The engagement ceremony was grand and lively.
Gu Taohua and Su Chengmin stood together like a perfect pair.
Su Chengmin was the favored figure of Shengjing. After rejecting Su Shihang’s marriage proposal, many noble young ladies were curious about who had captured Su Chengmin’s heart.
Upon hearing it was Gu Taohua, many were incredulous.
Among the prestigious families attending to witness for Su Chengmin, some had never seen Gu Taohua, and only knew she grew up in the countryside. They instinctively felt Gu Taohua was unworthy of Su Chengmin.
Everyone, including the Lu Family, thought the same: Gu Taohua was merely a crude country girl who clung to Su Chengmin during his downfall. Su Chengmin was obliged to be engaged to Gu Taohua out of gratitude.
But after seeing Gu Taohua, they realized they were mistaken.
Gu Taohua’s looks and demeanor were not inferior to those of the girls in Shengjing at all.
More surprising was that Su Chengmin himself was very pleased with this marriage. From the moment he stepped into the Gu Family and saw Gu Taohua, the smile on his face never faded.
Compared to Su Chengmin, the Mighty General was so tense he didn’t know where to put his hands and feet upon entering the Gu Family.
When he saw Tong Huaqiong, as parents of the betrothed, they exchanged polite greetings.
With so many people watching, the Mighty General couldn’t enact a long-lost reunion scene.
Although seeing Tong Huaqiong made him incredibly excited.
What puzzled him was that Tong Huaqiong showed no emotional reaction, treating him entirely as a formal elder of Su Chengmin.
He initially thought Tong Huaqiong didn’t mention their past acquaintances in front of the crowd on purpose. Over time, he realized Tong Huaqiong truly saw him only as a representative of the groom’s family.
The Mighty General’s heart was broken.
"Han Niu, let me take you for a walk in the backyard," said Mrs. Hong.
Mrs. Hong was saved by the Mighty General in her youth. Upon arriving in Shengjing, the first thing she did was to bring He Chao to the General Mansion to express gratitude.
This time, being the engagement between Tong Huaqiong’s daughter and Han Niu’s nephew, Mrs. Hong took on the responsibility to greet the groom’s family.
She noticed the Mighty General seemed distracted and was frantically searching, quickly realizing he was looking for Sister Tong.
Thus, with the excuse of taking a walk, she led the Mighty General to Tong Huaqiong.
Standing before him, Tong Huaqiong remembered that the Mighty General was the original owner’s childhood friend and couldn’t help but glance at him a few more times.
The Mighty General didn’t look old. If Su Shihang could be considered the first middle-aged handsome man, the Mighty General was surely the second.
Perhaps due to his profession, the Mighty General had a greater air of bravery and extraordinariness than Su Shihang, simply put, he was an advanced version of Su Chengmin.
The Mighty General blushed under Tong Huaqiong’s gaze.
"Miss Tong."
When the Mighty General spoke, Tong Huaqiong almost got goosebumps.
This old friend clearly cherished his childhood sweetheart.
But the childhood sweetheart had changed.
Tong Huaqiong nodded to the Mighty General and politely addressed him as the Great General.
The Mighty General’s heart was shattered again; Miss Tong was indeed estranged from him.
"Does the Great General want to discuss the wedding date of the children with me? This is simple, decide today, exchange engagement letters, combine the posts, and determine a wedding date. Did the Great General hear that I’ve kept Gu Taohua for many years, thinking I would delay her marriage to Chengmin?"
"You can rest assured. I used to think Taohua was too young and uncertain, but now she’s grown and can manage the household independently and conduct business, so I won’t interfere with the wedding date."
Not knowing what to say to the Mighty General, Tong Huaqiong turned the topic to their children’s marriage.
However, the Mighty General didn’t respond.
"Miss Tong, have these years been good to you?" Despite trying to control himself, the Mighty General’s voice was still excited and trembled.
Tong Huaqiong: "..."
She wanted to discuss their children’s marriage, but he wished to reminisce about the past.
Tong Huaqiong said, "My business is successful, and I have many children and grandchildren. My life is very good."
The Mighty General saw all this.
What he wanted to ask wasn’t this, but even he couldn’t articulate it.
He wanted to ask how she fared after marrying into the Gu Family all these years?
He wanted to ask if her husband treated her well when he was alive?
He wanted to ask if her days had been difficult after her husband’s passing?
But under Tong Huaqiong’s calm gaze, the Mighty General couldn’t find the courage.
Tong Huaqiong wasn’t Tong Dajiao; the Mighty General was merely her son-in-law’s uncle in her eyes. She wouldn’t entrust any emotions to the Mighty General.
But it was clear the Mighty General wished to rekindle old feelings with her.
For so many years, the Mighty General hadn’t married. From the hints inside and outside Mrs. Min’s words, it was clear the Mighty General’s heart only ever contained Tong Dajiao.
Such a deeply affectionate old friend is rare in ancient times when one could have multiple wives and concubines, and even rarer in modern times of monogamy.
Tong Huaqiong wasn’t the Mighty General’s childhood sweetheart. She could be moved for the original owner, but she couldn’t accept on behalf of the original owner, nor give the Mighty General false hope.
Some things are better said clearly.
Tong Huaqiong sighed and called out, "Han Niu."
This call of Han Niu took the Mighty General back to their youthful days at Black Dragon Pond.
He had no father; she had no mother. Both were pitifully alike and inseparable from a young age.
Tong Dajiao would always call him Han Niu, Han Niu.
One year, when her mother was sick, he sold the family’s grain to treat her illness. To earn Silver, he went to town for odd jobs, and Tong Dajiao would secretly wait at the intersection to give him vegetable cakes. To make them taste good, she discreetly added lots of oil and scallions while making them behind her father’s back.
She secretly saved up Silver to buy medicine for his mother and helped take care of her.
Of course, he treated Tong Dajiao well too, using his earnings to buy her new clothes and a silver bracelet.
Tong Fusheng was studying, and all the farm and household chores fell on Tong Dajiao, so the Mighty General helped her plant fields and filled the Tong Family’s water tank daily.
Tong Dajiao loved wild sour dates, and each year when they ripened, the Mighty General would delve into the deep mountains to pick the best wild sour dates to give her.
These memories played repeatedly in the Mighty General’s mind.
And they flooded Tong Huaqiong’s mind too.
Viewed as a bystander, the original owner’s past with Han Niu was full of regrets.
But that didn’t mean she was required to make amends.
Han Niu didn’t know that after marrying into the Gu Family, Tong Dajiao turned from a bright and generous pearl to lifeless eyes.
Sarcastic, vulgar, unreasonable...
Oddly, Tong Dajiao’s memories completely lacked those of Han Niu after moving to Shengjing.
It’s unknown whether Han Niu was already gone by that time or whether Han Niu, one of Tong Dajiao’s few rays of light, vanished along with the past joy, and Tong Dajiao, unable to face her childhood friend, thus ignored Han Niu.
Tong Huaqiong looked directly at Han Niu and calmly said, "I’ve been living quite well all these years. I forgot much of those past things. In the countryside just eating enough to fill your belly took all your strength. Thanks to Heaven, I’ve succeeded in business and raised my children well. Now, as long as my business continues to thrive, and my children are filial and successful, I’m satisfied and have no other thoughts."
This was to emotionally detach from the Mighty General.
Hearing this, the Mighty General naturally felt pained inside.