Chapter 11 Finding someone to fake marriage
Chunzhi sat in the teahouse drinking tea and watching people coming and going outside.
Not long after, matchmaker Li brought Mr. Zhou over, along with his two daughters and one son.
"Spring, spring branches..."
Mr. Zhou is in his forties, fair-skinned and plump, and looks younger than his actual age.
"Mr. Zhou knows Chunzhi, so I won't introduce them any further." Matchmaker Li said with a smile, "Chunzhi, this is Mr. Zhou. The two Miss Zhous are eight and twelve years old, and Mr. Zhou is five years old this year, which is the perfect age to raise him. Once you marry him, you will be Mrs. Zhou, and you can have children if you want, or not if you don't want to..."
The matchmaker spoke in a very exaggerated way.
It seems that there is no better man than Mr. Zhou in this world.
Mr. Zhou just kept looking at Chunzhi and smiling.
Young Master Zhou was eating the candy man while asking his father to hold him.
Mr. Zhou picked up his son.
Both Miss Zhous were secretly looking at Chunzhi. The older one already knew a lot and knew that the person in front of her might be her stepmother, so she just looked at her without saying anything.
The younger one whispered in her elder sister's ear: "She is so pretty. The nanny said that the prettier the stepmother, the more likely she is to torture people..."
The eldest daughter of the Zhou family covered her sister's mouth and stopped her from speaking.
Chunzhi had sharp ears and had heard what the second lady of the Zhou family said, "Mammy said that the prettier the stepmother is, the more she will torture people." She just smiled and said nothing.
As the saying goes, it's not easy to be a stepmother, and these little ones in the Zhou family don't seem easy to get along with either.
Matchmaker Li was still praising how good Mr. Zhou was and how well-behaved his children were. She said that as long as Chunzhi treated them well, they would definitely be filial to Chunzhi in the future.
Mr. Zhou said, "My wife passed away five years ago due to complications during childbirth. I haven't remarried in the past few years. Now that my children are grown and can't live without a mother, I'm thinking of remarrying... I know your situation, so don't worry. As long as you are willing to marry me, I can have children if I want, and I can spend money and buy things as I please. I only have one request, and that is to treat my children well."
Chunzhi had lived in Linshui Town for ten years, so she naturally knew that Mr. Zhou was one of the richest businessmen in the town.
If you marry him, you will never have to worry about having no money to spend.
Chunzhi is not someone who would treat her first wife's children harshly.
But when she thought about having to spend every day with the Zhou family, she felt that she didn't really care about money that much.
Matchmaker Li was still saying, "Look, Mr. Zhou is such a straightforward person!"
Chunzhi thought for a moment and said softly, "I need to think about it again."
Matchmaker Li was anxious. "What else are you thinking about? Mr. Zhou is right here. Whether it succeeds or not depends on your words!"
"Marriage is a big deal that needs to be considered carefully. I'm in a hurry, but I won't rush you. Think it over carefully."
Mr. Zhou said to Chunzhi while holding his son.
Before Matchmaker Li could say something else, Matchmaker Zhao came back with Master Chu.
Mr. Zhou greeted them briefly, then left with his son, two daughters, and servants.
Matchmaker Li followed him and kept saying something.
Matchmaker Zhao brought Master Chu to sit opposite Chunzhi.
Young Master Chu looked at Chunzhi and said slowly, "My surname is Chu, my given name is Yu, and my courtesy name is Chengyan. We have met several times before at Yunfeng Academy."
Chunzhi recognized Chu Chengyan as soon as she saw him.
This Mr. Chu was dressed in brocade clothes. He was very handsome, but looked a little weak.
He was once Lu Jingyun's classmate. The two studied together at Yunfeng Academy for several years. Chunzhi had seen him several times when she went to deliver meals and things to Lu Jingyun.
I just didn’t expect…
Chu Chengyan actually wanted to marry her.
After Chu Chengyan saw Chunzhi, he could hardly take his eyes off her.
He said, "I have long been in love with Miss Chunzhi, but you were Brother Lu's child bride before, and I cannot take someone else's wife away. And now..."
And now Lu Jingyun has remarried.
Chunzhi can naturally marry someone else.
Chu Chengyan knew about Lu Jingyun marrying the daughter of the Prime Minister earlier than Chunzhi, and he had spread the news among his peers when he went to Beijing for the imperial examination.
Chu Chengyan had been ill two months before and had been unable to go to Beijing to take the imperial examination. After he recovered, he heard the good news that Lu Jingyun had married someone else, and he immediately found a matchmaker to propose to Chunzhi.
Now the two of them are sitting in the teahouse looking at each other.
Chu Chengyan had a lot to say.
Chunzhi had a headache.
She didn't want to have anything to do with Lu Jingyun anymore. Even if she wanted to get married, she wanted to marry someone who had nothing to do with Lu Jingyun.
It just so happened that Chu Chengyan was Lu Jingyun's classmate, and a scholar like him would definitely go to Beijing to take the imperial examinations in the future.
Chunzhi really didn't want her husband to marry someone else after passing the imperial examination to happen again.
She took a sip of tea slowly and said softly, "Thank you for your kindness, Master Chu, but I'm just a tofu seller. I don't expect to be an official's wife. I just want to find someone with similar conditions to me to live a stable life together."
Chu Chengyan said: "I am different from Lu Jingyun."
He said, "I fell in love with you at first sight and have been attracted to you for a long time. Regardless of whether you pass the imperial examination or not, I will never let you down, Chunzhi... I can guarantee that you will never find anyone in Linshui Town who loves you more than I do."
Chunzhi said, "Love doesn't last forever. I'd rather find someone who doesn't like me that much but is willing to live a good life with me."
Chu Chengyan didn't expect Chunzhi to do this, and was speechless for a moment.
Matchmaker Zhao said from the side: "Chunzhi, you must have been let down by the number one scholar to say that. How can a couple live together without some joy in their lives..."
The matchmaker said a lot of things.
Chunzhi couldn't sit still under Chu Chengyan's gaze, so she stood up first and said, "I have something to do at home, so I'll go back first."
Chu Chengyan stood up and said, "I'll take you there."
"No need." Chunzhi said, "It's not far away. I can go back by myself."
"Haruji...Haruji, don't go."
Matchmaker Zhao chased Chunzhi out and kept telling her how good Mr. Chu was.
"Matchmaker Zhao, please stay," Chunzhi said, "I'll go back and think about it carefully."
Zhao the matchmaker also knew that it was useless to push Chunzhi too hard, so she waved her round fan and said, "Okay, go back and think about it carefully. Think about it seriously and carefully."
Chunzhi said "hmm" and hurried home.
As soon as she pushed open the gate, she saw a man lighting a fire in front of the stove. The house was filled with black smoke, which was extremely choking.
Chunzhi fanned herself with her sleeves as she walked forward. "What are you doing? Setting the house on fire?"
Huo Zheng turned around and looked at her, expressionless, "Light the fire and cook."
Chunzhi suddenly: "..."
She came back a little late and it was already dark.
A candle was lit in the kitchen.
The faint flames flickered, and the light brushed across the man's handsome face.
Chunzhi looked at the person in front of her, and suddenly an idea came to her. It would be difficult to marry herself to a reliable man within three days, so why not find someone to fake the marriage?
Isn’t this the best candidate?
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