Chapter 65 Thinking Dirty
"That kid is only seven or eight years old?"
Jiang Huai confirmed Zhang Fang's age, stroked his beard thoughtfully, and had a strange feeling that this was not something his Baozhu would do.
If Zhang Fang were a teenager, Jiang Huai might suspect that his daughter Baozhu was falling in love with Zhang Fang, but the age difference between the two is too great.
“Um… Zhang Fang’s cousin, Zhang Jing, was my older brother’s classmate. He’s about nineteen this year and is a scholar.”
Lin Yuesha intended to explain the Zhang family's situation in detail, but she unexpectedly led the conversation astray, causing Jiang Huai to misunderstand.
Jiang Huai and Madam Xu exchanged glances. Zhang Jing, now without father or mother and a scholar, seemed like a good candidate.
It's just unknown whether Zhang Jing is willing to marry into the Jiang family.
Moreover, the fact that his daughter Baozhu took the initiative to buy Zhang Fang's property suggests that she might have feelings for Zhang Jing.
“Zhang Jing’s mother has just passed away, so it’s inappropriate for us to talk about these things. According to the rules, Zhang Jing should observe three years of mourning for his mother.”
Madam Xu counted on her fingers; three years later, Baozhu would be seventeen, just the right age to get married.
"Actually, I value He Xing very much, but He Xing has a widowed mother and it's impossible for him to marry into our family."
The Jiang family only has one daughter, Jiang Baozhu, and Jiang Huai still hopes to have a son-in-law who will marry into the family to help his daughter manage the family business.
Zhang Jing has no parents and no elders, so Jiang Baozhu will not have to serve her mother-in-law in the future, nor will she have to worry about the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.
"It's a great marriage!"
Jiang Huai and Madam Xu had long forgotten that Lin Yuesha was still in front of them, and the two of them discussed the matter with great interest.
It's obviously inappropriate to propose marriage now, so we'll send someone to visit Zhang Jing's home first to increase his favorability.
Lin Yuesha: "..."
Something just doesn't feel right.
After waiting for a while, the forgotten Lin Yuesha quietly left the room to talk to Jiang Baozhu.
The moon was high in the sky, and the mute woman was already asleep.
Jiang Baozhu paced back and forth in the room, constantly fidgeting with the hem of her clothes, her heart pounding with anxiety.
Her rebirth was a secret, her biggest secret, one she couldn't even tell her parents. So, how could she escape the nightmares of her past life?
Jiang Baozhu was worried that her rapid change would arouse her parents' suspicion, but she was also afraid that if she acted too slowly, He Xing would get there first and she would be unable to change the outcome.
Amidst the contradictions and entanglements, Lin Yuesha returned.
"Yue Sha, have you told my parents? What did they say?"
Jiang Baozhu grabbed Lin Yuesha's sleeve, her arm bulging with tension.
God help me, my parents must agree!
"I did say that, and I also said a lot of nice things about Zhang Fang."
Lin Yuesha scratched her head. She had indeed followed the plan she had discussed with Jiang Baozhu, but she didn't know where things had gone wrong. It seemed that Jiang Huai and Madam Xu had misunderstood something.
"It's good that you've said that. We'll wait until we bring Zhang Fang back and let my parents spend some time with him before we talk about it further."
Knowing that everything had been explained, Jiang Baozhu took a deep breath, feeling a huge weight lifted from her shoulders.
"No, that's not how it is!"
Lin Yuesha blinked, swallowed her words, and decided not to dampen Jiang Baozhu's enthusiasm.
Inside the room, candlelight flickered, and calming jasmine incense sat on the table.
Jiang Baozhu was overjoyed to have finally accomplished something significant and taken the first step in changing her destiny. Once the furniture and clothes she had purchased arrived at the mansion, her parents understood her intentions.
Especially her father, a smart man, would surely understand her good intentions, Jiang Baozhu thought with a strange confidence.
The next morning, Jiang Huai and Madam Xu specially invited Jiang Baozhu and Lin Yuesha to the main courtyard for a meal. Madam Xu smiled and served food to her daughter and Lin Yuesha.
