"He is not only fat and bald, but also old. He is many years older than me. Why can't my daughter dislike him?" Jiang Yushan felt aggrieved and her eyes turned red with anger.
Xu hurriedly told her, "You are not old, Zhenyun is only eight years older than you."
"Eight years older," Jiang Yushan sneered disdainfully, saying, "That means he's already twenty-six. A man is established at thirty, and he's almost thirty, but he's still not married. There must be something wrong."
Mrs. Xu helped her daughter sit down and sighed deeply. "It's late for a man to marry at the age of twenty-six, but he's not old. But it's different for girls. Shan'er, you're already eighteen, and I can't just give you a false sense of security. Alas, if you delay for a few more years, past twenty, your marriage will become even more difficult."
Jiang Yushan was instantly furious, anxious and sad, tears welling up in her eyes. She complained and asked, "Parents decide on lifelong matters. Could it be that your daughter herself wanted to delay it?"
"Alas, it's all your father's fault. He was so stubborn and obsessed with becoming Wenfeng's father-in-law that he delayed you for two years." Xu was also full of resentment. "But now that things have come to this, there's no point in complaining. Mother must quickly find you a man of equal status. Let's get engaged first and choose an auspicious date for the wedding as soon as possible."
Jiang Yushan cried in disappointment, shaking her head repeatedly, "For a lifelong event, is it enough to just be a good match? Xia is neither talented nor beautiful, he's old, fat and bald, and his mother actually thinks her daughter is a good match for him. This is simply humiliating!"
"You are my biological daughter. How could I choose a son-in-law to humiliate you?" Mrs. Xu took out a handkerchief to wipe the tears from her beloved daughter. She was filled with worry and frowned. "In the past few months, I have carefully selected more than ten young talents in secret, but you are not satisfied with any of them. You dislike them because they are short, thin, dark, and have ugly facial features. You always judge people by their appearance."
"Some of them are really too ugly. My daughter is not blind, so I really can't praise them against her will." Jiang Yushan has a high opinion of herself. She rejected one "young talent" after another in her mother's eyes and was not willing to compromise easily.
Xu's face turned stern, she sat up straight, and asked seriously, "Have you always used Honglei or Wenfeng's appearance as a criterion in your heart? If so, I'm afraid you won't be able to marry satisfactorily."
"Mother, you're making wild guesses about something that didn't even happen." Jiang Yushan lowered her head uncomfortably, tugging at her half-embroidered handkerchief. She suppressed her anger and resentment, feigning indifference. "Those two are long gone. The past isn't worth mentioning."
The mother and daughter spent every day together. Mrs. Xu understood her daughter deeply and advised her earnestly, "Don't be so stubborn. Mother knows that you are using Honglei or Wenfeng's looks as a criterion to criticize other young men. In fact, mother also understands. After all, who in the world doesn't like a partner with both talent and beauty? But you must understand that, regardless of gender, those with both talent and beauty are always a minority. The rest are all mediocre in appearance and talent."
Jiang Yushan opened her mouth but ultimately remained silent, agreeing without any objection.
"Young talents with outstanding looks like Honglei and Wenfeng are already very rare. Add to that considerations such as family background and age, and there are only a few suitable ones for you in the capital right now, and most of them are already engaged. Shan'er, I have tried my best to observe and select more than ten suitable young men, but you rejected them all." Xu was helpless and said tiredly.
"Mom is almost at her wit's end."
Seeing her mother's tired face, Jiang Yushan panicked and immediately stood up to serve her tea. She choked up and said, "If you were like my father and ignored my daughter's marriage, I would be doomed."
"Don't worry, silly girl. A mother would never abandon her own daughter." Mrs. Xu took the tea and raised her hand to signal her daughter to sit down. Worried, she advised, "Listen to my advice. Stop being so picky. In marriage, the most important thing is to be well-matched. The second most important thing is to choose someone who is kind. The rest is unimportant. After marriage, you'll have children, take care of the household, and be busy all the time. In the blink of an eye, you'll be old and wrinkled. By then, it won't matter whether your husband is handsome or ugly."
"It's different, it's different. How can it be the same? Even when they're old, there are still handsome old men and ugly old men." Jiang Yushan's eyes widened as she muttered to herself, "If she lives with an ugly guy day and night, my daughter will probably die of disgust before she gets old."
"you"
Xu was anxious and said bluntly, "If you continue to be picky, once you are over 20 years old and become an old maid, you will most likely become someone's concubine or stepmother."
"I don't want to!" Jiang Yushan covered her face and cried.
Mrs. Xu slammed her hands on the table in frustration, her eyes welling up as she lamented, "Back then, your grandfather arranged a marriage for your mother. Everything was going smoothly, but two months before the wedding, his mother accidentally fell into the water while boating and drowned. I had no choice but to wait for him to complete his mourning. But during that time, he caught a cold and fell ill, eventually passing away. At that time, your mother was accused of killing her future mother-in-law and husband, so she had no choice but to marry your father as a concubine and your sister's stepmother."
"Can't you see how hard my mother has been through these years?"
Jiang Yushan bit her lip hard, her heart in turmoil. "My daughter understands."
"I would rather remain single for life than be a concubine or a stepmother"
Xu's mouth was dry. She took a sip of tea and tried to persuade him, "What are you saying in anger? Your father would never allow his daughter to remain single for life. If you continue to act so willfully, you will most likely end up marrying that humble, newly minted scholar your father admires."
Jiang Yushan was irritable and said disdainfully, "Humph, I don't want to marry a poor scholar."
