Chapter 184: Chapter 183: I Want Her
That night, upon returning home, He Wenyu did not even attend the flower banquet. He paced back and forth in the study, waiting for the servants to report information, his mind full of the image of Luoshen in the peach blossom forest.
After some time, a pageboy in a short coat hurriedly ran back. Before he could step through the door, he was grabbed by the anxiously waiting He Wenyu, who asked, "How did it go? Did you find the person?"
"My lord, there is indeed a girl in Taohua Pavilion whom Shilang has been meeting for marital negotiations. I also had someone inquire from a maid at Shilang’s sister’s house, and the woman in green clothes yesterday is indeed the Xiao girl whom Shilang is considering."
"What!? It’s really her? How could it be so coincidental?" He Wenyu frowned, then immediately showed a determined look, "It doesn’t matter, I’ll just take her!"
Being of He Family’s direct lineage, He Wenyu naturally wouldn’t care too much about the family cousins who relied on them to get by. Even if that cousin is now working at the County Government, so what? Ultimately, he got in there relying on the influence of the He Family’s direct lineage.
Although the He Family isn’t one of the old Gate Valves, they are deeply rooted in Qiantang and Hangzhou. As the saying goes, ’iron offices, flowing officials,’ no matter who comes to the local office, they cannot avoid paying respects to the He Family’s dock.
The servant saw He Wenyu was about to rush to seek a lady in the house, hastily pulling him and saying: "My lord, do not rush. I’ve also heard one more thing: the Xiao girl, whom Shilang is meeting for marital negotiations, has a twin sister, who wore pink clothes yesterday. The two look almost identical."
He Wenyu’s steps halted, looking incredulously at his servant. "A twin sister? Two divine women who look alike can actually exist in this world? The Xiao family’s feng shui is so good!? Are you sure you haven’t got it wrong?"
The servant nodded eagerly, "It’s true. I confirmed it several times, I won’t get it wrong."
Upon hearing this, He Wenyu was not very happy. He did not want to settle for second best, even if there is an identical sister, he still wants the elder sister whom he first saw.
Ah, even so, He Wenyu actually felt uncomfortable in his heart. Competing with a cousin for a woman was trifling compared to sharing the same beauty with others, which was more unbearable for him.
He only wanted to exclusively possess the divine woman, hiding her from everyone.
After a long while, He Wenyu exhaled a long breath of turbid air, "Why can’t I marry both? Let’s go, accompany Erlang as I propose to the lady."
The servant, hearing this, raised a huge fuss and quickly declined, "Erlang, Erlang, I am just a runner, with no qualification to be before Erlang, let alone see the lady, it’s inappropriate for me to follow."
"Inappropriate or not, if I say it’s appropriate, then it is. That boy Alu was sent to inquire for news, but there wasn’t any word for half a day. Still, you are swift, so from now on you’ll follow me, and I’ll elevate your rank." He Wenyu said as he marched towards the main courtyard.
The servant, hearing this, wiped his sweat, both happy and worried, tremblingly following behind He Wenyu.
The mansion had already spread the word that the second lord had settled on a girl from the Lanling Xiao family’s direct lineage of the Qiliang branch, and the date for the betrothal had already been chosen – just half a month away! If to run before the lady now about changing the matter, the second lord, being the lady’s only son, would be fine, but he, being a servant, would be miserable since he brought back the news, and more than likely he would get a spanking.
Of course, if he endured the spanking, being a close servant to the second lord would bring good fortune after hardship, thus he silently vowed to grit his teeth and bear it.
He Wenyu didn’t care what the servant thought. Being favored and haughty since childhood as a direct descendant of Zhangsun, with the support of his grandfather and the old lady, even his father couldn’t do much to him.
Isn’t it just taking a marital candidate away from a cousin? Not a big deal! He even did not want to share, thinking of marrying both twin sisters into the family as direct consorts!
The Great Tang’s legal codes did not recognize having two wives, stipulating one husband, one wife.
The punishment for having more than one wife includes one year of penal servitude; for the girl’s family, a reduced punishment. If deceitfully married, one and a half years of penal servitude; the girl’s family is not punished, and the marriage is dissolved. Those who make a wife a concubine face two years of penal servitude.
But laws are laws, and facts are facts. From various records, the trend of marrying multiple wives was prevalent in the Great Tang from top to bottom. The Tang legal codes were not taken seriously, so much so that there were cases where the Emperor would grant a marriage to an already married minister, making multiple wife marriages. The laws only mattered to ordinary people without power or influence.
Thus, He Wenyu’s idea of marrying both as direct wives was not unfeasible as long as both parties were willing.
But would both sides be willing?
He Wenyu ran to the main hall and, as soon as he expressed his intention to his mother, Lady Zhu, he nearly angered her to harm.
The match she arranged for him was the Xiao girl from the direct lineage of the Qiliang branch! It took a great deal of matchmaking fees to secure such a match! And now what was her son saying? He wants to abandon the Xiao girl from the direct lineage of the Qiliang branch to marry a minor daughter from the Imperial Uncle’s branch! The difference is like the clouds and mud!
How absurd! How laughable!
Though they both belong to the renowned Lanling Xiao family, noble beyond words. But after entering the Tang, the Imperial Uncle’s branch, like other Gate Valves, was gradually declining, while the Qiliang branch was renowned and continued to thrive with the Tang.
Even the great Emperor Li Shimin married his daughter to Xiao Rui (Xiao Chong’s uncle), who was several years older than himself, to strengthen their familial ties (the two families were already related). Great is the nobility of the Xiao family, evident from these nuances.
Tang people valued Gate Valves heavily in marriage, from the royal family to commoners, all flocked to the daughters of the former aristocracy. Better to marry a widow from a great Gate Valve than a flower of a small gate, so goes the saying. What does this mean? Families with means prefer to marry a widowed and single woman from a great Gate Valve rather than a young maiden from a humble family.
During the Tang dynasty, concepts of chastity were weak. Marriages of convenience among the nobility often meant separate pursuits for both parties, behavior common and irreconcilable with the later stricter restraints on women during Ming and Qing times.
Whether someone is popular in the marriage market is determined from the day of her birth.
Those married into Gate Valves would even make a big deal about it in their epitaphs, striving to tell future generations how prestigious it was to marry a daughter of a Gate Valve.
For example, the famous Duke of Su, Cheng Yaojin, in his second marriage, married a widow from the Qinghe Cui family. Even so, he considered himself fortunate and treasured her as a precious gem. On his deathbed, he left a will to be buried with the Cui he married second, ignoring the rites and leaving his original wife, Sun, aside.
So now He Wenyu wants to back out on the arranged marriage with the Xiao girl from the direct lineage of the Qiliang branch; it’s simply ludicrous.
Lady Zhu, in her anger, sat down on the Imperial Concubine’s Couch, gasping for breath, while the maids and attendants around were bustling, offering smelling salts, fanning, and rubbing her back.
"Erlang, stop making your mother upset." He Wenyu’s wet nurse intervened to stop him.
Lady Zhu, regaining her breath, scolded sternly, "Don’t even think about it. It’s not possible! Stop with those thoughts! Marry a virtuous wife and take beautiful concubines if you want. After you marry the wife, I won’t care how many beauties you entertain, but the wife must not be changed."