Chapter 162 [VIP]

Parting is always sad, but all good things must come to an end. This morning, Fourth Aunt Fang Ling and Qing Huai are leaving.

The two returned with only three attendants. Wang Ying was worried, so she asked someone to hire two martial arts masters to help escort them.

Qinghuai looked at the two people who had come from different places with some confusion and asked, "What are these two doing here?"

Wang Ying said, "This journey will take more than thirty days, and we don't know who we'll encounter along the way. Hiring these two masters is just in case. They are both skilled martial artists, and one of them can easily take on three people."

Fang Ling held Wang Ying's hand and said, "You're such a thoughtful child. Qing Huai and I didn't even think of that. We were only focused on getting back to Shanzhou as soon as possible."

Li also said, "I feel much more at ease knowing someone is escorting me. The journey ahead is long and arduous, so please take good care of yourselves, sister-in-law..." As she spoke, tears fell from her eyes.

Fang Ling's eyes also reddened. "Okay, we'll write to you when we get there."

Chen Qingyan also pulled Chen Qinghuai aside and told him, "Be careful on the road. If you see your teacher in Shanzhou, don't forget to say hello for me."

"Don't worry, he will definitely bring it. We'll also tell him our provincial examination results."

Chen Qingyan patted him on the shoulder, "See you in Kyoto next year."

See you in Kyoto!

The group saw the two off onto the carriage and walked until they were out of sight around the corner of the alley before returning. Li was tearful; she was the most soft-hearted person and couldn't bear to see them part. She held Chen Rong's hand and said, "It's a good thing you came. Otherwise, with my sister-in-law leaving so suddenly, I wouldn't know who to talk to."

Chen Rong joked, "Oh, so I'm just a substitute for my fourth brother's wife."

Li burst into laughter through her tears, pointed at her and said, "You're just teasing your sister-in-law."

Seeing that she had calmed down, everyone was relieved. As she got older, Li's health had not been very good, and they were afraid that she would get sick again after Fang Ling and Qing Huai left.

Back home, Chen Rong pulled her aside to give advice on Lin Sui's marriage. "Cao Kun said that he met Marquis Wuping on the day of Qingyun's wedding. He didn't look very old and had a pretty face, but he had a birthmark on his eye. I don't know why he took a liking to our Sui'er."

Li comforted her, saying, "Don't worry, perhaps this is a blessing in disguise."

Li told her about the first time she met Li Mu at Qingfeng Temple, and then about how Li Mu's daughter, by chance, climbed onto her family's ice-pulling cart and met Lin Sui on her way to the ice shop. Chen Rong was amazed and clapped her hands.

"Now that I think about it, it really does seem like fate. Otherwise, how could these two people who are completely unrelated possibly know each other?"

"So, children and grandchildren have their own blessings. It's no use for us to worry when we're old. In the end, it still depends on their own wishes."

That's exactly right!

The two women chatted for a while, and then Li Shi became a little sleepy. Chen Rong got up and went to the backyard, where she had been staying with her son for the past few days.

Since Qingyun got married, Lin Sui has been living alone in the west wing, which is very spacious.

When Chen Rong entered the room, Lin Qiu was also there, and the two brothers were having a private conversation.

"Mother, you're here."

What are you two doing?

Lin Qiu whispered, "I'm showing Sui'er her pregnancy mole." Lin Sui's pregnancy mole was located near her ear, and it used to be very bright, easily visible at a glance.

Ever since those experiences, the birthmark has become very dull, turning from its original bright red to brownish-red, and it can hardly be noticed unless you look closely.

Perhaps because my health has improved this year, the pregnancy mole has changed slightly, but its color is still much worse than that of a normal mole.

Lin Sui covered her pregnancy mole and said, "Brother, don't look..."

Lin Qiu slapped him, "Are you stupid? If you marry into the Marquis's mansion and don't have a son or daughter to rely on, what place will you have if the Marquis marries someone else?"

Lin Sui lowered her head and said, "Then I can only blame myself for not being lucky enough."

Chen Rong disagreed, saying, "You were delayed because we couldn't find a good doctor in the county town. Now that we're in the prefectural city, we should find a good doctor to take a look at you. Maybe you can recover."

