Perfect Match – CH 109

Chapter 109 [Extra WHAT IF Chapter] The Young Man (9) [The End]

Little Yunniang ran to the gate of the garrison office. The office was bustling with activity. She saw the Shen family army gathered there and heard the local military households talking about how the Shen family army had made a great contribution outside the Great Wall.

“You know the Prince of Yanshan’s Mansion under the Prince of Qin, right? They dared to collude with foreign enemies, not only buying and selling supplies privately but also smuggling weapons. The Shen family caught the Prince of Yanshan’s Mansion red-handed outside the Great Wall. The youngest son of the Prince of Yanshan, the Regional General, Zhu Tingguang, was captured by the Shen family outside the Great Wall and taken to the capital. Even the Prince of Qin’s Mansion cannot protect them!”

“Then the Prince of Yanshan’s Mansion is truly finished. But the Shen family army, will they not receive a great reward?”

Everyone was right; General Shen was going to be promoted. Deng Ruyun overheard them discussing the Shen family and the Prince of Yanshan’s Mansion, but why did they not mention Teng Yue at all?

She could not help but want to ask, but just then, a group of people emerged from the garrison gate. Among them, besides the elderly general, was Teng Yue.

She quickly looked at him, and he looked at her, too.

His gaze fixed on her the moment he saw her. Deng Ruyun hurriedly waved to him, hoping he would come and speak to her, but he only mouthed a single sentence:

“Go home and wait for me.”

Without another word, the soldiers escorted her away.

Little Yunniang, having failed to speak to him properly, pouted but then heard the group of soldiers finally mention him.

“…Although our Jinzhou Guard did not send troops this time, Little Teng, the Baihu Commander, has unexpectedly rendered meritorious service with the Shen family.”

“Yes, yes, yes! It was Commander Teng who first discovered this news, and fearing a leak, he informed the Shen family. I heard that outside the pass, a group of pharmacists from Jinzhou were captured by Zhu Tingguang, and it was Commander Teng who contacted our people in Jinzhou, and together they captured Zhu Tingguang…”

“Wow, after General Teng’s death, the Teng family has had a tough few years. Everyone thought the Teng family had no chance of recovery. But now, seeing how courageous Little Teng is, his future is bright!”

“He’s no longer called Little Teng. With this merit, the Shen family will naturally promote him. In a few days, he will probably be promoted to Baihu Commander—no, maybe even Deputy Commander!”

Little Yunniang’s eyes widened.

If he really became a deputy commander, how happy he would be!

And what about Father? He could not possibly look down on the Teng family anymore, could he?

Deng Ruyun excitedly ran home.

He told her to go home and wait for him, so she went back and waited!

When Yunniang ran back to the Deng family’s pharmacy, the entire house, from the outside of the shop to the inside, was packed with people.

Her brother had returned, bringing back medicinal herbs he’d bought from beyond the Great Wall. The Deng family had already made their pharmacy quite prosperous in recent years, and with this added boost, it might very well become the largest pharmacy in Jinzhou. If they could solidify the business, opening a shop in Xi’an would not be a problem.

People love to add to someone’s success, and now that her brother had just returned, the Deng family’s house was overflowing with people.

Seeing her father and brother busy entertaining guests, Yunniang did not cause any trouble. She happily went back to the inner courtyard, had a cup of tea, and wondered when that person would come to see her.

But she waited and waited until nightfall, and no one came. Instead, a servant from the Teng family arrived, saying that their Second Young Master was busy and would not be going up the mountain the next day, so the young lady should not make a wasted trip.

Little Yunniang’s eyes and brows drooped upon hearing this.

Could it be that he was about to be promoted and would be too busy to practice archery on the mountain anymore? Would he no longer have time to see her?

The young girl’s head almost touched the ground, and she was still somewhat sullen the next morning.

However, it was good that her brother had returned. She ate with her parents, brother, and sister-in-law, enjoying a rare family reunion.

But just as the Deng family finished breakfast, they heard voices outside the courtyard gate.

The whole family was puzzled. The father said, “Those people who came to join the fun yesterday, are they coming again today? And so early?”

The elder brother said it was hard to say, “After all, this batch of medicine from beyond the Great Wall that I brought is not even common in the medicine market of Xi’an Prefecture.”

