CHAPTER 354: CHAPTER 329: THE MYSTERY OF ORIGINS

Su Jingchen had long thought of a reason for his absence from home for several years.

Upon hearing Su Jingchen’s excuse, Yu Xiaolian just felt that Su Jingchen was really desperate.

Because Su Jingchen intended to deceive his father, saying that his old illness had relapsed and was getting worse, possibly nearing the end of his life, he planned to go to the Western Regions to search for Bell Doctors who specialize in respiratory diseases.

Yu Xiaolian knew about Bell Doctors in ancient times, who were folk physicians roaming the world.

In ancient times, some doctors would often carry a medicine chest and shake a bell while going out to treat patients, tirelessly traveling through streets and alleys to help those who were ill. When people heard the sound of the bell, they understood that the doctor had arrived, hence they were known as Bell Doctors.

In modern times, Bell Doctors might be considered practicing medicine without a license, but in ancient times it was quite the opposite. Some skilled doctors would not be content in one place and would choose to wander alone, whether to gain fame or to save people, after all, the real talent lay among the people.

Apart from the reason for traveling far, another advantage of Su Jingchen pretending his old illness had had relapsed was obvious.

That was to let Su Dafu know that his son was a sickly person. The fact that Yu Xiaolian did not dislike his son was already quite good, so how could he have the nerve to be picky about her?

In the following period, Su Jingchen also demonstrated through his actions that his approach was correct.

Since Su Jingchen began to cough occasionally, Su Dafu became flustered.

Originally, he thought about delaying the engagement between Su Jingchen and Yu Xiaolian for a while, but now he did not delay.

Not only did he not delay, but he quickly prepared the betrothal gifts, drafted the marriage proposal and gift list, and personally brought the matchmaker to the Yu family to propose marriage for his son, Su Jingchen.

Although Yu Changhe was unwilling, he couldn’t resist his daughter’s willingness, so he accepted the gifts brought by Su Dafu and exchanged marriage proposals and birth dates of the two children.

Yu Changhe hinted to Su Dafu that it would be best to set the engagement at the end of summer and suggested that he choose a later date.

Su Dafu was afraid that the Yu family would find out his son was sickly and withdraw the engagement, so he ignored Yu Changhe’s suggestion and chose the tenth of May.

When Yu Changhe found out, he was quite upset.

Who sets an engagement in May? May is a harmful month and it’s said that nothing goes well.

Yu Changhe rudely sent a message to Su Dafu, telling him May was not possible, either the end of April or the beginning of June.

Su Dafu was eager to set the date earlier, and immediately changed the engagement date to the end of April with joy.

Moreover, before Yu Changhe could oppose, he had already sent out invitations and announced it widely.

Yu Xiaolian was quite surprised to learn she would be engaged in more than twenty days.

Su Jingchen, on the other hand, remained calm as everything was within his expectations.

Recently, Su Jingchen was quite adept at feigning illness, often breathing heavily and looking pale in front of Su Dafu.

Su Dafu was scared his son might die young, as his future prosperity relied entirely on this son.

Seeing Su Jingchen become weaker day by day, Su Dafu sighed in worry, thinking his child’s frailty was probably related to Mrs. Zheng’s initial drowning in the cold pond.

However, seeing improvement in the last two years, why did the illness recur suddenly?

While arranging Su Jingchen’s engagement, Su Dafu secretly invited several famous doctors from Luocheng for his son, but none could help, suggesting they seek a Bell Doctor in the Western Regions for treatment.

Su Dafu immediately scolded those superficial doctors harshly.

Who didn’t know that the Western Regions had thin air? With his son’s condition of gasping for breath at every step, it might end badly without finding a Bell Doctor in time.

No, this can’t go on, Su Dafu hurriedly returned to his study.

However, just as he picked up a brush, he hesitated.

No, the truth must not be known to that person.

After much deliberation, Su Dafu finally threw the brush on the ground, letting out a long sigh.

This son was raised by him, it was his.

Since Mrs. Zheng had refused to reveal the truth to the child before her death, she didn’t want the child to be connected with that person, so this secret would go with him to his grave.

In the blink of an eye, it was April 28, the day Yu Xiaolian and Su Jingchen were engaged.

Yu Xiaolian got to truly experience the engagement process of ancient times.

The engagement process mainly consisted of six parts: Na Cai (proposal), Wen Ming (asking names), Na Ji (giving gifts), Na Zheng (betrothal), Qing Qi (setting date), and Qin Ying (welcoming the bride).

During this process, three documents were also interspersed: the Proposal Document, Gift Record, and Invitation Letter, used in different stages of the engagement.

The Proposal Document is essentially the engagement letter, stating the intention to marry between both parties, used during Na Ji.

The Gift Record is the list of gifts, specifying the type and quantity of gifts from the groom’s side, used during Na Zheng.

The Invitation Letter is akin to our modern marriage certificate, used during the welcoming ceremony.

The other six processes are as follows: Na Cai involves proposing marriage.

In ancient times, most women stayed in the boudoir, not stepping out of the house. Primarily, the man would inquire, prepare a meeting gift for the favored woman, and hire a matchmaker to propose.

Wen Ming involves asking names.

In olden times, women were strictly constrained, not allowed to show themselves, so men didn’t know their names. Additionally, birth dates were inquired to determine compatibility, avoiding conflicts.

Na Ji means giving small gifts as a sign of willingness to marry, generally decided by the man after matching birth dates.

Na Zheng involves providing the betrothal gifts.

After mutual agreement by both families, the groom’s side sends betrothal gifts to indicate their decision to marry the bride.

Qing Qi involves setting the wedding date, usually calculated by the groom’s family for a propitious day, then seeking the bride’s family’s consent to proceed.

The final stage is Qin Ying, which is the process of welcoming the bride, a formal step marking marriage, done quite solemnly with attention to etiquette.

Thus, although it’s an engagement, the marriage date is also set.

Since Su Dafu feared losing the opportunity, the wedding was scheduled for a year later, after Yu Xiaolian turned of age, to get married.

No one opposed the date, as everyone except Su Dafu knew Yu Xiaolian and Su Jingchen planned to travel far and possibly wouldn’t return for years. Hence, whatever the wedding date, if it couldn’t be held, was just idle talk.

Upon learning of Su Jingchen’s plan to leave for the Western Regions with Yu Xiaolian, Yu Changhe had already talked with Su Jingchen, settling verbally a gentleman’s agreement between them.

The engagement matter seemed complicated, but it seemed unrelated to Yu Xiaolian, as nothing required her personal involvement, and according to custom, the affianced couple didn’t even need to meet.

So despite the engagement, Yu Xiaolian simply continued with her routine, while organizing the engagement banquet was her father’s job.

The tallying and checking of the gift list were handled by her mother.