Chapter 123

Chapter 123

Among the group, only Chen Qingyan was already married; the others were still unmarried.

Chen Qinghuai became the most sought-after. At just eighteen years old and having recently passed the imperial examination, with his father being the Prefect, his future seemed boundless.

Those with a bit of foresight intended to match their daughters with him. Although a xiucai (entry-level scholar) title alone wasn’t highly valued, there was always the possibility he might pass the provincial exams in the future, and his status would rise accordingly.

However, Fang Ling declined all proposals. He had no say in his son’s marriage; his husband had already arranged a match with the Bai family’s daughter, pending formal engagement after the Autumn Examinations. He dared not make any promises recklessly.

Seeing that matchmaking for Chen Qinghuai was impossible, the matchmakers turned their attention to Chen Qingsong and Chen Qingyun.

But Chen Qingsong was only fourteen—too young for marriage talks. As for Qing Yun, although her mother Li Shi was anxious, she couldn’t agree to just anyone, especially after the incident with Lin Sui. She had become increasingly cautious about her daughter’s marital prospects.

If they settled in the prefectural city in the future, Qing Yun certainly couldn’t be left behind in the county town, so all proposals were rejected.

They thought that rejecting these marriage proposals would be the end of it, but unexpectedly, someone set their sights on Chen Qingyan.

The Song family in the county town were wealthy merchants. Originally, they only ran a grain store, but coincidentally, they had stockpiled a large quantity of grain just before the flood. The family made a fortune from this and, after the flood, became wealthy merchants in the county.

They also intended to form a marriage alliance with the Chen family. Initially, they planned for their youngest son to marry Chen Qingyun, but the proposal was declined.

Coincidentally, they had a sixteen-year-old daughter from a concubine. Rather than marrying her off as a principal wife to an ordinary man, they thought it better to offer her as a concubine to Chen Qingyan.

If Chen Qingyan passed the provincial exams in the future, they would have an influential connection. Even if he didn’t, they would only be sacrificing a daughter from a concubine—a little loss.

After making this decision, Song Jincheng personally brought generous gifts and first sought out Cao Kun, who then introduced him to the Chen family.

Cao Kun had done business with him before and considered him an old acquaintance. Unaware of his true intentions, Cao Kun thought he simply wanted to make connections, as many had recently asked for introductions to the Chen family.

Cao Kun said, "Brother Song, if you’re not in a hurry, I’ll take you there this afternoon."

"Deal! I’ll treat you to drinks after this is settled!"

After finishing his work at the Porter Guild in the morning, Song Jincheng returned in the afternoon, and Cao Kun brought him to the Chen family.

Since Cao Kun was the one introducing him, Chen Qingyan and the others naturally agreed to meet and ushered him into the courtyard.

After just a few sentences of conversation, Song Jincheng said, "I have a daughter at home—beautiful, gentle, and understanding. If you, young master, do not reject her, I am willing to provide a dowry of a hundred strings of cash..."

Chen Qingyan quickly replied, "My second brother is already engaged, and my third brother is still young. We have no plans to arrange a marriage for him yet."

Song Jincheng laughed. "Young master, you misunderstand. I’m not here to propose matches for your brothers—I’m here for you."

"I am already married."

"What’s unusual about a man having multiple wives and concubines? You can’t spend your life with just one ger (male wife). My daughter, being the later addition, won’t compete for status and will be your concubine. After this, we’ll be family."

Before Chen Qingyan could refuse, Cao Kun, who was sitting nearby, suddenly stood up, grabbed Song Jincheng by the collar, and dragged him out.

"Hey, let go! Manager Cao, what are you doing?"

Cao Kun angrily said, "I thought you came to befriend my cousins, but you actually wanted to push someone into my cousin’s household! My sister-in-law is the most capable person alive—how could my cousin ever be interested in your worthless daughter?"

With that, he forcefully threw him out the door.

The commotion outside naturally drew the attention of those inside. Everyone came out, heard what had happened, and were left speechless.

Wang Ying glanced at Chen Qingyan, who looked as if he were facing a grave threat, and couldn’t help but laugh.

Chen Qingyan shot him a reproachful look, as if to say, "How can you laugh at a time like this?" "Tomorrow, let’s return the house, go back to our hometown in Qingshui Town to pay respects to our ancestors, and then head straight to the prefectural city."

Li Shi added, "Yes, yes, we should return early. We still need to prepare for the Prefectural Exam."

This incident left Cao Kun feeling embarrassed and apologetic. After throwing Song Jincheng out, he hurried to Wang Ying to apologize.

"I truly didn’t know this person intended to introduce someone to my cousin... I hope you won’t hold it against me, Wang Ying."

"It’s fine. I’m not angry."

"I should have asked him earlier. This person is utterly unreliable!"

Wang Ying comforted him instead. "Don’t worry about it. I know what kind of person your cousin is. Even if a beauty were pushed right in front of him, he wouldn’t agree."

"Of course, my cousin is a gentleman. This is all my fault. I won’t casually bring people over again."

After seeing Cao Kun off, Wang Ying and Chen Qingyan returned to their room to pack, putting scattered items into the experimental field (a magical storage space) for convenience when they left the next day.

Wang Ying couldn’t resist joking, "Someone introduced a young beauty to be your concubine—aren’t you tempted?"

Chen Qingyan sighed helplessly. "A Ying, don’t tease me about this. It damages the young lady’s reputation and hurts our relationship."

"I was just saying. They came all the way to our home to propose—can’t I even ask?"

