The feast at Wang Youfu’s residence, overall, had been quite a success; not only were the Wang family members themselves satisfied, but the guests also heaped praise upon Wang Qingchen.

Once all the guests had departed, the Old Master looked happily at Wang Youfu’s family and chuckled, “Our Wang family is now quite renowned in the town, all thanks to Qingchen. If this had been in the past, let alone us, even the ancestors of the Wang lineage would never have dared to dream of such a thing.”

Wang Youfu was naturally very pleased with his Juren son, though he kept these feelings locked inside, never speaking them aloud to him. Hearing the Old Master bring it up, Wang Youfu naturally looked at his son with deep satisfaction. Based on Wang Qingchen’s performance today, his son fully deserved such accolades. Wang Youfu thought that for the Wang family to advance further in the future, it would depend entirely on his son! The more Wang Youfu considered it, the prouder he became.

As for Wang Qingchen, having already received so much praise throughout the day, he was somewhat immune to his family’s compliments now and appeared remarkably composed.

The Old Master and Wang Youfu felt even more gratified seeing Wang Qingchen so serene. Meanwhile, beside them, Madam Yang, besides being pleased with her son, held other thoughts brewing within her. The reason for this was that toward the end of the banquet, several female guests had seized the opportunity to subtly probe Madam Yang regarding Wang Qingchen’s marriage prospects.

Madam Yang had already been preoccupied with Wang Qingchen’s marriage, thinking that now that her son was a Juren, it was time to secure a good match. When someone finally inquired about his marriage, it felt as if a pillow had been delivered just as she was falling asleep. Furthermore, it wasn't just one household making discreet inquiries; this made Madam Yang even happier. With so many potential families now available, she needn't rush; she could investigate each one carefully. However, she needed to discuss this matter with her husband and her son first; ideally, they should all agree, which would allow her to proceed with greater peace of mind.

But, the Old Master was currently speaking with great enthusiasm, so Madam Yang didn't press the issue, planning to bring it up with the family a little later.

After chatting for a while longer, the Old Master prepared to return to the main ancestral house. After all, as one aged, the body was not as resilient as before, and having spent the entire day at the Second Branch’s residence had left him quite weary; he needed to return and rest. Thus, the Old Master, who hadn't finished his enjoyable conversation, had to stop, and he departed with those who had accompanied him from the main house. Once the contingent from the main house left, the members of the Third Branch also took their leave.

When only his immediate family remained in the room, Madam Yang finally disclosed how the female guests at the feast had inquired about Wang Qingchen’s marriage. Madam Yang brought it up intending for Wang Youfu to offer advice, but upon hearing the subject, Wang Youfu suddenly exclaimed in surprise, “The womenfolk were asking about Qingchen’s marriage too?”

Madam Yang responded with a confused, “Ah?” failing to anticipate such a reaction from Wang Youfu.

Wang Youfu ignored her reaction and continued, “Today at the banquet, someone also sounded me out on that matter.”

Hearing this, Madam Yang grew anxious. “Then what did you say?”

“What else could I say? Naturally, I told them Qingchen is currently focused on the upcoming Metropolitan Examination (Huishi) and is not in a hurry to discuss marriage now,” Wang Youfu replied.

Madam Yang was clearly dissatisfied with Wang Youfu’s response. She felt that her son was old enough, and his marriage was still unsettled, which was quite worrisome. Therefore, Madam Yang made no effort to hide her true feelings and explained her viewpoint.

Wang Qingchen, who was also in the room, had a bad feeling the moment his mother started discussing his marriage. However, hearing his father say he had refused the inquiries brought him a wave of relief. But now, he felt that his relief had been premature; his mother clearly wasn't planning to let him off this time.

As expected, after listening to Madam Yang, Wang Youfu fell into deep thought, apparently finding her words quite reasonable. At this point, Wang Qingchen truly grew uneasy. Was his marriage really going to be decided like this?

After his contemplation, Wang Youfu declared, “You have a point. Qingchen is no longer young; we can’t just ignore his marriage because of the imperial exams! We should do as you suggest. Let’s first ask a matchmaker to inquire about the daughters from those few families, and then select a good one from among them. Those families are all established households, and our Qingchen is a Juren; they are a perfect match.”

Only then did Madam Yang seem satisfied. She thought to herself that they should have arranged his marriage sooner; otherwise, it wouldn't have dragged on until now. Still, the few families mentioned were all respectable, which was some consolation.