“When I first arrived, my sister-in-law took me to a clinic. The doctor there took my pulse and said that I had damaged my vital energy and probably couldn’t recover.”

Chen Rong sighed. She didn't know what to do about her second son. She was afraid he would suffer if he married down, and she was afraid he would be unhappy if he married up. She didn't have the ability to support him indefinitely if he didn't marry. Besides, being alone was not a good thing.

"Forget it, let's wait until we meet that Marquis Wuping before we talk about it."

*

The next day, Marquis Wuping sent his invitation, inviting Lin Sui's family and the Chen family to have a meal together at Hongyunlou Restaurant.

Upon receiving the invitation, Chen Rong took out all the clothes she had kept hidden away and put them on, afraid of being looked down upon.

They arrived at Hongyunlou Restaurant by carriage. Since Madam Liu had treated them to a meal there before, everyone was familiar with each other. They followed the servant to a private room on the second floor.

When they arrived, Li Mu was already there, along with his strategist, Madam Luo, and Xiao Qing'er.

Marquis Wuping is truly something else, bringing his strategist along on a blind date.

Upon seeing Lin Suiqing, she wanted to throw herself at him, but Li Mu quickly grabbed her hand and asked, "What did your father say to you when you came out?"

Xiao Qing'er calmed down, and her father told her that she must be a well-mannered and virtuous young lady, otherwise she would displease others.

Lin Sui, however, was not used to her acting like this. She secretly winked at Qing'er, and the little girl immediately smiled and revealed a pair of small tiger teeth.

The family walked in awkwardly, and Li Mu quickly stood up to greet them. Seeing that they hesitated to sit down for a while, he realized, "Please sit down, Auntie, you don't need to be so reserved."

Chen Rong sat down, leaning on a chair. He had secretly sized up the man when he entered the room. This Marquis of Wuping was really tall. Cao Kun was already quite tall, but he was half a head taller than Cao Kun and much stronger. Lin Sui only reached his chin when she stood up. If they ever had a falling out, even ten Lin Suis wouldn't be a match for him...

Li Mu was unaware of what his mother-in-law was thinking. He was tongue-tied and didn't know what to say on their first meeting, so he coughed lightly and asked his strategist for help.

The strategist's surname was Guan, and his name was Guan Shiqian. He was a middle-aged man. Although he dressed like a scholar, he was actually capable of fighting on the battlefield.

"This is our first meeting. Since the Marquis is not good with words, I will take the liberty of introducing him and letting your aunt know about him. The Marquis's full name is Li Mu, and his nickname is Li Geda."

Li Mu kicked him from below and whispered, "This doesn't need to be said."

Guan Shiqian ignored his nonsense and continued, "He is twenty-five years old this year and was born in the Year of the Tiger, while Lin Xiaolang was born in the Year of the Pig. The two of them are a perfect match."

Chen Rong sat up straight and listened carefully.

"The Marquis was married before, to a merchant's daughter, with whom he had a daughter named Qing'er. However, some things happened later, and the two separated after only a year of marriage."

The strategist didn't go into details about this, since it was really inappropriate to criticize the child's birth mother in front of her; he'd rather discuss it privately.

"Over the years, the Marquis has kept himself clean and virtuous, and there are no women around him. I can vouch for that. He has so much energy that he has nowhere to put it. He spends every day training soldiers in the barracks, almost exhausting the soldiers below!"

Li Mu's face turned ashen, and he wished he could give him a good whack. Was he here to ask for help or to complain?

Guan Shiqian knew when to stop. "The Marquis is truly fond of Young Master Lin, which is why he specially invited you to the prefectural city to discuss this marriage. I wonder what Aunt and all the brothers think?"

Chen Rong glanced at Lin Qiu, neither of them seemed to have any objections. "Does the Marquis know about Sui'er's situation?"

Li Mu said in a deep voice, "I know everything, Auntie. I was prepared for this decision to marry him, and I don't plan to have any other children. Qing'er is enough."

