The Eldest Daughter of a Rural Family
Chapter 307: Paving the Way for the Eldest Grandson’s Exam (8)_1

Chapter 307: Chapter 307: Paving the Way for the Eldest Grandson’s Exam (8)_1

"Then let’s go home and discuss it with Dad!" Lady Yu nodded, she was really a bit worried. Feng Bo would be fifteen in five days, yet he had not spoken of marriage. If her second sister really had this in mind... The more she thought about it, the more possible it seemed. Chang Yonglin had found Feng Bo a promising job in the town’s shop, but he refused, insisting on staying in the noodle shop. This was not good! Though the two families were related by marriage, adding another relation seemed agreeable. But Feng Bo and Pei Qin... were really not well matched.

Their conversation made the carriage driver Fang Li incredibly anxious. Seeing Lady Yu act so foolishly, pushing away a daughter-in-law like Pei Qin, he couldn’t help but become angry and blurted out, "If Qinqin truly marries above her station, she might end up having a hard time! Besides, she doesn’t seem like the type to climb the social ladder! She teaches martial arts to Dalang every day, maybe the two have developed affection for each other!"

These words surprised both Lady Yu and Grandma Fang, but Lady Yu immediately shook her head, "Qinqin has always treated Dalang like a younger brother, just like she does with Yuanyuan and the others! It’s impossible!"

"What’s so impossible! Is our Dalang bad-looking, or can’t he study!? You’re so kind to those siblings, and in the future, you’ll surely be even closer to her than to your own daughters! If Dalang were to pass the exams and become an official, then she’d be Madam Official! What’s so impossible about that!?" Fang Li couldn’t help but ask twice, as he had long favored this match, "Qinqin lost her mother, and with her father being the way he is, if she were to marry into a family with a mean mother-in-law, how would she live!? If she came to our family, where we are all close kin, wouldn’t she live comfortably and happily!?"

After hearing him speak so earnestly, Grandma Fang also felt somewhat persuaded. If her eldest grandson were to pass the exams and potentially become an official in the future, Pei Qin wouldn’t suffer if she married into their family! There wouldn’t be any manipulations, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law squabbles. Although their family was just a rural household, they indeed lived a comfortable life.

Lady Yu frowned, "I still think it won’t work! Pei Qin has no such intentions at all! She’s running a shop now, managing a workshop, and growing sweet potatoes. There’s a reward pending above. If we forcefully arrange a marriage, people will accuse us of coveting our niece’s wealth! Instead of succeeding in a match, we might end up not being close anymore!" It wasn’t that she thought her son wasn’t good enough, but it was clear to any observer that it wasn’t possible. Feng Bo wasn’t suitable, and it wasn’t certain that her Dalang would have the ability either.

Grandma Fang swayed back and forth, hesitant, "The family wealth will definitely all go to Wendong in the future! We’re not after those!"

"Others might not think so, and neither might Pei Qin and her brother!" Lady Yu said as she pursed her lips, determined not to let Fang Li make a fuss. She would go home and discuss it with Dad.

Grandma Fang frowned, also undecided.

Fang Li turned blue with anger; Lady Yu always had a way of throwing things out of whack!

When they got home, Fang Li didn’t wait for her to act and shooed her off to work, going himself to speak to Old Scholar Fang about the marriage.

After hearing his proposal, Old Scholar Fang refused outright, "This match is not suitable! We’ve always aimed to marry outward, to stronger connections, isn’t that what you said? Pei Qin’s fate is not to be taken lightly, and next year I’ll start arranging a marriage for her. Dalang should focus on his studies for now. We can think of marriage later on, after he’s achieved some scholarly success!" If the spring planting of sweet potatoes took off, then by summer and autumn, the crop would be promoted. By the year’s end at the latest, a reward would come. Pei Qin would be sixteen, with filial duties towards her late mother. Waiting another year wouldn’t matter. With the reward, marriage would certainly not be an issue!

"Dad!?" Fang Li hadn’t expected him to be so firm, leaving no room for negotiation, flatly refusing. This was even more decisive than rejecting the Feng family. He had been eyeing this marriage for some time. How could he just let Pei Qin, this golden egg, fall into another family’s nest!?

Lady Yu had already disagreed, and Grandma Fang was shaking and hesitant. Hearing Old Scholar Fang’s outright refusal, and knowing his plans were already in place, she no longer thought of bringing Pei Qin into their family.