With great difficulty, she finally waited until everyone finished eating. Before the two could get up, Sun Mama spoke up, “The incense has been lit in the ancestral hall. I must trouble the Niangzis, Young Masters, and Misses to go to the ancestral hall and pay respects to the ancestors.”
Xu Lanshu’s eyes widened in confusion as she asked, “Then why doesn’t Eldest Brother have to worship the ancestors?”
Sun Mama smiled and said, “The Eldest Young Master has heavy studies; as long as his heart is in the right place, it is enough.”
Who didn’t have their heart in the right place? Xu Lanshu wanted to say something else, but Concubine Yao pulled on her hand. “Let’s go.”
It was merely ancestral worship—following the crowd to kneel on a praying mat and kowtow wouldn’t take much effort.
Here, Xu Zhihe and Xu Yingzhang had no room to speak. The two walked side by side. After entering the ancestral hall, mamas first lit the incense, and they took it, offering the incense in order of concubines, young masters, and finally, misses.
Since Magistrate Xu had not been transferred to Eqiao County for long, the ancestral hall couldn’t be considered large. In front of the ancestral memorial tablets, offerings of fruit and sliced cakes were placed.
When it was the turn of Xu Zhihe, Xu Lanshu, and the Fourth Miss to offer incense together, Sun Mama deliberately had the Fourth Miss stand in the middle, and then said, “The hierarchy of legitimate and concubine-born must be maintained in an orderly manner; do not cause a mess of things.”
Xu Zhihe: “…”
Anyone with eyes could see that this was aimed at Xu Zhihe.
Heaven have pity on her. She clearly hadn’t done anything out of line, yet she had to endure this pointless reprimand.
It seemed that the visit from her younger uncle and aunt had truly angered Da-niangzi to her core.
After placing the three sticks of incense, Xu Zhihe saw Sun Mama take people outside the Xu residence to set up a roadside sacrifice in Tonghua Alley. Only after the incense had thoroughly burned did everyone finally disperse.
Mid of tenth lunar month was already the season of frost covering the ground. Standing outside in the evening for just a short while, her hands and feet went numb with cold.
Xu Zhihe had no mood to continue wandering outside. She returned to the west wing, lit the brazier, and flipped through the book.
There were annotations next to the text. The handwriting was vigorous and powerful, dragons flying and snakes moving—it already possessed considerable character and strength. A thousand years from now, it would undoubtedly be a masterpiece treasured by collectors.
However, this was most likely not Chen Yundu’s handwriting… Based on what she knew of him, Chen Yundu was intelligent, eager to learn, and knowledgeable with a broad memory, but handwriting this free-spirited and uninhibited required the polishing and accumulation of time.
Xu Zhihe read for about an hour and then prepared to blow out the lamp and go to sleep.
Outside, Magistrate Xu and Da-niangzi, Madame Lü, returned hand in hand after attending the banquet. The mamas from both the inner and outer courtyards who hadn’t yet rested rushed to the door to welcome them.
As soon as Madame Lü entered the residence, she immediately shook off the dead-drunk Magistrate Xu, grabbed Sun Mama’s hand, and returned to the main courtyard on her own.
Pulled along by Madame Lü, Sun Mama didn’t know what was going on. Observing her expression, she didn’t look completely happy, nor completely unhappy. The joy was only a thin surface layer; deeper down, there was a heavy trace of sorrow.
Madame Lü washed her hands with hot water. As she dried them with a handkerchief, she said to Sun Mama, “Go and call Yuyan over.”
Sun Mama’s face showed hesitation. “Da-niangzi, at this hour, I am afraid the Fourth Miss has already gone to sleep.”
Madame Lü froze for a moment, then hardened her heart and said, “Even if she’s asleep, have Tao Zhi wake her up. It is a major matter.”
It seemed it was truly a matter of extreme importance; otherwise, Madame Lü would not have disturbed the Fourth Miss’s sleep.
She was just preparing to step out the door when she heard Madame Lü lower her voice, “Remember, do not wake the people in the other courtyards.”
Sun Mama gave an acknowledgment and accepted the order, heading to the Fourth Miss’s room.
Being woken up, the Fourth Miss was naturally extremely reluctant. Held down by Tao Zhi and her wet nurse, she was dressed and had her hair combed. As soon as she stepped into the main courtyard, she complained, “Mother, what exactly is this major matter? Couldn’t it wait until tomorrow to be said?”
Madame Lü pulled her to her side and asked nervously, “A few days ago, I told you to have Young Master Deng come to see me. Why has there been no follow-up?”
The Fourth Miss froze, and a faint blush quickly spread over her face. The complaints in her heart vanished into thin air, leaving only a deep sense of grievance. “Mother, upon hearing that you wanted to see him, Deng-lang refused to come.”
Madame Lü pressed, “Refused to come? Why did he refuse to come?”
