Miao Cui Lan pointed a finger at Tong Yu Er, clearly distressed, “You are planning to elope? Is this what a scholar should do? If her family found out about this, they would accuse you of kidnapping! Do you think you can still become successful then?”
“Sister!” Miao Chu He’s face turned a sheen of white.
“Please don’t say anymore,” Tong Yu Er’s face was pale because of the chilly coldness brought by the wind and rain, yet she could feel a creeping blush of shame on her cheeks.
Tears brimmed in her eyes, but she held them in and defended Miao Chu He, “It was me who didn’t think it through! I… your sister is right, I shouldn’t have been so selfish! I’m sorry, I’ll be leaving now!”
Tong Yu Er covered her face with her hands and turned to flee, but Miao Chu He caught her arm, not letting her leave, “Sister, please help me. Please help us! Yu Er is a very kind girl. I am in love with her…”
“Enough!” After hearing that, Miao Cui Lan was outraged, causing her to give Miao Chu He a slap on his face. Her voice was shuddering, “You! Are you trying to drive me mad? You’re definitely trying to drive me crazy!”
Her brother brought a girl home in such a hurry on a rainy day, neglecting his studies. She even had to ask where that girl’s house was and which family she was from. It was obvious that this matter would bring shame to the family. How could Miao Cui Lan not dislike her?
Miao Chu He was shocked. The burning sensation on his face reminded him that his sister had just slapped him, which was something he truly did not imagine. She had loved him since he was little. His sister who had never even said anything too harsh to him, let alone hit him, had indeed just given him a slap on his face using her bare hand.
Miao Chu He felt heartbroken and distressed, he could not accept this reality but his grip on Tong Yu Er’s arm tightened. He said to his sister spitefully, “Back then when you ran away with your husband with such determination, I thought that you were different from the others, that you would have helped me. It seems like I was mistaken! My apologies, Sister. We will leave! Sister, I will, and must, marry Yu Er. I’m sorry that I’ve disappointed you. It would be a blessing if I could repay you in the future. Otherwise, I’ll repay you as a cow or a horse in my next life.”
Once he finished, Miao Chu He tugged Tong Yu Er and both of them kneeled down on the ground, kowtowing to Miao Cui Lan.
“You… you… you really are great, too great!” Miao Cui Lan’s heart ached painfully and she could not breathe properly, as if being shot by a million arrows. Her face was green and pale as blood rushed to her head, and her body swayed but she quickly held onto the wall pillar, “Good! Very good!”
She took a deep breath and glared at Miao Chu He before slowly adding, “You’re wrong, Chu He. I, as your sister, can’t compare to this girl’s courage and insolence! I have a marriage certificate! If you have it, I have nothing else to say, but do you?”
While she was neither a woman of culture nor did she go to school before, she would never be careless with life decisions as she was not keen to be looked down upon for the rest of her life. Although she did some scheming years ago to obtain the marriage certificate from her father, that certificate was practically her life insurance! With it, she legally became Lu Zhong’s dignified wife, confidently standing in front of everyone and speaking to them.
However, this girl, what did she have? Not having a marriage certificate was the same as not having a backbone. She would be disgraced for the rest of her life! Her brother must have lost his mind to say such a thing, so how could she not be upset?
“What happened here?” Once Lu Zhong finished stir-frying the dishes and heard a commotion outside, he rushed out to calm the atmosphere down. He could not hide his shock as his eyes darted from his wife’s angry shuddering body, to his brother-in-law and a stranger who were kneeling on the ground.
“Cui Lan, exactly what is happening here? Don’t be in such a hurry, we can talk it out slowly. Let’s go inside and get Chu He and the girl a set of new clothes, it’s pouring out here!” Lu Zhong held his wife and said with concern.
“Stop being so nice to others!” Miao Cui Lan’s heart only ached more after hearing her husband’s kind words. She could not hold back her tears anymore as she sobbed, “He’s all grown up now, who am I in his eyes? Who are you to him? Just let him be! From now onwards, whatever happens to him won’t be my business anymore. No one appreciates my kindness anyway, it’s all my own fault!”
“Cui Lan…” Lu Zhong gently patted her back to comfort her before frowning at Miao Chu He, “Chu He, what exactly is going on? How could you do this to your sister? Do you even understand how much she had sacrificed for you the past few years?”
“Brother-in-law, I…” Sorrow filled Miao Chu He’s heart too, and he could not utter another word. How could he not understand what his brother-in-law said? Nevertheless, if it was to give up his love, he could never do it!
“Oh gosh, what’s this? This… Ahem, did I come at the wrong time?” While the atmosphere was really awkward, the gate swung open and in came Mr Wu in a raincoat and a hat. He stepped in, wearing clogs, and was immediately startled by the scene in front of him.
