RMCF: Chapter 27

 

Chapter 27

Zhang Fangyuan had arrived with a belly full of anger, ready to burst, but when he looked down at the hand holding his, it was like pouring water on a raging fire; his irritability instantly… dissipated.

His expression changed rapidly. A bright, obvious smile immediately spread across his face. Instantly, his attitude towards Fei Lian improved significantly. “I must congratulate you, Official Fei. Passing the scholar exam is truly rare. My mother-in-law asked He Ger and me to check the results for his Second Sister. Now we can go back with the good news. Speaking of which, from now on, I'll have to call Fei Xiucai 'brother-in-law'."

Fei Lian had long been frozen in place by Xu He's action. Hearing Zhang Fangyuan's words, he automatically ignored the initial congratulations and latched onto the term ‘brother-in-law’.

His expression was one of dismay. It took a while before he stared with wide, unblinking eyes and uttered, “You two…”

“Ah, right, we're betrothed. Fei Xiucai probably didn't hear while taking the exams. The wedding is on the nineteenth. You should come then, brother-in-law.”

Fei Lian felt like Zhang Fangyuan's repeated calls of “brother-in-law” were suffocating him. He looked at Xu He and murmured, “How… how could you and him… Was it arranged by your family?”

“I went to their house to propose,” Zhang Fangyuan said.

Xu He nodded.

Seeing Xu He's agreement, Fei Lian felt a bitter taste in his mouth. He didn't consider Zhang Fangyuan a good home. Asking him to offer congratulations—he couldn't utter a single word.

A man's intuition is sharp, especially when encountering a rival. It's like how women can often tell when another woman is being affected or artificial.

Zhang Fangyuan had long noticed something off about the way Fei Lian looked at Xu He. He hadn't been pleased with him before, but Xu He told him the Fei family had their sights set on his second sister. Knowing the two were impossible, he stopped dwelling on this matter and becoming annoying.

Now, seeing this man's demeanor, he found it quite interesting.

Zhang Fangyuan looked at the scholar with amusement. “Fei Lian, are you surprised He Ger is betrothed because you fancy him yourself?”

Faced with such a blunt question, Fei Lian's hand trembled noticeably. He didn't know how to refute it. Admitting it wasn't right, nor was denying it. Scholars have thin skin, and his face reddened first.

The meaning, however, was self-evident. Seeing this, Xu He's mouth opened slightly.

Zhang Fangyuan wasn't very angry, as it was somewhat expected. “Your mother favors Xu Shaochun, but you fancy He Ger. So, Xiucai, do you intend to defy your parents' wishes, or give up your own desires? Or, now that you've passed the county exam and have an official title, a class we farmers and butchers can't hope to match, do you want to have both?”

With his inner thoughts laid bare, Fei Lian's face reddened all the way to his neck.

Seeing this, Xu He felt no joy from Fei Lian's affection. On the contrary, a fire ignited in his heart.

The Fei family's circumstances were quite good, and Fei Lian was their only cherished son. Fei Lian's appearance was also good, and he was a scholar. Even though they had some interactions, Xu He had never entertained any inappropriate thoughts about him. He never expected that Fei Lian, who was always polite to everyone, would have feelings for him.

But this affection didn't move him. With his second sister in the picture, did the Fei family want to have both? What role would that leave for him? He wasn't delusional enough to think he could be the proper (principal) wife.

Xu He said coldly, “You want me to be a concubine in your family!?”

“I… I don't…”

Zhang Fangyuan pulled the angry Xu He behind him, shielding him, and said, “Fine! If that's not it, then you only want He Ger. Today, if you can disregard your family's opposition and choose He Ger alone, I'll give you a fair chance to compete.”

Fei Lian took a deep breath. He looked at Xu He for a long time without speaking, as if waiting for his response. His gaze flickered, and after a long pause, he said, “Since I first entered the academy, my teacher has taught me that filial piety is the foremost duty. My mother favors Shaochun… I…”

“Enough. If you can't do it, you can't do it. More excuses are just to ease your own conscience.” Seeing him like this, Zhang Fangyuan couldn't help but feel disappointed and directly cut him off.

His voice turned colder. “Your Fei family wants Xu Shaochun for show, but also wants He Ger for daily life? Do you think all the benefits under heaven should go to the Fei family?”

“I gave you a chance. Since you lack the courage to seize it, then take care of yourself and keep your distance from He Ger. If you ever speak ambiguous words to He Ger again, I don't care if you're an unarmed scholar or a knife-wielding thug—I'll beat you up regardless!”

With that, Zhang Fangyuan pulled Xu He and led him away without waiting for further discussion, leaving Fei Lian standing there with his mouth agape.

