Red Bean Lives in the Republic of China - Chapter 41.2

Chapter 41.2

Yu Hongdou hurried over to open the door and saw He Yunqin standing outside. She raised her eyes to meet his gaze, and her face felt hot. She said lightly, “Why are you here?”

He Yunqin didn’t expect that it was Yu Hongdou who came to open the door, and he was also stunned.

Yu Hongdou then realised that the man was dressed very decently and was followed by several smiling stewards.

At this time, Mrs. Yu came over and asked in surprise, “Mr. He? Why are you still standing? Come in and sit down. Who are these gentlemen?”

He Yunqin then turned his gaze away from Yu Hongdou’s face and said to Mrs. Yu, “My father heard that I was coming to propose formally. Firstly, he was afraid that I didn’t know the rules, and secondly, in order to show our family’s sincerity, he specially asked several old stewards in the family to accompany the younger generation to visit.”

The old stewards were indeed very polite. They bowed slightly to show courtesy to the host’s wife and said to Mrs. Yu in unison, “Greetings, Madam Yu.”

Mrs. Yu’s face became more amiable. She just smiled and nodded. “Then, please come in and sit down.”

After all, they were talking about her marriage with He Yunqin. So Yu Hongdou pretended to be calm at first and asked Mrs. Zhou to make tea for the guests. But later, she felt very embarrassed and went back to her room.

After He Yunqin entered the house, he did not sit down in the living room. He whispered a few words and went to the study to discuss things with Yu Hongdou’s mother and brother.

Several stewards knew their place in the room and just waited quietly in the living room.

The living room was silent. After a long while, the mother’s voice came from the corridor. “You are a thoughtful child. You think ahead of time. But I still think it’s too early to get married next month.”

Although she said this, it seemed that due to the conversation just now, both sides had reached a tacit understanding, and there was no resentment in the mother’s words.

‘Getting married next month?’ Yu Hongdou was sitting at the desk with her arms resting on the table, in a daze. When she was surprised, she pricked up her ears and listened attentively.

Then He Yunqin said with an apologetic tone, “I am really sorry for what happened to Hongdou. When our two families meet next week, my father and mother will explain the reason to my aunt in person.”

The stewards replied at the right time, “Please rest assured, Madam Yu. The master and the mistress have already instructed that although the marriage between the second young master and Miss Yu is scheduled a little tight, everything must be prepared in the best way possible, and Miss Yu will never be wronged in the slightest.”

At this time, someone knocked on her bedroom door, and she heard He Yunqin’s voice across the door.

“Hongdou, I have something to tell you in person.”

Mrs. Yu’s voice came through the door as well. “Mr. He wants to talk to you alone.”

Yu Hongdou wanted to ask He Yunqin in person why an engagement was inexplicably changed to a marriage and the wedding date was set so tight. It was rare for He Yunqin to come here on his own initiative, so that was the best thing, so she got up and went to the door.

As soon as the door opened, He Yunqin looked at her and said, “Hongdou.”

Yu Hongdou looked at him silently and moved aside.

He Yunqin went in, but as the living room was full of people, it was inconvenient to close the door. He just left it ajar.

It was the first time he entered Hongdou’s room, and he was so curious that he forgot to speak. He put his hands in his pockets and just stood by the door looking at the furnishings in the room.

On the table was a jade-coloured pen holder with an ice pattern, and inside it was a green cinnamon branch leaning. A few homemade sachets hung above the Western-style high bed, forming a string of bells like cloves. Thinking of the smell of Yu Hongdou, he secretly guessed that the sachets contained flower powder.

After looking around, he remembered the important business. He turned around and saw Yu Hongdou glaring at him with a little dissatisfaction. He walked over, leaned against the desk in front of the window, and the two stood opposite each other.

Her expression was calmer than usual, her eyes were as clear as water, and her face had a sweet and soft glow. As he looked at her, the itchy feeling in the palm of his hand came back.

However, last time he couldn’t touch her; this time he couldn’t touch her temporarily. Although they were both untouchable, there was an obvious difference. He felt a little happier for no reason and said solemnly, “Hongdou, I’m sure you know what we discussed. Yesterday, I proposed to you in front of my aunt and your brother. Now that there’s no one else, I’ll formally express my attitude to you.”

After a pause, seeing that Yu Hongdou didn’t say anything, he could only continue. “I went to study in Germany when I was 18 years old, and I just came back this year. Before I went abroad, my father ordered me not to return to China without a degree. In order to graduate early and return home earlier, I have been busy with my studies in the past few years. I have no time for romance and don’t know how to please girls. But I can guarantee you with my personality that as long as you agree, I will treat you wholeheartedly after marriage.”

His attitude was sincere, and when Yu Hongdou heard his words, the slight depression in her heart dissipated a little, but shyness surged up again. She was quiet for a long time, and when her heartbeat slowed down, she said with a hint of anger, “Yesterday we were talking about engagement; how come today it has become a marriage?”

