That happened several years ago.
At the time, Scholar Zhao had gone to the prefectural city to take the autumn imperial examinations, leaving Lady Zhao alone to care for their two children. Her health simply couldn’t bear the strain.
Once, while washing clothes by the river, her vision suddenly went dark, and she tumbled into the water.
It was still early in the morning, and only Old Madam, concerned about the fish traps she had set in the river, had come early to check for any catch.
As fate would have it, just as Lady Zhao fell into the river, Old Madam happened to witness the incident.
The area was actually quite flat, with the river flowing very slowly. A person falling in wouldn’t drift far. But everyone knew Lady Zhao was frail, and with the chilly weather, if no one rescued her, who knows what might have happened after soaking in the cold water.
It wasn’t wrong to call it a life-saving favor. At least, that’s how Old Madam put it, and the Zhao family accepted it as such.
Old Madam was a shrewd woman. Leveraging this life-saving favor, she directly arranged the engagement between Wanyue and Zhao Jing.
Later, when Old Madam’s daughter married into the third branch of the Zhao family, was it because they had taken a liking to Chen Mei?
Not at all!
It was because they valued Zhao Jing! They believed Zhao Jing would surely have a promising future, and since he was to marry a granddaughter of the Chen family, marrying their own daughter to a Chen girl would only strengthen the ties between the families.
In truth, what they were really after was Zhao Jing’s future success, hoping he would first lift up their branch of the family.
Even though there was a generational gap, it didn’t matter. As long as the girl was good-natured, nothing else was an issue.
Moreover, Old Madam had been unsure how to bring up the topic of breaking off the engagement when Lady Zhao mentioned the “life-saving favor.”
It was like a pillow appearing just as one was about to doze off. Old Madam immediately had an idea.
With sincere emotion, Old Madam said, “Saving you back then was truly an accident. Even if someone else had fallen in, I, an old woman, would have helped. But your family is honorable. To repay the favor, you insisted on betrothing such a promising young man like Jing-ge’er to my Wanyue.”
Lady Zhao let out a soft “ah,” her sallow face clouded with deep suspicion.
Wasn’t it Old Madam who had insisted on the engagement between Jing-ge’er and Wanyue back then?
How had it now become something they had proposed?
This wasn’t right.
Lady Zhao knew it wasn’t right, but she didn’t think to argue. After all, a woman’s family forcing a marriage on a man would sound bad if word got out, and it would harm the girl’s reputation.
Besides, the engagement was already settled. Old Madam could say whatever she wanted—it wasn’t a big deal anyway.
Little did she know, this was indeed a big deal!
Old Madam continued, “Back then, we truly admired Jing-ge’er and thought that if Wanyue could marry right under our watchful eyes, we, her closest relatives, could rest easy. Who would have thought…”
“Who would have thought what?”
“Who would have thought the child is a good child, and the match is a good match. But back when the engagement was made, it was done in such haste that we never got around to matching their eight characters! Now, with Jing-ge’er about to complete his mourning period, I thought to marry Wanyue over as soon as possible, so I took their eight characters to Cien Temple. To my shock, the abbot there directly pronounced it a ‘Great Misfortune.’”
Lady Zhao swayed unsteadily, unable to remain seated.
She stared fixedly at Old Madam. Her excessive thinness made her eyes appear unnaturally large. With her teeth clenched and eyes wide, she looked like a living skeleton, a terrifying sight. Old Madam couldn’t bear to look at her for long, afraid she’d have nightmares afterward.
Old Madam took a yellow paper from her sleeve and handed it to Lady Zhao. "Look at this. It's the commentary personally written by the abbot of Ci'en Temple. I was so panicked when I saw it that I came to find you immediately."
Lady Zhao's hands trembled as she took the yellow paper.
She was literate, but at this moment, she felt as though she couldn't recognize a single word on the paper.
Great Misfortune!
Great Misfortune!
Great Misfortune!
If Jing-ge'er marries Wanyue, his life will be in danger!
Lady Zhao's heart nearly leaped out of her throat.
