When Madam Yang and her daughters left the house to go to the matchmakers, they were greeted by a group of men that stood not far from the gate to their estate, scrutinizing the outside wall.
"Mother!" Jin Jin grabbed her mother’s arm and motioned over, her brows scrunching up. Right now, the three women were the only ones living in this estate. A group of men coming to take a look at their place was quite the scary thought.
Madam Yang also furrowed her brows when she saw this. Not having her husband at home was something she had gotten used to quite early on after her own wedding. But back then, there had always been guards and servants in the estate so she had never worried. After her husband’s death, those people had still stayed around for a short time when visitors were a regular occurrence. After they left, nobody had bothered to come by anymore. And why should they? There was nothing to get out of paying attention to a woman with two daughters that had fallen into destitution. What kind of benefit could one get from this?
Seeing a group of men in front of their estate was a first since that time. The fact that they were unfamiliar scared her quite a bit. Why did this happen? And why at a time when her youngest daughter was just discussing her marriage with a very good suitor? She couldn’t help but worry that something might go wrong.
She patted Jin Jin’s arm and lightly pushed her toward her sister. "You stay with your sister. I will go and see what they are doing here." Even though she said so, she hesitated for a moment. Looking from that group of men to her daughters, she finally pulled Jin Jin closer to her again. "If something happens, you run away. Just go to the matchmaking pavilion and tell that man what happened. In any case, our family has nothing. Since he still wants to marry Ling Ling, he must genuinely care for her. He wouldn’t let anything happen to you two."
Jin Jin nodded. "You be careful, mother." She went back to Ling Ling’s side and grabbed her hand, wanting to make sure that she could pull her away at a moment’s notice if something were to really happen.
Madam Yang went over to the group of men, trying to look as if she wasn’t worried at all even though her heart was beating madly. "Good morning! May I inquire if there was something you needed?"
The men looked over and one of them came toward her, bowing slightly. "Greetings, Madam Yang. I am sorry for not coming over to introduce myself first but the carpenter was already there so I didn’t want to let him wait. My name is Hu Chen. My …uh … Lord send me. He had heard that your family had fallen on hard times and the estate needed a patch up here and there so he asked me to take care of it." He secretly wiped his forehead, glad that he had managed to catch himself in time before he could blurt out that An Hei was his king. If he did, who knew if these humans wouldn’t figure out that they weren’t from here? This had really been a close call.
Madam Yang raised her brows and looked over to the other man that had spoken to Hu Chen before and then realized that he seemed to be a mason from Sandin. The other men were probably some of his workers. So it was like that. She felt relief when that thought hit her but she was still feeling strange. Why would somebody ask him to come and help them out? Was this lord some old friend of her husband’s that had only now found out about his death and their subsequent situation and wanted to help?
Thinking this way and that, she still couldn’t figure it out. But this was something that couldn’t just be ignored. Madam Yang thus put on an awkward expression. "I am sorry, Mister Hu. I am afraid I didn’t quite catch the name of your lord."
"Oh. It is … An Hei." He felt even more awkward than her when he had to say the name of his king like this. How long had it been that somebody didn’t know who he was working for? But then again, he should have realized that things would be different over here.
Madam Yang’s brows shot up when she heard this. "Mister An, it was?" Now that he mentioned it, it made sense to her. This man had asked to marry her daughter and if his feelings were genuine, it wouldn’t be much to also help out the family of his bride. He certainly didn’t lack the money to do so.
Still, Madam Yang was surprised. He didn’t need to do this. Even if he didn’t lift a finger and even refused to help them find a good match for Jin Jin, they would still inevitably marry Ling Ling to him. That he still did something like this spoke to his compassion. Even though her feelings about this match had already been quite good to begin with, Madam Yang felt even better now. Could anything better happen to them?
She barely managed to contain her smile while she inclined her head. "I will have to thank him later then. Now, I hope I don’t appear rude but my daughters and I have a commitment already so we will have to leave now and will not be able to stay."
Hu Chen nodded. "I know. My Lord already mentioned that you had an appointment at the matchmaker’s. Please don’t bother about us, Madam Yang. I will make sure that everything here is taken care of and then return as well to inform my Lord."
The two of them bid farewell and Madam Yang went back to her two daughters. She didn’t explain immediately and just motioned for them to follow her until she was completely sure that they were out of earshot. Only then did she stop and tell the girls what had happened.
Jin Jin sighed in relief, glad that this hadn’t been anyone with bad intentions. She had really thought that somebody had come to steal the last few valuables they thought had to be hidden somewhere and would murder them to keep things quiet.
Meanwhile, Ling Ling’s eyes sparkled. "Mister An actually did this?" She didn’t even know what to think. Naturally, she had always believed that An Hei was a great man, the best that was out there. But she still wouldn’t have expected him to go out of his way for them like this. Just thinking about it, she felt as if she was falling in love with him even more.
