Chapter 041
Chapter 41: Seventh Uncle, Please Do Not Let My Favorite Couple End Tragically
“You are no longer children. It is time to marry,” Madam Yun said as she spread several portraits and brief pages of lineage on the table: “I asked the matchmaker to bring these. Look and see if anyone pleases you. If one does, I will send at once to arrange it. If not, then be ready to attend the Winter Banquet next month, the Winter Temple Fair after that, and the Lantern Festival in spring. By spring at the latest, your engagements must be settled, especially you, Old Seventh. You are already twenty. People gossip about your eldest brother and me.”
They said the couple held back Old Seventh to keep the Yun wealth. Some words cut deeper than knives. Each time Madam Yun heard them, sorrow pricked her. Yun Zhan had lost his mother before two years old. As sister-in-law, she had raised him as a son, only to receive such malice.
“I have wronged you, Eldest Sister-in-law,” Yun Zhan said with a small bow of his head: “I have not considered your feelings enough. I promise, by next year at the latest, my marriage will be settled.”
“Good,” Madam Yun said as her eyes grew wet. With a soft sigh she added: “Old Seventh, I do not mean to press you, but it is time you find someone who cherishes you and will share a lifetime with you. Take your time and look. If you find someone today, good. If not, we will keep searching. Under heaven there are countless young ladies, and one will suit your heart. No matter who you choose, no matter her background, I promise she will be welcomed with honor.”
[…]
[Oh. Mother is urging Seventh Uncle and Big Brother to marry now, and Seventh Uncle agreed.]
[In the original story, Second Brother was forced to marry a woman he rescued, and quarreled with Mother day after day. Yang Xin’er’s forged letters between Mother and Lin Wei’an spread everywhere and pulled Mother into a storm. This matchmaking never happened.]
[Seventh Uncle stayed single until death. He loved Elder Sister Yin Shuang, but never confessed because of blood feud and fear of harming her.]
[He did not know she was the Crown Princess of Great Yu, poisoned by enemies and driven to Great Wu, saved by him.]
[After Seventh Uncle died, Elder Sister Yin Shuang cut off all tenderness and returned to Great Yu. In three years she reclaimed her throne and avenged herself, becoming Empress.]
[When she was steady, she raised war against Great Wu. The world called it ambition, not knowing she fought to avenge Seventh Uncle.]
[In the end, fate drove her to lose to the protagonists. She took her life beyond the palace gate. Great Yu was swallowed whole.]
[…]
Silence fell. Everyone looked at Yun Zhan at once. Yin Shuang was the Crown Princess of Great Yu. She would love him and burn a country for him. Would she really throw away all and even her own life.
Yun Zhan’s gaze flickered. He was surprised and yet not surprised. Though Yin Shuang hid well, the flashes of skill she showed were not of a common girl. He had long guessed she was not ordinary, but not that she was so extraordinary.
Yun Zheng cleared his throat and said with care: “I will ask one more time, Old Seventh, do you already have someone in your heart. If you do, do not hide it. Speak, or your sister-in-law will waste her efforts.”
Madam Yun caught on at once and smiled: “Yes, I did not think of that. Perhaps Old Seventh already has someone he likes.”
If he chose Yin Shuang after hearing Little Fourth, Madam Yun would be delighted. Even if Yin Shuang was a servant now and her looks plain, such things mattered little. Feeling and sincerity mattered most. And Yin Shuang’s loyalty ran deep. To let that go would be a pity.
“Thank you, Eldest Brother and Sister-in-law,” Yun Zhan said as he rose with a faint smile: “I will not look at the portraits today. But I promise that by next spring my marriage will be decided.”
“As long as you are sure, I am relieved,” Madam Yun said.
[Huh. Why the turn. Mother asked him to view the portraits, and he will not. He promised to marry next year, but did not even look. Who will he marry. I am confused.]
[No, the important part is this. Does Elder Sister Yin Shuang still have a chance. Besides Father and Mother, my favorite pairing is Seventh Uncle and Elder Sister Yin Shuang.]
[Seventh Uncle, please do not let my favorite couple end in tragedy, or I will be very sad.]
Everyone present: “…”
What was CP. What was BE. Madam Yun and Yun Zheng guessed CP meant a pair in love, but BE. Was that a breakup. The four letters were strange, yet their family’s word-hoard grew again.
Yun Zhan soon left. Yun Zheng and the twins followed. At last only three remained. Holding the portraits, Madam Yun turned to Yun Wan Chen with a warm look: “Chen’er, now it is your turn. See if anyone pleases you. When Old Seventh is settled in spring, we will settle you next.”
Yun Wan Chen: “…”
Even a crippled leg could not escape a match. There was no way out. “Yes, Mother,” he said with a wry smile as he took the booklet. He opened it to the gentle face of a soft beauty. Madam Yun explained each name and house, but he showed no interest.
“This young miss is Xue Jin Yu, daughter of Commandery Princess Xian Yi. She is sixteen. Her former fiancé died, so the match was delayed. I heard the Commandery Princess is anxious to find her a husband,” Madam Yun said.