Although she was expressing her dissatisfaction, her attitude was already very clear. He Yunqin’s mood suddenly became better, as if the clouds had cleared and the sun had come out. “The reason why I came here early today is precisely for this matter, to seek the understanding of your mother and brother. I have just told them the reason. Now that I am in front of you, there is no need to hide it.”

Then he told her what happened last night. “Because of the romantic scandal fabricated by Chen Baidie three months ago, Duan Mingyi and I have always been misunderstood. When the Duan family learnt about Lu Jingheng’s plot at the birthday banquet, they came to our house last night to ask for an explanation. In order to resolve the issue of Bai Haili harassing you, I mentioned to my parents that I wanted to get engaged to you. My mother knew that I liked you, so in a hurry, she took the initiative to move up the wedding date in order to shut up the Duan family on the spot.”

Upon hearing that, Yu Hongdou was surprised. ‘Oh, it was because of that reason.’

What happened in the chess and card room that night was so impressive that it was a secret shared by her and He Yunqin. Therefore, when he mentioned the affairs of the Lu and Duan families, she almost immediately understood the twists and turns there without him having to explain.

But what she couldn’t have imagined was that He Yunqin was so frank.

He Yunqin cleared his throat. “Although this is a hasty decision made under various circumstances, I don’t want to let you down. The reason I came here today is to propose marriage and to apologise. When we meet formally next week, my parents will apologise to my aunt for this matter again. In short, everything depends on your attitude.”

To be specific, if Yu Hongdou really didn’t want to marry him, he would have other ways to deal with Bai Haili.

He just planned to keep this sentence to himself for the rest of his life.

He was very humble and had no intention of hiding the whole story. Even though Yu Hongdou was holding back her temper, she softened a bit. However, due to her girlish reserve, she was unable to respond for the moment.

He Yunqin was unsure of Hongdou’s attitude. He glanced at her and fell silent. After a long while, he muttered, “Hongdou.”

Yu Hongdou raised her face slightly. “Why?” He just called her but didn’t say anything.

Her tone was soft, and He Yunqin could not fail to notice the subtle change in her attitude. He was a little shaken and hesitated for a moment. Finally, he failed to suppress the desire in his heart and raised his hand to gently pinch her rosy cheek.

Yu Hongdou dodged back as if she had received an electric shock. She felt a tingling sensation where he had touched her. Her heart nearly jumped out of her throat. She stamped her feet and said, “What are you doing?”

He Yunqin’s heartbeat was no slower than Hongdou’s, and his face was getting hot for no reason. He touched his nose and was about to save himself when he heard Mrs. Yu knocking on the door. “Mr. He.”

The two had already confessed what needed to be confessed. After a long silence, He Yunqin said to Yu Hongdou, whose face was still flushed, “Then I’ll go out and discuss the wedding with my aunt.”

Yu Hongdou pouted and refused to look at him.

Seeing that, the man’s heart seemed to be filled with inexplicable joy, as if from a pool of spring water. Afraid that she would see the smile in his eyes, he stood for a moment, then walked to the door, opened it and went out.

***

The marriage was soon officially put on the agenda. Feeling guilty about their future second daughter-in-law, the He family intended to give face to the Yu family. In addition to exchanging engagement letters for He Yunqin and Yu Hongdou, they also followed the old customs to make a grand betrothal gift to the Yu family. As for the wedding, taking the young people’s preferences into consideration, they only focused on crafting it in Western style, striving to make every detail perfect. After all the trouble, it was not just luxurious; it was almost lavish.

Compared to when the eldest son married Ms Duan, the second son’s wedding was much more lively.

Within a few days, the news spread across Shanghai like a spring breeze, and everyone knew that the He family was about to marry a female student from St John’s in a grand ceremony.

The newspaper reported: “The second son of He Mengmei, the president of the local business association, He Yunqin, plans to marry Ms Yu Hongdou, the daughter of the Yu family, a top student of St John’s, on September 12. The wedding will be held at the Grand International Hotel. We will prepare some drinks and welcome people from all walks of life to attend.”

Bai Haili had never expected that He Yunqin would actually marry Yu Hongdou. As he didn’t want to hurt his feelings, he had been too lazy to read the newspapers in the past few days. Just as he was about to go out one day, a servant handed him an invitation.

Bai Haili took a look and saw that it was a bright red wedding invitation with gold embossing. He asked the servant to open it, and the words on the inside page were unexpectedly eye-catching.

The servant said, “It was sent by the second son of the He family, saying that he would like to invite you to the Great Wanguo for a wedding banquet.”

After all, he had just said a few days ago that Yu Hongdou would be his sooner or later. In front of his subordinates, Bai Haili felt extremely ashamed. He snorted coldly, did not accept the invitation, and got into the car with a sad face.

End of chapter 41

Have a nice day!