Back on the bustling street, Xu He suddenly broke free from Zhang Fangyuan's grasp.

Zhang Fangyuan knew he was angry and instantly lost his earlier imposing manner, becoming pitiful. “I just wanted to test if he had the guts. In fact, he didn't.”

Xu He said, “What if he had dared to agree?! What would you have done then? Gone to my family to break off the engagement?”

“How could that be!” Zhang Fangyuan exclaimed, his voice trembling.

Then he added, “Even if he agreed to compete, it wouldn't matter. I'm a rogue anyway. I'd just snatch you! Everyone already thinks I'm unreasonable.”

Xu He pressed his lips together. “You're just a scoundrel.”

“Mm.” Zhang Fangyuan agreed. Wasn't he just a scoundrel?

Zhang Fangyuan tentatively touched the back of Xu He's hand again. Xu He didn't take his hand, but he didn't refuse him holding it either. His brow relaxed slightly, and the two walked side by side again.

“I truly never expected he wanted to marry me… No, rather than marrying, it's more like he wanted me to be a slave or servant in the Fei family.”

Walking on the street, Xu He seemed a bit distracted, but he wasn't afraid of being bumped into. With Zhang Fangyuan holding his hand, it was as safe as could be.

"His affection for you might be real, but his fear of defying his mother's wishes is also real. Fei Lian has been studying since childhood. Madam Fei probably never let him touch work in the fields or at home. How would he dare go against his mother's intentions? Filial piety itself isn't wrong, but always obeying one's parents, a man having no opinions or sense of responsibility, that's also no good.”

Xu He looked at the tips of his own shoes. He knew Zhang Fangyuan was right.

“Imagine two pieces of clothing: one is gorgeous and looks very respectable, but it's thin and doesn't keep out the cold; the other is coarse and rustic, not good-looking, but it's thick and keeps you warm. Tell me, how would you choose? Fei Lian is a scholar; he can read, write, and calculate. He wants to choose to wear the warm one underneath and the impressive one on the outside.”

That way, he has both respectability and won’t suffer from the cold. Xu He couldn't help but think, is he wrong to choose that way? To take care of himself, it's not really a big mistake.

Zhang Fangyuan's heart ached hearing this. “He Ger, his affection for you is not a good thing for me, but it also precisely shows that someone can see your goodness. You are not inferior to your Second Sister. It's just that that person cares more about himself.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. In my eyes, you are better than anyone else.”

Seeing Xu He remain silent again, Zhang Fangyuan shook his hand. “Hmm?”

“Alright.”

Zhang Fangyuan tightened his grip.

“Don't think about that bastard anymore. If you keep thinking about him, I'll go beat him up!”

Xu He quickly grabbed Zhang Fangyuan. “He's a xiucai now! You can't hit him. Do you want to go to jail?”

“We're about to get married. Going to jail now is out of the question. Since you don't want me in jail, then don't think about him anymore.”

Xu He glared at Zhang Fangyuan—keep saying he’s thinking about him, making it sound like he’s deeply in love, and Zhang Fangyuan’s the one magnanimously letting it go. “I'm not thinking about him.”

A smile appeared on Zhang Fangyuan's face. “Come on, I'll take you shopping.”

“Wasting money again?”

“What wasting money? Don't we need to furnish the wedding chamber? The house is lacking this and that; we have to buy them. You'll need them when you come later. Just come with me to choose. The ones I pick aren't good anyway.”

It wasn't until Xu He followed him to the door that he realized Zhang Fangyuan wanted to buy a wardrobe, a dressing table, cotton quilts, and other items. Even with the thickest skin, this was enough to make anyone blush. Who buys these things with their husband-to-be before marriage? Besides, he could do without these things; after all, he didn't have them in the Xu family either.

But Zhang Fangyuan was very stubborn. If he didn't choose, he'd just let the shop assistant recommend purchases, and the assistant would inevitably pick the expensive ones. Left with no choice, Xu He had to select practical and affordable options. Even so, a wardrobe and a dressing table with a small bronze mirror cost five hundred wen. As for the cotton quilts, he absolutely refused to go, so Zhang Fangyuan promised to buy those himself.

Xu He felt heartache at how Zhang Fangyuan spent money like running water. Even though the money was spent on him, and he could feel Zhang Fangyuan’s value for him, the cost of this was too high. The bride price alone was so much, plus the bracelet worth four thousand wen, and now preparing these household items for him… It really made him feel he didn't deserve it.

Perhaps the village chief's ger or daughter might receive such treatment upon marriage, but what virtue or ability did he have to deserve it?

