That was something that happened a few years ago.
Back then, Mr. Zhao had gone to the Prefecture to take the autumn provincial examinations, leaving Mrs. Zhao to care for their two children alone. The strain on her body was immense.
One time, while she was by the river washing clothes, her vision suddenly went black, and she fell right into the water.
It was still early in the day. The only other person around was the old lady, who had come to check on a trap she had set in the river, hoping to find some fish or shrimp inside.
As luck would have it, the old lady happened to be there right when Mrs. Zhao had her accident.
The terrain there was actually quite flat, and the river current was very slow, so a person wouldn't drift far from where they fell. But everyone knew how frail Mrs. Zhao was. The weather was chilly, and if no one had rescued her, there was no telling what would have happened after soaking in that cold water.
It wasn't wrong to call it a life-saving favor. In any case, that's what the old lady called it, and the Zhao Family accepted it as such.
The old lady was an incredibly calculating person. She used this "life-saving favor" to directly arrange the marriage between Wanyue and Zhao Jing.
Later, when the old lady's daughter, Chen Mei, married into the third branch of the Zhao Family, was it because they had taken a fancy to her?
Not at all!
It was because they valued Zhao Jing! They believed he would surely have a promising future. Since he was already set to marry a granddaughter from the Chen family, having their own son marry another girl from the Chen family would make their relationship even closer, wouldn't it?
In reality, they were banking on the hope that once Zhao Jing became successful, he would be in a position to help their branch of the family first.
Although there was a generational gap in the relationship, it didn't matter. As long as the girl was a good person, nothing else was a problem.
Besides, just as the old lady was wondering how to bring up the matter of breaking off the engagement, Mrs. Zhao herself mentioned the "life-saving favor."
It was like being handed a pillow just as you were getting sleepy. The old lady immediately had an idea.
The old lady spoke with great sincerity. "Saving you back then was truly just an accident. I would have saved anyone who had fallen in that spot. But your family is so honorable that, to repay the favor, you insisted on having the promising Jing become my family's son-in-law by marrying our Wanyue."
Mrs. Zhao let out a soft "ah." A look of deep confusion spread across her sallow face.
'Wasn't it the old lady who insisted on the engagement between Jing and Wanyue in the first place?'
'How has it now become something we insisted on?'
'This isn't right.'
Mrs. Zhao knew it wasn't right, but she didn't think to refute it. Talk of the woman's family forcing a marriage on the man's family would sound bad if it got out and would damage the girl's reputation.
'Besides, the engagement is already set. Let the old lady say whatever she wants. It's not a big deal anyway.'
But how could she have known? This was a very big deal!
The old lady continued, "Back then, we genuinely thought highly of Jing. We also thought that if Wanyue could marry into a family right under our noses, we, her closest relatives, could rest easy. Who would have thought..."
"Who would have thought what?"
"Who would have thought that while the children are good children and the engagement is a good engagement... we were too hasty back then and never had their birth horoscopes compared! Now that Jing's mourning period is almost over, I was thinking about having Wanyue marry over as soon as possible, so I took both their horoscopes to Cien Temple. As it turns out, the abbot there declared them 'gravely inauspicious.'"
Mrs. Zhao swayed, unable to even sit steadily.
She stared intently at the old lady. Her extreme thinness made her eyes seem unnaturally large. With her teeth clenched and eyes wide, she looked like a living skeleton—a truly frightening sight. The old lady didn't dare to look too closely, afraid she would have nightmares later.
The old lady took a piece of yellow paper from her sleeve and handed it to Mrs. Zhao. "Take a look. This is the verdict written by the abbot of Cien Temple himself. When I saw it, I was so panicked I came to find you immediately."
With trembling hands, Mrs. Zhao took the yellow paper.
She was literate, but at that moment, it felt as if she couldn't recognize a single word written on the paper.
Gravely inauspicious!
Gravely inauspicious!
Gravely inauspicious!
If Jing married Wanyue, his life would be in danger!
Mrs. Zhao's heart nearly leaped out of her throat.
