In the 1960s, the wedding

On the way back, the three generations of grandparents and grandchildren were silent and their faces looked unhappy.

After returning home and entering the study, my father-in-law slammed the table and cursed, "This is too much! What a new era and new society, what equality for all? It's all bullshit! We ordinary people, no matter how rich we are, are still inferior to those officials! "

Old Master Yue sat behind the desk, his eyes closed and silent, but his heart was in turmoil.

Since ancient times, the social classes of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants have been clearly divided, with merchants always being the lowest class. Although the Yue family was wealthy, wealth was not as important as power. It has always been the norm for ordinary people not to fight against officials, especially when the Yue family was an officer.

"Grandpa, Dad, don't be angry. I don't want to marry Ning Haobo anyway. He doesn't like me, and I don't like him either. We won't be happy together. It's just right now. It saves us from hating each other after we marry." Tao Yuan was worried that the old man would get angry and get sick, so he tried to comfort them. "There's a point to what they said. Arranged marriages and loveless marriages can lead to lifelong unhappiness. Now that the engagement is broken off, I'm relieved."

"You're still young and don't understand the intricacies of this. The key isn't that they want to break off their engagement, but that today..."

"Ruqing," Old Master Yue suddenly opened his eyes and interrupted his father-in-law, saying, "Go back to your room and rest first."

Tao Yuan knew that he didn't want him to hear those words, so he could only stand up and leave the study.

After Tao Yuan closed the door, Old Man Yue said to his father-in-law, "Why are you telling this to the child? He must be feeling bad, and you let him know all this. He's so young, how can he handle so much?"

"Dad, the Ning family is really going too far. I just can't swallow this!"

"I have to swallow it even if I can't," said Mr. Yue. "I've worked hard to build this family business. I don't know how much I've endured. If I can't swallow every breath, how can this family be what it is today?"

"Back then, our family mobilized all our resources and gave away most of our wealth to help them. Later, their military rank and official positions rose, and we never thought of asking them to repay us. They were the ones who proposed the marriage, saying that if Ruqing married into their family, they would treat her like their own grandson. Now they've turned their backs on us and are acting like this just to save their reputation. Are we so easy to bully that we can let them do whatever they want?"

There was a knock on the door, and Old Man Yue answered, "Come in."

The housekeeper walked in and said, "Master, someone from the Ning family has come and brought a lot of things. They said they came specifically to apologize."

"Tell them we accept their apology, but they don't need the things anymore. Let them take them back," said Old Man Yue. "Also, tell them it's not their fault because we can't afford them."

The butler received instructions and left the study.

Old Master Yue said to his father-in-law, "Although our family is just common people and can't afford to offend those officials, we still have to have the backbone we need. From now on, we should stop associating with the Ning family."

After hearing the report, Mr. Ning learned that the things he had sent had been returned. He sighed deeply, knowing that he had completely offended the Yue family this time.

"This Yue family father and son are so ungrateful!" Seeing Old Man Ning's low mood, Father Ning couldn't help but complain, "We owe them a favor this time. If they need help in the future, we will naturally do our best to help them. Would it be good for them to completely cut off contact with our family?"

Old Master Yue waved his hand. "We did go too far, indeed. Anyone with a bit of temper wouldn't mind. If our family were treated this way, we'd feel the same way. Their family did us a favor back then, a favor we haven't been able to repay yet, and now we owe them another favor. No matter what their attitude is, as long as they need help in the future, you must do your best to help them. I can't die without repaying these favors."

"Dad, why are you saying such unlucky things?" Ning's father said, "You are in such good health. You can live for at least another 20 or 30 years. Our family is counting on you."

Old Master Ning sighed and shook his head again.

"Dad, please stop sighing." Ning's mother said, "Marriage is a lifelong commitment. Since Haobo and Wenhan are in love, we can't force them to break up, right? Besides, the Wen family is a perfect match for us. A granddaughter-in-law like Wenhan is much better than Yue Ruqing. As for the favor we owe them, we can repay it slowly in the future. We are officials and they are businessmen. There will always be a time to repay them."

"But the He family won't have any objections to Haobo suddenly marrying Wenhan, right?" Father Ning was still a little worried. They were not afraid of offending the Yue family, but they did not dare to offend the He family too much. After all, Grandpa He was still alive.

"Didn't Wenhan tell the He family she wanted to cancel the engagement, and they agreed?" Ning's mother said nonchalantly, "Besides, it's not certain whether their He Liyuan will ever wake up. I heard that even if he does, he'll most likely be disabled and infertile. Are they going to let Wenhan marry him and become a widow? Their family wouldn't do such a wicked thing, would they?"

"Don't discuss other people's affairs, just mind your own business." Grandpa Yue said, "Since they have already obtained the marriage certificate, let's choose a date and hold the wedding."

Ning's mother immediately stood up and happily took out the calendar, ready to choose a good day.

After the Ning family contacted the Wen family, the two families happily began preparing for the wedding.