“Baozhu, your mother and I have discussed it. You are a young lady now and have your own ideas. From now on, we will do things your way.”
Jiang Huai was afraid that his daughter would feel uncomfortable, so he made a promise before leaving the house.
"Thank you, Father and Mother."
When Jiang Baozhu took the initiative to speak, Jiang Huai and Madam Xu were overjoyed and became even more certain of their guess. That very day, they sent servants from their household to help the Zhang brothers arrange the funeral for their mother.
During this time, he also helped the Zhang family resolve some conflicts.
The shameless patriarch of the Zhang family refused to allow Zhang Jingniang to be buried in the Zhang family's ancestral tomb. Instead, they made a demand: that some of the Zhang family's ancestral property be registered under Zhang Jingniang's name, just so that the scholar could receive a tax reduction.
Of course, the land had nothing to do with Zhang Jing; the Zhang family only wanted to use his name.
When Jiang Huai returned, he talked about this matter with Madam Xu, deeply feeling that the Zhang family mother and son had not had a good life over the years.
"Aren't these shameless bastards afraid that if Zhang Jing becomes successful in the future, they'll regret it?"
Madam Xu secretly followed him out and glanced at Zhang Jing from afar. She was very satisfied with his appearance and behavior and had already regarded him as her son-in-law.
Even the usually good-tempered Mrs. Xu couldn't stand it when her son-in-law was bullied by her clansmen.
"The Zhang family is short-sighted. Otherwise, why would they have driven the mother and son out of the clan?"
As soon as Zhang Jing's father died, his clansmen came to leech off him. For them, only immediate interests matter.
These days, studying costs money. Without a solid foundation, you can't even afford to take the imperial examinations, let alone study.
Scholars who passed the county-level imperial examinations were not very rare, but those who passed the provincial-level imperial examinations were much rarer.
The Zhang family had been collecting medicinal herbs for generations, and there were few scholars in the family. They did not think Zhang Jing had a promising future.
"And then what did the son-in-law say?"
Madam Xu immediately changed her form of address, inquired about what was to come, and told Jiang Huai not to keep her in suspense.
“Our son-in-law is certainly good. The only question is whether the Zhang family is serious about not letting his mother enter the ancestral grave.”
As for the land registered under someone's name, that's absolutely impossible. Zhang Jing doesn't want to give those awful clansmen an advantage, so don't even think about using this to control him.
"Neither humble nor arrogant, possessing backbone!"
The mother-in-law thought her son-in-law was perfect, and Mrs. Xu was very supportive.
The Zhang family, these bloodsuckers, once they start, they'll start again. They're making a fuss about the burial of the dead—they're utterly shameless!
"Upon seeing this, Zhang Jing had only one request: to sever ties with his clansmen."
Zhang Jing's father and second uncle were caught in an avalanche in the mountains. Their bodies were never found, and only a cenotaph was erected in the Zhang family.
Zhang Jing moved the cenotaph to a scenic spot nearby and buried his parents together.
“I fanned the flames in this matter, and cutting ties with the bloodsucking Zhang family will only benefit Zhang Jing in the future.”
Jiang Huai took care of everything and nodded repeatedly when he saw that his daughter Baozhu hadn't made any arrangements to go out.
That's right. A woman shouldn't be too proactive, as it would damage her reputation. It's best to leave these things to him, her father.
At this moment, Jiang Baozhu was arranging flowers in the house. The red plum blossoms in the backyard were in bloom. In a good mood, she imitated the young ladies of wealthy families, cutting the red plum branches and arranging them in a vase. She was completely unaware of the misunderstanding her parents had about her. Their interpretation was completely off.
"Baozhu, when are you going to bring Zhang Fang back?"
Lin Yuesha waited for a while, and seeing that Jiang Baozhu showed no intention of leaving, she finally couldn't help but ask.
The money has been paid and there's a contract of indenture, so the person definitely can't run away. The only question is what Jiang Baozhu's next move will be.
“My parents are in town during the winter, and there are only three empty rooms in the front yard, which are just right for Zhang Fang.”
Fearing that the servants wouldn't do their job properly, Jiang Baozhu cleaned the place herself, making sure the Korean paper on the windows was spotless.
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