On the day the Auspicious Post arrived, Song Ning was sitting by the window, drinking tea.
The tea was this year’s new harvest. As the hot water was poured in, the tender buds unfurled within the cup, and a layer of fine white down floated to the surface.
He could not see any of that. He could only feel the temperature of the teacup with his fingers and catch the faint, lingering fragrance with his nose.
Suddenly, a loud shout echoed from outside.
“The Auspicious Post has arrived! Naji!”
Immediately following the cry was the sound of gongs and drums, a clatter that was incredibly lively.
The sound moved from far to near, like a lively fish darting straight into the courtyard.
The hand Song Ning used to hold his teacup paused, and his brow furrowed slightly.
“Young Master, it is time to go out and receive the Auspicious Post sent by the Qi family,” a crisp voice spoke behind him.
The young woman who had been tidying the tea set behind him stopped her work. She took a few quick steps to his side and poked her head out the window to look.
The girl wore a pink dress, and her beautiful eyes were exceptionally fine; there was a certain touching charm in the way her gaze moved.
However, the irrepressible curiosity on her face ruined her composed demeanor. Her name was Xia Ling, and she was Song Ning’s personal maid.
Another maid stood by the door, wearing a green dress. She held a long sword against her chest and leaned against the doorframe, her expression blank. Her name was Xia Shuang.
Song Ning set down his teacup and remained silent for a moment before waving his hand.
“You two go out and receive it.”
Xia Ling’s eyes lit up, and she immediately chirped her assent. She darted out like a sparrow, the hem of her skirt trailing a gust of wind behind her.
As she reached the door, she did not forget to look back and wave at Xia Shuang.
“Hurry! They are already at the entrance!”
Xia Shuang leaned against the door, and upon hearing this, she did not rush. She simply raised her hand to shift the sword from her chest to her back and slowly began to walk.
The area outside the door was already a scene of bustling excitement.
A group of women dressed in bright red festive attire held various items, forming a long line.
Silks, wedding cakes, and jewelry were stacked neatly on red lacquer trays, shimmering with auspicious light under the sun.
Those playing the gongs and drums led the way, their rhythmic clanging startling the sparrows under the eaves into flight.
The lead maid, seeing someone emerge from the Song family home, stepped forward to bow.
“This is the Auspicious Post.” She held the tray up with both hands and bowed slightly. “By the order of the Head of the Family, I have come to deliver this to Young Master Song.”
Naji.
Reporting the divination of a lucky match and formalizing the engagement.
Once the Auspicious Post was accepted, the two families would be considered officially betrothed.
From now on, the names of Song Ning and Qi Chuyao would be written together, carved into the genealogy, entered into the ancestral hall, and announced to the ancestors.
The marriage contract would change from a private discussion to a public betrothal, and no one would be able to back out easily.
Xia Ling leaned over to look at the post, which featured gold characters on a red background, but she was in no hurry to take it.
She tilted her head and smiled, her voice sounding sweet and clear.
“What? For such a major event, your family’s Qi Chuyao didn’t come to deliver it personally?”
The maid froze, the smile on her face stiffening.
“I must say, your Qi family is quite inconsiderate.” Xia Ling twirled the end of a lock of hair that hung over her chest.
Her tone remained sweet, but her words were anything but kind. “You’ve clearly been betrothed since childhood, haven’t you? How come we haven’t seen her around much?”
The several maids from the Qi family looked at each other.
The leader’s lips moved, but in the end, she couldn’t say anything of substance, only stammering vaguely.
“The young lady is joking. Our Miss is busy with affairs and is diligent in her studies and martial arts training…”
“Oh, busy, I see,” Xia Ling drawled.
The maid’s expression became even more uncomfortable.
She was just a messenger delivering a post; how could she dare to engage in this conversation?
No matter what internal secrets the two families held, it wasn’t a servant’s place to gossip.
At this moment, completing her task honestly was more important than anything.
She looked up at Xia Ling, her eyes carrying a hint of a plea.