Chen Rong couldn't listen to these verbal promises. They sounded nice now, but what if they changed their minds later? She herself had been betrayed by her husband, so she was somewhat skeptical of his words.

Seeing this, Li Mu continued to show his sincerity, "After the marriage, I will register Qing'er directly under Lin Sui's name. Qing'er herself agrees, so Lin Sui will be her rightful father from now on."

That's a good point, Chen Rong nodded slightly.

"I serve in the army and receive a salary of four hundred strings of cash every year. I also have a fief of one hundred mu in Jizhou. These lands were bestowed upon me by His Majesty when I was enfeoffed as a marquis. They were divided into three estates, and after my marriage, they were all handed over to Lin Sui to manage." One hundred mu is equivalent to one thousand mu of land. This Marquis of Wuping does have some wealth!

Chen Rong became increasingly satisfied. Everything else was secondary; only when the power in the family was in the hands of his son would life be better.

Mrs. Luo, who was sitting next to her, didn't say a word from beginning to end, since she didn't need to worry about these things anymore.

The old lady was very open-minded. Her son's ability was his own merit, and she was content to enjoy life with him. She didn't care about anything else. She was already so old; how many more years could she live? Worrying about those trivial things would only damage the bond between mother and son.

After the meal, both families were quite satisfied, and Li Mu began to prepare for their wedding.

Although he had been married before, Li Mu was not careless at all. He went through all the proper formalities of marriage, including the betrothal and engagement, and was even more meticulous than when he got married for the first time.

The first marriage was arranged by the matriarch of the Li family. On the surface, it was grand and glamorous, but the sordid things inside were unspeakable.

Many things were only learned by Li Mu later when he divorced his wife. When he was betrothed to his ex-wife, he had given 500 taels of silver as a betrothal gift, but his mistress only used less than 100 guan.

Needless to say, the other people's things didn't even cost fifty strings of cash in total. Luckily, the other party was a merchant and didn't care about such things, all for the sake of his status as a marquis.

Later, when Li Mu divorced his wife, he didn't take their dowry and sent everything back. They also returned the betrothal gifts. Only then did he realize how absurd his wife's actions were.

That said, the two people's birth charts were also compatible according to the Qingfeng Observatory. The hexagrams showed that the Qian trigram was strong and vigorous, while the Kun trigram was gentle and yielding. Yin and Yang were in harmony, and Heaven and Earth were in perfect balance, making it a rare and auspicious marriage.

The Taoist priest then helped them choose an auspicious date, set for June of next year. This month does not clash with either of their zodiac signs, so they are less likely to have conflicts after getting married.

With the marriage arrangements settled, Chen Rong felt relieved. However, Cao Kun had business to attend to at the porter's shop and couldn't be delayed for too long, so he went back alone first.

Chen Rong and Lin Qiu stayed behind because it was getting colder every day, and Xiaomai and Erbao were too young; they were afraid the children would catch a cold on the way.

Li didn't want them to leave either. There were already few people in the family, and it would be even more deserted if Chen Rong and the others left.

The family began preparing Lin Sui's dowry. Compared to Qing Yun's, Lin Sui's dowry was not as lavish, which was Lin Sui's own request.

First of all, the Marquis doesn't care about these things. If he cared about the dowry, he wouldn't have married such a poor and divorced man.

Secondly, one should only wear shoes that fit one's feet; he didn't want others to spend money on his dowry to save face. Therefore, he saved all the money for his dowry himself.

The thirty strings of cash that Huang Jia lost, plus the wages his sister-in-law gave him during the six months he spent in the prefectural city, although he had sent half of it back last time, Wang Ying had raised everyone's wages during the two busiest months of selling ice in the summer, so he had a total of fifty or sixty strings of cash in his hands.

Chen Rong and Li Shi added another fifty taels of silver. Don't think it's too little. They are old and have no way to make money. This money is their greatest token of appreciation.

Wang Ying didn't give her money directly. Instead, she patted Lin Sui on the shoulder and said, "The vegetable shop will be opening soon. If you help your sister-in-law sell vegetables for the rest of the winter, your sister-in-law will pay you more."

Lin Sui smiled and said, "Okay!"

A note from the author: