Shi Fa Ke was stunned for a moment, then said, “Such a big matter, of course I need to think it through carefully.”

“Worthy of being my daughter, truly surpassing blue with blue!” Shi Changhuai slapped the table, sweeping away his previous gloom with hearty laughter.

“Father, that’s not quite appropriate,” Third Brother Shi chuckled with some mischief. “Does that mean Mother is the blue that got surpassed?”

Shi Changhuai’s laughter immediately stopped abruptly. He carefully glanced at Tao Shi, who smiled coolly at him, making his scalp tingle with that smile.

Tao Shi ignored him and looked at Shi Fa Ke instead, seriously advising, “Since you’ve taken on this task, you must handle it perfectly and not tarnish the reputation of your mother and grandmother.”

“Yes!” Shi Fa Ke nodded quickly in agreement.

Shi Changhuai cautiously approached, “Today is joyful, may I be permitted one cup of wine?”

Second Brother Shi, who had been sitting silently, imperceptibly observed Shi Fa Ke, who was smiling as she watched Father ask Mother for wine. Something was wrong… Ah Ke’s emotions were off.

That Scholar Lu had clearly shown great interest in Ah Ke before, so how could he suddenly agree to the marriage with the Zhu family… Ah yes, with the Zhu family’s status, few would not be moved, especially since he was a scholar who naturally wanted to pave a path to success. Thinking this way, he couldn’t help but feel angry, momentarily forgetting about the basket of paintings he had once coveted, only secretly cursing that Scholar Lu had eyes but couldn’t recognize gold inlaid with jade – he was also a wavering scoundrel.

Then he thought of Chu Yizhi. Indeed, righteousness often comes from humble folk, while heartlessness often comes from scholars. Not one scholar was any good.

“Achoo.” At the Chu residence, Chu Yizhi, who was having dinner, sneezed again.

“Yizhi, what’s wrong?” Mother Chu asked anxiously.

“Husband, quickly drink some soup.” Lady Sun hurriedly served him a bowl of soup.

Chu Yizhi took the soup bowl and smiled, “No need to make a fuss, it’s just a sneeze.”

“Spring brings easy chills. Even just sneezing shouldn’t be taken lightly.” Lady Sun said gently.

Chu Yizhi smiled at her, “Thank you for your concern, my lady.”

Nearby, Mother Chu’s face darkened, feeling that her son had a tendency to forget his mother after marrying a wife.

“Yizhi, the autumn examinations are approaching. You mustn’t be distracted.” Mother Chu said, then looked seriously at Lady Sun, “Lady Sun, you must also be sensible. Don’t cling to Yizhi all day. Starting tomorrow, you’re not allowed to disturb Yizhi’s studies in the study room.”

These words were crude and explicit. Lady Sun immediately blushed with shame. She lowered her eyes and obediently responded, “Yes.”

But her fingertips clenched tightly.

Old shrew.

The next day, Shi Fa Ke visited the Zhu residence again in her capacity as matchmaker. Although Lu Chi had agreed to the marriage, to ensure nothing went wrong, this matter still needed to be confirmed with Madam Zhu.

This time, Madam Zhu didn’t make things difficult and readily agreed.

“Young Master Lu says once his family arrives, he’ll come to propose marriage and perform the Six Rites.” Shi Fa Ke clasped her hands. Though she didn’t know why her heart felt empty, she also had a joyful feeling that things had finally settled.

Because of this marriage, she had expended considerable effort from beginning to end. Now it could be considered a complete success.

After meeting with Madam Zhu, Shi Fa Ke went to see Zhu Yanyan. The sun was already high, but Zhu Yanyan was still in bed, shyly poking her head out when she saw Shi Fa Ke arrive.

“Ah Ke, you’re here.” Her gaze was evasive, as if she didn’t quite dare look at Shi Fa Ke.

Shi Fa Ke was amused by her behavior, “Now you know to be shy?”

Zhu Yanyan seemed to recall her bold behavior yesterday, her face flushing with two red clouds. Then she seemed to remember something, “Ah Ke, did you come today… to confirm the marriage with my mother?”

