Everyone in Xiao Family noticed that something was amiss between the two of them. In the early morning of the next day, when Xiao Family had breakfast, Mrs. Song unexpectedly broke the rule of not talking when eating. Somewhat worried, she asked Eldest Grandson: "Didn't you pat your chest and promise me yesterday that you'll propose marriage to Su Family's lass? Why does it only take a day for that attitude to fade away? Could it be that you were rejected?"
Xiao Lin Yu's face was slightly pale. Awkwardness was revealed on his face: "Old Ancestor."
Seeing his reaction, Mrs. Yu and Mrs. Song knew that their stupid son (grandson) was rejected.
Mrs. Yu unhurriedly sighed and said: "As the saying goes, a waterfront pavilion gets the moonlight first. You were away for three years. Now you're back, you have gone for a good few months after half a month. Even if Su Family's lass has some old feelings for you, it will be grind into nothing sooner or later. I heard from You Ling a few days ago that the lieutenant of the army stationed in Luohe Prefecture asked someone to come to Su Family to ask for marriage. You Ling had glanced from a distance and said he looked quite dignified. And he is about the same age as Jin lass. Quite a good match."
After finishing speaking, she looked at her son with sympathy.
Xiao Lin Yu's complexion darkened a little after listening to his mother's rippling 'revelation'. The only time in his life when his heart moved was given to You Jin five years ago. He was really unwilling to give her up to others like this. But if she had no feelings for him, how can he have the heart to snatch her? For a while, his mind was in a struggle, not knowing what to do.
Although Mrs. Yu verbally hurt her son, she sincerely hoped that her son and Su Family's lass could get married as soon as possible. Now Eldest Son was almost twenty-six. If there were no such mishap at home, the child would be enlightened now. In order to embrace her grandson as soon as possible, Mrs. Yu secretly found You Jin by herself behind her son's back.
You Jin, who was busy in the study, heard people outside saying that Mrs. Yu has arrived. She put down the account book in her hand and went out with a smile to welcome her in: "How can I help Auntie?"
"Nothing much. Just came to see you. I didn't disturb your matter?" Mrs. Yu sat at the head. With a smile on her face, she tested: "If you are busy, l'll come back later?"
You Jin accepted the floral tea brought by Qiu Fen and put it in front of Mrs. Yu. She smilingly replied, "I don't have anything important to do here. Auntie, don't fret."
You Jin was sorting the previous month's ledger. Now, there was a dedicated person for each asset. She only needed to sort out the account books every month. So she wasn't too busy.
Hearing what she said, Mrs. Yu sat down in peace and drank a cup of tea. She said hesitantly: "You Jin, Auntie came to see you today as I really want to ask you about something."
You Jin was clueless, thinking it was about the female academy. She nodded: "Auntie, do speak."
"Are you still blaming Auntie for wrongly blaming you?" After thinking about it, Mrs. Yu felt that part of the reason for You Jin's reluctance to agree to Eldest Son's marriage proposal was also due to her. So she came to find You Jin today to apologize: "This matter had nothing to do with Lin Yu. Auntie was also anxious about Lin Yu's life-long affairs. And that child had always been stubborn. Since he was young, he would not change his mind once he set on it. Blinded by anger, Aunt got mad at you."
When You Jin heard Mrs. Yu mentioned the incident of insulting her in the letter back then, she couldn't help but feel a little confused: "The matter is in the past. Why is Auntie talking about these trivial matters?"
"Auntie did it out of love for Elder Brother Xiao back then. I never blamed Auntie." You Jin, who was still smiling, looked at Mrs. Yu with clear eyes. It showed the truth.
Hearing her magnanimous and sensible words, Mrs. Yu felt ashamed and happy at the same time. She was ashamed that she had blamed this good child before she knew the inside story. Happy, thinking that if her family got such a sensible and head mistress of the household for the next generation. What worry was there for Xiao Family to not improve in the future?
Mrs. Yu, who was so happy that she lost her composure for a moment. She patted You Jin's hand: "Good child, Auntie didn't dare to ask for anything else but for you to give Lin Yu a chance? This child is stubborn. Auntie don't blame you for rejecting him. Just seeing him lifeless for the past two days, Auntie was feeling uncomfortable! Today, Auntie can only thin my cheek to beg you. Even if this marriage match fails, Aunt hopes that you two can openly and honestly talk about it, okay?"
You Jin just heard Mrs. Yu's words and vaguely guessed a bit. She never expected that she would say it directly now. She was a little embarrassed for a while. Weren't ancient people supposed to be reserved? The smile on her face froze for a moment before returning to normal: "I kept note of what Auntie said. Can Auntie allow me to think about it?"
Mrs. Yu knew that as an elder, it was a bit too much to force the younger generation to give her son a chance. With clear eyes, she can tell Su Family's lass wasn't uninterested in her silly son. The young couple may have some misunderstandings and neither was willing to bow their heads first. So she, as the mother, had to work harder.
***
After sending Mrs. Yu away, You Jin returned to the study and sat down. You Zhu rushed in like a headless fly and sat next to You Jin with an expression of 'I'm very angry, come and ask me why'.
"What's the matter? Did you eat gunpowder?" You Jin knew that her younger sister was a bit impatient, but her temper had been grinded a lot over the years. It had been a long time since she saw her blow up like today: "Who is so bold to make our third miss angry like this? Let Eldest Sister know and Eldest Sister will help you deal with him!"
"Elder Sister! I'm still fuming and you are teasing me like this!" How could You Zhu not know that Eldest Sister was teasing herself? She called out 'Eldest Sister' three times and each time became more and more coquettish.
You Jin was so amused by her being angry and wanting to laugh reaction: "Okay, okay, Eldest Sister won't mess with you. So tell me who made you so angry?"
