“Even so, if you were to go back now, will you be allowed to come out again?” Miao Cui Lan’s word left her speechless.
Miao Chu He grew even more frustrated by the minute, but he caught a glimpse of Mr Wu’s relaxed state which hid a little smirk. It was as if Miao Chu He had found his life savior, he quickly looked towards Mr Wu and begged, “Mr Wu, you must have had a great idea, right? Please help us! Your kindness will never be forgotten, we will repay you in the future!”
Tong Yu Er’s eyes lit up and she looked at Mr Wu with a glimmer of hope.
Mr Wu chuckled, slowly explaining, “I don’t have any great idea, but I have a very bad one. Do you want to hear it?”
“Mr Wu, we don’t care if it’s a good or bad idea as long as it works!” Miao Cui Lan relented.
At that, Miao Chu He and Tong Yu Er grew excited, thanking and urging for the idea.
Mr Wu simply stated, “Actually it’s quite simple. The Tong family is big and established, their image would be a priority. Huh, as the saying goes ‘Don’t wash your dirty linen in public.’ If Miss Tong got pregnant, Master Tong would have no choice but to go ahead with your marriage! I only thought of this way, but I’m not sure if it will work.”
Everyone was in aghast. Meanwhile, Tong Yu Er exchanged glances with Miao Chu He, both of them blushed heavily with their heads lowered.
Even Lu Xiao Shu thought to herself, Mr Wu, you’ve crossed the line! You might look like a gentleman and a scholar, who knew that you could come up with such an idea! Whew, Mr Wu probably isn’t that much of a gentleman. He would hunt and fish, those aren’t something a scholar would naturally know…
But again, that did not seem like a bad idea. Regardless of the era, if a woman got pregnant with a man’s baby, as long as the man was decent enough, her parents would also have to agree to their marriage no matter how much they opposed it in the beginning.
“But, but what if, what if they called for a doctor, then—” Tong Yu Er murmured with her head lowered.
Miao Chu He’s eyes were wide open and in a daze. Does this mean that she’s agreed to it? I think— nevermind, forget it!
Mr Wu smirked, “Don’t you worry about this. I can prescribe some medicine for you. Even an experienced doctor would never see through its effects!”
“We really appreciate it, Mr Wu!” Tong Yu Er could not contain her excitement, a smile too appeared on Miao Chu He’s face.
However, Miao Cui Lan huffed, “It’s too early for a celebration. Let me ask you this, Chu He. Once you marry, what do you plan to do? Are you going to leave Yu Er alone at home while you’re off to the academy to finish your studies?
Miao Chu He’s expression took a turn as he was stunned again.
Leaving her at that house? How would Madame Xia let Yu Er live in peace? Not to mention that stepbrother, Miao Tian Bao, who was one year older than Yu Er. He was a gluttonous and lazy rascal who wasted his time every day. Yu Er had such a pretty look, how could he dare to leave her to live under the same roof as them? Then again, what could he do? After all, that was his home. Madame Xia was indeed his ‘mother’, while Yu Er serving her mother-in-law and doing house chores were something that was supposed to be…
Miao Chu He’s thoughts were in a mess!
While Tong Yu Er did not understand the Miao Family’s situation, she grew anxious at the sight of the sibling’s embarrassed expression. Her eyes darted back and forth at them as she softly assured them, “Of course Chu He can go back to the academy. I’ll be good and stay home to help with the chores. I can learn to do anything, I really can!”
Miao Chu He grew sad while Miao Cui Lan sighed, “It’s not that. Leaving you at that house? Your attitude might lead to Chu He not recognizing you the next time he comes home! That stepmother of ours isn’t someone nice and that Miao Tian Bao isn’t anyone you should be spending time with as well! You living with the both of them would be like throwing you to the wolves!”
Was it that bad? Tong Yu Er did not really believe them, yet seeing Miao Chu He’s solemn expression, then she glanced at Mr Wu and Lu Zhong, she knew that it must be true.
“This would be an issue,” Mr Wu grimaced, “Your father had passed away, Chu He would be the head of the family. It won’t be possible to live separately.”
“Mother, can’t you let uncle and aunt stay with us?” Lu Xiao Shu could not hold back and whispered.
Oh god, why not simply hide if you can’t provoke them?
Tong Yu Er blushed when the little girl called her aunt. Her heart melted and she could not help but gaze at the direction of the voice, and she became fond of the little thing at first sight.
“Shoo! You’re just a kid, what do you think you’re doing?” Miao Cui Lan snapped.
Mr Wu’s eyes twinkled with a grin, “I don’t think this won’t work, we just need to work it out.”
Miao Chu He felt a pang of guilt for putting his sister, brother-in-law, and Mr Wu through such trouble for himself.
Miao Cui Lan gave it a thought and asserted, “How about this, let’s say I need a hand here to help out with work. We’ll ask for Yu Er to come over, the salary would naturally go to Madame Xia.” Miao Cui Lan sighed to herself, Just take it as spending money to avoid more issues. How else would Madame Xia let her go?
She reluctantly glanced towards her husband. Lu Zhong had never minded much about their finances, so he nodded along her lines and added, “That will do! When you tell them about it, we can get that neighbor who’s close with Madame Xia to help us convince her to agree.”
