Chapter 85: Bestowing Marriage (I)
Chapter 85: Bestowing Marriage (I)
“Don’t cry.” Cheng Yuanjing wiped Cheng Yujin’s tears gently and sighed in helplessness, “I never thought about it like this before. Even if you want to change the subject, don’t put this blame on me.”
Cheng Yujin’s eyes still hanged down, refusing to even look at him.
Cheng Yuanjing somewhat understood why people said that women were hard to deal with. Once she grasped his weakness, he had no way to get away. Even if Cheng Yuanjing knew that Cheng Yujin was deliberately showing weakness to force him to step back, he was still made helpless when seeing her tears.
It was an obvious old trick, but who let it worked on him?
“Your Highness’ birth and background are extremely noble. It is natural for you to not understand the hardships of the common people below.”
Cheng Yuanjing’s eyebrow raised. This accusation was unfounded. Who said that he didn’t understand the hardships of common people? But Cheng Yujin was very emotional at this moment. No matter what kind of accusations she blamed him of, Cheng Yuanjing responded cooperatively: “Okay, okay. It’s me who wronged you. Don’t cry. You are still sick. What if your throat gets sore?”
Cheng Yujin was overwhelmed with emotions just now, which made her felt particularly wronged. Now that the momentum had passed, she suddenly became sober. Even if she could accuse others, on what basis could she accuse Cheng Yuanjing? Recalling what she had said just now, Cheng Yujin was instantly hit by a wave of embarrassment.
Over the years, Cheng Yuanjing hadn’t had an easy life either. Moreover, who never faced hardships in their lives? There was no need to moan about your hard works, because the people who managed to achieve a name for themselves also worked very hard.
She poured these negative emotions into Cheng Yuanjing, but what did it have to do with him? It was totally unreasonable. The problem was that Cheng Yujin couldn’t understand why she suddenly lost control of her emotions. It seemed that when she heard Cheng Yuanjing accused her of being unscrupulous in order to secure marriage, she suddenly couldn’t stand her aggrievances.
Cheng Yuanjing had been accused of unfounded blames, but did not look annoyed at all. He even coaxed her indulgently, which made Cheng Yujin even more ashamed of her cheekiness.
When Cheng Yuanjing saw Cheng Yujin was slowly calming down, he sighed: “It’s okay to cry. Those words must have been stuffing your heart for a long time. It’s better to let go at once, rather than suppressing them all the time.”
Cheng Yuanjing knew Cheng Yujin very well. If it weren’t for her illness, which dulled her response and made her particularly fragile today, this girl would never say all those words to him. The most important thing between a husband and wife was communication. With Cheng Yujin’s personality, nine and half out of her ten sentences were either facade or acting. Through a series of coincidences, he managed to hear her true feelings and the grievances she felt, which could be regarded as a blessing in disguise.
At least now Cheng Yuanjing knew that Cheng Yujin didn’t harbor any romantic feelings toward Lin Qingyuan. Everything she did was for herself. After knowing this fact, Cheng Yuanjing calmed down. Even the burning flame in his heart also disappeared without a trace. He said: “You chose Lin Qingyuan because he is the best choice within your range. If a better candidate appears, what will you do?”
The implied meaning behind this sentence was too obvious. After long deliberation, Cheng Yujin carefully answered: “There are countless fortunes in this world. But the only things I can say to be mine are those I can hold in my hands.”
Cheng Yujin kept staring at Cheng Yuanjing. Seeing that he didn’t respond, she became bold enough to continue: “Just like our Cheng family. I once heard about my father’s concubine, very beautiful and favored. She was the daughter of a merchant in Jinling province. According to common sense, from a merchant’s daughter to be the concubine of a marquis heir is definitely a great leap in status. However, after she came to Yichun Marquis Manor, she couldn’t understand the etiquette needed to live here, and also didn’t know the underlying rules to survive in the inner yard. After a few months, father’s initial interest faded out, and she fell out of favor. When she was favored, this concubine was particularly ostentatious. After falling out of favor, she fell into mother’s hands. Mother didn’t even need to take action personally, because other concubines took it upon themselves to teach her many lessons. I vaguely heard that she was pregnant with a baby, but in less than two months, her body was weakened enough that she miscarried.”
Cheng Yujin pretended to be nonchalant as she continued: “So, what I want to say is that a marquis family is definitely a good marriage prospect for a merchant’s daughter, but it is also too good that it is beyond her reach. In the end, all she did is to make wedding clothes for others1. It’s pitiful that the concubine’s child was accidentally miscarried, but even if the child were to be born safely, she probably wouldn’t be able to raise the child herself. In the end, her child cannot call her ‘mother,’ her daughter or son-in-law won’t call her ‘mother-in-law,’ and they cannot support her in old age. The result has been predetermined from the beginning. No matter how much she struggles in the middle, it will be useless. Therefore, it would be far better for her to marry into a family of the same status, where everything will be under her charge. There is a saying that being a poor man’s wife is better than being a rich man’s concubine, which holds a profound truth.”
- Making wedding clothes for another person: Doing something is futile, only to benefit someone else.