TATLC Chapter 49 — The Lu Family is Busy with Wedding Arrangements

Lu Chengyu didn’t pass the Xiucai exam, and the atmosphere at home was really gloomy.

The old man sat on the kang all day with a worried frown, smoking his pipe. Lu Tong didn’t dare act all high and mighty like before either.

Lu Tong was getting really anxious lately. She knew full well that the family would absolutely not pay taxes for her, so they would definitely marry her off before the deadline. Before, there were a few decent prospects, but she didn’t like them and turned them all down. Recently, matchmakers had been coming to the door too, but the men they introduced kept getting worse and worse.

After Lu Tong finished washing clothes and came back, she heard people talking in the main hall. When she listened carefully, she could hear her mother’s voice and Matchmaker Wang’s voice.

“Matchmaker Wang, is that Li family from Dafeng Village really as good as you say? They have over twenty mu of land, and their son is even a scholar.”

Matchmaker Wang laughed and said, “Would I lie to you? Even though the Li family can’t compare to the wealthy families in town, they’re still one of the best families in the countryside. Plus, that Young Master Li is also a scholar. If he passes the imperial examination in the future, the young lady could become an official’s wife too.”

“I had no idea there was such a good family in Dafeng Village.” Tang had been really focused on Lu Tong’s marriage lately, so she’d been asking around about outstanding young men in the surrounding villages and towns.

Tang suddenly thought of something and her face darkened. “That Young Master Li, isn’t he from Li Yuan’s family? That Young Master Li whose wife died two years ago, and who has a five-year-old son?”

Matchmaker Wang saw she couldn’t hide it anymore and smiled awkwardly. “Yes, Young Master Li’s first wife was unlucky and died early. But the Li family’s conditions are really very good.”

Tang got angry right away. Li Yuan’s family did have good conditions, but that family’s old woman wasn’t someone easy to get along with. They said that Young Master Li’s first wife was tortured to death by that old hag. This matchmaker was actually introducing her daughter to a widower.

That Young Master Li’s deceased wife left behind a son too. If her daughter married into that family, wouldn’t she have to be a stepmother right away? Young Master Li’s son was already five years old, so he definitely wasn’t young either.

“You fat old hag, how dare you introduce someone like that to my daughter! Get out!” Tang’s eyes turned red with anger.

Matchmaker Wang had arranged many marriages and was always treated with respect. She got angry right away and showed her mean, nasty side. “You should know your place too. You really think your daughter is some precious princess? She looks down on this one, dislikes that one. She’s already seventeen, that money-losing girl, and she still dares to look down on Young Master Li. She opens her mouth asking for twenty taels as a bride price. Only generous families like the Li family are willing to pay that. Anyone else would laugh at such nonsense!”

Hearing Matchmaker Wang’s words, Tang shook with anger.

Tang had always hoped her daughter would become an official’s wife so she and Lu Chengyu could support each other. But since her son didn’t pass the imperial examination, Lu Tong couldn’t be delayed any longer. Tang had to lower her standards and wanted to find a wealthy farming family. But all these people introduced were just rejects.

Matchmaker Wang left in a huff, cursing under her breath. Lu Tong already hid before Matchmaker Wang came out.

Lu Tong hated Matchmaker Wang so much, but she also blamed her mother a bit. She had rejected several decent ones before, and now the ones being introduced kept getting worse.

Only after Matchmaker Wang was gone did Lu Tong enter.

Tang glanced at her daughter and forced a smile. “Daughter, don’t mind that fat old hag. I will definitely find you a good family.”

Lu Tong nodded, but felt uncertain inside.

When the marriage talks fell through, Matchmaker Wang didn’t have anything nice to say. She went out and mocked the Lu family to anyone who would listen, saying they had their sights set too high and probably only officials would be good enough for them. They should look at their own conditions first. Many people agreed with what Matchmaker Wang said.

After Matchmaker Wang spread this around, the villagers all thought Lu Tong was too picky. People without much wealth decided not to embarrass themselves.

At the dinner table, Old Man Lu smoked his pipe and looked at Tang with concern. “Girl, still haven’t found a suitable family?”

“Not yet.”

The old man sighed. “If we really can’t find anyone, let’s lower our standards a bit.”

Wang shifted uncomfortably on her seat, shooting Lu Tong a disdainful look. “Why aren’t any good families coming to propose marriage?”

Lu Tong didn’t say anything. She could feel that the family was getting more frustrated with her lately.

Lu Tong looked at Lu Chengyu for help. Lu Chengyu had a dark expression and didn’t speak. He had been confident about passing the Xiucai exam this time, so failing hit him hard.

Lu Tong bit her lip, feeling wronged. She really admired her brother and always felt that her brother was different from Lu Lin and would become a high-ranking official someday. But at this moment, Lu Tong felt that her big brother was nothing special either.

While the Lu family was gloomy and miserable, Chen Xiaomi’s side was living better with each passing day.

Chen Xiaocai shoveled rice into his mouth eagerly. “Lin-ge, I heard the Lu family’s still trying to marry off Lu Tong. Everyone says she’s too picky so no one wants her now.”

Chen Xiaocai had become much more cheerful lately and gotten much closer to Lu Lin. If he heard any news, he would tell Lu Lin about it.

Lu Lin raised an eyebrow. “You’re gossiping about this stuff too?” Kids here really grow up too fast.!

Chen Xiaocai said awkwardly, “I just heard other people talking about it.”

