Engagement

Before An Changfu and An Changde, the two brothers, split the household, the An Family had once been considered a scholarly family.

Old Master An was a Juren. In Da Ya, that title alone was enough to secure an official post, yet he chose to return to his hometown and declined every appointment. This status let him move through Anyuan County like a fish in water; even the county magistrate had to show him considerable respect.

Old Master An placed immense hopes on his two sons. Though he was a Juren, he had gone no further than that, so his lifelong wish was for the An Family to produce a Jinshi. In the end, he pinned that hope on his sons. Yet only An Changde showed even a little talent, while An Changfu simply was not cut out for studying.

Even so, the An Family had already become quite renowned in Anyuan County at the time.

Old Master An was an elegant scholar of great literary talent. Yet rather than composing poems or matching couplets, what he excelled at most was painting. Every painting he created carried a distinct spiritual charm. Someone had once said that if Old Master An were willing to sell his paintings, each one would fetch an exorbitant price.

However, Old Master An was a stubborn man. He believed painting was a noble and beautiful pursuit that cultivated one's temperament, and he refused to measure it in terms of profit. It was precisely because of this that he became famous.

On Old Master An's sixtieth birthday, he met a traveler passing through Anyuan County.

The traveler claimed to be a merchant, traveling with his family to settle in Gentlemen City. Gentlemen City was Da Ya's capital, a flourishing place longed for by countless merchants and scholars.

At first, Old Master An did not particularly like the man because he was a merchant. Though he was not as openly repulsed by merchants as other scholars were, he still did not like associating closely with them—especially when his younger son showed such an interest in trade.

But once the man revealed his literary attainments, Old Master An began to view him in a new light.

Before long, the two became kindred spirits. As they were nearly the same age, they had much in common to discuss, and eventually they even swore brotherhood. The man was deeply interested in Old Master An's paintings, so Old Master An gave him several, all of them his finest works.

Knowing that these paintings were Old Master An's heart and soul, the man was moved and gifted him half a jade pendant in return.

The jade pendant was an heirloom passed down through the man's family. It was said to be intended for their future daughter-in-law and was exceedingly precious. Once Old Master An learned this, he refused to accept it no matter what. He felt that a few paintings of his could not compare to the pendant's value. Yet the man said it was a token of trust, meant for Old Master An's future eldest granddaughter-in-law.

Thus, the marriage alliance between the two families was settled.

The only person who knew of this was Steward Su. By then, Steward Su had already been serving at Old Master An's side. Old Master An told him not to breathe a word of it, keeping it hidden even from his two sons.

Old Master An did this because he wanted to observe which of his sons' daughters would be more suitable to marry into his friend's family.

He attached great importance to this marriage alliance. From his friend's words and bearing, he could tell that the family maintained strict standards, so he wanted to select the finest granddaughter to marry over.

Originally, Old Master An had favored his eldest son's daughter. His eldest son was a scholar, so his daughter should at least have inherited some of his teachings. But he discovered that although the eldest branch's daughter was beautiful, she was also sharp-tongued and mean-spirited. He immediately cast her out of consideration and turned his attention to his second son's daughter, An Yuzhi.

An Yuzhi was a well-read, courteous, and shy young lady. Having spent her years secluded in the inner chambers, her literary foundation was not particularly strong, but she could read and write and recite a few lines of poetry. Raised under Liu Meixiang's guidance, she had grown into a beautiful, gentle, and obedient young miss. Though there was nothing especially outstanding about her, she was the only one in the entire An Family who could be presented with dignity.

Thus, Old Master An made the final decision: it would be An Yuzhi.

He handed the half-token and a sachet to Steward Su, telling him that if one day his friend or his friend's family came calling, he was to tell his second son and daughter-in-law about the matter. If his friend never appeared, then they were to treat it as though it had never happened.

Steward Su had always obeyed Old Master An's instructions. Even after An Yuzhi passed her fifteenth birthday, he had not spoken of it. At the time, he had guessed what Old Master An had been worried about: the other party had never come to fulfill the promise made all those years ago, so perhaps it had merely been a casual jest.

He had originally intended to bury this secret forever. He had not expected such upheaval to befall the An Family. Though the eldest young master spoke as though everything would be fine once the An Family's property had been transferred away, Steward Su knew those people would surely destroy the eldest young master first.

The eldest young master was no longer the same as before. Steward Su did not want to see him framed by those people and have his life ruined. After hesitating again and again, he finally decided to reveal the engagement and let the eldest young master decide.

"Steward Su, you think that family must be influential in Gentlemen City, so you want me to find them and have them fulfill the engagement. That way, Eldest Uncle and Eldest Aunt would no longer dare set their sights on the An Family. Is that correct?" An Ziran was silent for a moment before voicing exactly what Steward Su had been thinking.

Steward Su said, "Young Master, you have guessed correctly. That is exactly what I had in mind. Although that man claimed to be a merchant back then, Old Master An had long seen from his words and bearing that he was no ordinary merchant. If the eldest master learns that the An Family has attached itself to someone from the capital, he should be somewhat wary."

An Ziran looked at him calmly. "But you should also be worried that they may have forgotten their promise from back then. That is why you waited until now to tell me, isn't it?"

"Young Master is truly wise. You have guessed every thought in my heart." Rather than feeling embarrassed, Steward Su praised him with relief. Every word had struck the bullseye.

"It is not that I am wise. The truth is plain for all to see," An Ziran said.

If they truly cared about this marriage, they should have come to their door long ago.

Worry filled Steward Su's face. "Young Master, then... should we still seek them out and have them fulfill the engagement?"

The corners of An Ziran's lips lifted slightly as he said with unwavering resolve, "Of course we will seek them out. Even if they truly have forgotten, with half the jade pendant in our hands, they will not be able to deny it."

Whether it succeeded or not, he had already decided to use them as a stepping stone to protect the An Family.