Chapter 2

The next day, the Cui family sent a matchmaker to propose, accompanied by chests of betrothal gifts.

My mother hurriedly hauled me out of bed.

“The Cuis are here to propose!”

Still half asleep, I nodded.

“I know.”

She shook me by the shoulders. “The Cui family. Minister Cui’s Cui family.”

I nodded again. “I know.”

My mother patted my cheeks.

Then she raised her voice and shouted, “The Cuis are here to propose!”

I jolted so hard that every trace of drowsiness vanished.

Once I was fully awake, I told her everything that had happened at the Cui family’s banquet the day before.

After listening, my mother said thoughtfully, “Could it be that Cui Lanzhang has poor eyesight?”

I nodded in agreement. “I was thinking the same thing.”

“So, are you going to accept? Your father is still waiting for your answer.”

I nodded. “Of course. If I turn him down, I could search with a lantern for the rest of my life and never find another catch like him.”

My mother nodded approvingly.

“That’s true.”

And so my marriage to Cui Lanzhang was settled.

Who would have thought I could doze off at a banquet and come home with a fiancé?

It was all so hasty and absurd

that when news of the engagement between the Cui and Meng families spread through the capital,

many people assumed it was a joke.

Not until our wedding day,

when the Cui family’s grand bridal sedan stopped before the Meng residence,

did everyone belatedly realize

that it was no joke at all.

At dawn, my mother fished me out of bed.

They bathed and perfumed me, arranged my hair, threaded away my facial hair, and applied my makeup.

Like a marionette, all I could do was let them fuss over me.

Halfway through combing my hair, my mother stood behind me, laughing until she suddenly began to cry.

I had no idea what to do.

My mother was born into a merchant family and was the pampered youngest daughter. She had grown up carefree and forthright, and after she married my father, he had never allowed her to suffer the slightest grievance.

She had lived happily for most of her life.

So in all my years, this was the first time I had ever seen her cry.

I quickly wiped her face

and coaxed her, “Mother, I know you’ll miss me, but the Cui and Meng residences are only two streets apart. I’ll still come back often to keep you company, so don’t be sad. Your eyes will swell, and then you won’t look pretty.”

My mother sniffed and saw the concern on my face.

She wiped her cheeks.

“I wasn’t crying. The wind just… blew some sand into my eyes.”

I burst out laughing. How could someone acting this childish possibly be my mother?

“Of course, of course. You weren’t crying.”

The moment I said it,

I looked at her reddened eyes,

and my own throat tightened.

At the thought of leaving home,

I finally lost control. My mouth crumpled, and the tears began to fall.