As they were talking, Yunniang overheard her mother say, “They might not even be here to buy medicine.”

Before she finished speaking, the gatekeeper came running up.

“Master, Madam, Elder Young Master, Grandmother, Young Lady…” he called out to everyone in one breath, then gasped, “Someone has come to our house to propose marriage!”

“Ah?” The Deng family was all shocked.

The father asked, “Propose marriage? Who?”

The gatekeeper immediately looked at Deng Ruyun. “Reporting to Master, it’s for the young lady!”

Besides the young lady, who else was in the house waiting to be married?

The whole family looked at Yunniang, who was startled and jumped to her feet.

She first heard her father and brother say that the people who came to the Deng family to buy medicinal herbs all wanted to establish a relationship with the Deng family. Now that she heard someone had come to propose marriage, she assumed that it was these people.

Her face changed, and she immediately said, “I will not marry him! Throw him out!”

Before the Deng family could say anything, the gatekeeper was greatly surprised.

“Does the young lady really not want to marry him?”

Deng Ruyun glared at him. “My parents have not said anything yet. How dare you make me marry him?”

The gatekeeper repeatedly said he would not dare, scratching his head as he looked at her.

“But young lady… that’s the Teng family, the Teng family of General Teng!”

Upon hearing this, not only Deng Ruyun but also everyone else froze on the spot.

On the contrary, the brother was the first to recover, laughing heartily and turning to look at his sister.

“Oh, since Yunniang says she will not marry him, then Brother will help you throw him out?”

He said, actually getting up, and the whole family looked at Yunniang, who was completely dumbfounded.

The Teng family, Teng Yue’s Teng family?!

He only told her to go home and wait for him, but instead, the marriage proposal came instead…

Seeing her brother really about to leave, her face suddenly flushed, and she stepped forward, grabbing his sleeve.

“Since it’s the Teng family, then do not rush, do not rush…”

A breeze blew through the courtyard, making the wind chimes under the eaves tinkle, and the whole family looked at Little Yunniang and laughed.

…

That day, Teng Yue’s mother personally led the matchmaker to the Deng family’s door. Master Deng was initially somewhat dissatisfied with the marriage, but upon hearing that Deng Ruheng had been saved by Teng Yue, and that the young man had performed meritorious service and was about to be promoted, he no longer had any objections. His only regret was that his daughter was not yet of marriageable age, and he was reluctant to marry her off.

But Madam Lin came with sincerity.

At first, she also hesitated, but then her son told her that the Deng family’s wife was the female physician who had saved Teng Xiao years ago, the person she had been searching for—Ye Qiu!

They talked in the room for a whole morning that day, and when they came out, the marriage was basically settled.

The matchmaker had never proposed a marriage so quickly before. She beamed, saying the engagement would be after the New Year, and the wedding would be held on an auspicious day after the girl’s coming-of-age ceremony.

Deng Ruyun was in a daze all day.

However, it was an arranged marriage, and she did not see Teng Yue on the day the matchmaker came.

But as evening approached, a servant from the Teng family came running over again.

“Young Lady Deng, my Second Young Master asks if you have some free time. Would you like to go to the mimosa tree in the south of the city?”

Deng Ruyun had plenty of free time. Before the servant could finish speaking, she ran out the door.

*

Under the mimosa tree in the south of the city.

This year’s warm winter had caused the thin layer of ice on the stream beneath the tree to be easily lifted by the children.

As the sun set behind the mountains, the crimson sunset hung like ribbons of red silk fluttering in the wind atop the peaks.

Little Yunniang ran to the tree and saw a large crowd gathered by the river. Everyone was leaning over the bank, pushing their lanterns downstream.

In Jinzhou, there was a long-standing custom of releasing river lanterns around the Lunar New Year. Because of the legend that a spirit resided in the mimosa tree, this was the busiest time to gather by the river.

But Little Yunniang looked along the river twice and could not find anyone waiting for her.

She raised an eyebrow in surprise, then turned around and saw someone slowly emerge from behind the tall mimosa tree.

He carried a lantern larger than the others; unlike the usual lotus lanterns, it was made of paper in the shape of a mimosa flower.

The lantern was already lit in his hands. He walked slowly forward, his gaze settling on the young girl’s face.

Little Yunniang felt a little awkward, remembering his sudden marriage proposal, but he spoke.

