Chapter 237: Chapter 237: Must You Marry Your Savior After Being Rescued from the Water? (Part 8)

At the Ying Family, there weren’t many complications. Upon seeing Ying Bairong, Ah Chen expressed apologies to him. Lin Daming said a couple of words, and after presenting their gift of compensation, the father and daughter left.

Mrs. Ying lifted the cloth covering the basket and looked at the contents: there was meat, eggs, and pastries. She noticed the whole family looking over, especially the children who were all swallowing saliva, and she scolded, “You greedy little ones.”

The Ying Family’s situation wasn’t too hard, but since they had to support a scholar, expenses would only increase in the future, so they were still cautious with their spending. She was inclined to accept the gifts that others brought to curry favor, but her youngest son had warned her that apart from the rewards from the County Magistrate, they should not accept anything from anyone else.

He was just a scholar now, albeit with a reputation for his excellent studies, but still just a mere scholar. Accepting things, even if he didn’t promise anything in return, there would always be some expectation. If he truly became successful in the future, and turned down a request, it would only lead to trouble.

Mrs. Ying took heed of her promising youngest son’s advice and naturally followed it.

She did not accept gifts and sternly warned others in the family not to either, saying that whoever did would have to leave the house.

Today’s gift was different; it was compensation from the Lin Family.

“That Miss Lin is quite interesting,” the fourth daughter-in-law came over and remarked, “She schemed against our little brother, but actually had the nerve to admit it and came with a gift of compensation. Looking at her earlier demeanor, she must have truly let go.”

Mrs. Ying replied indifferently, “As long as she doesn’t come to bother us and doesn’t interfere with my son’s studies, whether she is interesting or not has nothing to do with us.”

Though satisfied with the Lin Family’s gift, she didn’t think much of them. Had it not been for their good attitude, she might have scolded them. After all, they should know their status; the daughter of a butcher daring to aspire to her son Bairong.

Her son, Bairong, was meant for great things in the future; how could he marry the daughter of a butcher? He should be marrying a true lady from an Official Family.

But since they had apologized and presented a gift, as long as there was no further trouble, she had no reason to make a fuss, as it would seem unreasonable and she wouldn’t want to disgrace her son.

Mrs. Ying took out the pastries and shared them with the family, saving the rest for Ying Bairong.

She also took out the piece of meat, handing it to her eldest daughter-in-law, “We’ll have this for lunch, you know how to prepare it.”

Since the weather was getting warm, they couldn’t keep it for long, even in the well water, so it was best to eat it. Bairong would be going to the academy the next day and didn’t come home every day.

If it weren’t for the heat, the meat would naturally have been for Bairong alone. Of course, her youngest son was thoughtful and cared for his family, never eating alone; instead, he would let the whole family share.

The eggs could be kept a little longer, but not too long, and were meant for her youngest son.

Ying Bairong usually had no objections to his mother’s arrangements, unless she urged him to eat alone, in which case he would protest, saying it was unbearable to let the family watch him eat.

“I heard the Lin Family gave the Qin Family ten taels of silver,” Ying the Fourth entered from outside and asked, “Did the Lin Family come over just now?”

Mrs. Ying asked, “Did you run into them?”

Ying the Fourth replied, “I did, Mother. The Lin Family gave the Qin Family ten taels of silver. If our little brother had saved Miss Lin, our family could have had ten taels of silver too.”

Upon hearing this, Ying Bairong turned his head back. His fourth brother only saw the ten taels but didn’t realize what it would have cost to save Miss Lin.

Mrs. Ying went over and slapped Ying the Fourth on the back of his head, “All you see is the ten taels, huh? If he saved her, your little brother would end up marrying her.”

Ying the Fourth snapped back to reality, oh right, but still, ten taels of silver was a lot.

“If Bairong wanted to marry, the girl would offer more than ten taels, even a hundred taels, without a second thought.” Mrs. Ying said, somewhat displeased with her short-sighted fourth son, who was all about immediate gains.

