July 3rd (Day 8, Morning)
"I have a letter for Li Fu."
"That would be me." He takes the letter and looks at the messenger in confusion. "We have met before. Is it really necessary to speak to me in the third person?"
The messenger twists his head, "Ah. It is you. I forgot what you looked like."
"Every letter that I've had you deliver, and you can't recognize me?"
The man bows his head apologetically, "I'm sorry, sir. I just have problems with faces, and I wasn't expecting a magistrate to answer his own door."
Well, it is more common for servants to do that type of thing. He tries to smile, "Don't worry about it." He looks at the sealed parchment. "Could you tell me who sent this?"
The messenger nods, "It was from another magistrate a few villages over, from the Fa family."
"Fa Zhou?"
The man smiles in remembrance, "Yes. It was from him."
"Okay. Well, thanks." Li Fu looks around but no one is seen. "Can I trust you to see yourself back out of this estate, or do I have to fetch a servant while you wait here?"
"I can do it myself, sir."
"Very well." Li Fu turns back inside and returns to the office next to the receiving room, before he sits down and opens the letter. Li Fu, I am contacting you about your brother. General Li Shang, as you know, has been staying here a lot recently. He seems to care for my daughter's wellbeing so much that I asked if he was interested in marrying her. He didn't deny nor accept, only saying it was too soon.
The elder brother shakes his head and whispers, "Of course, it's too soon. The last letter said she wasn't even eating. Shouldn't you be focusing on that?" I do realize that she may not be ready, but we are running out of time. I am running out of time. The magistrate straitens out the desk, before he lays the letter flat and reads intently. I have not felt well for a while now, and if anything happens I just want to make sure my daughter and our family will have a place to stay. I realize this may be a lot, and I'm not sure if your family will find it at all beneficial, but I trust that you are a reasonable man. If you can convince your brother to marry my daughter, then I would be eternally grateful.
Li Fu takes a deep breath and rereads the letter, before he takes out a quill, ink, and some parchment. The first letter is to the highly respectable Fa Zhou. Fa Zhou, I am sorry to hear of your situation, and although I wish I could convince my brother to say yes to the marriage, I believe that he should have a say in a decision which will impact the rest of his life.
He dips the quill back into the ink. Believe it or not, I have already asked my brother if he would be interested in marrying your daughter. He said he needed more time to think about it, but I believe he truly is interested in the idea. After all, your child is all he ever seems to talk about. However, if your daughter and my brother are both not ready to marry, then I believe it is our duty to give them the time they need to sort out their problems.
I hope you understand. He readjusts his seating. I already gave my brother until spring to decide whether or not to marry your daughter. I realize this may be an inconvenience, but I assure you that everything will be okay. If anything happens between now and then, our house has a few spare rooms if your family would need a place to stay until things are sorted out. I apologize for any inconvenience, and I wish you the best of luck.
He shakes his head as he dips the quill again and writes a second letter, this one to his brother. After both are finished and dry he seals them, before he asks one of his servants to find the messenger and order the letters to the Fa family.
- Kind of an uneventful chapter, but it shows what's happening behind the scenes... You know, as in what's going on between the brother and the father as opposed to what's happening with Shang and Ping.