Because there were too many concerns, Rong Heng could only watch her silently leave, unable to utter a single promise.
On the other hand, Tangyuan, having lived as an old Demon for so many lifetimes, didn’t have a strong desire for a companion; she believed in letting things take their natural course.
In marriage, isn’t it just about getting by if possible, and if not, getting by on one’s own? Separation is always an option, of course, provided that you are strong enough.
After this incident, neither of them used more emotions or words to dwell on the matter. Things remained as they had been before.
She continued to take care of them as usual—her master and his servants—taking the limited time she had to brew wine for him and prepare various sauces and pickles, simply because he loved to eat them.
Because there was only one year left, she wanted to stock up on his favorite foods while she could, particularly wine, sauces, and pickles.
To make these items, she had even opened a farm to grow the necessary raw materials.
After spring arrived, for the sake of cultivation, she ended up staying at the suburban farm for a whole month. That month proved difficult for Rong Heng, who began missing her cooking and had to drive the horse carriage to the farm and wait for her to cook. Though the dishes were the same and the steps were the same, they somehow tasted better when she made them, more flavorful.
He felt that he had been poisoned by her, a kind of incurable love poison that couldn’t be removed quickly. Even though he couldn’t change her mind, he could still see her more often and do more things for her in the remaining time. He knew that what he did wouldn’t change anything, yet he still wanted to do it.
"Do you know? Cao Xuehua has been betrothed?"
The ground was ready, only seeding was left. However, before seeding, the seeds needed to be soaked in water. As she was doing this, she suddenly heard Rong Heng’s words and couldn’t react immediately, "What did you say? Cao Xuehua got engaged?"
"Yes, Cao Bingkun probably felt that Cao Xuehua disgraced him this time. What was originally a marriage above their station has now become one beneath it."
A high marriage involved marrying into a household of higher social rank, while a low marriage involved marrying someone of lower rank.
In ancient times, social ranking was especially important. Like Minister Cao’s Mansion—a first rank official, and having produced Consort De, but what of it? Consort De had no sons of her own; even her place as the chief among the Four Concubines was only because she raised Rong Heng. Without him, how could she have possibly risen to that rank? ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ noᴠelfire.net
Because it was not a family of merit, even as a first-rank official, under the feet of the powerful in Beijing, there were countless people who could trample them.
Precisely because Cao Xuehua had brought about her own ruin by implicating others in dishonor in public, even her father couldn’t save her. Once the scandal broke, the marriage with Marquis Mansion, which had already been agreed upon, was timely terminated. Moreover, to completely sever her hopes and to express his intentions to Rong Heng, Cao Bingkun had her betrothed to this year’s top scholar, a new ninth-rank official who was appointed as a County Magistrate and sent out of town to report for duty.
What choice did Cao Xuehua have? It was her parents’ decision and the matchmaker’s words. In Beijing, she could no longer find a good in-law’s house. Rather than marrying there and being humiliated, it was better to marry below her station, since at least the other party would need to rely on her father and would treat his daughter somewhat better.
"Is this meant to curry favor with you?" Initially, Tangyuan thought Rong Heng still needed to rely on the Cao Family, but with the way the Cao Family was currently behaving, it was clear they were more dependent on Rong Heng instead. Could she have been wrong from the start?