Just as she was about to observe further, Xie Mingzhu suddenly heard the woman ask with a cheerful laugh, “Sister-in-law, greetings. I am Yang Yuji’s elder sister. I believe my husband Yang Butou has already discussed matters with you?”
Though her words were directed at Xie Mingzhu, her eyes kept drifting toward Xiao Mo’er. She noted the uneven red rashes covering the girl’s skin, but found it of little concern. After all, no daughter from a wealthy family could truly be called plain.
Given a month or so to recover, she would undoubtedly blossom into a lovely young woman.
She appeared somewhat frail, but that was easily remedied. Once settled in their home, they could nourish her with fresh seafood until she filled out nicely.
Most importantly, she had heard how the girl’s sister-in-law had protected her from being violated by those wretched escorts during the journey.
Literate and pure of body—were it not for her convicted status, someone of her standing would have been forever beyond her brother Yuji’s reach.
“Madam Yang,” Xie Mingzhu returned the greeting, reassured by the woman’s warm demeanor and kindly face.
She signaled the children and Xiao Mo’er to offer their greetings as well.
Facing the five children lined up before her, Madam Yang beamed with delight. “Such good children! You must be starving. Come to our home for a meal later—I’ll cook you some shrimp.”
With natural familiarity, she took the hand of Xiao Mo’er, who had flushed with shy realization of the woman’s identity. “Dear sister, Yuji has gone to the prefectural seat for his studies, but I’ve already sent word. He’ll return in two days, and we’ll hold the wedding then.”
Madam Yang’s heart swelled with joy. Her younger brother was finally starting a family. Their parents, should they know of this in the netherworld, could now rest in peace.
During their conversation, the other unmarried women had been largely selected.
Noticing Xie Mingzhu’s gaze drifting toward them, Madam Yang felt a twinge of concern.
Both Su Yurou and Lu Wanwan had found matches.
Their striking beauty and refined speech made families overlook the hardships they’d endured during the journey, focusing instead on their loveliness and education. These households hoped their future children might inherit some measure of their mothers’ beauty and intelligence.
Consequently, the families choosing them were comparatively wealthier and more established, suggesting the two women might enjoy slightly better circumstances.
Initially treated like merchandise to be picked over, the two had eventually gained the upper hand as multiple suitors emerged. In the end, they themselves had chosen satisfactory households from among the options.
Everything felt dreamlike—their life’s major decision settled so abruptly. Now they approached together to bid farewell to Xie Mingzhu’s group.
“Sister Xie, we must take our leave,” Lu Wanwan said reluctantly, her voice thick with emotion.
Su Yurou expressed concern for Xie Mingzhu, “Wanwan and I both chose families from Silver Moon Beach. We had hoped you might join us there, so we could look after each other.”
But thus far, no one had come forward for Xie Mingzhu.
They knew about Xiao Mo’er’s situation—how Yang Butou had preemptively secured her for his brother-in-law.
That explained why others hadn’t approached her.
While they envied Xiao Mo’er’s fate, they understood why Yang Butou had chosen her—they simply hadn’t been fortunate enough to receive such consideration.
They recognized that Xiao Mo’er’s preservation until now owed entirely to Xie Mingzhu’s protection. Before departing, they advised Xiao Mo’er, “Mo’er, your sister-in-law has planned carefully for your future. Don’t ever let her down.”
Though Xiao Mo’er hadn’t yet met her betrothed, the fact that he studied at the prefectural seat suggested he couldn’t be entirely unsuitable.
“Well, you two go ahead and take good care of yourselves. I’ll visit you when I get the chance.” She was probably the only exiled convict left in the county town.
But she knew this had nothing to do with any protection from the Xiao family ancestors. If their ancestors were truly watching over them, they wouldn’t have been implicated by her uncle’s family in the first place.
In the end, it was the foul-smelling mud her sister-in-law had grabbed in the dungeon that initially protected her.
After bidding farewell with lingering reluctance, the group departed.
Only a handful of weeping girls remained in the courtyard, unwilling to follow their assigned husbands.
To preserve their chastity earlier, their families had scarred their faces, making them undesirable to their originally matched families. Eventually, they could only follow men solely focused on continuing their bloodline.
Some now regretted their decision, thinking it would have been better to follow Su Yurou’s example—keeping their faces intact, eating well during the journey, and now being able to choose more agreeable husbands.
Moreover, because of their disfigurement, their future husbands were equally unattractive, fueling their resentment and refusal to go.
