The maids from the Qin family had already left, and in the hall, Madam Zhou was still in a daze.
“Is this real?” Madam Zhou asked.
Her gaze fell on a letter placed on the floor in front of her.
It seemed so unreal that Madam Zhou hesitated to reach out and pick it up.
A hand reached over and took the letter.
Madam Zhou jumped in surprise, but the letter did not vanish into thin air; instead, it was firmly held in the hand of Zhou Liu-lang.
Zhou Liu-lang opened it and looked at the neatly written name and birthdate of Qin Shi’san inside.
It was so real, with no falsehood.
See, in the end, he cares, in the end, he was moved.
How could he not care?
How could he not be moved?
It’s a cure for his leg, it’s being able to live like a normal person.
Any price paid would be worth it, but this kind of price shouldn’t be one he has to pay. This is his own matter!
Zhou Liu-lang picked up the letter and stood up.
“What are you doing?” Madam Zhou hurriedly shouted.
“I’m going to return it to him!” Zhou Liu-lang said.
Young men fighting over a wife?
Master Zhou and Madam Zhou exchanged a glance, both filled with shock.
This little fool has already charmed two people? How little time has passed! Truly, you can’t judge a person by their appearance…
This isn’t meeting True Master Li, it’s meeting the Fox Spirit Immortal!
“Stop right there, you’re not allowed to go!” Madam Zhou shouted, her voice laced with urgency, “What nonsense is this? Bring it back!”
“He doesn’t need to do this, I’ll marry her myself!” Zhou Liu-lang said, gripping the letter tightly, his face flushed.
“Stupid kid!” Master Zhou barked, pointing at him, “If you dare speak such nonsense again, I’ll break your legs!”
Madam Zhou hurriedly stepped forward and grabbed his arm.
“Liu-lang, there are many good girls in the world, I will surely find a better one for you. Besides, you’re on good terms with Young Master Qin, how can you ruin your relationship over a woman? What is this woman compared to that? Brothers are what truly matter, you must not do something foolish.” She gently persuaded him.
Zhou Liu-lang sighed.
“Father, Mother, you’ve misunderstood!” he said, “It’s not about that.”
“Then what is it about?” Madam Zhou asked, pulling him to sit down, “My son, I understand. What young man doesn’t have feelings? But, when you’re older, you’ll understand that when it comes to marrying, one should marry a virtuous woman. No, no, what I mean is not to say that Young Master Qin can’t marry Jiao Jiao…”
“Mother, he proposed, but it’s not—it’s not because he’s interested in her.” Zhou Liu-lang interrupted Madam Zhou, saying, “It’s—it’s because she said she could cure Shi’san’s leg!”
Master Zhou and Madam Zhou were stunned again.
“What? She can cure the little cripple?” Mr. Zhou blurted out.
The little cripple, the little cripple—no matter how respectful and polite everyone was towards Young Master Qin because of his status and family, behind his back, deep down, they still mocked and looked down on him.
He knew, and Young Master Qin knew, that this was an unchangeable fact that would accompany him for life, no matter what Young Master Qin did or didn’t do.
The fact that he had resigned himself to, suddenly had a chance to be changed—who would let that slip? Who could bear to let it slip?
If it were just the careless words of another person, it might not matter, but it just so happened that it was this lady. Her miraculous skills of bringing the dead back to life twice in a row left no room for doubt.
It was like a sudden beam of light appearing in a pitch-black world—though one knew it was fire, even a moth would rush towards it without hesitation.
“She says she can, but… she doesn’t want to,” Zhou Liu-lang said slowly, the letter in his hand crumpled, making a creaking sound. “Because I owe her, because Shi’san and I are good friends, she dislikes me, so she’s taking out her anger on him.”
“So, you actually don’t like her? It’s that you want her to treat Young Master Qin’s leg?” Master Zhou asked in a daze.
Yes, that’s right, exactly. I didn’t like her, how could I like her?
Zhou Liu-lang opened his mouth, but no words came out.
The face of that lady appeared before his eyes—expressionless, coldly staring at him, neither happy, nor angry, nor sad, nor hurt.
“I… I’m willing to give her a lifetime of support and peace,” he said, somewhat stumbling over his words.
Wasn’t it just that she’s afraid of having no one to rely on? Wasn’t it because she resents the alienation from her family?
He would give her something to rely on, and be close to her—that’s all.
Madam Zhou sighed, raising her hand to poke Zhou Liu-lang’s forehead.
“Foolish child!” she said, “You believe such a trick!”
Zhou Liulang looked at his mother in confusion.
Master Zhou was also slightly dazed.