We are both servants, why make things difficult for me?
Only then did Xia Shuang, standing beside Xia Ling, step forward.
She reached out both hands and took the tray. Without looking at the messengers, she turned and walked back inside.
Her back was straight, and she did not stop for a single step.
Xia Ling curled her lip and followed her.
The lead maid let out a sigh of relief as if she had been granted a grand pardon.
The members of the Qi family stood in place for a moment before silently withdrawing from the courtyard.
The sound of gongs and drums gradually faded into the distance, and the excitement dissipated.
Quiet returned to the room.
Song Ning was still sitting by the tea table, but now he held a white cat in his arms.
The cat had slipped in at some point and was currently curled into a ball in his lap. Its fur shimmered softly in the sunlight while his slender fingers slowly stroked its back.
He was remarkably handsome. Dressed in a plain white robe, his features appeared even more detached and refined.
Beneath his lashes were two entirely white pupils; they lacked focus and were vacant, yet they were also very clear.
Xia Shuang entered and placed the tray on the table. The cover of the marriage contract was bright red, embossed with gold patterns.
Having done this, she retreated to the door and continued to hold her sword, staring blankly into space.
Song Ning’s fingers did not stop moving.
“She still didn’t come,” he said softly.
Xia Ling walked behind him and rested her hands on the back of his chair, snorting through her nose.
“I haven’t seen her come even once! We’re about to have the wedding, and she still won’t show her face!”
She observed Song Ning’s expression. Unable to discern his mood, she added another line.
“I really wonder if she even has a heart.”
The white cat shifted in Song Ning’s arms, changing its position to continue sleeping.
Song Ning’s knuckles brushed against its ear tip, and he remained silent for a long while.
His heart was actually quite calm.
He could probably guess why his fiancée had never made an appearance.
He was a blind man, and had been since birth.
How many people in this world would be willing to marry a blind person?
Even if it was an engagement between families with long-standing ties, and even if it was pushed forward by the elders, it was only natural for her to be unwilling when it finally came down to her.
However, he felt no regrets in his heart.
In his previous life, he had lived for more than twenty years and had seen all the scenery there was to see and experienced all there was to experience.
Later, he had “great luck” and was reborn into this world, only to find nothing but darkness when he opened his eyes.
At first, he was a bit unaccustomed to it, but he eventually grew used to it. He wasn’t a total blind man, as he had seen many colors in his past life.
“Xiao Shuang,” Song Ning suddenly called out.
“What do you think?”
Xia Shuang stood by the door, her green dress swaying in the wind, holding her sword steadily.
Her face was icy, wearing her habitual cool expression.
But if one looked closely, they could see her brow furrowing slightly.
“She is… no good,” Xia Shuang spoke. Her voice was somewhat rusty, as if she rarely spoke so many words at once. “Her heart… is not sincere.”
“Young Master, do not… marry her.”
“I… can… support you.”
It seemed to take a great effort for her to finish her sentence, and she gripped her long sword tightly.
Song Ning laughed softly and tilted his head back, his blind eyes turning toward the ceiling.
The sunlight fell on his face, casting shallow shadows in his eye sockets.
“Whether she likes it or not, things are already like this,” he said, yawning carelessly. “We cannot take the initiative to break this engagement, and the head of the Qi family will not agree to let the Qi family break it either.”
Song Ning smiled again. “To be honest, the head of the Qi family is actually quite good to me.”
This was the truth.
When the Song and Qi families first settled this marriage contract, both families were delighted.
The Song and Qi families had been close for generations since the founding of the Great Qian Dynasty.
With such long-standing ties, joining the families through marriage was the best possible outcome.
Who could have known that once the child was born, he would be found to be blind?
If it had been any other family, even if they didn’t break the engagement, they would have inevitably grumbled about it.
The head of the Qi family, however, not only had no objections but went out of her way to look after him.
Every holiday, she would personally come to visit Song Ning, offering warm greetings and meticulous care.