She was terrified, clutching Old Madam's arm in a daze. "What should we do? Old Madam, what should we do? Jing-ge'er is my only son. If anything happens to him, how will I explain it to my husband in the afterlife?"
Old Madam struggled with great effort to free her arm from Lady Zhao's grip.
Such a frail-looking person, seemingly ready to collapse at the slightest breeze—who would have thought she could be so strong?
Old Madam was certain her arm would bruise.
Her old arms and legs were usually so well cared for.
Yet, after just this one visit to the Zhao household, she would be in pain for ten days to half a month.
Wanyue was right—the Zhao family and theirs were inherently incompatible.
Old Madam felt a surge of anger, and the slight guilt she had felt vanished instantly.
She offered Lady Zhao a perfunctory consolation, saying, "When I first heard this, I was also terribly frightened. After leaving the temple, I was so panicked that I stumbled several times. But the fact remains—no matter how much we try to avoid it, it's useless. All we can do now is find a way to resolve it."
"How do we resolve it? Old Madam, do you have a solution? Tell me, and I'll listen to you."
What a fool, with no mind of her own! If Wanyue were to marry into this family, Lady Zhao would be completely under her thumb.
What a wonderful life it could have been—such a pity that Zhao Jing had no future!
Thinking this, Old Madam put on a troubled expression. "When the Eight Characters clash, what solution is there? At most, we can only break off the engagement…"
As soon as Old Madam mentioned "breaking off the engagement," Lady Zhao shook her head frantically. "No! That won't do! This marriage was arranged by Jing-ge'er's father while he was still alive. Now that he's gone, if we break it off, how will I explain it to him when I join him in the afterlife?"
Old Madam barely held back the urge to roll her eyes. Explain? If the person is no longer alive, what is there to explain?
"Oh, Lady Zhao, do you think I want to break off the engagement? Ask around the entire county—is there any young man as outstanding as our Jing-ge'er? I wish he were my own grandson, yet I'm also glad he isn't. Giving up such a fine grandson-in-law is like cutting out my own heart. But, after all, the child's life is what matters. We've worked so hard to raise our children, not expecting them to repay us, but we certainly can't let ourselves bury our own children…"
Lady Zhao was nearly persuaded by Old Madam's words.
But if the engagement were broken off, how would she explain it to her husband in the afterlife?
Lady Zhao remained unyielding, and Old Madam grew increasingly anxious.
She had thought that since Lady Zhao only had Zhao Jing as her son, showing her the yellow paper would be enough to ensure his safety. If that were truly the case, she wouldn't have brought up the idea of substituting Wanqing, as that would have saved her a great deal of trouble.
But now Lady Zhao refused to relent. Even though she was nearly frightened to the point of fainting, she kept muttering, "It won't do." Old Madam truly had no other choice, so she leaned close to Lady Zhao's ear and whispered another string of words.
Lady Zhao's eyes widened, her breath caught, and she stared in shock and confusion, trembling like a leaf in the wind.
Old Madam couldn't tell whether she was excited or terrified by this outrageous idea. But for the sake of her grandson's future and the Chen family's prosperity, Old Madam seized Lady Zhao's arm and fervently persuaded her, "Back when I saved you, your family, out of gratitude, arranged the marriage between Jing-ge'er and Wanyue. But I don't have only Wanyue as a granddaughter—I also have my eldest granddaughter, Wanqing. Since Wanyue and Zhao Jing's Eight Characters clash, why not replace her with Wanqing?"
Old Madam added meaningfully, "Wanqing is truly a fine girl. In all the surrounding villages, you'd be hard-pressed to find a more outstanding young woman than Wanqing. Her only flaw is having been twice betrothed and then having the engagements broken off, but you, Madam, are a reasonable person and surely know the fault doesn't lie with Wanqing. My granddaughter has had a hard life, and if she could find such a good match in your family, it would be a great blessing for her. Moreover, you've always liked Wanqing, Jing-ge'er and De'an get along well, and your family has a good relationship with the eldest branch. Pairing Jing-ge'er with Wanqing would be a beneficial match for everyone!"