The eldest son’s wife was an orphan, reportedly rescued by him during his travels.
She and Ji Youyuan were married through the Illusion Sect. It was only when he later had Dongxue sent to Ling Village to accompany her that she learned her eldest son was married.
The second Ji son, on the other hand, was married in Ling Village. However, he and his wife were bound and forced to kneel for the wedding ceremony by Huo Xing’Er’s father, who then suddenly disappeared.
Once the second Ji son gained his freedom, he also ran away. She had originally thought Huo Xing’Er would flee too, but unexpectedly, Huo Xing’Er actually stayed.
She was even more bewildered about the third Ji son’s wife. A letter and a few guards had directly delivered the woman to her; she knew nothing else.
The fourth Ji son was quiet and simple-minded, and there was still no sign of a daughter-in-law for him. She was anxious, but she had no opportunity to press him about marriage.
The fifth was Ji Xi’Er, Xiaosuisui’s mother. One day, Ji Xi’Er had suddenly told her she was getting married to a farr, saying it was to repay a debt of gratitude.
She initially disagreed. But Ji Xi’Er knelt before her for a full day and night, and after making so inquiries, she found out that the farr was honest and reliable, soone suitable for settling down with.
So, the fifth child, Ji Xi’Er, chose her own wedding date. She had good news (beca pregnant) soon after marrying, but then her son-in-law suddenly left to join the army. Later, Suisui was born, but her daughter, Ji Xi’Er, was gone.
Her three younger sons still showed no signs of marrying. Now, seeing Zhu Xiuxiu and the third Ji son nearly co to blows at the dinner table, Lady Ji finally resolved to take her children’s marriages in hand.
Zhu Xiuxiu held Xiaosuisui in her arms, feeling Lady Ji’s burning gaze fixed on her, and she dared not et the older woman’s eyes.
"I... My marriage to the third Ji son... We... we were... forced into it by... by my father."
"Huh?"
Lady Ji was stunned for a good while. What on earth was wrong with her children?
It was one thing for the second son to be tied up and forced through the wedding ceremony by his father-in-law, but how could the third son’s marriage also be a forced one?
"The one I had set my heart on back then was a scholar... He... he and I were what you might call childhood sweethearts. His family was poor and couldn’t afford his studies, so I was the one secretly funding him.
We had agreed that once he succeeded in the imperial examinations and obtained a scholarly title, we would marry. What I never expected was that as soon as he beca a Juren, a successful provincial graduate, he was... ’snatched as a son-in-law from the rankings’..."
"What does ’snatched as a son-in-law from the rankings’ an?" Xiaosuisui’s bright, clear voice cut in, interrupting Zhu Xiuxiu.
Zhu Xiuxiu casually explained, "It ans that on the day the examination results are posted, successful candidates who are listed are spotted by high officials or nobles and taken ho to beco their sons-in-law!"
Xiaosuisui nodded, put her little hands on her hips, and declared with a comically imposing air, "Then I’m going to snatch one too!"
PFFT! A suppressed laugh escaped, and both Lady Ji and Zhu Xiuxiu burst out laughing, rocking back and forth.
"You’re still too little; it’s too early to be talking about this," Lady Ji said, pointing at her and laughing heartily.
Xiaosuisui tilted her head. "Hmm," she said, "then I’ll snatch one when I’m grown up!"
"Alright!" Lady Ji waved her hand at her. "You go back to your Qinxin Courtyard for now!" She then called a young maid to escort Xiaosuisui back.
After Xiaosuisui’s little interruption, the atmosphere between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law suddenly lightened considerably.
"Alright, please continue," Lady Ji said.
Zhu Xiuxiu scratched her head, a little embarrassed. "Actually, when I first ca to you, I noticed you never asked how the third Ji son and I ca to be married. I just assud he had told you everything in his letter. I had no idea you didn’t know anything at all!"
Lady Ji shook her head and sighed. "Back when the third son had you escorted here, his guards also brought a letter from him. In it, he only wrote three short sentences!"
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