The Wei Zhao who broke his brain from falling had very low air pressure on his body. [metaphor for heavy, gloomy, oppressive mood]
He was really very annoyed.
But Wei Shouzhong was guarding at the side, still muttering and chattering nonstop.
“Still remember? That year when you were six, you fought with kids your age, didn’t win, and even knocked out a tooth, cried all the way back.”
Wei Zhao: ……
That really was such a coward.
He stared at the top of the bed without blinking.
Wei Shouzhong: “You loved crying the most.”
Wei Zhao: ……
Ever since Father passed away, he no longer knew what tears were.
No matter what Wei Shouzhong said, he remained unmoved.
Old man Qian came in from outside carrying medicine.
“Drink medicine. Kid, aren’t you from the Wei Family Army? Once your body gets better, when General Wei’s coffin passes through Ze County, you can still go and kowtow once.”
Mn.
He kowtows to himself.
Old man Qian often picked herbal medicine from the mountain and sold it in the county and town, so he got lots of news.
“That General Wei was the only little sprout of the Duke Shun Guo residence. They say after the news of death reached the capital, the Madam of Duke Shun Guo directly fell ill.”
Wei Zhao’s eyes were empty.
“The Emperor lost a beloved general, because of this even stopped attending morning court for several days.”
Wei Zhao remained empty.
“The heir of Marquis Zhongyong refused to believe it, eyes red, beat up the soldier who brought the obituary. Said General Wei still hadn’t returned the silver he borrowed from him.”
Wei Zhao continued to be empt—
Eyeballs moved a little.
Nonsense!
Wei Shouzhong was greatly shocked: “Even General Wei could be poor to the point of borrowing money outside? Already dead with no proof—clearly that heir just talking nonsense.”
Old man Qian: “After the news spread, quite a few prestigious and reputable people who respected General Wei went to find the heir of Marquis Zhongyong to seek justice, not allowing him to slander.”
“But the heir of Marquis Zhongyong said that money was used to improve the Wei Family Army’s meals.”
“The people who chased after him were all moved, said General Wei truly was selfless, it was something he would do. Not long after, quite a few residences borrowed General Wei’s name to come over and help repay the money.”
Wei Zhao: ……
No need to guess anymore.
Xiao Huaiyan accepted all comers, about to strike it rich.
Even dead people’s money he would earn.
A trace of a cold sneer finally spilled out from Wei Zhao’s mouth.
————
After settling down in the old house, Yu Tingwan no longer obtained even half a bit of past life memories.
After the injury on her leg had scabbed over, Li Lian brought some good news.
“Wan-niang, get ready to come with me. Butcher Wu is at my house right now.”
Yu Tingwan’s eyes lit up. There wasn’t much she needed to prepare—she only smoothed her hair a little.
“Mother-in-law, I’m ready.”
Li Lian saw that she was afraid of the cold and had layered on every piece of clothing she could wear, looking a bit bloated. There were many patches on her clothes, and Li Lian furrowed her brows.
But she also understood—it wasn’t that Yu Tingwan wasn’t putting in effort. The outermost garment should already be Yu Tingwan’s best piece of clothing.
Still, the young girl was born beautiful. Even draped in rags, it couldn’t suppress her looks.
The lizhèng’s home wasn’t far from here. On the way, Li Lian chatted with her.
“Why are you trembling?”
Still cold?
Yu Tingwan whispered, “Nervous.”
Li Lian: “I think he’s quite interested. Last time when I mentioned it, he agreed immediately.”
“Your matter is eighty percent likely to succeed.”
“He won’t look down on you.”
Yu Tingwan nodded, then turned her head, very serious: “Then what if I look down on him?”
She’d have to look again.
Just thinking about it was stressful.
Li Lian choked: ……
A woman preparing to go to the vegetable field bumped into them and asked with a smile, “Where are you two going?”
Li Lian didn’t mention the matchmaking, only smiled along, “Bringing Wan-niang to sit for a bit at my place.”
The lizhèng’s home was the grandest in Linxi Village. The household raised quite a few chickens, pecking around in the courtyard.
All the family members had been sent away by Li Lian, just to avoid too many people making them uncomfortable.
Butcher Wu sat on pins and needles, constantly glancing outside.
