Suitors from other villages were drawn not only by Xiaomao’s reputation but also by the potential benefits. This was similar to the situation when Xiao’e got married.
“The Zhuang family isn’t short of sons. Besides Zhuang Qi, they have other children. Why won’t they let Zhuang Qi move in with us?” Xu He asked. “Is it Zhuang Qi’s decision or his family’s?”
“Zhuang Qi is willing, but his family refuses.”
He Shi rubbed her temples in frustration. “At first, your uncle thought the Zhuang family knew about Zhuang Qi and Xiaomao’s relationship and were using it to drive up the price, refusing to let him move in to get more benefits. But later, we heard that Zhuang Qi’s mother has a cousin who often visits, and this cousin has a daughter who admires Zhuang Qi.”
“Zhuang Qi’s mother likes her niece, and since we’re asking for a son-in-law, she prefers her niece over us.”
“Zhuang Qi isn’t much of a talker. He made it clear he wants Xiaomao, but his mother cried and made a scene, and his siblings tried to persuade him. We don’t know how it will end.” He Shi sighed. “I’ve tried to talk to Xiaomao, but he won’t listen. It’s such a mess.”
“How long has this been going on? Why didn’t Fourth Uncle send someone to tell us in the city?”
Zhang Shicheng shook his head. “We knew you two were busy with Ruijin and Ruili’s schooling and had just moved to the city. We didn’t want to bother you with family matters, thinking it would resolve itself. But it’s still dragging on.”
Zhang Fangyuan and Xu He felt troubled. If the Zhuang family was simply after money, it would be easier to solve, they could offer a larger dowry or some extra benefits, as they had done with the Xu family in the past. Money could solve such problems.
But this wasn’t just about money, making it harder to resolve. They couldn’t force Zhuang Qi to ignore his mother’s wishes and marry Xiaomao, as that would be unfilial. Moreover, over time, resentment might grow.
The best solution was to let go of the marriage and let both families move on. Xiaomao was a well-behaved child, therefore despite his feelings for Zhuang Qi, he hadn’t done anything improper. Both families could find other matches without issue.
However, Xu He glanced toward the room. Xiaomao was heartbroken and couldn’t let go.
“Don’t worry about this for now. Let’s wait and see. As long as things don’t escalate, it’ll be fine. Xiaomao isn’t unmarriageable.”
Zhang Fangyuan nodded. “Fourth Uncle, don’t stress too much. Marriage matters always cause family headaches. Even Xiao E’s marriage, which seemed smooth, had its complications before it was settled.”
“Your aunt and I understand that. It’s fine.” Zhang Shicheng chuckled. “Luckily, we only have one child to worry about. You’ll have two to deal with in the future.”
“That’s still over a decade away. I won’t start worrying about it now.”
The family hadn’t gathered in a while, so they had lunch together. In the afternoon, they checked the accounts at the tea shed and guest house before returning to the city.
They had left early enough to pick up the children from school, but a traffic jam on the way delayed them. By the time they got home, the children had already finished school.
Xu He rushed into the house as soon as he got off the carriage. Usually, if they were late, Little Ruili would wait by the door or play nearby. But today, he didn’t see the children anywhere.
If it weren't for Gancao hurriedly reporting, he would have thought the children had been kept after school.
“Young Master Ruili was frightened and fell at the door. He’s in the bedroom getting his wounds treated.”
Before Gancao could finish, Xu He, hearing that Little Ruili had fallen, rushed to the bedroom, anxiously asking, “Was he crying a lot?”
“Big brother blows on it. It won’t hurt if you blow on it.”
“But it still hurts. If it hurts this much, can I skip school tomorrow?”
“If you don’t go to school, you won’t see Little Xing’er. Are you sure you don’t want to go?”
Xu He reached the doorway and saw the two little ones discussing whether to skip school. Hearing Little Ruijin’s coaxing tone, he relaxed.
Ruili was sitting on a high stool with his pants rolled up, revealing a pale leg. Ruijin was beside him, blowing on the wound while a maid applied ointment.
“Little Daddy!”
Little Ruili looked up and saw Xu He. He had missed his Little Daddy all day and felt even more wronged after falling and coming home to no adults. However, having his brother there had kept him from crying.
Xu He saw the bruise on the child’s knee. Although the skin wasn’t broken, the pale skin made the bruise stand out.
The child, who had never even scraped his knee before, made Xu He’s heart ache.
He picked up Little Ruili from the stool and held him in his arms, taking the ointment from the maid to apply it himself. “Does it hurt?”
“Mm.” Little Ruili nestled in his Little Daddy's arms, his wronged feelings resurfacing now that he was being comforted.
Xu He first praised the child for being brave and not crying, then Zhang Fangyuan rushed in after hearing the news. Together, they asked what had happened.
“After school, we were leaving when we ran into the Qu family’s young master walking his dog. Young Master Ruili was curious and looked at the dog, but whether the Qu family’s young master didn’t hold the leash properly or did it on purpose, the dog rushed over and knocked Young Master Ruili down, injuring his knee.”
“I wanted to confront them, but the Qu family’s servants stood there with their arms crossed, looking intimidating and unreasonable. I didn’t dare to start a conflict with so few of us, so I brought the young masters back.”
“You did the right thing. If there had been a fight, the children might have been hurt.” Zhang Fangyuan couldn’t help but angrily mutter, “If the child couldn’t control the dog, surely the servants could. It’s hard to believe it was an accident.”
He had seen the Qu family’s chubby child before. The family had hired a teacher, but the child was mischievous and, along with his servants, had driven the teacher away.
The child, around five years old, was round and had a protruding belly, much like his father. It was said the family owned a gambling den, and their servants were tough, making many in the neighborhood wary of them.
In the evenings, when the weather cooled, the child would often go out with a group of servants, sometimes walking one dog, sometimes several, without caring if they scared passersby.
“We’ve never provoked the Qu family, yet they’re so unreasonable and bully others.” Xu He complained. “They think they can act however they want just because they have more people.”
“In the village, families with many children often act arrogantly. In the city, there are even more who bully others because of their status.”
Zhang Fangyuan said, “Our family is indeed short on manpower.”
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