The Second Young Master’s Obedient Husband : Chapter 6

Matchmaker Liu arrived punctually on the third day.

Su Qingyu was hanging clothes in the courtyard, and when he heard the knocking at the gate, his hand paused, but he still went to open it. Matchmaker Liu’s face, powdered with makeup, was piled full of smiles as she squeezed through the gate, pulling Su Qingyu’s hand and walking toward the house.

“Yu ger, have you thought it over? The Zhou family is waiting for a reply.”

Su Qingyu withdrew his hand, stood by the table, lowered his eyes, and said nothing.

Matchmaker Liu sized up that small face, understood in her heart, sighed, and softened her voice: “Yu ger, I know you dislike the Zhou eldest son’s bad reputation, but then again, where in this world are there things with two perfect sides? The Zhou family at least has three tiled rooms and two mu of land, and if you go over you’ll be the proper head husband, with no worries about food and clothing, and your mother’s medicine money will also be settled. If you switch to another family, who would be willing to give a five tael betrothal gift?”

Su Qingyu still made no sound.

Matchmaker Liu leaned closer, lowering her voice: “You think it through clearly, those idle men in the village are all eyeing you. That Ma Shan hasn’t been lingering around your door these past few days, has he? What kind of goods is he, eating his last meal without knowing where the next one comes from, if he truly gets entangled with you, you won’t even be able to cry. The Zhou family at least is a proper marriage through a matchmaker, once you pass through the door you’ll be a Zhou family person, who would still dare to bully you?”

Su Qingyu’s eyelashes trembled, he raised his head, those eyes clear and bright, looking at Matchmaker Liu: “Aunt Liu, how the Zhou family’s previous wife disappeared, who in the village doesn’t know?”

Matchmaker Liu was choked for a moment, smiled awkwardly: “Wasn’t that… wasn’t that an accident. The Zhou eldest son later regretted it too, swore to change, this time he’ll definitely treat you well.”

Su Qingyu didn’t respond, lowered his eyes and fell silent again.

Matchmaker Liu waited, seeing that no words would come out, her expression cooled somewhat, and she stood up: “Alright, think again. But I tell you, the Zhou family can’t wait too long, and your mother’s illness, how much longer can it drag on?”

After speaking, she patted her clothes and left.

The courtyard gate closed, and Su Qingyu stood in place, cold wind pouring into his collar, his entire body icy.

He bit his teeth, made his resolve, when you can’t even survive, what use is talking about reputation and purity.

In those years of fleeing famine, how many times had he seen children sold, how many times had he seen people willing to do anything for a mouthful of food. He was still young then, and didn’t understand, only remembering his mother holding him tight, saying no matter how hard it got she wouldn’t sell her child.

But now, his mother was sick, the family had no money, and those rotten people were circling the door every day. The Zhou family was a pit of fire, Ma Shan was no good either, if he truly was ruined by those people, he wouldn’t even have a proper status, and his mother would still have to suffer along with him.

Rather than falling into the hands of those rotten people, it was better to pick a good one himself.

At least… at least he could exchange it for some silver, to cure his mother’s illness.

Su Qingyu raised his head, wiped his face, stood up, and entered his own small room.

From the wooden chest he dug out that palm sized bronze mirror, brought out from the south in those years, the mirror surface already blurred and unclear, the reflected figure hazy and indistinct. Su Qingyu looked into the mirror, slowly gazing at that face.

Fair, delicate, with refined features, and that pregnancy mark at the corner of his eye red as cinnabar.

His waist was so slender it could be grasped in one pinch, and from the waist downward, the lines slowly grew fuller, the flesh at the base of his thighs plump, soft and yielding to the touch.

Su Qingyu looked at the person in the mirror, his cheeks slowly burning up, burning until even his ear roots were red.

This body was the only thing he had worth offering.

But this body, how much silver could it exchange for? How long of medicine money? How many years of peaceful days?

Su Qingyu didn’t know.

Su Qingyu found a somewhat better set of clothes, the fabric not good, but at least without patches. He put the bronze mirror back into the wooden chest, and sat on the edge of the kang bed in a daze for a while.

A face emerged in his mind, with sharp contours and fierce brows and eyes.

The other was the village head’s second son, had fought in war, had seen the world, his family didn’t lack silver. What was he himself? Poor as a bell, and still dragging a sick mother, what did he have to climb up to him?

But if he didn’t climb up to him, who else could he climb up to?

Those families in the village with some property, either had taken wives or were already betrothed. The remaining bachelors were either scoundrels like the Zhou eldest son, or lazy men like Ma Shan, or else old widowers, each one more unpresentable than the last.

Liang Yu at least… at least he was proper, and didn’t bully people.

Su Qingyu recalled that when he was young, his mother had said that both children of the village head’s family were proper people, the eldest studied, the second served in the military. In the more than a year since Liang Yu returned, he hadn’t heard of any bad reputation either, just that his standards were high and he had never settled on a marriage.

Could someone with high standards take a fancy to him?

