In the main hall, Madame Lü looked at the Fourth Miss and Young Master Deng standing before her, her expression far from pleasant.
At the time, she had been so entirely focused on Young Master Deng’s family background that she had surprisingly forgotten to ask his age and what he looked like.
“Mother, Mother.” The Fourth Miss shook her arm playfully, acting coquettishly. “The person has already come; you should say something.”
Looking at the Fourth Miss, whose face was full of impatience to show off her sweetheart to everyone, Madame Lü let out a helpless sigh in her heart. She slowly raised her eyes and asked him, “Young Master, what is your age this year? What sort of business do your parents and brothers do?”
Madame Lü felt she had asked gently and tactfully, but it still managed to displease the Fourth Miss. “…Mother! Deng-lang is not a criminal!”
Young Master Deng turned his head and looked at the Fourth Miss gently. “It is no matter, Yanyan does not need to worry.”
His expression was candid, showing no trace of timidity in the face of Madame Lü’s questioning. “I hope Madame is well. This student’s surname is Deng, given name Jue, courtesy name Liangyu. I am twenty-one this year, older than Yuyan by six years. Both my parents are still living. My father is a scholar, and my mother runs some businesses. My family has some modest property.”
As he spoke, he took out a sandalwood-colored brocade box from his wide sleeves and handed it to Sun Mama, who was standing by on standby.
Receiving Madame Lü’s signal, Sun Mama took the brocade box and carried it up to Madame Lü.
Madame Lü did not reach out to take the brocade box directly, allowing Sun Mama to open the lid. She took a glance… right on top was unmistakably the land deed to a grain and oil shop.
Pressed beneath it was a thick stack, numbering somewhere around twenty or thirty more deeds.
A glimmer flashed in Madame Lü’s eyes. Without changing her expression, she nodded to Sun Mama. Understanding the cue, Sun Mama closed the lid and stood to the side holding the brocade box.
“I came in a hurry today and could not prepare much. These shops are meant as a meeting gift, and also as an apology. I beg the Magistrate’s wife not to take offense.” Deng Liangyu adjusted his sleeves, bowed his head slightly, and offered a respectful bow to Madame Lü.
His etiquette was impeccable and flawless, down to the detail.
Madame Lü pursed her lips and said nothing, but deep down, she let out an imperceptible sigh of relief.
She only had four or five such grain and oil shops in her own hands. This Deng Liangyu was indeed extremely generous, presenting so many in one go.
It seemed that “some modest property” was merely his self-deprecating modesty. The actual situation was far more affluent than what she had previously heard from the Fourth Miss.
Her eldest daughter, Xu Yijin, was not doing well in Mingzhou. She did not have the household management power in her hands, yet she still had to bear half of the family’s expenses. If she could subsidize her with some silver from this side, Yijin would have a much easier time in the Tongpan’s residence…
Down below, the Fourth Miss’s face was flushed… Deng-lang coming over today was him laying all his cards on the table for her.
She had originally wanted to stop him. It was only his first visit to their door, not the formal betrothal and presentation of gifts, so there was no need for so much money. But Deng Liangyu had insisted.
He said he wanted to prove that he had the capability to provide her with an affluent, secure, and peaceful life.
And that she was worthy of the best of everything in this world.
Although Madame Lü was already tempted, restrained by her status and position, she did not show the slightest hint of “shock” or “joy.” She fell silent for a moment and feigned calmness, saying, “This gift is far too precious; I cannot accept it.”
Deng Liangyu replied, “It is merely a few fields and shops; it is nothing of importance. To have met Yanyan… Miss Yuyan, is already this one’s great fortune accumulated over three lifetimes. These worldly possessions are truly vulgar. I am already deeply grateful that Madame has not disdained me for my coarseness.”
“Furthermore,” Deng Liangyu paused and continued, “The Xu residence is an official household, and this student is merely a commoner. In the past, I felt I was unworthy of Miss Yuyan… to obtain Madame’s permission to meet is truly my utmost honor.”
A smile brimmed in Sun Mama’s eyes. Deng Liangyu truly knew how to speak; every word and sentence struck right at Madame Lü’s heart.
Madame Lü couldn’t help but smile subtly as well.
For a commoner to want to marry the legitimate daughter of an official household was indeed overreaching.
But Deng Liangyu had ambition. If he succeeded in the imperial examinations in the future, these shortcomings would be enough for people to overlook.
Madame Lü ordered the maids to serve tea and asked Deng Liangyu to take a seat.
Watching this, the Fourth Miss was beyond thrilled in her heart. Madame Lü was usually stern and serious; for her to have this kind of attitude meant she had already approved of Deng-lang in her heart.