Madam Yang looked from one girl to the other and laughed. "Look at you! Anyway, we don’t have to worry now. Instead, let’s focus on what’s to come." She gave Ling Ling a long look, wondering if she should remind her to behave well when they went to the matchmaker. But then, that man had fallen in love with her when nobody had bothered to remind her so she felt that it might be best to leave her be. If it was her natural charm he liked, she would be an idiot to have her daughter hide that. After all, if this man lost interest, they would truly be doomed.
With a hint of worry in her heart, Madam Yang finally led her daughters over to the matchmaker’s house. They were a little early despite the disturbance on the way but they didn’t need to wait long before An Hei stepped into the building as well.
It might have been his natural charisma as a king but all eyes immediately fell on him when he appeared. An Hei faintly inclined his head while he turned to look at Ling Ling first thing upon entering. Only then did he greet Madam Lin and Madam Yang. It was obvious what was most important to him but neither of the women minded.
Ling Ling would have liked to go over but she knew that right now, there were other things to do so she continued to stand next to her older sister and just waited while stealing some glances at An Hei.
Madam Lin invited An Hei and Madam Yang to sit down and immediately got to business after some pleasantries. "I would suggest negotiating everything today so that the actual preparations can begin as soon as possible. I hope both Mister An and Madam Yang will agree to this?"
Needless to say, neither side had a problem with her suggestion. In fact, this was precisely what they wished for. Madam Yang wanted her daughter to marry as soon as possible to make sure that no mishaps could happen and the wedding could fall through, while An Hei finally wanted to make true on his promise and welcome Ling Ling as his wife. Thus, one of the most harmonious negotiations Madam Lin had ever seen at her house ensued. Both sides provided the necessary information without trying to keep anything back, the future husband even deferred to her knowledge as a matchmaker to make sure of the fitting size of the betrothal gifts and even insinuated that he would treat the situation as if the old General Yang was still alive, and soon enough, even an auspicious date for the actual wedding had been picked out.
At this point in time, Madam Lin looked from one person to the other and couldn’t help but feel that she was superfluous. If not because having a matchmaker was customary, Madam Yang and this Mister An would have been fine doing everything on their own. She smiled wryly when she realized that and turned to An Hei. "Well, this is everything as far as the negotiations go. Are there any other concerns on Mister An’s side?" Considering his status, she could imagine that there might be a few things that needed to be taken into consideration that other people wouldn’t have.
An Hei smiled faintly. This was the moment he had waited for. The plan he had come up with last night could finally be implemented. He lightly cleared his throat and then inclined his head. "There is, actually. Although it doesn’t directly concern the wedding and isn’t a necessity either." He turned to Madam Yang when he said this and used the opportunity to glance at Ling Ling who still stood to the side with her sister. "It has been ten years since Ling Ling and I saw each other. I know that to get married, it isn’t necessary to know each other but if Madam Yang doesn’t mind, I would like to speak with her at least once before that day. There are a few things I would like to tell her beforehand. Of course, I would understand if this was asking too much."
In any case, the two of them weren’t married yet. To have them be alone might not look too good. Naturally, he expected Madam Yang to at least have some reservations. On the other hand, Madam Yang didn’t actually mind too much. She still believed An Hei to be a member of the imperial family who had kept that status secret from her daughter. Thus, when he made this request, she figured that he might want to inform her beforehand so that she would not be too shocked after the wedding. In her opinion, this was quite conscientious of him. He clearly had Ling Ling’s best interests at heart.
Being reassured like this, she was willing to find a compromise to make sure that he could tell her daughter what he needed to while also not compromising her reputation. "I am sure that Mister An wouldn’t make such a request lightly. Since you will be marrying her soon, I don’t see a reason to forbid this. If there are good feelings before the wedding, it will certainly be beneficial. I just ask Mister An to make sure no unsavory rumors can come up. So it would be good if somebody could be around at that time. They don’t need to hear what is being spoken but being able to see what is happening would be important."
An Hei inclined his head. This was easy to manage. In fact, right now might be the perfect moment for it. Originally, he had wanted to wait a little longer but they were still at a stage where the wedding could be canceled without doing too much damage. So, for Ling Ling’s sake, he should do it now.
He turned back to Madam Lin and slightly raised his brows. "Madam Lin, if I may be so bold to ask, would it be possible to borrow your courtyard for this? And maybe you would also be willing to bear witness together with Madam Yang herself?"
Madam Lin nodded immediately. "Yes, of course!" If she could assist the imperial family, she would naturally do it. "Might I suggest having a woman from your side there as well, though? In case problems arise later, it is always best to have a person from each side there, as well as a neutral party. Just to make sure nothing happens." She didn’t want to offend Madam Yang but between her and the imperial family, she also knew that she had to do everything to help An Hei.
Madam Yang didn’t mind either and nodded. "I think that suggestion is very good. Does Mister An have such a person available? If it isn’t possible right now, I am sure that we could also settle on a later date."
An Hei pondered. Naturally, there was Xu Fu. But she was currently busy gathering information. Then again, the suggestion was indeed sensible. "Please give me a moment. I will get somebody." He stood up, inclined his head toward the two women, and then left the house with another glance at Ling Ling. Then, he called back Xu Fu before returning inside so he could finally confess the truth to the woman who would hopefully still become his wife soon.
