Mein erster Ehemann nach der Transmigration

Kapitel 18

“Because it’s a dog, and dogs bark, so it’s called Yi Yi. It can only mean that the sound of ‘wang’ is the same as the English word ‘yi’. There are still very few Westerners here, and you’ve never even left the country, so how could you have learned English?” He pulled the chair back a little and shook the hem of his clothes. “I’ve wanted to tell you for a long time, but I didn’t know how to say it. After thinking about it, I decided to be sure before I said it. Besides, I was afraid that you were too stupid and would do something reckless, so I didn’t dare to say it until now.”

He Suchen glanced at him sideways: "Aren't you afraid I'll do something reckless now? Be careful, or I'll tell the whole world you're a monster!"

“You won’t,” He Su Shi said confidently, looking at her calmly. “Anyway, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Junior Sister.”

He Su stared intently at that exquisite face. Could there really be a wandering soul like his own within it? It was truly unbelievable and hard to accept. How could someone like this be by his side? Was he dreaming?

She shook her head, clearing her mind of the jumbled thoughts, and then earnestly remarked to this comrade—

"This world is so fantastical..."

··············

So, how many of you guessed the cross-dressing guy's identity? Hehe~~

Wow, you guys are really strong...

Xia, you were a little shocked, weren't you?

Snowball is named "一一" because of the sound a dog makes when it barks, "Woof woof."

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Noble Families

The "Propaganda Officer" function is now open! What are you waiting for? Join now! "You want to be an official?!" He Suchen stared wide-eyed in astonishment.

He Su Shi stared at his excellent comrade with an expression of utter disbelief: "Why not become an official? In this dynasty, the people were divided into five classes. We belonged to the official households. The differences and antagonisms between classes were completely unchangeable, and besides, I had neither the ability nor the need to change it. My father was a Hanlin Academy scholar and once served as a Vice Chancellor. Even if I failed the imperial examinations, I could still rely on 'imperial favor'—that is, the emperor's bestowal—to secure an official position. You can't imagine how generous the salaries and how high the status of officials in the Northern Song Dynasty were. What else could I do if I didn't become an official?"

"But, but..." she hesitated, "...it just feels a bit strange..."

"You think I'm useless and need to rely on patronage to get an official position, right?" He Su Shi smiled confidently. "I was just saying that if I don't pass the imperial examination, how could that be? Once I enter the Imperial Academy in the capital, I won't be any worse than others, no matter what. Every year, the court selects students directly from the Imperial Academy, without even having to go through the imperial examination. Even if I don't do well at the Imperial Academy, I can still get into the Mathematics Academy based on my previous math skills and guarantee a normal entry into officialdom."

“That’s not what I meant…” He Suchen picked up the now-cold tea in front of him, played with the teacup lid, and after a long while spoke, “I just think it’s very… very unbelievable, I don’t understand it. Master… Brother, you’re becoming more and more like a Song Dynasty person, or rather, I didn’t even realize you were a modern person like me. You’ve hidden it so well, it feels very strange.”

"What are you thinking?" He Su said seriously, "Get rid of it as soon as possible. Now that you're here, you should consider yourself a person of this era. Only in this way can you protect yourself. Do you want to attract everyone's attention and besiege with the thoughts and behaviors of a modern person? Wake up! It seems we can't go back now! The lives of this dynasty are our lives. Do you want to waste your life?"

“I don’t know. I always feel like this is so fake, like a dream.” He Suchen smiled bitterly. “Although I’ve said many times that I want to travel through time after reading novels, when I actually traveled through time, I just felt out of place with this era. My thoughts were suppressed, and I had no freedom. It was very sad.”

She suddenly woke up, smiled, and said, "I was just complaining. Life goes on as usual."

He Su looked at her with concern, but remained silent. Suddenly, she said, "What's the background of that Cui Shiran? I feel like he's not so simple either."

"Why do you care about other people's clothes? Just because he's wearing them doesn't mean everyone looks like they've been dressed up from somewhere."

"But he seems very mature and composed." She shook her head in disbelief. "Where would a fifteen-year-old be like him? It's strange."

"Do you know who his mother is?" He Su Shi asked when his sister shook her head again. "Her surname is Zhang, and her father is from Longhu Mountain."

? ?

He Su pondered for a long time but still came up with nothing, so he could only open his eyes wide and wait for the answer.

"Your history is really bad, no wonder you went to G University..." He Su Shi sighed, ignoring her murderous glare and explaining directly, "There are two of the oldest families in the world, one of which is surnamed Kong..."

"Confucius?" He Suchen interjected. He nodded, indicating that he wasn't completely stupid, and then said, "There's also a family surnamed Zhang."

"The Confucius Family Mansion in Shandong and the Celestial Master's Mansion in Jiangxi are two of China's most prominent families with a history spanning millennia. In particular, the Zhang family of the Celestial Master's Mansion in Longhu Mountain, Jiangxi, has held immense power throughout the ages. Many of Confucius's descendants only held nominal titles such as Duke Yansheng, but the Song Dynasty emperors generally believed in Taoism. Since the early Song Dynasty, when the Three Mountains Talisman Sect was established, the Zhang family has developed for over two hundred years, and the Longhu Sect has long since become the head of the Three Mountains Talisman Sect. The head of the family often serves as the National Preceptor. Even though the Zhang family is not as prominent as it was after the Yuan Dynasty, with nearly ten generations being bestowed the titles of True Man and Celestial Master, it has already begun to take shape." He Su said a lot in one breath, grabbed a cup of leftover tea from the afternoon, and drank it, not caring that the tea had gone cold and was bitter and astringent.

