Chapter 15: Too Impulsive

"You… You two want to buy a house? Then, does this mean what I think it means?" asked the farmer's wife as she patted her forehead. When she had first seen this angelic girl, she had been determined to marry her to her son and did not think straight. Ai, what's there to be shameful of.

"…." Su Shuilian looked at the woman, what did she mean by "what I think it means"? Had she said something wrong?

"Uh, with your hairstyle, I knew you were unwed. But now that you've said that you want to live here with this gongzi, does that mean you two plan to get married here, in this town?"

—

"That uh…. I'm sorry, I was too impulsive." Su Shuilian lowered her head and her shoulders slumped as she apologized in a low voice.

Today, in the quiet Lao Family yard, there was only Lin Si Yao and her.

Because it was not yet afternoon, the farmer, Lao Youkun had taken the opportunity to till his farmland. His wife had left to inquire about the Hua House at the most eastern side of Fan Hua Town.

When Su Shuilian had been abruptly faced with the wife's questions on them "marrying", somehow, without a second thought, she had nodded in confirmation.

After that, the old couple had no longer chattered on about any kind of matchmaking. However, Su Shuilian kept sneaking glances at Lin Si Yao, trying to read his expressionless face. It was difficult to tell whether or not he was angry.

In actuality, Lin Si Yao was not mad. On the contrary, his heart was currently bursting with happiness.

Yes, he was celebrating within his heart. When he had witnessed her blus.h.i.+ng so fiercely but still able to so seriously tell the farmer's wife, "Yes, we are here to wed," his heart had suddenly surged in satisfaction unlike anything he had experienced before. But now, not long after that, she was actually apologizing to him.

Apologizing eh? Lin Si Yao lowered his eyes as his hands gripped the teacup harder. This made it difficult for Su Shuilian to tell what he was feeling at the moment.

Su Shuilian furrowed her brows and silently reprimanded herself. Even if Aunty were to continue to nag her about the marriage, even if the villagers were to look down on them for living as a single man and single woman under one roof, it was still not alright to carelessly say such things out loud without first asking Lin Si Yao for his opinion. To have blurted out that the two of them had promised to marry… That was too impulsive, too thoughtless, ah!

Lin Si Yao sighed. He looked at the self-blaming Su Shuilian locked in introspection and said, "I do not blame you." I am actually really happy. But he held back that last sentence, burying it deep within his heart.

"Really?" When she heard his words, Su Shuilian was pleasantly surprised. She looked up at him, her eyes red from her previous turbulent mood.

At the sight of her, his heart twinged in pain. Lin Si Yao nodded almost involuntarily, before replying while somehow managing to keep his cold tone. "What you did was correct."

After all, she was a woman with a maiden hairstyle living with a man, both of a marriageable age. One man and one woman living under one roof. If they were to claim that they were not in a relations.h.i.+p, no one would believe them. People would gossip incessantly, making it difficult to live a simple life. It was better to just go with the natural a.s.sumption and claim to be engaged. This way they would be able to avoid the sharp, gossiping tongues of others. From this standpoint, Su Shulian had handled this situation well.

After thinking it through, a slight smile was barely discernable in Lin Si Yao's eyes as he placidly sipped his tea.

Because Lin Si Yao had absolved her of blame, her mood had improved significantly. She was finally able to stop with the self-recriminations. Following his lead, she contentedly sampled this unique wild berry tea as she began to look around the house of the Lao family.

—

The Lao Family in Fan Hua Town was considered quite wealthy.

With an unusually well-appointed yard, the family of five owned a total of three acres of land. The eldest son of the Lao House turned twenty-eight this year and he owned a blacksmith shop located in the west side of the village. He had several contacts with the nearby towns and villages, and had married the daughter of the Fang House of Qing Tian Town five years ago. However, they had yet to bear a child.

Although the elders of the Lao House did not say anything to the eldest son's wife's face, in private they constantly pushed him to divorce her and marry another wife, especially the madam of the Lao House. However, the eldest son had thick skin and also just really liked his wife, so he did not comply. When the wife of the eldest son had discovered this, she had gotten so angry that she moved out of the Lao House and settled in the blacksmith shop. The eldest son had actually followed her and moved with her, no longer living in the Lao House.

Because of this, the two elders of the Lao House had were infuriated that they did not leave the house for several days. When they had finally made up their mind to go out, the patriarch of the Fang House arrived with two strong looking men, wanting to "discuss" what had happened. In the end, the two elders of the Lao House were the first to lower their heads. After all, their 'face' was not worth any money, what was more important was their lives.

After this incident, marrying her second son to one of the girls in Fan Hua Town or any of the other towns nearby was no longer an option to the madam of Lao House. The second son was eighteen this year and of age, but still had yet to accept any of the matchmaker's offers. It was because he too had been frightened by what had happened with Fang House and his heart was wary.

So when she first saw the gentle Su Shuilian, the madam's eyes brightened. From her looks and dress, she knew that this girl was not a local. Moreover, she looked good to the eyes, and looking at her hips, this girl seemed to be able to mother a child. Because of this, Madam Lao's mind was filled with only Su Shuilian, and because of this, caused a big misunderstanding of things.

—-

Even after making her way back from the Hua House, the Madam was still regretful.

She had originally that thought she had finally found the perfect wife for her son, but she didn't think that the flower already had an owner.

Her thoughts trailed to the man beside the girl. Although he looked handsome, he didn't seem to be the type use to labor such as farming. Ai, to want to settle in this kind of village, to have found a man who did not know how to work the land -the pressure was not small ah. The girl looked to be so quick witted and clever, how could she have made such a muddle headed mistake? Good looks does not mean a full stomach ah. Our poor second son; to have such a beautiful swan escape. It seems they'll have to visit take a visit to that Yang matchmaker to make a match. They can not really drag his marriage till he becomes twenty and has yet to find a wife, when that happens, it will only cause their family to lose 'face'.

With this thought, the Madam Lao entered her house.

"Miss! Gongzi! You must have waited long!" Madam Lao quickly trotted into the room and smiled at Su Shuilian and Lin Si Yao as she continued, "there's news!"

Without a second pause, Su Shuilian helped her to a cup of warm tea and promptly handed to her as she said, "No hurry, Aunty, please drink some tea to moisten your throats. Recover your breath before you talk."

Aftering drinking the whole cup did Madam Lao feel somewhat refreshed. She sat next to Su Shuilian as she carefully recalled the situation of Hua House.