Glory

She first paid respects and greeted Cai Shi, then beckoned to Ye Yayu: "Fifth Sister, come, join us for a chat."

Ye Yayu shrank back, clutching Cai Shi's clothes tightly, her face nearly buried in her mother's back.

Cai Shi glanced at Ye Yaming and spoke indifferently: "Third Young Lady, that won't be necessary."

Ye Yaming wasn't one to meddle in others' affairs. Seeing the mother and daughter like this, she smiled at Cai Shi and said "Alright," then didn't press further, turning instead to speak with Ye Yaqing.

Ye Yaqing was half a year older than Ye Yaming. Because Ye Yaming was engaged to Song Yifeng, who had successively passed the examinations to become a Licentiate and then a Recommended Man, he appeared exceptionally talented. Moreover, as a scholar, he was naturally several levels above merchants. With this marriage from the second branch as comparison, Tao Shi and others had been picking and choosing, trying to find a son-in-law more outstanding than Song Yifeng, yet had failed to find a suitable match.

Thus, Ye Yaqing was now fifteen and a half years old but still not betrothed. Since her hair-pinning ceremony, Tao Shi had been so anxious that blisters covered her lips.

The matter of Ye Yaming wanting to break off the engagement was known only to the elderly couple Ye Chongming, her biological father Ye Hongsheng, along with Granny Yu and Xia Momo—no one else was aware.

Therefore, Tao Shi continued to use Song Yifeng as the standard when selecting a son-in-law.

Recently, a matchmaker had finally managed to find a young Recommended Man from the same cohort as Song Yifeng who was willing to discuss marriage with the Ye family, which pleased Tao Shi greatly.

The betrothal was nearly finalized, which was why Tao Shi brought it up during this family gathering.

"...His family simply has more members, four generations living together—over twenty people. But having more people has its advantages. When anything happens, everyone can support each other, and no difficulty remains unsolved," Tao Shi said cheerfully to Yin Shi.

"Exactly, exactly! Just like our family—we have quite a few members too, and isn't that wonderful? There's always someone to take care of matters, nothing could be better," Yin Shi replied with a forced smile, her words feigning enthusiasm while her heart ached sharply.

Before her husband left for Tongxiang, he had mentioned Song Yifeng's shortcomings and warned her to be cautious about the Song family.

During this time, she had sent people to investigate and indeed uncovered some unfavorable news. Since Song Yifeng passed the Recommended Man examination, Yu Shi, when interacting with neighbors, had been putting on airs—assuming the new neighbors were unaware of her family background and trying to elevate her own status—while subtly expressing disdain that Ye Yaming was merely a merchant's daughter.

This left Yin Shi feeling deeply wronged. With her husband away, she didn't know whom to confide in about her anger and anxiety.

If she spoke to her mother-in-law or sisters-in-law, the problem was that Song Yifeng had been recommended by her own father, Yin De'an, and this prospective son-in-law had always been her source of pride in front of them. If the Song family proved unreliable, not only would she lose face, but her father's reputation would also be tarnished. She simply couldn't muster the courage to reveal the truth and humiliate herself.

If she confided in her daughter—who had recently been repeatedly praised by her grandfather for her great wisdom—what then? Should they break off the engagement? If not, how would her daughter interact with Yu Shi and Song Yifeng in the future? And if they did break it off... would her father-in-law and Da Bo agree?

In short, it was a tangled mess.

This matter weighed heavily on Yin Shi's mind, causing her to lose her appetite and sleep. If not for being busy with tea production every day, which distracted her somewhat, she might have fallen ill before Ye Hongsheng even returned.Ye Hongsheng had only dropped hints, allowing Yin Shi to verify things herself, because he wanted her to realize this was true—not some malicious rumor spread by others jealous of her having a good son-in-law.

Yesterday, upon returning and learning that his wife had already come to believe the Song family was unsuitable, he released another piece of information: Ye Chongming, aware of the Song family’s flaws and recognizing Ye Yaming’s exceptional intelligence, planned to break off the engagement and arrange a matrilocal marriage for her.

This news had kept Yin Shi tossing and turning all night.

Now, hearing her sister-in-law say that Ye Yaqing was also set to be engaged to a Recommended Man—and that this man was in the same cohort as Song Yifeng—her heart was a tangled mess of conflicting emotions.

What’s more, she had to force herself to maintain composure, ensuring Tao Shi and the others noticed nothing amiss. It was truly exhausting.

Ye Hongsheng had warned her repeatedly:

This matter was of great importance. Until the final moment, she must not mention to anyone the intention to break off the engagement. Yin Shi, by nature proud and strong-willed, had no desire to become a laughingstock, so she naturally kept this to herself.

Fourth Madam Zhang Shi, who loved to assert herself and could not stand to see Tao Shi gloat, sat to the side and feigned curiosity as she asked, “How old is this Recommended Man Wang? What does his family do?”

At this question, Tao Shi’s smile stiffened slightly before she casually glanced at Zhang Shi and replied, “Why are you asking so specifically, Fourth Sister-in-Law? Once Qing’er’s marriage is settled, you’ll naturally find out.”

Zhang Shi curled her lip.

She had asked this question precisely because she already knew some details—after all, Tao Shi had been discussing this match with the matchmaker for some time.

The reason it hadn’t been finalized yet was that this Recommended Man Wang was already twenty-three and had been married before. His first wife had died in childbirth along with their unborn child during her first pregnancy.

In other words, if Ye Yaqing married him, she would be a stepmother.

Moreover, aside from being a Recommended Man, Wang had few other merits. Even Yin Shi’s father, Licentiate Yin, who had failed to become a Recommended Man, ran a private school to support his family. The Wang family, though they had some modest assets, put on airs as scholars and did not engage in productive work.

Fortunately, Wang’s father, Tong Sheng Wang, had four sons. Aside from Wang the Recommended Man, the others had only achieved the rank of Tong Sheng or Licentiate.

Relying on their reputation as a “scholarly family,” they married daughters of wealthy merchants. The Wang family lived off their daughters-in-law’s dowries and managed to scrape by.

Thus, when Wang the Recommended Man’s first wife—a minor salt merchant’s concubine-born daughter—died in childbirth, she not only vacated the position for a new wife but also left her substantial dowry to the Wang family.

The Wang family had sought a match with Ye Yaqing precisely because they coveted her generous dowry and her status as the legitimate daughter of the Ye family’s main branch, a prominent tea merchant.

In the future, when Wang the Recommended Man needed funds to participate in the imperial examinations, would the Ye family stand by and do nothing? They already gave Song Yifeng hundreds of taels every year. When it came to their main branch’s legitimate son-in-law, they would surely give even more.

In Zhang Shi’s eyes, such a family was little better than bloodsucking parasites. Yet her seemingly shrewd sister-in-law seemed blind to this, so determined to compete with the second branch that she would even send her daughter as a stepmother just to secure a Recommended Man as a son-in-law.

It was utterly ridiculous!

And Ye Yaming was well aware of this match.

Because in her previous life, Ye Yaqing had married Wang the Recommended Man.If nothing unexpected happens, Ye Yaqing will be married off in six months. However, in her previous life, because Song Yifeng said he wanted to pass the Presented Scholar examination before getting married, the original host ended up staying at home for nearly three more years, only marrying Song Yifeng after turning eighteen.

Therefore, the original host was very clear about Ye Yaqing's married life and the situation of the Wang family.