Aunt Zhou nodded in the direction of the neighbors: "Huh, she’s going to live at her own place, no matter what we say she refuses to stay at our house, she only says she isn’t accustomed to living in someone else’s home, your father and I can’t persuade her, so we had to let her go... Ah, Jiujin, where are you going?"
Jiujin responded without looking back, "I’m going to guard her door for her. If some flower-picking thief shows up, with me there, she won’t fall victim..." And then, he left.
Uncle Zhou and Aunt Zhou exchanged glances, shaking their heads despairingly, sighing, and hoping this foolish boy could get over it sooner, rather than insist on hanging himself from one tree...
Jiujin left the house and went straight to the front door of Cai Wei’s house. He sat down on the stone steps of the entrance. It was only the start of the Hai hour, the flower-picking thief wouldn’t show up this early, but he couldn’t take his chances. He’d prefer to guard Sister Wei’er indefinitely, for a lifetime if possible!
Cai Wei’s house had two sections, with Cai Wei in the bedroom in the backyard. Or to be precise, in the space inside. So, she was completely oblivious to what was happening outside. Now, she was peacefully sleeping in the space, gearing up to confront that flower-picking thief.
Today, she had boldly shown up at the entrance of the ’Zhou Ji’s Roasted Meat’ shop, loudly selling fried skewers, in order to bait that flower-picking thief. Once that wretched villain showed up, she was determined to catch him, enact justice by breaking his four limbs and the fifth one, and avenge those innocent girls!
The Northern part of the Great Jin Nation had a cold climate, with very low temperatures. Even in May, the nights were still quite chilly. Jiujin sat on the stone steps, resisting the continuously advancing cold with a determined will.
Auntie Zhou came out, her heart ached as she watched her son’s stubborn silhouette under the moonlight. She gently came over, draped a winter sheepskin jacket over her son, and brought him a thick cushion to sit on.
"Mother, you should go back and sleep!"
Jiujin was a filial son; he couldn’t bear to see his mother suffer with him, so he urged her to go back and sleep.
But Auntie Zhou sat down next to him and said, "I’ve always wanted to chat with you, but the house is always too busy during the daytime, I never find the time. Now is the perfect chance for mother to talk to you about something."
Jiujin replied, "What is it?"
Aunt Zhou looked into her son’s eyes and said calmly, "Matchmaker Hu came to our house today, to arrange a marriage for you. Your father and I have agreed to it, so we wanted to let you know."
Jiujin stood up abruptly, his voice suddenly raised a few notches: "I don’t agree!"
Aunt Zhou stood up too, speaking softly to her son, "Look at you, you’re opposing it without even knowing which girl it is. I know you have high standards, so I would never agree to a bad match. The young lady that Matchmaker Hu mentioned today is supposedly of good character, good looks, and good family background. Most importantly she has a good personality. She is the fifth young lady of the prestigious An family. Even though she is not from the main branch, I have seen her once at the nursing home, she is indeed a rare good girl, a very suitable match for you. If we miss out on this opportunity, there won’t be another."
Jiujin did not heed Auntie Zhou’s advice at all, he stubbornly and excitedly said, "I don’t care if she’s a good girl or not, but I certainly don’t want her!"
"If you don’t want her, then who do you plan on being with?"
Aunt Zhou pointed towards the courtyard behind Jiujin, "Do you want her? If she agrees, your mother will certainly be delighted to support you, but as you know, Wei’er is not the old Wei’er anymore. Our small pond at home can’t accommodate such a big fish. You might as well give up on this sooner rather than later!"