[Oh dear Mother, Miss Xue does not suit Eldest Brother at all.]
[The Commandery Princess is anxious not because the fiancé died, but because Miss Xue was tricked by a poor scholar and lost her innocence. Now she refuses to marry anyone else.]
[The Commandery Princess fears a hard life if she marries the scholar, so she seeks a noble son to take her in.]
[But Miss Xue is deep in rebellious love and has eyes only for that man. She will never willingly marry Eldest Brother.]
[If Mother insists, there will be a scandal and laughter throughout the city. It may even sour the families.]
Madam Yun: “…”
So that was the reason. No wonder the Commandery Princess was in such a hurry. “Mother, this one does not suit my tastes. Next,” Yun Wan Chen said as he closed the page and returned it.
Both Madam Yun and Yun Wan Ning breathed out together.
[Yay. Eldest Brother did not pick Miss Xue. Crisis avoided.]
“Very well. Look at this one,” Madam Yun said as she passed another: “Zhang Meng, daughter of Lord Zhang, fifteen, never engaged.”
[Not this one either.]
[She is a fake daughter. The infants were switched at birth. Soon the true daughter will be found.]
[If we make a match now, which one will Eldest Brother marry when the truth breaks.]
Madam Yun: “…”
What kind of matchmaker was this. One candidate pledged in secret, another swapped at birth. “Mother, this one also does not suit my tastes. Next,” Yun Wan Chen said.
[Yay again. Eldest Brother avoided two pits in a row. Crisis avoided twice.]
“This one is…” Madam Yun continued. She showed six or seven more. Yun Wan Ning stopped commenting, but Yun Wan Chen’s answers turned the same: “She does not suit my tastes. Next.”
Madam Yun went numb. At last she reached the final booklet, which showed a pale and thin girl like a malnourished sprout. Yun Wan Chen’s eyes flickered. He glanced at Madam Yun.
“How about this one. Does she suit your tastes or not,” Madam Yun asked, a little impatient now.
“Mother, how did she end up in here,” he asked. The others were all legitimate daughters, yet this one was clearly not. His mother had slipped her in on purpose. She did not say it, but she had taken Little Fourth’s inner talk to heart.
“Your father and I heard what happened at Moon Seizing Pavilion. Tell me your thoughts so I may plan,” Madam Yun said.
[Oh. A mysterious young lady at last.]
[Who is she. I am dying to know.]
[What happened that day in Moon Seizing Pavilion.]
[Why are Mother and Eldest Brother speaking in riddles. Are they teasing me.]
[Mother is bad. Eldest Brother is bad too.]
Madam Yun: “…”
Yun Wan Chen: “…”
Precious little treasure, this truly cannot be told to you. If you knew, you would begin to question why we know. What if you suspect we hear your inner voice.
“Mother, do not worry. I have my own plan. I promise that after Seventh Uncle is settled, I will settle mine as well. Is that agreeable,” Yun Wan Chen said.
Madam Yun: “…”
So the whole afternoon of portraits was for show. She sighed and put the booklets away. With no errands, Yun Wan Chen stayed to play with Yun Wan Ning. She liked him very much and chattered to him with her heart voice. When he held her, she stole a touch of his wrist and checked his pulse. What she found shocked her.
[My goodness. Eldest Brother’s internal blockage is gone. His meridians are clear. Does he have a natural healing gift. That does not seem right.]
[If he had it, would he not have recovered earlier in the story.]
[Ah. What is going on.]
For a whole day, Yun Wan Ning drifted in doubt.
In Qing Garden, as Yun Zhan stepped through the Moon Gate, he saw a slender figure in silver waiting under the corridor. The young woman’s aura was cool and steady. Hearing steps, she turned. A thin silver mask hid half her face, showing only a smooth brow, a graceful chin, and eyes clear as snow.
“Seventh Lord, you are back,” she said as she came toward him with quick, light steps.
“Did I not tell you there is no need to wait outside,” Yun Zhan asked as he raised a brow. Since hearing his niece’s inner voice, his heart had not calmed. On the way home he turned her words again and again. He knew Yin Shuang was different from other women in his heart. Aside from Little Fourth, his sister-in-law, and Yao’er, she was the only woman at his side. He had not thought that difference might be love. If it was not love, then what.
“This servant only wished for fresh air,” Yin Shuang said as she lowered her gaze. Even with the mask, he could imagine the stubborn pride in her eyes. A small wolf-cub that refused the leash. It was why he had saved her.
Recalling their first meeting, Yun Zhan’s mood eased. A faint smile touched his lips: “Come inside. I have something to ask you,” he said.
“Yes, Seventh Lord,” she answered.
Inside the chamber, Yun Zhan sat at a carved vermilion table and said gently: “Do not stand. Sit. There is no one else here.”
“Yes,” she said as she sat neatly by his side with a straight back and perfect posture. In his memory she had always been like this.
His gaze slid, almost without thinking, to her slender waist, so slim his hand could circle it. A quiet warmth rose in his eyes. He wondered when she would at last lower that proud back and lean closer to him.