Chapter 3: The Son-in-law

  The doors and windows were all tightly locked, and Lingyun was trapped in this small room.

  There was no chair in the room, so he simply sat cross-legged on the mat, propping his chin with one hand and began to seriously consider the situation before him. Without a doubt, he was now in the Sui Dynasty, regardless of the reason, this was probably an unchangeable fact. What needed to be thought about now was how to survive here.

  First of all, it's his identity. Although he has changed bodies, he hasn't inherited any memories. The Gao sisters all call him Yifeng, as if they're certain that the name on the jade pendant is indeed his name. But even if he really is called Yifeng, who knows where this Yifeng family is? Moreover, now that he's being forced to marry into the Gao family, he can't escape either. Thinking about this marriage, Lingyun couldn't help but feel a bit of a headache. A fine young man like him, actually being forced to live off his wife's family.

  Although the high shallow snow looks good, what's with the white hair? He estimated that it was very likely to be a kind of disease, and it might even be vitiligo. Otherwise, with such a large family business as the Gao family, it would not be possible to force a stranger to join the family. Even if he had saved her life and they had some physical contact, ancient people also had the strategy of "drowning aunt and helping uncle", the Gao family should understand this. The only explanation is that Bai Qianshuang was ill and couldn't get married, so she forced him to join the family.

  If it were in later generations, the Gao family would also be considered a small aristocratic family. Marrying into such an aristocratic family wouldn't bring too much pressure.

  What time is it now? Kai Huang 18 years. If his memory was correct, the son-in-law in this era, the status was quite low. Historical books have said that the son-in-law in the Qin and Han dynasties was almost equivalent to a humble servant in the family, because he married the daughter of the main family and was called "son-in-law". Poor people pawned their children to rich families, and if they couldn't redeem themselves after the deadline, they would be recruited as son-in-laws. With low status, their hair was shaved off, and they were one of the objects for labor service or border defense. During the Qin and Han dynasties, the government always treated son-in-laws as fugitives, merchants, and criminal officials together, belonging to the nature of humble people, often being recruited to remote areas to serve labor or guard the border.

  By the Northern and Southern Dynasties period, although the laws requiring yin-xu fu to serve in the military were abolished, their social status did not improve.

  The Sui dynasty's Fubing excluded yinshi and merchants, because the Fubing only recruited men from good families, while yinshi did not belong to good families.

  The uxorial husband not only has a low social status, but also an extremely low position in the family. After entering the wife's family, although they no longer shave their heads now, if they have sons, they must follow their wives' surnames and live with the wife's family. They take the wife's parents as their own parents, and the children born to them take their mother's surname and inherit the maternal clan's ancestral temple. In many places, after entering the wife's family, men even have to change their surname to that of their wives' families. Their wedding rituals are also different from those of ordinary weddings; in some places, they even need to sign a uxorial contract, which clearly states the various obligations of the uxorial husband, such as specifying that children take their mother's surname and inherit the wife's clan's ancestral temple.

  Well, in ancient times, ordinary families really didn't want their sons to become a live-in son-in-law.

  Tomorrow is the wedding day, and it's likely that a contract will be signed. Lingyun feels extremely depressed, thinking to himself, "Could I actually run away from this marriage?" He really wants to see Gao Shanshuai again, feeling that she might not be as unreasonable as Gao Mingyue. Unfortunately, the Gao family has arranged things hastily, and the wedding is tomorrow. According to tradition, the bride and groom cannot meet today.

  In the courtyard on the other side of Gao's house, tomorrow's bride-to-be, Gao Shanshuo, was kneeling on a stool. Gao Mingyue had changed into a purple outfit and was kneeling below her, while several others were also kneeling in the room, all of whom were elderly men and women over fifty years old.

  "Uncle Qian, his injuries aren't serious, are they?"

  "Ah, Young Master Yi's injuries seem quite severe, but none of them are life-threatening. The treatment was timely, and he's already out of danger. This is also due to his originally strong physique; with some good rest, he'll be fine."

  Bai Fa Bai Hu Zi Lao Zhe Qian Shu was the chief physician of the Gao Family Manor, with exceptional medical skills. Ling Yun had several arrow wounds and knife wounds on his body, and after being soaked in the river for half a day and blown by the spring wind for half a day, under Qian Shu's care, he recovered in just a few days with a few doses of medicine.

  "Miss, this Young Master Yi is probably not simple," Qian Shu said. Although he was only a physician at the Gao Family Manor, he had been there for many years and had watched the Gao sisters grow up. He couldn't help but remind them, "The knife wounds and arrow wounds on his body are not simple, and to be able to escape after suffering such severe injuries is even more unusual. Looking at his physique, he's a martial arts expert, and yet he's still so young..."

  In a world where martial arts skills are expensive to develop, only those from wealthy or noble families can afford to become masters. Young masters, in particular, are not simple individuals, as they must come from either rich or aristocratic backgrounds. Yet, someone like this has managed to get entangled in a deadly crisis, which suggests that there is more complexity at play here.

