Chapter 83

Chapter 83

That evening, Su Qingruo sought out Qing Shan to discuss Hunter Chen's proposal.

To Su Qingruo's surprise, Qing Shan responded without hesitation, "Qing Shan has no desire to marry. If Brother Chen wishes to take a wife, perhaps the master can assist him. Qing Shan simply wishes to remain by her mistress's side."

Qing Shan had long been aware of Hunter Chen's affections.

She had indeed been momentarily swayed, for Hunter Chen was a kind man who had once saved her life.

But that fleeting thought quickly dissipated.

In this world, many women and "ge'er" (a third gender in this fictional setting) aspire to nothing more than marrying a good man.

Yet, Qing Shan was not among them.

Her aspiration had always been simple: to stay with Liu Shi.

Regardless of life's hardships or comforts, as long as they were together, they could overcome anything.

Now... Liu Shi was aging, and the young master had married.

Qing Shan harbored no grand ambitions; her greatest wish was to accompany her mistress and help the young master care for his spouse and children.

Marriage, for her, was not a necessity.

Nor did she wish for Hunter Chen to remain childless on her account.

Su Qingruo asked, "Are you truly resolved never to marry?"

Qing Shan replied, "Thank you, Master Su, for your concern regarding this humble servant. After careful thought, I still believe it unnecessary. I have no great ambitions; in this life, I merely wish to serve diligently, remaining by my mistress and young master's side."

Seeing her unwavering resolve, Su Qingruo had no choice but to relay this to Hunter Chen.

Later, upon Yun Zhangxie's return, Su Qingruo also informed him of the matter.

Yun Zhangxie specifically summoned Hunter Chen and asked if he would consider marrying someone other than Qing Shan.

Hunter Chen declared, "I wish to marry no one else, only her."

However, Yun Zhangxie found his stance unreasonable, fearing it would only burden Qing Shan.

She might feel responsible, believing Hunter Chen remained unmarried because of her, potentially leading to awkwardness in future encounters. Thus, Yun Zhangxie advised him to reconsider for his own well-being.

Furthermore, men and women differed. A man might, in the throes of love, vow never to have children for a woman. Yet, years into marriage, as intense passion mellowed into familial affection, many men would come to regret such a decision.

Hunter Chen was no longer young, and he was the sole male heir in his family.

Currently in his prime, he might genuinely believe he desired no children.

But human desires change. What if, in his old age, when he could no longer move freely, or when regret set in—

He might then view Qing Shan as the reason for his childless state.

And Qing Shan, by then, would indeed be past childbearing age.

The issue of children could become a significant source of conflict between them.

Given Yun Zhangxie's close bond with Hunter Chen, he was willing to invest extra effort, engaging him in a lengthy discussion.

In Yun Zhangxie's view, if Qing Shan truly wished not to marry, Hunter Chen would be better off choosing someone who did.

They lived in ancient times, where most women and "ge'er" were eager to marry.

Though Hunter Chen was no longer young, he possessed a good temperament and character. With Yun Zhangxie's patronage, finding a wife would be quite easy for him.

Approximately half a year later, Hunter Chen suddenly had a change of heart.

He realized that holding out hope would not only fail to win Qing Shan but would also strain their relationship further.

Lately, he had noticed Qing Shan deliberately avoiding him.

Hunter Chen quickly understood that, even if not for Qing Shan's sake, he could not continue to wait indefinitely.

As the Yun family's two young masters began to play outdoors, he realized he still desired to have a child of his own.

Subsequently, with Yun Zhangxie's assistance, he married an orphaned girl from the Chen family.

This orphan girl had led a difficult life; her parents had passed away, leaving her alone with a small shop.

Because of this shop, relatives from all sides transformed into vengeful spirits, each plotting to harm her and seize her property.

However, the orphan girl was fortunate enough to encounter the meddlesome Yun Zhangyu.

Yun Zhangyu, as the Minister of Justice, took charge, punishing the two ringleaders, which finally intimidated her predatory relatives.

Yun Zhangxie acted as a matchmaker, arranging for the two to meet.

The orphan girl was clearly taken with Hunter Chen; she desired a man with a simple background and a kind disposition.

That way, she wouldn't have to fear mistreatment by her mother-in-law after marriage.

Their wedding took place in March of the following year.

Yun Zhangxie provided Hunter Chen with a small courtyard house for the newlyweds.

In truth, they hardly resided there.

Most of their time was spent at the orphan girl's shop.

Occasionally, when Hunter Chen wished to return, he would bring his wife to stay at the Yun residence for a few days.

