After Zhao Yichen swallowed the food in his mouth, he looked at Li Qingling and asked with a smile, "Is Miss Xiao Ling about to get married? Why haven"t I heard you say it before? " This news came too suddenly, and he wasn"t prepared for it.Li Qingling looked up into Zhao Yichen"s eyes, "It"s been decided today, and the exact time has not been set yet." She glanced at Liu Zhimo, "After the date is set, I will inform Gongzi Zhao that he can come over for a cup of wine if he has time."
She was only fourteen years old and was only in the first year of modern times. Yet, she was about to get married here.
This was such a huge difference.
However, what she said to Liu Zhimo was also true. They could get married, but if they were to consummate the marriage, they would have to wait until she was 15 years old.
If she didn"t think that she was eighteen for too long, Liu Zhimo might not have agreed to that.
Hearing Li Qingling"s words, Zhao Yichen felt that the food in his mouth was even more tasteless, he ate the rest of the food as though he was chewing on wax, and laughed: "Of course, after the date is decided, if I have time I will definitely come for a goblet of wedding wine."
After he finished speaking, without waiting for Li Qingling"s reply, he stood up, "I thought that I still have some matters to attend to, so I"ll be leaving first. Thank you for entertaining me, Miss Xiao Ling."
Li Qingling laughed and said, there was no need to be polite, it was normal.
Zhao Yichen smiled at her again, then turned and left with large strides.
He had arrived in a horse carriage, and the smile on his face vanished as soon as he entered the carriage.
He leaned his back against the carriage and let out a sorrowful sigh.
He knew that it was impossible between him and Li Qingling in this lifetime. A family like his would never agree to let him marry a girl with neither power nor authority.
But he could not help but be captivated by Li Qingling.
Since he was young, he had never met a girl like Li Qingling.
This was something he had always yearned for, but in a family like theirs, every movement and action had to be done by a family with many rules and regulations. It was impossible for them to be so reckless.
It was probably because of this that he was captivated by Li Qingling.
He had originally thought that being together with Li Qingling was pretty good, but after hearing Liu Zhimo"s words just now, he suddenly realized that Li Qingling would get married, and he would get married in order to have kids. Once she got married and gave birth, it would not be so easy for him to see her again.
When he thought of this, his heart felt both sore and sore. It was truly difficult to bear.
He had never felt such a feeling before.
He might like Li Qingling even more than he had imagined.
But even so, he could only watch on helplessly as she married someone else.
Although he had that thought for a split second, wanting to keep Li Qingling by his side, if he really did that, Li Qingling would never be happy in his entire life.
Moreover, with Li Qingling"s current ident.i.ty, she wouldn"t be his princ.i.p.al wife, but only a concubine.
He didn"t want to insult her like this, so he could only let go.
In this life, they could only be friends.
Zhao Yichen thought about many things along the way. Only until he returned to the Fumanlou and got off the car did he stop his messy thoughts.
"Bring me two bottles of wine." With these words, Zhao Yichen strode into the private room that belonged to him.
The moment the shopkeeper saw Zhao Yichen"s expression, he knew that Master was not happy.
What had happened? Master was happy to go to Ox-Head Village, why did he come back with a gloomy face?
He remembered that Master always came back happy!
The shopkeeper stood outside the private box with two bottles of wine and some side dishes. He knocked on the door and said, "Mistress, it"s me. I"ve brought the wine."
"Come in."
The moment the shopkeeper pushed open the door, he saw Zhao Yichen sitting on a chair, placing food and wine on it and pa.s.sing over a letter, "Master, there"s a letter for you."
Zhao Yichen responded as he reached out to take the letter from the shopkeeper"s hand. In front of the shopkeeper, he immediately opened the letter and read it.
After he finished reading, the corners of his mouth curled up in a mocking smile as he tore the letter apart.
"..." Seeing Zhao Yichen like that, the shopkeeper did not dare make a sound, and stood respectfully at the side, waiting for Zhao Yichen to speak.
"Come, have a drink with me!"
"Yes..."
After a few cups of wine, Zhao Yichen"s face reddened a little, and he started to talk a lot.
He said to the grocer, "Do you know what was in the letter? It was the urge to go back for a blind date. " These two years, his family had been getting more and more anxious, and it was precisely because of this that he didn"t want to stay at home and just went out when he had nothing to do.
The shopkeeper didn"t know what to say for a moment. He was silent for a moment before he spoke, "Mistress is indeed at the age where she should get married." His master was almost nineteen, and he was already a father in someone else"s house.
He was not like his master, who was also single.
If his son had not been married by the age of nineteen, he would have been anxious.
As a parent, he understood her feelings.
