The Valued Lady is Truly Dominant

Madam Fu looked at the long narrow box in her daughter’s hand, and her eyes warmed with a smile.

”San-niang, you’re not so young anymore. You must understand what this meeting with the Song Family represents. What do you think of that third young master of the Song Family? Does he meet your eye?”

Fu Yunjin’s face flushed slightly. She said, half in jest, ”Mother, whatever are you saying? Third Young Master Song is a phoenix among men. So many Noble Ladies in the capital regard him as their ideal match. Is your daughter’s standards really higher than all of theirs?”

”Oh? So you do fancy him?” Madam Fu smiled and tapped the box in her hand. ”You’d better think it through. How other Noble Ladies judge this third young master, I don’t concern myself with; I care only about what you think. If you’re unwilling, then we’ll have this flute accounted for and taken back from the Song Family.”

Fu Yunjin held the box in silence.

After quite a while, she finally said, ”Mother, of course I know this is a matchmaking visit. Third Young Master Song is naturally a fine choice: his family background is good, his prospects are good; at such a young age he already passed the exams the same year as Elder Brother to become a Scholar. One can say he’s a man of learning himself, and indeed has the qualities that make so many Noble Ladies admire him.”

”To speak plainly, he is an excellent choice as a husband. But if you ask whether your daughter truly has her heart set on him—yes, I do like him, yet it’s not to the point of ’none but he will I marry.’ It’s more that I don’t dislike him, nor do I reject him. If it works out, it will be a fine thing; if it doesn’t, it won’t feel like a lifelong regret.”

She merely felt that this man was a good candidate, and would likely make a good husband; he was also her best option at present.

Madam Fu’s smile grew gentle. ”So, in other words, your spring heart has yet to be stirred?”

Fu Yunjin lightly pressed a hand to her chest. ”I wouldn’t call it lovesickness. I simply feel he is good, worthy of being a suitable match.” She paused, then said, ”Your daughter is not as steadfast and passionate as Eldest Sister was in those years.”

Madam Fu’s smile faded a little. ”Silly girl, it’s enough that you find him a suitable match. In truth, all this talk of love between men and women is the most illusory thing. No matter how earth-shaking the passion at the start, as time goes by, it fades little by little. Not to speak of distant examples—just take your Eldest Sister. Back then, she and your brother-in-law were passionate enough, weren’t they? To marry him she was even willing to threaten her own life. And yet how many years has it been? Hasn’t your brother-in-law now taken a new woman into the household?”

Fu Yunjin fell silent.

”Of course it’s good when a young couple is mutually in love, but even if they’re not, it’s not such a grave matter. How many couples in this world were married blind, not seeing each other’s face until their wedding day? Did they have those torrential feelings of love? No. The affection between husband and wife is nurtured in the long years of living together, slowly steeped and absorbed. If you insist on seeking someone you love to death and beyond, and one day that person betrays the intentions you had at the beginning, how will you bear it?”

Fu Yunjin leaned closer, rubbing against her like a child. ”Mother.”

Madam Fu stroked a lock of her hair with tender affection. ”To marry a man is to marry the one who will clothe and feed you. When a woman weds, she must look at what the man himself is like. All that talk of love is but flowers in a mirror, moon in the water; it cannot compare to him bringing you a warm coat when the weather turns cold, or lighting a lamp for you at night.”

”Mm.” Fu Yunjin said with a wry little smile, ”Actually, I think that Third Young Master Song and your daughter are of the same kind. I did not see any sign of romantic yearning for me in his eyes.”

Madam Fu tapped the box in her hand again. ”But he has taken a liking to you all the same, hasn’t he? As for yearning, once you spend more time together, how could it not grow? And if it doesn’t, you still won’t have a bitter life of it. The Song Family has house rules now: a man may only take a concubine if he reaches forty without an heir.”

Fu Yunjin said nothing, lowering her head and fiddling with the box. ”I’ll follow Mother’s judgment in all things.”