“Yunniang, do you know where I first saw you?”

The little girl blinked. Not on the mountain?

But she heard the young man’s soft voice: “Right here, under this mimosa tree.”

At that moment, a fallen leaf had landed on his hair ornament, then on his shoulder. Only then did he turn around and see the little girl who had been following him all along…

He told her what had happened.

“I think it was all the will of the divine tree.” So many things had changed and turned since that moment, and he, too, had followed its will, completely altering the fate in his dream. “I have received the decree and should come to give thanks.”

Thank you, thank you for the change in fate, and thank you to the Divine Tree Goddess for the arranged marriage.

The little girl only half understood his words, but Teng Yue did not want to tell her about the fate in his dream. She did not need to know the hardships and bitterness of that fate; he only wanted her to be the carefree Deng family girl she was now.

She winked at him. “Although you are the one thanking me, I also want to thank you for finding my brother… You are really amazing.”

The young man smiled, looking down. A winter wind blew under the tree, and he suddenly reached out and grasped her hand, which had turned red from the wind.

“Are you cold?”

He suddenly took her hand, and the girl froze.

This was the first time he had ever touched her hand.

She was stunned, staring blankly at the young man.

The young man had not expected such a strong reaction, but he did not let go. His face gradually warmed from his ear to his cheek.

He then placed the large, mimosa-shaped river lantern in her hand.

“Yunniang, let’s release the lantern together.”

She finally came to her senses, and amidst the countless shimmering lanterns released along the riverbank, she smiled at him, a smile as beautiful as a flower and as radiant as a lantern.

“Alright!”

That one word resonated deep within the young man’s heart.

(T/N: End of WHAT IF. Now back to the main storyline…)

*

In Jinzhou City, it was also the dead of winter, the twelfth lunar month, just before the Lunar New Year.

The Teng family, having just finished their ancestral rites and wedding, was now busy with preparations for the New Year.

Since Teng Yue was granted the title of Earl of Xianning, the number of people coming to pay their respects had increased dramatically, leaving him little free time even in his ancestral home of Jinzhou.

Deng Ruyun was managing the household affairs and calculating the arrangements for Yuyun Hall after the New Year. Her brother intended to add several new medicines to Yuyun Hall’s medicine offerings to help it quickly establish itself in the Shaanxi medicinal market. The herbs needed to be purchased, and people needed to be found to test the new medicines. These medicines were for treating difficult and complex diseases, and finding suitable testers would not be easy.

She had been busy for a while when she heard Xiuniang arrive, saying that someone wanted to kowtow to the Madam.

Deng Ruyun assumed it was a tenant farmer or estate shopkeeper from the lower estates coming to pay New Year’s respects, but Xiuniang said…

“Madam, it’s Nanny Wei and Xia’er.”

Deng Ruyun raised an eyebrow.

Nanny Wei had come to kowtow and apologize to her long before she had agreed to return to the Teng family with Teng Yue.

Back when she first married into the Teng family, Nanny Wei had caused her a lot of trouble and difficulties. Later, she learned from Teng Yue that Nanny Wei had been bribed by that Fourth Young Lady Zhang to curry favor with a noblewoman and had been belittling her for a long time.

At that time, when she came to apologize, Deng Ruyun sat calmly and accepted it without saying anything, letting her leave.

The Old Madam had no intention of keeping Nanny Wei any longer. Nanny Wei had betrayed her mistress and caused her daughter’s poisoning, so she could not stay in the Teng family either and left in a panic.

Sister Xia was severely poisoned and already seriously ill. Nanny Wei had practically emptied her coffers searching everywhere for a cure, but the poison could not be neutralized quickly, and her illness was even more incurable.

A few days ago, she had come to congratulate the Teng family on their wedding, but Deng Ruyun was at her parents’ home and had not seen her.

However, this time, Xiuniang said.

“Nanny Wei is preparing to take Sister Xia away from Shaanxi to the capital for medical treatment and wanted to say goodbye to Madam.”

Her manners were so courteous and considerate, truly a far cry from her previous domineering ways with the Teng family.

Deng Ruyun was not one to hold grudges, so she nodded and let Xiuniang lead her in.

