Yu Tingwan had just finished sweeping the courtyard by dusk, exhausted and drenched in sweat.
Li Lian came over at this time.
Yu Tingwan’s heart moved, and she hurried over: “Mother-in-law, is it time to meet another again?”
Li Lian didn’t beat around the bush with her, spoke straightforwardly: “There’s no suitable candidate on my side.”
The light in Yu Tingwan’s eyes dimmed.
She dryly said: “Then you better hurry up.”
Li Lian: ……
“This kind of thing, how can it be rushed?”
“My natal family’s neighbor is indeed urgently seeking marriage, but the man’s previous wife died, and he has two children. Can I introduce him to you?”
Yu Tingwan: ……
That’s true.
She had no spirit of sacrifice, didn’t want to be a stepmother.
Li Lian: “There is another one, who hasn’t married yet, but he had talked with several girls before, and none worked out in the end.”
Yu Tingwan got interested: “Was it the man’s problem?”
Li Lian shook her head.
“Not really.”
“That young man is quite good, honest and willing to work, only has a widowed mother at home. His mother is famously understanding and reasonable.”
“Mother and son both treat people warmly, and are generous in character. Last time I went to their house as a guest, they even gave me a big handful of sunflower seeds.”
Yu Tingwan was moved: “Then I think…”
Before she could finish her words, Li Lian sighed: “Just that his fate is bad.”
“The first girl he was matched with accidentally fell into water and died, the second girl got sick and passed away, and the last one, even got to the stage of discussing marriage, the wedding date was already set, but something still happened.”
Yu Tingwan slowly said: “Is that so. His fate is bad, my fate is also bad, then that’s quite fated.”
Li Lian: ……
She knew it!
Yu Tingwan: “I don’t believe in those things.”
She smiled at Li Lian: “If something really does happen, I’m not afraid either.”
She was full of confidence: “Who suppresses who, can’t be said for sure.”
Li Lian glared: “What kind of talk is that? He really does have the reputation of overcoming wives. After those incidents, the girls around all don’t dare to talk to him.”
“I know you’re a girl with your own ideas, always saying these are just accidents, that as long as the person is good, you don’t mind. But I absolutely don’t dare to bring such a person to you.”
Li Lian was concerned about Yu Tingwan’s reputation, and from the moment she entered the courtyard, she had deliberately lowered her voice.
The Hui-niang next door could not hear, but Wei Zhao practiced martial arts—his ears were sharper than ordinary people’s.
But as for other people’s matters, he didn’t care.
Wei Zhao turned over and lay down properly, his expression listless.
Hui-niang saw it and felt dark in her heart.
These past days of interacting, Wei Zhao seemed to harbor a will to die. He had no interest in anything, as if nothing could enter his eyes.
Urge him to eat, and he would perfunctorily take a few bites. If you didn’t nag him, he wouldn’t even be willing to open his mouth.
Xiao-niang left. She was afraid her A’Lang would also leave her behind.
Next door, Yu Tingwan knew well that Li Lian was considering things for her sake. Seeing her attitude so firm, she was grief-stricken as though enmity ran deep: “Really not possible?”
“Not possible.”
Yu Tingwan was very upset.
“Is it because my standards are too high?”
Li Lian: ……
No, your standards are already very low.
When all was said and done, it was still about Yu Tingwan’s background.
These days, she had run around a lot for Yu Tingwan’s matters.
Li Lian’s identity was there, and she had always been upright. The villagers in the nearby several villages were all willing to give her a bit of face.
She said this girl was good, that she could live her days steadily. With her as a guarantor, those people were also willing to believe.
At first, everything was going well.
But once they heard that Yu Tingwan had fallen out with the Wang family, they became less willing.
Who wouldn’t want to marry into a studying scholar’s family?
Seeing Yu Tingwan move out and unwilling to make peace, Hu Dazhu also didn’t return to take his niece back, clearly showing no intention of continuing ties—who would want to wade into muddy waters?
Li Lian couldn’t say it too bluntly, and only said: “Your looks are too flamboyant.”
Yu Tingwan understood in her heart, and softly said: “Doesn’t look like someone from a proper family background. Those wanting to marry a wife are worried I won’t settle down and stay within the household. Is that it?”
She wasn’t angry either, gently and quietly asking: “Then did Mother-in-law come over to give some instruction?”
That actually reminded Li Lian.
She slapped her thigh: “Look at me, talking to you about all this, I actually forgot the proper matter.”
Yu Tingwan didn’t think there could be anything more important than her matchmaking, but seeing that Li Lian’s face no longer carried a smile, with this posture, the young girl couldn’t help but hold her breath, thinking it must be something serious.
Then she got one sentence: “Your sister-in-law gave birth last night.”
Yu Tingwan: ????
Just that?
“They said she fell during the night and nearly had a difficult labor.”
“Your jiu mu [maternal uncle’s wife] was wailing like a ghost, it was the neighbor next door who heard the commotion, saw your sao sao [sister-in-law] bleeding underneath, and didn’t dare delay in going to fetch the midwife.”
She shook her head again and again: “There was such heavy rain last night, the roads outside were really hard to walk. Your Aunt Wu has an impatient temper, and even fell along the way.”
By the time they brought the midwife to the Hu house, Aunt Wu was already soaked through.
“Your jiu mu didn’t even say thanks—fine, let’s say that’s that—but she actually blamed her for being too slow, even said that if something happened to the child, she’d settle the score with your Aunt Wu.”
Yu Tingwan: ……
That was indeed something Wang-shi would do.
Li Lian: “There was childbirth happening inside, already chaotic as can be. Your Aunt Wu was burning up with anger in her chest, but it wasn’t convenient to argue with her, so she didn’t stay to help.”
Well, that was Wang-shi bringing it on herself.
With no Yu Tingwan to order around, tasks like boiling water or cooking eggs for Xiao Xu-shi to fill her stomach and gain some strength—Wang-shi had to do them all herself.
When Li Lian talked about this, she was full of disdain for Wang-shi.
It was just that Wang-shi had good luck giving birth and had a son who studied books. Otherwise, what was there about her to make others look up to her?
“They say the fetus was unstable at the time, and even the midwife had no solution. Your jiu mu was yelling to save the child, but luckily, your sao sao managed to pull through.”
Yu Tingwan: ……
She felt that Xiao Xu-shi must have been angered half to death by Wang-shi.
She wasn’t even dead yet, and Wang-shi was already thinking about getting Hu Dalang a new wife.
Would Xiao Xu-shi be willing? She probably got so mad she lived out of spite.
Li Lian revealed: “But, the baby was a daughter.”
When Wang-shi saw it wasn’t one with a handle [不是带把的 – a euphemism meaning not male, i.e., without a penis], her face immediately turned black, and she scolded Xiao Xu-shi for being useless. She’d been fed well and taken care of, and yet she gave birth to a money-losing good!
Once the midwife left, Xiao Xu-shi still had no milk, the child was starving and crying, and Wang-shi just threw aside mother and daughter, didn’t even pick up the child, and went back to her room.
Li Lian: “I’m telling you all this to say: in the coming days, you must not go anywhere near the Hu family’s gate.”
She warned: “Your jiu mu is muddleheaded, and there’s no man in the house who can take charge. If you can avoid her, do so. Don’t let her catch a chance to take things out on you.”
Yu Tingwan nodded: “Got it.”
She’d have to be sick in the head to go back.
Li Lian noticed something was very off.
She had been talking for so long her mouth was dry, but the young girl’s reaction was too calm—there wasn’t a trace of surprise.
She hadn’t even asked a single question from beginning to end.
“A thing like this happened, and you’re not concerned at all?”
Yu Tingwan was stunned.
“Why should I be concerned?”
She was very puzzled: “It’s not like she gave birth for me.”
This reasoning was unbeatable.
Li Lian: “Your sao sao wasn’t good to you. Now she’s suffered this kind of hardship. Though it’s not exactly righteous, if it were me, I’d at least feel pleased in my heart.”
Yu Tingwan couldn’t say much either—she had already been secretly delighted earlier.
Under Li Lian’s suspicious gaze, Yu Tingwan very earnestly went through the motions.
She hesitated and forced out two words.
“Ha… ha?”