Meanwhile, the women at the matchmaker’s house gathered around Ling Ling as soon as An Hei had left the house.
"Ling Ling", her mother initiated. "How do you know him? How do you have this hairpin?" The latter was what puzzled her the most. It wasn’t like her daughters were never leaving the house so meeting a man and catching his eye weren’t out of the realm of possibilities. But how come she had that hairpin? Clearly, the two of them had had different thoughts on how it had ended up with her. While her daughter seemed to have believed that this was only a coincidence, this Mister An had apparently intended to give it to her in the first place. Just how had all of this happened? She couldn’t wrap her head around it.
Ling Ling lowered her gaze, unsure what she was supposed to say. She had told her mother about how she found An Hei back then and even showed her the hairpin but her mother hadn’t taken the words of a child seriously. Even when she had brought up the story again years later, her mother had never believed it and thought she was just making things up. Thus, Ling Ling couldn’t help but worry that if she reminded her mother of this, she once again wouldn’t believe her. But she couldn’t just keep quiet either.
Before the girl could find the right words, Madam Lin already couldn’t hold herself back. "Aiya, a man of the imperial family found his wife at my house! This is simply unbelievable. Madam Yang, this must be a blessing left behind from your late husband. It is all because his family was always loyal to the kingdom and the empire and sacrificed so much. It is all good karma that was created over the lifetime of your ancestors. Your daughters will definitely have a splendid future!"
Madam Yang nodded, feeling that the matchmaker had to be right. This kind of luck wasn’t ordinary. Especially after going through so much in the past years, she never would have believed that something like this was possible. Their fortune had really turned. From now on, the worries of the past would really just be that: a thing of the past. Good luck was about to be ushered in again.
It was a pity that none of her husband’s sons had survived to make sure the general’s bloodline would survive but, at least, their daughters would be safe in the future. That was more than she had hoped for previously.
Ling Ling looked from the matchmaker to her mother and then wildly shook her head. "Mister An certainly isn’t part of the imperial family." She didn’t want to dash their hopes but she felt that this was just weird. How had Madam Lin come up with that thought? She really couldn’t understand.
Both Madam Lin and her mother looked at her doubtfully. Just like Ling Ling who couldn’t understand how they had come up with the idea that An Hei was part of the imperial family, they also couldn’t understand why she would deny it. They had their own thoughts on the matter though: Could it be that this man did not want others to know?
It certainly seemed possible. In any case, if people knew that a member of the imperial family had come to Sandin, wouldn’t everybody try and curry favor with him? Then, where would he take the time to take care of the wedding? Not to mention that it was probably exhausting having to host this kind of person all the time.
While the two of them felt that they had already figured it out, Ling Ling finally resolved to tell them the truth. Even though her mother had never believed her before, wasn’t there An Hei around now to verify that she was speaking the truth? Thus, she felt that even if her mother still refused to believe her, she could just tell her to ask him tomorrow.
"He told me he’s a soldier."
Nobody in the room bothered to tell her how ridiculous that idea was. Even if he hadn’t had the surname An, just one look at his clothes and the two servants following behind him showed clearly that he couldn’t be a common soldier. He had to be from a family with abundant wealth and power.
Still, for a member of the imperial family to pretend to be somebody else first wasn’t unimaginable. Maybe he had worried that she would take advantage of him so he first misguided her into thinking he was somebody else? Thinking of that, her mother rushed Ling Ling to recount the story already, hoping that she would be able to figure out something from there.
Ling Ling raised her hand to the pin An Hei had slid into her hair and her lips involuntarily curled up. "I found him injured one day and took care of his wounds. But since we had touched I asked him to take responsibility. Mister An promised to return and take me as his wife when I was old enough. After he left, I found this hairpin. I thought he had lost it so I kept it safe until he returned."
Madam Yang felt as if she had heard wrong. This … wasn’t this the story her daughter had been telling for ten years now? About that man from the magnolia tree? She had always thought she was joking or making things up … Madam Yang really regretted how she had never believed her. What if she had married Ling Ling off to somebody else? In fact, had that Mister An not suddenly appeared, she would have agreed to the wedding with the second son of the Wus. What then? She really would have regretted it! Not only would her daughter have been unhappy that she couldn’t marry the man she had fallen in love with, but she also would have missed out a lot.
Ah, thankfully, the Heavens had taken pity on them and made the timing turn out to be in their favor! Maybe this was also to make up for her husband’s much too early demise. In any case, she was glad that things had turned out this way.
Madam Yang nodded, smiling faintly. "Well, the main point is that he came back and wants to honor his promise. That is all we should care about. Whether he is a soldier or not, he seems like he will make for a great husband. That is all you should care about." She patted her daughter’s hands, her thoughts already wandering to what was awaiting them in the upcoming days. Most likely, he would reveal his true identity someday soon. Until then, maybe it was better if Ling Ling continued to believe that he was just a common soldier. That way, she would not worry too much and could be her usual self. Since that was the one he had taken an interest in, it was much safer not to have her behave differently.
