Chapter 37 A Dream Comes True
Pei Lan's makeup was thickly applied, and as her eyes and mouth lifted, the outermost layer of powder cracked slightly, like a wall soaked in rain and in disrepair, with cracked paint and falling powder. But no one cared. The matchmaker from the capital continued to praise her and her daughter to the skies. In the courtyard, more than ten boxes of betrothal gifts were neatly arranged, arranged in an imposing manner. Two wild geese cried hoarsely but loudly, attracting everyone in the alley to stop and say to Yan Bao, who was standing under the peach tree at the door, "Second Miss You, your sister is so lucky. The ceremony for the marriage proposal was even grander than that of other brides."
As the sister-in-law, Yan Bao was proud of it: "My sister is the goddess of painting. Who else can enjoy such a blessing except her?"
Today was the day the Xue family would make peace with the You family, and it was also the culmination of all the You family women's fantasies. The world was absurd; three generations of them had different surnames, yet they shared the same blood. Even though Qian Peilan hated You Kang with a burning hatred, she still managed to live in the humble "You family" with a haughty air, like a Vajra Buddha, even more arrogant, even lifting her neck to drink tea.
The same was true for Yanbao. She secretly glanced at the boxes. Each piece of jewelry inside was more precious than the other, and they were all styles she had never seen before. She couldn't help but secretly pick out which one to wear and which outfit to match it with. A few days ago, her mother began to plan to send her to Qiushui Academy to study. The teacher of the academy came up with all kinds of excuses to shirk the responsibility. Her mother was so angry that she was furious and was thinking of going to the government to make a scene. Coincidentally, her elder sister came home again. This time she brought the good news that the Xue family wanted to propose marriage. Her mother's face changed immediately. She was happier than a pig seeing bran. She quickly forgot about sending her to school and patted her shoulder and laughed: "Yanbao, we are finally here today. Qiushui Academy is nothing. In the future, your sister and brother-in-law will take you to the capital to study!"
Whether or not to study doesn't really matter. Mother had said it well: if you can just get married and live an easy life, why bother with the painstaking examination to become a court lady? The important thing is to get to the capital. My sister went there and first fell in love with Big Brother Liu, who was more talented than Zijian and as handsome as Pan An. Now he's found a wealthy husband. She'd been praised as more beautiful than her sister since she was a child, just a little fatter. If she could lose weight like her sister, then go to the capital, she'd definitely be able to win a man who combines Big Brother Liu with Big Brother Xue's husband.
Yanbao made up her mind, slipped into the room, and swore to her mother: "Mom, tell grandma not to cook for me from now on. From now on, I will only eat two meals a day and a piece of fruit at night."
"Okay, okay, okay." Pei Lan took the time to fool her, her hands and eyes full of the work of Yanru trying on the wedding dress. As the leading embroiderer in Jinling, she was a little dissatisfied with this wedding dress from the capital: "The fabric is indeed good; but the embroidery is not much."
Yanru sucked in her tummy, trying to make the belt reveal her slender waist. She held her breath and complained to her mother about her vulgar taste: "Mom, these days people are all about simplicity. Who still likes embroidering large floral patterns? Don't just focus on embroidering for the rich. You should also look at the fashionable styles."
"I don't care. There's no embroiderer marrying off her daughter. The wedding dress won't have many flowers on it. Take it off and I'll embroider more on the cuffs for you. Don't worry about what's popular in the capital. No matter which dynasty or generation, clothes with more embroidery are valuable. The Xue family is really funny. They pretend to be gentlemen and do this. If their betrothal gifts weren't so high, I would really scold them for being stingy and pretending to be poor." Pei Lan complained and saw Yan Bao half lying down and eating melon seeds. This year, Yan Bao grew up very fast. Her long legs hung over the edge of the bed, and her figure revealed the curves of a young girl. She pulled Yan Ru's sleeve and instigated, "Come on, dear girl, while your sister is here, let's talk about how you seduced Xue Jia. Let your sister learn from you."
