Grandmother also knew about this matter and advised the eldest aunt: “Don’t underestimate a young man! Zuo Junjie is handsome and diligent in his studies. Who knows, he might one day achieve success in the imperial examinations. Besides, many are willing to add flowers to brocade, but few offer charcoal in snowy weather. The Fu family still has seven or eight daughters without marriage arrangements!”

At the core of the matter was the fear that this marriage would affect the Fu family’s reputation and hinder the eldest uncle’s career.

It was never wrong to be cautious.

The eldest aunt thought her mother-in-law’s reasoning was sound and thus rejected the Hao family’s proposal.

When the eldest sister-in-law heard the news, she was naturally overjoyed.

Zuo Junjie, however, was unwilling: “I’m all alone, and my family’s property was sold to pay for my parents’ medical treatment. Not only is she born of a concubine, but apart from the hundred taels of silver for her dowry from the family fund, she has no other dowry… Since the Lady has shown her kindness, why not request to marry the Third Young Lady from the second branch?”

The Second Aunt’s natal family was a major landowner in Sichuan with salt wells. When she married into the Fu family, her dowry of household items alone filled an entire three-masted ship. The third cousin was a legitimate daughter and the only daughter of the second branch. The Second Aunt had announced early on that all of her dowry would become the third cousin’s dowry in the future.

“This is impossible!” Upon hearing this, the eldest sister-in-law’s face darkened, and she rejected Zuo Junjie without a second thought. “In the Fu family now, only Father-in-law and Fifth Uncle are in official positions. The two nephews from the second branch have no talent for the imperial examinations. The reason the Second Aunt announced that all her dowry would go to the Third Young Lady is that she wants to find a jinshi scholar as a son-in-law, or at the very least, a juren scholar, to provide future support. You’re just a xiucai scholar; the Second Aunt would never agree.”

“Are you so certain I won’t become a jinshi in the future?” Zuo Junjie retorted defiantly. “If you don’t try, how do you know the Second Madam won’t agree?”

The eldest sister-in-law felt Zuo Junjie was being too unreasonable: “Even if the Second Aunt agreed, my mother-in-law has already rejected the Hao family’s proposal. This matter has no room for reversal. Don’t say anything more; just wait until I invite a matchmaker to check the compatibility of your and the Second Young Lady’s birth dates before the wedding.” With that, she turned and left.

Zuo Junjie felt that his sister was afraid of offending her mother-in-law and wasn’t sincerely planning for his benefit. Without saying a word to his sister, the next day he invited a matchmaker to propose to the Second Aunt.

How could the Second Aunt possibly agree?

The moment the matchmaker left, she went straight to report the matter to Grandmother.

Grandmother was so angry that she trembled, and for a long time, she wouldn’t speak properly to the eldest sister-in-law.

The eldest sister-in-law was mortified, wishing she could find a hole to crawl into. She rushed to Zuo Junjie’s room and scolded him harshly, but Zuo Junjie remained unrepentant: “Alright, alright, since you’re in a difficult position, I’ll listen to you and marry the Second Young Lady!” His tone was condescending, as if he were doing a great favor.

The eldest sister-in-law couldn’t say a word and went to the First Madam’s bedside, where she broke down sobbing.

The First Madam was both anxious and angry, and didn’t get out of bed for two days because of this matter. But with one being a daughter-in-law who maintained her widowhood for her son, and the other being her daughter born of a concubine, no matter how angry she was, she could only hide her broken arm in her sleeve. A few months later, the second cousin was betrothed to a licentiate surnamed Huang from neighboring Pucheng County. Within two years, Brother-in-law Huang passed away, leaving behind a month-old daughter and an empty house, relying on the Fu family’s support for their daily sustenance.

Hao Jianfeng, however, continued to prosper, rising to the position of Left Vice Minister of Personnel within a few years.

Later, when the Yellow River breached its banks at Xiangfu in Kaifeng, Henan, the Provincial Governor of Henan impeached officials for using substandard materials in river works. Qu Yang and the eldest uncle were both implicated, and the eldest uncle was dismissed from office. After the storm had passed, the eldest uncle sought out Hao Jianfeng to help with his reinstatement, but Hao Jianfeng, either fearing involvement in these troubles or still harboring resentment over the Fu family’s earlier rejection, didn’t even meet with the eldest uncle, let alone offer help.

The First Madam found it hard to accept whenever she thought about it, and the eldest sister-in-law also suffered many grievances as a result.

Of course, that was all in hindsight.

