Fu Tingyun was slightly taken aback.

Shopkeeper Ye San smiled and said, “I know several good families. Would you like me to help make some inquiries?”

Fu Tingyun looked toward Ah Sen and saw that his face had turned slightly pale.

She couldn’t help but sigh deeply in her heart.

Madam Wang had decided to keep her eldest daughter Jingtong at home. Fu Tingyun had been hesitating whether to send word to Madam Wang through an intermediary when news came that Master Wang wanted to take his nephew as a son-in-law… After that, the Wang family’s second young miss often came to visit with Madam Wang, but the eldest young miss stayed at home to embroider her dowry.

Seeing this, Ah Sen would find excuses to avoid the Wang women whenever they visited.

Fu Tingyun couldn’t help but speculate: Could it be that Madam Wang knew Ah Sen was fond of the Wang family’s eldest daughter? Perhaps she deliberately spread this news because she was concerned about the relationship between the two families and feared it would be difficult to refuse if she asked for Ah Sen’s hand in marriage…

Time was of the essence. Ah Sen forced a smile and said softly, “I’m still young, and I’m about to take the prefectural examination…” His meaning of refusal was very clear.

Shopkeeper Ye San didn’t seem to mind and smiled, “I didn’t think it through… It’s not too late to discuss marriage after our Second Young Master passes the examination and becomes a scholar!”

Seeing Ah Sen in this state, Fu Tingyun felt somewhat heartbroken and smiled to help him out of the awkward situation: “The Ninth Master also thinks it’s better to be cautious.”

Hearing this, Ah Sen looked toward Fu Tingyun.

He was unaware that gratitude had already faintly appeared in his eyes.

Fu Tingyun felt even more emotional and smiled as she changed the subject: “Your third son is also of marriageable age. Have you set a wedding date with the in-laws?”

Upon hearing this, Shopkeeper Ye San shook his head with a bitter smile: “My mother-in-law suddenly passed away in March!”

Fu Tingyun exclaimed, “Oh my!” Then asked, “Your mother-in-law couldn’t have been very old, could she?”

“She had just turned thirty-two,” Shopkeeper Ye San sighed, “Her youngest son is only four years old and still confused. When I went to pay my respects, the child had just woken up and was rubbing his eyes, asking his wet nurse where his mother had gone…”

The story brought tears to Fu Tingyun’s eyes: “When children have experienced such things, they know the pain of loss. It’s better to marry after a few more years.”

“I think so too,” Shopkeeper Ye San said, “I’ve instructed my son to visit his future in-laws regularly, help with errands, and look after his future brothers-in-law…”

They chatted about family matters, moving past the previous topic.

When the accounts were settled, they had received over seven thousand taels of silver in congratulatory gifts, but only a little over two hundred taels remained as gift money, along with things like longevity locks.

Shopkeeper Ye San looked at Fu Tingyun, appearing slightly uncomfortable: “Most of it was spent on the restaurant expenses…”

Shopkeeper Ye San had helped arrange the banquet tables at the restaurants.

Fu Tingyun quickly said, “They were all guests, and being too frugal would have damaged the Ninth Master’s reputation. I saw how chaotic everything was today and thought we might need to spend our silver, but now we still have some left, all thanks to Shopkeeper Ye’s assistance… I’m truly grateful for your help today!”

Seeing her sincerity, Shopkeeper Ye San breathed a sigh of relief and secretly admired Fu Tingyun’s straightforwardness. Suddenly, he had an idea: “Madam, have you ever thought about starting a business to supplement your household income?”

Fu Tingyun was somewhat surprised.

This was the second time Shopkeeper Ye San had suggested she start a business.

She declined: “With the Ninth Master away, it wouldn’t be proper for me as a woman to appear in public…”

In the past, Shopkeeper Ye San would have just laughed it off, but now he had something in mind and smiled, “This particular business wouldn’t require you to appear in public.”

Fu Tingyun smiled upon hearing this: “I don’t lend money at interest.”