Miao Cui Lan nodded in agreement.
“Thank you for your help, I, I—” Miao Chu He did not know what to say, there was no point to mention repaying them in the future as his sister had already helped him countless times. He grabbed Tong Yu Er and they both kneeled in gratitude.
Miao Cui Lan immediately helped Tong Yu Er up, laughing as she said, “It’s nothing, we’ll be a family after this, there’s no need for this! You just live well after this, stay strong and overcome everything!”
The few of them continued discussing for a while, only ending it when they’re satisfied. It was already dark when they realized that their tummies were growling with hunger. The two children had already fallen asleep. Miao Cui Lan felt bad for them, so she hurriedly heated the food for everyone before waking them up.
On the next day, the Tong Family eventually found Tong Yu Er and they brought her home. When Tong Yu Er cried to her mother about being pregnant, Mistress Tong nearly fainted from the shock. Master Tong went ballistic when he found out about her pregnancy, demanding for a doctor to check for the baby’s pulse.
The arranged marriage was cancelled on the pretense that their daughter had caught a grave illness. Luckily, the marriage certificate was not sealed yet.
Tong Yu Er begged for her parents’ help, but Mistress Tong did not know what to do. Her daughter was already with child, were they waiting to turn into a joke if they don’t wed her off? Without a choice, she helped her daughter to plead as well. Master Tong was so upset that he went off the deep end, disowning Tong Yu Er and driving her out of their house. Tong Yu Er was helpless, she was forced to leave her jewelry behind and to leave with plain mundane clothes as she said her farewells to her parents in tears.
Master Tong leered coldly, “Let’s see then, now that you have nothing left, what man would want you? Soon, you’ll be despised and you’ll become a beggar. Even then, don’t you dare come near the Tong Family’s house!”
Tong Yu Er had nothing else to say, and she left without a word.
Master Tong was so mad at her, he ordered for her to be followed as he wanted to find out who was the one who got her pregnant. How could he live if his namesake was ruined? Watching this unveiled, Mistress Tong kneeled in tears, begging for him to forgive her. She whimpered, saying that their daughter had already come so far, their daughter was even forced out of the house, what else did he want to do? Did he want to push her off the edge and have her dead?
Only then, Master Tong gave up bitterly.
With that, Tong Yu Er went under the pretext of a stranger from another village. Miao Chu He invited the elders to oversee the marriage while Miao Cui Lan had already made the necessary connections with the help of money. The elders of the Miao Family knew that Miao Cui Lan had always loved her brother dearly. Since she allowed this marriage, it should mean that the girl must be quite decent. Furthermore, Miao Chu He was a prodigy as the teachers in the academy had told them about his exceptional examination results that made him a top scholar. He was intelligent and hardworking, bound to become a juren(1), he might even become a jinshi(2). The Miao clan had been waiting for the glory he would bring to the family. Who would have dared to cross him? Thus, they simply agreed with the marriage.
- A rank achieved by people who passed the provincial examination in the imperial examination system of Imperial China
- The highest and final degree in the imperial examination of Imperial China
Madame Xia might not be very forthcoming but she was a widow and she had spoiled that useless son of hers. Almost everyone in their clan hated her. With the clan elders present, she did not dare to oppose the marriage, but she brazenly asked for a dowry of twenty silver and two fine silk cloths. As for the dowry, there was however none! If they wanted a dowry, why not ask for it from his sister?
What Madame Xia did raised an outrage among the villagers, yet she had an explanation for her requests. Why would an orphan need to prepare a betrothal gift? It’s a miracle for her when we accept this marriage! If there’s no dowry, don’t even dream of becoming a part of the Miao Family!
Madame Xia’s shameless attitude angered the clan elders, making them feel very embarrassed. After a scolding, Madame Xia did not dare to cross them anymore, so she halved her request to ten silvers and two fine silk cloths, not willing to go any lesser than that.
Lu Xiao Shu was appalled at how shameless she was, doubting her grandfather’s judgement. She thought that he must have been blind to marry her.
Miao Cui Lan fished out the silvers, brought the cloths, and paid the servants to prepare a feast for the wedding banquet. After receiving advice from his sister, Miao Chu He expressed his gratitude to everyone at the banquet. He thanked them for their care and was determined not to accept any gift money. It was enough that they came and showed him courtesy, otherwise, they would be looking down on him.
When everyone found out that they would be able to feast without giving any gift money, they were all delighted. They grew even more fond of Miao Chu He and his sister.
On the contrary, Madame Xia was flabbergasted. The gift money was supposed to be hers, but Miao Chu He unexpectedly refused to take any!
Madame Xia was furious. Without any care about her image anymore, she exclaimed loudly, “How can this be allowed? How could there be a wedding banquet that refuses gift money? Are you really that extravagant? This spending without any income will put a hole in our pocket! Then, who would be responsible for fixing it?”
Before Miao Cui Lan or her brother could say a word, someone snorted, “Hey! Chu He already said earlier that this is his treat. How could you as a mother ruin your son’s kind intention? Even so, it isn’t your money that’s being spent. The money is all Cui Lan’s and if she isn’t even complaining any bit, why are you making a ruckus?”
They chortled away with their jokes, pissing Madame Xia off so badly that her face turned a shade of green while her body shivered with anger.
