TFWYH – Chapter 145 Housewarming

Aunt Hong looked at her, speechless.
“Why don’t you understand? Even if Young Master Yu didn’t have scholarly honors, Ling Yue would never look at your son. Don’t make things awkward for yourself.”

Seeing Aunt Yang about to flare up, Aunt Hong hurriedly added,
“Good sister, I’m only saying this for your sake. Look at the second branch. On paper, the business is under Madam Wan’s name, but in reality it’s all Ling Yue managing it. And look—how long has it been? Yet Ling Yue has already made so much money. That girl was born a merchant. Give her time, and she’ll only make more and more.

Your Dashan is just a village boy, six or seven years older than Ling Yue. He may look decent enough, but he has no money, no scholarly status, can’t read, and has no real skill. If it weren’t for Madam Wan and Ling Yue, he’d still be out hunting now. Tell me—does that sound like a match?

Even if Madam Li agreed to marry Ling Yue to your Dashan, don’t forget—Ling Yue is a businesswoman. Businesspeople value profit, their minds are sharper and twistier than mountain paths. Do you think she wouldn’t see all this? Do you think she’d be willing? What you’re asking for isn’t marriage—it’s resentment.”

Aunt Yang was dumbfounded by her words, unable to come up with a single rebuttal.

Aunt Hong sighed and continued earnestly:
“Marriage has to be between families of equal standing. If you don’t understand that, think of it this way: if you knew your family would one day prosper, but your mother forced you to marry a man worse than you in every way—would you be happy?”

Aunt Yang quickly shook her head.
“Of course not! I wouldn’t be happy at all! That’d be ruining me!”

Aunt Hong: “Exactly. So tell me—would that be marriage, or enmity?”

Aunt Yang muttered with some frustration:
“Then what should I do? I really do like that girl Ling Yue.”

“…” Who wouldn’t like a woman who’s beautiful, capable, and good at making money?
“Let it be. Stop meddling in children’s marriages. We’re old now—our job is just to help take care of their kids in the future. Who they marry is their business. The less we stick our noses where they don’t belong, the easier life will be for everyone.”

Aunt Yang grew thoughtful at that.

Only then did Aunt Hong breathe a sigh of relief.

Things were fine the way they were now. The second branch would inevitably prosper, and they had already been kind to her. She didn’t want to see discord arise.

Not long after, Madam Jiang returned, and the three women resumed chatting and laughing.

But in her heart, Aunt Yang still felt regret.

What Aunt Hong said might have been blunt, but it wasn’t wrong. Deep down, Aunt Yang knew it too, though she had been clinging to a sliver of hope. Now, even that sliver was gone.

The second branch were good people and had shown her great kindness. How could she repay that kindness with enmity, making things difficult for them?

As for Widow Hong—Aunt Yang had never interacted with her before. Because of her bad reputation, she had always viewed her through a colored lens.

But now that they’d talked, Aunt Yang realized Widow Hong was actually a very clear-headed, perceptive woman.

Thinking of how she had once come from the brothel, Aunt Yang could only sigh inwardly—fortune or misfortune, who could say?

As evening fell, dish after dish was set on the table.

Everyone sat together.

Different from usual, Ling Yu was also at the table.

With him there, the second branch felt fine, but the others were clearly uneasy.

Especially Tang Hongba’s family. They had always looked down on the “weakling” for treating Tang Wan poorly, though only behind his back.

Now, with the weakling right in front of them—dignified, radiant, completely out of their league—he looked like a noble son from the capital.

The moment he sat down, their own presence shrank considerably.