The woman stared after Qiu Ling, once again in a daze. Today, she had been treated much worse than in the last twenty years of her life together. It really made her wonder just who this Grandmaster Zhangsun was. Anyway, he seemed to be somebody very important?

She pondered for a while but still couldn’t figure it out. She had heard of the Yun Zou Sect and knew that they sometimes came to the capital but she wasn’t too sure about the details. It seemed she should first go home and ask her husband. Then they could decide together how to go about this.

In the end, the woman and her daughter just finished their tea and pastries and then left the teahouse. As for the end of the discussion the woman wanted to have … Well, it should be said that she never set foot into the teahouse again. The things her husband had to say about that Grandmaster Zhangsun and the Yun Zou Sect were a little too shocking after all.

No, even though she still wanted to make her daughter marry a beautiful man to ensure that their child would be good-looking enough to entice somebody important later on and secure some connections for their family, she wasn’t willing to risk this much. Although … it really would have been beneficial to have that kind of person as their son-in-law. Unfortunately, he was already hellbent on marrying that boy from the teahouse. There was nothing she could do about that.

At the same time, Zhong Gang took his wife and daughter back to the restaurant while Madam Zhong, her son, and that self-proclaimed son-in-law of hers went back to work as well, serving the customers in the teahouse. These Madams that had recently turned wealthy and thought that they would be able to get anything they wanted soon left though. After all, they really didn’t want to have their faces slapped as much as that woman from before. It seemed they could only give up on their secret plan of having their daughters marry this beautiful person that had appeared in the capital.

Finally, the previous guests of the teahouse returned and things went back to how they usually were, just with two people added into the equation. Watching her son busy about, serving the tables and greeting the customers just like he had done it five years ago, Madam Zhong smiled happily. If it could always be like this, she would be more than happy. Unfortunately, she had the distinct feeling that this happiness would come to an end soon. After all, even though they had managed to get rid of these Madams, there was still a small Miss waiting for them at home. Considering the temper tantrums Guanyu threw in an almost daily manner and how her parents almost always gave in, she couldn’t help but worry about how this would end.

She glanced at Jing Yi and Qiu Ling who were currently both returning to the kitchen with Qiu Ling sticking to her son as closely as possible. Even though Jing Yi wasn’t sure about his feelings yet, she would hate it if somebody took the chance from him to find out for himself. He was young and he should be given the chance to explore these things on his own. If Guanyu somehow managed to break them up now …

Just then, Qiu Ling happily reached out and grabbed Jing Yi’s hand, giving him a bright smile when he looked back. Madam Zhong laughed to herself when she saw her son’s piqued expression. Ah, maybe she was thinking too much. Marriage still required two people to be willing. Even if Guanyu screamed every day for her parents to give Qiu Ling to her, Zhong Gang and Mi Fan would still be powerless if Qiu Ling refused. And that was something she didn’t doubt for even a single moment: Qiu Ling would never give up on her son. Regarding this matter, he wouldn’t compromise. Not even if her son begged him. For him, there was only one person. The only question was whether this person was the one walking next to him right now or the one he was thinking of. Unfortunately, that was something only he would be able to answer.

In this manner, the day at the teahouse continued until the guests slowly left and the three people finally called it a day and closed the doors.

Madam Zhong looked at her son and Qiu Ling again and nodded. "I guess it’s time to go home then. Don’t forget about the matter with Guanyu. I’m afraid she hasn’t forgotten about this yet."

Jing Yi nodded while Qiu Ling looked at him with the same bright smile he usually gave him. This matter regarding Guanyu … he didn’t even seem to have heard.

Madam Zhong sighed and shook her head. Well, maybe his constant rejection and disregard would make her give up after a while all by herself. She could only hope so.

The three of them walked home together, finally arriving at the Zhongs’ house. Madam Zhong excused herself and first went to her room to pray for her husband while Jing Yi stayed with Qiu Ling. The two of them didn’t know what to say. Jing Yi didn’t even dare to look at Qiu Ling.

On the other hand, Qiu Ling glanced at him every now and then before looking away again, wondering just what his beloved was so preoccupied with that he wasn’t paying him any attention at all. Could it be … He pondered himself and finally felt that he had seen the light. And turned to Jing Yi and grabbed his hands, looking deeply into his eyes. "My love, you wouldn’t be afraid that I might fall in love with somebody else, right? You don’t have to worry about that at all! There’s only you inside my heart."

Jing Yi’s lips twitched. "I wasn’t worried about that."

"Oh." Qiu Ling felt a little dejected but he soon picked himself up again. "So you were thinking about when to get married because you don’t want other people to propose to me all the time?" His eyes sparkled when he said so, making it difficult for Jing Yi to shoot him down from this cloud of delusion.

"I … I was wondering if staying in the capital really was a good idea. With my cousin acting like this, I’m afraid that us being here will only make trouble for my mother. Maybe … maybe it would be better to leave sooner."