Chapter 130

Chapter 130

"Which Chen family are you referring to?"

"Which one do you think? How many Chens do you even know?"

"Is it Chen Qingyan's sister?" Liu Changyi sat up straight, his gloomy expression gone, tears dried, and visible delight spreading across his features.

"Let's turn back. We're not going." Qin Furong turned to leave.

"Wait!" Liu Changyi quickly grabbed his mother's sleeve. "I'll go! I'll go!"

Qin Furong eyed her son suspiciously. "Didn't you say you already admired another girl? Why the sudden change of heart?"

"To be honest, the one I admire... is actually the young lady of the Chen family."

Liu Changyi recounted the day he went to study at the Chen residence and encountered Chen Qingyun, leaving Qin Furong both amused and exasperated. It turned out mother and son had the same taste—they both fancied the same person.

"In that case, let's proceed."

"W-wait a moment."

Qin Furong frowned. "What now?"

Liu Changyi sheepishly touched his face. "My beard isn't fully trimmed yet..."

*

Over at the Chen household, they had received word the previous day that Mrs. Liu would be paying a visit.

Early in the morning, Li Shi woke her daughter and began selecting outfits from the wardrobe.

"How about this apricot-colored one?"

"The collar is a bit tight."

"Then this cherry-blossom pink?"

Chen Qingyun shook her head. "It makes me look dark." Her skin tone took after her father's, not as fair as her two brothers', but her delicate features more than made up for it, preserving her elegance.

After much deliberation, they settled on a light green skirt, paired with a beige *beizi* (a traditional Chinese jacket) embroidered with bamboo. The ensemble made her look like a fresh sprout—vibrant and captivating.

Li Shi also brought out long-unworn jewelry to try on her daughter.

"Mother... this gold hairpin is too extravagant..."

"This is your first meeting with your future mother-in-law. You need to make a good impression."

Chen Qingyun blushed deeply. "The marriage hasn't been settled yet... Besides, it's not like it's my first time seeing her."

"You've met Mrs. Liu before?"

"Several times. She often buys vegetables from our grocery store. I didn’t know who she was until my sister-in-law told me recently that she’s Liu Changyi’s mother."

"No wonder. Tell me, what’s she like?"

Chen Qingyun thought for a moment. "She’s easy to talk to and generous when shopping, not like those petty people who haggle over every penny."

"That’s good. I was worried she might be difficult to get along with."

As they spoke, Fang Ling knocked and entered.

"Perfect timing. Help us choose—which hairpin looks better on Qing Yun?"

Aunt Fang pointed to a jade hairpin. "This one suits her outfit."

Li Shi fixed the hairpin in place and helped Qing Yun put on matching jade earrings, nodding in satisfaction.

"Go on now. Your aunt and I need to talk."

Qing Yun knew what they were going to discuss and left, feeling both shy and nervous.

Li Shi watched her daughter’s graceful figure and sighed inwardly—she had truly grown into a young woman.

Once Qing Yun was out of earshot, she said, "When Mrs. Liu arrives later, you must help me gauge the situation. I’ve never interacted with wives of officials before and don’t know what’s appropriate to say."

"Don’t worry. If they’re sincere about forming a marriage alliance, anything you say will be fine. If they’re not, we’ll sense it after just a few words."

"I know, but I’m still uneasy. I’ve spoiled this girl, and she can be a bit willful. I’m afraid she might clash with them and end up suffering. Before, I was anxious because we couldn’t find a suitable match, but now that we have one, I’m reluctant to let her go."

Fang Ling patted Li Shi’s arm. "Don’t overthink it. All children go through this. We can’t keep them by our sides forever, can we?"

"True, but daughters aren’t like sons. Once married, they have little say in matters. Few are as fortunate as us, taking charge right after marriage."

With their mother-in-law having passed away early, neither had experienced conflicts with in-laws, but over the years, they had heard and seen plenty of mothers-in-law mistreating their daughters-in-law and sons-in-law.

Fang Ling said, "We’re not pushovers to be molded as they please. If they dare treat our girl poorly, her fourth uncle will step in. We’ll always have Qing Yun’s back."

Somewhat reassured, Li Shi began discussing dowry matters with Fang Ling. "In town, the wealthiest families might give up to a hundred strings of cash as a dowry. I wonder what the custom is here in the prefecture."

Fang Ling replied, "I’m not sure about Jizhou, but back in Laizhou, well-off families who valued their daughters would prepare sixteen dowry chests, some even thirty-two or sixty-four."

Li Shi asked, "What does 'sixteen chests' mean?"

"Two people carry one chest. Each chest is a four-foot-long, two-foot-wide wooden box filled with the bride’s dowry, ranging from sewing baskets to a 'hundred-children bed' (a large marital bed symbolizing fertility). As for the cash dowry, it depends on the family’s means—more if they have it, less if they don’t."

Li Shi took note. She currently had over six hundred taels of silver and planned to use a hundred and thirty taels for Qing Yun’s dowry, saving the rest for Qing Song’s future marriage.

This amount would have been sufficient in their town, but here in the prefecture, it felt inadequate. Qing Song’s marriage might eventually rely on the eldest son and son-in-law.

Over the years, the family had depended entirely on Wang Ying. Li Shi sometimes felt useless, thinking that without this son-in-law, the family would have fallen apart.

Soon, Wang Ying arrived. He hadn’t gone to the shop today—Lin Sui could manage it on his own now, and with Ma Zhandong and Tian Ju helping, they could manage fine without him.

"Where’s Qing Yun?"

