The Mute Wife Who Brings Prosperity

Chapter 844 - 800: Discussing Marriage (Part 2)

"Pa-da," Xu Jia heard the stick she was using to string fish fall onto the soft grass.

It took her a while to find her voice, "I think I’m awake, Master Yun, you might still be dreaming."

Are you kidding me! Family Head’s wife? Yun Huai’s wife? Her? Is he really not awake?

Yun Huai remained calm, "The Yun Family has rules, no speaking recklessly to others."

Xu Jia was stunned again, for a long time, and asked hesitantly, "Then does the Yun Family have a rule that the Family Head’s wife must be of pure and complete reputation?"

Yun Huai looked at her for a moment, then suddenly said, "I set the rule mentioned above."

The implication was that he’s the Family Head, whatever he says goes.

"Since it’s not your dream, it must be me dreaming then." Xu Jia said, while pinching her own arm.

Though it hurt, which proved it wasn’t a dream, she still couldn’t accept Yun Huai’s sudden words; "shocked" wouldn’t even begin to describe her current state of mind.

Yun Huai rarely saw her lose composure like this, a hint of amusement crept into the corners of his eyes, and his usually calm gaze faintly held a smile.

Xu Jia’s heart raced wildly, stammering, "Don’t look at me like that, I’m not good at self-control, especially when beauty is before me, I, I..."

She originally intended to say something fierce to give herself some courage, but what exactly, she couldn’t quite articulate.

Xu Jia was so embarrassed she wanted to dig a hole and crawl into it, but Yun Huai next to her remained leisurely, after listening to her ’me, myself,’ he interjected, "I accept your opinion."

Xu Jia quickly said, "I haven’t even proposed anything yet..."

Yun Huai calmly said, "Faced with beauty, I doubt you could propose anything useful. Let’s settle it that way."

"Huh?" Xu Jia was completely unable to follow his train of thought.

What did ’settle it that way’ mean? Settle what? What was settled? Did she agree?

After taking countless deep breaths to calm herself down, Xu Jia sincerely said, "Master Yun, I think there might be a bit of misunderstanding between us."

"A big misunderstanding," Yun Huai said, "when we first met I hadn’t done anything, and you hit me with a brick."

Xu Jia sighed lightly, "I personally think that since you’ve reached the position of Family Head, you should expand your mind appropriately, don’t hold onto grudges over trivial things."

"I don’t hold grudges," Yun Huai clarified, "but when I choose to, sometimes I might remember them."

Xu Jia was conquered by his strong logic, "So the reason you said those words earlier was to vent, upset that I hurt you indiscriminately then?"

Yun Huai’s thin, delicate lip corners seemed to lift slightly, "I think you can be more confident."

"Like?"

"For example, maybe I didn’t say those words to you because I hold a grudge."

"Then what else could it be?" Xu Jia secretly rolled her eyes, "Could it be you feel..."

Before she finished, she saw Yun Huai’s fair earlobes redden visibly.

Red?

The renowned Jianghu nobleman blushed?

Oh no, he seemed perfectly calm, if not for the change in ear color, Xu Jia wouldn’t have noticed anything unusual.

Yun Huai saw her expression, and reminded her, "Generally speaking, when a girl hears these words, she’ll blush first thing."

Xu Jia originally wanted to say "You’re already blushing first, so I don’t have to," but stopped herself, instead said, "Perhaps my skin is thicker than theirs, not so easily blushing."

It was well understood that Yun Huai couldn’t possibly have an interest in her; he must have other intentions in saying so, and she’s too wary to have the leisure to blush.

Yun Huai stayed silent, gazing deeply at her.

This gaze, paired with his elegant and graceful appearance, was completely irresistible.

Xu Jia’s face heated up instantly, ultimately she surrendered, she carefully recalled Yun Huai’s words, "If I remember correctly, earlier you were discussing with me? Asking my opinion?"

"Sort of." Yun Huai nodded.

"Then can I refuse?"

"I can." Yun Huai said, "But rejecting is your business, whether or not I agree with your rejection, that’s my business."

Xu Jia laughed, "Your Yun Family’s way of asking for someone’s opinion is indeed unique."

...

All the way back to the Western Marquis Mansion and locking herself in her boudoir, Xu Jia’s mind was still in turmoil. She thought about a lot of things, recalling every detail from the first time she met Yun Huai up to today.

Then she realized that it wasn’t entirely without trace; back then, she had tried every means possible to get close to Yun Huai for a bracelet. She had always thought Yun Huai disliked her, and at their parting, his words, "If you are not sincere, then you shouldn’t start this casually," were never taken to heart by Xu Jia.