After sitting down, Deng Liangyu picked up his teacup. Just as it touched his lips, he heard Madame Lü say, “Yuyan is my youngest daughter, pampered and doted on endlessly, raised as precious as a branch of gold and a leaf of jade. Her maternal grandfather serves as the Prefect of Huzhou, and many sons of official families have sought to marry her, but I refused them all, finding them too far away. By all rights, since you currently have no official rank to your name, you are originally unworthy of Yuyan…”
The Fourth Miss immediately grew anxious: “Mother! Didn’t we agree not to talk about this?”
Failing the imperial examinations was a sore spot for Deng-lang, and yet her mother insisted on stabbing him right in the heart.
At this moment, even though she knew Madame Lü was doing this to raise her value, a layer of resentment still rose in her heart.
Seeing the Fourth Miss’s expression change with anxiety, Madame Lü felt a sense of frustration that iron could not become steel, mixed with a bit of helplessness.
Deng Liangyu rubbed the relief carving on the teacup. These words were exactly what Concubine Yao had predicted, not a single detail amiss.
He slightly raised his gaze, set down the teacup in his hand, stood up, and offered a respectful bow to Madame Lü: “Mo… Madame is correct. I failed the imperial examinations and have no official rank to my name; I truly am unworthy of such a wonderful girl as Yuyan… But this student promises, if I have the fortune to take Yuyan as my wife, I will inevitably cherish and love her, and will absolutely not let her suffer the slightest fraction of grievance.”
The Fourth Miss’s face flushed red with shyness.
Observing Madame Lü’s reaction, Deng Liangyu continued, “This student can also draw up a written pledge as a guarantee: if I take Yuyan as my wife, I will absolutely not take any concubines or secondary wives. In this life and this lifetime, it will be her and her alone.”
A ripple finally stirred in Madame Lü’s calm eyes.
In this life, she had both a son and daughters. Although her husband’s official rank rose slowly, and he occasionally had wandering thoughts, he had never taken a fundamentally wrong step. Her life had been fairly smooth.
There was only one thing: there were too many concubines, secondary wives, and concubine-born children. Just the sight of them was enough to suffocate her with resentment for half the day.
She had suffered deeply from it, yet she could not order her husband to stop taking concubines. The husband was the guide of the wife. If she truly said such a thing, other people’s spit could drown her… She would never be able to take off the label of being jealous and intolerant for the rest of her life.
Therefore, she choked on her anger in her heart but could only endure it.
She hadn’t expected that Deng Liangyu would actually be willing to go this far for Xu Yuyan.
Madame Lü said, “…Yuyan is still young, but you have already reached the age of ruoguan. If your mother at home hurries you, what will you do?”
Deng Liangyu replied, “As for my mother, I will naturally speak to her myself. In short, if I do not wish to marry another, even if someone holds a knife to my neck, I will absolutely not let Yuyan down.”
Hearing this, the Fourth Miss’s eyes sparkled, brimming with hot tears.
Before today, she had never imagined Deng-lang could go this far for her… She had originally only thought that as long as she was the one Deng-lang loved most in his heart, she wouldn’t mind even if he took one or two concubines.
She hadn’t expected Deng-lang to be willing to give up taking concubines for her.
Amidst a moment of silence, Madame Lü said, “I understand. You may return for now, and allow me to discuss this with Yuyan’s father. Sun Mama, return the box to Young Master Deng.”
Sun Mama gave an acknowledgment and stepped forward to offer the box.
Deng Liangyu, however, did not take it, only saying, “These are not rare items. How they are handled is entirely up to Madame.”
Madame Lü fell silent for a moment. So many land deeds and shops were considered highly valuable, and hastily accepting them was clearly against etiquette. However, she had already given quite a few of her dowry shops to her eldest daughter, Xu Yijin, and looking ahead to the Eldest Brother marrying a wife, and Yuyan’s dowry…
Every single matter required silver to smooth things over so it could be done beautifully without people looking down on them.
Thinking of this, Madame Lü no longer pushed it away, nodding as she said, “You are very thoughtful.” After speaking, she looked at the Fourth Miss again. “Yuyan, go and see Young Master Deng out.”
The Fourth Miss’s eyes were still rimmed with red. Sniffling, she nodded.
However, this time, she was weeping tears of extreme joy.
The two observed proper etiquette, walking out the door one after the other. Once outside the Xu residence, they stood in Tonghua Alley murmuring to each other, their eyes brimming with tender affection.
…
Having finished crocheting an edge, Fang Li looked up and glanced outside again, saying, “That man has come out… Miss, Da-niangzi asked the Fourth Miss to see him out.”
Xu Zhihe gave an “hmm” and said thoughtfully, “It seems Da-niangzi is quite satisfied with Xu Yuyan’s sweetheart.”
