Just when the people in the Hua Mansion were still worried about their Hua Dangjia's marriage, in front of the Ying Mansion ten streets away, Ying Xue Wen clad in an ink-blue embroidered silk robe was das.h.i.+ngly jumping down from his horse.

"Take care of my Qingyun and feed it the best corn!  It brought me face today.  I won second place in the compet.i.tion and it was all due to its great performance."  Ying Xue Wen patted the horse's body and spoke to the guard before entering the door. 

First, Ying Xue Wen sought out Steward Zhu and had a few words with him, then he used his superb qinggong* skills which he was very proud of and flew towards the study his brother, Ying Yan Long.

(Qinggong is the martial arts skill of jumping weightlessly through the air.)

"Elder Brother!  I heard Matchmaker Liu brought the eight characters* of Hua Ming Zi to propose marriage early this morning.  Is that right?"  Ying Xue Wen shouted out as he pushed the door of the study opened.

(Eight characters is the set of date and time of the birth of a person. The information from Eight Characters is used to find a suitable match for marriage and this method is still used in modern times.)

"Normally, you won't show any interest if there is any news in the business arena.  Now, when this Matchmaker Liu had just left, you come rus.h.i.+ng home when you heard the news.  Who is the person who gossiped?"  Ying Yan Long shot a glance at his brother with his black eyes.

Immediately, Ying Xue Wen stood up straight but his face was still full of excitement.  "Who in our Ying Mansion dares to say a word?  It is just that, you and Hua Dangjia are such big news and only Matchmaker Liu's mouth would dare to widely publicize the news."

"Then you should know the final result."  Ying Yan Long's gaze returned to the scrolls on the table.

"I know, I know!  That's why I hurried home to tell Elder Brother that after you rejected Hua Dangjia's marriage proposal, this matter made great progress!"  Ying Xue Wen looked at his brother with a face full of expectation.

Ying Yan Long put down the herbal records presented by the Old Herbalist.  He looked at his younger brother and wondered what progress was there between him and Hua Ming Zi and had the impression that Ying Xue Wen was just joking around.

His younger brother, Ying Xue Wen is his only sibling and is one who has no ambition in life.  He only likes to travel, drink wine, listen to music, practice martial arts and loves horses.  It is just that this younger brother of his does not like to do business but he could not allow his younger brother to just drift around.  So Ying Xue Wen was given the task to gather a large variety of news and information on families that have unfilial sons or sons who are gamblers or anyone who had lost a great deal of silver, and which family had sold a house or an ancestral property.   

Although the wealthy Ying Family is famous for their Ying Medical Halls, he always believed that one can only be wealthy by investing in properties.  Therefore, after scouting for a house with a good location, he would buy these properties using a pseudonym without anyone's knowledge.  Moreover, when transporting medicines, he was exposed to a lot of risks and he relied on Ying Xue Wen to gather information from rumors he heard while patronizing entertainment houses with his friends.  Then with the information, Ying Yan Long would try to avoid these risks......

"Elder Brother, are you not curious to know the great progress Hua Dangjia made after you rejected her proposal?  Why don't you hurry up and ask me?"  The two brothers looked at each other for a long time and finally, Ying Yan Long could not control himself and ask.

"Were you not about to tell me?"  Ying Yan Long leaned back into the wide backrest of his chair and said lightly. 

"Elder Brother doesn't even have a trace of interest at all.  In future, the woman Elder Brother marries will suffer grievances."  Ying Xue Wen could not help but complain.

"My wife doesn't need to be appealing and I won't make her suffer grievances."  He knew very well what he wanted from a marriage......a wife who will not give him any worries and one who will be obedient to her husband.

"Forget it, forget it!  Talking to you about this is like playing the lute to a cow*.  It's better for me to tell you about what the ecstatic Matchmaker Liu said when she left the Hua Mansion today."

(Playing the lute to a cow means talking to an unappreciative audience or talking to someone who does not understand what was told to him.)

"Ecstatic?"  Ying Yan Long lifted his thick eyebrows.

 "That's correct!  Because following this, Matchmaker Liu was given a big business a.s.signment."  Ying Xue Wen gestured enthusiastically as if he had personally witnessed the meeting between Hua Ming Zi and Matchmaker Liu. 

"Hua Dangjia had instructed Matchmaker Liu to look for candidates from reputable families with good character who are filial and those who are willing to marry into the Hua Family.  Now the whole capital city is abuzz talking about this!   Sure enough, this Hua Dangjia is worthy of her name and her style is really different from ordinary people!"

Ying Yan Long did not respond and rested his fists lightly on the table.  After a while, his thin lips curved into a faint smile.

When Ying Xue Wen saw the sudden smile on his Elder Brother's face, his heart involuntarily quivered.

