Chapter 49's rejection of Qi Da as an unsuitable match is not without reason...
As the two were exchanging pleasantries, a maid announced from outside the door that the madam had arrived.
Shen Mingshan and Gao Zheng looked up at the same time and saw Su Shi walking in, supported by a maid.
"When did Ah Zheng arrive? Why didn't he tell me?"
She smiled and playfully scolded Shen Mingshan before walking towards the seat next to him.
Shen Mingshan quickly helped her sit down beside him and said in a low voice, "You were asleep just now, so I didn't have anyone wake you up."
After saying that, she apologized to Gao Zheng, "Your aunt is pregnant and can't sleep well at night. She finally managed to get some sleep just now, so I didn't wake her up."
When Su entered the room, Gao Zheng noticed that her lower abdomen was slightly protruding, suggesting that she might be pregnant. However, he was hesitant to confirm it and hesitated to ask, fearing that he might accidentally say the wrong thing.
He was acquainted with the Shen family and naturally knew that Su had difficulty conceiving and had only given birth to one child, Shen Yan, over the years.
If he were to ask her if she was pregnant at that moment, and the answer was no, wouldn't that be incredibly awkward?
After hearing Shen Mingshan confirm the matter, he finally felt relieved and sincerely offered his blessings: "Congratulations, Uncle Shen, congratulations, Aunt. I... I just arrived in the capital and didn't know about this. Otherwise, I should have prepared a gift."
Only after saying that did she realize that she had come in a hurry today, empty-handed. Not only had she not prepared gifts for her unborn younger brother and sister, but she had not even prepared gifts for the Shen family couple and Shen Yan.
He slapped his forehead, somewhat annoyed: "I'm sorry, I... I just entered the city today..."
Shen Mingshan waved his hand dismissively: "No rush, no rush. It's only been less than five months. You can come and congratulate us after the little one is born."
After saying that, he remembered what Gao Zheng had just said and subconsciously asked, "You just arrived in the capital today? Why don't you rest at home? I can come here anytime. Why the rush?"
He meant well, thinking that Gao Zheng had a hard journey and could rest at home and visit him in a few days. But after he said that, Gao Zheng was taken aback and then fell silent.
Shen Mingshan hadn't quite grasped what was going on yet. Just as he was about to ask, Su Shi beside him gently nudged him with her arm, stopping him from saying what was on the tip of his tongue.
"It's good that A-Zheng came to the capital. Next time your Uncle Shen needs any mounting and restoration work, he can ask you for help."
Su said with a smile.
“You don’t know, a few days ago one of your father’s collections of ancient books broke, and he asked your Uncle Shen to help him see if he could fix it. Your Uncle Shen spent half a day working on it and he did fix it, but when he came back he kept saying that it would have been better if you were there, so you could have someone to help him. He was a little hesitant to do it all by himself, afraid that he might not only fail to fix it but also completely destroy it.”
Gao Zheng knew she was changing the subject, so he forced a smile and said, "Thank you for your trouble, Uncle Shen. My father is always like this; he flips through the old books in the house whenever he has nothing to do. I've told him so many times that most of those old books are damaged and not very durable, and that he should flip through them less often. If he really wants to read them, he can just look at the copies. But he just won't listen. He just likes to flip through those old books directly. He's ruined so many of them over the years. He can flip through them but he can't repair them. He's always causing trouble for others."
"No trouble at all," Shen Mingshan said hurriedly. "I just don't have any at home, otherwise I would have been tempted to search for them too."
Even if you know it's something for collection, if it's something you collect on purpose, then it must be something you like. How can you resist taking it out to look at it from time to time when you have something you like right under your nose?
Therefore, he could understand Gao Pei's actions, but he also felt sorry for those ancient books, some of which were already tattered beyond recognition.
"Yes, Uncle Shen is very happy to have the opportunity to see those ancient books."
Su replied with a smile.
The group chatted on this topic for a while longer, but seeing that there was nothing more to say, Madam Su glanced at the sky outside and said, "It's almost noon. Why don't you stay here and have lunch with us, A-Zheng? I'll send someone back to inform Lord Gao."
Gao Zheng paused for a moment, turned to look out the window, and realized with a start that it was already almost noon.
He hadn't paid attention to the time when he arrived, and he had been preoccupied with his thoughts, so he hadn't noticed the sky outside.
Arriving at someone's door without permission is already impolite; arriving empty-handed and then asking to have lunch there is even more inappropriate.
He quickly declined, saying, "No need, I..."
He had barely opened his mouth when he remembered his original purpose for coming and was unwilling to leave just like that.
He realized that Shen Mingshan and the Su family were avoiding something, and he knew he had no right to ask, but...
He clenched his fist, but couldn't hold back any longer. Even though he knew the other party was unwilling to answer, he still spoke up: "I came here today to ask... about Sister Chen."
"I heard... she's engaged to Prince Ping. I want to ask... to find out what really happened."
"Rumors are circulating that Prince Ping bullied Sister Shen. If that's the case, why..."
“It was just a misunderstanding,” Madam Su interrupted. “Prince Ping has already explained it to us, and Aci has also forgiven him.”
"This marriage was agreed to by Aci herself, and we have given our approval. Their wedding is in three days. If Azheng is free then, he might as well come and have a drink at their wedding."
She spoke gently, yet her attitude was firm, telling Gao Zheng directly that the marriage was not due to coercion by the royal family, but rather that both parties had agreed to it.
Gao Zheng frowned even more upon hearing this, and said in a deep voice, "What misunderstanding could there be? How could Sister Shen possibly forgive her aunt? What exactly happened after you came to the capital? Can you tell me? I may not be able to help much, but..."
"Brother Gao."