The Fourth Miss pursed her lips. “Deng-lang said that upon learning I am the legitimate daughter of the Eqiao County Magistrate, he claimed he is unworthy of me… Although his maternal family runs a business and his uncle is an official in the court, those are ultimately not his own abilities. He is afraid that being with me would subject me to grievances, so he wants to wait until he has attained an official title before coming to the door to propose marriage.”
But she didn’t care in the slightest whether Deng-lang had an official title to rely on. From beginning to end, all she wanted was him as a person.
It had nothing to do with titles, and nothing to do with status.
Hearing this, Madame Lü actually felt somewhat surprised. “For him to think this way actually earns him a bit of my approval.”
The Fourth Miss became anxious in an instant. “Mother!”
Seeing her eyes turn red with anxiety, Madame Lü let out a low sigh in her heart, then leaned close to the Fourth Miss’s ear and said softly, “Today when I went to the banquet, the wife of the Huangchi County Magistrate was also there. Her second son has just reached marriageable age, and she was asking for my thoughts!”
The wife of the Huangchi County Magistrate had two sons in total. The eldest son, twenty-three, was already married and established, and the second son, seventeen, was right at the age to discuss marriage.
The Fourth Miss understood Madame Lü’s meaning and immediately resisted, “Mother, you know me. In this life and this lifetime, I will absolutely not marry anyone but Deng-lang!”
“You child, listen to me finish,” Madame Lü signaled for her to calm down and continued, “After conversing with her, the wife of the Huangchi County Magistrate seems to have a very easy-going temperament. Her eldest son has become a Juren and is waiting to go to the capital for the imperial examinations in three years. Her eldest daughter-in-law is also a well-bred young lady from an official’s family and is learning to manage the household affairs… If you married over there, you would have an easy-to-talk-to mother-in-law, an ambitious older brother-in-law, a sister-in-law to manage the house, a courtyard full of servants, and endless expenses… You wouldn’t need to wait for Young Master Deng to rise in power to live a good life of leisure and comfort.”
The Fourth Miss… was tempted for a split second.
But no matter how good someone else was, what did it have to do with her?
In her heart, she only had Deng-lang. No one else could ever enter her heart.
Seeing her expression struggle and then slowly turn resolute, Madame Lü roughly had an idea in her heart.
Her daughter’s age wasn’t considered old, but it wasn’t exactly young either. Since the spring of love had sprouted and she liked a young man, she wouldn’t change her mind easily.
It was just that deep down, she felt more or less a bit of pity. Such a good marriage arrangement!
She stroked the Fourth Miss’s long hair and held her tightly in her arms. “I know your thoughts. For Young Master Deng to say those words, it shows he has some understanding of etiquette and knows not to overreach… But no matter how a thousand times good and ten thousand times good he is in your mouth, Mother must still see him to set her heart at ease.”
The Fourth Miss said vaguely, “Mother, I know.”
In truth, she currently couldn’t contact Young Master Deng either. She went to the bridge by the river to look every day, but day after day, she saw no one.
She was somewhat impatient to go and tell Young Master Deng that her mother did not disdain his family for lacking official status, and that the two of them had a chance to walk to the very end together.
Seeing that the Fourth Miss had taken her words to heart, Madame Lü felt greatly relieved.
Although her daughter was stubborn, she still ultimately listened to her words.
The two talked for a while longer by the flickering candlelight. Madame Lü kept the Fourth Miss, and after the mother and daughter washed up, they lay in bed together.
The Fourth Miss had grown sleepy, but Madame Lü had many words she wanted to pour out to her daughter in her heart—like the humiliation of the Prefect of Xuanzhou immediately sending someone to break the engagement after her eldest son failed the exams, or how her eldest daughter, after marrying the legitimate second son of the Mingzhou Tongpan (Prefectural Vice-Administrator), suffered daily “reprimands” from her mother-in-law, simply because Xu Yijin’s background was inferior to the eldest daughter-in-law’s.
And then, there was the matter of the Huangchi County Magistrate’s legitimate second son right in front of them.
If Young Master Deng was someone she could entrust herself to, that would be fine. But what she feared was that he was not a good man, causing her to lose out on the excellent prospect right in front of her.
However, looking at the Fourth Miss’s exhausted face, Madame Lü suppressed these thoughts hoarded in her heart. Patting her back, she coaxed her softly and gently, “Be good, sleep now.”
With the gentle, rhythmic patting, the Fourth Miss fell asleep.
With matters on her mind, Madame Lü could not fall asleep for a long time.
Outside, the cold moonlight spilled onto the ground, reflecting the withered branches in the courtyard—desolate and lonely. Looking at her deeply asleep youngest daughter, the more she thought, the more her heart ached with sorrow.
She wanted to give them the best of everything, but living in this world, things never went according to her wishes.
Her eldest daughter, Xu Yijin’s marriage, had been secured by leveraging the connections of her father and brothers. When they got engaged, everyone offered congratulations, saying the Second Miss had married into a high-ranking family and would certainly have a bright and boundlessly successful future. But who knew that every time the in-laws met, the Vice-Administrator’s wife’s disdain was practically written plainly on her face.