Every time, as long as his elder brother smiles like this, it would mean that he is planning something.  Others always said that the Ying Dangjia is modest and courteous, an amiable man but only Ying Yue Wen knows that his elder brother's smile is actually a mask that prevents others from discovering his actual thoughts.

Once he had personally seen a traitor of the Ying Family who laid down at his elder brother's feet in pain begging for medicine but his elder brother had only smiled faintly without a word and watched as the traitor died in front of him.

"Elder Brother, what are you thinking about?"  Ying Xue Wen asked with a frown.

"I was thinking that this Hua Dangjia is very intelligent.  Her idea is very suitable for her."

"You really like to praise Hua Dangjia.  That time, when the Hua Ji Restaurants trained a group of waiters to cater for food delivery service, you praised her for being intelligent and also said she is smart in business."  Ying Xue Wen pursed his lips and lamented that his elder brother could only see the good of outsiders and never gave him any praise.  He even made the effort to return home immediately to inform his elder brother when he heard this piece of news.

"I think she is even smarter now.  Tell me clearly her terms and conditions for this recruitment."  Ying Yan Long leaned forward.

"Elder Brother really thinks I am an information bag.  In short, Hua Dangjia's most important condition is being filial, followed by having a good character and the man must be obedient and listens to her."  Ying Xue Wen looked at his elder brother who was caressing his chin with a thoughtful expression on his face.  Unable to control himself, he exclaimed excitedly.  "By the look on Elder Brother's face, can it be you have someone in mind?"

"Look for Matchmaker Liu and tell her to come."  Ying Yan Long threw a glance at his brother.

"Why do you want her to come?"  Ying Xue Wen widened his eyes and had a bad feeling about this.

"Of course, to propose marriage for you!"  Ying Yan Long stood up and walked over to his brother.  "I have been worried about you for idling your time away and in case your wife is the same as you, then wouldn't I have to worry about you for the rest of your life?  Now that Heaven had sent us such a good marriage from a good family, I naturally will have to grasp hold of this opportunity."

Ying Yan Long calmly looked at his younger brother, Ying Xue Wan, who was speechless with fright.  Turning sideways, Ying Yan Long picked up the cup of hot tea and took a sip.

"Elder Brother!"  Ying Xue Wen was so agitated that he grabbed his elder brother's hand and made him spilled the tea all over his hand.

Ying Yan Long wrinkled his eyebrows, put down the teacup and looked at his younger brother.  "What are you worried about?......"

"You didn't even want Hua Ming Zi for yourself, then why are you forcing me to marry her?!  I don't want to marry an evil woman who will control me from morning till night!"  Ying Xue Wen stomped his feet angrily.

"At first when you heard Matchmaker Liu wanted to come with Hua Dangjia's marriage proposal, didn't you sing a lot of praises for her?"  Ying Yan Long held up a towel to wipe off the tea that had splashed on his hand and clothes.

"That time, I was thinking Elder Brother's momentum is so strong that even ten of Hua Ming Zi would not be able to overpower you.  So, how can there be any problem if you marry her?  I only thought the Ying Family and the Hua Family will be able to expand their businesses together!  But......but I'm so weak!  Hua Ming Zi will be able to knead me to death with just her thumb!"  Ying Xue Wen felt so fl.u.s.tered and exasperated that he was gasping for breath.

"She is not as terrible as you say.  After this woman had taken over the business of the Hua Ji Restaurants, there was only a little change to their staff which shows she is doing a good job and she knows how to take care of her own people."  If his status is not so sensitive, he would have long been acquainted with such a talented person.

"I don't want to marry a fierce-looking woman!"  Ying Xue Wen said with gleaming eyes.

"Whenever she appears in public, her face is always covered with a tulle veil.  No one has ever seen her face, so how can you say her face is fierce-looking?  In my opinion, she exhibits an elegant figure."  Ying Yan Long patted his younger brother's shoulder.

"Didn't you also witnessed the table collapsed with just a slap of her hand?!  I don't want to marry her!  I want to live longer!"  Ying Xue Wen shook his head desperately.

"If you have a wife who is so highly skilled in martial arts, then who will dare to cross you in the future?  Later, if you desire you can do whatever you want in the city.  Moreover, are you not always learning martial arts from Masters and honing your skills?  If you were to marry Hua Ming Zi, later as husband and wife, you can learn martial arts from each other.   Isn't that great?!"  Ying Yan Long said calmly.

"I don't want......"

Ying Yan Long looked at the pair of eyes that had turned red with tears but the only thing is that Ying Xue Wen's tears had not fallen.  Letting out a sigh, he poured himself a cup of tea and went to sit on the bench by the window.

He really did not understand what his younger brother was complaining about.  A beautiful woman is only pleasing to the eye and in turn, receives a few more glances.  The children from such union will only be a little more popular and except for this, what other benefits does one get for having beauty in life?   As long as one has the silver and the power, if one wants to look for a beautiful woman, there are always young and beautiful girls in entertainment houses waiting for this kind of Dye* to come calling.

