Qin Xiaozhou's legs went weak, and she almost couldn't stand up. "You vixen, seducing men everywhere. If you offend Miss Xie because of this, you'll be a femme fatale."
Lu Yunfeng quickly learned Xie Yin's identity from Qin Xiaozhou and felt somewhat aggrieved. "She's sick and desperately wants me to take that girl as a concubine. Just now, Granny Qian sent word that no woman went to the embroidery building. It seems that the woman selling herself to bury her father was just an act."
Qin Xiaozhou hooked her arm around his neck. "It seems that just having an embroidery shop isn't enough. You need to make money quickly. I want to build a very, very big weaving factory so that more women can make a living there."
The two fooled around in the house for a while, then Lu Yan knocked on the door and called out from outside, "Sister-in-law, big brother, come out for dinner. Mother said she has something to discuss after dinner."
The Lu family did not have a rule of not speaking while eating. At the dinner table, Zhao Fang said, "Yu Niang is getting married soon. I was thinking that my mother-in-law is the only one at home and can't manage everything. There are so many things to prepare. Maybe I should go home too."
Moreover, she misses her son very much and wants to go back to be by his side and watch him grow up little by little.
Qin Xiaozhou didn't concern herself much with family matters; Lu Yunfeng handled everything. She only briefly mentioned, "Right now, only Grandma and Aunt are at home. It's good that Mother-in-law went back. Xiaoyan will take charge of the shop. We're short-staffed, so tomorrow we'll go find Zhang Yazi to buy a few more people, but this time we won't hire any locals. Jinxiu, you should learn more from Xiaoyan. Don't worry about Xiaoshitou; Grandma Lu is a good person, she'll take good care of him."
Lu Yunfeng said, "We'll go back the day after tomorrow, Mother. We'll go buy the things needed for the wedding tomorrow and bring them back the day after tomorrow."
Qin Xiaozhou was very generous to the Lu family. "When my aunt holds her wedding, we can't exceed the Li family by too much, so we'll secretly contribute some money, but not openly as part of the dowry."
Beside the embroidery tower in the afternoon, a pavilion nestled under weeping willows rustled in the autumn wind. This was the place where silkworm cocoons and cloth were usually bought; it wasn't inside the embroidery tower, yet it offered shelter from the wind and rain. Granny Qian slowly put away the white fox fur. "I heard you're not married yet?"
She had heard the news from a few days ago when she was buying silk and cocoons from various places. A farmer saw Ye Su selling feathers and casually mentioned some gossip about him. After learning this, unlike those people who avoided Ye Su, Granny Qian pulled Li Zhen aside and said, "I think this young man is not bad. I'll find an opportunity to sound him out for you. Then you'll have a place to settle down for the rest of your life."
Ye Su, with a blank expression, stuffed the silver into his pocket and turned to leave. He had come to sell white fox pelts today, but he hadn't expected to be asked about this. He had long since given up hope of getting married and having children, and he didn't want to waste any more time.
Granny Qian was not in a hurry. "I think you are a good young man. There is a woman in the embroidery building who has been a widow for two years. Her widowhood period will end at the end of the year, and she is waiting to remarry. She is a girl with a hard life. Her ex-husband died while carrying heavy loads at the dock. She has a daughter who is ten years old and lives with her grandmother in the village. Since her husband died, she has been managing the household and supporting the young and old by herself. The whole family are honest people."
Ye Su walked down the steps of the pavilion, still without saying a word.
Granny Qian continued, "I've inquired, and since you're all alone now, you should find someone who cares for you, have children, and then you'll have someone to take care of you in your old age..."
"Nobody wants me to have children."
"What?" Granny Qian was stunned for a moment.
Ye Su turned his head, his eyelids lowered coldly, as if this world had nothing to do with him, and he was just living to count the days. "My brother and sister-in-law both say that I am an unlucky person."
He had been away from the battlefield for five years, from the age of twenty to twenty-five, and no one in the village had arranged a marriage for him. Moreover, because his elder brother and sister-in-law had distanced themselves from him, he was not even considered for a marriage by the county government.
Later he understood that the Chen family army he had joined had rendered meritorious service in supporting the emperor, but the higher-ups were afraid that his merits would overshadow their own, and they had always been wary of him. Five years ago, General Chen suddenly relinquished his military power and later died of illness on his way back to his hometown. Since then, the Chen family army has been torn apart.
He felt bored and resigned to go home. He thought that since the general was dead, he, a mere centurion, would not be noticed by his superiors. But it wasn't until the last two years that he realized that his superiors had never trusted anyone in the Chen family army. Even though he, as a centurion, had only shown his face to the general a few times, and the general might not even remember his name, he was still feared by others.
They were so wary of him that they wouldn't even let him marry someone through official channels; this was a way of indirectly preventing him from having any descendants.
Granny Qian assumed that he had killed people on the battlefield, so even she felt it was unlucky. As for the rumors among the villagers that he would bring misfortune to his father and mother, she naturally did not believe them.
“Sigh, who hasn’t seen a few dead people ten years ago? In those chaotic times, so many people had blood on their hands.” Granny Qian remained calm and collected. She had seen all sorts of things in the capital, let alone a soldier who had served in the army and gone to the battlefield. “You fought for the country, and now that there is no more war, you should think more about yourself. Getting a wife and settling down is the most important thing. The past is the past.”
Ye Su felt a surge of warmth, a warmth he hadn't felt in a long time. It had been so many years since anyone had spoken to him so calmly. However, he shook his head. "I'm not suited to marry and have children."
He joined the army at the age of fourteen. During his six years of military service, he spent most of his time killing people or training. He had no plans to start a family and was not a good husband or father.
"Oh, that's perfect, that's perfect." Seeing that he was somewhat relenting, Granny Qian was overjoyed and stepped forward to pull the girl away. She was old enough to be the young man's mother, and she wasn't afraid of being seen or gossiped about. "Although that girl has been married before, she is exactly the best at managing a household. You earn money to support the family, and she takes care of the housework. That's how a couple lives. It's just that she is a widow, so don't look down on her. That girl is a very good person."
Granny Qian did a rough calculation and found that Ye Su had earned more than twenty taels of silver from selling fox furs and bird feathers in the past half month. How could he not be suitable to get married and have children?
Rome wasn't built in a day, and Ye Su wasn't so easily swayed. He shook his head and refused. Granny Qian could only watch him leave, thinking, "That young man is such a stubborn mule."
When Li Zhen found out, she was not angry. She simply comforted Granny Qian, saying, "He is an honest and upright man, while I am a widow. We are not a good match."
“Why not?” Granny Qian was a shrewd woman who could judge people very well. “That guy can make money, he’s a bit cold, but I’ve heard that he lives a simple life in the village and never gets into conflicts with anyone. Four years ago, he even saved a child from drowning. Unfortunately, the child’s parents were not only ungrateful but also blamed him, thinking that he was bad luck for causing their child to fall into the water. But he just kept a straight face and didn’t hold a grudge. Listen to Granny, I’ll find another opportunity to talk to him, and maybe this matter will be resolved.”
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