Qing Yao

Chapter 130 This is what a good son-in-law looks like!

When Lao Ding was 14, his family arranged a marriage for him. He had his eldest son, Ding Tai, when he was 16, and his second son, Ding Ping, when he was 18.

The two sons have good names; together they are called Taiping (Peace).

When the eldest son, Ding Tai, was 15 years old, Lao Ding, who had already passed the imperial examination, arranged for his son to get married. Two years later, the eldest son's wife gave birth to a granddaughter, who is now 16 years old.

In those days, girls could get married at the age of 14. For Manchu girls, they had to participate in the imperial concubine selection at the age of 13. Some Manchu families would marry off their daughters at the age of 12 in order to avoid their daughters being selected for the palace.

Compared to later generations, women in this era gave birth earlier. For example, the mother of the great-grandfather Kangxi gave birth to Kangxi at the age of 14, and Kangxi's first empress, Empress Hesheli, entered the palace at the age of 11.

Old Ding was a scholar, so he naturally didn't have any preference for sons over daughters. Besides, she was his eldest granddaughter, so he was overjoyed. Even her name was given to him by her grandfather, Old Ding.

Her name is Ding Wanqing, which comes from the Book of Songs: "There is a beautiful woman, with clear and graceful features."

This name is so much better than the common folk names like Spring, Orchid, Beauty, and Peach.

She sounds like a lady from a respectable family.

Perhaps Old Ding used up all his descendants' luck in the imperial examinations, which is why both of his sons stopped at the lowest level (xiucai) and were unable to advance further in the imperial examinations.

In the provincial examinations, it's impossible for a county magistrate like Lao Ding to pull off any underhanded dealings; at the very least, the provincial education commissioner and the provincial governor would have to work together.

After Lao Ding passed the imperial examination and became an official, he naturally brought his son and daughter-in-law with him. The whole family lived together happily, and all the expenses were covered by the government.

The eldest son, Ding Tai, managed the accounts for his father, while the second son, Ding Ping, wanted to make a name for himself in the imperial examinations. He stayed home every day to study, planning to return to his hometown the year after next to participate in the provincial examinations in Zhejiang.

Old Ding's wife, Wang, managed the household affairs. Wang was a year younger than her husband. Because the county magistrate's wife had plenty of food and clothing, she was well-maintained and looked only slightly older than her daughter-in-law, who was in her thirties.

That day, Zhao An proposed to marry his granddaughter. After analyzing the pros and cons, Old Ding thought it was acceptable. However, his granddaughters had always been taken care of by their grandmother, Wang Shi, and such a big matter could not be decided by his grandfather alone. Therefore, he called his eldest son and his wife over to discuss the matter.

The eldest son's idea was that if his father thought it was okay, then it was okay. The eldest son's wife, Li, asked more questions and was a little unhappy when she learned that Zhao An was five or six years older than her daughter. But when she heard that he was a professor at the prefectural school who had been specially granted the title of Jinshi by the emperor, Li immediately understood and felt that this son-in-law must have a bright future. She thought that her daughter might even become a Lady of Imperial Decree after marrying into the family.

The eldest son and his wife had no objections, and Lao Ding was also happy, so the matter was basically settled.

However, there is a problem: Zhao An held office under the identity of Zhao Youlu, and his official wife was Luo, Zhao Youlu's wife. So, is he marrying a wife or taking a concubine?

Since they were all family, Lao Ding didn't hide anything and told his son and daughter-in-law the whole story.

When Mrs. Ding heard that her daughter might marry into the family as a concubine, she became very unhappy and gave her father a severe scolding, making the grandfather, Mr. Ding, very embarrassed.

The eldest son's wife was quite understanding and thought that the matter couldn't be blamed on her father-in-law. Besides, Zhao An hadn't really married a wife; the Luo mother and daughter were at most a burden and couldn't be considered Zhao An's wives.

Therefore, this marriage must go through; there's no way around it, since it involves the interests of both the Zhao and Ding families.

If something really happens, who in the Ding family, old and young, can escape responsibility?

After his daughter-in-law said that, the eldest son, Ding Tai, had nothing to say, but he was unwilling to let his daughter still be a concubine in public.

The scholar's pride flared up, and he scolded his father in front of him, "How can a county magistrate's granddaughter be someone's concubine!" Compared to his somewhat pedantic son, Old Ding was much more open-minded. He thought, "Not to mention a county magistrate's granddaughter being someone's concubine, even the prefect's own daughter was someone's general's concubine."

In officialdom, whether one is a wife or a concubine is not important; what matters is one's interests.

However, this was not something he, as a father, could say aloud. The disagreement between father and son led to a tense situation.

In the end, it was Grandmother Wang who came up with an idea: her granddaughter could marry, but she would not live with Luo Shi. She would have to be settled elsewhere, and Zhao An would have to marry her granddaughter officially under his real name, with all the proper customs and rules.

In other words, Ding's wife was the legal wife, while Luo's wife was a concubine.

He didn't even see his wives and concubines, so as not to make his eldest granddaughter feel wronged.

Old Ding thought it was a good idea; although it was a bit of a hassle, it was better than letting his granddaughter suffer.

It's a bit of a pity that this matter can't be handled in a big way. No one except family members can know about it, otherwise there's no way to explain how the county magistrate's granddaughter became Professor Zhao's concubine at the prefectural school.

Once the family has made up their minds, it's time to meet the new son-in-law.

Here, Grandmother Wang personally prepared a feast. In addition to the eldest son and his wife, the second son and his wife, her daughter and son-in-law were also present, as were her nephew and his wife.

They couldn't keep it a secret from their granddaughter Wanqing either, so her mother, Li, along with her aunt, Zhang, and her other aunt, went to "work on" her.

Wanqing knew that her family was going to find her a husband. At only sixteen years old, she was not ready to be a wife and mother. She was hoping to stay at home for a couple more years. She did not expect her family to find her a husband so quickly. The little girl was both ashamed and anxious.

It took three older women a long time to persuade the little girl, but she also made her own demands.

The point is to let her see the other person; if she's satisfied, she'll marry him; if not, she won't.

Old Ding also doted on his granddaughter. If she really didn't want to marry him, how could he, as her grandfather, force her to? So he agreed.

It was definitely not proper to let Zhao An meet his granddaughter alone, as that would be against etiquette. So, a screen was set up in the dining room so that his granddaughter could observe Zhao An from behind.

After being reminded by Lao Song that it was his mother-in-law meeting her son-in-law, Zhao An quickly tidied himself up and happily went with Lao Ding.

When we arrived, good heavens! It wasn't a table full of dishes, but a table full of people.

No need to ask, they are all their elders.

Which one is the father-in-law and which one is the mother-in-law?
Without Zhao An having to ask, Ding You, Old Ding's nephew, introduced them.

The prospective father-in-law and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. Ding, thought Zhao An was quite good. They nodded to each other slightly and secretly glanced behind the screen.

Old Ding coughed lightly and said, "Lord Zhao is no outsider, so there's no need to be so polite. Please sit down and eat."

Upon hearing this, Zhao An quickly said "Yes," and then, as if remembering something, he hurriedly pulled out a stack of silver notes that he had just counted from his sleeve and respectfully presented them to his future father-in-law and mother-in-law: "Father, Mother, I came in a hurry this time and did not bring any gifts. This ten thousand taels is a small token of my appreciation for you both. Please accept it with a smile!"

(End of this chapter)