At the time, the eldest sister-in-law had people rent a courtyard for Zuo Junjie on the back street overnight so he could move out.

Zuo Junjie’s face turned ashen. He gave a cold laugh, took nothing with him, and left with his head held high.

A few days later, he became a tutor for a family surnamed Liu in Xi’an Prefecture.

The following year, he failed the provincial examination.

At the end of the year, Zuo Junjie returned to Huayin and, despite the heavy snow, knelt in front of the eldest sister-in-law’s door for an entire day, refusing to rise no matter who tried to persuade him.

Out of consideration for family ties, the Second Aunt, the Third Aunt, the Fourth Aunt, mother, and the Sixth Aunt all went to the eldest aunt to speak on Zuo Junjie’s behalf.

The eldest sister-in-law, looking at her defeated and emaciated brother, thought of him as the only remaining descendant of her natal family, and wept like a tear-soaked figure.

The First Madam sighed deeply and personally went to ask Grandmother to allow him to return to the Fu clan school for studies.

From then on, Zuo Junjie seemed like a changed person, shutting out all external affairs and focusing solely on his studies. After becoming a juren scholar, he bought land and servants, established a home in Guangtao Lane, and became a golden turtle son-in-law in the eyes of everyone in Huayin.

The Fourth Aunt then set her sights on him.

“The marriage wasn’t arranged before because the second girl was not only born of a concubine but also had no dowry. Naturally, a proud and capable man like him wouldn’t be pleased,” she said to the Fourth Master. “Our fifth daughter is different. Not only is she a legitimate daughter, but she’s also pretty. Besides the dowry from the family fund, I have 300 mu of good land and 2,000 taels of silver as her private dowry.”

“That wouldn’t be proper!” The Fourth Master shook his head vigorously. “If others found out, they might think our Fu family daughters were pursuing him!”

“Oh, why are you so stubborn?” the Fourth Aunt scolded. “Think about it. Although the eldest uncle was dismissed, he still has his academic degree and can be seated when meeting the county magistrate. As for the Fifth Uncle, he’s now an Instructor in the Hanlin Academy, teaching the imperial princes. Who knows, one day he might become the Imperial Tutor with limitless prospects. The third girl from the second branch married a juren scholar, the seventh son from the third branch became a xiucai scholar this year, and the eldest grand-uncle from the sixth branch is a jinshi scholar… Only our branch doesn’t have anyone with academic qualifications. Do you want to hang your head in front of your brothers for the rest of your life? Even if you don’t care, how will our sons and daughters fare in the future?”

After much contemplation, the Fourth Master nodded in agreement.

The Fourth Aunt then entreated Mother to act as a matchmaker.

Mother felt this wasn’t a good match and politely declined. Privately, she said to the Fourth Aunt: “Zuo Junjie has only just become a juren scholar, yet he dares to accept land registered under his name from Wang Xiaxia, a usurer. He acts without knowing his limits and might cause trouble.”

The Fourth Aunt then asked the Sixth Aunt to serve as matchmaker.

The Sixth Aunt cautioned her: “I heard that the Han family from the north of the city wants to marry their daughter to Zuo Junjie…”

The Han family from the north of the city was in the bamboo crafts business.

Upon hearing this, the Fourth Aunt scoffed: “Well, a matchmaker must measure, measure, measure! Only by measuring can we know if it’s suitable!”

The Sixth Aunt had no choice but to speak with the eldest sister-in-law.

This time, the eldest sister-in-law dared not make the decision herself. She sent her maid to Guangtao Lane, just to give the Fourth Aunt an answer.

When the maid returned, she reported: “The young master said that the Han family from the north of the city offered a dowry of 5,000 taels of silver.”

The eldest sister-in-law was furious and told the Fourth Aunt: “He’s already engaged to the Han family from the north of the city!”

Who would rather marry a merchant’s daughter than ally with the Fu family?

The Fourth Aunt felt that the eldest sister-in-law was ineffective and secretly sent someone to inquire. Learning that it was because of the dowry, she had someone directly convey a message to Zuo Junjie: “Our Fifth Young Lady, apart from a dowry of 5,000 taels of silver, also has 300 mu of good land.”

The Han family, hoping for a juren scholar son-in-law to support their business and potentially provide advantages in terms of labor services and taxes, calculated carefully and had the matchmaker tell Zuo Junjie: “Apart from the family’s dowry of 5,000 taels of silver, there’s also a shop that brings in 500 taels of silver annually.”

The Fourth Aunt retorted: “Which is more important: a shop that brings in 500 taels of silver annually, or being a son-in-law of the Fu family?”