Yan Bao tapped her feet in the air: "Mom, I've heard it several times. Sister, I want to hear how you got together with that big brother Liu. That's more interesting. When I go to the capital, I want to have a passionate affair with a handsome guy, hey!"
Like a candle flame rustled by the night wind, the light in Yanru's eyes dimmed and faded. When it reappeared, she fiercely thrust the hook hidden in her eyes at Yanbao: "Shameless little slut, a girl is already horny at such a young age. What's the point of a man being good-looking? Good-looking means he can only eat and drink."
Yanbao hummed like a mosquito: "Beautiful and kissable... Beautiful and easy to sleep..."
Pei Lan tried to break up the fight: "I'm really impressed by you two. Other sisters are so affectionate, but you two are different. When we were little, we used to quarrel. Yanbao, what I'm saying is that it's useless for a man to be good-looking. The key is to have money, and to know how to use it to love you! Come on, Yanru, teach your silly sister a lesson."
Yanru twisted her shoulders proudly: "There's no way, mother, she can't learn what happened at the beginning. I only met him when I went to Buyi Bo's Garden. How could your good daughter You Yanbao have that ability? She was able to learn some of the things that happened later. It was around that time that a female classmate in our academy told me that the mule cart that Xue Jia used to pick me up was not his - the female classmate's surname was Wen, and her father was a fourth-rank minister. What she said was quite credible. I got anxious when I heard it, and rushed up to confront him. As a result, he saw that I was angry, and he was waiting at the gate of the academy the next day, waiting to see me! Coincidentally, I went out shopping with the female classmate from the previous day, and I saw him when I came out. I didn't want to pay attention to him, but he kept coming up to us. Whichever store we went to, he followed us to. Whatever my classmate bought, he bought me double."
Pei Lan said, "Listen, Yanbao, listen to this. This tactic is called playing hard to get. Hey—pretend to be angry, ignore him, and then the man will naturally panic for you. Mother told you two sisters that anyone who is willing to spend money on you is truly rich and truly loves you!"
Yanru continued, "Mother, I wasn't pretending to be angry. I was genuinely angry back then—never mind, let's not talk about this. He bought me several pieces of satin and two jeweled necklaces that day. I saw he was sincere, so I let him go. But I'm a girl, so it's not easy for me to ask him when he'll come to Jinling to propose marriage. I could only wait. As a result, I made three or two appointments with him, but he didn't tell me when his family had decided to come to our house to propose marriage. I slipped a few taels of silver to his personal servant and asked him what was going on. It turned out that because of me, he knew my classmate named Wen, and he wanted to get along with her."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk!" Pei Lan smacked the shredded meat out of her teeth. "Yanbao! Listen! Remember! Mother has said this thousands and tens of thousands of times! You must be wary of all the women in this world! You think they want to be your friends and treat you well, but in fact, they are all jealous of you and want to snatch food from you! In this world, only your mother, grandmother, and you two sisters can truly treat you well!"
Yanru nodded her head, "That's right. I was thinking, Xue Jia was going to marry a classmate of mine from Qiushui Academy—the one named Yi. Her grandfather used to be the prefect of Jinling, but she ran off with a monk. I thought, if the granddaughter of the former prefect of Jinling almost married him, how bad could his family be? It must have been my classmate named Wen who wanted to snatch him away from me, so he told me his mule cart wasn't his. I got anxious and resorted to some trickery..." Yanru was about to speak, but then she was afraid her sister might have learned her own tricks, so she quickly changed the subject. "And he coaxed him into it, and told him to come to you right away to propose marriage, so eager to take me home. After accepting my proposal, he hurriedly prepared all this, rushed to get the betrothal gifts, and sent them to Jinling. He said he had business to take care of in the capital, and now that he's done, he's come to Jinling in person to ask for a date!"
"Very good, make a decision when necessary, and strike decisively when necessary!" Pei Lan said, "Hey, Yanbao, did you hear me? You have to learn these tricks from your sister, understand?"
Yanbao saw someone coming in from outside and interrupted her mother's chatter: "Mom! Lord Zheng is here! Sister! Lord Zheng is here to see you!"