“You men, so full of yourselves thinking you’re smart, yet you always end up tripping over women’s hands,” Madam Zhou looked at the dazed father and son, laughing as she snatched the letter from Zhou Liu-lang’s hand and shook it. “The reason she says she won’t treat him is precisely because of this.”
“Mother, no, no, it’s not like that,” Zhou Liu-lang said.
“How is it not?” Madam Zhou sneered, looking at the letter in her hand. “A life worth a fortune, money’s sorted, and all that’s left is to find a good family to marry into. They say she is foolish, but now I see that all of our family’s wit combined doesn’t measure up to her single mind. She must have planned this from the start. You two fools are fighting to walk right into her trap!”
Zhou Liu-lang listened, stunned.
“Mother, she’s not that kind of person,” he blurted out.
Although Madam Zhou had already somewhat understood that her son wasn’t being charmed by that woman, she still couldn’t stand hearing him speak in her defense.
Upon hearing his words, she immediately frowned.
“What do you know?” she snapped. “This matter, you don’t need to interfere. Since she’s said these words, it’s clear she’s trying to marry into the Qin family. If she can’t manage that, she’ll settle for you. Now that the Qin family is doing exactly as she hoped and coming to propose, you’d better not meddle and ruin her plans! Besides, it’s still a good match.”
Zhou Liu-lang’s expression was complex.
Madam Zhou smiled and gently patted his arm.
“My son, think about it. If Jiao Jiao healed Young Master Qin’s leg, won’t she live a life of ease in the Qin family? If we give her some more dowry, and you’re on good terms with Young Master Qin, this would be a marriage strengthened by ties. Young Master Qin has healed his leg, Jiao Jiao will have a good family, and wouldn’t that be a happy ending for everyone?”
“Is that so?” Zhou Liu-lang remained silent.
Speaking of it, Qin Shi’san had always been very good to her…
Shi’san was smart, he wouldn’t be easily deceived by that cunning lady…
In that case, it’s not bad.
Seeing her son’s expression, Madam Zhou understood and sighed with satisfaction.
“It truly is the law of extremes—Jiao Jiao has been foolish for so many years, but suddenly she’s become clever. She’s really something,” she laughed.
Whether she’s smart or foolish, as long as she’s not in their family, that’s fine.
“Why are you still standing there? Go get Jiao Jiao back,” she said, looking at Master Zhou.
Master Zhou snapped out of his daze.
“But… she just moved out,” he frowned and said. “Now we’re asking her to come back…”
“We’re already discussing the marriage, she can’t stay outside anymore. The house isn’t being renovated, and anyway, she’ll be married soon,” Madam Zhou said.
Master Zhou grunted in acknowledgment.
“Also, what’s important is to bring her birth chart for marriage back,” Madam Zhou added.
“That will have to be in Jiang-zhou,” Master Zhou said. “Going back and forth will take over a month. What should we say anyway?”
“Say what? Just tell them to bring the letter over. They don’t need to say anything else, and it’s not for them to speak. Also, the dowry can’t be a single coin less—according to the rules in the capital, at least twenty thousand guan.”
As he listened to his parents discuss the marriage arrangements in the room, Zhou Liu-lang quietly stepped out.
Is this what she wanted?
After noon, the three scholars walked out of Tai Ping Residence, with the fourth brother and the old manager smiling and sending them off.
“Although it’s a pity there was no ‘Passing Immortal’, what you did was quite new and interesting,” one of them said, his face showing the rosy glow of someone who had been drinking.
“Thank you for your praise, young master,” the old manager said with a smile. “I hope you’ll speak highly of us.”
The group laughed and joked as they walked.
“Truly slick,” one of them said, turning around. “Just a few coins, and you think we’ll give you this… this… Tai Ping… to bring in business? Do you take us for beggars?”
The others also laughed heartily, and the old manager, unbothered, kept smiling.
However, he noticed the person who had spoken suddenly froze, staring blankly at the signboard.
“Tai Ping.” He murmured again.
“Yes, this is Tai Ping Residence,” the old manager said with a smile.
“Tai Ping!” The young man suddenly shouted, pointing at the signboard.
Everyone was startled.
“Shunhe, what’s wrong?” they asked.
They all looked in the direction he was pointing, and the old manager couldn’t help but turn around—was there something wrong with the signboard they had just hung up?
“Look at the Tai Ping!” The young man continued to shout, his expression excited, and his voice even trembling.
“The prosperity of a thousand years, the fortune of the people…” One of his companions instinctively nodded and said, “Is this a poem? A rhyme? An essay? The beginning is off, though.”
(End of Volume 4)
