In the past, the only person from the Li family to live with the Nian family and study was Li Zhe.
Li Zhe was hardworking and highly talented, bringing considerable honor to the Li family.
After Old Madam Nian’s relationship with her live-in husband, Li Chunshan, gradually improved, she showed further favor and selected several bright boys from the Li family’s branch lines to join the clan school and study both academics and commerce.
Later, the world descended into chaos and war erupted everywhere.
Using a visit to their son as an excuse, Li Zhe’s parents brought along their two daughters and knocked on the Nian family’s door. Once they entered, they never wanted to leave. Kneeling before Old Madam Nian, they wept and begged for nothing more than a meal to eat and a roof over their heads. In return, they were willing to serve the Nian family like oxen and horses.
At first, Old Madam Nian refused. The Nian family wasn’t a charity hall.
But by coincidence, Li Chunshan fell seriously ill around that time. For a man nearing the end of his life, seeing blood relatives by his bedside, even merely a nephew and his wife, was a comfort strangers could never provide.
After Old Madam Nian tacitly approved their stay, Li Youcai’s family took charge of Li Chunshan’s care. They were used to hard work and quick with their hands, never lacking initiative.
Furthermore, Li Zhe repeatedly reminded his family never to overstep simply because they shared the surname Li, nor to act like masters in front of the servants.
After Li Chunshan passed away, they were not sent away. Instead, through diligence, reliability, and orderly work, they gradually earned Old Madam Nian’s trust and took on several minor managerial responsibilities.
The fact that the Nian family brought them to the capital during this mass relocation and entrusted them with many internal household affairs and luggage arrangements clearly demonstrated how highly the old matriarch regarded them.
For Li Youcai and his wife, such a position, one that provided food, clothing, stability, and prospects for the future, was something they deeply appreciated. Therefore, when their son privately consulted them about marrying into the Nian family to resolve Miss Nian’s “blind assignment” crisis, the couple thought it over briefly and readily agreed. Years ago, they had already hoped their son could marry into the Nian family.
Unfortunately, Miss Nian had set her heart on Gu Jiangzhi, and the idea had been dropped. Who would have thought circumstances would circle back to the same point? They had their own calculations as well. Having lived with the Nian family for so many years, they understood the situation reasonably well. When the Nian family spoke of a live-in son-in-law, it wasn’t because they lacked sons to continue the family line. It was simply because they couldn’t bear to see their precious daughter suffer elsewhere. If the marriage became real, any children born to Miss Nian would ultimately carry the Li surname, thereby continuing the Li family bloodline. And if it were merely a temporary, fake marriage that helped the Nian family survive this crisis, that would be a good deed as well. Given the Nian family’s longstanding generosity, they certainly wouldn’t mistreat them afterward.
In short, whether the marriage was real or fake, tying themselves firmly to the Nian family’s great ship would finally allow their drifting Li branch to establish itself securely. Yet in the middle of the night, they suddenly heard their son utter those words.
Li Youcai trembled with anger. Pointing at his daughter, his eyes widened like copper bells. “Yu’er! Is what your brother said true? Did you really harbor such filthy thoughts?”
Madam Li rushed over and smacked her daughter hard across the shoulder. “You wretched girl! We’re talking to you!”
Tears rolled around Li Yu’er’s eyes. “Miss Nian is treated like a treasure, while I’m just grass beneath everyone’s feet! She can’t be blindly assigned a husband, but I can? You’re my parents and my brother. Instead of thinking about my future, all of you are criticizing me!”
Li Zhe replied: “I’ve already spoken privately with Yang Qing and his father, Uncle Yang. They’re willing.”
Recently, he had also been worried about finding suitable marriages for his sisters and had quietly made inquiries. “If the Gu family hadn’t caused all this trouble in the last few days, the Yang family would probably have already come to propose.”
Yang Qing was Uncle Yang’s youngest son, the chief steward of the inner household. Having grown up in the Nian family, he was steady and dependable, and the household trusted him deeply. More importantly, he was an honest and kindhearted man whose background was well known. He was exactly the type of person with whom one could build a stable life.