Yanru looked out. Zheng Sirui, used to poverty and unable to enjoy wealth, was still not used to going out with servants. She carried several things by herself, came in, greeted the people in the courtyard who came to congratulate the You family, bowed to the elders, Qian Lao Niang and You Kang, and knocked on Yanru's door: "Yanru, it's me, can you come in?"
"Oh, oh, oh, Lord Zheng has arrived! How could we deny you entry?" Without waiting for Yanru's response, Pei Lan enthusiastically opened the door and took Yanbao away. Yanru and Zheng Sirui were alone in the room. Since her separation from Liu Xiang, Zheng Sirui had visited Yanru several times. Yanru refused to see her, fearing her eloquence. What if she were to engage in a political debate with her and regret it? Wealth and honor must be sought not only openly but with undivided attention. She could not regret, could not waver, and gritted her teeth, refusing to see Zheng Sirui—even though she knew she was on her side. Zheng Sirui had witnessed everything Yanru and Liu Xiang had experienced, symbolizing the happiness, sweetness, and talent of their past. Simply standing there, without a word, could unwittingly waver, exacerbating the pain and sorrow Yanru endured during this sacrifice.
The two friends, once inseparable, hadn't spoken to each other for nearly half a year. After the dust settled, Yanru dared to peek at Zheng Sirui in the bronze mirror. "A thousand days of prayers to the Buddha, a single day of childbirth. Today, my dream has finally come true. What gift did you buy me? Do you have any steamed buns from Huixian Restaurant? I'm craving them."
Zheng Sirui didn't answer her, but only asked, "Is it really that Xue Jia?"
Yanru said: "Yeah."
"Are you crazy? Did you drink eighty kilograms of wine and get drunk, or did you get mad from a mad dog?" Zheng Sirui was incredulous. "Xue Jia! We saw him when we went to Tiekan Temple to burn incense. He's just a toad covered in chicken feathers, a dung beetle wearing flowers, and a crab crawling out of a cesspool. You want to marry him now? Why are you accepting a marriage that Yi Bin's family rejected?!"
"Don't talk about Yi Bin! Yi Bin is the lunatic! She only drank 80 kilograms of wine, and she was infected by the mad dog!" Zheng Sirui stabbed Yan Ru's heart with a knife. She screamed and stood on the moral high ground, retorting, "Who in the world is like her? She gave up a good marriage and ran away to live a hard life with a poor monk, being laughed at by others. I know you are good with Liu Xiang, and you want to scold me for letting down your good friend. Zheng Sirui, don't be so biased!"
Zheng Sirui was heartbroken. "I've always sided with him because of our relationship. He's a good person, but he also has flaws. Your marriage and your love are your freedom. If you find someone better than Liu Xiang, I'm naturally happy for you, but I can't accept it. You chose Xue Jia? He's not even as good as Liu Xiang. I know why you did it, but is it worth it? It's easy to find priceless treasures, but it's hard to find a true lover. No matter what, Liu Xiang's love for you is genuine."
"You still say you're not a lobbyist. I just accepted the betrothal gift. How do you know Xue Jia won't treat me well in the future? Look at all the things out there, so much, so impressive. Isn't that good? Do all the women in the world have to be like Yi Bin, running away from marriage, eloping, chasing so-called love and living a poor life? How can that be justified?"
"Of course not! Yi Bin's choice isn't necessarily correct... Forget it, let's not talk about her, let's talk about the one in front of us, Yanru. When you marry a man, don't just look at how he treats you, but also how he treats others. You have to live with his worst and most unbearable side. Xue Jia's worst side is too unbearable..."
"You're spouting a whole bunch of big morals, as if you've been married before," Yanru interrupted, stiffening her neck. She didn't want to hear any more of that. She turned away, stretched her arms, and lifted the wide sleeves of her wedding gown. The green satin, unembroidered, was smooth and shimmering in the sunlight, like water, shimmering and rippling, a beauty that made one dizzy. "Just wait, God is the best at writing stories. From now on, I'll be the one who lives the best life."
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