Heaven's Daughter

Chapter 27 - Marriage Proposal

Many seasons passed by and spring had finally arrived. Kairi was turning eighteen soon and the women of the village thought it'd be a good idea to start acting as her matchmaker. That was when trouble started for her.

All the women had gathered together at the river to do laundry when one of the women decided to bring up the topic of marriage.

"Xiao You, what about Nai He's son, Er Niu? He's strong as an ox and extremely reliable," one of the village women suggested. It wasn't the first time she had heard someone ask her about him. Kairi let out a nervous laughter. Er Niu was strong as an ox and he looked like one too. The man was extremely conceited knowing he was one of the strongest fighters in the village. He would intercept her at every turn and do everything he could to catch her attention. Kairi turned to the only person she knew who would help her get out of this situation. Yi Rue, who had become like an older sister to her, saw the pleading look in her eyes and sighed.

"Su Jin ah, Xiao You is an adult now. Let her decide for herself who she wants to marry," Yi Rue said.

"But Yi Rue Jie, Xiao You will be turning eighteen years old. She shouldn't wait any longer to get married. Most women settle down at a way younger age," Su Jin argued. Yi Rue chuckled softly and patted her shoulder.

"It's alright, Su Jin ah. Our Xiao You is a beautiful girl. I'm sure there are plenty of men out there who will still want to marry her even when she turns forty. The men should be back any day now. Why don't we return home to prepare for their homecoming?" Yi Rue suggested. Su Jin didn't argue. The thought of their men returning home outweighed all other thoughts. The women quickly filed home leaving Kairi and Yi Rue alone at last.

"Phew, I thought I would never escape this conversation," Kairi breathed out.

"Don't worry, Xiao You. Even I wouldn't want you to marry that conceited Er Niu. If you became his wife, I'm afraid you'll suffocate to death," Yi Rue said as she picked up her basket of laundry. Kairi picked up the second basket of laundry laughing at Yi Rue's words. It's been almost three years and the both of them had grown especially close.

"Yi Rue Jie Jie, if someone mentioned this to Master, do you think he would force me to marry Er Niu?" Kairi asked.

"Not if he still wants food on the table," Yi Rue shot out. The both of them laughed as they made it back home.

Kairi was sure that Heaven had been listening in onto her conversation because a few days later when the men returned home with their spoils, Zhao Chen suddenly brought up the prospects of marriage with Er Niu.

"Tu Er, what do you think about Er Niu?" Zhao Chen asked. Kairi had just finished a round of sparring with him and hadn't expected such a topic to come about.

"Master, why do you ask?" Kairi already knew where this was going but she asked anyways.

"Sigh... it's been almost two years since you've been living here. You've grown up quite a bit and many of the young men in the village had started asking for your hand in marriage," he replied. "If you were to marry, I'd rather you marry Er Niu. He is one of the strongest men in our village. With him as your husband, you won't have any worries."

"But Master, I don't want to get married. Can't I just stay with you and Yi Rue Jie Jie until I grow old?" Kairi whined like a little child. She rather grow old and lone than marry Er Niu anyway.

"Silly child. You can't stay with Master forever. When we return home, I'm going to talk to Yi Rue and make arrangements," he said. Kairi was done for. It sounded to her like he was dead set on making her marry Er Niu. When he saw Kairi's face dropped, he quickly added, "Ah, I almost forgot. You mentioned wanting to eat a certain type of noodles. I brought back the recipe and ingredients. I'll have Yi Rue cook us some tomorrow."