eurekapd Chapter 595 Xiu Hong's Marriage
Chapter 595 Xiu Hong's Marriage
At that time, the sky was clear and the air was fresh.
Meng Jinyao took the child to pay respects to Madam Gu. As soon as she entered the house, before she could say anything, she heard her second sister-in-law Chen say, "Mother, you have to help your daughter-in-law persuade Xiuhong this time. He won't listen to me and the second master, but he will always listen to you."
She held the child, somewhat confused. Xiuhong, the son of the second wife, was both ambitious and sensible, and was a role model for the younger generation. The second sister-in-law and second brother had always been very satisfied with this son. What happened today?
Madam Gu saw her youngest daughter-in-law and grandson, smiled lovingly at them, asked them to sit down first, and then continued to talk to Chen: "Second daughter-in-law, although marriage is always decided by parents and matchmakers, we also have to listen to the child's wishes. Xiuhong likes it, and if we, as elders, stop it, aren't we just forcing a couple to break up?"
Meng Jinyao was surprised: "Xiu Hong has a girl he likes? I wonder which family she is from?"
Zhang sighed softly, as if she was worried about Chen, and continued, "There is a girl he likes, and he has liked her for a long time. I heard from my second sister-in-law just now that it was not until Xiuhong asked me to propose marriage to him that I found out. Xiuhong was determined to marry that girl, and I had no choice but to ask mother to help persuade him."
Hearing this, Meng Jinyao was very confused: "Since he has liked the girl for a long time, why didn't he agree to get married when the second sister-in-law urged him to get married?"
Zhang said slowly, "Not only is the girl of an ordinary family, she is also a widow, two years older than Xiuhong. The widow's husband's family asked her to mourn for her husband for three years before letting her return home. Xiuhong was waiting for her to return home before discussing marriage, so he was unwilling to get married. Now that the widow has returned home, Xiuhong wants to get married."
Meng Jinyao frowned when she heard this and said, "It's fine for a widow to remarry, but isn't it a bit bad for her to find a new husband during the mourning period and wait until the mourning period is over before getting married?"
Although Chen didn't agree with the marriage, she didn't want to discredit the girl. She glared at Zhang in reproach, blaming her for not speaking clearly, and said, "It's not that she hooked up with Xiuhong during the mourning period. She knew Xiuhong before she got married. Four years ago, her parents forced her to marry her dead husband. Her husband was not a good guy either. He often beat her. Fortunately, the bad guy died early. He got into a fight with someone in the brothel for Yihua Niang and was accidentally beaten to death."
As she spoke, she sighed sadly and continued, "If she had never seen Xiuhong again after she got married, Xiuhong probably wouldn't have thought about her all the time. Her brother was Xiuhong's classmate. When Xiuhong went to discuss academic matters with his classmates, she was beaten by her husband once and fled back to her parents' home. Xiuhong met her and felt pity for her, which made it even harder for him to let her go. He kept paying attention to her silently. When her husband died, her father-in-law and mother-in-law were unwilling to let her go home. It was Xiuhong who secretly helped her and allowed her to mourn for her husband for three years before returning home to remarry."
She glanced at her mother-in-law and two sisters-in-law, and said, "I don't want to break up the couple. Since Xiuhong likes her, he can take her home. But the wife must be a lady from a well-off family, not a widow. At worst, I can find him a wife who is tolerant and generous. This way, he won't suffer."
Meng Jinyao was slightly stunned after hearing this. Thinking of the ridiculous Gu Xiuming, and then comparing it with Xiu Hong, she sincerely admired Xiu Hong. Xiu Hong was a responsible man who had waited for his sweetheart for several years, secretly guarded her, and fought with his parents to marry his sweetheart. However, the girl did not meet the requirements of a wealthy family to choose a wife. Even the second sister-in-law, who was always open-minded, could not accept it, so she could not make any comments.
Although Zhang and Chen were not on good terms, as both were mothers, they were both worried about their children's marriage. Suddenly, an idea flashed in her mind and she gave her a suggestion: "Second sister-in-law, Xiuhong used to be devoted to reading sage books, and he knew very few girls, let alone getting along with girls. How could he know what kind of girl he really likes? I have also seen your niece, she is a good girl. Didn't you think of bringing her up with Xiuhong before? Why not let her stay for a while under the pretext of accompanying you to relieve your boredom? In this way, Xiuhong can see her often. After a long time, Xiuhong will naturally understand that he should marry a noble lady from an aristocratic family, not a widow from a small family."
Chen's eyes lit up. It was the first time she felt that Zhang's words, which often offended people, were pleasing to the ear. She nodded repeatedly to show her agreement: "Sister-in-law, what you said makes sense. He doesn't know any girls, so he certainly doesn't know what kind of girl he really wants. When he gets along with the noble lady from the aristocratic family, he will naturally know that the girl is not what he wants."
Zhang said, "That's right. Besides, young people are rebellious. The more we, as elders, object, the more he wants to marry her. At that time, even a third of his love for her becomes ten points. It's better for you not to object, but don't agree either. Just delay it for a while. He will probably give up the idea slowly. Hey, have you heard about the Liao family?"
Chen nodded. This matter was quite a big deal, so of course she knew about it.
The young master of the Liao family fell in love with a girl who sold tofu. Madam Liao and Lord Liao strongly opposed it. Young master Liao went on a hunger strike and even hanged himself, forcing Lord Liao and his wife to agree to the marriage.
The girl was married, but the tofu-selling girl was born in a common family. How could she know how a family of officials should treat others?
Not only was she petty, she also frequently made jokes and brought shame to the Liao family. After that, Mrs. Liao wouldn't allow her to go out to meet guests, and wouldn't let her see guests when they came to her house.
However, Mr. Liao's interest in her wore off and he even found her shameful. They often quarreled and he also took several beautiful concubines. One day, the girl took advantage of Mr. Liao's deep sleep and killed him with a knife. She then committed suicide out of fear of the crime. It was truly a pity.
Chen thought about the Liao family incident and subconsciously put herself in the shoes of her son and the widow. She couldn't help but feel fearful, fearing that her son would be killed like Master Liao. She made the final decision, "Let's do it. I'll go to my sister's house tomorrow and tell her to match the two children. My sister and brother-in-law both like Xiuhong very much, so I think they will agree."
Old Madam Gu glanced at Zhang and Chen, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
She did not have a strong prejudice against family background. If the girl was really good, had good manners and was really liked by Xiuhong, she would not object. But if Xiuhong's mother was not happy, she would not do anything except to persuade Chen to respect the child's wishes, so as to avoid rifts and resentment between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.
As for Xiuhong, if this boy is determined to only like that girl, it would be useless even if ten cousins came to stay at home, not to mention one. But if Xiuhong is so easily attracted to someone else, then he should not harm the girl. The girl has suffered enough. She was forced to marry a scumbag in her first marriage. If she marries a man who is fickle, she will not have a good life in the future.