If merely meeting a few times was like this, how was Yijin supposed to endure living with her husband’s family?
Therefore, for her youngest daughter’s marriage, Madame Lü did not seek out high-ranking families. She only wanted the two families to be well-matched in social status, for the family members to be easy to get along with and talk to, and for the couple to live their days harmoniously and beautifully—that was the wish in her heart.
If everything went according to the direction she hoped for, it would be fine. But Yuyan was grown and had her own opinions. Young Master Deng was like a gray fog; she couldn’t see him clearly…
In the middle of the night, the Fourth Miss woke up to relieve herself. Seeing Madame Lü sitting on the bed looking at the moonlight, she couldn’t help but call out with some worry, “Mother.”
Madame Lü’s cheeks were somewhat wet. When she touched them, she only then realized she had shed tears.
She hurriedly grabbed the handkerchief by the bed to wipe away her tears. When she turned to look at the Fourth Miss, her eyes were rimmed entirely red.
The Fourth Miss felt uneasy in her heart.
Was Mother… this heartbroken because I insisted on being with Deng-lang?
Madame Lü couldn’t bear her daughter’s worry. Suppressing a sob, she asked softly, “Did Mother wake you up?”
The Fourth Miss shook her head, looking at her with watery eyes. Hesitating for a moment, she asked softly, “Mother, why are you sad?”
Madame Lü said, “Mother is worried about your sister… and as for this marriage arrangement, you are unwilling, but your father is reluctant to let it go in his heart. Aside from you, there are two other daughters awaiting marriage in the household.” She paused, then finished her thought completely, “I only fear it will end up benefiting those two girls.”
The Fourth Miss suddenly understood. Hugging Madame Lü, she comforted her, “Mother does not need to feel it is a pity. Even if it truly is given to them, it does not matter. Deng-lang’s family has been scholars for generations with a profound tradition of learning. When his name is on the golden scroll in the future, both you and I will enjoy the blessings with him.”
Madame Lü looked at her innocent, untainted face. For so many years, under her care, Xu Yuyan had always been carefree. Even knowing that her biological older sister wasn’t living as happily as imagined, it hadn’t altered her boundless expectations for the future and for marriage in the slightest.
The Fourth Miss didn’t know how many complex emotions were in that single glance Madame Lü gave her. She only thought Madame Lü was feeling regret that a good marriage prospect would fall to the other two concubine-born daughters in the house. After thinking about it, she leaned close to Madame Lü’s ear.
“Mother, you don’t have to worry. Third… Xu Zhihe is someone without good fortune. Today when I went out, I saw her buying food and pastries and delivering them to the clerk at the bookstore.”
It was as if a clap of thunder exploded beside Madame Lü. She gripped the Fourth Miss’s hand tightly. “Really? Did you see it clearly?”
The Fourth Miss said, “Clearly and unmistakably. If Mother does not believe it, you can ask Tao Zhi who serves beside me… She has always been honest and dutiful; she wouldn’t join me in deceiving Mother.”
Tao Zhi was Sun Mama’s biological daughter. She had been sent to the Fourth Miss’s room just after turning ten and had become a senior maid in her courtyard.
Whenever there was even the slightest rustle of wind or movement in her courtyard, Tao Zhi would immediately go and tell Sun Mama.
The Fourth Miss thought that even if she remained silent and didn’t speak now, Mother would get the news from Sun Mama the very next morning anyway.
Receiving the Fourth Miss’s guarantee, Madame Lü froze, then immediately smiled… No wonder.
If she didn’t have an illicit affair with the bookstore clerk, why would the Third Girl—who usually shrank back in the west wing and hated to move—be so eager to run to the bookstore the moment she finished paying her respects?
“I was just saying, the Third Girl never loved running to the bookstore personally before. So this is the reason.” The corners of Madame Lü’s mouth curved slightly. “Good, very good. Her, ah, she was simply born without the fate to enjoy good fortune.”
After telling Madame Lü this matter, the stone in the Fourth Miss’s heart finally fell to the ground. For the matter with Xianwei Wei, her father and mother had taken turns, yet still couldn’t persuade Xu Zhihe.
Seeing her standing in the same place as the bookstore clerk today, she felt a trace of secret empathy in her heart—the empathy of having a beloved in one’s heart. Once you had someone you deeply loved, how could you possibly accept a so-called “match made in heaven”?
But looking at Mother’s reaction, they did not share the same thoughts at all.
“What is Mother planning to do?” Pausing for a moment, she pressed.
T/n: The New chapter is up! Enjoy the ride and do join us on this adventure 😍🎉🎊. If you want to support me, do check my other novels on my Translator’s Page🫶. You can support the original author here. Please vote on NU here. If you’re interested, you can also buy me a Ko-Fi. Happy Reading 🤓 💅.