Chapter 15: The Matchmaker

The clan leader and the elders were all older than Wen Ruyu. They had grown up navigating the complexities of human relationships, so they could easily understand the underlying meaning of Wen Ruyu’s words.

Still, Wen Ruyu had become successful and was willing to spend money to subsidize matchmaking. This was already a rare generosity.

Thirty taels of silver—enough to cover an ordinary family’s expenses for an entire year. To go this far, there was truly nothing more to say.

In the end, the clan leader made the decision: “Sister-in-law, we understand your intentions. We’ll proceed as you suggested.”

With the matter settled, Wen Ruyu smiled warmly.

After chatting for a while, it was already noon.

She called her eldest and third sons to accompany the guests, instructing the kitchen to prepare a few hearty dishes for the meal.

Wen Ruyu then asked Chuntao to withdraw ten taels of silver from the accounts. In total, she had given out thirty taels before seeing the clan leader and others off.

As for the remaining ten taels, how the clan leader planned to allocate them was no longer within Wen Ruyu’s concern.

At noon, Lu Bainian finished his meal but did not return to his study right away. Instead, he went to check on his wife and son.

His son had recovered considerably since yesterday, and his wife had already started preparing for the New Year. She was in the room discussing with Shiliu, one of the servant girls, about hiring an opera troupe.

Watching an opera was a tradition during the New Year. In past years, because of the passing of the old master Lu, the family had kept their celebrations modest. But this year, they had extra money and were back in their ancestral home, so inviting an opera troupe would allow them to gather relatives and friends for a lively celebration.

However, hiring a troupe wasn’t cheap. The well-known ones could cost one to two hundred taels.

This year, they would likely hire a smaller troupe, but including tables, chairs, and fruit wine, the costs would still reach about a hundred taels.

When Lu Songnian entered, Zhao Shi set aside her affairs and came over to chat with her husband.

“During lunch, did Madam have you and the third son entertain the guests?”

“The fourth son has been going out to play these past few days, so he wasn’t around at noon. The second son is still recovering from his injury—he’s almost healed, but it’s better for him to rest. So, the third son and I accompanied the guests.”

“Have you noticed that the Old Madam has been acting strangely lately?” Zhao Shu asked, pulling her husband to sit down.

“What do you mean by strange?”

“She never used to favor the third son, but recently, her attitude towards him has improved.”

“Well, they’re all brothers from the same family. What’s strange about that?” Lu Songnian, being rather straightforward, saw it simply. Even though he and Lu Ke were not born of the same mother, they were still blood relatives.

But from a woman’s perspective, things were different.

“Fine, forget the third son. Let’s talk about the second son instead. Ever since he was beaten, the Old Madam hasn’t visited him once—it’s been five or six days now.” Even she, as a sister-in-law, had sent medicine over twice out of sympathy.

“Maybe she’s still angry.” Lu Songnian also found it odd, but he assumed his mother had her reasons.

He had gradually gotten used to the Old Madam’s new behavior. As long as she was happy, it didn’t matter much.

After all, the second son’s beating was entirely his own doing.

“It seems the Old Madam’s illness has truly changed her perspective. Why don’t you go check on the second son later? No one has visited him these past few days—it looks rather pitiful.”

Speaking of his younger brother, Lu Songnian couldn’t help but feel annoyed. “If you ask me, he hasn’t suffered enough yet. He idles around all day and has squandered so much of the family’s money. Now that he’s been disciplined a little, why is he acting so delicate?”

Despite his words, after resting in the afternoon, Lu Songnian still went to check on his second brother.

Lu Bainian also found it strange—his mother had beaten him, yet she still hadn’t come to see him.

Thinking back to the day when the Old Madam was so angry that she fainted, a slight sense of filial guilt stirred in Lu Bainian’s heart.

Over the past few days, he had reflected on many things and even felt a little remorseful toward his mother.

But the feeling wasn’t absolute. One moment, he felt guilty; the next, he resented her harshness and felt indignant.

When Lu Songnian arrived at noon, Lu Bainian wasn’t particularly eager to entertain him. He knew his older brother would just lecture him again.

Sure enough, once he entered, it was the same old speech.

“No one expects you to bring honor to the family—just be a decent person. Stay away from the brothels and pleasure houses. That’s what Mother resents the most about you.”

“She’s old now. All she wants is for you to settle down, marry, and live a good life. She doesn’t expect you to rejuvenate the family’s prestige. Just take my advice—stay home for a couple of years, rebuild your reputation, and then you’ll have a better chance of marrying a respectable girl.”

Lu Bainian was well aware of his reputation in Qinghe County. No decent family would want their daughter to marry him.

But he had always loved stories of talented scholars and beautiful women. He might not be a scholar, but he certainly enjoyed the company of beauties.

If he couldn’t even enjoy that, what would be the point?

“I do want to settle down. I even have someone I like. But just because I like her doesn’t mean Mother will approve.”

“As long as she’s from a decent family, even if she’s poor, it’s not a problem,” Lu Songnian replied, not noticing his brother’s subtle expression.

“If you truly like her, you’re old enough to get married. Just have Mother arrange the proposal. Once you start a family and take on responsibilities, both Mother and I will be happy.”

“Happy? She must hate me now. She hasn’t visited me in days, and she’s even cut my allowance.”

“That’s just temporary. Once her anger subsides, she won’t let you go without money.”

“If you need some, I have a little private savings. Just come to me.” Lu Songnian reassured him.

Hearing that his elder brother still cared about him, Lu Bainian’s frustration eased a bit.

After staying for a while, Lu Songnian left, instructing the servant girls to take good care of his younger brother.

Meanwhile, Wen Ruyu was in her daughter’s room, watching her embroider.

Lu Mingzhu sat quietly, focused on her stitching.

From Wen Ruyu’s perspective, despite her daughter’s years of practice, she didn’t have much talent for embroidery. At least, it was still recognizable.

“I’ve arranged for a female tutor. She’ll teach you music, chess, calligraphy, and painting starting tomorrow.”

“What about embroidery?” Lu Mingzhu dared not question her mother’s decision but was puzzled. Wouldn’t learning all these things take time away from embroidery?

Hadn’t her mother always emphasized that women should be obedient and that learning poetry and literature would only stir their emotions?

“It’s fine. You can still embroider in your free time,” Wen Ruyu replied.

She looked at her daughter, who resembled her in many ways, and felt a strange sense of affection.

She wasn’t her biological child, yet Wen Ruyu found herself particularly fond of this girl.

Just then, a servant came to report that the matchmaker Wen Ruyu had inquired about had arrived.

“Bring her to my room,” Wen Ruyu instructed, rising to leave.

It was time to start making marriage arrangements for her children.