The Wen family breathed a sigh of relief. Originally, the He family was the better choice than the Ning family. After all, Mr. He was of higher rank, and He Liyuan was younger and more promising. However, He Liyuan had been seriously injured on the border battlefield. Even if he managed to recover, he would likely not be able to continue leading troops. Crucially, He Liyuan's face and body were damaged, making him infertile. They loved their own children, and the Wen family couldn't bear to let Wen Han marry the injured He Liyuan.

A few days later, someone from the He family suddenly came to the Yue family, and it was Grandpa He who came in person. He chatted with Grandpa Yue in the study for a long time before leaving.

After sending the He family away, my father-in-law asked, "Dad, why did Chief He come here in person? Is there something important?"

Old Master Yue walked in silently. After sitting down in the living room, he finally spoke. "After He Liyuan was sent back, he has been in a coma for over a month. It is still unknown whether he can wake up. His wife was so worried that she fell ill. She said that she had consulted a fortune teller a long time ago and that they needed someone with a compatible horoscope to survive the disaster. Our Ruqing's birth time just happened to match the fortune teller's prediction, and they wanted us to marry her to bring good luck."

"A wedding for the sake of prosperity?!" My father-in-law's eyes widened in shock, and he said excitedly, "Isn't this nonsense?! We're cracking down on feudal superstitions now, why are they still doing this thing for the sake of prosperity?!"

"Sit down and listen to me."

"Anyway, I don't agree." The father-in-law said angrily, "The Wen family broke off the engagement, so they let our Ruqing go to get married. Why? How can these people be more oppressive than in feudal society?!"

"Didn't their family try to force me? They originally disagreed, but their old lady refused to eat or drink and insisted that they come. They couldn't just watch her starve to death, so they had no choice but to come and discuss it with us. There's something I've never told you. When I was young, Commander He saved my life."

My father-in-law opened his mouth, unable to utter a word for a long time. He was stunned for a long time before he said, "So the purpose of their coming here is to make our Ruqing repay a favor? What kind of thing is this? Our family has done a favor to the Ning family, and they can break the contract just like that. The He family has done a favor to our family, and they are threatening to repay the favor. They don't bully people like this, right?"

"They didn't mention repaying the favor. I just told you this."

"Then what exactly do they mean? If they don't want us to repay their kindness, why did they ask Ruqing to go and get married?"

"What they meant was that they would just get a marriage certificate to reassure the old lady, and they wouldn't really let Ruqing bear the responsibilities of a couple. Regardless of whether He Liyuan wakes up or not, they would definitely let them divorce in two years, and it would just be a fake marriage in name only. They also said that it doesn't matter if we don't agree, but they hope we can think it over carefully. In the future, we will definitely not treat Ruqing unfairly and will treat him as our own child."

The father-in-law sarcastically said, "The Ning family also said that they would treat Ruqing as their own child. What's going on now?"

Old Master Yue sighed and said, "If it weren't for Commander He saving my life, I wouldn't be alive today, and you wouldn't be here. So many years have passed, and people may have forgotten about this incident. After all, Commander He saved many people back then. But I still keep thinking about this matter in my heart."

The father-in-law closed his eyes and said, "They say it's a fake marriage in name only, but what do others think? After being divorced once, can Ruqing find someone better?"

"I'm willing to marry him." Tao Yuan said while standing on the stairs.

They both turned to look at him at the same time.

Tao Yuan walked down the stairs, stood in the living room and said, "Grandpa, Dad, I'm willing to go and get He Liyuan married. It's just a matter of getting a marriage certificate. This way, not only can I repay Grandpa's kindness, but I can also have the He family as my backing in the future. It's the best of both worlds, so why not do it?"

"You silly child, it's not as simple as you think," said the father-in-law. "Everyone's talking about the new society and new ideas, but it's impossible to fully implement the new ideas right now. If you get married and then divorced, people will definitely gossip about you behind your back, and it will be difficult for you to find a better person to marry in the future."

"But I feel that if I'm going to find someone to marry again, I have to find someone who loves me. Otherwise, why bother spending my life with someone? Someone who truly loves me wouldn't care whether I'm married or not. Those who like to point fingers at others behind their backs will gossip about everything they do. I live for myself, not for them, so why should I care what they think?"

"Ruqing," said Old Man Yue, "Grandpa knows you're a sensible child, but I don't necessarily expect you to repay the favor I owe you. You're still young, so don't make decisions rashly. You might regret it later."

"Grandpa, I know you and Dad are doing this for my own good, but I also have my own ideas." Tao Yuan sat down and said seriously, "I think if I can win the favor of the He family, it will be easier for me to get married in the future. Because everyone knows He Liyuan's situation, he may never wake up in this lifetime. Even though I'm divorced, I'm still a clean person, and I have the He family as my backing. Aren't the conditions for choice higher?"

Old Man Yue and his father-in-law looked at each other. They had not expected that Yue Ruqing, who was originally introverted and obedient, would say such opinionated words.

"Grandpa, Dad, don't worry, I will definitely get better and better, and no one will look down on me."