Chapter 15: Mother and Sister

Regarding the marriage proposal arranged for her daughter Donya by others, Pulcheria felt a mix of joy and worry; the joy naturally stemmed from the fact that the Mr. proposed for her daughter had excellent qualifications and had expressed willingness to provide financial support and help him secure a respectable job. Indeed, if this marriage could be finalized, many of the current predicaments facing their family would be resolved.

Her worry, however, lay in the fact that the man's age was indeed somewhat advanced, and Pulcheria had inwardly already sensed that her daughter Donya felt no affection whatsoever for this Mr. Yet, for the sake of the family, for her dear Misha, she ultimately chose to accept this marriage proposal.

Another point of worry was Misha's attitude toward this marriage. Undoubtedly, Misha absolutely did not wish to rely on sacrificing his younger sister to complete his upcoming studies; if he found out, he would likely cause a huge scene, but would reality change simply because you caused a scene?

It would not.

Fully aware of this, Pulcheria chose to quietly advance the matter, waiting until there was basically a result before writing a letter to tell her son Misha.

She told him what good days lay ahead, told him he would no longer have to feel distressed about having no money, but could instead return to university to study as soon as possible, and after graduating, secure a good position.

And now, this matter was basically settled, and that Mr., who was also in St. Petersburg at this very moment, was already urging them to hurry to St. Petersburg to discuss the marriage arrangements; he would even go visit Misha first! Surely he would provide some help to Misha then?

But even so, Pulcheria remained anxious about what kind of response her son would make.

"Mother, Misha said he firmly opposes this marriage." When the girl's slightly hurried voice came through, Pulcheria's face, which had previously held a glow, instantly turned pale.

"God! I knew it, I knew it, he would definitely oppose this marriage." Pulcheria's emotions also became slightly agitated: "But why? How can Misha not care at all about his own future?"

"Misha said he is not sincere, merely perfunctorily dealing with us, saying we have been blinded by that unknown beautiful fantasy." The thin girl turned around; her face was slightly pale, yet there was a flush of unhealthy red caused by excitement.

"Misha has written all his thoughts and analysis in the letter, Mother. I think Misha's thoughts might be right; his words seemed to suddenly wake me from a dream! Since that Mr. knows of our predicament and is also urging us to hurry to St. Petersburg, why is he unwilling even to pay for the train tickets?

Of course, this is not his obligation, but his actions make his words completely unbelievable."

"Then what should he do? With no money for school, confined day and night in that pitiful small room, he doesn't even have money to go out for a meal." The pale-faced Pulcheria continued:

"But since Misha said so, let's talk about it later, Donya! Let's observe that Mr. a bit longer. As for money, I have managed to borrow a little more by every possible means; I will send some to Misha right away. God bless him!"

"Mother, Misha said his situation here has improved significantly, and he also said that soon, he might send us a sum of money." The thin girl explained quickly:

"Misha said he has recently started writing articles, and his articles have already attracted the attention of influential figures in the St. Petersburg Cultural Circle; they will be published in 'The Notes of the Fatherland' soon, which is currently one of the most influential literary magazines in St. Petersburg."

"Oh God!" Pulcheria stood stunned for quite a while before reacting; immediately afterwards, she walked over, speaking incoherently due to excitement:

"Misha, Misha, I know that as long as he is willing, there are few things he cannot accomplish; it has always been so since he was young! What kind of articles did he write? Can they really support himself? Or is he just comforting us?"

"I don't know, Mother." After a brief moment of excitement, the thin girl suddenly became calm; while handing the letter to Pulcheria, she also directly supported her, to prevent Pulcheria from fainting due to excessive excitement.

After Pulcheria quickly scanned the letter, the girl, who shared the same beautiful black eyes and brown hair as Mikhail, thought silently for a while, then spoke:

"I don't think Misha is lying to us, Mother. Given his character, he would not say such nonsense to fool us. Shall we hurry to visit him? Once we see him, then everything will be clear. As for the marriage..."

After pausing for a moment, the girl, who had recently faced slander from others, lowered her eyes:

"Let's see Misha's situation first. If this matter is not as good as he expected, we will reconsider it then. In any case, Misha should be allowed to finish university properly. Then, after he graduates, he will be a civil servant, a respectable civil servant; as long as he graduates smoothly, his life will improve very soon."

"Good! I hope things can really be as good as Misha said. Oh God, in the letter he described himself as if he were about to soar to the heavens."

After reading Mikhail's letter, Pulcheria, who was already extremely excited, burst into tears upon hearing Donya's words:

"Believe him, Donya. Misha never disappoints! We must hurry and find a way to go to St. Petersburg, but we should still take some of the money we have on hand and send it to him first.

After all, even with the so-called royalties Misha mentioned, they probably won't be paid out immediately, just like the odd jobs we take; they are always delayed for various reasons, and sometimes the money we receive is even discounted. Misha might encounter such a situation too."

"Okay, Mother."

Although she had already made up her mind in her heart and was prepared, in recent days the girl would still occasionally sit silently by the window, many things flashing through her mind, but in the end, she would ultimately gather her spirits again to face many things in life.

But after seeing this letter, although still not entirely certain about what would happen next, the girl still breathed a slight sigh of relief and was no longer as tense as before.

Writing articles.

What kind of articles would Misha write?

Can they really attract the attention of people in the Cultural Circle?

In present-day Russia, those said to be able to write articles for people to read are all noble lords.

Anyway, let's hurry to St. Petersburg to see his current situation.

(End of this chapter)