Chapter 49: Young Master Cui Proposes Marriage with a Grand Procession of Ten Miles of Red Silk?

At this moment, the street outside the main gates of the Chu residence was almost completely occupied by Cui Shi and his delivery procession. Rosewood chests could be seen everywhere, each appearing heavy and substantial, leaving the watching townspeople in a state of repeated gasps of astonishment.

"Could the young master of the Cui family have taken a fancy to one of the Chu maidens? With a betrothal procession of this scale, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a dowry stretching for miles. I wonder which young lady of the Chu family is so blessed."

"I reckon it must be Miss Jiaojiao. She just reached womanhood, and there's been no word of her being betrothed to any family. The young master of the Cui family is probably waiting just for her."

"Not necessarily. The second and third masters of the Chu family also have daughters who have reached marriageable age. Although those young ladies aren't as famous as Chu Jiaojiao, they are still unwed, and I hear none of them are engaged yet. The young master of the Cui family is young, promising, and the publicly acknowledged heir to the Cui family. He would be more than a match for any of the Chu daughters."

"..."

While gossiping, the townspeople stared longingly at the endless betrothal procession, sighing only that their own daughters lacked such good fortune. If one could catch the eye of the Young Master Cui, even just to become a concubine, it would secure a life of wealth and prosperity for the next three generations—a destiny-defying dream they would never dare to imagine.

Chu Zhonghe rushed to the entrance as if his feet were on fire, and sure enough, he witnessed the grand spectacle the steward had spoken of. Even with all his boasted experience, Chu Zhonghe had never laid eyes on such a scene.

Yet, if this were a formal proposal of marriage, the tops of those rosewood chests should at least have been tied with red cloth strips to signify joy and celebration. But as he cast his gaze outward, vast stretches of wooden chests bore not a single decoration.

Cui Shi, leading the procession, was not dressed particularly elaborately; in fact, he looked rather travel-worn, as if he had just hurried back from a long journey. Where was the look of a suitor coming to propose?

Though filled with doubts, Chu Zhonghe still walked toward Cui Shi with a measure of anticipation.

"Young Master Cui, what favorable wind has blown you here? Forgive Chu for failing to come out and welcome you from afar."

Chu Zhonghe was older than Cui Shi by two full generations and should naturally have carried himself as an elder. Yet, facing Cui Shi, Chu Zhonghe faintly put on a flattering demeanor, his attitude far from the haughty stance he usually adopted toward others.

Because Chu Zhonghe understood that no matter how wealthy the Chu family was within Rongcheng, they were merely rich within the confines of the city. Compared to a colossal behemoth like the Cui family, whose wealth rivaled nations, the Chu family was simply not worth mentioning. The Cui family's enterprises spanned the entire Eastern Cang Kingdom, particularly their Seven Treasures House, which even had branch stores in the capital.

Cui Shi directly ignored Chu Zhonghe, looking past him to see that Miss Chu had not emerged. With a cold expression, he said to the Chu estate steward,

"This young master told you to invite your eldest young miss, not your family head."

Cui Shi explicitly named Miss Chu, wishing to see only Miss Chu, and had no desire to entertain Chu Zhonghe whatsoever.

Following the list provided by Miss Chu, he had procured every single item with extreme speed, but upon returning to the Wang residence, Miss Chu had already departed. Therefore, he had hastily mobilized his own intelligence network to search for Miss Chu, only to discover—much to his astonishment—that Miss Chu was actually the adopted daughter of the Chu family.

At first, he naturally found it somewhat hard to believe. The fact that the Chu family had an adopted daughter was known to everyone in the city. However, that adopted daughter rarely appeared in public, and information about her was exceedingly scarce, though rumors were plentiful and varied wildly.

Still, the Cui family's information network was well-informed, and they knew that Chu Meng's status within the Chu family was even more miserable than that of a dependent living under someone else's roof. How could someone who lived under the Chu family's suppression, never able to raise her head, possibly be the unflappable Miss Chu—a person possessing profound mystical arts and divine abilities—that he had encountered?

