The Exiled Life of the Noble Girl

Aunt Cui had a knowing look on her face as she lightly bumped Li Mingwei's shoulder and jokingly said, "Auntie, when can I drink the wedding wine for you two?"

"Auntie, I..." Li Mingwei didn't know how to explain. Things were like this already, what wedding wine could there be?

She slumped over the table and humbly held up three fingers, "I swear, we really don't have anything going on between us."

"Really?"

"Really!"

Aunt Cui was half believing and half suspicious. She pursed her lips and said, "Actually I feel like you two are quite well-matched."

Li Mingwei didn't want there to be a second person in this town, other than Mr. Jin, who felt that she and Liu Yizhu were well-matched.

She raised her eyebrows, "How are we well-matched?"

"You're well-matched in many ways. You both look good, you both can read, and I remember he's taking the provincial examination next year, right?"

"Auntie even knows about the provincial examination?"

Aunt Cui proudly stuck out her chest, "Of course, my son wants to study, so I've looked into everything."

She patted Li Mingwei, "Don't change the subject. Let me tell you, Liu Scholar's learning is quite good in the county. If you marry him, you might become an official's wife in the future."

What was so great about being an official's wife? She used to be a princess! An official's wife would still have to bow to her.

Li Mingwei wasn't interested.

She turned her head away and casually said, "Aunt Cui, do you think having children is important?"

"Children?" When Aunt Cui heard her say this, she probably understood what she was worried about. She laughed and said, "It's important but also not that important. It depends on the person."

She leaned back in her chair and gently patted Li Mingwei's back, recalling the past, "I married your uncle when I was 16 and didn't have my precious son until I was 36. That's 20 years in between where I was just like you."

"We were married for over a year without children. My mother-in-law urged me to go see a doctor. The doctor said my health was poor and I would have difficulty conceiving. I took countless medicines but he just kept saying the same thing. So I guessed that his 'difficulty' meant it was impossible for me to conceive."

"Your uncle told me to hide it for as long as I could so my mother-in-law wouldn't find out. But that's just not my personality, how could I hide it? When my mother-in-law found out I couldn't have children, she immediately wanted us to divorce. Your uncle refused no matter what. He said he only wanted me, with or without children."

After so many years, when Aunt Cui thought back to that day, her heart was still deeply shaken. When she looked at the man who was protecting her with all his might, she had thought at that time that being married to him made her life worthwhile.

Later, during the countless times they argued, she only had to think back to this and she wouldn't be so angry anymore.

Li Mingwei reached out and wiped away the tears at the corner of her eyes.

Aunt Cui held her hand in return, "Luckily, Heaven pitied me and allowed me to have my precious son. It took me 20 years to obtain one child. How could you be so sure at your young age that you truly have no fate with children?"

"Even if you really have no such fate, choosing the right partner makes no difference. Two people can also live, three people can also live, it's all the same."

Li Mingwei drooped her head, "But my mother said children are very important."

When the imperial doctor diagnosed her with great difficulty in conceiving, although her mother didn't show too much disappointment, she started looking for opportunities to adopt not long after, saying she would find her a young child who wouldn't remember anything. Then she would silence the servants' mouths so the child wouldn't know and would just take her as his birth mother.

Li Mingwei didn't want that, but her mother's attitude was very firm. She basically had no way to refuse, she could only tell Murong Yu about it. Murong Yu said that if she didn't want it then don't do it, and personally helped her reject her mother. She had been very touched by this at the time.

"Your mother?" Aunt Cui was puzzled. If her own daughter couldn't have children, shouldn't she be comforting her? How could she say children were very important?

"Yes, my mother. My grandmother had difficulties giving birth to my mother and passed away. My grandfather didn't remarry, so my mother was his only child. My father married into the family, so I took my mother's surname."

"I'm also an only daughter. My mother originally wanted me to stay home and find a husband to marry into our family."

But married or not didn't make a difference anymore. To continue the Li family line, she could only find someone to adopt.

Also influenced by her mother since she was little, Li Mingwei had always felt that having children was very important. Liu Yizhu was an only son, so she couldn't bear to cut off his family's lineage. That's why she had refused him very clearly from the start.

Aunt Cui felt quite sorry for her and softened her tone to comfort her for a bit. She said it was fine, just change to another one. There were so many men in this world!

Li Mingwei smiled and felt Aunt Cui made a lot of sense. The two saw eye to eye and chatted very happily. Aunt Cui even gossiped about a lot of people in town.

When Mr. Jin came back and saw them chatting so cheerfully, he was a bit confused. Since when did these two become so close?

"Mr. Jin, you're back. Aunt Cui came to buy paper."

"Oh, okay."

Mr. Jin got the paper for Aunt Cui and saw her out. Then he looked at Li Mingwei, "What were you two talking about so happily?"

"Nothing much, ha ha."

She didn't want to say, so Mr. Jin didn't ask further. "What are you here for?"

Li Mingwei took out the Thousand Character Classic she had copied and asked Mr. Jin to make it into a booklet for her, "If you're busy, you can also teach me how to do it myself."

Anyway, Liu Yizhu was leaving tomorrow, so she wouldn't run into him here anymore.

"Alright, I'll teach you. School is starting in a couple days and you'll be asking for leave again. I still have a lot to do."

"Okay, take a look, is this enough? I don't know how many to make, probably a dozen or so kids, is two or three to a book fine?" She rubbed her wrist, "Copying so much made my hand hurt."

Mr. Jin's expression turned cold, "Oh, so you know your hand hurts now. Last time when Yizhu said he would copy for you, you acted all capable and said you could do it yourself, refusing his help, didn't you?"

"Mr. Jin!"

Li Mingwei was furious, looking like she wanted to bite Mr. Jin to death.

Mr. Jin ignored her and turned to grab a stack of paper from the bookshelf, throwing it down on the desk. His tone carried some interrogation, "What's going on between you two now?"

Mr. Jin had taught Liu Yizhu for seven or eight years, so he had watched him grow up. Today when Liu Yizhu came over, Mr. Jin noticed something was off about him. But when asked, Liu Yizhu wouldn't say anything, only asking Mr. Jin to help make these into booklets because he had to go back to the academy and didn't have time to do it for her.

Feelings were personal matters between the two of them. Mr. Jin didn't want to get too involved. If they could make it work, then great. If not, then part ways. But after seeing Liu Yizhu's state today, Mr. Jin still felt a bit distressed, so he couldn't help asking about it.

Li Mingwei flipped through the pages. It was a copy of the Thousand Character Classic and the handwriting was extremely familiar.

She blinked and put on a smiling face as she looked up, "Nothing much is going on between us! What could possibly happen?"

Her smile was too fake. With one look, Mr. Jin could tell she was lying. He harrumphed, not wanting to bother with her.

Li Mingwei put his and her copies together and hugged them to her chest. She smiled ingratiatingly at Mr. Jin, "Teach me how to make booklets."

"I won't teach you."

"Mr. Jin is petty!"

Mr. Jin nodded, "That's right, I'm petty. I won't teach. If you want to learn from someone, go find whoever you want!"

"Hmph!"

Li Mingwei cursed inwardly. Other than him and Liu Yizhu, who else knew how? He was obviously trying to make her go find Liu Yizhu! How nasty!