Seeing his expression, Chen Qingyan knew he was jealous. He took his hand and said, "Back when I was bedridden with illness, I swore to heaven: as long as you don’t abandon me, I will marry only you in this lifetime. If I ever betray you, may I never achieve success."

Wang Ying clicked his tongue, finding it overly sentimental.

He had been a man in his previous life and knew exactly how men behaved.

His parents had divorced because his father cheated first, so he didn’t believe in any damn vows.

"Chen Qingyan, I’ll only say this once: if you remain devoted to me, I will never betray you. But if you dare to be unfaithful..."

Wang Ying paused. "I won’t hang myself on your tree. I’ll definitely take our son and leave, making sure you can never find me."

Chen Qingyan naturally believed him. He knew exactly how capable his husband was, so he held him tightly, afraid he might leave.

*

The next day, visitors came again, only to find the front door locked and the house empty.

When they asked the neighbors, they learned the family had left early that morning. As for where they went, no one knew, so the visitors left with a shrug.

Meanwhile, Wang Ying and the group were already on a carriage heading to Qingshui Town.

They had no idea what the town looked like since they left. The snow on the road hadn’t fully melted, and many ruins were still visible.

There used to be over ten villages along this road, but after the flood, only three or four remained inhabited. The others had become deserted.

The Chen brothers were witnessing the ruthlessness of natural disasters for the first time. Hearing about it was one thing; seeing it with their own eyes was entirely different.

Especially when they saw bare bones by the roadside, long gnawed clean by wild animals—a heartbreaking sight. The good news was that the journey was smooth, with no encounters with bandits, so everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

As the carriage entered Qingshui Town, the sound of vendor calls greeted them.

Chen Qingyun quickly leaned out. "Mother, look! Isn’t that the peddler who often sold things on the street?"

Li Shi looked over and recognized him. She hadn’t expected this little peddler to still be alive!

Continuing into the town, they saw a few shops already open, mostly selling food and sundry goods.

When passing by their shop, Wang Ying asked Uncle Chen to stop the carriage and hopped down to look around. The shop’s door was gone—whether torn off by people or washed away by the floodwaters wasn’t clear. Inside, it was a mess, filled with mud and weeds.

Since they likely wouldn’t return in the future, it’d be a shame to let the shop sit empty. Wang Ying decided to ask Da Shun’s family if they would be willing to open a general store there once they returned to the estate.

After getting back into the carriage and continuing toward home, everyone’s hearts leapt to their throats as they approached the gate, fearing the house might have been ruined over the past several months.

But as soon as the carriage stopped, the gate swung open, and Chen Fang rushed out excitedly, crying out, "Master, young master, you’ve finally returned!"

"Chen Fang, what are you doing here?"

"Not just me—Er Shun, Tian Ju, and Brother Ma are all here too. Come on in!"

The carriage entered the courtyard, and everyone filed out, astonished to find the yard clean and tidy, with even the main house fully repaired.

Li Shi exclaimed, "Did you all repair this house?"

Chen Fang shook his head. "It’s a bit of a story. Please come inside, my lady, and I’ll explain slowly."

They entered the house, where the main hall was already warmed by a lit stove.

The furniture had been put back in place, and though there were signs of repairs, it was clear that great care had been taken in restoring everything.

After everyone sat down, Ma Zhandong and Tian Ju soon arrived, and knelt and kowtowed to pay their respects.

Li Shi quickly waved for them to get up. "What exactly happened to the house?"

Ma Zhandong explained, "Elder Chen Xi brought people here to repair it."

It all started last autumn. After they had left, the villagers made do with the seeds Wang Ying provided to survive until harvest season. Just as the young master had said, the land became more fertile after the flood. Even what used to be poor fields produced more grain than in previous years.

With ample harvests, every household was overjoyed. Having enough to eat gave them hope for the future.

Since the harvest was abundant this year, the court waived the grain tax, and the master waived the rent. With more grain than they could consume, they decided to sell the surplus in town.

But when they arrived, they found the master’s courtyard occupied by a group of refugees. The intruders had been living there, and ripped off the doors and window frames for kindling, leaving the place in ruins.

Chen Xi immediately gathered the men from the village to drive the refugees away. They couldn’t just let the master’s ancestral home be desecrated like that!

Taking advantage of the slack season after the harvest, Chen Xi led over a dozen men to repair the house.

They first fixed the courtyard wall and gate to prevent further intrusions, then focused on the main house. The damage was so severe that they had to replace the entire main beam.

Unable to find fir wood, they used red pine instead. Though not as high-quality as the original timber, it was sturdy and durable—the best material they could find.

Hearing this, Wang Ying looked up at the brand-new beam overhead, his nose stung a little.

This was surely a case of you reap what you sow. He had provided them with grain seeds, and in return, the villagers had repaid his kindness by repairing the house, ensuring they had a place to return to.

After resting, everyone went to inspect the other rooms. Li Shi’s room only had a bed frame left; the other furniture had likely been smashed and used as firewood by the refugees.

But it didn’t matter. As long as the house stood, they could always replace the belongings later.

Yuanbao ran eagerly to the courtyard where his father lived. Of the entire estate, Wang Ying’s courtyard was the best preserved. The furniture inside remained untouched, and even the bedding was still there, though it had long been rotted and moldy from being waterlogged.

Chen Qingyan quickly cleared out the ruined items, while Wang Ying brought out a new set of bedding from the experimental plot.

Lying on the familiar bed, it felt like their wedding was just yesterday. If Yuanbao hadn’t run in and called out, "Father, I’m hungry," Wang Ying might have thought it was all a dream.

"Just wait, I’ll fix you something good."