Pearl Light

Part 1

1

The day Xie Wu Chen ascended, the entire Li Family Village [1] came to celebrate.

The threshold of my house was about to be trampled down, scaring Da Huang [2] so much that he lay at the door, too afraid to bark.

"Zhen Zhu was really fortunate. Back then, when she picked up Immortal Xie, we even laughed at her for being foolish."

When I was rendered speechless by the golden, resplendent phoenix carriage of the immortal.

The ascending Xie Wu Chen was looking at me arrogantly:

"Master said that you did me a favor. An immortal's promise is worth its weight in gold. Whatever you ask for, I will grant it."

In the five years I took care of Xie Wu Chen, I dreamed every day of him marrying me.

He practiced sword cultivatorship while I farmed the land.

He cultivated while I earned money.

I only hoped one day I could win Xie Wu Chen's heart.

Xie Wu Chen didn't like me; he only liked his clever little junior sister, Shi Yu.

Junior Sister Shi Yu was smart and beautiful.

Xie Wu Chen only needed to demonstrate a sword technique once for her to master it.

I secretly practiced more than a dozen times, but I could only manage to throw the chicken feed a little farther.

I was even caught by Xie Wu Chen and Shi Yu. Shi Yu covered her mouth, laughing so hard that tears came out.

Xie Wu Chen despised foolish people, so he frowned:

"Li Zhen Zhu, you have no spiritual roots, stop wasting your efforts."

"Senior Brother, mortal lives are short, their entire life is but a blink of an eye," Shi Yu advised him. "A lifetime as a married couple is only a brief moment for immortals. It won't delay us in sealing the Taotie [3]."

Xie Wu Chen's expression was grim.

He was afraid I'd ask him to stay by my side for a lifetime.

At this moment, his robes fluttered gracefully, exuding nobility and cold elegance.

He was nothing like the destitute Xie Wu Chen from five years ago, who was barely clinging to life and needed me to feed him rice porridge spoonful by spoonful.

Immortal Xie would never become Li Zhen Zhu's husband.

So I decided not to cling to him anymore.

I thought about it and picked up Da Huang:

"Just cure Da Huang's illness, and you owe me nothing."

Xie Wu Chen was stunned, but he quickly realized it was a fair trade.

With a wave of his hand, Da Huang, who hadn't eaten in three days, rolled over and scampered off to eat the leftover food in his bowl.

Shi Yu joyfully tugged at his sleeve:

"Senior Brother, your past ties are severed, let's go back and report."

Xie Wu Chen turned back and glanced at me, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

The immortals departed, and the clouds on the horizon dispersed in an instant.

The celebrants sighed while discreetly putting their gifts back into their pockets:

"Zhen Zhu is really silly, using an immortal's promise to save a dog."

I stopped Aunt Zhao, the matchmaker, who was also about to leave:

"Aunt Zhao, do me a favor."

"What is it?"

"Find me a husband," I said seriously. "One who is good-looking and honest, who won't abandon his wife and children after becoming successful."

Aunt Zhao couldn't help but laugh, waving her hands repeatedly:

"How could I dare help you with that? Immortal Xie might strike me with lightning!"

I sighed, a bit regretful for saving Da Huang.

Had I known, I would have asked Xie Wu Chen to find me a husband.

2

"Li Zhen Zhu, do you still want a husband?" Aunt Zhao patted the door, "No charge."

What good could come for free?

"A well-known pale-faced gentleman from nearby villages, can't carry or lift, born to be a live-in son-in-law."

What good could that be?

I opened the door and saw the man's face. The words of refusal I had intended to say were swallowed whole:

"I want him, I want him."

The more one lacks something, the more one desires it.

I couldn't come up with anything nice to say, but the man before me looked like a perfect gentleman, like a painting of a landscape on a fan, bringing with it a breeze of the academy when unfolded.

As Aunt Zhao spoke, he gave a slight bow, and when he lifted his eyes to see me, his ears reddened.

This scholarly demeanor left me staring blankly.

In my family, not a single scholar had emerged in the past three generations.

Aunt Zhao glanced nervously at the young gentleman, wiped her sweat, and tucked her handkerchief back into her clothes.

"Shen Tong Guang, no wife, no father, no mother, no debts, twenty-five years old, knows a few words."

"Li Zhen Zhu, no father, no mother, no debts, my previous husband ascended to immortality and ran away, surely never to return." I scratched my head, "I can raise pigs and farm. You can handle the household chores, sewing, and studying. Let's live our lives well. What do you think?"

His affectionate eyes smiled as he nodded.

His smile made me feel like I was walking on air.

"Then it's settled," Aunt Zhao sighed with relief.

"Aunt Zhao, the matchmaking fee..."

"No need, no need."

I was puzzled as to why the normally stingy Aunt Zhao didn't want money, but she had already taken her leave hurriedly.

I looked at Shen Tong Guang.

The more I looked at his slender waist, the more pleasing it became.

How was he not better than Xie Wu Chen?

I nodded in satisfaction.

Shen Tong Guang's stomach growled at the right moment.

He blushed again.

I couldn't stand to see a beautiful person go hungry, so I rolled up my sleeves:

"I'll make you a bowl of noodle soup with two poached eggs."

Shen Tong Guang ate gracefully and elegantly.

He ate so cleanly, it seemed like the bowl didn't even need washing.

When he noticed I was watching him, he shyly wiped his mouth.

Not like Xie Wu Chen and Shi Yu.

Xie Wu Chen practiced fasting, always saying my cooking smelled bad.

Shi Yu, afraid of gaining weight, picked at her food, only eating vegetables.

Footnote:

[1] X家村 (X Family Village) refers to a traditional Chinese village named after a predominant family surname. Most inhabitants of the village are from that family, with "X" representing the specific surname. For example, 李家村 (Li Family Village) means that most people in the village have the family name 李 (Li).
[2] 大黄 (Da Huang) means 'Big Yellow'. It is a common name for dogs in Chinese villages.
[3] 饕餮 (Taotie) is a mythical Chinese creature often depicted as a gluttonous monster with a large mouth and no body, symbolizing greed and excess in ancient Chinese art and mythology.