FCP 1

Edited: 2026/03/28 12:20

Life for a girl in ancient China was dull. Eating, learning, embroidering, praying, then sleeping. Rinse and repeat.

Rong Ju had plenty of time to reminisce about her old life, which made her seem much more pious than the other younger generation. She would accompany the grandmothers to pray at temples, recite and write scriptures, or meditate in the Buddha hall.

Such habits began at a young age; thus, her grandmother and grand-aunt doted on her. That led her peers to envy her, though not enough to incite malice. She lived a simple life, reciting scripture or the Four Classics word for word and never chose extravagant jewellery or silks despite the elders' urging. Her routines spared her from the fate of being bullied, though not from being an outcast.

At one point, a monk at the temple claimed to envision her fate with Buddha. He hinted she could become a nun. Ever since then, her grandmother has prayed to a different temple.

"Child, you still need to get married," her grandmother would say. "What would people think if the Rong family sent a daughter to a convent? They would think we had cast you out!"

Rong Ju nodded. She knew well that being married off would merely lead to a different routine; in the terms of her old life, she was finally getting a job—a middle-management position, at that.

She waited as her elders considered various matches. During this period, several of her cousins suddenly began spending more time with her, which Rong Ju accepted. They gossiped constantly about the potential suitors their elders might have considered.

"Will anyone even want a wife like you?" one of the boldest sister-cousins spoke up, silencing the conversation. "Eldest Cousin, you are like a block of wood. You only recite scriptures all day long. What kind of husband would like that?"

Rong Ju replied without emotion, "You are right. This is why finding the right person is important. If it is fate, it will come to be."

Another cousin scoffed, "You should fight for what you want! That is the way the world works. Eldest Cousin, do not think we are criticising you—you are just too quiet, and we are looking out for you!"

"Of course," Rong Ju nodded magnanimously, offering a small smile. "I understand your intentions well. Then I shall trouble my cousins to keep an ear out for news from the outside."

Her cousins did not disappoint, even if they stomped their feet and whined the whole time. They brought word of a man from the Wang family of the South River who had little wealth and loved wine more than life; another Wang family by the mountains was a fallen lineage from the capital; a son of the Yu family seemed alright, but was a social butterfly—not a good match for Rong Ju. She listened to them all, then discussed the details with her grandmother.

One thing Rong Ju did not tell the cousins was that her grandmother had granted her the final decision regarding her marriage. This was a violation of common tradition and a sign of deep affection. If the cousins knew, their envy might turn to malice or incite unwanted incidents. Consequently, Rong Ju redoubled her filial piety while reviewing her grandmother’s list of suitors, which was entirely different from the cousins' list.

For one, her grandmother was eyeing nobles who lived right at the Emperor's feet.

"I think locals are good too, Grandma," Rong Ju said, rotating her rosary beads as she tried to remain calm. "I am not such a rare girl that a noble from the capital would vie for me."

"Nonsense!" Her grandmother immediately rebuked her, followed by a shower of praises, claiming even the Emperor's own sons would be lucky to have her.

Rong Ju shut down the lèse-majesté with a simple sentence: "I want to live in our hometown so I can keep accompanying you, Grandma."

The old woman brightened. For the next few weeks, she drafted a list of eligible bachelors while Rong Ju crossed out names based on her cousins' information network. After weeks of fussing, the grandmother decided to shelve the matter until after Rong Ju's coming-of-age ceremony the following year. She hoped new bachelors might emerge by then.

Man proposes, God disposes.

One night, her grandmother passed away in her sleep. This triggered a three-year mourning period. Rong Ju and two cousins of similar age could not hold their coming-of-age ceremonies or become engaged. During this time, the "information network" shut down as Rong Ju devoted herself entirely to the prayer hall and scriptures. Eventually, her parents forbade her from listening to the monks' teachings, terrified she would choose the convent over marriage.

Of course, she did not. Her grandmother's last wish was to marry her off.

And marrying she did.

*

At the end of the third year, Rong Ju was nineteen and considered an old maid. This time, her whole family—aunts and uncles—fretted over her marriage, as she was the oldest daughter of the Rong family. The Rong family maintained proper conduct and did not settle engagements or marriages for the younger ones before the oldest; currently, only two of the grandchildren have been married. Both were sons. They, too, fretted over Rong Ju's marriage, even recommending the wine-lover man from the Wang family who was still unmarried at the age of twenty-four. Fortunately, Rong Ju still had the love of the last authoritative elder: her grandaunt. With her backing, Rong Ju's own parents could still pick some bachelors who have no visible bad habits. 

To explain the whole lineage of the Rong family would be unnecessarily tedious. Describing the squabbles of every branch was even more unimportant, as Rong Ju had always kept to herself and to praying halls. She did not take to heart any sarcasm or pointed remarks from her relatives, though she needed to soothe her mother's hurt feelings over them. 

All that happened around five months before the mourning period ended. 

A turning point came around when a new eligible bachelor came to the provincial office. The married eldest grandson worked there, made friends with him, and found him completely reserved, serious, rule-abiding, and practically the splitting image of Rong Ju without a sliver of her piousness. Above all, this one was also a bachelor. The married eldest grandson told the family, and the family investigated him, finding nothing suspicious, and the grandaunt was finally satisfied. Thus, the eldest grandson went to make friends with him. By treating him as he treated Rong Ju. It worked perfectly. Once the mourning period was over, the grandson finally told the bachelor of his ulterior motives.

