"It's alright. Nobody wants something like this to happen. Mr. Kang is such a good person, he'll definitely find a girl who's right for him."
He Jiuniang knew that the current situation was indeed somewhat awkward. After all, Chen had come with good intentions to help Miss Tang see what was going on, but she never expected that it was a scam orchestrated by Miss Tang herself.
If the entire Tang family were to conspire to deceive the Kang family, then a good fight would certainly be necessary. However, the problem is that the Tang couple didn't know either. When they first learned the truth, they were furious. Even though Madam Chen was already very unhappy, she still had to comfort Madam Tang, which made things even worse.
"Alas!" Madam Chen sighed. "I never imagined my son's marriage would be so fraught with difficulties. It's truly a cruel twist of fate!"
“A few years ago, he was in poor health. Although our family was anxious, we really didn’t dare to arrange a marriage for him, for fear of delaying the girl’s future. Now that he’s finally recovered, this has happened again. I’m just worried that he will be upset!”
Kang Xiucai's marriage became a major worry for Chen. At first, Kang Xiucai was unwilling to talk about marriage and wanted to pass the imperial examination first. However, Chen was anxious every day. In order not to worry his mother, he agreed to let his mother help him find a wife.
After agreeing to the marriage with the Tang family, he never expressed any dissatisfaction. He fulfilled his due respects and continued to study and teach diligently.
The original plan was to wait until the wedding date, then marry Miss Tang according to custom, and live a life of mutual respect and courtesy.
But now that things have escalated like this, even if Miss Tang and that Mr. Liu haven't done anything inappropriate, the Kang family will no longer want that girl. For an outsider, she would even deceive her own parents; no one would want a girl like that.
He Jiuniang said the same thing again: "This just means that the two of them are not destined to be together. What is meant to happen will happen, so you don't need to worry too much."
"By the way, since we don't want to upset Mr. Kang, let's not tell him the truth. Let's just say that Miss Tang was indeed sick, which is why she broke off the engagement. That way, everything will be fine."
Chen's eyes lit up: "That's right, how come I didn't think of that! Let's do it that way!"
The matter was settled, and Chen seemed to have a smile on her face. When she returned to the Kang family, Kang Xiucai asked about the situation first, and Chen told him what she had discussed with He Jiuniang.
Kang Xiucai had no objection to this, probably because he didn't care much about Miss Tang, and even felt quite relieved that the engagement had been broken off.
"Since Mother has said so, there's no need to rush to arrange a marriage for me for now. I need to focus on preparing for the imperial examination and strive to pass it on my first try."
Seeing her son like this, Madam Chen felt both heartache and relief, but she still forced herself to say, "Alright, then I'll listen to you. After your imperial examination, I'll help you with the arrangements."
Kang Xiucai readily agreed, and then expressed his gratitude to He Jiuniang before the Lu family returned home.
On the way, Mrs. Sun asked curiously, "What illness does Miss Tang have? How did she suddenly fall ill?"
He Jiuniang looked at her and said mysteriously, "You really want to know?"
"Of course, tell me quickly."
"It's because I don't want to marry into the Kang family."
"What's the meaning?"
Mrs. Sun was completely dumbfounded. How could there be such a disease?
Lu Baichuan, however, quickly realized what was going on and said, "So, Miss Tang is breaking off the engagement?"
"Yes, this Miss Tang is quite ruthless to herself. She found a poison and took it to make herself look like a patient who is about to die. It's really not easy to be so ruthless to oneself."
He Jiuniang sighed, feeling that Miss Tang was still too young and that's why she was easily fooled by men.
Fortunately, she realized her mistake and chose life over love.
This made He Jiuniang quite gratified.
Perhaps because of her profession, He Jiuniang particularly dislikes those who do not cherish their own lives, which is why she deliberately made things difficult for Miss Tang tonight.
She didn't mean any harm; she just wanted to teach Miss Tang a lesson and hope she wouldn't be so careless with her life again.
Mrs. Sun had never encountered such a situation before, and she couldn't help but gasp when she heard about Miss Tao's story, saying, "If you were unwilling, you shouldn't have arranged this marriage in the first place."
The group then started discussing the matter, with each person sharing their thoughts, and the atmosphere improved considerably compared to when they arrived.
After returning home, he didn't mention the matter between the Kang and Tang families to his family, since it was their private matter and shouldn't be publicized.
Most importantly, this should be kept from Kang Xiucai; it's best not to let too many people know.
Tomorrow, Lu Baichuan and his wife will return to the prefectural city, and tonight the three of them will sleep together.
The dog slept in the middle, and He Jiuniang, as usual, naturally told him a bedtime story.
"Mother, can Father tell me a story tonight?"
He Jiuniang had only spoken a few words when Gou'er blinked at her, his eyes pleading.
"Why? Don't you like the stories your mother tells?"
He Jiuniang pretended to be very sad and even wiped away non-existent tears from the corners of her eyes.
The dog quickly shook its head: "It's because Daddy hasn't told me a bedtime story yet!"
Lu Baichuan, who was standing next to him, immediately perked up. Hadn't it been mentioned before? He seemed to remember mentioning it before.
He Jiuniang glanced at him, sighed softly, and said, "Father, then I'll have to trouble you."
Then, she quickly and happily lay down, like a good little baby.
Lu Baichuan had a feeling he was being tricked, but he still smiled and asked, "So what kind of story do you want to hear?"
He was talking about you.
He Jiuniang, being thick-skinned, pretended not to hear and didn't say anything, just closed her eyes and waited for the story to begin.
The dog said, "I want to hear stories about Daddy becoming a great hero!"
Lu Baichuan found it amusing. There were no great heroes; he was just struggling to make a living.
Although I thought that way, I still picked out the interesting things to tell them, automatically omitting many of the hardships.
He Jiuniang fell asleep even faster than the dog; she was genuinely exhausted.
When Lu Baichuan saw this, he carefully tugged at the corner of the blanket for her and lowered his voice.
"Shh..."
"Father, I'll listen to it next time. Mother is asleep."
The dog put its index finger to its lips and shushed, then closed its eyes and went to sleep obediently.
Lu Baichuan really couldn't understand how a child of such a young age could be so sensible.
He turned off the lights, gently embraced his two precious children, and then went to rest as well.
The next morning, after seeing the dogs off to school, the couple prepared to leave as well.
Although Sun was clearly reluctant to leave, she still stubbornly said, "Now that you're finally leaving, I can have a few days of peace and quiet."
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