Unexpectedly, upon seeing Nanny Wei again, she found the once arrogant old woman now with a full head of white hair. She knelt before Deng Ruyun’s face, and Deng Ruyun almost did not recognize her. Looking at Sister Xia beside her, she was now nothing but skin and bones.

She could not help but ask in surprise.

“The poison attached to that golden elixir, is it really that potent?”

Sister Xia knelt silently. Nanny Wei trembled, her voice suddenly aged and hoarse. She dared not look directly at the current mistress and spoke directly.

“Reporting to Madam, my daughter’s health is weak. That poison might be effective against others, but for her it’s like a leech, impossible to remove.”

“So you are planning to go to the capital to find a renowned physician?”

That was what she said, but Nanny Wei had already consulted too many physicians, all without a cure. Her voice was even hoarser.

“This is all retribution for this old servant; it’s a pity it befell the child.”

Nanny Wei had come here not only to apologize to the mistress but also to atone for her sins, hoping that perhaps her daughter would have a chance.

She bowed her head.

“Madam, please do not worry about this old servant and my daughter. My only wish is for you to be well.”

She kept her head bowed low, as did Sister Xia.

Deng Ruyun silently observed the mother and daughter for a long time before suddenly speaking.

“My brother is currently developing an antidote pill with unusual ingredients. Its efficacy is still unknown, but we lack someone to test it.”

As she spoke, Nanny Wei looked up. Deng Ruyun’s gaze swept past her daughter, Sister Xia, and went straight to her.

“Nanny Wei, would you dare let Sister Xia test the medicine for my brother?”

Deng Ruyun’s brother, Deng Ruheng, was formerly the top pharmacist at Yanchun Hall.

Nanny Wei froze upon hearing this, yet she also hesitated.

It was not a ready-made medicine on the shelves but a test drug—it was essentially testing Sister Xia’s life…

But Sister Xia glanced over immediately.

“Mother, your daughter is willing to test medicine for the Madam’s family! This is… this is an opportunity Madam has given you and me!”

The last sentence immediately focused on Nanny Wei.

The next moment, she suddenly prostrated herself on the ground, falling at the new Madam’s feet.

“Thank you for your kindness, Madam. This old servant and my daughter… are both willing!”

…

The story of Nanny Wei and her daughter not leaving but instead obediently kowtowing repeatedly at the Madam’s courtyard gate to stay spread throughout the Teng family.

Deng Ruyun had no interest in knowing what the servants said about Nanny Wei, but she heard Teng Yue return and mention something to her with a strange expression.

Teng Yue said that the two young men from General Wu’s family had also come to say goodbye. General Wu had been reinstated and was still manufacturing firearms for the court. The Wu family was returning to the capital, and Wu Ce and Wu Sheng would naturally have to serve their grandparents.

“That’s common, but for some reason, the brother, Wu Ce, was rather reserved around me. Yet he asked if he could invite my younger sister to stay at the Wu family home in the capital next year to see the exquisite mechanisms and machines there.”

Teng Yue said this was normal, “But Wu Ce asked me if I could keep it a secret from my younger sister. He said he’d only say it was his grandmother’s invitation. I do not understand. If the Wu family invites my younger sister, is it his grandmother or him? Why can we not tell her?”

Teng Yue did not immediately grasp the point, but Deng Ruyun burst out laughing.

“My Lord, do you not understand?”

She laughed so hard and then asked this question, which slightly startled Teng Yue.

“Does Yunniang mean that the eldest brother of the Wu family has feelings for my younger sister? That’s why he’s being so roundabout?”

Seeing his continued disbelief, Deng Ruyun snorted.

“The general has never secretly liked anyone; how would he know the complicated feelings of the one who fell in love first?”

She said this, her smile fading as she feigned indifference, and she sighed deeply.

“Only those of us who fell in love first know the unspeakable difficulties.”

She gave the man a particularly meaningful look.

Teng Yue was speechless for a moment, but he reached out and pulled her close.

“Yunniang was indeed the one who fell in love first, but she kept it from me for so long. Why mention that anymore?”

His voice began to grow dangerous. Deng Ruyun was only teasing him; she did not want to get herself into trouble.

She immediately became obedient. “Were we not talking about Wu Ce and Sister Xiao?”

This time, it was the man’s turn to snort. “In my opinion, we should tell Sister Xiao sooner rather than later, so she will not be confused and end up like me. What does Yunniang think?”

