Chapter 291 - 140: An Arranged Match

Chapter 291: Chapter 140: An Arranged Match

To break the awkward silence, Jiang Mu cleared his throat and forced a change of subject:

"Ahem... Uh, Grandma, speaking of which, how come you live in this courtyard all alone? Where’s your son? I haven’t seen him around."

As soon as the words left his mouth, he felt a sharp pain on the top of his foot.

Shui Miaozheng had stepped on it.

Jiang Mu froze and looked at Shui Miaozheng, confused. He saw her giving him a meaningful look, accompanied by a slight shake of her head.

’What?’

’Was I not even allowed to ask about her family?’

But when he looked back at the old woman, the gentle smile had vanished from her face, replaced by a look of sorrow and gloom. Jiang Mu immediately realized he’d stepped into a minefield and cursed himself inwardly.

"Sigh..."

The old woman let out a long sigh, picked up the hemp rope again, and slowly began to twist it.

"My son... he died a long time ago."

"Back then, he married a good wife—virtuous and capable—but he didn’t cherish her. He became infatuated with a courtesan from the city and completely lost his soul to her.

"He sold everything we owned, even pawned our fields, claiming he wanted to buy that courtesan’s freedom. He poured all the money into it and got nothing in return. She just turned around and left with a richer man."

"After that, my son just fell apart. He drank all day, living in a stupor, and racked up a mountain of debt.

"My daughter-in-law had to support the whole family by herself, working as a hired hand... And my poor little grandson, who was just over three, my son took him away somewhere... He probably sold him."

Tears shimmered in the old woman’s eyes.

"Later, it was as if my son finally woke up, but by then my daughter-in-law had collapsed from exhaustion. She fell ill and never got back on her feet, passing away not long after."

"My son was consumed by regret. He swore to me, kowtowing, that he would find his son, and then he left..."

"But after he left, several years passed with no word from him."

"Even later, someone returning from their travels told me that somewhere... I think there was a riot. The government soldiers were rounding up the rioters, and my son was mistaken for one of them and killed."

The old woman wiped her tears and said:

"I didn’t believe it!

"I went to the Government Office to demand an explanation, but I didn’t even make it past the front gate. They beat me a few times and threw me out, leaving me with all these aches and pains..."

The old woman lifted a withered hand and pounded her leg:

"It’s all fate... It’s all fate!"

Listening to the old woman’s tale, Jiang Mu was speechless, his heart a turmoil of complex emotions.

In a world where Demon Fiends ran rampant and the human heart was unfathomable, such tragedies were not uncommon.

’Every family has its own cross to bear.’

’All one could say was that the old woman had raised a scoundrel of a son.’

Shui Miaozheng gently patted the old woman’s back, comforting her in a soft voice.

The old woman seemed tired from talking, or perhaps she had calmed down a bit after getting it all out.

She put down the hemp rope, suddenly grabbed Shui Miaozheng’s hand, and then beckoned to Jiang Mu:

"Young man, come sit over here."

Though he didn’t understand, Jiang Mu did as he was told and moved his stool closer, sitting down on the old woman’s other side.

The old woman reached out, took Jiang Mu’s hand, and without a word of warning, placed it right on top of Shui Miaozheng’s.

Both of them froze.

The back of his hand touched her palm, a warm and soft sensation.

They both instinctively tried to pull away, but the old woman’s withered hands held them fast.

They were surprised by the old woman’s strength; for a moment, they couldn’t break free.

The old woman looked at them, her eyes softening with kindness, and spoke with heartfelt earnestness:

"When I was young, I was just like you two.

"When you meet someone you like, you always keep it to yourself, too shy to speak up.

"You always think there’s plenty of time, and you worry they don’t feel the same. You’re afraid if you say something, you might not even be able to stay friends.

"Even though our families were supportive, I was too thin-skinned. I never dared to ask, so I just let day after day go by..."

"Later, my family arranged my marriage, and I wed a man I didn’t love.

"After we were married, life was rough. I was beaten, I was berated, and my heart was full of a bitterness I couldn’t share with anyone.

"Then, much later, I heard by chance that the man I’d liked back then had liked me too. He also thought I wasn’t interested, and he was too shy to ask..."

"And just like that, through a twist of fate, we missed our chance.

"And when you miss a chance like that, it’s for a lifetime."

The old woman looked at the two of them, her eyes filled with both regret and hope:

"You young people... sometimes you think too much, worry too much. These are troubled times; you never know what tomorrow holds.

"It’s not easy for two people to find each other. Since you both have feelings for one another, don’t be so coy. Some things just need to be said.

"What good is pride?

"Don’t wait until it’s too late and you’ve lost your chance, only to be filled with regret.

"I look at you two—he’s handsome, and you’re beautiful. You look picture-perfect together. A perfect match. Since you’re both interested, why be so hesitant? Wouldn’t it be wonderful to just be together, open and honest?"

Shui Miaozheng didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at the old woman’s misguided matchmaking.

’Who said we have feelings for each other?’

Her cheeks flushed. She wanted to explain, but she was afraid of dampening the old woman’s kind enthusiasm.

Worse, she feared that any attempt to explain would only make things more awkward. For a moment, she was completely at a loss.

All she could do was let the old woman hold their hands together.

The warmth of his hand against her palm was distinct and searing, causing her heart to beat erratically for some unknown reason.

’This was the first time in years I’ve had such close physical contact with a man... and a junior, no less...’

’But strangely, I feel no sense of aversion or repulsion.’

’Instead, I feel a faint sense of comfort.’

Jiang Mu had been awkward at first, too.

But as he listened to the old woman ramble on, watching the usually dignified and imposing Water Director look as flustered and helpless as a young girl, he found the situation inexplicably amusing.