Originally, the lizhèng thought this marriage arrangement was pretty good. But after seeing Yu Tingwan’s calm demeanor last night, now he felt it was Butcher Wu who didn’t deserve her.
He shook his head silently: “You’re not even as steady as the girl.”
“Wan-niang’s situation—my wife told you about it, right?”
“Said it already.”
Li Lian, in front of him, gave Yu Tingwan a round of praise.
Said that girl has her own ideas, looks good.
In a xiangkan [相看: literally “mutual viewing” or matchmaking meeting], it’s all about praising the good points.
Butcher Wu didn’t take it seriously.
Until Li Lian led in a dainty and delicate-looking girl—he was stunned, for a moment couldn’t react.
Yu Tingwan was also sizing him up.
！！！
Skin dark, appearance couldn’t be called good-looking, but also couldn’t be said to be ugly.
Clothes were tidy and looked new—don’t know if they were just bought—could see he took this matchmaking very seriously.
Figure was tall and big—at a glance you could tell his fists were strong.
The lizhèng kicked Butcher Wu in the leg: “Standing there like a fool for what? Useless.”
Butcher Wu came back to his senses, hurriedly hid the hand missing a finger under the table: “I… I…”
Yu Tingwan openly gave him a radiant smile.
Seeing this scene, Li Lian had a clear sense in her heart.
“Everyone, sit, sit.”
She poured hot water for Yu Tingwan to warm up her body.
“I won’t deliberately introduce anymore. Everyone here is a straightforward person, and you’re both of age to marry, no need to go through empty formalities.”
She intentionally let the two of them talk: “Old man, the clothes outside were washed but not yet hung up, come help me.”
She wasn’t worried about leaving the two alone in the room—after all, the door was open, and she was right in the courtyard keeping an eye out.
Her actions could be considered proper.
Before going out, she left a line behind.
“Xiao Wu, quite a few people saw you coming into the village. After what happened last night, I can’t keep Wan-niang here for too long.”
This sentence was very obvious—if you have something to say, say it quickly.
Li Lian could actually hear the voices from inside the room.
This sort of thing should’ve been initiated by the man, but what she heard was Yu Tingwan’s completely unembarrassed voice.
“Do you know how to cook?”
Butcher Wu quickly nodded.
Yu Tingwan spoke very tactfully: “I don’t cook very well.”
Before Butcher Wu came, he had thought: if the girl was still acceptable, then just settle the matter—both sides not disliking each other.
After having a wife at home, the three meals a day would also have someone to rely on.
But now…
Butcher Wu didn’t dare look too much at Yu Tingwan, yet the joy in his eyes couldn’t be hidden no matter what. He said, “My father and mother passed away early, I’m used to doing these things.”
Yu Tingwan: “How much betrothal gift are you prepared to give?”
“You want how much?”
Butcher Wu: “I brought three taels of silver with me on this trip—do you think that’s enough?”
In Xilin Village, three taels of silver was already considered decent.
But he somewhat regretted—it would’ve been better if he brought more.
“I don’t have any relatives, and usually I don’t interact with the neighbors. At home there are three rooms and one kitchen room, with a well in the yard, so it’s convenient to fetch water. I make a living by slaughtering pigs, I don’t have farmland, so you don’t need to go work in the fields.”
“These years I’ve also saved up some silver. Subtracting the betrothal gift, I reckon there’s still six taels—I’ll hand it all over to you later.”
“……”
He spoke until his mouth was dry, revealing all his cards. Only then did he carefully ask,
“What do you think of me?”
Yu Tingwan took a sip of water: “Let’s pick a date before the year ends and get the matter done.”
Butcher Wu was overjoyed. He tried asking,
“Alright, then should I go to your uncle-aunt’s house now?”
Yu Tingwan was slightly stunned.
“I’ve now moved into the empty house in the village.”
“I heard.”
Butcher Wu: “The betrothal gift should be given to the elders.”
“Just give it to me. Wang-shi definitely won’t prepare a dowry for me.”
“No matter, a harmonious family makes everything flourish. Just count it as taking a little loss.”
He said, “I also know she hasn’t been good to you, but there are some things with elders that you can’t take too much to heart.”
“You can’t just cut off all ties completely—your maternal family is your backing.”
He spoke from the heart.
But Yu Tingwan’s expression completely cooled.
She never dragged things out.
She stood up: “I think—we’re not suitable.”