“Yes, it’s settled. You can put your heart at ease.” Shi Fa Ke couldn’t help teasing her, “Just waiting for Young Master Lu’s elder brother to come perform the Six Rites.”

Zhu Yanyan’s eyes flickered, and she shyly retreated into her covers.

Seeing her extreme shyness, Shi Fa Ke didn’t dare tease her too much. After sitting for a while, she took her leave.

The next two days were truly peaceful. Lu Chi’s family had not yet arrived in Bronze Gong Town. To avoid complications, Shi Fa Ke especially instructed the most unreliable Third Brother Shi not to spread news of this successful marriage arrangement.

Since Lu Chi’s family had not arrived, these two days were rather leisurely. Shi Fa Ke remembered her mother’s previous offer to take her to the government office to broaden her experience, so she pestered Tao Shi to go, as becoming an official matchmaker was her lifelong goal.

Official matchmakers didn’t just handle marriages; their duties were actually quite complex. Take Bronze Gong Town’s official matchmaker – she had to register all newborn children in the town for household registration, and resolve disputes arising from marriages. Previously, when Jiao Jiao was widowed and the Jiao family came demanding to remarry her off, it was Tao Shi who intervened to settle the matter.

Because Shi Fa Ke spent all day following Tao Shi to the government office, He Ketian came looking for her several times but found no one, completely unaware that her beloved Master Linyuan was about to be engaged to Zhu Yanyan.

This evening, when Shi Fa Ke returned home, she saw a very low-key small carriage parked in front of the door.

“Is this… the Zhu family’s carriage?” Although the wet nurse had been very discreet, Tao Shi’s eyes were sharp and she recognized it immediately.

“Yes, it should be… I think.” As they spoke, the wet nurse had already poked her head out from the carriage. Seeing Tao Shi, her expression seemed somewhat embarrassed, but a wealthy family’s wet nurse’s upbringing made her steel herself to get out of the carriage and greet Tao Shi.

Tao Shi smiled and exchanged pleasantries with her, then very tactfully went inside first.

Shi Fa Ke watched Tao Shi enter the main gate, then looked at the wet nurse, “Wet nurse, what brings you here?”

“Miss Shi.” The wet nurse forced a smile, “I came to ask if there’s been any news from Scholar Lu’s elder brother?”

The wet nurse really hadn’t wanted to make this trip, but…

“He should already be on the road and will arrive in a day or two.” Shi Fa Ke found the wet nurse’s stiff smile amusing, as she could guess what the wet nurse was thinking – no doubt feeling it was improper for the woman’s side to be so eager in asking about such matters.

The wet nurse nodded, hesitated, then said, “Miss Shi, if you have time… please come talk with our young miss.”

“What’s wrong with Yanyan?” Shi Fa Ke was puzzled. She had assumed Yanyan would be busy preparing for marriage these days and wouldn’t have much free time. But the wet nurse’s expression seemed somehow off.

“I can’t say exactly… I just feel like the young miss seems to have something on her mind.” The wet nurse looked troubled. By all rights, with this marriage now set in stone, and given the young miss’s determination to marry no one but him, she should be very happy. So she could only guess whether it was because Scholar Lu’s family had no news, making the young miss feel anxious about gains and losses.

Shi Fa Ke thought about it and reached the same conclusion as the wet nurse, thinking it must be anxiety about gains and losses. After considering, she said, “Yanyan staying cooped up at home all day will inevitably lead to overthinking. I’ve reserved a hairpin at Golden Fullness Tower as a wedding gift for her. Why don’t we go look at it together tomorrow?”

Giving her a wedding gift meant treating her as a friend. The wet nurse immediately looked at Shi Fa Ke differently. She was moved and wiped her eyes again, grasping Shi Fa Ke’s hand and saying, “The young miss doesn’t have many friends. Meeting you, Miss Shi, is truly wonderful. Don’t think that because our young miss is precious and lacks nothing, besides Madam who dotes on her, who truly cares about her? Take the master, for instance – he’s practically forgotten our young miss exists…”

Shi Fa Ke smiled helplessly. Wet nurse, you’re speaking out of turn again.