“Even if we don't buy them now, we'll have to buy them after marriage. They'll be used anyway. Buying early means enjoying them early. Don't feel bad about the money anymore.”

Xu He sighed softly and nodded.

After they finished shopping, Zhang Fangyuan also breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, one less thing to worry about. He had originally intended to take Xu He to a restaurant he used to frequent in town, but Xu He said they had spent too much money already and wouldn't let him. Helpless, they ended up ordering two bowls of noodles and one bowl of wontons at a small street stall.

“The noodles at this place are pretty good. The broth is made from pork bones.”

The bowl of noodles that arrived was large, while the wontons looked much smaller, probably because they had some pork filling inside. He picked up the bowl of wontons and transferred half into Xu He's noodle bowl. “The shop owner goes to the meat market to buy pork bones before dawn. A couple of times, he even bought them from my stall.”

Xu He took a slurp of the noodles. The broth indeed had the meaty aroma of pork bones. A handful of blanched noodles placed in a bowl with the rich broth, sprinkled with some scallions, and a few slices of spring greens—it was hard for the flavor to be bad. Xu He felt he could make this flavour himself, perhaps even better. But the same bowl of noodles tasted different when eaten at home versus at an outside eatery.

The small wontons were also tasty, but they were more like dough drops. Although they had pork filling, the filling was minced very finely and mixed with a lot of scallions and vegetables. Each wonton probably only had a tiny amount of filling, about the size of a little finger, and you couldn't really taste the meat.

“It's good.”

Seeing Zhang Fangyuan holding his chopsticks but not moving, just watching him eat as if waiting for his opinion, Xu He said these two words. Only then did Zhang Fangyuan start eating happily with a chuckle.

Xu He felt somewhat amused inwardly. This guy, sometimes he's like a child.

After they were full, they drove the cart back. By the time they reached the village, it was already afternoon. The news of Fei Lian passing the exam had already spread throughout the village. Hearing that the Fei family was going to host a banquet made it even more lively.

Zhang Fangyuan carried the corn seeds Xu He bought and saw him to the Xu house before returning. In front of Zhang Fangyuan, Liu Xianglan didn't dare say a word to Xu He, but once he left, her expression changed. “Buying seeds and checking the results took half the day! We were waiting for your news, but others came back and told us long ago. What use are you!”

Xu He said unhurriedly, “You got the news anyway. What does it matter if it's early or late?”

Xu Shaochun, having received the news, was once again holding her head high, dressed very smartly and neatly, waiting at any moment for the Fei family to visit. “Since He Ger got engaged to that butcher, his words have become increasingly unpleasant. It seems staying with a crude and boorish person has rubbed off some of that coarseness onto him. Mother, don't be angry. Master Fei is humble and courteous; he certainly wouldn't upset you like this.”

Thinking of the current good news, Liu Xianglan's complexion immediately became rosier and more pleasant. She paid no more attention to Xu He, and the mother and daughter intimately linked arms as they went into the house to discuss the matter of the Fei family marriage.

Although the village was very lively at the moment, the Fei household was not particularly joyful.

Knowing that He Ger was engaged to Zhang Fangyuan and the wedding was imminent, Fei Lian resented his own lack of courage to fight for him. The joy of passing the exam had long been destroyed by this devastating news. He returned to the village dejected and disheartened. He wanted to cause a big scene at home, but when he saw his parents, his spirit deflated. He sat gloomily in the house, not a trace of the joy of success on his face.

Even without her son saying much, Madam Fei knew the reason for his despondency. She had expected her son to be unhappy upon hearing the news, but she hadn't anticipated it would be to this extent.

"My son, you've passed the scholar exam now. The court will give two thousand wen every month. For our farming families, a moderate farming household only saves that much in a year. My son can earn that in just one month. That's a great achievement! And they've awarded five mu of fertile land, yielding one dan more grain than ordinary poor land. It's truly our Fei ancestors' graves smoking with good fortune. Your future is also very bright. What respectable job won't be available to you in the future? Why cling to such a ger? There will be plenty more in the future.”

Fei Lian rarely raised his voice to refute his mother. “Having all this now, but not having the person I care for, what joy is there for me?” Wasn't it just like the sorrow of those in the books who cannot be together? Today, he had become a character from a book.

Madam Fei paused. Seeing her son like this, she couldn't bring herself to speak ill of Xu He to comfort him. She could only say, “Shaochun is delicate, beautiful, and tender. Once you're married, you'll forget him. In this life, how can everything go as one wishes? Even so, we all have to live our lives well, don't we?”

Fei Lian lacked the strength to say more. He only hated his own cowardice and helplessness. Covering his face, he went into his room, lay on the bed, and cried bitterly.

 

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