Having decided on that, Madam Yang turned back to the matchmaker. "Matchmaker Lin, thank you for your effort. I will have to trouble you to tell the Wu family our apologies. I am afraid that with how things stand, Ling Ling won’t be able to marry their second son." She gave an apologetic smile. Even though her daughter would be able to marry somebody better, it wouldn’t do to offend the Wus. There was still Jin Jin, after all. She didn’t want to make trouble for her older daughter. Offending somebody now might mean that she would have a harder time finding a suitable husband in the future.
Madam Lin hurriedly nodded. "Of course, of course. They should be understanding in this case. Even if you wanted to, there really wouldn’t be another way."
Madam Yang nodded and then turned to look at her daughters. "Well, there will be a lot to do, so we should probably leave now. Madam Lin, I will still have to trouble you to find somebody for my Jin Jin."
"But naturally! I am sure I will be able to find somebody good for her as well." Even though finding An Hei wasn’t something she could actually take credit for, Madam Lin was also well-versed in her task. With Jin Jin having a bigger dowry now since Ling Ling really wouldn’t need anything but that hairpin, things were already easier. Adding onto that the fact that her future brother-in-law was of the imperial family, her chances of finding a good husband had gone up a lot. Coupled with Jin Jin’s good looks and behavior, it shouldn’t be impossible to even find somebody from the noble families of Sandin. It might not be the royal family or somebody of similarly high status but becoming the first wife of a man from a side branch of one of those families should be possible.
Madam Yang nodded with relief and then bid her goodbye, taking the girls back home. Neither of them said a word on the way, still too shocked by what had happened before. When they entered the house, Madam Yang sat down, still not knowing what to say. The two girls exchanged a glance and, finally, Jin Jin spoke up first.
"Mother, don’t worry too much. Hasn’t sister said that she already met him ten years ago? If he remembers a promise from ten years ago and is intent on honoring it, then nothing will go wrong. Don’t worry about anything else now and just focus on seeing her wedding through. After that, our worries will have lessened by half so we’ll have more time to think about other things then." She also knew that her mother was worried about her marriage as well so she felt that if she herself spoke up, their mother would worry less.
Madam Yang looked up and took Jin Jin’s hands. "Are you not angry? You are older than Ling Ling by two years. You should have married before her but now …" She shook her head and sighed, feeling that while this was great news for her younger daughter, it was unfair to her older one.
Jin Jin smiled wryly. "I will admit that I am envious of sister’s good luck. She found a man she likes and is able to marry him and he seems like he will make a good husband. Naturally, I also want that." Thinking back to the moment she saw An Hei and had thought that he might actually be interested in her, she felt a pang of regret. Why couldn’t she have such good luck? "In any case, sister also needed to wait ten years for this. It hasn’t been easy on her. And in our situation, we can’t be choosy. It is good if she can marry a good husband. Maybe after the wedding, I can thicken my face and ask him for help with finding a good match for myself if Madam Lin hasn’t found anyone yet. Since he will be my brother-in-law by then, he might be willing."
Naturally, she would be ecstatic if she could marry into the imperial family or one of the royal families but even if that was impossible, just being married to a good man no matter his background would be nice. As long as she did not need to worry about the future any longer, it would be alright. She couldn’t ask for much right now.
Madam Yang also understood what her daughter was saying and nodded slowly. Turning to Ling Ling who was still standing to the side, she reached out one hand and pulled her closer as well. "The two of you have to promise me that in the future, you won’t forget about each other. Try to help each other when you can."
Ling Ling nodded and Jin Jin looked up at her sister, smiling in response. She had always tried to help her when she could but right now, she was afraid that there wasn’t much that she could do for her. Their roles had already been reversed. Well, that was also alright. In their situation, she wouldn’t bother with such things. It was good as long as the two of them both managed to get out of this well and would also be able to take care of their mother.
Jin Jin dwelt on that latter thought for a while and when the two girls went to prepare the meal, she pulled Ling Ling toward her and lowered her voice to speak. "Sister, seeing as you are going to marry soon, you should ask your husband if he is willing to take mother in as well. Since our brothers are already gone and there won’t be a sister-in-law moving into the house in the future, mother has nobody else to care for her. What will she do when she is old?
"We don’t know yet whether I will be able to find a good husband and when that might happen. I can take care of her for a while but we shouldn’t be complacent. So many things can happen. If my husband refuses, then what should we do? It’s better to speak with your husband first. If he agrees, then that would be great."
And not even mentioning her own future husband, Jin Jin also knew that most likely, her husband would not be able to compete with her sister’s. Letting her mother be cared for by people of the imperial family would ensure the best life for her that she could ever have. It was the best decision to let her live with Ling Ling and her husband in the future.
Ling Ling wasn’t able to see through all the things that her sister had thought of yet but concerning taking in her mother, she wasn’t worried. "I will ask him tomorrow. But you don’t have to worry. I am sure that Mister An will say yes. In any case, hasn’t mother always told us that soldiers value their families very much? Surely, Mister An will be the same."
She smiled happily, making her older sister worry quite a bit. My sister really still thinks of him as a common soldier. When she inevitably finds out the truth, won’t she be shocked? But no matter how much Jin Jin thought, she couldn’t find a way to make Ling Ling realize the problem with An Hei’s story. After all, even the matchmaker’s words hadn’t been able to make her see the truth. What else could she say? Thus, she could only leave things as they were and shelve that problem for later.
