Ms. Lu stepped forward, took her daughterâs hand, led her into the house, and let her sit down. She asked her again the question from before: "Linglong, do you truly wish to marry Gu Dexing? His familyâs situation is not as good as the Gu Jinâanâs, and he isnât as promising as Gu Jinâan. Even if he becomes a Scholar, whether he can become a scholar in the future is still uncertain."
She also carefully talked about the situation of Gu Dexingâs family and Mrs. Chen.
"You saw what kind of person that Aunt Gu is. She might not be very bad, but sheâs too shrewd. If you marry there, youâll have to deal with her for decades, and sheâs an elder. If she bullies you, youâll have to endure it."
In Great Chu, there is no shortage of nieces-in-law being mistreated by cruel aunts for a lifetime, living bitterly.
Xu Zhong listened, laughed softly, and nodded, replying to Ms. Luâs previous question: "Mother, I really am willing to marry Gu Dexing; he is a good choice."
Her face reddened for a moment, and once the heat subsided, she continued: "I know motherâs concerns, but I never thought of becoming an officialâs wife. If he can become an official, then he should. If not, having a Scholarâs title, he can still live a decent life in the county. Moreover, Iâve heard the Gu, Qin, and Luo families in Luotian are strict in family education; the young men from these families donât frequent brothels, nor do they have the bad habit of visiting gambling houses. As long as these faults are absent, marrying into the family wonât make me suffer."
Many young men from wealthy families in the county have been to brothels and gambling houses, and some have even gambled away their ancestral homes.
Speaking of Mrs. Chen: "Although Aunt Gu appears fierce and aggressive, she is protective. Today, when she scolded Sister Ling, her words mostly defended Gu Dexing. An aunt who can protect her nephew in such a way likely isnât an Evil Man. I believe Aunt Gu wonât bully me based on her seniority."
"Furthermore, I am not made of clay; if she truly bullies me, I wonât allow it and will surely find a way to deal with her. Mother neednât worry."
Despite Xu Zhongâs young age, she is very sensible, knows how to follow Elder Xuâs lead, and is adept at handling situations, never stirring conflict. However, she isnât a pushover; she thinks things through. If she truly canât endure it, she would find a way to rescue herself.
Ms. Lu listened, scrutinizing her daughterâs expression, and only felt relieved upon seeing she wasnât unwilling. Still, she asked: "Is your reluctance to be an officialâs wife related to the Tong Familyâs matter?"
The Tong Family is Southern people; twenty years ago, Elder Xu took the Xu Familyâs eldest to Jiangnan to open a shop and befriended Elder Tong. Seeing Elder Tongâs talent, with the thought that supporting one more person opens one more avenue, Elder Xu helped Elder Tong, allowing him to continue studying until he became a scholar and an official.
The Tong Family was grateful and promised that their son would marry Elder Xuâs granddaughter as the official wife. At that time, Xu Ling was not yet born, so Elder Xu, fearing the Tong Family might renege, spoke of Xu Zhong instead, even exchanged tokens of engagement.
However, the Tong Familyâs son married an officialâs daughter; three years ago, they married, and now their son can already walk.
Fortunately, the engagement between the two families was only verbally agreed upon and not registered at the government office with an engagement letter, otherwise her daughter would have been branded as having had her engagement broken.
Ms. Lu cried countless times over this matter, always feeling her daughter had suffered greatly.
Elder Xu was also very angry, but the Tong Family was already officials, albeit minor ones, but the Xu Family dared not confront the official, having to swallow their anger and not dare to trouble the Tong Family.
Ms. Lu feared that Xu Zhongâs reluctance to be an officialâs wife arose from this incident.
Xu Zhong was stunned, then laughed: "Mother, if you hadnât mentioned the Tong Family, I would have nearly forgotten about them."
Almost forgot about this old matter.
She continued: "The Tong Familyâs issue was only verbal; it wasnât truly binding. Besides, Iâve never met the Tong Familyâs son...actually, from their refusal to let him visit us, itâs clear they never intended to fulfill this marriage promise. Years of cold-shouldering us were meant to wake grandfather up so he would exchange back the token."
In the end, grandfather also realized, took the initiative to exchange back the token, preventing the two families from tearing their relationship apart. And feeling indebted, the Tong Family often took good care of the Xu Familyâs business in Jiangnan.
Xu Zhong said: "Mother, although I am not clever, I understand that one shouldnât grieve for someone theyâve never met. Iâve never been saddened by the Tong Familyâs issue."
She never believed she could marry into the Tong Family, never viewed them as her future in-laws, so why would she be saddened? Instead, she felt lucky, fortunate to see the Tong Familyâs true face before marrying in. Otherwise, marrying in would have surely led to a miserable end.
She knew itâs not uncommon for official families to torment wives from poor families to death.
Ms. Lu, upon hearing this, shed tears: "Linglong, my dear child, youâve suffered."
Xu Zhong took out a handkerchief to wipe Ms. Luâs tears, smiled: "Mother, donât cry. Gu Dexingâs family is quite good, letâs go with him. Please believe in me, Iâll live a good life."
She laughed again: "Maybe Gu Dexing will be promising, and in the future, Iâll become an officialâs wife and bring you honor."
Ms. Lu cried even more, sometimes wishing Linglong was more like Girl Ling, a bit more spoiled, not so understanding, so that she wouldnât always feel wronged.
After crying for a moment, Ms. Lu wiped her tears, saying: "Linglong, donât worry. Mother will ensure everything is handled properly, making sure Gu Dexingâs family comes to propose."
Even though they first chose Gu Dexing, Ms. Lu didnât plan to bring up the marriage first. Having managed household affairs for years, she knew how to maneuver, using a trick or two to make sure Gu Dexingâs family comes.
Overall, they couldnât lose dignity and make Linglong looked down upon by Gu Dexingâs family.
Determined, Ms. Lu began preparations to offer a thick gift for tomorrowâs apology to the Gu Family, preparing two gifts: one for the Gu Jinâanâs house and one for Mrs. Chenâs house, with excuses ready. The one for Mrs. Chen was meant as an apology on behalf of Girl Ling.
...
Mrs. Chen was unaware that because of her antics today, she inadvertently stirred things up to land Gu Dexing a bride.
Having finished her meal at the Luo Family Escort Agency, she was currently scolding Xu Ling: "Iâve never seen such an unruly girl, arguing with me in front of a roomful of elders! Who does she think she is? If she scolds me, can I stay silent? I scolded her right into fainting!"
She proudly said: "Seeing her faint, I canât express how satisfied I was; it was beyond comforting!"
After scolding Xu Ling, she began worrying about Gu Dexingâs marriage: "Heâs already twenty-two; if we donât hurry and discuss marriage, gossip from the shrews will spread across ten miles and eight villages."
Ms. Chu said: "Why are you so anxious? Brother Xing is now a student; I bet when he returns to the village, girls from the ten miles and eight villages will surely come; are you still worried he canât find a bride?"