(Dye means uncles or older men.  In entertainment houses, all the women will call the men, who have money to splurge, as Dye so long as the men give them benefits.)

Ying Xue Wen looked at his elder brother who was sitting down with a leisurely posture.  He felt so angry that he wanted to s.n.a.t.c.h away his teacup but did not dare to do so and could only say through his clenched teeth.  "If Hua Ming Zi is as good as you say, then why don't you marry her?"

"You and my personalities are different."

"I don't want to marry her!"

"After you are married to her, in future, our two businesses will combine into one business.  I will always be here to help you take care of it.  And......"  Ying Yan Long looked at his handsome younger brother who at the moment is actually incapable of making a living. "......whether Hua Ming Zi likes you or not......is another matter."

Ying Xue Wen's mouth twitched and his face turned ashen.

"I would rather not marry for the rest of my life than marry a fierce woman!"  Ying Xue Wen said loudly.

Ying Yan Long's face turned dark and threw a sharp glance at his younger brother.

Ying Xue Wen shrank and tightened his lips.

"What were Father's last words before he died?"  Ying Yan Long stared at his brother for a moment.

"Elder Brother is like Father......Father's wish must be obeyed."  Ying Xue Wen bowed his head and muttered the words under his breath.

"It's good that you remember."

"But Father did not say I have to marry a Female Overlord......."

Ying Yan Long frowned and was a little impatient with his younger brother's constant retorts.

"Father knew I will make the best arrangements for you.  If you don't obey me, then you won't get your monthly allowance anymore and you will have to think of how to earn your own silver."

Ying Xue Wen sucked in a breath.  He lifted his head and wanted to plead again but when he saw the expression on his elder brother's face, he knew that he could no longer argue with him.

Ying Xue Wen gritted his teeth and decided to make his move first.......on Matchmaker Liu.  He will have to send more gold, silver, and jewelry and instruct Matchmaker Liu to say that he is weak and incompetent........and also loves wine and women. 

If Hua Ming Zi still wants to marry him then she must have a problem with her brains!

"I will look for Matchmaker Liu......"  Ying Xue Wen turned around to leave.

"Stop!"  Ying Yan Long said in a low voice.

Ying Xue Wen stood at the door and was afraid to look back in fear of being seen through by his elder brother.

"I've changed my mind."  Ying Yan Long called out to Steward Zhu who was working on the accounts in the side hall.  "Uncle Zhu!"

"What are Dangjia's instructions?"  Steward Zhu asked respectfully.

"Send someone to Matchmaker Liu and inform her to come over tomorrow.  Second Young Master will be resting in the house these few days and without my approval, he is not allowed to venture out.  If his friends or anyone asks, just say that my Mother is not feeling well and he is staying home to a.s.sist with her medicine.  Inform every one inside and outside the Ying Mansion of my instructions."

"Understood."  Steward Zhu bowed then turned around and left.

"What is the reason for not allowing me to go out?!"  Ying Xue Wen felt anxious and went up to grab his elder brother's sleeve.

"The only thing that can put you in good light is that you are filial.  I will help you to portray the image of a filial son, lest you are unable to marry Hua Ming Zi.  As for Matchmaker Liu, of course, I will personally discuss with her."

"Elder Brother!  She is the same age as me, she is an old maid!"  Ying Xue Wen was livid with anger.  In case, that Hua Ming Zi really takes a liking to him, then what should he do?

He is powerless and meeting this Female Overlord, he will only be overpowered by her.

"Since she is the same age as you, then she is not considered old.  If you don't want me to plan your life for you then you should show me your capability before I finalize your marriage so that I don't have to worry about you."  Ying Yan Long glared at him and said in a low voice. 

Ying Xue Wen stared at his elder brother with tears swirling in his eyes.  He pursed his lips and said loudly.  "I am going to tell Mother that Elder Brother bullied me!"

Before he finished speaking, he had turned around and rushed off.

Ying Yan Long looked at his younger brother's disappearing back and sighed.

For the ink-blue embroidered silk robe that Ying Xue Wen was wearing, an ordinary family would have to save on food and other expenses for a year before they could afford it but would a man from an ordinary family, run to his mother to cry and complain?

Once again Ying Yan Long was convinced he had made the right decision.

When Ying Xue Wen was born, he was weak and sickly, so the whole family would always let him have his way.  However, people will get sick and die.  He is seven years older than Xue Wen and there is no guarantee that he can take care of his younger brother for the rest of his life.  So for Xue Wen to live peacefully until he grows old......what he needs is not only acc.u.mulated wealth but also it would be best for him to have a wife like Hua Ming Zi whom he can depend on.

He is determined that his younger brother must wed Hua Ming Zi.