"Can Taoist priests get married?" He Suchen found it strange. He used to listen to these kinds of things as stories, and he never had any feelings about them except for envying the families who could get rich without working. Now he found that it was so close to his own life.

He Su Shi looked defeated, her face flushed, and she suddenly exclaimed, "I remember now! It said in the basic knowledge for tour guides that the Quanzhen School of Taoism has strict rules and many prohibitions, but the Talisman School allows marriage!"

“Now I finally know why you went to G University. You were just like this during the college entrance exam, weren’t you? After handing in your paper, you would say, ‘I know now, the answer to that question should have been A, B, C, and D,’” He Su sighed.

He Suchen's eyes widened, and she immediately adopted a debating stance: "What kind of thinking is that?! It's precisely because of people like you that our unemployment and job-hopping rates among non-prestigious university graduates remain so high! So what if our school isn't good?! We also have capable geniuses!" She finished by giving him a disdainful look, "Your major is communications engineering, senior, a graduate from a prestigious university like you must be very capable, right? If you're so capable, why don't you build an integrated circuit board for a mobile phone here! Although I'm from an ordinary university, and although I'm majoring in tourism, at least I can still chat with my girlfriends here, talking about this and that. What about you? Do you dare to boast to your classmates about how great your programming is? How many physics theorems are there?"

Getting carried away with her conversation, she completely forgot that what she was saying was going off-topic and illogical. Just as she was about to continue her rambling, she heard Granny Sun calling from outside: "Are the young master and young lady inside?"

He Su Shi made a shushing gesture and replied, "Granny, we are in the study."

Granny Sun pushed open the door and stepped in, her face grim. "Guests have arrived in the hall. Young master and young lady must go and pay their respects." She glanced at He Suchen and said, "You two should speak and look as little as possible and try not to attract attention. Young lady, pretend to be as stupid as you can. This time, they are not good people. The old lady told the young master to be patient."

He Su Shi was taken aback. The He family was already one of the most powerful and influential families in Suzhou. He wondered who could possibly make Tang's mother tell him to swallow his anger. He put down his teacup and said, "It's getting late. Can you help my sister cancel? Just say she's asleep and it's inconvenient for her to go out."

Granny Sun shook her head and urged, "Hurry up, my little darlings. If we're late and everyone has arrived, you two will attract even more attention when you go in, and it won't be good if someone tries to take advantage of us."

Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Marriage Alliance

<><A><>The promoter function is now open! What are you waiting for? Join now!!!</A><> When the brother and sister arrived, everyone in the hall was already there. The dim candlelight, along with the glow of the luminous pearl and several large oil lamps, illuminated the hall as brightly as day.

Tang's mother sat in the main seat, with Liu and Zhang on the chairs to her left and right, and Qiu Shui standing behind her. Yuan Rou and Yuan Fang, along with Yong Jiao, sat with their heads down on small stools to the side. At the guest seats were several cousins whom they recognized but were completely unfamiliar with.

The atmosphere in the hall was half-suppressed and half-heavy. Only the man at the head of the table could be heard talking about the scenery and customs of Suzhou, with Tang's mother occasionally responding. He Sucheng followed his brother in to pay his respects to Tang's mother, who pointed to the man and said, "This is Commissioner Liu, the one who has been dismissed from office. Please pay your respects."

He Suchen had already secretly sized up the man when he came in. He was around forty years old and had a fairly handsome face, but his eyelids drooped and his skin was loose, perhaps due to excessive drinking and womanizing. He accepted the greeting with a half-smile and then asked, "Little girl, are you ten years old?"

He Suchen hesitated for a long time before finally stammering, "It seems, it seems I'm almost ten years old." She kept her head down the whole time, not daring to lift her face. After speaking, she immediately followed her brother to her seat. Liu Jinshan seemed very satisfied and praised, "Grandma He, indeed, the upbringing of your family is extraordinary. Look how clever and charming these young people are."

He paused for a moment, as if considering something: "Madam, I have a favor to ask, and I hope you will not refuse."

"Speak, Lord Liu. If it can be done, I will not refuse," Tang's mother said calmly. As soon as she finished speaking, Liu Shi chimed in, "Brother Jin, do you have any good suggestions? Tell us so we can hear them."

Liu Jin smiled and said, "I see that all the children in your household are outstanding individuals. My youngest son is also twelve years old, and I wish to arrange a marriage between our families. What do you think?"

Tang's mother's expression hardened, and she leaned back against the cushion: "I wonder which child Lord Liu wishes to marry?"

"I thought this young lady was quite good." Liu Jinshan gestured with his chin toward He Suchen. "What does the old lady think?"

“That’s wonderful! If Guazi marries into my cousin’s family, she’ll surely be living a life of luxury.” Madam Liu said with a smile, “Mother, you should agree.”