His original dwelling there remained vacant, never given to others.

With Hunter Chen's marriage settled, Yun Zhangxie had one less worry.

Now, he diligently attended to his official duties by day and spent his evenings with his family.

He had always believed his family was small enough for him to care for alone.

But he soon realized it wasn’t so small after all—

His mother, his husband, and their two children.

With his heavy workload and periodic official trips, attending to each one's needs was quite demanding.

And this was without counting the need to visit the first and second family branches daily.

If he still had to visit the primary and secondary wives' quarters, the situation would only become even more exhausting.

At times like these, Yun Zhangxie couldn’t help but wonder how men with multiple wives/concubines managed to juggle so many family members.

For example, if a husband had two children with his primary wife, along with one or two concubines, there would be four to six children in total.

If their parents were still alive, there would also be two elderly parents to attend to.

Two elderly parents, four or five children, and two or three partners—it was simply impossible for one person to handle all of them.

This inevitably led to situations where either filial piety was neglected, children went undisciplined, or partners were overlooked.

From this perspective, men with crowded households were destined to be poor family men.

One day, Yun Zhangxie returned from the Board of Works and spotted a sweetmeat stall on the way. He decided to buy some treats for the children.

Then, remembering that it had been a while since he last gave Su Qingruo a gift, he stopped by a jeweler's and bought a hairpin.

The gift didn’t need much thought—it just had to be valuable.

Expensive gifts were far more useful than a few flowers or trivial tokens.

Because such gifts could serve as Su Qingruo’s future security.

In any era, the difference between having money and not having money was stark.

Yun Zhangxie chose a gold hairpin in a style currently all the rage in the capital.

When he returned with the pastries and the hairpin, Su Qingruo was in the courtyard playing with the two children.

With a group of servants keeping watch, Su Qingruo wasn't overburdened.

Hearing the servants greet Yun Zhangxie from a distance, he quickly looked up.

Seeing that Yun Zhangxie had indeed returned, he summoned the children over to greet him.

Su Qingruo smiled and said, "Husband, you’re home early today?"

Yun Zhangxie replied, "There wasn’t much work at the Board today, so I came back early."

As he spoke, he took out the gifts he had brought.

There were three kinds of sweets and a gold hairpin.

Of the pastries, one portion was for Liu Shi, one for Su Qingruo, and the last for the children.

Though the two children were of different ages, their tastes in food were quite similar.

The servants stepped forward to take the items.

Yun Zhangxie lifted each child in turn, giving them a playful toss before handing them back to the servants nearby.

*Ah*, as a bookish scholar who spent his days sitting at the Board and had no time for exercise in the evenings, his physique was decidedly slender compared to most.

Seeing his slight hesitation in holding the children, Su Qingruo couldn’t help but smile to himself.

He instructed the servants to take the children aside to play, then accompanied Yun Zhangxie to visit Liu Shi.

Yun Zhangxie always made his greetings to Liu Shi first upon returning home.

Now that Liu Shi was older, she wasn’t one for rigid protocols and had no intention of making things difficult for Su Qingruo.

On ordinary days, she didn’t require Su Qingruo to come for morning courtesies, and they even ate separately.

She preferred vegetarian meals, and if Su Qingruo and the children had to eat with her, the three of them would surely waste away.

The couple visited Liu Shi together, exchanged pleasantries for a while, and then returned to their own courtyard.

The weather was pleasant—mild and pleasant, typical of early April.

As they passed the small garden in their courtyard, Yun Zhangxie noticed the flowers blooming beautifully and moved to pick one for Su Qingruo.

Su Qingruo quickly stopped him. "What are you doing? These flowers were painstakingly cultivated by me and the servants. You can’t just damage them."

Yun Zhangxie wasn’t offended and instead laughed. "Alright, alright, my mistake. When we get back, I’ll adorn you with the hairpin I bought today."

Hearing this, Su Qingruo perked up.

"I’m past the age for hair ornaments. If you have so much silver, why not save it for Lou’er’s dowry?"

"He’s still young. I won’t see him wed before he turns twenty. That’s still years away, so don’t worry about his dowry yet. Besides, what I give you is yours—don’t think of passing everything to the children. The older you get, the more important it is to keep your resources close. That way, whether it’s the children or their in-laws-to-be, they’ll show you proper respect."

Su Qingruo wasn’t as far-sighted as Yun Zhangxie, but he possessed one quality—he was obedient.

He knew Yun Zhangxie had only his best interests at heart, so he was willing to listen.

"Very well. I'll hold onto it then."