"It was just an annoying tail!" When You Zhu recalled that no matter where she went, that person would follow her and would fight with her in everything. The blood that had calmed down a lot began to churn again: "If I meet him again tomorrow, I must show him how capable this miss is!"
Seeing the gnashing expression on her young sister's pretty face, the smile on You Jin's lips deepened. Although her sister was short-quick tempered, she knew how to behave. So she let her be.
Thinking of what Mrs. Su had mentioned to her yesterday, she asked: "I heard from Mother that a family came to ask for marriage a while ago. The young man is currently the lieutenant of the Luohe Prefecture garrison. He is eighteen years old and has a good character and family background. How do you feel?"
"He even dares to propose marriage!" After listening to Eldest Sister's words, You Zhu's silver teeth almost gnawed broken: "Want to marry me? Tell him, Xu Mao Lin, to run around Luohe Prefecture three times and shout 'I am a big stupid donkey' before I think about it!"
You Jin noticed some clues and boldly guessed: "You know Lieutenant Xu? Could it be that he made you angry?"
"Pah, who knows that brute?" It was unknown what grudge You Zhu had with Lieutenant Xu. When she heard Eldest Sister mentioning this person, she didn't care about her manners at all and spat viciously: "A big and rough brute. This girl doesn't fancy!"
"Oh?" You Jin replied with great interest, why did she feel that her younger sister had a deep relationship with this Lieutenant Xu? After seeing off her younger sister who came and went in a hurry, You Jin, whose eyes were shining brightly. She ordered Qiu Fen to call over the person serving her younger sister.
Li Xia and Gu Yu were senior staff who have been serving You Zhu for four or five years. When they saw Elder Sister Qiu Fen from Eldest Miss's courtyard come to look for them, they naturally rushed to Eldest Miss's courtyard to receive orders.
Looking at the two people standing in the hall with their hands down, You Jin said indifferently: "You two are responsible for serving Third Miss. Let me ask you two, why did Third Miss get angry today?"
Li Xia and Gu Yu didn't know that Lieutenant Xu's family had sent someone to ask for a marriage match. They only thought that Eldest Miss saw Third Miss being in a fit and wanted to know a thing or two. They looked at each other and spilled out about everything today: "During the lunch break at the female academy today, Third Miss thought how Second Miss is about to give birth and wanted to buy some materials for Second Miss as a spare. When passing by Qinjia Lane, a sneaky thief bumped into Lieutenant Xu. Third Miss, who was behind Lieutenant Xu, saw this and took the thief down on the spot."
"Third Miss is impulsive and you don't even keep an eye?" You Jin knew that her younger sister had some skills and had a sense of justice. But she never imagined that she would go out to catch a thief in the street: "Furthermore, didn't Third Miss help Lieutenant Xu. How did this Lieutenant Xu turn gratitude into feud?"
Hearing Eldest Miss's question, Li Xia and Gu Yu glanced at each other, but didn't dare to hide it: "The thief is only eight or nine years old. Third Miss wants to send him to the official. Lieutenant Xu takes pity on the thief's poor family condition and rashly stole because of his old grandmother who was seriously ill at home. Not only did he give the purse that Third Miss got back for him to the thief, but he also lectured Third Miss a bit, saying that it is better for a woman to be quiet and elegant. It is really inappropriate to yell hit and kill at every turn..."
"Then?" You Jin knew her younger sister's temper well. Her good intention was treated like a donkey and reprimanded. She definitely couldn't swallow down this breath.
Li Xia swallowed. Resigned to her fate, she continued, "Third Miss couldn't hold back her anger, she fought with Lieutenant Xu..."
"What?" You Jin's beautiful eyes were shocked. She stared at Li Xia and Gu Yu in disbelief: "You mean Third Miss started fighting with someone on the street?"
"Servant girl knows her mistake. Please punish, Eldest Miss!" Seeing that Eldest Miss was truly angry, Li Xia and Gu Yu knelt down on the ground without defending themselves.
You Jin took a long breath, waved her hands, and said, "Get up first."
Then she sat on the chair and meditated without saying a word for a long time.
Li Xia Gu Yu didn't dare to speak. They remained standing there with her hands down, waiting for Eldest Miss to order.
"Li Xia and Gu Yu didn't stop Third Miss from acting impulsively. Fine them three months' salary as a punishment." After a while, the two received Eldest Miss's punishment. They couldn't help but heave a sigh of relief when they heard that it was only a fine of three months' salary. Then they heard Eldest Miss continue to speak: "Don't let Third Miss know that I told you to come here to answer questions today."
"Yes." The two of them kept in mind Eldest Miss's order. When they saw that Eldest Miss had no more orders, they retreated. Looking at the blue sky outside, they breathed a sigh of relief.
Knowing that the grievance between her younger sister and Lieutenant Xu was due to this matter, You Jin was relieved. She joked with Qiu Fen with a smile: "This Lieutenant Xu had some skills, he can control You Zhu."
"From what I heard from Li Xia pair just now, I feel that Lieutenant Xu was a bit arbitrary and willful. I'm afraid that Third Miss will suffer." Qiu Fen stood by the desk, slowly grinding ink as she expressed what was in her heart to Miss .
"In this way, it is better to see each other first. If it isn't good, then we should avoid it." After listening to Qiu Fen's words, You Jin felt that it made sense and responded. Putting down the brush in her hand, she said: "So let's try it in the next few days."
For the lifelong affairs of the younger sisters, You Jin was still very cautious. In this era, women always suffer more in marriage. She can't worry about the younger sisters for the rest of her life. But she at least had to choose someone for them that can support each other for a lifetime.