Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

"Fourth son, have you met any girls you like while you're in office?" Liu was anxious about her son's marriage; he was almost twenty. Other girls his age in the village already had several children.

To everyone's surprise, Zhang Chengwen, who had never paid much attention to this matter, blushed when Liu asked him about it.

Although it was night, there were quite a few lights on in Xia Yu's house. Even though it was dark now, the blush on his face was still very obvious.

"Mother, I have met a woman I like in the capital. I hope you can come and propose marriage for me."

Everyone in the room was startled by his words, including Xia Yu. Her fourth uncle had a woman he liked in Beijing; how come she didn't know? When did that happen?

"Fourth son, are you telling the truth? I wonder whose daughter she is?" When Liu heard that her stubborn son had finally come to his senses, she was so happy that she couldn't wait to go and propose marriage.

"She is the second daughter of Minister Qin, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel," Zhang Chengwen said somewhat shyly to everyone, revealing the girl he admired.

"Fourth Uncle, when did you meet the daughter of the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel? We were together almost every day in the capital, how did you get to know her?" Xia Yu couldn't help but ask, though she wasn't just curious. Her fourth uncle had sent someone to the capital to propose marriage, so he must have known whether the girl was engaged or knew him.

"The first time I met Miss Qin was on Phoenix Mountain. I happened to be buying fruit at a stall, and Miss Qin was also buying fruit there. When she went to pay, she realized her money had been stolen. She turned red with anxiety, and seeing her distress, I paid for her money as well. But she insisted on asking for my name and address, saying she'd go home to get the money to return to me. Of course, I couldn't accept it; how could I let a young lady return money for a few pieces of fruit?" Zhang Chengwen glanced at the room full of people listening intently, took a sip of water, and continued.

"But Miss Qin said she was most afraid of taking advantage of others and insisted on returning the money to me. I refused to tell her my name and address, so she kept following me. Eventually, I had no choice but to tell her my name and the inn I was staying at."

"And then? What happened next?" Liu asked anxiously.

"Then, a few days later, she and her maid delivered the silver to the inn for me. At first, she went a few times but happened to run into us when we were out with the delegation, so she didn't see us. Until the day it rained, I was resting at the inn, and she braved the rain to deliver the silver, and also gave me a few extra plates of pastries she had made herself."

"At the time, I just thought Miss Qin was quite polite and didn't think much of it. Who knew that a few days later Lord Shen would summon me to his residence. When I arrived, there was another official sitting in the study. Lord Shen asked me about some things concerning the mission, and then about my duties at my post. We talked for about half an hour before he told me to come back."

"The gentleman in the study must be Lord Qin," Xia Yu said with certainty.

"How did you know? Did Lord Shen tell you?" Zhang Chengwen was still very puzzled when he heard Xia Yu speak.

"It must be that Miss Qin took a liking to Fourth Uncle and told her parents. Lord Qin was worried, so naturally he wanted to find someone for his daughter. He works in the Ministry of Personnel, so getting your file wouldn't be difficult for him. Knowing that we are from the same hometown as Lord Shen, he asked Lord Shen to summon you for a test. Did Lord Qin invite you to his residence later?" Xia Yu asked after finishing her sentence.

"You little rascal, you're just as clever and mischievous as you guessed. A few days later, Lord Qin invited me to his residence. At first, I was quite puzzled, thinking that I didn't know the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, so why would he invite me to his residence for a chat? But when I arrived, I found out that he was the same official who had been in Lord Shen's study that day. And he also happens to be Miss Qin's father."

"Fourth son, do you like that girl?" After hearing her son's story, Liu understood that the girl had taken a liking to her son first, and then, after some probing, she told him. She felt a surge of displeasure, thinking that her fourth son was good in every way, so why should someone else be picking and choosing him behind her back?

Zhang Chengwen naturally noticed the displeasure on his mother's face, but since it concerned his marriage, he still nodded solemnly.

"Of course I like her, but I never expected her to be interested in our family's social standing, given the vast difference in social status."

"What rank is his father?" Liu felt that since her third son already had a title, her family should at least have one.

Zhang Chengwen, unaware of his mother's thoughts, honestly answered...

"Third Rank"

"That's not a big deal. I thought he was a prime minister. You're already a sixth-rank official. In a few years, you might even surpass his rank." Madam Liu didn't understand the intricacies of officialdom. She just thought that there were only two ranks between her son's sixth and third ranks, and it would be easy for him to catch up.

Zhang Chengwen was both amused and exasperated by his mother's words. Did she think that he could get promoted after working for three years?

“Mother, Miss Qin’s grandfather is in the same cabinet as Lord Shen, serving as a Grand Secretary of the Wenyuan Pavilion. Besides, when someone is marrying off their daughter, they naturally want to know the character and family background of the other party before they feel at ease marrying their daughter off, right? Just like when you found a husband for Qinghe, didn’t you also carefully select the Fang family after much deliberation?”

When he said this, he didn't notice the expressions on the faces of the other people in the room, and he certainly didn't notice his older brother Zhang Youjin, who kept giving him meaningful glances.

In recent years, in order not to trouble him, the family has always only reported good news and not bad news about what happened in Qinghe's in-laws' house. So Zhang Chengwen really knew nothing about the messy things that happened in Qinghe's in-laws' house.

I only saw my brother-in-law and Qinghe at home today. He seemed to care about Qinghe quite a bit, always protecting her, afraid that something might happen to my pregnant sister.

Only after he finished speaking did he sense the strange atmosphere in the room. He looked at Old Master Zhang, puzzled, and asked...

"Dad, what's wrong? Didn't you tell me what happened at home?"

Old Master Zhang tapped his pipe on the table before speaking.

"It's nothing. You're right. When people marry off their daughters, they do make sure they know the groom's character and family background before they feel at ease. The Qin family did the right thing in that regard. To be honest, we don't have much of a background. Five years ago, we couldn't even afford white flour buns. We can't compare to the Qin family in the capital. Since they don't look down on us because we're from humble backgrounds, we know they're not the kind of people who snob. Since our fourth son is also interested in the girl, let's pack our things tomorrow, and we'll go to the capital with gifts to propose marriage to him."

“Our son is certainly good, but we haven’t even inquired about the girl yet. Do you know if she’s flat-chested or round-chested? What’s her temperament like? Also, why didn’t she choose any of the many wealthy young men in the capital, but instead chose our fourth son? Is there some hidden story behind this? Or what’s the girl’s reputation like? We don’t know any of these things, so why are we in such a hurry to propose marriage? It’s as if our fourth son is eager to marry her.” Hearing Old Master Zhang’s instructions, Madam Liu was immediately displeased and had a whole host of questions waiting for him. She just wanted to put on airs and investigate the girl herself.

"Why are you making such a fuss? Our son has already met that girl, hasn't he? Lord Shen has already acted as a go-between, what are you still worried about? With the relationship between our third son and Lord Shen's parents, would he harm our family?" The old man was annoyed by his wife's fussiness.