Dr. Chu is a man of action; once he has made up his mind, he doesn't want to procrastinate.

He found a well-regarded matchmaker in his neighborhood to help him inquire about the old lady's daughter.

I noted down the old lady's son's address at the time. The county town isn't very big, so I should be able to find out the address clearly.

"Dr. Chu, don't worry, I will find out the truth and will not hide anything."

The matchmaker was also one of Dr. Chu's patients. She had suffered from some women's ailments for several years. Later, Dr. Chu opened a clinic here, and she came to see him with the hope that he would help. Unexpectedly, she was cured.

"Thank you so much. If things work out, I'll definitely give you a big red envelope."

Dr. Chu was thinking about his daughter at home, and also because he was getting on in years and it was time for him to remarry.

The matchmaker was very capable; in less than three days, she had figured out the whole story.

During this period, Jiang Qi continued to accompany her mother to acupuncture and medicinal meals every day.

As for Dr. Chu, he couldn't act rashly without definite information, lest he ruin the woman's reputation.

"Dr. Chu, you have lived up to my expectations."

After the clinic closed, a matchmaker came to visit.

"What's going on? Please tell me."

"I went to the address you gave me to find out. His great-aunt, who is divorced, is named Jiang Qi. She is 24 years old this year and has been divorced for almost two years."

My ex-husband's family was also from the county town. He was a scholar, but he hadn't yet passed the imperial examinations. His family was well-off; his father was a Xiucai (a successful candidate in the county-level imperial examinations), and he passed the Xiucai examination in the same year as Jiang Qi's father.

The couple had been married for several years without having children, and the Fan family, Jiang Qi's ex-husband's family, claimed it was the woman's fault. They even planned to arrange for the man to take a concubine, a distant cousin.

It is said that while Jiang Qi was visiting her parents, her distant cousin had slept with Jiang Qi's husband. When Jiang Qi returned from her parents' home, her father and brothers came to her door and immediately divorced her.

Matchmakers have relatively comprehensive information; they have their own specialized channels.

"So what's the situation now?"

"Jiang Qi lives with her second brother and sister-in-law. Her second brother is a scholar and is currently studying at Bailu Academy. There are three brothers and one sister in the family. The parents and the eldest brother live together, while the other two brothers live separately."

The matchmaker inquired and felt that the woman was quite lucky, as she had family members who would support her.

"Thank you so much for finding out so much. I won't trouble you twice, so please go to the Jiang family to act as matchmaker for me."

Dr. Chu felt that this was also a kind of fate between them. If it weren't for his daughter's brilliant idea, he wouldn't have noticed the family members of the patients who came to the clinic.

"Alright, Dr. Chu, I will definitely try to mediate properly. I will make your terms clear and I won't try to smooth things over."

"I believe that. Everyone around me knows that the matchmakers you mentioned are all suitable."

Doctor Chu had already asked the housekeeper to check, so why would he blindly come to us?

The matchmaker was delighted and left with the red envelope given to her by Doctor Chu.

Doctor Chu said this was a thank-you gift for gathering information; if the deal went well, there would be a further thank-you gift for the matchmaker.

After seeing the matchmaker off, Doctor Chu accompanied Anran to practice calligraphy for a while, and then went to sleep in a pleasant mood.

The next day, after breakfast, the matchmaker knocked on the Jiang family's door.

"Madam, a matchmaker has come from outside. He says he's here to arrange a marriage."

Butler Li was a little confused. He hadn't heard that anyone in the family wanted to arrange a marriage. Wasn't his aunt planning to remain unmarried for life?

Mu Yi'an was also a little confused, but she knew that in this era, it was best not to offend matchmakers, because their mouths were full of nonsense.

"Please come in and ask what happened."

Butler Li went out, and after a short while, he brought in a middle-aged woman.

Mu Yi'an felt a little more at ease. At least, this matchmaker wasn't like the ones in movies and TV dramas, dressed in bright red and green, with an exaggerated beauty mark.

"Hello, madam. My surname is Huang, and everyone calls me Matchmaker Huang. I apologize for disturbing you."

"I wonder which person Matchmaker Huang is here to arrange a marriage for?"

Mu Yi'an really couldn't understand it; there was no one in her family who wanted to arrange a marriage.

“My lady, I’m here to propose marriage to you.”

"But is it my husband's older sister?"

"It's important. I've been asked by Doctor Chu from Yuanshengtang Medical Clinic to propose marriage to your aunt, Jiang Qi."

As soon as Huang the matchmaker finished speaking, not only was Mu Yi'an surprised, but Fang's sister-in-law was also astonished.

She had visited the clinic a few times and had met Dr. Chu. He was good-looking and not too old.

Mu Yi'an gave Fang's sister-in-law a wink, signaling her to go and find out more from Jiang Qi.

"Matchmaker Huang, I wonder what the situation is with Doctor Chu? My aunt is going to be the official wife, I'm making that clear in advance."

Mu Yi'an made it clear beforehand that if anything messy or irrelevant happened, they should stop talking about it.

“Madam Jiang, Doctor Chu’s wife passed away more than two years ago. She had a four-year-old daughter. She had a difficult childbirth and was sick for two years, but she didn’t make it.”

Matchmaker Huang quickly clarified the situation, otherwise, misunderstandings could easily arise.

"I see. Who else is in your family?"

"Doctor Chu lost both his parents at a young age and has no close relatives, only his master and mistress, who are both in the prefectural city."

Mu Yi'an thought this person was quite good, and there was just one thing that made her very interested: he didn't have a mother-in-law.

Unlike in modern times, the relationship between mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law in ancient times was not one of mutual disharmony. If they couldn't get along, they could simply live apart and avoid each other.

Although it's a bit of a shame that the man doesn't have parents, for Jiang Qi, such a situation is truly rare.

Divorce is something many people don't accept these days. Most families wouldn't choose to marry a divorced woman, especially the eldest son's wife.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!