She was terrified. Panicked, she grabbed the old lady's arm. "What do we do? Old lady, what can we possibly do? Jing is my only son! If anything happens to him, how will I ever face my late husband!"
The old lady had to struggle to free her arm from Mrs. Zhao's grasp.
Such a sickly person, who looked like a strong gust of wind could knock her over—who would have thought she had such strength?
'My arm is definitely going to be bruised.'
'I take good care of these old bones of mine.'
'But now, just one trip to the Zhao Family is going to leave me aching for a week or two.'
'Wanyue was right. The Zhao Family and our family are just naturally incompatible.'
The old lady felt a surge of irritation, and whatever little guilt she had felt instantly vanished into thin air.
She began to console Mrs. Zhao insincerely. "When I first heard about this, I was terrified as well. I was so flustered leaving the temple that I even stumbled a few times. But the facts are the facts. There's no use trying to run from it. All we can do now is find a way to solve it."
"How do we solve it? Old lady, do you have a solution? Please tell me. I'll listen to whatever you say."
'What a muddle-headed fool, with no mind of her own! If Wanyue were to marry into this family, she'd have Mrs. Zhao wrapped around her little finger.'
'It would be a perfect life. A shame, really. The only flaw is that Zhao Jing has no future prospects!'
Though she thought this, the old lady put on a distressed expression. "When horoscopes clash like this, what solution could there be, other than... breaking off the engagement..."
The moment the old lady mentioned "breaking off the engagement," Mrs. Zhao shook her head frantically. "No! That's not an option! This is the engagement his father arranged for him when he was still alive. Now that his father is gone, if I break it off, I won't be able to face him in the afterlife."
The old lady fought the urge to roll her eyes. 'Face him, face him. The living person is about to die, and you're still worried about facing the dead?'
"Oh, Mrs. Zhao, do you think I want to break off this engagement? Go ask around the whole county, where else could you find a young man as outstanding as our Jing? I wish he were my own grandson, yet I'm also glad he isn't. Giving up such a good grandson-in-law is like carving out my own heart. But in the end, the child's life is what's most important. We raise our children with such hardship, not expecting them to repay us, but surely we can't let ourselves become parents who have to bury their own child..."
Mrs. Zhao was almost persuaded by the old lady.
But, if they broke off the engagement, she still wouldn't be able to face her husband.
Mrs. Zhao refused to yield, and the old lady grew anxious.
'I originally thought that since Jing is her only son, just showing her that yellow paper would be enough to make her agree for his safety. If that had worked, I wouldn't have even mentioned swapping in Wanqing. It would have saved a lot of trouble.'
But now, Mrs. Zhao was holding fast, refusing to budge. Even though she was about to faint from fright, she kept muttering "no." The old lady had no other choice, so she leaned close to Mrs. Zhao's ear and whispered a new proposal.
Mrs. Zhao's eyes flew wide, and her breath caught in her throat. Her face was a mask of stunned confusion, her body trembling like a leaf in the wind.
The old lady couldn't tell if she was excited or just shocked by the absurd idea. But for the sake of her grandson's future and for the Chen family to have a better life, the old lady grabbed Mrs. Zhao's arm and began her persuasive pitch. "Before, when I saved you, your family arranged the marriage between Jing and Wanyue to repay the favor. But Wanyue isn't my only granddaughter; I also have my eldest, Wanqing. Since Wanyue and Zhao Jing's horoscopes clash, why not swap in Wanqing instead?"
The old lady's tone was full of meaning. "Wanqing is a fine girl. You'd be hard-pressed to find a more outstanding young woman in all the surrounding villages. Her only misfortune is having had two engagements broken off, but you, madam, are a reasonable person; you surely know the fault wasn't hers. My granddaughter has had a bitter lot in life. If she could find a good home with your family, it would be a blessing she has earned through great virtue. And speaking of which, you've always been fond of Wanqing, and Jing gets along well with De'an. Your family is on good terms with the first branch. Pairing Jing and Wanqing together would be a good match that benefits everyone!"