The Lucky Farmgirl

The fact that Manbao and Bai Shan are engaged isn’t a secret at all. Among the people in the capital who know them, nine out of ten know it; the remaining one is probably just too young to understand.

Although the Old Madam asking the question wasn’t from the capital, she knew it too. She only asked in order to smoothly lead into her next question.

Once Manbao made it clear that she was already betrothed, all the Old Madams turned their eyes to Zhou Liru, smiling with squinted eyes as they said, "This is Lord Zhou’s niece on his wife’s side? She’s truly pretty. How old is she this year? Is she engaged yet?"

Zhou Liru glanced at her aunt, held in a breath until her face flushed red, then lowered her head.

Seeing this, Manbao quickly said, "She’s still young, there’s no rush."

"She looks about the same age as Lord Zhou. She can marry a couple of years later, but the engagement can be settled now."

"Exactly, once a girl passes thirteen you can start talking about matches. Otherwise, all the good Young Masters will be snatched up by others."

Manbao looked left and right and realized they were surrounded on all sides; now that she wanted to escape, she couldn’t find a good excuse. So she simply settled herself and asked, "Does Old Madam have some good candidates to recommend?"

The other party, seeing her ask so directly, was momentarily stunned, then immediately said, "Yes, I do. I have a grandnephew, about her age, handsome and refined. He came with me today to attend the wedding feast. If Lord Zhou is willing, I can have him come in right now to pay his respects to you."

Manbao smiled and said, "Old Madam, you’re much too anxious. They’re still young; there’s no rush for them to meet. But we elders can help take a look first. May I ask, your residence is...?"

The other immediately began introducing: she was a clan relative of Ms.Liu’s from Jinyang; their family held office in Jinyang. The post wasn’t high—only fifth rank—but it was still quite respectable.

Manbao listened with a smile, then asked, "May I ask what your grandnephew is called, and at which school he is currently studying?"

"His name is Liu Yi. He was precocious, so now he follows his elder brother, helping with his duties," the Old Madam said with a crinkly smile. "Lord Zhou will see at a glance—he’s a fine-looking lad, tall and sturdy. Just from their faces, he and your niece would be a very good match."

Manbao raised her brows slightly, lifted her tea and smiled. "He does sound like a good boy. It’s just that our Liru still needs to study. I reckon it’ll take another three or four years before she can barely be considered to have finished her apprenticeship."

Manbao worked hard to recall the ways her mother had used to refuse proposals when arranging matches for her Fourth and Fifth Brothers. After weighing her words, she said, "If you ask me, girls don’t have to be in such a hurry to get engaged. Even though she is a girl, she should still train her skills well. That way, when she leaves her parents in the future, she’ll have the ability to support herself, and then she needn’t worry about anything."

The Old Madam was startled, then forced a smile and said, "In families like ours, would we ever need a daughter-in-law to go out and earn a living herself?"

The other Old Madams present agreed with this, but Old Madam Liu looked at Manbao in surprise.

Manbao smiled and said, "That’s true, but having the ability to support oneself, and even one’s family, isn’t something shameful. Besides, if one is doing something she likes, that’s all the more joyful."

One Old Madam hesitated, but still said, "A woman should still focus on assisting her husband and teaching her children."

Manbao smiled. "Of course she must assist her husband and teach her children. It’s just like how men must strive for advancement, to be ennobled and shelter their wives and sons. If a husband goes into officialdom, and we can lend him a hand in his career, that is precisely supporting one’s husband. And since we read more books and experience more things, in the future when we have children we can educate them better. Old Madam, don’t you agree?"

The Old Madams: ...

Beside her, Zhou Liru nodded repeatedly and whispered, "The Crown Prince and Crown Princess like my aunt, and so they’ve come to like my uncle as well."

This was a heavy blow. No one could argue that what Manbao said was wrong, because this truly was "assisting one’s husband."

The Old Madams looked at Zhou Liru, whose eyes were shining brightly at the side, and realized this girl was the same type as Manbao. Their eagerness to play matchmaker faded considerably.

Old Madam Liu, on the other hand, became more enthusiastic. She glanced at the plate of pastries beside the aunt and niece, then turned and instructed the servants, "Go to the kitchen and bring a plate of pastries that aren’t too sweet. Mm, bring the crispy fried pork. Make sure it’s just out of the pot and piping hot."

At the Liu Residence, they rarely served crispy fried pork as pastries for guests, but the servant only froze for a moment before bowing and withdrawing.

Old Madam Liu turned back to meet the gazes of her old sisters and smiled. "These are two young girls; their appetites must be good. It’s been some time since the meal—they can use a little something to top up."

Old Madam Liu smiled as she asked Zhou Liru, "Is studying medicine tiring?"

Zhou Liru shook her head. "Not tiring."

"Silly child, when is studying ever not tiring? That boy in my family... he never complains of fatigue either, but when I see him getting up early and going to bed late to study, my heart aches."

Manbao nearly choked on her tea.

She coughed twice and set down her cup. Old Madam Liu, eyes crinkling, said, "Though he never complains about the hardship of studying, if no one keeps an eye on him, he tends to slack off. Last year, during the Journey to the West, it was thanks to the two of you looking after him and keeping him in line that he was able, upon returning, to pass the Ming Classic exam in one go. By the way, what books did he read along the way?"

This was a question Zhou Liru could indeed answer, because on the road she had studied and listened to lectures with them before Mr. Zhuang. Unfortunately, her literary studies were the weakest, and she was often kept back together with Liu Huan to recite texts alone.

So Zhou Liru said, "We studied the six essays from The Edict of King Kang and The Mandate of Duke Wen, and a few pieces from the Classic of Poetry. The rest were various assignments."

Seeing how clearly she spoke, Old Madam Liu’s eyes lit up. After a pause, she smiled and said, "Then what is the first piece in The Edict of King Kang?"

This question-and-answer pattern was far too similar to Mr. Zhuang’s. Zhou Liru’s back instantly straightened. "It’s called Bi Ming. King Kang commanded the historiographer Bi to divide the neighborhoods and settle the suburbs of Chengzhou, and thus composed Bi Ming."

The Old Madams at the side were all dumbfounded, especially Liu Yi’s paternal grandaunt. Seeing Old Madam Liu’s delighted expression, she couldn’t help feeling a little regret.

She lowered her eyes and pondered for a moment, then raised her head and smiled at Manbao. "Lord Zhou, I have a grandson studying at the County School. It’s a pity he didn’t come to the capital this time, otherwise we could have had Lord Zhou meet him."

Before Manbao could speak, Old Madam Liu interjected with a laugh, "So this is what they call fate. Sister-in-law, bring him next time, and I’ll have his older cousin take him all around the capital."

Old Madam Liu suddenly drew her brows together slightly and said to Manbao, "Earlier Huan’er got drunk, didn’t he?"

Manbao nodded.

Old Madam Liu sighed. "You all had a hard time taking care of him. I heard everything he said. On this Journey to the West, you encountered no small number of hardships and dangers. Your group went through life and death to reach the Western Regions, then endured many twists and turns before returning from the Western Regions to the capital."

Manbao immediately stated that this was simply her duty. As the chief official, she naturally had to protect the people traveling with her as much as possible.

She added, "He also helped the mission a great deal; otherwise His Majesty wouldn’t have conferred upon him the title of County Gentleman."

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!