-------
The teacup hovered at Old Man Han's lip, forgotten. He gave a dry little cough, then laughed a beat too late.
"Old enough to be steady. His family has been worried. The boy is shy, you see, never one for company. They want to see him settled."
The village chief set down his teacup and fixed Old Man Han with a stern look. He let the silence linger for a moment before speaking.
"That's not what I asked."
"Ah, well." Old Man Han's fingers tightened around the cup. "Does it matter? A good match is a good match."
Madam Zhang seated beside the wall, suddenly became very interested in her sleeve. Beside her, Madam Wei smoothed her skirt determined to look untroubled.
Han Yan stood a step behind the chief, his eyes quietly observing the others.
If they were truly proud of this match, Madam Zhang would have boasted across the whole village. Instead, they had kept it quiet until the red cloth was already hanging.
