help his sister leave a good impression on her future husband, this honest man exhausted every compliment he could muster.
In his heart, he cursed the second branch of the family over and over.
If they had their sights set on that pale-faced scholar Wen Shuyu from the Wen family, they should have chosen him for the engagement from the start. That would have saved their own branch a lot of trouble. Now, with this last-minute switch, they were thrown into disarray, worried that the new brother-in-law might be displeased.
It wasn’t that he minded all the hard labor they’d done for the Wen family over the years—he just felt his younger sister had drawn the short end of the stick. If Song Lichuan had been her fiancé from the beginning, she could have started building a relationship with him earlier, ensuring a loving marriage after the wedding.
But now, everyone knew how devoted their younger sister had been to Wen Shuyu and all she’d done for him. When she eventually married Song Lichuan, could he truly harbor no resentment?
“Here, take this.”
While Tang Chunsheng was lost in thought, Song Lichuan returned from the corner carrying a pheasant.
“This is…” Tang Chunsheng was puzzled.
“Uncle Tang lost a lot of blood and needs nourishment. Take this pheasant back to make soup for him.”
Before Tang Chunsheng could react, Song Lichuan had already thrust the pheasant into his hands. The latter’s movements were rough, his expression somewhat awkward, and he appeared a bit clumsy—yet his sincerity was palpable.
The Tang family had given so much to the Wen family, yet the Wens had never so much as offered a single vegetable leaf in return. Instead, they frequently came to complain and even took eggs from the Tang household to nourish Wen Shuyu.
This marriage switch was definitely the right decision!
The more Tang Chunsheng looked at Song Lichuan, the more he cherished him, and he even felt a twinge of gratitude toward Tang Linglong for initiating the change.
Still, some things needed to be clarified to avoid leaving hidden troubles for his younger sister.
“Lichuan, I’m a few years older than you, so I hope you don’t mind me calling you that,” Tang Chunsheng said. “The marriages for you all were arranged by the elders. Back then, it was the second branch who chose you first, so we had no choice but to accept the engagement with the Wen family. Over the years, our family often helped the Wens, thinking that since we’d be in-laws someday, we should lend a hand where we could. But there was never anything between my sister and Wen Shuyu. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have agreed to the marriage switch so readily. My sister admires you deeply—in all these years, she’s never praised Wen Shuyu the way she praises you.”
What Tang Chunsheng meant to convey was that there had been no romantic involvement between Tang Yiren and Wen Shuyu, and their previous assistance to the Wen family was solely due to the engagement.
He wasn’t sure if Song Lichuan could understand, so he kept observing his reaction while saying these things.
“Miss Tang is deeply loyal and righteous, which is a good thing.” Song Lichuan didn’t understand why Tang Chunsheng was saying this; he didn’t see any problem with Tang Yiren acting this way.
Seeing that Song Lichuan had no negative reaction when saying this, Tang Chunsheng was truly reassured this time.
“Right, my sister is deeply loyal and righteous. Look at her—a young girl risking her life alone to go up the mountain to save her father, nearly getting eaten by a tiger. That’s just how sincere she is. You’ll understand in the future.”
“Hmm.”
Tang Chunsheng had said everything he needed to say, and the atmosphere became somewhat awkward.
He couldn’t stay there any longer, so he shoved the medicine into Song Lichuan’s hands and left.
Carrying the pheasant, he walked out of the Song household. As he passed through the village, whenever anyone looked at the pheasant in his hands, he would praise Song Lichuan, the new prospective brother-in-law, without waiting for them to ask.
“This is from Lichuan. He said my father lost too much blood and needs nourishment, so he insisted on giving me this pheasant to take back.”
“Lichuan was the second branch’s prospective son-in-law for seven years, and I bet they never even saw a single feather from him, right?” someone teased.
“I wouldn’t know about that. I never paid attention to these things before. Anyway, I think Lichuan is quite generous.”
Tang Chunsheng walked around the village with the pheasant. What should have taken only about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea to get home turned into a detour around the village, as if he had just found his way back.
As soon as he entered the courtyard, Mrs. Zhang saw the pheasant in his hands, her eyes flashing with greed.
“Oh, Chunsheng has really grown up, knowing how to show filial respect to his grandparents.” Mrs. Zhang strode over. “Come, come, your mother has to take care of your father and won’t have time to stew the chicken. Since I’m free anyway, I’ll stew it and send it over to your grandparents.”
Tang Chunsheng hid the chicken behind his back, looking displeased. “Aunt, this is for my father. He lost so much blood and needs some chicken soup to nourish his body. You wouldn’t try to take food from an injured person, would you?”
“Who’s taking food from him? Such a big chicken—your father can’t finish it all by himself. Of course, it should be offered to his grandparents.” Mrs. Zhang placed a hand on her hip. “I was kindly offering to stew it for you, and you turn around and accuse me.”
“No need.” Mrs. Tang came out and said to Mrs. Zhang, “Our family has enough people; we can stew the chicken ourselves. No need for you to worry.”
Mrs. Zhang curled her lip, watching as Tang Chunsheng carried the chicken into the kitchen, her eyes filled with reluctance.
Tang Linglong returned from outside and saw Mrs. Zhang standing in the courtyard, staring toward the main branch’s side. She went over and asked, “Mother, what are you looking at?”
“Tang Chunsheng brought back a chicken from outside. Who knows where he got it? Do you think it might have been given to him by Song Lichuan?”
“How could that be? Song Lichuan was my fiancé for seven years, and he never gave me so much as a chicken, not even an egg.”
“That’s true. He’s so stingy; he wouldn’t be willing to give Tang Chunsheng anything.” Mrs. Zhang felt a bit better. “Did you go see Wen Shuyu again just now?”
“Yesterday, Brother Shuyu caught a chill while saving me, so he didn’t go to the academy today. I should go check on him!” Tang Linglong said. “He and Tang Yiren were engaged for several years before. During those years, my uncle and aunt always went to help out. Now that I’m his fiancée, I must do even better than Tang Yiren. Otherwise, what if he only remembers her kindness and forgets mine?”
“Can Wen Shuyu really pass the imperial examinations and earn an official title?” Mrs. Zhang still felt uneasy. “Those titles aren’t easy to obtain.”
“Mother, you must believe me. Not only will he earn an official title, but he’ll even become the Prime Minister. Right now, he’s at his lowest point. We must help him when he’s most down and out, so he’ll remember our kindness. Storytellers call this—’offering charcoal in snowy weather’? Yes, that’s it.”