Mrs. Gu immediately beamed upon hearing this and said, "What’s the hurry? The other side hasn’t given a word yet. I’ll go see Matchmaker Sun right away and ask her to relay the message. Actually, she wasn’t here today to propose a match, she just came to buy joss paper. She happened to hear Old Lady Yang from the tavern mention that their family had a daughter, so Matchmaker Sun asked a few more questions. Then today, she dropped by and told me a bit more. Isn’t there a saying among you scholars? This is what they call 'unintentionally planted willow trees grow into shade.'"
[无心插柳柳成荫 (wú xīn chā liǔ liǔ chéng yīn): lit. Unintentionally planted willow trees grow into shade; fig. Unexpected success from unintended actions]
Last time, when she tried to arrange a marriage for Gu Chengyue, he stubbornly refused to meet the girl. Now that he’d finally come around, Mrs. Gu was overjoyed and couldn’t stop talking. She patted her thigh and said, "Look at me, why am I telling you all this? I should go find Matchmaker Sun first."
As for the Gu family, we’ll leave it at that for now. Mrs. Gu would naturally rely on Matchmaker Sun to make inquiries and pass messages.
Shen Yaoqing had taken his wife and younger sister home a few days ago, leaving only Shen Xuanqing and Lu Gu in town.
Lingjun no longer had stomachaches or cried in pain, and these past few days, he’d been eating well. After sweeping the courtyard in the morning, Lu Gu had nothing else to do, so he carried the child to the shop for a stroll.
As soon as he entered, he noticed Madam Yan sitting inside, drinking tea. He smiled and said, "Shiniang, you’re free today? Why didn’t master come?"
"My sweetheart!" Madam Yan immediately took little Lingjun into her arms upon seeing him, doting on him as if he were the apple of her eye. Shen Xuanqing was handsome, his fulang was good-looking, and even the baby they’d had was this pretty and adorable.
After coaxing and playing with Lingjun for a while, she finally said, "The restaurant isn’t busy today. Your master and Lao Wang went to his house to pick soft persimmons ripe from the tree, so sweet. Remember to go get some later."
"Got it," Shen Xuanqing replied. He poured a cup of tea for Lu Gu and said with a smile, "Shiniang came today to talk about Yan Yan’s marriage. There’s a suitable family in town, a sixteen-year-old, two years older than Yan Yan. They have farmland and a shop, not some wealthy clan, about the same as us. But they’re locals of Jixing Town."
Madam Yan had been too busy holding the child earlier, but now that he mentioned it, she quickly explained to Lu Gu, "The shop is on Dongxing Street, the one that sells incense and joss paper. The boy is a scholar. He passed the child exam two years ago and became a xiucai this year. Quite promising. I’ve seen him myself, he's decent-looking, not as tall as our Erqing, but not short among other men either."
"What about his family?" Lu Gu instinctively asked.
Madam Yan smiled and said, "Mrs. Gu is hardworking, just a bit loud. They’ve had that incense shop for years, and it’s always kept clean. Her eldest son is Gu Chengyue, the one who wants to meet our Yan Yan. He has an older sister married in town, close enough to visit often, and two younger siblings, still too young for marriage."
"The Gu family seems well-off. Their incense shop has been open for years, and they don’t dress like the poor. I’ve heard things over the years, the Gu family is decent, rarely quarrels with others. Even his older sister married a honest tea shop owner, and I’ve never heard of any disputes, let alone fights."
After listening, Shen Xuanqing said, "I’ll go take a look later. If it seems good, I’ll tell Mother and have her come see for herself."
"Of course," Madam Yan said. At the mention of Wei Lanxiang coming, she paused, then smiled. "When she comes, have her stay with me for a few days so we can chat. I hardly go back to the village these days and haven’t seen many people. She can fill me in."
"Sure," Shen Xuanqing agreed without hesitation. Madam Yan wasn’t an outsider, after all, and she clearly cared. This match sounded promising, as long as the family wasn’t prone to fights or arguments, it was worth considering.
The autumn wind rustled, stripping the last of the withered leaves from the persimmon tree in the yard, leaving only bare branches.
There were too many persimmons for them to eat, and with Lu Gu busy taking care of the child, they only dried some as preserved fruit, not making full persimmon cakes. The tree had borne a heavy yield, and they’d stored some firm ones to eat slowly through winter.
The weather had been poor these past few days, so the marriage discussion had to be postponed. It wouldn’t be auspicious to arrange a meeting during wind and rain.
Shen Xuanqing was at the shop, and with the cold wind outside, Lu Gu didn’t take the child out. Lingjun was clever too—in the morning, he’d insisted on going out, but after Lu Gu carried him outside, perhaps because his face got cold from the wind, he stopped fussing about going out to play once brought back inside.
The child was one year old and had recently started learning to walk, taking a few steps while holding onto the wall or the wooden bed frame.
"Come, come to Amu. I’ll give you some steamed bun," Lu Gu said, placing the child on the bed and standing by the edge, waving the warm bun to lure him over.
"Woof!" Guaizi was also in the room. He took a few steps back and barked at the child on the bed, as if urging him to come.
Lingjun, who had been sitting still on the bed unwilling to move, immediately grabbed the wooden frame and stood up upon seeing the bun. A child’s grip was strong, he could pull himself up. Switching hands along the frame, he finally reached the railing and slowly shuffled forward, walking quite steadily.
The bed was covered with thick bedding, so there was no fear of him getting hurt if he fell.
When Lingjun finally made his way over and threw himself into Lu Gu’s arms to grab the bun, Lu Gu picked him up and kissed his plump, fair cheek, eyes full of joy. "So amazing!"
As the child grew, he was beginning to understand praise. Lingjun grinned, his tiny white teeth not yet fully grown. Though the rest were still coming in, his two little front teeth made him look like a small rabbit.
With just the two of them at home, Lu Gu couldn’t resist gently pinching his son’s chubby cheeks behind Shen Xuanqing’s back - soft and doughy, like a little dumpling.
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