Evidently, Wang Youfu and Madam Yang had selectively ignored the person directly concerned: Wang Qingchen. But whether they acknowledged him or not, Wang Qingchen sincerely did not want to discuss marriage right now. So, Wang Qingchen began to consider whether he should return to the county seat sooner. If he were gone, his family would, at most, only gather information about the young ladies, and they wouldn't finalize the match without his consent. Afterward, he could simply stall. As long as he prevented them from settling the marriage, it wouldn't matter what inquiries they made on their end.

With this thought, Wang Qingchen stopped worrying so much and let Wang Youfu and Madam Yang continue their discussion.

Later that evening, Wang Youfu’s household invited the main branch and the third branch over for dinner. The main and third branches had helped significantly with the day’s affairs, so there was no question of letting them go home to prepare their own meals. This was a custom among farming families, so the families from the main and third branches did not decline and all came over. They had initially gone to invite Li Wu, but he refused, saying he preferred to eat dinner at home with his wife.

Madam Yang, remembering the visibly pregnant state of her sister-in-law (Xiao Gu), didn't say much more. Instead, she packed some of today’s prepared dishes and asked Wang Qinghua to deliver them.

The remaining members of Wang Youfu’s branch sat down to eat dinner. This meal should have been relaxed, having just concluded a major event. Who would have expected that halfway through the meal, Li Wu would come rushing in breathlessly?

The Old Madam, seeing her son-in-law arrive in such a hurry, immediately suspected something was amiss. Before anyone else could react, she quickly asked, “Wuzi, what’s the rush? Is something wrong with Fang’er?”

“Mother, it’s... it’s Fang’er, she’s going into labor!” Li Wu gasped.

Upon hearing this, no one in the room had any appetite left for dinner; they were all anxious to rush to Wang Guifang’s place. Fortunately, the Old Master remained composed. He instructed, “Second son, hurry with Wuzi to fetch the midwife. Eldest son, Second son, Third son’s wife, quickly go help boil some hot water… As for the children, do not go; you’ll only get in the way.”

The Old Madam was already somewhat flustered. She had thought her daughter still had a few days left before giving birth. How could it be so sudden? Had she been bumped or jostled during the crowd today? Or was it the exertion from traveling back and forth today? Her mind was a complete jumble, unable to process anything clearly. When the Old Master gave the order to leave, the Old Madam rushed ahead.

When they arrived at Wang Guifang’s home, they saw that neighbors were already helping out. The Old Master and Old Madam went in, first thanking the neighbors for their assistance, then immediately directing the Wang family members to start the tasks as previously instructed by the Old Master.

The Old Madam could not bear to wait and entered the birthing room. Seeing her daughter covered in sweat from the intense pain, the Old Madam’s heart ached deeply. “Fang’er, Fang’er, Mother is here! How are you feeling right now?”

Wang Guifang vaguely opened her eyes. Seeing her mother there, she managed a slight, weak smile, but it was quickly swallowed by another wave of pain.

Seeing her daughter’s contorted face, the Old Madam quickly said, “You don’t need to talk to Mother right now. Save your strength; you’ll need it for pushing later.”

Wang Guifang nodded through the pain. Although she tried to bear it as her mother advised, small groans of distress still escaped her.

Watching her daughter suffer, the Old Madam grew terribly anxious, wondering why the midwife hadn't arrived yet, momentarily forgetting that childbirth was naturally this difficult.

Just as the Old Madam could no longer contain herself and was about to go urge things along, Li Wu and Wang Youfu finally returned, bringing the midwife with them.

The midwife was not young, and she was being hurried along by Li Wu and Wang Youfu, panting heavily. But the Old Madam could spare no attention for that; her entire focus was on her daughter, who was currently in agony. Thus, without waiting for the midwife to catch her breath, she grabbed her and tried to pull her inside.

Startled by the sudden pull, the midwife cried out urgently, “Hey, sister! I haven’t washed my hands yet! If you drag me in like this and something goes wrong, I won’t take any responsibility!”

Hearing this, the Old Madam stopped pulling and quickly explained, “Sister, the person inside is my daughter, so I was just a bit anxious. Please don't be angry with me!”

The midwife didn't seem truly angry. She went to wash her hands and then smiled, “Oh, that won’t happen. I’ve been delivering babies for so many years; I’ve seen this situation a thousand times, if not eight hundred. I’m used to it, so naturally, I won't be angry. Alright, now that my hands are clean, let’s hurry inside!”

With that, the midwife and the Old Madam entered the room together.