  Gao's family was inadvertently drawn into this right and wrong dispute, and it's probably not a good thing.

  "Right, this Young Master Yi insisted that he didn't remember anything from before and only said his name was Ling Yun."

  "Does Uncle Qian really forget or...?"

  "Judging from his appearance, it doesn't seem like he's lying. In the past, there have been cases of people suffering brain injuries and forgetting their past experiences, so it's not unusual. Generally speaking, some people will naturally regain their memories after a while, while others may never remember things from before. In most cases, whether or not they recover their memories won't cause any further harm to their bodies."

  "Gao Yi, how was your trip to Yangzhou City?" Gao Qianshuai asked the warrior Gao Yi again.

  "These past few days, I've had people split up and go to the various counties below Yangzhou, even going as far west as Hezhou and Jiangdu across the river to ask around, but none of them have found any household with a prominent Ye family that has someone named Yifeng. We also asked about the Ling family, but didn't find anyone named Lingyun either. It's like he suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and before this, no one had ever seen anyone who looked like him."

  Gao Mingyue disbelievingly said, "This is impossible. That guy's appearance is quite impressive, and his clothes are not shabby either. The jade he wears on his body is something that only the young masters of large families would have. Qian Shu also said that he has practiced martial arts, so he must be a young master from some big family. How could they not find out his identity?"

  "Perhaps he is not a Jiangnan native, I heard his accent seems to have a bit of northern accent, or maybe he's a northerner." Old steward Gao Bo said, "It doesn't matter if we can't find out, it's just right for him to stay and join the Gao family. Gao Yi, have you noticed any suspicious characters around Yangzhou recently, or is there any new movement on the official side?"

  "That day when I came back, I sent someone to check around the riverbank nearby, but nothing was found." Gao Yi replied.

  "This is suspicious."

  Gao Bo shook his head, his expression somewhat serious. "This actually suggests that Yifeng's background is not simple. It seems that the people who hurt him have a significant amount of power and are well-hidden. Moreover, it appears that they may not be officials or guards from the state or county, otherwise, they wouldn't need to be so cautious."

  "Who hurt him?" asked Gao Mingyue.

  "Either it was done by a powerful enemy, who could mobilize officials and guards, or it might have been someone from outside or higher up."

  This guess made everyone in the hall look serious, and Yi Feng seemed a bit embarrassed.

  Gao Qianxue sank into thought for a moment, "Send some more people to investigate further away, it's best if we can find out his identity. Also, if we can find out who hurt him that day, that would be even better. Uncle Qian, please take care of his injuries."

  After He Qianba and others left, Gao Mingyue accompanied Gao Shanshan back to the room. The two sisters were alone in the house, silent for a long time.

  "Sister, are you really going to marry him?"

  "How about that day, wasn't it you who first proposed letting him join the Gao family and threatened to kill him if he didn't agree?" Gao Shanshu sat in front of the mirror, removing her hairpin and loosening her long hair. Her long hair cascaded down like a waterfall, a dazzling white sheet.

  "But this Easy Wind identity is a bit complicated, it may not be a good choice." Gao Mingyue said cautiously. She didn't quite understand Shallow Snow's thoughts at the moment, that day's fall into the water, she had already figured out very clearly, was absolutely not an accidental fall. Although the few people who knew about this had been silenced by her, strictly forbidden from spreading rumors, but facts are facts. "Sister, have you been in pain again recently?"

  Gao Qianxue held a comb and gently combed her hair, with a calm expression on her pale face.

  "Uh-huh."

  After a pause, she continued: "After that day's incident, I suddenly understood many things. The past twenty years of my life were too exhausting. I just want to live a few more carefree days, like an ordinary woman." She let out a soft sigh, "From birth, this white hair and white eyebrows have been considered inauspicious. From young to old, everyone has looked at me with strange eyes. But that day, after he rescued me from the river, his gaze was different, without any strangeness. For the first time, I felt like a normal woman. Mingyue, I'm twenty years old now, and I also want to get married, have children, and be a complete woman."

  Gao Mingyue's heart ached as she listened, and she hugged her, saying: "Sister, don't say that. If you want to get married, we'll let him marry you tomorrow, and then have a bunch of kids. Don't worry, Uncle Qian's medical skills are superb, he will definitely make you happy forever."

  Gao Qianxue revealed a faint smile and wrapped her arms around Gao Mingyue, "Do you think I'm being too selfish, will he dislike me for this?"

  "As long as sister is happy, never mind him, after tomorrow evening, he will be yours."

  The two sisters laughed together, Gao Qianxue clenched her silver hair in her palm, thinking to herself: "Yi Gongzi, please forgive me for my selfishness and willfulness this time. Since you pulled me back from the road of death, and you don't dislike my unlucky appearance, and we've had that kind of intimacy, then please help me again, let me not be lonely anymore, and become a complete woman. Although your identity is complicated, and it may involve Gaojiazhuang, I am willing to protect you."

  She raised her head, her eyes filled with hope, and said: In just one more day, I'll be marrying you!

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