“With the Ninth Master’s current promising situation, how could I introduce such a business to you?” Shopkeeper Ye San said, “A friend of mine wants to open a restaurant in the capital, but he doesn’t have enough money and doesn’t want to borrow at interest, so he’s looking for a partner. He used to run a restaurant in Jiangnan, also with a partner, but after the business flourished, they frequently clashed over minor issues and eventually dissolved the partnership. He wants to find someone who will invest and share in the profits but not manage the store…”

Fu Tingyun thought of the villa at Yuming Mountain and felt somewhat tempted, asking, “What did they clash over?”

“Just some issues with purchasing and discounts,” Shopkeeper Ye San smiled, “I knew this person when I managed the silver shop. Although the accounts he had with the silver shop weren’t large, he was very honest and reliable. This time he came to the capital to open a shop, he originally asked me to help him borrow silver from the silver shop, but the interest was too high for him to afford…”

Fu Tingyun asked, “How much capital does he need altogether?”

“One hundred thousand taels!” Shopkeeper Ye said, “Ten thousand taels of silver per share, and he wants to hold six shares.”

“So much?” Fu Tingyun exclaimed in surprise, “But I don’t have that much silver.”

Shopkeeper Ye San said, “I also think this is a good business opportunity. I originally wanted to take the other four shares, but I didn’t expect his capital requirement to be so high, which is somewhat difficult for me too, so I thought of taking those four shares together with you—I’ll take three shares, and you take one share. What do you think?”

So originally he wanted Shopkeeper Ye San to invest, and Shopkeeper Ye San, to look after her, had brought her into the partnership.

Since this was a business that Shopkeeper Ye San himself thought promising, Fu Tingyun’s confidence increased.

However, spending ten thousand taels of silver at once would leave her without any ready cash.

She hesitated: “I need to discuss this with the Ninth Master first!”

“That’s fine,” Shopkeeper Ye San smiled, “When the Ninth Master returns, I’ll wait for your definite answer.”

Having agreed, they settled the remaining minor matters, and Shopkeeper Ye San rose to take his leave.

Fu Tingyun instructed Ah Sen: “It’s getting late. Accompany Shopkeeper Ye for a late-night snack, then see him home.”

“No need, no need,” Shopkeeper Ye San quickly smiled, “I brought my carriage, and a special cook is waiting at the shop…”

“This is our sincere wish,” Ah Sen had recovered his usual smiling demeanor and pulled Shopkeeper Ye San out the door, “Don’t worry, I won’t take you to some obscure place for a late snack just to appease my sister-in-law…”

Unable to refuse, Shopkeeper Ye San left with Ah Sen.

Zheng San then said, “Madam, I think the business opportunity Shopkeeper Ye San mentioned sounds quite reliable. Why don’t you consider it carefully?”

“Let’s wait until the Ninth Master returns!” Fu Tingyun pondered.

Zheng San, watching her, took his abacus and other items and withdrew.

That night, Fu Tingyun tossed and turned, unable to sleep, calculating in her mind the silver the family had and whether she could shift some from somewhere.

From outside came the sound of doors opening and closing, mixed with Kou’er’s soft voice.

Fu Tingyun knew Ah Sen had returned.

She put on a robe and pushed open the window.

She saw Kou’er supporting Ah Sen as they walked toward the side room.

Ah Sen waved his hand, pushing Kou’er away, mumbling, “I can go back,” but he stumbled and nearly fell.

Kou’er quickly stepped forward to support Ah Sen again, saying softly, “The madam has just gone to bed. Be careful not to wake her.”

Only then did Ah Sen stop struggling and allow Kou’er to help him into the side room.

Fu Tingyun gazed at the light in the western wing for a long time before closing the window.

Early the next morning, Ah Sen came to pay his respects to Fu Tingyun before going to school.

Fu Tingyun, seeing his bloodshot eyes, asked pensively, “Did you drink too much yesterday?”

Ah Sen immediately nodded and explained, “Shopkeeper Ye San kept telling me about his past business travels, and I drank a bit too much without realizing it.”