But Li Yu’er had ambitions far beyond her circumstances. The moment she heard Yang Qing’s name, she immediately lifted her chin and protested: “I don’t like Yang Qing! I’m not ugly. Why should I be married to a servant?”
The moment those words left her mouth, her father slapped her. His chest heaving with anger, he shouted: “A servant? And just how noble do you think you are? Do you think you’re destined to be a mistress? Without the Nian family, we’d have starved to death already!”
The Li family had countless branch lines. No one even knew how many had survived. Their branch remained intact entirely because the Nian family had protected them.
Madam Li also tried to reason with her daughter. “Girl, what use are good looks? Living a stable, honest life is what’s important. And don’t go setting your sights on the Nian family’s sons. They’re not people you should be dreaming about.”
Covering her swollen cheek, Li Yu’er burst into tears. “Why can’t I dream about it? We’re all human! It’s not like they’re missing an arm or a leg less than me! I…”
Before she could finish, her mother smacked her squarely on the back again.
This time, she was even blunter. “That’s right, we’re all human! Then why do some people live comfortably in troubled times while others starve to death? Girl, you don’t know how to be content!”
Just then, a slender young girl wearing twin hair buns stepped out of the room. In a timid voice, she asked: “Father, Mother, Elder Brother… if Older Sister truly doesn’t want to… could you perhaps ask Brother Yang… whether… I might be acceptable?”
Li Yu’er froze when she heard her younger sister, Li Zhen’er, speak. Then she immediately replied: “Sure. If you like him, he’s yours. I never cared for him anyway.”
Meanwhile, Qingxia returned quietly to Nian Chujiu’s room and leaned close to her ear, recounting everything she had overheard.
Nian Chujiu sat before her dressing mirror as Yunduo and Mingyue helped remove her hairpins and loosen her long hair. “Does Li Zhen’er truly like Yang Qing?”
“Mm.” Qingxia smiled. “That’s what she said.”
Although the Li family worked for the Nian household, their distant kinship and respectable managerial positions earned them a secluded courtyard connected to the inner residence.
Qingxia had overheard the commotion while collecting ice from Steward Li Youcai.
After thinking for a moment, Nian Chujiu instructed: “Keep a closer eye on Li Yu’er these next few days. Her heart is unsettled, and she may cause trouble. Don’t let her ruin my plans.”
Qingxia respectfully agreed. Carefully placing the ice chest in a corner away from the bed, she draped it with a thick cloth. That way, it could cool the room without exposing the young mistress to excessive cold during the night.
When everything was finished, Qingxia and Yunduo quietly withdrew. Only Mingyue remained.
Nian Chujiu softly gave her several additional instructions, including personnel arrangements and other important matters. Mingyue memorized each one.
Once all business had been settled, Nian Chujiu washed up and went to bed. “Mingyue, extinguish the candle. No need to leave a light burning.”
Mingyue blinked in surprise and looked toward the vague silhouette behind the bed curtains.
The young mistress had feared darkness since childhood. A lamp had always burned through the night, casting a warm golden glow. That habit had remained unchanged for more than ten years.
Yet Mingyue asked no questions. “Yes, Miss.” She bent down and gently blew out the candle on the bedside table.
The room instantly plunged into darkness.
Moving quietly, Mingyue felt her way out and soundlessly closed the door behind her. The moment she turned around, she nearly collided with Yunduo.
“Why is it dark?” Yunduo asked, instinctively reaching for the door. “I’ll go relight the lamp.”
“Don’t.” Mingyue caught her arm. “Miss ordered it extinguished. She said no lamp is needed tonight.”
Yunduo looked puzzled. “But Miss hates the dark. Usually she won’t allow the lamps to be put out all night.”
Mingyue merely shook her head.
Yunduo became both angry and heartbroken. “It’s all that Young Master Gu’s fault! He’s upset our Miss so badly that she isn’t even afraid of the dark anymore!”