Glory

"Hahaha, chase me, come and catch me!"

"Ye Yaming, you cheated!" This was Guan Ting's voice, furious and frustrated.

This cheerful and lively side of Ye Yaming was something no one had ever seen before. Lu Guanyi watched from behind, a smile playing on his lips, his eyes filled with tenderness.

Qi Ji couldn't help but remark, "I finally believe Miss Ye is only fifteen this year. Hey, you have no idea—whenever I see her discussing matters seriously, her presence is even more imposing than my father's. I can only meekly agree."

He shook his head and sighed, "It's no wonder she managed to scare Miss Lü away that day."

Lu Guanyi gave him a faint glance but said nothing.

Qi Ji waved for the Manor Guards and Pages to slow down, then leaned closer to Lu Guanyi and asked, "When are you planning to tell her?"

Lu Guanyi shook his head. "I'm not going to. My family is like an abyss. It's enough that I'm trapped in it alone—why drag someone else down to suffer with me?"

"But you can't just not marry, can you? No matter who you marry, you'd be harming someone, right? With her, your life would be happier, and she might not be unwilling. Besides, with her by your side, perhaps your circumstances could improve." Qi Ji tried hard to persuade him.

Lu Guanyi shook his head again. "Let's talk about it later."

"Don't say that," Qi Ji urged anxiously. "This matter can't be delayed. Things could change at any moment, whether on your side or Miss Ye's. If your stepmother arranges a marriage for you, or if the Ye family finds a suitable groom who lives with the bride's family, it'll be too late for regrets."

Lu Guanyi remained silent.

"If you're too embarrassed to say it, should I do it for you? Or maybe I could ask my mother to sound out Miss Ye?" Qi Ji suggested again.

"Let me think about it a bit more," Lu Guanyi replied.

He loved her, and he couldn't bear to see her leap into this pit of fire. He wished she could always be as happy as she was in this moment.

By mid-February, they had returned to Lin'an City.

Both the Qi residence and the Ye family held welcoming feasts in their honor.

Qi Ji wasn't one to keep his thoughts to himself, and concerned for his friend, he privately confided Lu Guanyi's feelings to his parents.

Qi Furen glanced at her husband and raised an eyebrow.

Qi Ji happened to look up and caught his mother's expression. "Mother, do you have something to say?" he asked.

"Ever since you all set out on this trip, I've been worried, afraid something like this might happen," Qi Furen said slowly.

This didn't sound like a compliment, and Qi Ji was somewhat displeased. "Mother, what do you mean by that? Miss Ye is someone even Master Zhineng has praised. Could his discerning eyes be wrong? The fact is, throughout the journey, Miss Ye never overstepped any boundaries. She always kept her distance from us, and if there was anything to discuss, she sent her fourth uncle to speak with us."

"I'm not saying she's not a good person. If she were truly unsuitable, I would have stopped you from traveling to Huizhou with her in the first place," Qi Furen replied.

She looked at her son seriously and said, "But Ji'er, you know as well as I do that you and Zi Mo are handsome and come from good families. Not just in the capital—ever since you returned to Lin'an, countless families have come to propose marriages, and many young ladies have tried every means to get close to you."

This was true, and Qi Ji couldn't deny it, but he still asserted, "Miss Ye is completely different from those people."Seeing her son repeatedly speaking up for Ye Yaming, Qi Furen sighed helplessly: "I know she's good. But her family background is truly too inferior. To put it bluntly, given her status, she'd be perfectly suited to be Zi Mo's concubine; as a principal wife, she simply doesn't measure up."

Had this been said before the trip to Huizhou, Qi Ji might have disagreed but wouldn't have refuted his mother. However, after returning from Huizhou, Ye Yaming's image had grown even more elevated in his mind—she was now enshrined as a goddess in his heart, occupying the same lofty position as Lu Guanyi.

He couldn't bear to hear his mother speak a single word against his goddess.

"Let me put it this way. If her family background were slightly better, Zi Mo wouldn't even be worthy of her. You know full well about Zi Mo's family situation—it's a bottomless pit where ordinary women would be swallowed without even making a ripple. Not only can they not help Zi Mo, they'd actually drag him down. Only someone as capable as Miss Ye could give him the support he needs."

"Is Zi Mo planning to send someone to propose marriage then?" Qi Furen asked.

Qi Ji shook his head: "Zi Mo doesn't want to drag Miss Ye into that quagmire."

"Well then, that settles it? Anyway, you stay out of this matter." Qi Furen warned, "If the Ye family gets wind of this intention, they'll be desperate to form this marriage alliance. They'd cling to it like sticky glutinous rice candy—impossible to shake off. Do you still want to continue your business dealings or not?"

Though dissatisfied, Qi Ji knew better than to argue further.

He had full confidence in Ye Yaming's character—she wouldn't be one to curry favor with the powerful. Old Master Ye was also an upright man. But the rest of the Ye family was harder to predict.

Moreover, even if Old Master Ye was principled, he still had to consider the interests of the entire Ye clan. He might very well be particularly eager for this marriage alliance. After all, from a worldly perspective, Lu Guanyi's family status wasn't just slightly higher than the Ye family's—it was vastly superior, and such a marriage would bring great benefits to the Ye family.

"Fine, fine, I won't interfere." He stood up irritably. "I'm going to see Zi Mo."

After taking two steps, he turned back and said: "As for my own marriage, I must give my personal approval. You can't arrange a marriage behind my back."

"Alright, I understand." Qi Furen replied impatiently.

...

At the Ye residence, Ye Yaming was being fed treats by Old Madam Ye while listening to her describe the potential groom who lives with the bride's family she had selected for her.

"The young gentleman is quite handsome, speaks logically, and appears reasonably intelligent. The only thing is, he's had a hard life—both his parents passed away when he was six. He's been living with his elder brother and sister-in-law. His sister-in-law thinks spending money on his wedding would be unwise, whereas having him marry into our family as a groom who lives with the bride's family wouldn't require a bride price and could even earn them some silver. So they sent a matchmaker to propose the arrangement."

"And he's willing?" Ye Yaming asked while sipping her bird's nest porridge.

"Initially he wasn't. The matchmaker persuaded him, saying if he refused, now that he's grown up, his brother and sister-in-law would surely kick him out. He has nothing and would struggle to support himself, let alone marry. He'd end up a bachelor. Even if he managed to save enough to marry somehow, he'd only be able to wed some unattractive women from very poor families."

"Whereas if he compromises and becomes a groom who lives with our family, he can marry a wife with outstanding character, appearance, and ability, and live a comfortable life without worries about food or clothing. The very brother and sister-in-law who now look down on him would have to swallow their pride and curry favor with him then. Isn't that better than stubbornly clinging to his pride?"At this point, Old Mrs. Ye grew even more animated: "I heard there were two brothers in their alley who couldn't afford to marry due to poverty. Still bachelors at thirty, the younger brother eventually became a live-in husband for a widow in exchange for some copper coins, so the elder brother could marry a blind woman with a limp."

"The matchmaker used this example, and Wang Fusheng finally agreed."

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