"You know," the grandson talked to his grandmother–Rong Ju's grandaunt–with gusto, "he answered just as I expected! He said that marriage is arranged by parents, and he would obey his parents' wishes, so I said, Let my family ask your family! Then it turns out his family is from the capital!"

The only ones who knew of Rong Ju's wish to marry within her hometown were her parents and grandmother. Her grandaunt heard of it from her sister-in-law, but she did not take it seriously. Besides, Rong Ju's marriage had been a much more pressing matter than ever; there was no time to be as picky as in the past. 

So she told her grandson: "Then we will find a matchmaker first and ask them to come to his family." The grandaunt stopped for a moment before saying, "I will persuade Xiaoju's parents. You and your wife should search for a matchmaker who has connections to the capital."

The eldest grandson nodded while his grandmother called for Rong Ju's parents.

While the family were busy arranging her marriage, Rong Ju still followed her same old routine. The differences would be how frequently she was asked to meet her mother, father, that elder, this elder, or that cousin, all talking about her marriage. When Rong Ju heard they had finally decided on a man and had sent out the matchmaker, she said, "I will accept my parents' and elders' arrangement. This daughter is grateful for all of your love and care, and ashamed of herself for bothering all of you, including Eldest Cousin-Brother."

Those words greatly soothed her parents and grandaunt, and even the eldest grandson found them invigorating. Her parents started to regret letting Rong Ju marry far away, her grandaunt thought it would be fitting, and the eldest grandson went to the prospective future cousin-in-law to ask whether he would like to get to know Rong Ju. He refused. The eldest grandson asked Rong Ju the same question and received the same refusal.

"You two are peas in a pod," commented the eldest grandson with a sigh. "Even your answers are the same."

Rong Ju smiled, revealing not a sliver of the curiosity risen in her heart. 

They waited one month before the matchmaker returned. She was received into the grandaunt's hall as the most authoritative elder alive. Rong Ju's whole family, including those from other branches, also attended. When seeing the matchmaker beaming with the corner of her mouth nearly touching her ears, they all knew this marriage was settled, especially when the matchmaker looked over Rong Ju and praised her from head to toe, almost making her sound like a reincarnated immortal. 

The song and dance of words happened as Rong Ju rotated her rosary. When that was over, she stopped, paying attention to the matchmaker's words: "Grand-Madam Rong, you are simply lucky! This prospective grandnephew-in-law is from a very respected family in the capital, and the kids have matching horoscopes, so this marriage is already settled if you have already agreed."

The grandaunt smiled, praised some words, then asked: "Matchmaker Gu, tell me, which family is this?"

With a sudden, mysterious demeanour, the matchmaker gave out some more praises for Rong Ju's prospective husband and his family. As the whole Rong family was getting impatient, Matchmaker Gu finally revealed: "He is from the Duke of Changping family and the heir apparent. If your Rong family finds it acceptable, then we should start talking about the bride price!"

That was a bombshell. The whole hall went quiet for a few minutes while the grandaunt tremblingly asked: "Duke of Changping? Matchmaker Gu, are you certain?"

"Of course!" answered Matchmaker Gu. 

Then the hall 'exploded' into hushed discussions, not enough to make boisterous noise but just enough to fill the silence. 

Rong Ju chose to spend her free time in prayer, but she did not neglect her learning. She knew the Duke of Changping's Xu family and their history, as that particular clan was indeed illustrious. The current Duke had wiped out the country's enemy at a young age, married the Prime Minister's daughter, switched from a military to a civilian path, and then sat firmly as Minister of War. The Prime Minister was even more acclaimed: a true gentleman, leader of the large and prominent Yun clan, and tutor to the current Crown Prince; his sons and nephews also held various high-ranking civil positions. In addition to all that, the Duke of Changping's heir was the godson of the late Grand Princess, the former Emperor's Sister. 

What does that lineage mean? It meant Rong Ju's prospective husband was the ultimate golden bachelor who agreed to marry a random country bumpkin girl. In their province, the Rong family was fairly prominent. Still, their lineage was in its infancy stage, only producing two famous civil officials who both have passed–namely, the grandfather of Rong Ju and her granduncle.

Could the Rong family disagree or back out of the prospective engagement? Of course not. The Prime Minister was still in office, the Minister of War still in office, and the only reason this golden Buddha went to work in a low-ranking provincial office was undoubtedly just to experience life. To reject him would hinder every grandson's official path, shaming the Xu family, marking the Rong family as ungrateful toads, and practically idiotic.

Rong Ju saw that her mother suddenly took charge of agreeing to the engagement, discussing the bride price with great enthusiasm but with reasonable expectations, and the whole family came to see Matchmaker Gu at their residence with appropriate fanfare. 

They all went back inside the Grand Hall. After a few moments of silence, loud discussions broke out. 

Rong Ju ignored most of the envy seething out from her cousins, uncles, aunts, and others. Her grandaunt controlled the situation, saying, "Xiaoju's fortune is our Rong family's fortune too. Furthermore, it's more reassuring as Xiaoju is the most appropriate in conduct; she would not suffer in such a great family and will not bring shame to our family. Don't be blinded by your own selfish desires and think of the prospect of our family!"

While there was discontent, nobody dared to disagree or argue. In the end, the gathering dispersed. 

Rong Ju's marriage was thus fixed in place. That night, before closing her eyes, she wondered a little bit about this fiancé. Just a little bit. She closed her eyes in prayer that all would be well, that perhaps there would be no romantic debts she needed to pay in this life; a lot of time, debts of sin from the old life were all she cared for.

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