Chapter 215
After returning home, Wei Lanxiang and the others asked Shen Yan for her opinion. Even though it was her own mother asking, she was still extremely embarrassed. In the end, she only gave a slight nod as her answer. When the family burst into laughter, she was so flustered that she retreated to her room to do needlework.
And so, the marriage matter was finally settled.
Wei Lanxiang only had this one daughter, and her heart was reluctant to let her go. During lunch, she discussed with her two sons, saying she wanted to keep Shen Yan at home for another year.
"I’ll have the matchmaker speak to the Gu family later. We can’t be careless when marrying off our daughter. No matter how things are in town, the three letters and six etiquettes must not be omitted. Following the customs, the invitations, replies, and all the formalities will take at least a year to arrange. During this year, Yan Yan will still be at home."
To think that a country bumpkin could marry a scholar from town—scholars were highly respected, especially those who studied well. Even if he only passed the imperial examination at the county level, the worst he could do was teach, which was truly climbing to a higher branch.
Even Ji Qiuyue and Lu Gu had been thinking these past few days that their family might soon have a scholar as a relative. When they saw Shen Yan nod that morning, they were both happy for her.
Moreover, Gu Chengyue was not some impoverished scholar, his family was well-off. But when marrying off their daughter, how could they let their side appear weaker?
Seeing that his mother still seemed unwilling, Shen Yaoqing smiled and continued, "Look, it’s almost the end of the year. Everyone’s busy before and after the New Year. If the wedding formalities are complicated, it could take a year and a half. By the time Yan Yan is sixteen next year, she won’t be too young."
"Only sixteen," Wei Lanxiang wiped her eyes.
Shen Yaoqing, as the eldest brother, had watched Shen Yan grow up and was equally reluctant to part with her. He sighed softly before smiling and saying, "This is easy to handle. I’ll drag out the formalities a bit. When setting the wedding date, I’ll arrange for a later one—that way, we can keep her for another half a year. Problem solved."
"I think the Gu family is in a hurry to marry off their eldest son, and they’re sincere about the match. If I openly say we want to keep Yan Yan for another year, they might think we’re not serious."
Wei Lanxiang had heard from Shen Xuanqing that Gu Chengyue had faced several setbacks when previously seeking a wife. It made sense that the Gu family was eager to marry him off—otherwise, the gossip from neighbors would be unbearable.
"Jixing Town isn’t far from us. Yan Yan can just walk a few more steps to Erqing’s place. She could even visit Lu Gu every day if she wanted," Shen Yaoqing comforted her.
Wei Lanxiang finally nodded. "That’s true. It’s just two streets away. Marrying into the Gu family is good, Erqing is nearby, so we don’t have to worry about her being mistreated."
Too embarrassed to face them, Shen Yan had her meal in her room and didn’t come out at all. The family knew their youngest daughter was shy and didn’t tease her deliberately.
When Ji Qiuyue heard their discussion, she smiled and said, "We’ve actually seen Gu Chengyue before. Last time when Yan Yan went to sell handkerchiefs, we ran into him at the embroidery shop entrance. At the time, he seemed a bit dull-witted, but today he looked much better."
Both Shen Xuanqing and Shen Yaoqing were stunned, they hadn’t realized Shen Yan had met Gu Chengyue before.
"Right, I was there too," Lu Gu said casually as he fed Lingjun a spoonful of egg custard. "I thought he looked familiar back then. Later, when I went to buy fabric, I remembered he has bought meat from our shop a few times."
Shen Yaoqing slapped the table. "That kid! Who knows if he agreed after seeing Yan Yan or if he didn’t even know she was the one he was meeting today. If he did know, he sure kept his mouth shut."
"He might recognize you. If so, it’s possible he really did know it was Yan Yan," Shen Xuanqing said, turning to Lu Gu.
In town, shopkeepers sometimes didn’t remember customers, but if someone bought things multiple times, a customer who paid attention could usually remember the shop owner.
"Since they’ve met before, it must be fate. If he really knew, and the Gu family is sincere in their proposal, then let it be," Wei Lanxiang said after thinking for a while. Since they’d already reached the matchmaking stage and Shen Yan had agreed, there was no point stirring up trouble.
"True," Shen Yaoqing sighed. Girls rarely went out, and as an elder brother, he couldn’t help but worry more for his sister.
When the Gu family came last time to discuss with Wei Lanxiang, Gu Chengyue’s parents and he himself arrived in two carriages. Wine and pastries were a given, they even took Wei Lanxiang and him to a high-end restaurant in Fenggu Town to discuss matters. If they weren’t serious, they wouldn’t have spent so much money on a meal when the outcome was still uncertain.
He’d also heard from the matchmaker, Madam Sun from Jixing Town, that the Gu family was willing to offer a full thirty taels of silver as betrothal gifts. Back when they arranged Shen Xuanqing’s marriage, the agreed amount was twenty taels - such a high sum was rare, even in town, let alone the countryside.
It wasn’t that they coveted the thirty taels, but it showed how much the Gu family valued Shen Yan.
After all the busyness, a major family matter was finally settled. Naturally, interactions with the Gu family would gradually increase.
Early winter arrived, and Shen Xuanqing was busy at the shop as usual. That morning, the sky was thick with leaden clouds, blocking the sun and leaving no warmth. He slaughtered two rabbits in the backyard and brought them to the front, threading them with rope and hanging them on a wooden rack.
No comments:
Post a Comment