The matter was reported to Grandmother.

Grandmother slapped the Fourth Aunt in front of all the servants and decided to betroth the fifth cousin to the son of Juren Scholar Yao from Tonglin County.

After learning this, Zuo Junjie never set foot in the Fu family again. Once, when drunk, he said to someone: “That old beggar woman has repeatedly ruined my chances. One day, I’ll make her regret it.”

Somehow, these words reached the ears of the Fu family members. No one dared to mention even a word of it in front of Grandmother, but they all made a point to avoid Guangtao Lane when walking.

The eldest sister-in-law kept an even lower profile in the Fu family.

When Zuo Junjie found out, he declared: “…I won’t marry anyone except a young lady from an official family!” He also broke off the engagement with the Han family.

But Huayin was, after all, just a county town—how many official families could there be? Those who were interested in him couldn’t offer substantial dowries, which he felt was beneath his dignity. Those he was interested in, knowing of his entanglements with the Fu family, considered him fickle and lacking in integrity. There were more official families in Huazhou and Xi’an Prefecture, but their standards were even higher. Round and round it went, and Zuo Junjie’s marriage remained unsettled.

Until two months ago, when he suddenly approached his mother, saying with a humble attitude that he had important matters to discuss.

One doesn’t slap a smiling face.

Mother dismissed her attendants.

“Fifth Madam,” he bowed respectfully with great ceremony, “the Ninth Young Lady and I have developed mutual affection and wish to form a lifelong bond. I ask the Fifth Madam to grant us your blessing.”

Like a thunderbolt from a clear sky, mother stood there stunned, unable to come to her senses for a long time. When she did, she found it laughable: “Our ninth daughter has been engaged to the eldest son of the Yu family from Fengle Ward in Nanjing since she was young. Is Master Zuo perhaps mistaken?”

When she was ten years old, she had accompanied Grandmother to visit her aunt who had married far away in Nanjing. While offering incense at the Merit Temple, they met the Yu family’s Second Madam, Lady Shu.

The Yu family’s great-grandfather, grandfather, and granduncle had all served as Directors of the Imperial Academy. The grandfather had twice presided over the Jiangxi provincial examinations when he was an Instructor in the Hanlin Academy. By the generation of Yu Guozheng, Yu Guoliang, and Yu Guocai, the three brothers had successively passed the imperial examinations and served as Hanlin Bachelors. Later, Second Master Yu Guoliang rose to the position of Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, supervising officials and investigating government offices. To avoid conflicts of interest, Eldest Master Yu Guozheng was posted to Jingzhou, Huguang, as a Prefect, while Third Master Yu Guocai, unwilling to leave Jiangnan, resigned from his official position and returned home to become a recluse. They were one of the most prominent noble families in Jiangnan.

Perhaps nothing in this world is perfect. While the Yu family had been smoothly advancing in official circles over the years, they had faced increasing difficulties with their offspring. Among the three brothers, only Second Master Yu Guoliang had a son when he was thirty-two.

This Lady Shu was the birth mother of the Yu family’s eldest son.

Although she was not the principal wife of the Yu family, she had contributed to continuing the Yu family line, and her husband held the highest official position among the brothers. In the Yu family, she was said to walk with a forceful presence, with no one daring to cross her.

Mother’s aunt’s husband’s family had some connection with the Yu family, so having met, they had lunch together.

For some reason, Lady Shu was very fond of her and kept talking to her.

Seeing this, Grandmother started telling Lady Shu about her childhood anecdotes, making Lady Shu laugh heartily.

A few days later, Lady Shu sent a matchmaker to propose marriage on behalf of her son, Yu Jingxiu.

Grandmother was very pleased and agreed to the match without even asking for Mother’s opinion.

The exchange of birth dates and the small betrothal ceremony were all completed in Nanjing.

Mother was quite dissatisfied and wrote to her husband, subtly expressing her grievances: “…I have never seen this Young Master Yu, nor do I know what kind of person he is?”

The Fifth Master quickly replied. In his letter, he said that the Yu family’s eldest son had been known for his intelligence from a young age, began his education at five, could understand the “Four Books with Annotations” by twelve, and was now studying composition under Fan Kun, a great Confucian scholar in Jiangnan. His prospects were bright, making him a first-rate match. He instructed the mother to properly educate their daughter, lest she bring shame to the Fu family upon marrying into the Yu household.

Mother put her mind at ease and kept her daughter close, guiding her almost constantly. How could her daughter suddenly have developed a relationship with Zuo Junjie?