Once, the head of the Qi family had taken Mother Song’s hand and said, “Ning’er doesn’t need to worry about his future; it’s all on our Yao’er! Our two families are old friends. I can only be at peace if Ning’er is entrusted to my Qi family. I wouldn’t trust anyone else!”
Mother Song had originally worried that this engagement would become a burden and had wanted to suggest breaking it several times.
After hearing those words, she found she could no longer bring herself to say it.
In this world, women were superior.
Most men were merely subordinates. After marrying, they were confined to the inner quarters, assisting their wives, teaching their daughters, and managing household affairs.
They rarely achieved anything great in their lives.
For a blind man to receive such kind treatment was already a rare form of dignity.
“So, Young Master, you’re just going to marry into their family like that?” Xia Ling’s voice was muffled.
She leaned against the back of the chair, her face buried in her palms, staring blankly out the door.
Her tone was full of indignation. In her eyes, although her Young Master was blind, his character was excellent, his appearance was superb, and he was multi-talented. Everything about him was good.
That Qi Chuyao from the Qi family had barely shown her face; what right did she have?
If only…
She shook her head and looked at her sister, Xia Shuang, with a slight sense of guilt.
Song Ning did not answer.
He sat quietly, his fingers continuing to stroke the white cat’s back.
The cat was so comfortable from his touch that its purring grew louder, and its entire body went soft.
Regarding the matter of marriage, he didn’t actually take it to heart.
What concerned him was something else.
Since the founding of the Great Qian Dynasty by the Great Ancestor, 255 years had passed.
When a dynasty reached this age, it was inevitably followed by all sorts of difficult problems.
Like an elderly person entering their twilight years, the body was riddled with ailments and didn’t have many years left to live.
Song Ning carefully calculated the current situation in his mind.
In the imperial court, powerful eunuchs dominated, and their factions were spread throughout the government.
The Emperor was obsessed with alchemical pills and calligraphy, and the affairs of the state had long since been neglected.
Lately, it was said that his health was worsening, and he no longer even attended court. This vast empire was like a ship with no one at the helm, drifting aimlessly in the turbulent currents.
The previous Emperor had fought three major wars, known as the Three Great Campaigns, which had completely emptied the national treasury.
By this reign, the military preparations were nowhere near what they used to be.
In Liaodong, the Beirong nomads headed south every year to plunder, and the border regions suffered beyond words.
Fortunately, General Li of Liaodong was still there to keep things under control, so no major chaos had broken out for the time being.
In Jiangnan, the gentry controlled the taxes, underreported land acreage, and conspired with salt merchants. They were respectful on the surface but were actually resisting taxes.
The court could not collect silver, and the treasury grew emptier by the day.
In Yuzhou and Bingzhou, there had been years of famine, yet the local governments were still increasing taxes and exploiting the people.
The commoners could not survive and had no choice but to rise in rebellion.
Every few days, news of civil unrest would arrive. Although it hadn’t formed into a major force yet, who knew if a King Chuang would appear in the future?
Even more coincidentally, it was said that the Emperor did not have a single daughter; they had all died young.
He only had one sister, who held the title of Prince Xin.
If the Emperor were to pass away, the throne would likely follow the ancestral rule of a younger sister succeeding the elder brother.
Song Ning tilted his head back, his blind eyes directed toward the void.
He could not see anything, but these images were very clear in his mind.
This scenario was simply too familiar.
So familiar that he could almost guess what would happen next.
‘If Great Qian falls, it falls, but what about the Song family?’
There were dozens of people in the Song family, his adoptive older sister, his adoptive younger sister, and these people who accompanied him.
He had to find a way out for the Song family in this swaying, chaotic world.
And then there was the Beirong.
If the Beirong were allowed to rule the Central Plains, what would happen to the common people?
The Beirong were fierce; wherever they went, they burned, killed, and looted, leaving nothing behind.
“We can’t break the engagement. Even if she despises me for being blind, our two families cannot fall out,” Song Ning murmured to himself.