At the He residence, Mrs. Ge frowned upon hearing people talk about Su Ying’s nausea and noticeably larger belly, then immediately became excited as if having figured something out.
“Son, that girl must be carrying your child. Though it’s a bit early to show, it might well be twins! As long as we confirm this matter to others, you can rightfully take her as a concubine and reclaim her family property!”
Mrs. Ge’s expression turned animated, her rough hands rubbing together incessantly as if seeing a wealthy life beckoning to her, even envisioning two chubby-cheeked grandsons crawling toward her.
He Changchun curled his lips into a pleased smile. “Yes, Mother. You go discuss this with the Su family. Tell them I want to marry Su Ying as my wife, but you feel her premarital pregnancy is improper and demand she enter through concubine rituals.”
“Don’t worry! I know exactly what to say!”
Mrs. Ge responded cheerfully and turned to leave.
He Changchun breathed a long sigh of relief, feeling particularly vindicated.
Ever since obtaining the token, he had wanted his mother to spread this story, but he always worried that initiating the rumor might reveal his ulterior motives, so he had held back.
Now that Su Ying was pregnant, it gave him the perfect excuse to expose the matter – truly a heaven-sent opportunity.
After leaving home, Mrs. Ge suppressed her joyful expression and instead feigned a livid, extremely displeased countenance.
When the village women saw the mother of the Successful candidate in this state, they couldn’t help but approach to show concern.
“Auntie, where are you going? What’s wrong? Who’s upset you again?”
“Exactly! Tell us about it! We’re all neighbors here – if there’s trouble, maybe we can help out somehow!”
The women gathered around enthusiastically.
This was precisely the effect Mrs. Ge wanted, though she pretended to hesitate speaking.
“What is it, Auntie? Just tell us! With so many of us here, we might be able to think of a solution!”
“Yes, Auntie, just say it! We’ll definitely help if we can!”
Mrs. Ge heaved a heavy sigh and deliberately wiped away imaginary tears. “This matter… I really don’t want to talk about it, but… ah…”
After building sufficient suspense and seeing the crowd growing larger, Mrs. Ge finally spoke as if sacrificing her dignity.
“It’s all my worthless son’s fault for lacking self-control. During that period, the Su family’s second daughter kept coming to our house. I didn’t know about it at first – Changchun only told me today. That girl, seeing her face ruined, feared Changchun wouldn’t want her anymore, so she came to ask if he’d still marry her.”
“My Changchun, being a man of honor who keeps his promises, reassured her he would fulfill his commitment and told her to go home and wait for news.”
“But whether from anxiety or other reasons, that girl deliberately got Changchun drunk and… did that deed.”
“My Changchun, fearing this would ruin her reputation, kept it quiet. These past few days he’s been urging me to arrange his marriage with Su Ying. I originally planned to do so after this return, but coincidentally it’s the anniversary of Changchun’s father’s death. I worried about bad timing and wanted to wait, never expecting this would happen in the meantime!”
Upon hearing this, everyone was utterly shocked, various expressions flashing across their faces.
“Is this true? I heard someone saw that girl’s belly has grown larger, and she’s been retching—it seems like morning sickness symptoms. Could it really be…”
“Ah… Could it be that escaped thief from last time when you took us to your house to get embroidery patterns was actually her?”
“My! How shameless! A proper young girl throwing herself at a man—how is she any different from those low-class prostitutes out there?”
“Auntie, you’re not actually considering having Changchun marry her as your daughter-in-law, are you? Your Changchun is a provincial-level exam candidate with unlimited future prospects! You mustn’t be careless about this!”
Some were skeptical, others drew far-fetched conclusions, while some spoke with absolute certainty as if they were close relatives offering thoughtful advice to the He family.
Mrs. Ge sighed deeply, speaking with feigned helplessness and headache, “It’s exactly as you suspect. My Changchun has been begging me at home to let him marry that girl. If she were proper, I’d swallow my pride and go to the Su family to arrange this matter today—after all, this was originally agreed upon between our family and the main branch of the Su family years ago, and we can’t go back on our word.”
“But as you all know, my son Changchun is destined for an official career. What if people learn the wife he married is so unchaste? How would they point fingers at him behind his back?”
“So I was thinking of first taking her in through concubine rituals, then having Changchun elevate her to wife status after some time. I’m not sure if this approach is good, which is why I wanted to seek your sisters’ advice!”
Mrs. Ge wore an expression of utter helplessness, pretending her family were the innocent victims.
The surrounding women quickly voiced their agreement.
“Auntie, don’t hesitate—just take her as a concubine. There’s no need to elevate her status at all. Becoming pregnant before marriage is truly improper. Allowing her into your home already shows the He family’s great benevolence. Any other family would have dragged that girl to be drowned in the pond!”
“Exactly! Auntie, don’t have any reservations. Changchun is sentimental—it’s understandable he wants to marry that girl. But you need to see things clearly! Don’t ruin his official career over his momentary misjudgment!”
“Indeed! Having a provincial-level exam candidate emerge from our Xiahe Village wasn’t easy. You mustn’t act foolishly!”
Hearing everyone support her plan to take Su Ying in through concubine rituals, Mrs. Ge was delighted.
If everyone said so, wouldn’t her family just follow along? Wouldn’t this matter be successfully resolved then?
Though thinking this, Mrs. Ge maintained her pretense of difficulty on her face. “Sigh… I’ll go discuss this with the Su family!”
She sighed deeply again and tremblingly made her way to Second Su’s large house, leaving behind the crowd of women whispering about Su Ying.
Su Residence.
The elderly Su parents and the second branch family members who had heard the rumors gathered in the main hall, all with grim expressions.
“Father, Mother, have you heard? Su Ying actually shows signs of morning sickness! Could she have been with He Juren? How could she be so shameless as to be with a man? What should we do now?”
Mrs. He’s cheeks flushed red with anger, her hands viciously twisting a handkerchief as if she wished she could go out and tear Su Ying to pieces immediately.
Both He Changchun and Du Xiucai were her chosen prospective sons-in-law. Actually, she had initially preferred Du Xiucai—she heard his father had become a high official in the capital. If she could have her Miao’er marry him, her second branch family could conveniently follow them to the capital to enjoy a life of ease.
But that man was aloof by nature and usually wouldn’t engage in idle chatter with them. Designing a situation to get him and Miao’er together was practically more difficult than climbing to heaven. Originally, she had already devised a meticulous plan to facilitate their relationship, but who would have thought that Su Juan’s mention of it would make Du Xiucai wary? No matter how well-planned it was, he would now be even less likely to fall easily into her trap.
If the first candidate couldn’t be ensnared, He Changchun was a good alternative too. It’s just that if Miao’er ended up with him, there would be a lot of gossip in the village.
Still, compared to a better life in the future, this was nothing. Once she found a good excuse, she could still restore her reputation.
But now, what was this situation? The second candidate had actually gotten involved with that wretched girl. If she still tried to pair Miao’er with him, wouldn’t her intentions be as obvious as Sima Zhao’s ambition—known to everyone on the street?