chapter 2

chapter 2

It was only after my coming-of-age ceremony, when the girls around me were getting engaged or married one after another, that I truly realized I was different.

Because of those differences, no young man wanted to marry me. No young man liked me.

I would have to remain an old maid in my family’s home forever. While everyone else had children to play with, I would be left counting ants in the courtyard.

I was sad for a long time.

But Mother told me, “A person doesn’t have to marry or have children.”

“Nor do you need a young lord to love you.”

“The most important thing is to like yourself and love yourself. That is the best kind of love.”

I did not quite understand.

My cousin thumped his chest. “Don’t worry, A-Fu. If you want a child to play with, I’ll have one for you someday.”

“And if you want to marry, I’ll marry you.”

I looked at the indignant young boy and shook my head in distaste. “No.”

“Sister Chaochao’s husband can compose poetry. Yuzhu’s fiancé from the end of the lane is a young general. He can wield a spear and ride a horse. But you…”

I looked him up and down.

“You only know how to work an abacus.”

Each repetition made his face redder. For a long while, he could not get a single word out.

At last, he turned to Grandfather with a tragic expression.

“A-Fu is an ungrateful little wretch. She looks down on me because all I know is the abacus.”

As he spoke, a blush crept over his fair face.

“I-I’m going to learn martial arts too. Once she stops looking down on me, I’ll marry her. As for inheriting the family business, you can have Mother or Auntie give birth to another child.”

The Shen family was one of Jiangnan’s wealthiest households, with more fields and shops than anyone could count.

Grandfather had once served at court when he was young. When peace settled over the realm, he returned to Jiangnan and took charge of the family business.

He had one son and one daughter: my aunt and my father.

My aunt had taken a husband who married into the Shen household. She had studied accounts and business under Grandfather since childhood and was now a formidable merchant in her own right.

My father had entered officialdom in his youth, and his career had gone smoothly over the years.

Our whole family was wonderfully happy. We were merely a little short on descendants.

That was why Grandfather raised the scroll in his hand and smacked my cousin over the head.

“A-Fu already has a fiancé. You won’t be marrying her. Go finish checking last year’s accounts.”

Grandfather told me that my fiancé lived in the capital. His surname was Pei, his given name was Jin, and his courtesy name was Jiuheng.

I asked what he looked like.

Grandfather stroked his long white beard and considered.

“His father is black as a lump of coal, and his mother is fair. I suppose he looks like the tea egg you ate this morning.”

My mouth drooped at once. Twisting the handkerchief between my fingers, I muttered, “Then Cousin must be better.”

But Grandfather said Pei Jin was very accomplished. He was skilled with both books and weapons and had placed third in the imperial examination two years before.

He was one of the finest young men in the capital, and we were exceptionally well matched.

Still, Grandfather had said he looked like a tea egg. Tea eggs tasted good, but they were not pretty.

I preferred handsome men.