Yunniang: “…Say what you want; I am tired and want to sleep anyway.”

She slid off him like a fish; he did not catch her, and she jumped onto the bed.

Seeing that the man still had official business to attend to and would not come to bed, she winked at him.

He chuckled helplessly, uttered a few sharp words, and went back to his work.

Deng Ruyun could not help but think of Wu Ce and Teng Xiao again, and of them, of Teng Yue and herself when they were young.

The feelings of young people were always innocent, shy, and conflicted; if they had been open about it earlier, perhaps things would have been different.

She pondered these things, a faint sense of melancholy creeping over her. What if they had known each other back then?

Deng Ruyun fell asleep thinking about these things, unaware of when Teng Yue returned or when he left.

She had a long dream, a dream so long that it felt like she had truly lived through it for a very long time.

Now, she woke up, sitting on the edge of the bed. It was still dark, with only a faint ray of sunlight filtering into the room.

Dazed, she did not notice someone returning from outside, pushing open the door and coming in.

She looked up, stunned. Teng Yue stepped forward.

“Why are you crying?”

Deng Ruyun reached up to touch her cheek, only then noticing the tear tracks.

“Yu Chuan, I think I dreamt of us in another world, also in Jinzhou, but many years ago.”

She began, but Teng Yue paused for some reason. She looked up at him, seeing his eyes tremble slightly, and spoke.

“Yunniang, I dreamt of it too.”

Deng Ruyun was utterly astonished.

Could it be true? Were they living another possible life in another world?

Teng Yue could not answer either but took a coat and draped it over his wife’s shoulders.

“Let’s go to the mimosa tree south of the city.”

*

The city gates had just opened. It was the dead of winter, and the sky, just beginning to lighten, was still shrouded in a thin layer of gray.

The area beneath the tree was dimly lit, a cold wind blew, and no one was around. Only the river water gently lapped against the frozen surface of the banks, flowing down the middle of the stream.

Teng Yue lifted Yunniang from the horse and led her to the riverbank beneath the tree.

The mimosa tree, having endured a harsh winter, was bare, devoid of the yellow leaves that once clung to its branches. Only the branches still swayed in the wind, awaiting their greening next year.

The two stood quietly beneath the tree for a while, wondering if the sacred tree would respond to last night’s dream.

The mimosa tree remained silent.

Deng Ruyun had also recovered somewhat from her dream.

“Perhaps it was just talking about my younger sister yesterday that caused this dream?”

But how could they both have the same dream?

Teng Yue remained silent for a moment, only holding his wife’s slightly cold hand.

Another gust of wind blew by.

Just then, something drifted slowly upstream.

The object, a vibrant pink hue absent in winter, floated gently along the current, emerging from a crack in the ice.

Teng Yue looked up, and Deng Ruyun’s gaze followed.

“It’s…it’s a mimosa lantern?!”

A mimosa lantern, just like the one in her dream.

She hurried to the riverbank, examining it closely, and it became increasingly identical to the one in her dream. She reached out to scoop it up, but Teng Yue bent down first, lifting the lantern from the water and holding it in his palm.

The mimosa lantern was lifelike; it was not wet, nor was it broken by the ice. Only the wax inside had burned to the last embers, the small flames flickering in their hands.

It was as if it had been lit yesterday evening, drifting along the river all night, until this morning.

Deng Ruyun gazed at the light held in Teng Yue’s hands, tears welling in her eyes.

How could she have such a dream? How could they both have the same dream? And why was there this mimosa lantern drifting so far away?

“So, everything in the dream was real, was it not? In that world, we knew each other long before I even reached adulthood, did we not?”

She asked Teng Yue, her voice choked with emotion, and even more so, she asked the tall, majestic sacred tree and the benevolent Tree Goddess within it.

But the Goddess did not respond. The man reached out and embraced his wife.

“Yes,” his voice was low, “I think it must be.”

He lowered his head and gently kissed her forehead, then took her hand, bent down, and placed the lantern back into the stream beneath the sacred tree.

The lantern drifted on the current, and they stood on the bank watching.

Just like them in this world, in whatever world they lived, life was like a flower, blooming with the current.

[End of article]

2024

IF YOU LIKED THIS STORY, YOU MIGHT LIKE:

Climbing on the Sparrow Branch