QT: TPE Chapter 4.1

Her mother’s death made her hate Princess Minghua to the core. She shouldn’t have laid a hand on her own family.

“Is there something for Father and my brothers to come back this time? I heard that things are unstable on the border… What if something happens on the border if they come back at this time? Then the people on the border will have a hard time.”

Mrs. Xu was somewhat surprised to hear her say that.

“My daughter has grown up and has the demeanor of your father and brothers. She is sensible and knows the greater things.”

In fact, nowadays women rarely read books. Most of them are only literate and usually only read some books on female virtues and precepts. They learn things like embroidery, mainly to please men or manage the household for them.

In the capital, very few families allow their daughters to study; even civil officials’ families might not allow their daughters to read other books.

However, the Xu family has never been like that. Xu Lingyi is well-versed in the Four Books and Five Classics. Although General Xu was a military man, he was not a pure warrior. He had taken the imperial examinations and had even become a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial examinations).

He embarked on the path of a military general for the sake of all living beings.

Her father has won many battles over the years, helping to bring peace to the country, and is now stationed at the border.

The Emperor trusted her father not only because of the past friendship they had built, but also because of his abilities.

“Mother underestimates me. I’ve always been like this.” Xu Lingyi said coquettishly.

“Now I’ve just grown up a little.”

“Shameless.” Mrs. Xu tapped her head.

Then she added, “However, my daughter is indeed far superior to other women.”

“Mother, please don’t let Father and Brothers come back. The frontier needs people right now.”

Xu Lingyi does not yet have the strength to deal with Princess Minghua, so she can only prevent her father and brothers from encountering Princess Minghua.

“The border is indeed unstable, but your father said that with Xu Zheng holding things up there, the problem isn’t too big. His Majesty has also approved their return to the capital. You’re all grown up now, so your father and brothers want to come back to personally help you choose a husband, to find a good match for you. For a woman, the most important thing in her life is to choose a suitable husband. They are worried about that, so they want to come back in person.”

“The only thing your father and I can do is help you choose a good man. Don’t worry, Yi’er, with the Xu family around, you will not be like other women.”

In their letters, Mrs. Xu and her husband talked most about their daughter’s marriage, which was their only concern.

Xu Zheng was the child-husband¹童养夫, tóng yǎng fū: child-groom. It is a variant of a traditional Chinese feudal marriage custom. It refers to a young boy being sent to the family of a girl (usually older than her) to be raised and formally married upon reaching adulthood.

Literal meaning: Tóng (童 – childhood) + Yǎng (养 – to raise) + Fū (夫 – husband) = husband raised in childhood awaiting marriage.

Characteristics: Usually, due to the boy’s family being poor, the girl’s family needing labor, or to find a husband for their daughter, the boy was raised in the girl’s family.

This is the opposite of “child-bride” (童养媳, tóng yǎng xí), where the girl is adopted into a family as future daughter-in-law. This is more common in traditional customs. they initially chose for their daughter. Nominally, he was their adopted son, but the couple originally intended him to be raised for their daughter, hoping to groom him into a son-in-law.

Their daughter with such a man will certainly not suffer any grievances after marrying him.

Moreover, Xu Zheng was gentle and kind, and they had watched him grow up. He was an upright and honest man, but unfortunately, his daughter did not like martial men.

If their daughter could accept a martial man, they actually had quite a few candidates in mind. After spending so much time together in the military camp, they could easily tell who was a good person and who was a bad one.

Moreover, their status and power are inferior to the Xu family, so they would never treat her daughter badly in their lifetime.

Even if they choose the wrong person and encounter a villain who can disguise himself, the Xu family can easily deal with that person.

They never want to climb the social ladder; they only want their children to live a peaceful and happy life.

“You don’t like warriors, and your father and brothers don’t understand the men in the capital. Only by coming back and seeing for themselves can they be at ease.”

So that’s why.

Xu Lingyi was shocked and heartbroken. It was the first time she had heard from her mother why her father and brothers had returned.

It turned out that her father and brothers came back for her sake, so everything that happened in her past life was also caused by her.

Xu Lingyi’s eyes stung, and her heart ached.

Her father and brothers have been stationed on the frontier for many years and have never been able to return.

She imagined that getting His Majesty’s approval for this return must have taken quite some time and effort.

 

 

 

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