Pang Yuan and Wu You were engaged, but being engaged meant they weren't husband and wife. At their age, they should have observed proper boundaries between men and women. Both the Jun and Pang families were military families, and they turned a blind eye to whether engaged couples met. Even if they saw each other in public, they would just laugh it off, and no one would take any special precautions. In contrast, in a more conservative, scholarly family, even speaking through a curtain would be considered improper, let alone meeting.
“I think it would be better to let A-Yuan go and see his two future brothers-in-law, play with them for a while. That’s what a brother-in-law should do.”
Madam Bai was quick-witted and soon came up with an idea.
Pang Yuan came today to question Wu You. As long as they both leave this room, he will find a way to achieve his goal.
“I know where my brothers are. My second sister and I will guide my future brother-in-law,” Wushuang said.
Upon hearing this, Madam Yang frowned. She was about to say something to her daughter to make her more dignified when the old lady spoke first: "Well, that's fine. After you pick up your brothers, you can also take A-Yuan to Baifang Garden for a stroll."
After the younger generation left one by one, Madam Bai stopped pretending to be relaxed and asked the old lady to dismiss everyone else, saying that she had important matters to discuss.
The old lady had her doubts, but she still ordered the servants to leave as Madam Bai had instructed.
Turning her head, she saw Old Madam Bai take a letter out of her purse.
"Elder sister, we received a letter like this yesterday. The contents of the letter terrified me." As she spoke, she handed the letter to the old lady of the Jun family on the kang table.
Wushuang skipped and hopped along the gravel path like a happy little deer. A few steps behind her was Wuyou, who was trying to keep up with her, and further away was Pang Yuan, who was lagging behind at a leisurely pace.
"Hey, hurry up! Baifang Garden is just ahead!" Wushuang suddenly stopped and urged.
Wuyou jogged to catch up with her and asked, "Didn't you say you were going to find your younger brothers? Shouldn't they be in the West Garden, studying with their teacher? How come they're in the Hundred Fragrance Garden?"
"Oh dear, my good sister, who said we were going to go find our brother?" Wushuang asked back.
"Didn't you say it yourself? You were the one who suggested it to Grandmother." Wuyou said, puzzled.
Wushuang chuckled a few times before saying, "That was just a pretense, Second Sister, why did you take it seriously?"
"What pretext? Why use a pretext?" Wuyou stamped his foot and asked.
"Second sister, you are so intelligent, how could you not have thought of this?" Wushuang said. "Grandmother and I are both so considerate of you, but we need to find a way to arrange for you to spend time alone with your future brother-in-law and have a private conversation."
“I have nothing to say to him, and I don’t want to be alone with him.”
Which girl doesn't have a little temper? Wushuang kept saying "future brother-in-law" and "private time" with ambiguous words. Wuyou was both embarrassed and annoyed. She said a string of angry words and ran away, lifting her skirt.
The blind man quickly grabbed her arm: "Second sister, how can you just leave like this, leaving me and my future skin to fend for ourselves?"
Wuyou's face turned even redder as she struggled to pull her arm away and complete her escape plan.
The sisters didn't deliberately lower their voices when they were talking and joking, and Pang Yuan, being a martial artist, had better hearing than the average person, so he naturally heard everything they said clearly.
He stepped forward at the opportune moment, lowered his head slightly, looked directly at Wuyou, and said sincerely, "Wuyou, don't go, I have something to say to you." He glanced at Wushuang and added, "I want to say it to you alone."
Under a large willow tree leaning against the wall in Baifang Garden, Wuyou and Pang Yuan sat facing each other on either side of a stone table.
On the path three zhang away, Wushuang stood guard with her back to them. Even the maids who brought tea and snacks according to the rules could not escape her clutches. After putting down the snacks and tea, they were chased far away.
Pang Yuan held a famille rose teapot with a handle and poured a cup of tea for Wuyou. Then he said softly, "Sister Wuyou, you were still young when we got engaged, and there were some things that were inconvenient to tell you at the time. But now you've grown up, and in another six months we'll be husband and wife, so I think it's time to tell you."
Wuyou lifted her small face, which was almost buried in the teacup, and asked naturally, "What did you say?"
Pang Yuan said, “Back then, my grandmother said I was old enough to marry and have children, and she wanted to start arranging marriages for me. I kept thinking about how I should treat my wife after I married her. Should we treat each other with respect, or should we be deeply in love? Later, I thought that those things weren't important. What was important was that since I had married her, I should treat her well, cherish her from the bottom of my heart, and cherish her for the rest of my life. You should still remember, right? At first, I was going to arrange a marriage with your eldest cousin. That was the first and only time I ever wanted to do that. Because that's the day I met you. I was being tricked by villains, and you saved me. Later, I thought, if there is a woman I need to cherish for the rest of my life, why should it be someone else, and not you, who has done me such a great favor? So, I came to ask you for your hand in marriage.”
Wuyou listened silently, her little face blushing red, her heart filled with tenderness.
No matter how gentle and introverted she may be, she is still a young girl, and she has all the thoughts and feelings that a young girl should have.
Wuyou was young when they got engaged, but over the years, she has come to know how good Pang Yuan is.
Every time they met, he didn't say much, but always looked at her gently, paid attention to her actions, and took care of her needs.
Wuyou had never interacted with any other men, so naturally she had no one to compare herself to, but she never even considered doing so. She had not the slightest dissatisfaction with Pang Yuan.
She never dared to tell anyone her longing to marry him soon, but it was all woven into her wedding dress with colorful silk threads, stitch by stitch.
Wuyou thought that was the sweetest expectation, but she never expected that Pang Yuan would confess his feelings to her today and boldly say that he would love her for a lifetime.
How was she supposed to get through the next six months? "Every day felt like an eternity" wouldn't even begin to describe how she felt.
Wuyou was immersed in her beautiful expectations for the future when Pang Yuan suddenly changed the subject, saying, "I thought that as long as I treated you well, you would be very happy. However, I was probably wrong. I was in love with you, so I assumed that you were in love with me too. I forgot that when we got engaged, you were just a child and didn't understand love between men and women at all. I wasn't your choice either. Now that you're grown up, it's only natural that you would meet other men and fall in love with them."
Wuyou looked up at him blankly.
What do you mean by "it wasn't her choice"?
Who are the other men?
Besides him, who else did she fall in love with?
"Brother Pang... what are you saying? I... I don't understand." Wuyou's rosy face turned pale instantly. Actually, she understood. Pang Yuan meant that he thought she was having an affair.
Is he disgusted with her and wants to call off the engagement?
"Don't worry." Pang Yuan could see the change in her emotions and comforted her. "I'm not here to blame you. I just want to have a good talk with you. If you don't want to marry me, I will definitely not force you. If you are still willing to marry me, I will not hold the past against you."
They've been engaged for so many years, if she doesn't marry him, who else can she marry?
Wuyou hurriedly asked, "Brother Pang, what exactly are you talking about from the past?"
Pang Yuan coughed lightly and said seriously, "Yesterday I received a letter that talked about you." As he spoke, he took out the letter and handed it to Wuyou. Before letting go, he emphasized, "I believe you. As long as you say that things are not as written in the letter, I will believe you."
When Wuyou unfolded the letter, her already pale face was now completely devoid of color.
"I...I..." She didn't know where to begin explaining.