Human nature is strange, though. Just as they were weeping and resisting, an old woman pointed at Xie Mingzhu under the fence and said, “You should count yourselves lucky. Look at that woman—no one chose her at all. She’ll likely end up salt farming by the sea.”
Comparing themselves to someone worse off suddenly made them feel more balanced, and they stopped making a fuss.
Xie Mingzhu’s lips twitched wryly.
Though she was still young and capable of bearing children, choosing her meant raising her five children—who would willingly take that on? She had anticipated this outcome; while some might accept raising another’s child, no one would foolishly take on five at once.
Besides, she was currently unattractive.
If her face healed, someone might be tempted by her beauty and make an impulsive choice.
Xiao Mo’er, however, burst into anxious tears. During the journey, she had overheard others inquiring with the guards about assignments and learned that salt farming was the harshest labor—constant immersion in seawater or exposure to scorching sun, relentless work, and whippings from foremen for insufficient output.
There were even rumors of pirates raiding salt farms. The area was so impoverished that there were no defense troops; encountering pirates meant certain death.
“We’re the ones who harmed Mother,” Xiao Yunyan and the others lamented in guilt and panic.
Madam Yang grew frantic, scanning for her husband while trying to calm them. “Don’t panic. I’ll find Old Yang and see if he can do something.”
As soon as Madam Yang left, an old man shoved a shirtless young man into the courtyard, cursing, “You useless brat! The moment I looked away, you vanished. Now all the decent women are gone—might as well stay a bachelor forever!”
Suddenly recalling something, he beat his chest and wailed, “You good-for-nothing fool! If you’d saved any money to build a house, with a face like yours, you wouldn’t need to beg the magistrate for a wife! But no, you squandered everything on food and drink—like a starving ghost reborn!”
He even lifted his foot to kick the young man. “Right now, looking across the entire county, not a single unmarried woman has been seen in five or six years. The magistrate finally managed to secure some people for us, and it seems you’re planning to marry some post-menopausal old widow and cut off your family line!”
The young man, with a completely careless attitude, let the words go in one ear and out the other, utterly unconcerned. “Build a house? No matter how vast the world is, you only need a foot-wide space to sleep. Besides, should I just throw all the money I’ve worked so hard for into the sea instead of eating or drinking?”
He even chuckled: “I definitely don’t want an old widow. If you like her, Old Man Sha, you marry her. I’ll just wait for those young girls to grow up and marry one then.”
“Who are you calling ‘old man’?” The old man kicked him again. “Pah! By then you’ll be an old bachelor with no home or property—what decent young girl would marry you? To eat sand and drink seawater with you?” Then his gaze swept across the yard.
He saw a group of ugly creatures, big and small, standing by the fence.
He froze on the spot.
Of course, Xie Mingzhu and the others were also stunned.
Xiao Mo’er even forgot to cry.
Yang Butou had said the population here was small, with more men than women.
But in the past six or seven years, there hadn’t been a single marriageable unmarried woman…
Just then, Fang Zhubo and a young man emerged from inside. Seeing the old man and the youth, they seemed to recognize them.
Especially the young man—they appeared more familiar with him.
Fang Zhubo asked, “Where have you been running off to? Why are you only coming now?”
The old man quickly clasped his hands in salute. “Greetings, Magistrate and Master Fang.” Then, with a resentful expression, he pointed at the young man behind him. “This wretched thing, a starving ghost reborn, ran to the river behind to catch shrimp.”
Seeing the young man still whistling at Xiao Yunyan and the other children, the old man shoved him in frustration. “Hurry up and pay your respects to the masters!”
Only then did the young man reluctantly turn around. “Greetings, masters!” His actions and tone were utterly perfunctory.
But he was the county’s notorious troublemaker, so Fang Zhubo and Magistrate Chen were used to it.
The place was backward and poor—expecting them to be cultured and polite? Dream on!
So they waved their hands helplessly. “Enough.” Then Magistrate Chen frowned. “We went to great lengths to secure spots for your village, and you’re just not making an effort.”
Seeing Magistrate Chen angry, the old man grew anxious, afraid of displeasing the magistrate and losing out on future opportunities for their village. He quickly said, “Don’t worry, Magistrate. There are still people here!”
Even if they’re a bit ugly!
Hearing this, Magistrate Chen and Fang Zhubo exchanged a glance before noticing Xie Mingzhu’s family in the corner.