Chapter 113
Zhao Ger didn't know what to say anymore.
He had imagined all sorts of possibilities along the way.
Had Fang Zichen grown tired of him?
Had he become arrogant just after passing the exam?
Before, he was wholehearted towards him, with endless sweet talk and a smooth tongue. But when the family had no silver, he couldn't afford to be frivolous. Now that he had earned a little silver, had he become unable to restrain himself? Or, perhaps only at this moment was his true nature finally being revealed?
He didn't want to think this way, and he didn't want to think of Fang Zichen as that kind of bad person, but his inferiority complex kept making these unpleasant thoughts surface one after another.
In the end, he still couldn't believe that there could be someone as good, so very good, as Fang Zichen in the world, and that such a person would also love him wholeheartedly.
He was just a ger.
People often said that men with money were fickle. In truth, that statement wasn't quite right. Poor men could be fickle too, but they lacked the silver to act on those impulses.
Any man with a bit of capability and a bit of silver took multiple wives and concubines. He had never seen a man who remained with only one ger for his entire life.
Even if Fang Zichen weren't that kind of person, there would still be people throwing themselves at him automatically.
Fang Zichen hadn't even passed the Tongsheng exam yet, had just taken the first step, and he was already being targeted.
Yesterday, after Fang Zichen had gone to work and he had just returned from selling the chili sauce, the matchmaker came knocking at the door.
She said she saw magpies calling atop the roof of their courtyard, meaning a happy event was approaching.
This Matchmaker Hua was famous far and wide, and Zhao Ger naturally knew of her. With her coming to his door now, he didn't need to ask to know what it was about.
Their family only had three people: two adults, one child.
He was married, already someone's fulang, so she couldn't possibly be matchmaking for him. Guaizai was still young, just over three years old, so that was even more impossible. Even thinking with his toes, he knew it was for Fang Zichen.
Sure enough, as soon as Matchmaker Hua entered the house, drank some water, she stated her purpose.
She came to propose a match on behalf of the Feng family from the same village.
The Feng family girl was eighteen years old this year, quite good-looking and diligent. In the past, Xiaohe Village had been known for two great beauties. The first was Aunt He's daughter, He Huihui, and the second was Feng Meihua.
Feng Meihua, however, was several years younger than He Huihui. Her predecessor in fame, He Huihui, had already married into a family in the town three years prior.
In ancient times, people generally married early, starting to discuss marriage at fifteen or sixteen. Those who remained unmarried at eighteen were not unheard of, but they were very few.
The Feng family's circumstances were considered quite good in Xiaohe Village. They were picky. When Feng Meihua was fourteen, people had already sent matchmakers to their door. Over the years, countless matchmakers had worn out their doorstep. Suitors from their own village and from others came in all varieties, and their families' circumstances were all reasonably acceptable. Yet the Feng family was particular, finding fault with every candidate. They reasoned that if He Huihui had managed to marry into a town family, then Feng Meihua, who was in no way inferior, certainly ought to be able to do the same.
But wanting to marry into the town was easier said than done.
And so, dragging things out, Feng Meihua had been delayed until now. Now that this Fang Zichen had appeared, the Feng family had been interested ever since they found out he worked at Zuixiao Restaurant. Now, learning that he was also going to take the imperial examinations, they became even more impatient.
Zhao Ger was unwilling and did not want this. He pressed his lips together tightly. Matchmaker Hua kept talking about the good qualities of the Feng family girl. When the water in her bowl was finished, she even ordered Guaizai, who was playing with his nine linked rings puzzle at the door, to pour water for her.
In her opinion, she had no reason to fear offending Zhao Ger. If this match was successful, the Feng family's daughter would be in her debt.
The Feng family girl had looks where it counted, a big bottom, and big breasts, she looked very good for bearing children, much better than a ger.
After all, men were all the same. Which one didn't prefer a delicate, soft-spoken girl? Which one didn't desire a wife who could easily bear him children and continue the family line?
A ger, by comparison, was considered stiff and hard. They were also known to have greater difficulty giving birth.
