Chapter 217 - MARRIAGE PROPOSAL
[A/N: Don't forget about 4 chapters will come only with 5000 votes within Sunday! Fighting!!!]
When Han Changhong, Han Sheng Ming and Han Luo sat down, Sophia served them a meal. While eating, Han Changhong raised the topic he wanted to speak after coming back to London. He said, "Luo'er, you are growing up and you understand lots of things about our tradition. Don't you know Yujin from the Tang Family? How about you consider him as your future husband?"
Han Luo stopped eating and blankly stared at her uncle. 'Future husband?' The topic was so abrupt that her mind wasn't able to process the phrase 'future husband'.
Han Sheng Ming protested, "Daddy, little Luo Luo hasn't grown up yet. Why are you talking about her marriage so soon?"
"Marriage?" Han Luo confusedly looked at her uncle and then her cousin. Wasn't she only fourteen? Why would her uncle want her to get married? She couldn't understand what he was thinking.
Han Changhong cleared his throat and said, "It's not that I'm telling her to get married. Since she knows Yujin from the Tang Family, I thought it would be great if they could get together. We can only do the engagement right now. We will arrange the marriage ceremony when they become financially independent."
Han Sheng Ming was fretting about it, "I know that Xiao Yujin is a good guy and he likes little Luo Luo but he likes him as a sister! It sounds bad, really bad when I think one of my friends is getting married to my sister!"
Han Changhong asked his son, "Will you get any good partner for Luo'er then? And, why are you pretesting? Let Luo'er decide what she wants to do. After all, the person who is going to marry is Luo'er, not you." After chiding his son, he gazed at his niece. He asked, "Luo'er, what do you think?"
"Me?" Han Luo blinked. Her head wasn't working yet. She didn't know what to answer. She responded, "Umm… uncle, I'm not sure what to say. Can you give me some time to think?"
Han Changhong knew that she was too young to think about her future. He nodded in agreement, "I don't have a problem. Take as much time as you need. However, let me tell you in advance. I wasn't the one who came up with the proposal, nor did I ever want to offer you a marriage proposal."
He continued, "It was all Elder Tang's idea. Yesterday, he abruptly came to the company and asked for your hand in marriage. I was too shocked to hear that he wanted you as his granddaughter-in-law. I couldn't outright refuse him. You know how difficult of a person he is. I told him that I would let you decide since you are the one who is going to marry."
He added, "He didn't like the idea though. He said that children these days don't understand what's good for them. Anyhow, I will leave it to you. If you want to postpone the idea of marriage until you grow up, you have to be brave and say that to his face."
"You mean you want Luo'er do the odd job and you want to hide behind her," Han Sheng Ming was speechless by his father's cowardly attitude.
Han Changhong frowned and rebuked, "Do you think I want that? Elder Tang is still the Chairman of the Tang Corporation. If I refuse him, he will take away the projects and leave us penniless. If my brother was here, I would have had the courage to say 'no' but not now. That's why I want Luo'er to do this so that Elder Tang wouldn't unleash his anger on the company thinking it's a child's refusal."
He added, "Moreover, I saw Yujin. He is a good boy and dotes on Luo'er. He is a good match. Too bad that even if he thinks of Luo'er as his sister he cannot defy his grandfather or he will definitely be kicked out of the house."
Han Sheng Ming was stunned, "How can that be? Xiao Yujin is the only heir in the Tang Family."
His father shrugged, "He might be, so what? He got cousins. Sheng Ming, you don't know how scary Elder Tang is. Once, Yujin's father fell in love with a woman and refused to marry the person Elder Tang fixed for him. As a result, Elder Tang got furious and made sure that the woman his son loved disappeared from the face of the earth. Yujin's father was heartbroken and didn't know what to do."
He sighed and continued, "Afterward, he was forced to marry Yujin's mother. She is a good woman. She takes great care of her husband and now, Yujin's father hardly comes home and roams around the world with his wife and sometimes tag along with their son. He still couldn't forgive his father for what he did to an innocent woman."
Han Sheng Ming shivered, "I don't want my cute little sister to get married in such a household." He looked at Han Luo and urged her, "Little Luo Luo, you must refuse! Oh no, what will happen if that old geezer makes little Luo Luo disappear from the earth?" he forgot to eat and covered his mouth.
Han Changhong warned him, "Don't call him that! Even the walls have ears."
"Right! Right!" Han Sheng Ming nodded.
Han Luo already paled after hearing the tragic love story. She never thought that the Elder Tang she admired was so scary. That man didn't care about his own son's heart. They said that he got scarier after his wife died. She thought, 'I need to find out more about him.'
Han Changhong saw his niece looking pale and felt bad for her. He consoled her, "You don't have to get scared of Elder Tang, Luo'er. He favors you a lot. He won't let you face any harm if you marry into the Tang Family. He promised me that he won't let you suffer any grievances.. As your family, I want you to marry into a good house where you will be treated like a queen and no one can look down on you."