Chapter 09 – I’m Willing

Wen Hui felt her body tense up and her palms sweating. This was the first time in her life she felt this way.

Even when she met Lord Lu before, she was not this nervous.

At that time, Lord Lu had returned to the capital for duty, earned a substantial position, and took a few people with him to take up his post. On the way, he was targeted by bandits and was luckily rescued by Wen Baihu. Lord Lu was heading south, and Wen Baihu also wanted to return to Qingzhou after visiting his friends, so they traveled south together. Once in Shandong, Lord Lu deliberately detoured to Qingzhou to meet Wen Baihu’s family, expressing his desire to form a close bond with the Wen family.

Wen Baihu was naturally happy to see this. He called his family to meet Lord Lu and asked them to call him “Uncle Lu”. He also left his eldest son there to keep him company and attend to his meals.

Lord Lu, being the sole heir for three generations, was envious of Wen Baihu’s three strong sons. In their conversation, he learned that Madam Wen had given birth to seven children.

Wen Baihu, reminiscing about the past, sighed: “*Sigh*, I was useless. I made her suffer for many years with me. The earlier children didn’t survive…”

Lord Lu comforted him, “A great man establishes his career, enduring hardships first and enjoying sweetness later. Look at your three sons, so vigorous and prosperous. Now, the bitter is over and the sweet is coming.”

They drank a toast together.

Lord Lu, drinking his wine, pondered that Madam Wen was fertile, and her children were robust and healthy.

To entertain this distinguished guest, Madam Wen cooked personally and had her youngest daughter deliver new wine to “Uncle Lu.”

Lord Lu saw the Wen family’s daughter, who had greeted him earlier, effortlessly brought two jugs of wine in and handed them to her brother, then curtsied, and left.

Lord Lu was astonished, “The girl is very strong.”

In Yuhang, girls of this age were all delicate and slender— Southern girls were considered beautiful if they were graceful and thin. Many young girls ate sparingly to keep their waists small, so where would they get such strength?

Wen Baihu laughed, “She takes after her mother. Since she was young, she has always played with weapons. She may lack other qualities, but her strength does not lose to boys.”

This mention of “taking after her mother” moved Lord Lu. After a few more drinks, he asked, “Niece… is she promised to anyone?”

Wen Baihu sighed, “She was once engaged from a young age, but that family… *sigh* they were implicated in Prince Lu’s case. They didn’t participate in it directly but were just unlucky. *sigh*, let’s not talk about it anymore … Anyway, the engagement is now broken, and we are looking for a suitable match for her.”

Lord Lu smiled, “I have an only son, three years older than your daughter. He’s not very promising and only passed the county exam last year. But he’s a decent and respectful child. Brother Wen saved my life, and I have no way to repay you. I’d be honored to form a bond between our families. What does Brother Wen think?”

Scholars liked to express their pride through modesty. Saying “not very promising” and “only passed the county exam”. At that time, Wen Hui was only twelve, so being three years older meant the son was fifteen. If he had passed the county exam last year, he would have been a scholar at fourteen. How was this not promising? This was very promising. Moreover, he had a father who was a second-rank Jinshi^[1]进士 – successful candidate in the highest imperial civil service examination/palace graduate!

Wen Baihu blinked and was momentarily stunned before suddenly standing up, “Go, go! Call your mother here!”

Wen Bai scampered off.

This is how Wen Hui got a great marriage that fell from the sky.

Lord Lu said, “My wife is currently taking care of my sick mother in Yuhang, and my son is studying at Wutong Academy. I have just taken a new post in Jiangzhou, so it will be a while before we can officially proceed with the engagement.” He then left a jade pendant as a token.

The Wen family’s parents readily agreed.

After the Huo family incident, the Wen couple regretted instilling in Wen Hui the idea ‘she would be a member of the Huo family in the future and would be Huo Silang’s^[2]霍四郎 – Huo’s fourth son wife’. They had kept the Huo family’s downfall a secret from Wen Hui. They wanted to take advantage of her young age and unsettled nature to make her gradually forget about the Huo family’s fourth son. They even instructed their eldest son not to tell his younger sister or his two younger brothers about the marriage, fearing the two couldn’t keep their mouths shut.

It was not until a few months later, that Lord Lu wrote a letter to say that his wife was about to reunite with him. Once they were together, they would arrange the ceremony and officially settle the engagement.

Wen parents were overjoyed and finally told Wen Hui about it.

They did not expect that their daughter would be so stubborn. After hearing the news, she became anxious and stubbornly refused to break off the engagement with Huo Silang. She was even more unwilling to accept a new marriage.

Sons were managed by the father, and daughters were taught by the mother. The mother and daughter fought for a long time. One fought, scolded, and cried. The other only felt the adults said one thing but did another, thinking her parents were hypocritical. She argued and even went on a hunger strike, insisting on going to Changsha Manor to find her “Brother Lianyi” to clarify things.

Madam Wen locked her in her courtyard and ordered people to watch her day and night.

Wen Hui appeared obedient for a while, but in fact, she was secretly preparing food, clothes, and money. When the guard was careless, she jumped over the wall and ran straight to Changsha.

That trip turned out well, as it resolved her inner conflict and made her willing to accept her family’s arrangements.

But Wen Hui never imagined the Lu family’s son, Lu Rui, would be such a handsome young.

Madam Lu also did not expect that the northern girl, who her husband described as a “healthy and sturdy girl, sure to be as fertile as her mother” would be so graceful and beautiful. She did not lose to the beauties of Jiangnan.

Madam Lu was actually very reluctant about this marriage.

If the news of her golden son was matched with a girl from a military family spread, those families she looked down on and rejected would laugh their heads off.

When she received her husband’s letter while caring for her sick mother in Yuhang, she nearly fainted. She endured until her mother-in-law ‘recovered’, then went to Jiangzhou to reunite with her husband, and they had a big argument over this.

But once the man made a decision, even if the woman in the inner residence made a fuss and argued, it was hard to change his mind. The only thing that convinced her was her husband felt the Wen family’s daughter would definitely be very fertile.

Seeing Wen Hui, she was surprised by her beauty but couldn’t see how she was stronger than Southern girls. She had the same slim waist and graceful demeanor.

Shandong was often harassed by pirates. It had been a hundred years. Martial arts flourished in this place. Even women often learned how to use fists, kicks, and rods. Even if they did not learn martial arts, there were very few families who raised their daughters to be weak. At least when the pirates came, even if they could not fight, they had to be able to run.

Thus, the gender segregation wasn’t as strict.

The Wen couple eagerly invited Madam Lu to sit at the head of the table and asked Wen Hui to stand beside her. This arrangement was meant to let Madam Lu observe Wen Hui closely.

Madam Lu sipped her tea with a slightly lowered gaze, not impressed. In Jiangnan scholarly families, girls were only brought out briefly for a greeting, then dismissed.

The northern military families were really crude.

However, since this was her husband’s decision, no matter how unwilling Madam Lu was, she could only sigh slightly. She put down the cup and looked up with a faint smile, “This must be Miss Hui, right?”

At her words, Lu Rui, who was sitting below, looked over

The Wen family usually interacted with other military families. Wen Baihu was in charge of the Baihu Department under the Qianhu Department and rarely dealt with civil officials. Wen Hui and Madam Wen mostly socialized with similar families.

Madam Lu was completely different. She was the wife of a civil official and a woman from a scholarly family in the South. Not to mention an ignorant little girl like Wen Hui, even someone as straightforward as Madam Wen couldn’t help but lower her voice when she saw Madam Wen’s imposing manner.

Wen Hui felt her palms sweating.

Madam Wen smiled, “Yes, this is my naughty daughter…”

She glanced over to see Wen Hui still standing foolishly— she was usually quick in action, why was she being silly now?! Madam Wen smiled through gritted teeth and tugged Wen Hui’s sleeve.

Wen Hui then stepped forward to greet, albeit a bit delayed, but did so properly without embarrassing herself.

However, where did her usual fearless spirit go? Madam Wen wondered. She only told her to “behave” and not to pretend to be a fool.

Madam Lu maintained a faint smile, polite but subtly distant. She took a flat box from the servant beside her and said, “A small gift from me. Don’t despise it.”

Wen Hui received it respectfully and thanked her with a bow.

Upon rising, Wen Hui finally couldn’t resist looking at the young man beside Madam Lu—his gaze made her so nervous that she had been avoiding looking at him.

Unexpectedly, Lu Rui was also looking at her. Seeing that she was finally willing to look at him, Lu Rui smiled at her.

The young man, with an air of scholarly elegance, smiled with such grace that he seemed like a piece of exquisite jade.

He was so different from her brothers; Wen Hui had never seen such a young man before and felt like she was basking in a spring breeze. She was lively by nature. Just now, she was inexplicably nervous and stiff. But now, immersed in the young man’s smile, she relaxed and instinctively smiled back at him.

Madam Lu slightly frowned and glanced at her son. Lu Rui, still smiling, lowered his gaze.

Madam Wen coughed and asked, “Who would have thought it would snow so early this year, was your journey smooth?”

She deliberately changed the topic to cover up the subtle interaction between the young pair.

“It was alright.” Madam Lu’s voice was soft and her tone was slow, “The main roads were fairly smooth, though a bit slippery. But we arrived safely.”

Madam Lu was the wife of a civil official, had little common ground with this military couple, and could only talk about roads, weather, and food.

After a few words, Madam Lu raised her hand and pressed her shoulder lightly, “We took a boat and changed carriages. During this season, there was no scenery to enjoy. It left me quite weary.”

Madam Wen understood and quickly said, “Madam Lu, you must be tired. How about you rest first, and we can talk later.”

Madam Lu nodded, “Thank you for your hospitality.”

“It’s no trouble at all.” Madam Wen replied, “You are too polite.”

The Wen family had specially prepared a courtyard for the Lu family.

Madam Wen personally escorted them to get settled and left two reliable servants, and told Madam Lu, “Please feel free to call on them for anything you need.”

Madam Lu thanked her and Madam Wen left.

The Lu family’s servants moved in and efficiently placed Madam Lu’s personal belongings in the room. Madam Lu and Lu Rui rested in the adjacent room.

Once the maids had fetched hot water from the Wen Family’s servants and served the tea, they drew the curtains and left. Lu Rui spoke up, “Mother, I’ve changed my mind.”

The dashing young man smiled, “I’m willing to marry Miss Wen.”