"She just left, probably went back to her room."

Wang Ying pulled up a stool and sat down. "Mom, don’t be nervous. Mrs. Liu is easy to talk to, and the Liu family has a good reputation. I’ve heard Lord Liu has no concubines and only one son, Liu Changyi, along with two older sisters, all from the same mother. It’s a very good family."

Li Shi felt reassured. This marriage would be an upward match for their family, and if it was truly suitable, she naturally wanted her daughter to marry well.

Around 7-9 a.m., the gatekeeper Chen Fang announced the arrival of guests.

Wang Ying knew it was the Liu family and promptly had the servants open the main gate to welcome Mrs. Liu and her son.

Qin Furong greeted them warmly. "Hello, Shopkeeper Wang."

"Madam, welcome. Please come in."

Liu Changyi followed behind his mother, bowing and cupping his hands in respect to Wang Ying before they all entered the house.

In the main sitting room, Li Shi and Fang Ling rose to greet them, with Wang Ying introducing everyone.

Li Shi and Mrs. Liu looked each other over, then smiled and nodded.

A servant brought tea, and Wang Ying helped pour for everyone.

Li Shi said, "Wang Ying, don’t trouble yourself, sit down and rest a while."

"You and Mrs. Liu chat first. If Liu Changyi feels awkward here, he can go find Qing Yan and the others."

Liu Changyi asked his mother, and after she nodded, he quickly stood up and headed to Old Liang’s room.

With the younger generation gone, the three older women finally started talking freely. Though Mrs. Liu was known for her fiery temper at home, she was gentle and polite with outsiders.

She took the initiative to say, "I’ve met Qing Yan, Qing Huai, and Qing Song before—all wonderful kids. Back then, Changyi’s father and I said how wonderful it would be if the Chen family had a daughter or a son. Raising such outstanding children surely reflects good family values. Little did we know your family indeed has a daughter!"

Li Shi was a little embarrassed by the praise and smiled shyly, "I’ve often heard Yan’er mention Chang Yi, praising how smart he is and the delicious food you make. I was fortunate enough to try your fried glutinous rice balls last time."

Mrs. Liu: "Oh my, how flattering! I just experiment with cooking at home to give the kids something tasty to try."

Li Shi couldn’t help but laugh, "You’re much better than me. I’m terrible in the kitchen—even my porridge burns."

Fang Ling chimed in from the side, "I’m about the same."

The three women started laughing.

People connect in strange ways—some you feel comfortable with at first sight, and their words just sound pleasant.

Though Li Shi and Mrs. Qin had completely different personalities, they hit it off immediately, almost like they should have met sooner.

The three chatted from topics about the prefectural city to their hometown, Longquan County, and even last year’s flood.

Li Shi shared how they took refuge in the mountains, leaving Qin Furong astonished. She sighed, "It really wasn’t easy. Here in the prefectural city, the flooding wasn’t too severe. I had no idea Longquan County was hit so hard that houses were flooded."

"Exactly. We had no choice but to come to the prefectural city. It worked out since the children needed to take exams here anyway, so we just stayed."

Mrs. Qin said, "That’s fate for you. Otherwise, how would two young people from such different places ever meet?"

Li Shi understood her meaning and, quite satisfied with the match, nodded in agreement.

At this point, Mrs. Qin spoke directly, "My son's eighteen now and still not engaged. We’ve arranged several meetings with young ladies, but none felt right. Ever since he met Qing Yun once, he has had his heart set on her. He specially begged me to come and ask if Qing Yun is already promised?"

Li Shi replied, "She just turned sixteen after the New Year. We haven’t been in a hurry to arrange a marriage for her."

"In that case, if you don’t mind, how about taking my son as like a son to you?"

"That would be wonderful."

The marriage was thus agreed upon verbally. In a few days, they would formally send a matchmaker to request Qing Yun’s birth information for a temple match assessment, then pick an auspicious date for the betrothal.

Once betrothed, there was no rush for the wedding. Both families could discuss and take their time with the arrangements. After all, the Liu family had only this one son, and the Chen family only this one daughter—neither would be treated unfairly.

In Old Liang’s study, Liu Changyi was getting grilled by the three Chen brothers.

"Speak up! When did you set your sights on our sister?"

"Brother Song… let go of my neck first… I can’t breathe…"

Chen Qingsong released his arm, and Liu Changyi straightened up, saying, "Last time, when I visited your home…"

Chen Qingyan snorted, "So we invited a wolf into the henhouse. We treated you like a brother, and you had designs on our sister."

"Not at all, not at all! I just thought we could become even closer, make family ties even stronger~"

Chen Qinghuai hung on his shoulders from behind and wrestled him down, "Quick, show this guy what's what!"

Chen Qingsong and Chen Qingyan tickled him where he's most ticklish until he begged for mercy, then finally let him go.

After the roughhousing, the four sat together. Chen Qingyan said seriously, "Let’s be blunt upfront—if you dare treat our sister poorly, we won’t care about any school friendship. We won’t let you off."

Liu Changyi also turned solemn, "Brother Qing Yan, don’t worry. If I ever betray her even slightly, may I never become a provincial scholar in my lifetime!"

That was a serious oath. Chen Qingyan punched him lightly, "Then you’d better work hard. Don’t let us all become provincial graduates while you’re still stuck as a county graduate."

That sparked Liu Changyi’s competitive spirit, "Brother Qing Yan and Qing Huai should focus on passing the Prefectural Exam first."

"You rascal! Keep tickling him!"

"Ah! Have mercy…"