"But mother, Ling Ling said herself that it will be alright if I get her dowry. She’s younger than me and has more time. What if she marries first and we can’t compile my dowry fast enough? Nobody wants an old woman. I might never be able to marry then!" Jin Jin was less than thrilled by what her mother had made out of the good idea her younger sister had originally had.
If her dowry was bigger, her chances of getting a husband — and hopefully even a good one — would be much higher. But now, there might not be any chance at all. If her luck was bad, she would not receive any offer at all. What then? She couldn’t rely on her mother and younger sister all her life. That was just not a viable option.
Under the magnolia tree, An Hei furrowed his brows. Dowry? Marriage? What was this about?
Madam Yang already shook her head before he could quite understand what was going on. "Jin Jin, you make it sound as if you necessarily had to marry this year. Ling Ling isn’t that much younger than you."
An Hei frowned at those words that confirmed his worst guess. It seems like I nearly would’ve come too late … Ling Ling seems about to get married. There was a feeling of dread imagining if he had taken even a single day longer to leave the demon king’s realm.
Well, maybe for her, it actually would have been better. He felt that there were too many uncertainties in joining the life of a mortal and an immortal to say for sure if this life would be for her or not. In fact, he couldn’t help but wonder if maybe she wouldn’t be better off with a man of her own race. She might even appreciate that. After all, he had promised her that wedding back she had merely been a child and likely didn’t fully understand what she was talking about.
Yes, maybe this would be better. And right now, he could still make that happen. He could wait for her to find a match in her own race and to get married and only then appear. She would just think that he had been too late and might feel endlessly relieved, even asking him not to ever disclose what she had asked of him back then.
He could graciously agree and then offer her another reward. For example, it seemed that her family had fallen into destitution. He could change that. Whether it was her or her sister, he could give them whatever they needed and wanted for their dowry and even make sure that their mother would be taken care of until her last day. It wouldn’t be too much to ask.
The further he thought it through, the worse he felt. No, he couldn’t do this. While it might be better for her, it wasn’t what he wanted. And anyway … An Hei sighed. "A man’s word is measured in gold. You said I shall take you as my wife and I acceded. We both can’t turn back. I don’t want to turn back either."
He examined the two girls. One of them walked next to their mother while the other followed them at a slower pace. Even if Jin Jin hadn’t spoken about her sister before, he was sure that he would have been able to recognize her. She looked … well, she looked a lot like the girl she had been back then with a slightly roundish face and big eyes that seemed a little naive at first glance. It was just that she had grown up to be more shapely.
This girl, no, this woman was going to be his wife soon. Thinking of that, his gaze softened. He just wished she would speak out as well so he would finally know her thoughts on this matter of her impending marriage.
Luck seemed to be on An Hei’s side: Since she couldn’t sway her mother, Jin Jin looked imploringly at her younger sister. If her sister offered to yield her dowry that had to imply she didn’t want to marry. She didn’t understand why she would do that but in this case, it was helping her. With her sister’s dowry added to her own, her chances were much better. And if her husband was a decent one, she would be able to help her sister as well. Since Ling Ling was younger than her, they had two additional years to make it work.
Ling Ling who had walked behind her mother and sister so far, came forth, and took her mother’s arm when she realized what her sister wanted. "Mother, it’s really alright. I —"
"Ling Ling." Madam Yang stopped and turned to her youngest daughter. "I know you’re thinking you’ll find a husband even without a dowry but the world isn’t like that. With nothing to our name, without any male relatives, we are worthless. The two of you are young and pretty. As long as that is the case, there is still a chance to turn things around. You won’t get the life you should have had but this is better than nothing."
She looked toward the magnolia tree, making An Hei hide in a hurry.
"Aiya, if your father were still alive, all of that wouldn’t pose a problem. Who would not want to marry the daughter of the great General Yang? But alas …" She shook her head and resumed walking, waving for her daughters to follow her. "The little bit we still have left for your dowries is everything we can count on. I want both of you to find good husbands."
Ling Ling lowered her gaze. She didn’t dare to talk back to her mother but in her heart, she thought differently. After all, An Hei had promised to come back for her when she came of age. She just had to wait and then, the problem of her finding a husband would be solved.
She did not mind that he was merely a soldier. Anyway, a person could die no matter if they were of low or high status and in the past years, she had gotten used to a simple life. While it would be nice to return to the life she knew from her childhood where they would not have to work themselves and did not have to worry about money, it was not something she required. Finding a husband she could love and trust was much more important to her. It was a pity that her mother did not understand that and did not even want to listen. Otherwise, they would not be in this situation.
While Ling Ling already gave up arguing, Jin Jin wasn’t at that point yet. Her sister might not mind either way but for her, it was a different matter. She started retorting but her mother raised a hand.
"Enough now, you two. I know what you are thinking but in our situation, we can not take any chances. The dowry gets whoever attracts a suitor first. That is the safest option for us all. That way, we will have somebody to rely on. It will give us new options and I am sure we will find a way to have the other one marry as well after a while. Ah, maybe we’ll be lucky and find somebody soon." She sighed again, praying inwardly that they may have good luck. Only that way, could the three of them still be saved from destitution.
Her daughters exchanged a glance and nodded. "Sure, mother." They answered together and followed her into the house.
An Hei gazed after them. The problems the family of his fiancee had, were even bigger than he had originally thought. Slowly, a smile spread on his lips. Well, they did not need to worry for much longer. He just had to appear and offer again to marry Ling Ling.
He did not know why her mother did not want to wait for him but as long as he came in time, this should not be a problem. Whatever reservations she had, he was sure that he could make her let go of them.
An Hei glanced at the sky. It was already late in the afternoon so he felt that it would not be a good time to introduce himself now. No, he should only do so tomorrow morning. In fact, he should send a card first, state his intentions, and then ask to meet. That way, he could show that he was not looking down on their family and was willing to treat them — and thus Ling Ling — well enough even now that they were in a desperate situation. He was sure that this would leave Madam Yang with the best impression and take away some of her doubts.
Having made up his mind, An Hei withdrew into the treetop of the magnolia and transformed into a small black snake so as to not be discovered but still stay close by. Anyway, it would be difficult to find a place to stay in the human realm on short notice and he did not want to return to the demon realm. After all, the time flowed differently there. If he waited too long, his future bride might have been given to somebody else. He surely would not risk that.
