“Hahaha, chase me, come chase me!”

“Ye Yaming, you’re cheating!” This was Guan Ting’s furious voice.

This happy and lively Ye Yaming was someone everyone had never seen before. Lu Guanyi watched from behind, a smile on his face and gentleness in his eyes.

Qi Ji couldn’t help saying, “I finally believe Miss Ye is only fifteen this year. Hey, you don’t know, but every time I see her seriously discussing matters, her aura is even more imposing than my father’s, and I can only respond with deferential agreement.”

He shook his head and sighed, “There was a reason she scared Miss Lü away that day.”

Lu Guanyi gave him a faint glance without saying a word.

Qi Ji waved for the guards and servants to slow down, then moved closer to Lu Guanyi and asked, “When do you plan to tell her?”

Lu Guanyi shook his head, “I won’t anymore. My family is like an abyss. It’s bad enough that I’m trapped in it myself, why drag someone else down to suffer with me?”

“You can’t possibly remain unmarried, can you? No matter who you marry, you’ll be harming someone, right? If you’re with her, your days will be happier, and she might not be unwilling. Besides, with her around, your situation might even improve.” Qi Ji strongly advocated.

Lu Guanyi shook his head again, “We’ll see.”

“Don’t be like that,” Qi Ji said anxiously. “This matter can’t be delayed. Whether on your side or Miss Ye’s side, things could change at any moment. Once your stepmother arranges an engagement for you, or Miss Ye’s family finds a suitable son-in-law, your regret will come too late.”

Lu Guanyi remained silent.

“If you’re too embarrassed to speak, shall I speak for you? Or I could ask my mother to test the waters with Miss Ye?” Qi Ji added.

“Let me think about it some more,” Lu Guanyi said.

He liked her, which was why he didn’t want to see her jump into this fire pit. He hoped she could always be as happy as she was at this moment.

By mid-February, they returned to Lin’an City.

The Qi family and the Ye family held a welcoming feast for their return.

Qi Ji was not one to keep secrets well, and he was anxious for his friend, so he privately told his parents about Lu Guanyi’s feelings.

Madam Qi turned to look at her husband, raising her eyebrows.

Qi Ji happened to look up and saw his mother’s expression, and couldn’t help asking, “Mother, do you have something to say?”

“Ever since you left, I’ve been carrying this worry in my heart, afraid something like this would happen,” Madam Qi said slowly.

This wasn’t a favorable comment, and Qi Ji was somewhat displeased: “Mother, what do you mean by that? Miss Ye has been praised by the Intelligence Master himself. Could Intelligence Master’s discerning eyes be wrong? The facts prove that Miss Ye hasn’t shown any improper words or actions throughout this journey. She always maintained a distance from us, and whenever there was something to discuss, she would have her Fourth Uncle speak with us.”

“I’m not saying she isn’t good. If she truly wasn’t good, I would have stopped you from going to Huizhou with her in the first place,” said Madam Qi.

She looked at her son and said seriously, “But Jier, you know that you and Zimuo are both handsome and from good families. Not just in the capital, but since you returned to Lin’an, countless people have come to propose marriage for you two, and many young ladies have tried various ways to get close to you.”

This was a fact, and Qi Ji couldn’t refute it, but he still declared, “Miss Ye is completely different from those people.”

Seeing that her son kept speaking up for Ye Yaming, Madam Qi sighed helplessly, “I know she’s good. But her family background is too poor. To put it bluntly, with her background, being a concubine for Zimuo would be just right; as a principal wife, she simply doesn’t qualify.”

If these words had been said before the trip to Huizhou, Qi Ji might not have agreed but wouldn’t have contradicted his mother. However, after the journey to Huizhou, Ye Yaming’s image had risen considerably in his heart. He now revered her as a goddess, with a status equal to Lu Guanyi’s.

He couldn’t tolerate his mother saying anything negative about his goddess.

“Let me put it this way. If her family background were slightly better, Zimuo wouldn’t even be worthy of her. You know Zimuo’s family situation; it’s a huge pit. Ordinary women who marry into it would be swallowed without even raising a bubble. Not only would they be unable to help Zimuo, but they’d also hold him back. Only someone as capable as Miss Ye could help him.”

“So is Zimuo planning to send someone to propose?” Madam Qi asked.

Qi Ji shook his head, “Zimuo doesn’t want to drag Miss Ye into the mud.”

“Then it’s settled, isn’t it? In any case, don’t interfere in this matter,” Madam Qi warned. “Once the Ye family becomes aware of this intention, they might be eager for the marriage, and then they’ll be like sticky toffee, impossible to shake off. Do you still want to continue your business together?”

Qi Ji was unconvinced but couldn’t say much more.

He had confidence in Ye Yaming’s character, knowing she wouldn’t curry favor. Old Master Ye was also upright. But the rest of the Ye family was harder to predict.

Moreover, even if Old Master Ye was upright, he still had to consider the entire Ye family. Perhaps he would be especially willing to form this marriage alliance. After all, from a worldly perspective, Lu Guanyi’s family status was far superior to the Ye family’s, and such a marriage would greatly benefit the Ye family.

“Fine, fine, I won’t interfere,” he said irritably as he stood up. “I’m going to see Zimuo.”

After walking a few steps, he turned back and said, “As for my marriage, I must agree before it can happen. You can’t arrange it behind my back.”

“Alright, I understand,” Madam Qi replied irritably.

…

At the Ye household, Ye Yaming was currently being fed by Old Madam Ye while listening to her talk about the son-in-law she had selected for her.

“The young man looks decent, speaks coherently, and seems quite intelligent. But he has had a hard life. His parents passed away when he was six. He has been living with his elder brother and sister-in-law, but his sister-in-law thinks that getting him married would cost too much money and wouldn’t be worth it. Instead, coming to our family as a son-in-law would not only save the dowry money but also earn them some silver. So they asked someone to arrange this.”

“And he’s willing?” Ye Yaming asked, sipping her bird’s nest porridge.

“He wasn’t willing at first. The matchmaker persuaded him, saying if he refused, now that he’s of age, his brother and sister-in-law would certainly drive him out. He has nothing, and it would be hard enough to support himself, let alone get married. Even if he managed to save some silver to marry, he’d only get someone with poor conditions and looks.”

“But taking a step back, by becoming our family’s son-in-law, he could marry a wife who excels in character, appearance, and ability, and live a life free from worries about food and clothing. His brother and sister-in-law, who used to look down on him, would then have to flatter him. Isn’t that better than stubbornly refusing?”

At this point, Old Madam Ye became even more enthusiastic: “I heard that in their alley, there were two brothers who were so poor they couldn’t find wives. They were still bachelors at thirty. Finally, the younger brother became the live-in son-in-law of a widow, earning a few copper coins, which allowed the older brother to marry a blind woman with a lame leg.”

“The matchmaker used this as an example, and Wang Fusheng agreed.”