Yet, the intelligence indicated that Miss Chu was indeed Chu Meng. The Cui family's intelligence rarely erred, which was why Cui Shi had come nonetheless. Whether Chu Meng was Miss Chu or not, wouldn't a single look reveal the truth?

Having been ignored in full view of the public, Chu Zhonghe lost a bit of face and felt a flare of anger. Yet, constrained by the other's standing, he had to swallow his pride. Thinking it over, he said with a suppressed grievance,

"Young Master Cui, pray do not be angry. I shall have someone summon my daughter right away. Perhaps Young Master Cui would care to step inside and wait?"

After a moment's thought, Cui Shi stepped across the threshold of the Chu residence. The watching townspeople did not rush to leave; they all remained in place, waiting to see the outcome.

"This family head of the Chu clan is truly a snob. Normally, his nose is pointed toward the sky, but the moment he sees Young Master Cui, he shrinks back like a son facing his father. Pah!"

"Don't the people of the Chu family all act like that? And what about that Chu Jiaojiao they're always talking about—is she really a model of refined and virtuous maidenhood? I don't think so. I've actually seen her throw a young lady's tantrum; she was like a fierce female yaksha, utterly terrifying."

"Hasn't the Cui family shifted the center of their clan to the capital in recent years? By rights, if Young Master Cui wanted to marry a noble lady from the capital, it wouldn't be impossible. Why on earth has he taken a fancy to a daughter of the Chu family?"

"..."

Cui Shi took a seat in the front hall of the Chu estate alongside Chu Zhonghe, the steward having long since been dispatched to summon the eldest young miss.

In Madam Sun's courtyard, Chu Yan'er was holding a handkerchief and weeping before Madam Sun, until Madam Sun grew thoroughly impatient with the sound.

"Weep, weep, weep! All you know how to do is weep! In your mother's view, that slap your sister gave you was well-deserved!"

"What on earth is going through that muddled brain of yours? Jiaojiao is your real sister, connected to you by flesh and blood. Why on earth did you go and side with that hussy?"

Madam Sun glanced up at Chu Yan'er, a look of contempt at the corners of her mouth.

"Don't think I can't see through your little tricks. What scheme are you hatching in your heart? Aren't you just hoping that wild man your sister met in the capital will help you look for a husband in the capital? Let me tell you, mother to daughter, put that thought out of your head right now."

With knives hidden in her eyes, Madam Sun saw straight through Chu Yan'er's calculations, shattering her dream of marrying into the capital in one stroke.

Originally, Madam Sun had also thought that if they could hook a son-in-law from the capital, her daughter would soar to greatness, and she too would bask in the reflected glory and prestige. But later, upon careful reflection, she realized she couldn't do that.

She only had these two daughters. If they married far away, who would she rely on in her old age? If she couldn't depend on her daughters and sons-in-law, what was the point of having daughters in the first place? Daughters should be married close by, kept tethered by her side where she could at least reach out and touch them, so they could support her in her old age.

If one went off to the capital to become a wealthy matron, she might eventually look down upon her old mother back in this distant place. That transaction was not profitable at all.

"Mother, how can you think of me that way?"

Chu Yan'er was dumbfounded by Madam Sun's words. She even forgot to cry, staring at Madam Sun in sheer disbelief.

She never could have imagined that her own mother would harbor such malicious speculations about her. Even though her guess had hit the mark, her heart turned genuinely cold.

Unperturbed, Madam Sun let out a cold snort.

"How can I? I am your mother, and I have the right to decide everything about you! From now on, side with your real sister and stay away from that hussy. Your father and I only told you to swallow your tempers and not provoke her, so she wouldn't stir up trouble and could smoothly marry into the Fang family—we never told you to go ingratiating yourself with her!"

This second daughter of hers was simply an idiot! How had she ever given birth to such a fool, who actually thought of currying favor with that hussy? It made her furious—ultimately, only giving birth to a son was of any real use!