Border Cook

Chapter 94: Hateful? Sad!
joke!

After all, he was a scholar. If the matter of forcing his daughter to marry an old man as a concubine were to become public, people would probably point fingers at him and talk about him.

He would never do such a shameful thing.

"That's true." Tian nodded.

Not to mention that it would take a lot of time to go back and forth to the county town, I'm afraid that when I get to Xia Mingyue's house, we will have to talk for a long time, which will inevitably waste a lot of time.

It will indeed delay Jiang Yihe's studies.

"Then my husband, stay home and study hard. I will go there." Tian took the responsibility. "I will definitely bring back the bamboo fruit."

"Yes." Jiang Yihe nodded. "When you get there, you need to talk to Madam Xia nicely, appeal to her emotions and reason with her. Don't make a scene, or else people will laugh at you."

"Besides, I have met Lady Xia once before. She seems to be a reasonable person and will not make things difficult for you. If there are any other changes, come back and tell me."

"Remember, don't quarrel endlessly, and don't get into a big argument with that Lady Xia, lest others say that our family has poor family education and no rules at all."

"Don't worry, my husband. I've made a note of it."

Tian nodded repeatedly, packed up a little, and left the house.

Jiangjia Village is neither too close nor too far from the county town, and it takes about an hour and a half to walk there, but this is only possible for people like Jiang Zhuguo who are not afraid of fatigue and walk fast.

Tian was already a little weak, and it had been a while since she had walked such a long distance in one breath. After a short while, she was out of breath and a little exhausted.

In addition, I was in a hurry to go out and did not eat breakfast, which made me feel more dizzy.

There were ox carts going to the county town one after another. Seeing Tian stopping and starting, he took the initiative to attract people, "Take a ride, three cents, there is space, do you want to get on?"

Tian really wanted to go there by car, but when she thought about the three cents...

Her husband has been studying hard and has become much thinner these days than before. Three cents is enough to buy a steamed bun. It would be a sin for her to waste it.

"No, we're almost there." Tian declined politely. After watching the ox carts go away, she slowly walked forward.

It was already mid-morning when we arrived at the county town.

Tian couldn't bear it any longer, so she found a place to buy a piece of cake, bargained for two cents, and even asked for a bowl of free noodle soup.

After eating and drinking her fill and catching her breath, Tian followed Jiang Yihe's instructions and found Xia Mingyue's home.

Seeing that the house was clean and bright, and that Xia Mingyue was young and beautiful, with a dignified face and manners, he couldn't help feeling half a head shorter than him, and hurriedly pulled at his clothes, trying to save some face.

"Madam Xia, I'm Zhuguo's mother, my last name is Tian." Tian looked around and saw that Jiang Zhuguo was nowhere to be seen, so she asked, "Is Zhuguo here?"

"You are Zhuguo's mother?" Xia Mingyue pretended to be surprised, but then revealed sarcasm. "Jiang Langjun came yesterday and took Zhuguo back home. He said that you were seriously ill at home and needed Zhuguo to go back and see you. It seems that a miracle doctor was invited to cure your illness in one night. Not only can you get out of bed and walk, you can even run to the county town. It's really rare."

Tian heard it clearly, and said, "Madam Xia, please forgive me. I was afraid that Zhuguo would be embarrassed if I told her directly about marriage because she is young. So I found a random excuse. Now my family has arranged a very good marriage for Zhuguo, but Zhuguo ran away from home out of confusion. So I came to ask if Zhuguo has returned to Madam Xia?"

"If she runs to Madam Xia, please ask her to come out and go back with me. This child is very stubborn. She doesn't even listen to me as her mother, but she respects Madam Xia very much. Please help me persuade her."

Not only did he come to look for someone, but he also wanted her to persuade him as well?
Moreover, Tian was thin, with an abnormally yellow complexion, and looked malnourished. She came alone to look for someone... Combining the appearance of Jiang Yihe seen yesterday and what she said to Jiang Zhuguo, the words "husband-supporting demon" emerged in Xia Mingyue's mind.

She is so obsessed with her husband that she is willing to sacrifice even her own sensible and filial daughter.

Hateful and pathetic.

Xia Mingyue Tian raised her eyebrows, "I heard from Zhuguo that you and Jiang Langjun have been married for many years, and Jiang Langjun has also studied for many years, but now he is just a scholar?"

But just?

Tian's eyelids twitched.

Why do I feel that Xia Mingyue looks down on Jiang Yihe, the scholar?
Could it be that she thinks that there are scholars everywhere and it's very easy to become successful?
Tian was somewhat dissatisfied and said in a bland tone, "My husband has studied hard for several years, but because of bad luck, he has failed the exams many times. This year, he will definitely be able to pass the exam and be proud of it."

"I heard that if one's on the list, one can become an official. After the establishment of the new dynasty, official positions everywhere will be vacant. If Mr. Jiang can pass the exam, he will naturally be assigned a good official position," said Xia Mingyue.

"Of course." Tian raised her chin.

By then, she would be an official's wife.

It's not something you ordinary people can compare to.

When the time comes, let’s see how you can still look down on her husband.

"That's not right." Xia Mingyue said, "Since Mr. Jiang is going to be an official in the future, Zhuguo is the daughter of an official. If she wants to find a good marriage, marrying the son of an official is not a problem. A mutual marriage is also helpful to Mr. Jiang. Why don't Mr. Jiang and Madam Tian consider doing this?"

"Besides, even if the Zhang family is wealthy, they are only a wealthy family. They are old, and Zhuguo will only be a concubine after she enters the family. Her reputation will be extremely bad. When Jiang Langjun becomes an official, he will not be able to raise his head when he talks about his children with his colleagues."

When Tian heard this, she was stunned.

There is some truth in what Xia Mingyue said.

At first, she also felt that it was not a good marriage for Jiang Zhuguo to marry into the Zhang family, but when Jiang Yihe said that his family was poor and he really couldn't bear to see Jiang Zhuguo suffer like this any longer, and at least she could live a good life for a few days, she agreed.

But now Xia Mingyue mentioned this...

"My husband has always been diligent in studying, and his mind is only on passing the imperial examinations. He also only wants Zhuguo to live a good life, and he probably hasn't thought too far ahead." Tian spoke hesitantly, "I will remind my husband when I return."

"Jiang Langjun has been in the academy for a long time and is well versed in the ways of the world. He may have thought of these things. He probably just thought of ways to deal with them and felt that these were not a big deal."

"What's the solution..."

"If he divorces his wife and abandons his daughter and cuts off all ties with you two, he can naturally preserve his own reputation." Xia Mingyue replied.

Perhaps, in order to fully preserve it, it is necessary to thoroughly throw some dirty water on it.

For example, Jiang Zhuguo was not his biological daughter, but he knew this early on. If he raised a daughter who was not his biological daughter and let bygones be bygones, he might be able to preserve his good reputation.

(End of this chapter)