Miao Cui Lan hurriedly wiped away her tears and barely managed to croak a greeting to Mr Wu. Lu Zhong grimaced at the two who were still on the ground and muttered at them, “What are you waiting for? Get up and we can sort this out!” At the same time, he turned and smiled at Mr Wu, “It’s only a small matter but we’re so sorry that you had to see this. Good thing that you’re not really an outsider, sir.”
Mr Wu walked towards the corridor, took off his hat and raincoat, kicked his clogs off, and swept his eyes across everyone’s expressions. With that, he roughly knew what was going on, so he gently smiled, “If you don’t take me as an outsider, then I’ll be making myself at home. It’s windy and still pouring out here. Go on, let’s quickly get inside! We can talk it out in the house! Chu He and this girl are all drenched, go get changed immediately before you catch a cold!”
“Yes, that’s right! Come in now!” Lu Zhong gently pushed Miao Cui Lan into the house.
Miao Cui Lan huffed and reluctantly turned around, that was when she saw three little ones clinging to the door frame as they watched the commotion for who knew how long. Her anger suddenly flared up again, her expression was dark and gloomy, “What are you doing here? Get inside, all of you! Go back to your room! Do you hear me? Qi, have you finished your homework? Have you memorized all your lessons? Mr Wu is here! And you two, what are you running for? No running!”
His mother’s expression gave Lu Qi chills and he quickly retreated into his room. Lu Xiao Shu was watching with relish, so how could she be ordered back to her room just like that? Once she heard her mother’s command, she grabbed her sister and ran away, hiding at the corner of their living room.
Miao Cui Lan followed them and glowered at her daughters who were staring at her with huge, sullen eyes. While it was frustrating but cute, she sternly told them, “Get out of there! Follow your brother and play in the room!”
Whatever they were going to discuss later was not something the children should hear.
However, Lu Xiao Shu did not want to leave after watching half of the drama. Even if she had heard her mother yell “get out”, she tugged onto her sister and shrunk themselves into the corner. She pleaded as she peeked at Miao Cui Lan, “Mother, we’ll be good.”
Miao Cui Lan did not care that much to take care of them at the moment. Since they had promised to be good, she could only compromise, “Then you better quietly sit there, don’t move or say anything out of line!”
“Okay!” Lu Xiao Shu happily nodded. Xiao Xue stared and blinked at her little sister. She could not figure out what was there to be happy about.
“Cui Lan, let them change their clothes first. Otherwise, they’ll really fall sick.” Lu Zhong warmly advised.
Shooting daggers at Tong Yu Er, Miao Cui Lan eyed her from head to toe. Finally, she reluctantly huffed, “Come with me!”
Tong Yu Er was quite thin-skinned. She hesitated slightly after hearing those words as she secretly glanced towards Miao Chu He. To her surprise, Miao Chu He gave her a little push and encouraged, “Sister is calling for you, go on and follow her quickly!” His sister might have said hurtful words, but she was still soft inside, he knew that she would still care for him.
Once both of them had gotten a change of dry clothes, Miao Cui Lan sat down and coldly said, “Go on, what else do you have to say?” When she noticed Miao Chu He’s slightly reddish and swollen face, Miao Cui Lan felt distressed and irritated again, and she exclaimed, “I must have really owed you in my past life. You seem like you won’t be happy unless this ordeal tortures me to death!”
“Sister!” Miao Chu He’s eyes showed regret and pain, and his face was slightly pale.
“Cui Lan, don’t be so upset yet, we’re still not clear with what has happened!” Lu Zhong advised his wife, then he turned to Miao Chu He, “Quickly, tell us what is going on.”
Miao Chu He agreed to do so, and he told them everything.
It turned out that Tong Yu Er was one of the daughters of the Tong family from Gu Xi Town. More than a year ago, Tong Yu Er and Miao Chu He met each other by coincidence, and they fell in love at first sight. After that, they met up a few times before deciding to be together forever. Miao Chu He promised her that he would study hard and propose for her hand in marriage once he passed his exams and rose to fame. Things turned sour when a few days ago, a matchmaker went to ask for Tong Yu Er to marry someone else. Tong Yu Er was shocked when she heard her mother brought it up, thus she claimed that she would rather die than to marry. That time, she could only bring up an excuse that she was reluctant to part with her parents and wanted to stay with them for two more years. Her parents thought that she was just shy and did not take her seriously. Now, they were all preparing for her wedding.
Tong Yu Er became anxious. Only then did she tell her mother the truth that her heart belonged to another man, and that she would not marry if the groom was not him. Mistress Tong was in shock and when she told her husband about it, Master Tong was in so much dismay that he became very angry about it, forcing his daughter to tell him which man dared to seduce his daughter. Tong Yu Er did not expect her father’s response to be so extreme, would she still dare to utter Miao Chu He’s name? Even when her father scolded and disciplined her to tell the man’s name, she merely said that he truly loved her and that she would never marry someone else in this life.