She was convinced that once a charming girl like Feng Meihua entered the household, there would be no place left for a mere ger like Zhao Ger.
Zhao Ger didn't speak a single word throughout. Matchmaker Hua said that after Fang Zichen returned, he should relay the message.
Zhao Ger's heart was not big. He also knew that if the Feng family girl entered the household, given his own clumsiness with words and inability to flatter, he was probably incapable of keeping Fang Zichen.
He didn't know what to do. Sadness, discomfort, grievance, panic, and resentment mixed together and surged up, an indescribable feeling.
He was angry at the Feng family, and also angry at Matchmaker Hua who was pulling strings for them. But no matter how angry he was, he couldn't say a word.
If he did, it would violate seven grounds for divorce.
[七出 (Qī Chū): the seven legal reasons a man in imperial China could divorce his wife—disobedience to parents, failure to bear a son, adultery, jealousy, incurable disease, talking too much, and theft.]
That evening, when Fang Zichen returned and was playing with Guaizai in the yard, he watched for a while, but still chose to conceal this matter.
He knew this secret could not remain hidden forever. However, he resolved to conceal it for as long as he possibly could, even if that meant just one more day.
____
Zhao Ger asked: "Do you know what she specifically does?"
"No, I don't!" Fang Zichen shook his head: "I'm not familiar with her. Besides, she's been trying to seduce me, and... and it was love at first sight for her."
Zhao Ger: "......How can you tell?"
"A man's intuition." Fang Zichen glanced back and happened to meet the woman's gaze. She gave him a shy, coquettish smile. Fang Zichen shuddered as if he couldn't stand it and immediately turned his head back: "If nothing unexpected happens, she's going to call out to me right now."
Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, the woman really called out: "Young Master Fang... could you come take a look? Is it clean enough like this?"
"Hmph!" Fang Zichen raised his left eyebrow and said to Zhao Ger in a low voice: "See? Just as I predicted!"
Zhao Ger watched as Fang Zichen acknowledged her, then flung his head back with a dashing air and strode into the shop. Zhao Ger lowered his gaze, pinched a corner of Fang Zichen's robe, and followed him inside.
"Young Master, is this alright now?" The girl panted, out of breath. She hadn't done any work for years, and after just wiping the floor like this, her back and waist ached. It was simply exhausting.
She shook her hands, then examined them carefully, as if checking to see if they had become rough.
The rag was wet, so her fingers had become damp. After working for a while, they were now slightly wrinkled. The woman grumbled in a displeased tone, "Young Master, look what's happened to my hands. They've lost their softness."
Fang Zichen didn't respond directly. Instead, he turned back again, leaned close to Zhao Ger's ear, and said: "Do you know why she said that?"
Zhao Ger shook his head. Fang Zichen, full of conviction, said: "She's trying to get my attention."
Zhao Ger: "......"
Guaizai blinked his large eyes and whispered in agreement, "Yes! She also wants to get Guaizai's attention!"
The corner of Zhao Ger's mouth twitched involuntarily.
Fang Zichen tapped Guaizai's head: "Go on, go on, your feathers aren't even fully grown yet! What nonsense are you thinking about?"
[羽毛未丰 (yǔmáo wèi fēng): lit. feathers are not yet full; fig. to be young and inexperienced.]
Guaizai covered his head, buried his face in Fang Zichen's neck, and laughed "hehehe!"
Seeing that the floor, tables, and chairs were now clean, Fang Zichen gave a nod of approval. He had expected the girl to make a further advance, perhaps by complaining that her arms were sore and asking if he would massage them for her. To his surprise, the moment he acknowledged her work was satisfactory, without another word, she turned and walked out the door, her departure so immediate and resolute that she did not even glance back.
The situation before her eyes was clear now. This young master hiring her wasn't for that kind of thing. Even if he had wanted to do that kind of thing, now his fulang had brought their son to find him. If she stayed any longer, that ger might just tear her apart.
The woman remembered the glance Zhao Ger had given her outside the door, his gaze had been chillingly cold. Thinking of it now, she still felt a little scared.
She worked for a whole noon, for just thirty copper coins.
How unlucky!
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