Originally, Mrs. Ying was anxious about the marriage because Ying Bairong was already seventeen.

But later, her youngest son told her that as he continued with his studies, the families of the girls he could marry would become more prestigious, and perhaps even ladies from the Capital City would be interested in him. For now, he was focused on his studies and wasn’t in a hurry to marry.

There were plenty of younger members in the Ying Family, and they didn’t rely on Ying Bairong for the extension of the family line. Hearing this, she found it reasonable.

Of course, Mrs. Ying didn’t realize that Ying Bairong was coaxing her.

The Shi Family had actually visited that morning, but they didn’t think much of the matter, nor did they feel there would be any entanglement between the Shi and Ying Families. Just as their sentiments towards the Lin Family weren’t pleasant, they felt the same towards the Shi Family.

After all, it was Shi Wen’s idea to stir trouble; the troublemaker here was really that young lady, while Lin Chen was merely naive.

Ying Bairong called out as he took the pastries and returned to the study.

Seeing Song Su organizing books there, he went over and handed the pastries to her, “These are for you.”

Song Su accepted them and asked, “Has the young master eaten?”

“I don’t have a sweet tooth,” Ying Bairong replied with a smile, “You go ahead.”

Seeing Song Su keep her head down, he added, “That Miss Lin seemed to have let go, there won’t be any more entanglement.”

“Why is the young master telling me this?” Song Su dared not raise her head. Given her status, at most she would be a concubine at his side, and he was allowed to marry whoever he wanted.

Ying Bairong wanted to say more, but ultimately chose to remain silent, knowing he still didn’t have enough influence, and all promises would be empty.

In recent days, Shi Wen hadn’t come to see Ah Chen. In the mornings, Ah Chen would be in the butcher’s shop with Lin Daming, selling pork.

In the afternoons, she would practice martial arts at home. Sometimes, if the pork sold out early, Lin Daming would return sooner and teach her hands-on. If he returned late, she practiced alone.

Watching his daughter skillfully wield a knife in the yard, Lin Daming wondered if he’d wasted a martial arts prodigy!

In just a few days, his daughter was practicing proficiently. Just as he was thinking, Ah Chen chopped down three bamboo stalks with one swing.

Lin Daming thought, maybe he had indeed wasted a martial arts prodigy.

Was it still possible to start now?

“Dad, how am I doing?” Ah Chen asked with a smile.

Lin Daming took a deep breath and replied, “Good.”

Now he wasn’t worried at all about anyone bullying his daughter. With her talent, after a few more years of practice, only the future son-in-law would suffer a beating.

He needed to teach her well!

About ten days later, Shi Wen came to buy meat, looking distressed, and said to Ah Chen, “Things haven’t been easy at home lately; mother has been scolding me.”

She appeared much more haggard, but Ah Chen could tell at a glance that it was feigned.

She intended to mooch some extra meat while Ah Chen sold it, given how the commissioner must have supplied Shi Wen quite a lot before their fallout.

Ah Chen wasn’t going to be swayed; she only gave Shi Wen as much as she bought.

Upon seeing this, Shi Wen’s expression changed. Lin Chen hadn’t approached her lately; was she really upset over that incident?

Shi Wen was annoyed since she had no way to handle things with Ying Xiucai for now, nor with Lin Chen.

What was she to do?

The main issue now was herself; she was sixteen and couldn’t afford to wait. Everyone knew Ying Xiucai had prospects, and she didn’t want to give up.

Ah Chen reassured her, “After all, you did make a mistake, so it’s normal for Aunt to have some opinions. Just show good behavior, and it will get better after a while.”

Shi Wen thought: Could she not bring this up?

Was she meant to comfort her, or stab her in the heart?

“Luckily, Dad forgave me,” Ah Chen said with relief.

Shi Wen: …

Lin Daming was chopping bones madly; his enlightened daughter certainly knew how to set people off with her words.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep