Chapter 003: The Baby Listens at the Foot of the Crib

Since the marriage of Qiaoniang was arranged during Zheng Weisheng's lifetime, it was initially thought that the Fang family would surely regret the engagement. However, Fang Da proceeded to marry Qiaoniang as usual. Zheng Pozi remarked at that time, "The in-laws are very trustworthy; there will surely be good rewards in the future." Therefore, she held Fang Da in particularly high regard. Moreover, every time Fang Da visited his sister, he never came empty-handed, and his words and demeanor never conveyed any sense of disdain for the Zheng family. Zheng Pozi treated Qiaoniang's elder brother with utmost kindness. Every time Fang Da came, Zheng Pozi even forbade Qiaoniang from cooking, allowing her only to accompany Fang Da in conversation. This time, when Fang Da expressed his intention to assist Zheng Mingfa in retaking the imperial examination, how could Zheng Pozi not feel grateful? During the meal, she deliberately flattered Fang Da.

Qiao Niang, upon meeting Zheng Mingfa, was not worried about the possibility of failing the exam; rather, she seemed to be quite confident, which put her at ease. She thought to herself that since her elder brother was assisting her, if she succeeded, she would naturally know how to repay him. If she were to fail, she could always repay this kindness slowly in the future. Thus, she smiled and said: "It seems that my elder brother has some intention of treating your esteemed daughter as a daughter-in-law, helping the family to prosper, and it is not merely out of affection for me as his sister."

By evening, Zheng Mingfa returned, and Qiaoniang conveyed Fang Da's words. Zheng Mingfa was naturally willing. During the day, he worked at Fang's household, and in the evening, he taught his sons to read and write. He could not let go of his past aspirations, often seizing moments to study classical texts on his own, harboring some unique insights on current affairs. However, with elderly parents above and young children below, he dared not abandon his family responsibilities to pursue the idea of taking the imperial examination again. Now that an opportunity had arisen, he could not help but show his joy, saying: "Although your elder sister has good fortune, having brought several blessings since birth, this matter reflects your elder brother's affection for you. If I were to succeed in the examination, you would naturally become a lady, commanding servants and no longer needing to toil all day."

Qiaoniang ultimately did not dare to let Zheng Mingfa act recklessly, and pushed him away, saying: "It cannot be done right now; you have endured for these few months, so it does not matter for a little longer..."

Zheng Mingfa listened to Qiaoniang's words and hesitated for a moment before saying: "Our precious daughter is not of a suitable fate; what if their son cannot handle her? Moreover, if she were to be matched with their eldest son, the age difference would be a bit too much. If she were to be matched with their youngest son, it would be unfair to our precious daughter."

Zheng Pozi initially married Zheng Weisheng as a concubine. Although she was met with disdain from Zheng Mingxing, the eldest son born of the first wife, he still had to address her as "mother" and did not dare to be overly disrespectful. They managed to live a relatively good life for over a decade. However, when Zheng Weisheng fell ill and passed away, the elders of the clan all supported Zheng Mingxing, disregarding her and Zheng Mingfa as well as Zheng Mingye. It was entirely due to Zheng Mingfa's efforts that she was able to navigate through the difficult times.

Fang Dain praised Sister Gui for her good fortune and smiled as he said to Zheng Pozi: "Although she is a girl, do not underestimate her. Once she understands a little, she should be allowed to read and write."

Zheng Mingfa covered Qiaoniang's mouth with his hand, and after a while, he released it, gasping for breath and saying: "Not a moment can be delayed, what should we do?"

"What does the elder sister know?" Zheng Ming looked at Qiao Niang under the lamp and noticed that her figure had become much more rounded. At this moment, her face flushed red, a sight that was extremely charming. Unable to help himself, he reached out and tightly embraced her, whispering, "How many more days until you finish your confinement? I can hardly wait!"

Since the passing of Zheng Weisheng, Zheng Mingfa has come to understand the complexities of human relationships. However, being a man of integrity and learning, he still harbors a degree of pride and stubbornness typical of scholars. He feels that since Fang Da has supported him, he should arrange for his daughter to be married to Fang Da's son. This notion carries a hint of selling his daughter for personal gain, which he is genuinely reluctant about. Furthermore, he believes that as a member of a scholarly family, his daughter should marry into another scholarly family rather than a merchant's household. The idea of marrying his daughter to Fang Da's son indeed feels like a compromise of his values, and he is not entirely pleased with it. He continues to hold the belief that his daughter deserves a match within the scholarly elite, not among merchants.

Qiaoniang said, seeing that Guijier was waking up rather uneasily, she hurriedly picked her up to relieve herself, and indeed, she had a large amount of urine. After she finished, she carefully placed Guijier back on the big bed and covered her with the quilt. Turning around, she saw Zheng Mingfa still waiting for her to continue, so she said: "Guijier has a strong fate; as long as on the day of her marriage, a few women with strong destinies accompany her to suppress her negative energy, naturally, it will not affect her husband. Moreover, Xinger has four younger brothers, and it is unlikely that all of them have weak fates that cannot withstand a clash."

Seeing that Zheng Mingfa remained silent, Qiaoniang also understood that he had concerns in his heart. She sighed and said: "If you truly do not wish for our esteemed sister to marry into the Fang family, I will find a way to delay this matter. However, there is one thing: if you succeed in your examination, you must repay your elder brother's kindness doubly."

During the meal, Qiaoniang first explained the meaning of Fangda to Zheng Pozi. Naturally, Zheng Pozi was delighted and hurriedly placed two eggs at the bottom of the bowl. Only then did she serve the rice, adding several pieces of meat on top. As she was about to add vegetables, the meat was about to fall off. Finally, she placed the rice in front of Fangda and said: "In-law, there is nothing much at home, I hope you won't find it laughable"

The young lady lay in bed listening to these words, her heart racing: "Father, you must hold on! At least until this little baby, who is not yet a month old, falls asleep. By then, you can shake the earth and mountains, and I will be lost in sweet dreams." While lost in thought, she silently counted sheep. Fortunately, babies tend to get sleepy easily, and before long, she fell back into a deep slumber. As for whether her father and mother ended up doing anything, the young lady could not know.

At this moment, I am burning with fever; if a bucket of cold water is poured down, I fear it will greatly deplete my vitality. If my foundation is harmed, it will be you who regrets it in the future. Yet, Zheng Mingfa remains infatuated.

Qiao Niang spat at Zheng Mingfa again and said: "You should fetch a bucket of cold water and wash away your anger!"

Fangda couldn't help but laugh.

Zheng Pozi replied with a smile: "Logically speaking, the daughters of small households are like grass seeds, not precious at all. However, the Zheng family is different from others; since the time of Zheng Taiye, the male offspring have always been numerous, while the daughters are few. This scarcity has led to their pampering. Currently, Mingfa has only one elder sister, Mingfang, who was born to the previous head of the family. After giving birth to Mingfa, I also had a daughter, but she passed away before reaching one year old, which left me heartbroken for half a year. Later, I gave birth to Mingye, which alleviated some of my sorrow. As for the Mingxing branch, they also had three sons before finally having a daughter, who is now regarded as more precious than her brothers. Not to mention our precious sister. Nowadays, when we eat, the Rong family members worry that our precious sister will lie on the big bed without anyone to keep her company, and it is rare for the few monkeys to quiet down and watch over their sister!

Qiao Niang expressed her great fondness for the Guijie girl regarding Fang Da. If Zheng Mingfa fails the examination, it would naturally be a respectable match for the Fang family. If he succeeds, they would still need to form a connection with the Fang family, uniting the two families and solidifying their relationship, so that Fang Da's efforts in nurturing Zheng Mingfa would not be in vain. All things considered, it seems that the Guijie girl is already somewhat promised to the son of the Fang family.

Of course! Zheng Mingfa felt grateful to Qiaoniang in his heart. Ignoring the fact that they were an old couple, he stretched out his hand and embraced her, giving her a kiss, saying: "With a wife like this, what more could a husband wish for"

Qiao Niang poked Zheng Mingfa's forehead and said: "His eldest son, Xinge, is almost of marrying age, so naturally, we cannot wait for our esteemed sister to grow up. We can just choose one from the few below. As for the matter of the eight characters being too large, there is still a way to resolve it."

Qiao Niang blushed and pushed Zheng Mingfa away, saying: "Carefully take a look, my dear sister."

The young lady was awakened by some ambiguous whispers, and as she opened her baby starry eyes, she saw in the dim light a pair of figures in front of the big bed embracing and kissing each other! Startled, she quickly closed her eyes again, wondering to herself: I wonder if babies will grow styes?