A clear and gentle female voice came from outside. Gao Zheng turned his head and saw Shen Yan standing at the door.
Shen Yan actually knew that Gao Zheng had come, but she didn't want to cause any trouble, so she didn't show herself and planned to just say hello when he left.
But she waited inside for a long time, and seeing that Gao Zheng had not left even when the sun was high overhead, she went to the door of the main house.
The people inside didn't lower their voices, and she could hear what they were saying from where she was standing. When she heard Gao Zheng mention Qi Jingxuan, she knew she had guessed right; he had indeed come for this reason.
Shen Yan sighed softly in her heart, stepped into the room, and said, "I did agree to this marriage myself; no one forced me."
Gao Zheng was stunned when someone he hadn't seen for over a year suddenly appeared before him.
The woman before him seemed to have grown taller than before, and her face was as beautiful and clean as ever, with clear eyes that were more beautiful than any woman he had ever seen.
He remembered that when they first met a few years ago, he didn't have a deep impression of her. It was only after getting to know her better that he discovered that although she was young, she was intelligent and insightful. She could always remember what he said very quickly and could recite it perfectly when asked again.
He was amazed by her intelligence and quick wit, and even more surprised by her composure at such a young age. Even when she saw the corpses, she did not show any fear or timidity, and was even willing to step forward to help.
Later, at some point, he remembered her, especially her clear eyes, which always made him happy whenever he thought of them.
When Gao Zheng realized this joy, he made up his mind to marry her. When she came of age, he gave her a jade hairpin that he had carved himself and subtly asked her to wait for him.
He dared not speak directly, feeling it would be unreasonable and he was afraid of offending her. Yet he dared not remain silent, fearing she would be completely unaware of his feelings and turn around to marry someone else.
But to his surprise, Shen Yan immediately understood his meaning and refused on the spot.
Gao Zheng still remembers their conversation back then; he stood there blankly and asked why.
Shen Yan's expression was no different from usual, calm and gentle, as if she were talking about something insignificant.
“Brother Gao, why are you making me wait? If you want to marry me, you can simply have your elders propose to my parents. Marriage is a matter of parental consent and matchmaker's word. As long as my parents agree, I will not refuse.”
Upon hearing this, Gao Zheng's expression froze, and he was speechless for a long time.
Shen Yan's gaze was calm, and a faint smile, as always, graced her lips, making him feel distant from her.
"Because you know your family won't agree. If you want to marry me, you have to convince your elders first, but... can you really convince them?"
In other words, do you think you can convince them?
Gao Zheng felt helpless and embarrassed at that moment. The girl he liked had pointed out the problem incisively, but he couldn't give her a definite answer.
Shen Yan didn't mean to deliberately make things difficult for him; she just felt that these things should be clarified to avoid dragging things out and causing a lot of trouble later.
She pushed the jade hairpin back and said gently, "Brother Gao, take it back. We can't be together."
Gao Zheng was, after all, just a teenager. No matter how composed he was on a daily basis, he still had a stubborn streak.
He looked at the brocade box that had been pushed back and said in a hoarse voice, "What if I had succeeded?"
What to achieve?
Shen Yan asked softly, "Should we get them to agree to the marriage, and then what?"
She didn't say anything more, but just silently looked at Gao Zheng, but Gao Zheng understood instantly.
Even if he could persuade his elders to agree to the marriage, could he ensure they willingly accepted her? Could he protect her from being harassed by her elders or ostracized by her sisters-in-law after she entered the family? Could he protect her for life and prevent her from suffering any injustice?
Although the Shen family was not of high social standing, she was their only daughter, and her parents had always cherished her like a precious jewel. Could he ensure that this jewel would continue to be treated as a precious gem in the Gao family instead of being discarded like trash?
Can he... do it?
Shen Yan looked at his thunderstruck expression, but remained calm: "Brother Gao, the saying 'marrying someone of equal social standing' is not without reason."
Gao Zheng doesn't remember how he got home, only that when he came to his senses he was already at his doorstep.
Looking at the two characters "Gao Residence" on the plaque above the door, a sudden impulse welled up in his heart.
Without a moment's delay, he packed his bags as soon as he entered the house and headed to the Gao family ancestral home in Jiangzhou, hoping to persuade his grandfather to let him marry Shen Yan.
Although marriage is traditionally arranged by parents and matchmakers, in the Gao family, even his father had to obey his grandfather's arrangements, let alone him.
If we can't persuade our grandfather, it won't matter even if our father agrees. If our grandfather agrees, our father will agree anyway, even if he doesn't want to.
Gao Zheng was determined to persuade his grandfather that after he married Aci, he would be sent to a local post as an official. Then they could live their own lives behind closed doors, and his grandfather and the others would be too far away to interfere with them.
But he had oversimplified things. When he arrived in Jiangzhou, his grandfather, after hearing his plans, locked him up at home and forbade him from going out again. He also began to find suitable women for him to marry.
Gao Zheng vehemently protested, saying that he would never agree to his grandfather arranging a marriage for him without his consent. He added that if his family wasn't worried about the awkward situation that might arise, they should go ahead and make the arrangements.
But all of this was just child's play in front of his grandfather. He went along with his wishes and stopped looking for matchmakers for him. He didn't force him to marry anyone either. He just chuckled and said casually, "If you don't want to get married now, that's fine. It doesn't matter. You are a descendant of the Gao family. Even when you get old, countless women will still be willing to marry you."
"I just don't know if the Miss Shen you admire can wait."
“Men can still marry when they get older, but women can only become concubines or remarry when they get older.”
"I've heard that Magistrate Shen dotes on his daughter. Do you think he'll make her wait for you indefinitely?"
"Once that Miss Shen gets married, let's see what you can do then."
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A note from the author:
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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