The easygoing Granny Zhang went back to her room to sleep after failing to get the door opened.

I woke up in the middle of the night feeling really cold and wanted to light a charcoal brazier.

When she got to the door and pushed it open, she found that those two little brats had already opened it for her.

"It's good to be able to go out," she said. Once outside, she revived her old ways and started wailing.

"Boss, I'm cold. Tell your wife to prepare a charcoal brazier for me."

Second son, get up quickly and make your mother a bowl of noodles.

What, don't think that just because we've separated the family, I can't boss you around anymore?

Get up right now, you bunch of lazy bums..."

They cursed with the most offensive language imaginable, for half an hour, until they ran out of steam. It was the middle of the night, and it was quite cold outside.

Granny Zhang knocked on each window, but there was no response. Losing her temper, she simply went and kicked the door.

"Ouch, sob... My leg! Boss, are you dead? Hurry up and help me up."

Silence remained; no one responded. It was then that Granny Zhang realized something was wrong.

She slowly got up from the ground, feeling as if her hip bones and tendons were about to break.

That split she just did almost killed her.

It took him a while to finally bring his legs together, and then, holding onto the door panel, he slowly got up.

Feeling in the dark, I wanted to go in and explore, but I was too scared, so I had to lean against the wall and go back to my room.

She didn't care whether anyone was in the eldest brother's room or not; in any case, she didn't close the door before going back to her room.

Fortunately, she had a tinderbox in her room, so she lit a candle she had hidden. Looking around the room, she finally felt afraid.

She saw it all clearly during the day when the old man lay in a pool of blood.

She pulled the covers over herself, lay in bed, and stared at the ceiling. All the events of the day flashed before her eyes.

Granny Zhao remembered her youngest son.

"That brat, after being punished, doesn't he know to go home?"

I don't know how serious the injury is. Everyone says that the county magistrate is a rare good official, but if you ask me, he's a piece of crap.

Hmph, my old man is gone, they should pay compensation, lots and lots of compensation.

How could you hit my mistress?

It's the middle of the night, freezing cold, and I wonder where the mistress is staying tonight. Sigh, I'll have to go check on her tomorrow morning.

Old man, tell me, why are you so foolish?

Why did you have to chase after the mistress and beat her up? Now look what happened, you've lost your life, and I'm a widow too.

"How am I supposed to live without you? Neither of your two sons is filial..."

As Zhang Da and Zhang Er were walking towards the countryside in the dark, they started sneezing repeatedly.

The two sisters-in-law were so frightened that they thought the two brothers had caught a cold.

After waking up, Zhao Qingyan was full of energy.

She decided not to make things difficult for herself anymore and to pass the problem on to her grandparents and her father.

"What? You mean Dong Sheng wants to get married? What are your plans?"

The most vehement reaction came from Zhao Minggeng.

If his daughter is getting married, it's no different than tearing out his heart.

Although my daughter married into a neighboring county, it still takes several hours to get there by horseback.

What if I miss my daughter?

Zhao Qingyan smiled.

"If I agree, I won't need to go back to sleep; I can just announce it directly."

Tell me your thoughts: should I wait two years before getting married, or should I get married this year?

Zhao Qingyan thought that asking this question would elicit either a positive or negative answer, but the response she received was, "What are your plans?"

Zhao Qingyan shared her dilemma with everyone, and Zhao Qinglin laughed heartily.

"Second sister, don't gloat. Not all marriages are as happy as yours."

Zhao Qinglin immediately looked at Prince Rui, and the ambiguous atmosphere between the two was palpable.

"Logically speaking, my dear daughter, you're old enough to get married. Anyway, we're just an old couple. Wherever you go, we'll go."

If you're not comfortable living at your grandson-in-law's house, my wife and I will buy a small house next to yours.

As for your father, I think we should just separate the family property from yours.

The two boys will stay with us, the old couple. As for your father, we'll find him another wife.

"I'm afraid she'll be a troublemaker and take a concubine. This old woman has made an exception and allowed it."

After Huang finished speaking, Zhao Minggeng felt as if he had been hit with ten thousand points of damage.

"Mother, am I really that disliked by you? You even want to take a concubine for me? I don't want to."

If she has another child, a son born to a concubine, how will that child cope?

The whole family consists of legitimate sons, while they are the only illegitimate sons; this is unfair to them.

Besides, I don't have the time or energy for all that. Having you all is enough.

Mrs. Huang shook her head.

"You're wrong. We're ready to abandon you. You don't have us; you only have yourself. Choose: take a concubine or live a lonely life alone."

This was exactly what Zhao Qingyan was thinking; she worried that after Zhao Minggeng got married, he would take his family with him, leaving Zhao Minggeng all alone and pitiful.

Now, watching Huang tease her own father, she couldn't help but find it so funny.

However, she dared not offer any advice, fearing that Zhao Minggeng might be too sensitive and interpret it as a sign that he no longer liked her, which would be troublesome.

A tall, burly man was wiping away tears in front of her, and Zhao Qingyan said she couldn't bear it.

This is indeed a difficult problem to solve.

After pondering for a long time, Lady Huang finally set her sights on Prince Rui.

"Your Highness, this old woman has a favor to ask. Please see if you can help me."

Prince Rui never imagined that he would be caught up in the gossip himself.

"Grandmother, please speak."

"Well, it's really nothing serious. Your third uncle is still young, and it's not right for him to stay single all the time."

We will all leave him eventually; he is so lonely.

But given our family background, we don't know any women from scholarly families.

I don't require her to be young; ideally, she should be a divorced or widowed woman, around the same age as your third uncle. Most importantly, she must be of good character and not the ruthless type.

If you find someone suitable, introduce one to your third uncle.

Although our family isn't wealthy, once I marry into it, I'll be in charge.

As long as you don't have every penny to your name, you'll be financially secure for life.

Even if we divide the family property and give him some money, my dear daughter and her two younger brothers will not stand by and watch their father abandon them.

It's okay to have little schemes, the main thing is not to do anything stupid.

Prince Rui never expected that this matchmaker would fall to him.

As a grown man, he really didn't have any suitable candidates. But who was Prince Rui? He could ask people to help him find someone; he had connections.

"Grandmother, I've remembered this. I'll definitely find a beautiful and suitable wife for my third uncle as soon as possible."

After saying that, he didn't forget to smile at Zhao Minggeng.

Zhao Minggeng scratched his head. "Have you all forgotten about me, the person involved?"