Fu Tingyun sighed inwardly, thought for a moment, and went with Ah Sen to the western study.

“Do you like the Wang family’s eldest daughter?” she asked straightforwardly.

Ah Sen was startled and instinctively denied it: “No, no!” But upon seeing Fu Tingyun’s concerned gaze, he regretted it, lowered his head, and whispered, “Yes… I do like her… but she’s the daughter of a Commanding Officer…”

“Do you know that the Wang family is looking for a son-in-law to marry into their family?” Fu Tingyun asked directly.

“I know,” Ah Sen said, his face showing shame, his voice growing even softer, “I just, I just like her in my heart… quietly like her, that’s all…”

“Are you afraid the Wang family will look down on you? Or do you not want to marry into their family?” Fu Tingyun’s language was concise and to the point.

Ah Sen lifted his eyelids to secretly glance at Fu Tingyun, saw her calm expression, bit his lip, and said softly, “I’m afraid the Wang family…”

“Very well!” Fu Tingyun said, “I’ll go visit Lady Chen right away and ask her to help sound out Madam Wang’s thoughts.”

Ah Sen looked at Fu Tingyun in astonishment: “But the Wang family, hasn’t the Wang family already…”

“A real man says ‘yes’ when it’s yes, and ‘no’ when it’s no,” Fu Tingyun said with displeasure. “Since you like her, you should do what you should. Even if there’s no fate between you in the future, you won’t regret it when you look back.”

Ah Sen’s eyes brightened, and he stood up straight, answering “Yes” loudly.

Fu Tingyun’s lips curled slightly, revealing some satisfaction in her eyes, and said, “If the eldest young miss of the Wang family is already engaged, remember what your sister-in-law says: you’ve already done what you should, man proposes but God disposes, don’t regret it, and don’t dwell on it.”

“Yes!” Ah Sen’s voice grew even louder, “The Ninth Master taught me that one must be able to both pick up and let go of anything.”

Fu Tingyun nodded with a smile: “Go to school now! We’ve both done our best, so focus on your prefectural examination with peace of mind.”

Ah Sen nodded deeply and said loudly, “Sister-in-law, I’m off to school then,” and left the hall with a straight posture.

Yu Wei asked hesitantly, “Are you going to the Wang family to propose marriage?”

“Yes,” Fu Tingyun said, “At the very least, it will help Ah Sen let go.”

Yu Wei remained silent. After breakfast, she accompanied Fu Tingyun to Commanding Officer Chen’s home.

When the wife of Commanding Officer Chen heard that Fu Tingyun had arrived, she brought her three daughters-in-law to welcome them at the gate with hanging flowers.

Fu Tingyun repeatedly said “I wouldn’t dare,” respectfully responding to Madam Chen, and went to Madam Chen’s main quarters.

After exchanging pleasantries, she explained her purpose.

Lady Chen Shi was quite surprised.

Madam Chen, however, was straightforward and said, “It’s just a matter of asking. Whether it works out or not depends on their fate.”

Lady Chen Shi thought this made sense and went to see Madam Wang the next day.

Madam Wang was greatly surprised when she heard: “I truly didn’t know that Quanhui had such intentions.” As she spoke, her tone became somewhat flustered, “I thought she had Ah Sen take the Zhao surname because she felt the Zhao family was too small and wanted to keep Ah Sen in the Zhao family… Never did I imagine she wanted Ah Sen to marry into our family… I don’t know… This matter needs to be discussed with my husband…” She added with a hint of reproach, “She should have told me earlier if she had such intentions. Now that my husband has given his word, how can we take it back?”

Lady Chen Shi could only smile helplessly and went back to report to Fu Tingyun.

Fu Tingyun was so anxious she kept pacing: “This is all my fault! What should we do now?”

“Don’t be anxious,” Lady Chen Shi could only comfort her, “From Madam Wang’s tone, I think there’s still room for negotiation. Why don’t you wait patiently for a couple of days and see what the Wang family decides?”