Guan He watched Jiang Yifan savoring the beef with relish and asked with a sideways glance, "Even on such a cold day, you haven’t forgotten to run off to Clear Water Village. You must be working hard chasing after your wife. Now that you’re here, why didn’t you go flatter your mother-in-law and Old Master Qi? Why have you come to me? Are you here to inquire about what Ye Xinyan and Second Miss Zhou are up to?"
Jiang Yifan rubbed his frozen cheeks and replied, "Didn’t you say the other day that Wong Qiao’s mother is almost here? I came to see if she has arrived and to see if there’s anything I could help with."
Upon hearing what Jiang Yifan said, Guan He showed a somewhat playful smile on his face, took a sip of his wine, and remained silent.
Sensing that something was amiss, Jiang Yifan asked, "What’s the matter? Is something wrong?"
Guan He looked at him smilingly, "Nothing’s wrong. If there is anything, it’s someone else’s issue, none of our business."
Jiang Yifan slowly sipped his wine, thought for a long time but couldn’t figure it out, and then asked, "What exactly happened? Wong Qiao’s mother has arrived, hasn’t she? Could it be that she doesn’t approve of Wong Qiao’s marriage to Second Miss Zhou? That doesn’t make sense."
Guan He was in a good mood after watching an unusual drama unfold.
He spoke, "That’s not necessarily the case. Reason depends on the perspective one takes. If the perspectives are different, the reasons given will naturally differ."
"What perspective? With Wong Qiao’s status, being able to marry the legitimate daughter of Lord Zhou is already an unexpectedly good fortune. It’s his good luck to have met such an opportunity. If not for Ah Yan, for Second Miss Zhou being so unconventional and coincidentally fond of construction skills, even if Wong Residence were to search with hundreds of lanterns, they wouldn’t have stumbled upon such good fortune."
Guan He scoffed disdainfully, "That’s because you lack experience. Madam Zhao certainly has her own set of reasoning, and it’s quite convincing too. Just now, Lady Zhao left Old Master Qi and his brothers speechless."
"Oh?" Jiang Yifan sat up straight and asked, "What kind of reasoning? Tell me about it, senior brother."
He really couldn’t understand. Such a good match, what other opinions could there be?
"Listen to me, Lady Zhao didn’t come alone. She brought along a village girl, claiming to be her niece from her maternal family..."
Guan He, suddenly interested, went on and on, telling the story clear and precise from Lady Zhao’s arrival yesterday afternoon to her recent exchange with Qi Younian, and how Ye Xinyan and Zhou Biyao were secretly eavesdropping from the side, which he also relayed to Jiang Yifan.
"... Wong Qiao’s mother seems like a tough one to deal with. Your fiancée is now persuading Biyao to think it over carefully and consider whether it’s worth marrying into that situation."
Jiang Yifan felt extremely pleased when Guan He referred to Ye Xinyan as his fiancée, indulgently savoring the word for a while. After all, he was a man who had been married before. Why had he never found this word so pleasing to the ear before?
"Hey, what are you thinking about?" Guan He couldn’t stand to see Jiang Yifan acting , "Is it necessary? Speaking offhand about something that’s not even a sure thing yet, and look at you, isn’t that embarrassing?"
Jiang Yifan glanced at Guan He, then returned to the main topic, "If Wong Qiao’s mother really means that, this is quite a mystery. Lord Zhou and Madam Liang have raised their daughter with the utmost care; could it be that they intend to send her to the Wong Residence just to be at the beck and call of Wong Qiao’s mother?"
Guan He glared at Jiang Yifan before responding, "Of course, you would think that way because it hasn’t happened to you. But how old is Biyao? She’s at an age where she’s naive and full of romantic fantasies, how could she give up those so easily?"
"Senior brother, did you hear how Ah Yan was persuading her?" Jiang Yifan asked somewhat sneakily.
Guan He spat disdainfully, "Do you think I have no class like you? It’s not appropriate to eavesdrop on a private conversation between two women, is it?"
Jiang Yifan, unconcerned, raised an eyebrow but didn’t persist.
Guan He continued, "However, judging by the look of your wife, she probably doesn’t approve of Zhou Biyao marrying Wong Qiao."
Jiang Yifan nodded non-committally, wondering what Ah Yan might be thinking at this moment. If she disapproved of Zhou Biyao marrying Wong Qiao, it naturally meant that Wong Qiao wasn’t good enough, or that life would be difficult for a woman who married into the Wong family. Therefore, even if Zhou Biyao didn’t marry out of obligation, Ah Yan certainly wouldn’t have any further thoughts about Wong Qiao.
Yes, definitely not. He was sure of that.
Over at Ye Xinyan’s end, she was trying to reason with the crushed Zhou Biyao.
"Biyao, you need to understand, when you marry, you’re not just facing your husband, but his entire family. Given your current situation with Wong Residence, it would have been better for them to have a large family."
Zhou Biyao listened, bewildered, "Really? Don’t people say that life is easier when the husband’s family is small and simple?"
Ye Xinyan was extremely troubled by the role she now had to play. Everyone else was blissfully in love, and here she was, repeatedly telling them an unsuitable marriage - a sure way to become unpopular.
But if she said nothing and let Zhou Biyao jump blindly into the fire pit, she couldn’t bear it. Even if Zhou Biyao decided to jump, shouldn’t she at least be prepared?
Ye Xinyan said, "That depends on how ’simple’ the household is. Wong Qiao’s family consists of just him and his mother, and with someone like that for a mother, who focuses all her attention on her son and daughter-in-law, do you think Madam Zhao could ever be pleased enough with you to find no fault?"
It was ancient times, and Ye Xinyan naturally couldn’t say that, in a sense, Wong Qiao was everything to Lady Zhao, and Lady Zhao might not be able to tolerate his wife taking him away from her. Under these circumstances, Lady Zhao’s subconscious probably hoped that Wong Qiao’s wife wouldn’t be favored by him, giving Lady Zhao a greater sense of security.
A daughter-in-law who could be molded and shaped by Lady Zhao might, to some extent, balance her feelings a little. But if she was constantly tormented by Lady Zhao, unable to share loving moments with Wong Qiao, what would be the point of marrying him?
Ye Xinyan tried a different approach, "Biyao, Madam Zhao and Wong Qiao have only each other. She’s raised him with great difficulty and is unlikely to allow her daughter-in-law to go out and make her own way, but would rather you are always at her side, to attend to her until her old age.
You are intelligent. Quiet your mind and think about this scenario: Once married, you spend your days attending to Madam Zhao, and when Wong Qiao returns from work, even longing for an extra glance at him would depend on your mother-in-law’s mood.
You heard earlier, Madam Zhao doesn’t want servants around. She only wants her daughter-in-law. And she has just one son, Wong Qiao. So, you would have to attend to your mother-in-law not only when Wong Qiao is away at work but even when he’s home for midday and evening, serving her meals, helping her wash, until she goes to bed before you can return to your own room and be with your husband.
If Madam Zhao feels unwell and asks for your company, then you lose even that little bit of time with your husband. Day after day, year after year, ten, twenty, or even thirty years - would that be the life you wish for?"
Ye Xinyan watched Zhou Biyao intently, hoping she would understand the implication of her words. The Wong family, with so few members, left Lady Zhao with little to do or worry about, except for scrutinizing her only daughter-in-law for faults - what else could she do?
And when one takes a displeased view of someone, any little look or action can become an annoying reason.