Fang Li grew even more curious. She set her needlework aside, wiped her hands on the hem of her clothes, and said to Xu Zhihe, “Miss, I’m going to the main kitchen to help out. I’ll bring some food back later.”
Putting aside being called to the main kitchen to help—every time she went there voluntarily, it was mostly to listen to the gossip in the main kitchen and bring it back to tell Xu Zhihe.
The main kitchen wasn’t well-regarded by the mamas in the courtyards, but the information there flowed exceptionally well. Fang Li went often, and the people in the main kitchen never treated her as an outsider.
Xu Zhihe nodded. “Go ahead, and come back early.”
Fang Li agreed, pushed open the door, and a biting northern wind immediately slashed against her body like a knife.
The sky was gloomy and heavy, looking as if a heavy snow would fall in another two days.
She hurriedly closed the door, wrapped her short jacket tightly around herself, stomped her feet, and ran head down toward the main kitchen.
The weather this year was truly strange. It wasn’t even the twelfth lunar month yet, and it was already this cold.
Passing by the main gate of the Xu residence, she peeked outside. The Fourth Miss and that young master were standing hand in hand… Truly deep in love. In this freezing weather that could kill a person without a second thought, they could actually chat for so long.
On the other side, Concubine Yao had also returned to her own courtyard.
She had gone out and caught a chill. Tian Mama stood beside her, her heart aching endlessly as she said repeatedly, “Niangzi, the matter has already been handled properly. Why suffer the hardship of making this trip yourself?”
A maid brought forward a bowl of hot goji berry and red date sweet soup. Concubine Yao placed the tangpozi on her lap, took the sweet soup, and drank a few mouthfuls. The warmth traveled all the way down to her heart and lungs.
“It is no matter. With a child in my body, my internal heat is somewhat stronger than others anyway,” Concubine Yao smiled and comforted Tian Mama. “Besides, if I didn’t make this trip, how would Madame Lü believe that fellow from the Deng family was truly a good match?”
After all, in the eyes of outsiders, Concubine Yao and Young Master Deng had zero interaction. With Madame Lü intending to select a husband for the Fourth Miss, it was only human nature for Concubine Yao to be curious and unable to resist going to see what was going on.
If you are going to put on an act, you must do it thoroughly. Yao Nianqin understood this principle deeply.
Tian Mama carefully tucked in the blanket draped over Concubine Yao and ordered the servants to add another brazier. Having done this, she waved her hand to dismiss the cluster of maids and servants, speaking to Concubine Yao alone.
“It’s just a pity. Such a well-managed grain and oil shop, completely given away to that old hag Lü-shi,” Tian Mama felt a pang of heartache for the loss.
To demonstrate Young Master Deng’s financial power, Concubine Yao had gritted her teeth and taken a storefront land deed from her own private property. Her heart was dripping blood when she handed it over.
“It’s only the one placed right on top to keep up appearances.” Concubine Yao was reluctant to part with it as well. That single shop brought in no less than five hundred taels of silver a year, and it was one that Magistrate Xu had taken from his private property to give to her.
She only grieved for a moment before instantly restoring her faint smile. She said slowly, “But what can be done… if you cannot bear to part with the child, you cannot catch the wolf?”
If relying on one land deed, along with a pile of scrap paper pretending to be land deeds, could buy a grand future for her Shu-jie’er, then the land deed for this grain and oil shop was not used in vain.
Tian Mama thought about it and agreed. However, this grain and oil shop was considered the largest storefront Concubine Yao had to rely on; the other few were scattered and small, and only together did they amount to this sum. Without this storefront, their courtyard would no longer be able to live the kind of days where they never lacked for rich food and oil like before.
Thinking of this, she held Concubine Yao’s hand and said, “If Shu-jie’er knows of Niangzi’s scheming for her in the future, she will remember Niangzi’s goodness in her heart for her entire life.”
Concubine Yao gently caressed her own stomach and said softly, “Tian Mama, I do not expect her to repay me. As a mother, I only hope for my child’s well-being. To me, as long as Shu-jie’er lives smoothly with her husband’s family, and this child can grow up safely, I will be content.”
Tian Mama echoed, “Niangzi is pure and kind-hearted, the Bodhisattvas see it all. In the future, they will certainly bless Niangzi with children and grandchildren playing at your knees; your good days are all still ahead.”
Concubine Yao, however, laughed. “Tian Mama, listen to what you are saying; even I myself do not believe it.”
Pure and kind-hearted? How could that be possible? For the sake of Shu-jie’er and her unborn child, even if she had to descend into the deepest pits of hell, she would feel no regret.”
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 🤓 💅.