Free Web NovelChapter 341: Chapter 194: I Think You’re Worthy of Me
Su Liyan’s mother, who was sitting in her room sewing clothes for a child, heard her daughter’s voice. She looked up as the door opened to see her son, Su Changliang.
Su Liyan’s mother put down her sewing, stood up, and cupped Su Changliang’s face. "What’s this? You little rascal, are you in love?"
Su Changliang’s face was being squished flat by his mother, and with his hands full, he couldn’t stop her.
No matter how old Su Changliang got, his mother still delighted in pinching his cheeks.
"Mom, I’m a grown man now. Stop pinching my cheeks," Su Changliang managed to squeeze out.
Su Liyan’s mother finally relented. She quickly took the bundles from her son’s hands, saying, "You’re here, that’s what matters. We’re all family. You don’t need to bring gifts just to see your mother."
Su Changliang pointed to one of the bundles. "That one," he said. "The clothes in there are for my nephew."
"Oh, so not everything is for me, eh? I don’t need these children’s clothes. Your sister can take them home later," Su Liyan’s mother said.
Su Liyan’s mother immediately resumed her interrogation. "So, which family is the girl from? Is she pretty? Is she sensible? What’s her personality like? If she has a bad character, we absolutely can’t have her!"
This barrage of questions left Su Changliang flustered. He sat down and tried to explain, "Mom, you’re listening to Sis’s nonsense. Nothing like that is happening."
Su Liyan, who was sitting comfortably on the bed in the inner room, chimed in, "Just a little while ago, he was staring so hard at that young lady, he nearly burned a hole through her clothes with his eyes."
Su Liyan was exaggerating, of course, purely to mess with her little brother.
Su Changliang was a simple, honest soul. When walking down the street, he wouldn’t even spare a passing glance for a pretty girl. He was probably a monk in his past life.
Of course, ordinary women weren’t even a third as beautiful as Su Liyan.
Su Changliang thought even his own sister was just average, so he paid other women even less mind.
Hearing this, Su Liyan’s mother scolded him. "We don’t behave like that! When we’re out, we must act with dignity. Only ruffians and scoundrels do such things."
Being scolded by his mother for no reason, Su Changliang felt like his sister had completely set him up. He was starting to get exasperated. "Mom, I just glanced at Xiaoqian a few more times! I didn’t want anything... Don’t listen to her! That’s all it was."
Su Liyan’s mother selectively heard her son’s words: ’Mom, I just... looked at Xiaoqian... want... her...’
Su Liyan’s mother glanced at her daughter, pondered for a moment, then said, "Well, that might not be such a bad idea... Liyan, what do you think?"
Hearing her mother call her name, Su Liyan knew she was being serious.
Su Liyan adjusted her clothes to nurse Bengbeng, then sat up straight. "It could work," she said. "Xiaoqian is a Half-Demon, and so is my brother. And even though we just took her in as a sister, we’re not related by blood. As long as Xiaoqian is also willing, it would be great."
"That’s true," their mother said. "I just don’t know if Miss Xiaoqian would even consider this silly boy of mine."
"I’d say the odds are slim!" Su Liyan added, twisting the knife. "The way my brother is, so dense, he can barely talk to a pretty girl."
"You... you’ve married me off without even asking my opinion! No, you’ve decided I’m going to marry her!" Su Changliang, who hadn’t had a chance to get a word in, finally cut in. "Besides, what’s so wrong with me that you think I’m not good enough?"
’I’m being looked down on,’ Su Changliang thought. He was, after all, the County Magistrate of Taiping City now, an official just like his brother-in-law. freёwebnovel.com
Any matchmaker for miles around would be overjoyed to hear him say that.
All the local families would be lining up, begging the matchmakers to introduce their daughters to him.
Of course, without Lu Yuan’s help, Su Changliang would still be back in Changliu Village, probably farming a few acres of land just like his father.
That’s just how life is. Without connections, it’s hard to make a name for yourself on your own.
Talented people are common, but patrons who can recognize that talent are rare. If you have talent, you shouldn’t just wait to be discovered; you have to actively seek out a patron.
May every talented person find a patron who recognizes their worth. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
Su Changliang was indeed a fine steed on the path to an official career, and Lu Yuan was the patron who had led him to it.
Lu Yuan didn’t want Su Changliang to get in too deep. The life of an official was fraught with danger, and one had to be cautious.
Seeing the miserable look on Su Changliang’s face, Su Liyan and her mother realized he was about to get genuinely angry if they kept teasing him.
Su Liyan smiled. "Don’t worry. If you really do like Xiaoqian, your big sister can teach you a few tricks."
Su Liyan had learned plenty of flirting techniques from her husband. She could act as a private tutor, ready to impart her wisdom to her little brother.
Su Changliang didn’t object, which was as good as a silent agreement.
’Such a grown man, and still so shy!’
Su Liyan and her mother exchanged a knowing smile. Daughters are always closer to their mothers than sons are; they can talk about anything.
At Su Changliang’s age, in these times, his own children should be old enough to run errands. It was high time he officially took a wife.
At Lu Yuan’s age, even having a child just born was considered late.
It wasn’t Lu Yuan’s fault, though. Before he transmigrated, the original owner of his body had been dirt-poor and couldn’t afford a wife.
Otherwise, how exciting would it have been for Lu Yuan to transmigrate and immediately have a wife to hold in his arms at night?
Meanwhile, on the street, Xiaoqian sneezed again and again. She mumbled to herself, "This autumn wind really gives you a chill."
That night, after Su Liyan and Lu Yuan had finished their activities, they entered a halftime intermission.
