Chapter 114: Scholar Wong Goes On A Blind Date
Translator: Fan Translation Studio
Xiao Baozhu did not take a single word to heart. Her brain was full of the stories of the novels she read such as a prince falling for a maid and a young lady falling for a poor scholar. Since these stories can be written they must be true to some extent, so there was still hope so Scholar Wong and herself.
Li Hongmei saw her daughter being silent, so she thought Baozhu had been persuaded. She then patted Baozhu’s shoulder, calming her down. “Baozhu, listen to Ma, when Mr. Wong comes next time, don’t tag along anymore. Mr. Wong is no fool. When you tag along with him too often he will know what you are up to and may be afraid of you.”
Xiao Baozhu lay down, pulling the duvet up and covering her head.
…
When Scholar Wong arrived home, just as he was walking to the front hall he saw his pa sitting there, obviously waiting for him.
“Pa, I’m home!” Scholar Wong greeted his pa and then said, “It’s late already. I’ll be off to my room then. Pa, have an early sleep too.”
However, Lord Wong said, “Wait a minute. I have something to tell you!”
Scholar Wong felt his scalp go numb all of a sudden.
Ever since he resigned from the private school in the village, each time he saw his pa he would pressure him to get married.
He was thinking maybe he should go back to the village to teach for a while again, or maybe go to the Orchid and Bamboo School to be a teacher, which would be great.
However when Scholar Wong was about to speak up he suddenly saw some gray hair growing on the side of Lord Wong’s head.
In his memory his father was always young and healthy, and no matter how many times Scholar Wong had infuriated him, he could always pick up a wooden plank and hit him. He was even stronger than a village redneck.
However, he had seen his father’s the gray hair, so suddenly he realized that, before he had even noticed, his father’s pace had become slow and he almost looked a bit senile.
He was thinking of trying his best to resist but at this moment he suddenly became feeble, so he walked to sit beside Lord Wong obediently.
“Pa, what can I do for you?” asked Scholar Wong calmly.
Lord Wong saw that his son stopped protesting recklessly and started feeling a bit surprised.
He then quickly took this opportunity and explained the matter for today. “There is a borough chief called Qin from Dalun Village whose daughter has just reached sixteen. Her name is Qin Qingqing and is known for her beauty throughout the whole village. The most important thing is that Mr. Qin also has a son who has attained the highest degree of the imperial exam years ago and now has been working in the provincial capital as an official. As their family situation is superb they are very picky. They value intellectual men very much, so he would only consider a man who is at least a scholar to be his son-in-law. Son, if we can tie the knot with them our family will have another relative who can support us in the future.”
Scholar Wong felt both mentally and physically worn-out. At the moment his mind was in a mess.
Remembering that when he was eating with Ye Xiaoxian tonight he had only put forward the idea of making friends with her yet she had already lost her composure, so she would never leave the Xiaos and stay with him.
Scholar Wong had lived for twenty years and it was the first and only time that he had fancied a girl. As he could not marry someone he loved, what difference would it be for him to just marry a random girl.
“Son, what are you hesitating about? It’s such a good opportunity. If you miss this one you’ll really regret it in the future. With our family background, we’re not like those coarse village men who get married just to have sons. We also have to consider our family. We need our in-laws to be helpful to us and only in this way will our family get better and better…”
Lord Wong was still patiently guiding his son to agree with him. He was thinking of persuading his son anyhow.
But Scholar Wong did not wait for him to finish and nodded. “Pa, it’s all up to you. If there’s something you need me to do, just let me know.”
Lord Wong was overjoyed and almost shed tears. “Son, you finally have your ideas straightened out. I’ll tell you what, I heard that the lady is really nice. Good-looking and cultured. Well, I never saw her before but only heard from others. If you agree, I’ll take you to drop in on them tomorrow and we’ll see if they like you or not.”
…
It was rare that Scholar Wong agreed to get married, so Lord Wong quickly began busying himself with this matter. He had prepared some gifts for visiting Mr. Qin to propose to his daughter and on the third day he took Scholar Wong to go to the Qins.
The borough chief of Dalun Village really loved intellectual men, so after seeing the handsome Scholar Wong with his elegant demeanor, Mr. Qin implied to Scholar Wong on the spot: Your son is the one.
Mr. Qin’s daughter was called Qin Qingqing.
In this era only parents can meet each other on a blind date but their children were not allowed to see each other, but Qin Qingqing secretly hid behind a screen, peeking at Scholar Wong briefly. Qin Qingqing really liked Scholar Wong just from a glance. She then blew a flute, signaling her mother.
The daughter and the mother had agreed that one blow of the flute meant that she was satisfied with the man. If the flute was not blown it meant that she did not like him.
Mrs. Qin then smiled to Lord Wong. “We really like Yanbo. If you don’t despise us for being just a chief borough’s family, we might as well pick an auspicious day to let them get married, shall we?”
Lord Wong hurriedly said, “I dare not. How can I despise your family? As the in-laws have agreed, shall we just let nature take it’s course rather than being too careful about selecting a date. Shall we say the end of this month?”
Scholar Wong had been sitting beside Lord Wong the entire time. If others asked him a question he would answer. If he was not asked he just sat there quietly.
The marriage had been arranged before long. The two parties had exchanged cards with their children’s birthdays on them and the wedding would be held at the end of the month.
…
After returning from Dalun Village, Scholar Wong went to The Xiao’s Cuisine again. He had never drunk wine before but this time he ordered a bottle of “Tipsy Princess” right after he sat down. He then ordered another two appetizers and sat there to eat silently.
He was not particularly disheartened but felt a slight panic about the unknown to follow, post-marriage. He wanted to drink a bit to calm himself down.
After marrying he would become a family man. He had to live with a woman he had never seen before and would have children with her in the future, supporting a family.
He did not know if he could be a good husband and father.
Right after Scholar Wong entered, Li Hongmei could tell that he was looking a little blue.
Xiao Baozhu was thinking of serving him but was stopped by Li Hongmei. Li Hongmei had asked her not to approach Scholar Wong anymore.
Li Hongmei observed him for a while from downstairs, seeing that Scholar Wong was a bit tipsy. She was also worried about him getting drunk, so she was obliged to go up and check on him.
“Mr. Wong, the wine you ordered is rather strong. Maybe you should stop drinking it. I’m going to take it away,” said Li Hongmei.
Scholar Wong stopped Li Hongmei and looked at her, saying, “Let me drink. Just this once.”
“Well…” Li Hongmei did not know what to do.
She was mainly worried that if Scholar Wong got drunk and threw up here her restaurant would stink, furthermore they would have to take care of the drunk scholar.
However, Scholar Wong suddenly said to Li Hongmei, “I’m going to get married at the end of this month!”