Only today did she suddenly realize, perhaps even at that time, Yun Huai had already shown his feelings. But due to her playful demeanor, he had no choice but to nip them in the bud.

So, when exactly did Yun Huai start having feelings for her?

This was a question Xu Jia dared not ask, because asking would not yield any straightforward answer.

However, thinking of Yun Huai’s words, Xu Jia’s heart became somewhat chaotic.

For one, it was too sudden.

Secondly, she couldn’t quite grasp her own state; whether she was bewitched by beauty, or if there was truly some subconscious intention in that regard.

After all, she was no longer an inexperienced young girl; she couldn’t ignore the inexplicable heartbeat every time she saw Yun Huai.

Shaking her head, she leaned against the small couch, preparing to take a nap.

At that moment, Mo Xiang came in and said, "Miss, I just went to the Madam’s courtyard and heard her talking with the young madam about something."

Seeing her full of excitement, Xu Jia asked, "What makes you so happy?"

"Last time, didn’t you deliver a letter to the Vice Minister Li Mansion and saved Grandma Feng? As a token of thanks, Vice Minister Li is planning to become in-laws with us."

Xu Jia was startled, and her drowsiness vanished, "Say that again?"

Thinking she hadn’t heard, Mo Xiang repeated, talking about how outstandingly handsome the young man from Vice Minister Li’s family was, how his father was the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of War, and how promising his future was. A young gentleman from such a prestigious family, the miss wouldn’t be wronged marrying into it.

Xu Jia was quite conflicted, "Has my mother agreed?"

Mo Xiang laughed, "Such a good thing, of course the Madam agreed. But currently, it’s still the period of national mourning, so marriage can’t be conducted. The Li family intends to consult a date once the mourning is over for the formal betrothal."

Seeing Xu Jia’s odd expression, Mo Xiang asked doubtfully, "Why the reaction, miss? Do you think something’s amiss?"

Of course it’s amiss! Very amiss!

No wonder Yun Huai chose today to say those words; perhaps he was well-informed and already knew of the Li Family’s intention to form an alliance with the Xu Family.

To be honest, if following her heart, Xu Jia would rather marry Yun Huai, after all, she was more familiar with Yun Huai, and he was a renowned gentleman in Jianghu. Except for his fondness for speaking in riddles, his way of dealing with things fit her heart well.

As for the young man from the Li Family, Xu Jia barely knew him, not to mention that she hadn’t even met him, which made her naturally resistant.

After a night of rest, the next day Xu Jia went to pay respects to her mother, only to hear Mrs. Xu bring up the matter indeed.

Mrs. Xu beamed with satisfaction, pulled Xu Jia’s hand, and said, "That time when the young lady from the Li Family could be saved was all thanks to you delivering the message promptly, Jiajia. Yesterday I ran into Mrs. Li when I went out, and she told me Mr. Li regards the matter highly, and mentioned her daughter being grateful for your saving grace, suggesting it’s a fateful connection, and proposed to make you sisters-in-law. Their family hardly has any objections; now they’re just waiting for the mourning period to pass before inviting the official matchmaker to propose formally."

Xu Jia’s eyelid twitched, "Mother, why didn’t you ask my opinion before agreeing to this?"

Mrs. Xu replied, "Didn’t you say to let me make the decision? Besides, this is a good match; the young man from the Li Family is talented and capable. It’s said he doesn’t plan to rely on his family’s influence, and aims to enter the official career through the imperial exams. What an ambitious person, it sounds like he’ll have a promising future, truly a good match for you!"

Saying this, Mrs. Xu held her daughter’s hand tightly, "Jiajia, mother doesn’t ask for anything else, just hopes you can find a good man and marry nearby, so mother can know you’re living well."

These last words pushed back everything Xu Jia had planned to confess.

Her mother hopes she would marry close by, but the Yun Family is in Suzhou, so far away. Would her mother agree?

Even if both father and mother agreed, she wasn’t willing to leave them and marry so far away.

Earlier in her life, she hadn’t been able to fulfill her filial duties well, so in this life, she must make up for the regrets.

With this in mind, Xu Jia secretly made a decision; she planned to speak sincerely with Yun Huai.

Indeed, they hadn’t developed a deep relationship yet, so whether they married or not wasn’t a big deal. Besides, given Yun Huai’s conditions, as long as he wished, there were many more superior women eager to marry him.

Having prepared a draft in mind, with an attitude of "no matter what you say, I’m not going to marry far away to Suzhou," yet as soon as she arrived at Yun Huai’s residence and stepped through the door, the scene inside stopped all her words.