Lu Lin smiled. “Seems like she offended the matchmaker.” In this era, rumors could kill people. The village gossips spreading some half-true rumors could ruin someone’s reputation, and matchmakers were especially powerful at this.

Chen Xiaomi shook his head. “Those matchmakers are really hard to deal with!”

Chen Xiaomi didn’t have any good feelings toward Tang, and he didn’t have any good impression of the matchmaker either.

“I heard that Tang is getting desperate.”

There had been some people in the village who wanted to marry Lu Tong before, but Tang dared to tell them not to dream of a toad eating swan meat. So even though some young men in the village were interested, their families didn’t agree either. Now it seemed like there weren’t any suitable people left in the village, and finding someone from the neighboring village probably wouldn’t be easy either.

After dinner, Chen Xiaocai pulled Xiaomai to go sleep.

Lu Lin sighed. “Still no luck with Xiaocai’s schooling?”

Chen Xiaomi shook his head. “No.”

They had made quite a bit of money recently. The two of them had plenty of money on hand, so other matters moved up on their agenda. For example, Chen Xiaomi wanted to send Chen Xiaocai to school. However, people here really cared about reputation, and Chen Xiaomi’s reputation was too bad, which also dragged down Chen Xiaocai. Even though they were willing to pay the tuition, the teacher in town wouldn’t accept him.

“That teacher is so damn narrow-minded,” Lu Lin grumbled.

Chen Xiaomi bit his lip. “If he can’t study, then he can’t. Even if Xiaocai passed the exams, they’d probably strip him of his title later.”

Here, if you wanted to become an official, they also evaluate your character. Even if Xiaocai really passed the imperial examination, if his grandparents went and made trouble, he could very well have his title revoked. The Xiucai exam was so hard to pass! Tang bragged every day that Lu Chengyu was a reincarnation of a literary star, but didn’t he still fail the exam?

Lu Lin sighed. “We’ll figure something out later.”

Even if they forced Xiaocai into the academy, if he got bullied there, that wouldn’t be good either. School bullying could be really scary.

Chen Xiaomi paused, then muttered, “Studying isn’t all that great anyway.”

Chen Jing also studied, but he didn’t seem to have much promise either. Most of the Chen family’s income went to this cousin of his. His grandparents practically worshipped Chen Jing. Whenever Chen Jing said he wanted to buy brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones and asked his grandparents for money, they never refused.

In comparison, their family worked themselves to death, and no matter how much money they earned, they had to hand it all over.

Chen Xiaomi always felt that Chen Jing carried a scent of powder and rouge. He probably didn’t study at all when he went to town, but instead went fooling around in the brothels.

Many rich young men in town seemed to think going to brothels was an elegant thing. While those rich young masters could afford it, Chen Jing would struggle to cover such expenses.

Lu Lin thought about it and said, “Let’s wait a bit longer. When our situation gets better, we’ll just hire a private tutor.” He didn’t expect Chen Xiaocai to become a great scholar. He just wanted him to be able to read.

Time passed quietly for another half month. During this half month, they had to be busy with spring planting and also find matches for Lu Chengyu and Lu Tong. The Lu family was in complete chaos.

Then, the Lu family came knocking again. This time, Old Man Lu himself showed up to drag Lu Lin back to work.

“Lin-xiaozi, come back with me to work.” The old man was used to giving orders at home, and when he met Lu Lin, he had no concept of politeness. “You little brat, you dare ignore your grandfather now?”

“Grandfather, I’m still chopping firewood. If I don’t finish chopping today, I won’t have dinner tonight.”

“You just know how to be lazy and make excuses.” The old man’s temper flared.

If Lu Lin had said from the beginning that Chen Xiaomi treated him badly, Old Man Lu would have believed it. After all, everyone in the village knew Chen Xiaomi’s temper. But lately, Lu Lin and Chen Xiaomi had always been together, talking and laughing with each other. Lu Lin had even gained weight. Anyone with eyes could see they got along just fine.

“You little brat, now that you’ve married a wife, you’re ungrateful and forgot who raised you all these years.” the old man spat, red-faced with anger.

Lu Lin sighed dramatically. “Of course I won’t forget that the Lu family raised me, but I’m afraid of going back and feeling sad! I had a dream about my father a couple days ago. He said he died so miserably, with so many big knives chopping at him. He was in so much pain, and even after death he couldn’t rest in peace. He died alone and miserable out there, and couldn’t even be buried in the ancestral grave.”

When Old Man Lu heard Lu Lin’s words, his face changed immediately. Back then, when he sent his second son to war, the old master had hesitated too. But his wife said that the second son had a hard fate and would definitely be fine if he went. She said he might even earn some military merit. The old master was tempted.

“Grandfather, my father was the most filial and always thought of you. Has he visited you in your dreams? Did he say anything to you?”

Old Man Lu glared fiercely at Lu Lin and left in a huff.

Lu Lin watched the old man leave and smiled coldly.

Chen Xiaomi came out of the house, looked at Lu Lin, and said with some worry, “You just know how to talk nonsense.”

Lu Lin shrugged. People of this era were still very respectful of ghosts and spirits. Chen Xiaomi knew he wasn’t the original Lu Lin, so when he brought up the original owner’s dead father as a cover, Chen Xiaomi might be a bit worried.

Chen Xiaomi unconsciously grabbed Lu Lin’s arm tighter.

“It’s fine,” Lu Lin reassured him, patting his hand gently.