"I took the marriage document to Mr. Lín Fēng that day," I continued. "Mr. Lín Fēng is a relatively well-known matchmaker here in Quzhou." This information, of course, really happened. In the Ming Dynasty, there were plenty of people who managed weddings and funerals for others. Since the two daughters of the Wáng Fèng family had good news approaching, they naturally found someone to come and help. Lín Fēng was the very person the Wang Family sought out.
"When Lín Fēng looked at our family's information and helped us write the Three-Union Document, he muttered to himself that the current marriage arrangement between your family's two sons-in-law and two young ladies would probably be better if they were swapped." The 'three-union' in the Three-Union Document refers to the three powers of heaven, earth, and humanity, intended for setting the wedding date and matching the Eight Characters. This was something particularly emphasized in ancient times. I kept a close watch on Qióngyīng's expression and spoke slowly, "I didn't understand Lín Fēng's statement, so I went to find a fortuneteller. Besides having the fortuneteller evaluate Qióngyīng and the others, I also swapped the sons-in-law and had them evaluated again. After the assessment, I was shocked."
"Why were you shocked?" Qióngyīng's expression grew more serious. I continued, "I hadn't expected that the marriage partners we had set for the children would cause our family to lose the possibility of great wealth and nobility. However, swapping their marriage partners would make life bitter for Qióngzhēn. This caused me great distress for a long time."
I held the two Three-Union Documents and continued, "I had selfish motives. I felt that if Qióngyīng married Xiāo Yǎ, our Wang Family would also become a prominent local clan by supporting Xiāo Yǎ in emerging from poverty and reaching the pinnacle of his life. In the future, Qióngyīng could also help out poor Qióngzhēn. But the difficulty of this matter lay in the fact that Qióngyīng is my niece, while Qióngzhēn is my daughter. If it had been the other way around, I wouldn't be worried at all."
Qióngyīng truly possessed a composure rare in ordinary women, and hearing this, she remained unmoved. She just listened quietly, without a sound, as if she didn't exist. Yet, I already knew she had taken every word I said to heart.
"Now, regarding Qióngyīng's marriage, I have decided to let her choose for herself. If she is determined to marry Pān Huá, I will have her marry him according to the original agreement made by her brother and sister-in-law." I paused. "Except for the fact that my Wife, who doesn't know how to manage a home, has squandered the rental income from our fields these past few years, I will insist that everything else be given to Qióngyīng to take with her upon marriage."
"Qióngyīng said she wants to manage the household. Since my wife lacks the ability to manage finances, handing it over to Qióngyīng to oversee is a good thing after all. After all, her aunt was once an expert at handling household affairs," I added. I had my own calculations here. Perhaps, once Qióngyīng took over the household affairs, she would discover how pitifully meager Qióngzhēn's dowry would be when she married, and perhaps she would take the initiative to share some of that dowry with Qióngzhēn. Even if she didn't, that would still be Qióngzhēn's fate. Although I am not Wáng Fèng, simply acting on his behalf to handle this marriage, I still didn't want Qióngzhēn to have such a miserable life.
"The unexpected calculation—the result it produced—is something I really want to grasp now," I continued. "Recently, a book has been circulating widely among us called 'Liao-Fan's Four Instructions'. I am uneducated and haven't read it, but listening to some scholars talk about it, I feel that a statement they made is very reasonable: if one is content with their fate, they are truly a mediocre person. Since just swapping marriage partners can change the children's future, why not give it a try? Qióngzhēn has been spoiled by my wife and is completely unaware of the hardships of starting a family and career. As for the child Qióngyīng, I have observed recently that she is a good girl, and she deserves a better future. Therefore, I decided to respect her thoughts and also make the family situation completely clear to her, letting her decide exactly how she chooses the direction of her life."
Qióngyīng likely did not expect that I would tell her so clearly that I had indeed given so much thought to their marriage, including matters like calling off the engagement or swapping partners.