Zhao Yichen glared at the shopkeeper in slight displeasure, "Are you going to nag me and hurry up to get married? "Huh?" He couldn"t stand the idea of getting married, "Do you like people? Do you know what it"s like to like? "
The shopkeeper"s heart thumped. He picked up the wine cup and slowly drank a mouthful, raising his eyes to look at Zhao Yichen. "Uhh … It was on the day of my marriage that I lifted the veil and saw my wife. After our marriage, we would occasionally quarrel, but our lives were fine. I think it"s a good way to spend the rest of my life. " After a pause, he continued, "It"s too ethereal to be fond of it. No one can say for sure."
In his eyes, being able to eat a full meal without feeling hungry for his wife and children was his greatest consolation. What was there to say about whether he liked her or not?
Zhao Yichen once again filled his cup, raised his head and drank another large cup of wine, then laughed out, "What"s the point of living like this?" He was tired of being tied up with someone he didn"t like for the rest of his life.
With that, he drank a few more cups of wine, feeling a little intoxicated.
Seeing him like this, the shopkeeper wanted to advise him not to drink so much, but when the words reached his mouth, he swallowed them back down. He had followed his master for so long, so he understood what kind of person he was.
"To be honest, if I could choose my birth, I"d rather be a commoner. I"d rather just order three meals a day. There"s no need to think so much and bear so much."
Others were envious of their beautiful appearance, but in reality, they did not know what kind of life they were leading.
"Everyone has their own troubles. Mistress, if you want to be a commoner, you have to eat three meals a day. Who wouldn"t know that many commoners have never eaten a full meal in their entire lives?" The manager sighed lightly. "Even the slightest ailment would take their lives."
In this life, no one was living an easy life. Everyone had their own worries.
The trouble with his master was that life was not as free as it seemed, and he had to carry a lot of things on his back, but he also lived a life of luxury and food that no one else could live.
There are gains and losses, this is the norm in this world.
Hearing that, Zhao Yichen drank two more cups of wine, and laughed bitterly: "Why is it so difficult to be a person?" With that, he bent down and laid his body on the table.
The shopkeeper reached out and pushed her, calling out to her several times, but he didn"t respond. He then let out a sigh and went to get the waiter to help him up the mountain so he could have a good night"s sleep.
He also did not know what happened to his master that made him drink uncharacteristically. This was truly unlike the calm master of the past.
The next time he saw Li Qingling, he would ask her if Master had met with any unhappiness in his house.
… ….
Li Qingling never thought that Liu Zhimo"s actions would be so quick. He said that inviting the matchmaker the next day was really inviting the matchmaker to come to visit.
When she first saw the matchmaker, she was still a little confused. Why did the matchmaker come here?
When the matchmaker saw Li Qingling"s confused look, she covered her mouth and giggled, "Xiao Ling, what a happy occasion!"
"What joyous occasion? What happy occasion can our family have? "
"This is a joyous occasion for you and Zimo. Isn"t this a joyous occasion as well?" The matchmaker chuckled as she looked at Li Qingling, "It"s him. He should have told you before?"
Hearing the matchmaker"s words, Li Qingling"s white face turned slightly red. For a moment, she really didn"t know how to react, as the matchmaker was invited by Liu Zhimo.
She poured a cup of tea for the matchmaker and pushed it across the table for her to drink.
The matchmaker picked up her teacup and took a big gulp. She couldn"t drink it either, so was the tea good or not? To her, it was just a cup of water to quench her thirst.
She felt that she was not that thirsty anymore, and started to talk while pulling Li Qingling along.
Li Qingling was a little dizzy from her words, so he opened his mouth to tell her to speak slower, so she decided to take note.
Hearing that, the matchmaker smiled and repeated her words again. After she finished speaking, Li Qingling asked, "Do you want my grandparents to be present for the things you just said?" Her parents were no longer around, and she didn"t know if she should have relatives to support her.
The matchmaker froze for a moment. She thought Li Qingling had already left her grandfather and grandmother behind, but she didn"t expect him to ask such a question.
"That"s up to you guys. I can"t decide on that."
Li Qingling frowned, he raised his head and looked again the whole night without a break, in front of her, she could not say much, and nodded.
"Then wait a moment, auntie, I"ll go get the birthday present for you."
Li Qingling went back to his room and took her birthday present. He walked out and gave twenty gold to the matchmaker as a form of errand girl.
The matchmaker smiled until her teeth couldn"t see anymore as she accepted the money, then spoke a few more words with Li Qingling before she left.
As soon as the matchmaker left, Liu Zhimo returned. When he saw Li Qingling, he couldn"t help but smile.