"Keep your voice down. Have you forgotten that your father came from a poor family and gradually rose to prominence thanks to the Jiang family's support? Therefore, he was obsessed with repaying his teacher and kept supporting Wen Feng."
Jiang Yushan wiped her tears and sobbed, "My daughter knows you've worked hard, but, but Mr. Xia Wu is really too ugly. Besides, what's wrong with him that made my cousin break off the engagement with him?"
"Zhenyun isn't handsome enough, not ugly," Madam Xu said casually. "The engagement was called off because the man and woman's horoscopes weren't compatible. The initial calculation was wrong, and we later recalculated and realized they weren't a good match."
"ah"
Jiang Yushan was skeptical, "Really?"
"Why would I lie to you? The rumor has spread among relatives for a long time, and you just didn't pay attention."
"But I don't want to pick up what my cousin left behind. Otherwise, when we meet in the future, they will definitely laugh at my daughter." Jiang Yushan was proud and could not stand the slightest humiliation.
Xu had always doted on her daughter, but she could no longer bear it and sternly pointed out, "Shan'er, think about it calmly. Your sister and Honglei already have a child, and your cousins are married. Now you are the only one left."
"mother"
"Stop talking."
Jiang Yushan could no longer endure it and burst into tears. She said angrily, "My sister gave birth to a son, and my father was almost too happy. It wasn't like he had a grandson, but more like he had his own grandson. He talked about it every now and then, praising my sister to the sky and degrading me to the ground. Now, now even you don't support your daughter." After she finished speaking, she burst into tears.
After all, Xu felt sorry for her own flesh and blood, and hurriedly hugged her to comfort her, "Silly child, you are my biological daughter. How could I possibly favor Yushu? Don't be sad, don't cry, let's think about it in the long run."
In fact, although Xu said "we'll take the long view", she was afraid that her daughter would be picky and the more she picked, the worse it would be.
The older a girl gets, the harder it is to get married. Shan'er can no longer be allowed to refuse on her own accord. Zhenyun, though a bit ugly, is a kind man, and the two families are well-matched, so they are a good match.
I just hope that after we get married, he can be more tolerant of Shan'er.
In a blink of an eye, Jiang Yushu and others had been staying in the inn in Yongzhou City for five days. During this period, they went to the government office three times, but they could not enter the government office.
At noon in the border town that had been ravaged by war, there were few pedestrians on the streets and the inn was deserted. There was only one table of people having lunch in the lobby.
"How can this be possible?"
"Hmph, another wasted trip."
Wei Xu became angrier and angrier as he thought about it. He almost crushed the teacup and muttered in a low voice, "We've made several trips in vain and haven't even stepped into the government office yet. When will Magistrate Ji return to the city?"
Jiang Yushu found joy in the midst of hardship. "God knows, the earth knows, you don't know, and I don't know. Actually, when I think about it carefully, I admire Master Ji more and more. He has only been in office for three or four months, but he has managed Yongzhou City in an orderly manner, established his authority and set rules. Look at the yamen runners, they don't even dare to accept tips for running errands."
"Ah, he's so impressive, but what about our mission?" Wei Xu sipped his tea in frustration. As the group got more familiar with each other, he relaxed more and more, grumbling with a dark face.
Jiang Yushu took a sip of tea and said, "It's because we have to meet the prefect. We can only wait patiently. Just now, the chief clerk finally revealed some information. Perhaps in three or four days, Master Ji will be back."
"Observing the awe-inspiring expressions of the people in the yamen," Wei Xu said in a low voice, worried, "I'm afraid Magistrate Ji won't be easy to deal with. The local authorities don't like the idea of collecting stored grain from the military depot. We're probably going to have a hard time dealing with this."
Jiang Yushu gritted her teeth and said firmly, "No matter how difficult it is to deal with him, we must bite the bullet and fight him. Otherwise, our trip to Yongzhou will be in vain. We can only return to Xicang after completing the task, otherwise we can't leave."
"Of course." Wei Xu hadn't finished speaking when a group of people suddenly walked in through the door. The leader asked in surprise.
"Why are you here?"
Cuimei turned her head when she heard the voice and hurriedly said, "It's my cousin."
"Oh," Jiang Yushu stood up. Wei Xu's eyes lit up and he quickly came to greet her. He bowed and said with a smile, "Master Pei, you are just a timely rain. We were looking for you just now."
Pei Wenfeng, dusty and exhausted, led two servants, Cai Chun and Wu Liang, and five or six constables, and walked towards his cousin. "Why are you scolding me?"
"Well, it's a long story. Please sit down." Wei Xu sighed and decided to take the opportunity to ask for help.
Jiang Yushu raised her hand and said, "Cousin, sit down. So you didn't go out with Ji Zhifu? Where is Lord Pan?"
Pei Wenfeng sat down and shook his head. His eyes were bloodshot from not eating or sleeping for more than half a month. He answered briefly, "We have different responsibilities and are usually busy with our own things. Lord Pan should be in Xunyue Town. What trouble have you encountered?"
"This is what happened," Wei Xu began to tell the story.
At this moment in the alley next to the inn
While strolling, Du Feiyan ran into her beloved and, overjoyed, quietly followed him here. She feigned composure, tossed the reins to her attendant, and said, "Take the horse back."
"Then what do you do?"
"Well, I'm going to meet some friends and will go back after I'm done. It's okay, this city is very peaceful, I go there every day and I'm familiar with everywhere." As she spoke, Du Feiyan couldn't wait and walked briskly towards the door of the inn, her scarlet skirt fluttering like a ball of passionate fire, floating straight towards Pei Wenfeng.
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