The sky outside darkened, and it was time to make dinner again.

Su Qingyu stood up, left the small room, and walked toward the kitchen. Passing through the courtyard, he heard someone walking outside, heavy footsteps, accompanied by laughter.

“Ma Shan, you run over here every day, aren’t you afraid they’ll find you annoying?”

“Annoying what? An orphan and a widow, I’m just kindly helping.”

“Come on, who doesn’t know what you’re thinking? But that little ger is truly handsome, that mole at the corner of his eye, tsk, it makes one’s heart itch.”

“Heh heh, it’s only a matter of time. If the Zhou family matter gets settled then so be it, if it doesn’t, then don’t blame me for not being polite. Anyway, an orphan and a widow, what can they do?”

The laughter gradually faded.

Those words were like knives, cutting into his heart one by one.

Su Qingyu clenched his fist, his nails digging into his palm, the pain keeping him clear headed.

He entered the kitchen, lit the fire to cook, his movements slower than usual.

The porridge was cooked, he carried it into the inner room, and attended to Mother Su drinking it. After Mother Su drank her medicine and fell asleep, Su Qingyu cleared the dishes and returned to his own small room.

Sitting on the edge of the kang bed, he looked at the moon outside the window for a long time.

The next morning, Su Qingyu went to the well to draw water. On the way back passing through the village entrance, from afar he saw a crowd gathered around something, with people shouting.

Drawing closer, he saw that it was Liang Yu standing there, with a wild boar lying at his feet, not small in size, black, with blood foam still at its mouth. Several villagers surrounded it, talking over each other in praise.

“Second Master Liang has good skill, such a big wild boar, taken down by one person alone!”

“How much silver can this sell for? Two or three taels at least, right?”

“Second Master Liang doesn’t lack that bit of money, hunting is just for fun.”

Liang Yu was crouching there dressing the wild boar. Hearing the praise, he didn’t raise his head, only lazily said: “What fun, if it didn’t earn money who would do this tiring work.”

Someone laughed: “Second Master Liang could still lack money? Your father’s family fortune, lying down and eating for three generations wouldn’t finish it.”

Liang Yu scoffed, and didn’t respond further.

Su Qingyu stood outside the crowd, separated by several figures, looking at that person.

The morning light shone on that face with sharp contours, fierce brows and eyes, carrying a bit of lazy carelessness. His movements were nimble, and in a few strokes he had opened the boar’s belly, his technique practiced and skilled.

Someone beside him passed over a rope, Liang Yu took it, and when he raised his head his gaze swept casually across the crowd, just colliding with Su Qingyu’s eyes.

Those eyes paused, stopped on Su Qingyu’s face for an instant then moved away, continuing to lower his head to dress the wild boar.

Su Qingyu’s face warmed slightly, he lowered his eyes, and carried the water buckets back.

After walking a few steps, he couldn’t resist looking back again.

Liang Yu had already stood up, and was moving the dressed wild boar onto a cart, his back straight, broad shoulders and narrow waist, his sinewy muscles filling out his clothes just right.

Su Qingyu withdrew his gaze, and walked quickly away.

Returning home, he set down the water buckets, and sat by the stove in a daze. His mind was a jumble, one moment it was Matchmaker Liu’s coldly smiling face, one moment it was the Zhou eldest son’s sticky gaze, one moment it was Liang Yu’s face.

He didn’t know how long he sat before someone knocked outside.

Su Qingyu’s heart tightened, he stood up and walked to the courtyard gate, not rushing to open it.

“Who?”

“It’s me.” It was a woman’s voice, sounding familiar.

Su Qingyu opened the door, and outside stood the village head’s eldest daughter in law, Liang Yu’s sister in law Zhang Yun, wearing a neat and tidy indigo cotton jacket and skirt, holding a piece of meat in her hand.

“Sister in law Liang?” Su Qingyu was startled.

Zhang Yun smiled, and handed the meat over: “The family has too much wild boar meat, can’t finish it, mother in law asked me to deliver some to several difficult families in the village. You take it, stew soup to nourish your mom.”

Su Qingyu looked at that piece of meat, at least two or three jin, fat and lean mixed, glistening with oil. He wanted to reach out to take it, but didn’t dare, mumbling: “This… how can this be…”

“Take it, don’t be polite.” Zhang Yun stuffed the meat into Su Qingyu’s hand, “We’re all fellow villagers, helping each other.”

Su Qingyu held that piece of meat, his eye sockets somewhat hot, and thanked her in a low voice.

Zhang Yun waved her hand, turned and left.

Su Qingyu stood at the courtyard gate, watching Zhang Yun’s figure disappear around the corner of the village path, then lowered his head to look at the meat in his hand, wrapped in oil paper, emitting a meaty fragrance.

Returning to the kitchen, he placed the meat on the cutting board, and Su Qingyu stared at that piece of meat for a long time.

Su Qingyu bit his lip, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the edge of the cutting board.

That piece of meat was from the wild boar Liang Yu had hunted.