Originally, she had prepared a bride price of twelve hundred. Last night, Jiang Shu told her, “Mom, I think you should split the money into two parts—one for Ruan Tang’s parents and one for Ruan Tang herself.”
“If you give it all to her parents, Ruan Tang might not get a single cent.”
When Jiang Shu said this, Jiang Mother glared at her. “Her parents raised her; it’s only right they keep the money. Are you suggesting she should bring it all back with her?”
Jiang Shu rolled her eyes. “Could you let me finish?”
“Ruan Tang has two brothers. Judging by how she dresses, I don’t think her parents favor her much. I suspect they might prefer sons over daughters.”
“Besides, neither she nor Jiang Ye has a job. If she marries into our family, she’d have to ask you for money whenever she needs to spend. Do you think she would do that?”
Jiang Mother immediately understood and agreed with Jiang Shu’s reasoning.
In these times, favoring sons over daughters was the norm. Having suffered from such bias herself, she had become an exception.
That’s why today, Jiang Mother had the matchmaker mention only six hundred, planning to give the remaining six hundred to Ruan Tang privately through Jiang Ye.
But now… it seemed…
Because Wu Mengzhi repeatedly assured them she could deliver on her promises, her sincerity so intense she was almost swearing oaths.
Ruan Fu and Ruan Mu clearly believed her, nodding happily without restraint.
At this point, no explicit words were needed. Jiang Mother knew Jiang Ye’s marriage prospects had likely fallen through.
Jiang Mother could discern Ruan Fu and Ruan Mu’s intentions, and Ruan Tang saw it too.
She stood up and refused outright.
“I disagree.”
“I won’t marry Su Jincheng.”
This time, she didn’t want to follow her parents’ arrangements.
Ruan Fu and Ruan Mu were stunned, seemingly never expecting Ruan Tang to oppose them.
When Ruan Mu regained her composure, her expression darkened. “Marriage is no trivial matter. It’s always been decided by parents and matchmakers. When has a girl ever made such decisions herself?”
Ruan Tang stubbornly insisted, “I dislike Su Jincheng. He has no principles and can’t control himself. I won’t marry him. If you force me, I’ll sign up to go to the countryside as an educated youth.”
For years, Ruan Tang had been an obedient, sensible girl. This was the first time she had defied her parents.
Enraged, Ruan Mu raised her hand to strike her, but Jiang Mother, standing closest, quickly grabbed her arm.
“Calm down, sister. She’s still young and speaks bluntly. Don’t take it to heart.”
“Besides, I have some urgent matters to attend to, so we’ll take our leave now.”
Jiang Mother felt that staying longer would only escalate the conflict between mother and daughter.
Some matters were better discussed privately behind closed doors as a family.
Still, she added one more piece of advice.
Sister, it’s best to be cautious about a child’s lifelong important matters. After all, men fear choosing the wrong profession, and women fear marrying the wrong man.”
“When it comes to her own marriage, listening to her opinion can’t hurt.”
By then, Ruan Mu had realized she had overreacted.
She looked apologetically at Jiang Mother. “Elder sister, I’m sorry for wasting your time.”
Jiang Mother smiled dismissively, then called out to Jiang Ye and left first.
The matchmaker sighed and followed, but Jiang Ye didn’t move.
His eyes were bloodshot, stubbornly fixed on Ruan Tang.
Seeing Jiang Ye like this, Ruan Tang felt an inexplicable tightness in her chest. She thought if their marriage fell through, he might very well go mad.
However, her parents had changed their minds now, and she needed time to sway them.
She probably couldn’t give him a satisfactory answer today.
So Ruan Tang picked up the gifts they had brought and walked out first, handing them to Jiang Mother.
“Auntie, I’m sorry for making this trip fruitless. Please go back first, I’ll handle things on this end.”
After a moment’s thought, Ruan Tang decided to voice her opinion, “Auntie, thank you for standing up for me earlier. But please rest assured, I can make my own decisions about my marriage.”
Hearing this, Jiang Mother smiled.
She wasn’t just meekly submitting – Jiang Ye’s judgment had been right for once.
The more Jiang Mother looked at her, the more she liked her. Patting Ruan Tang’s shoulder, she gently reminded: “Talk to them properly, don’t let the relationship turn sour.”
If things escalated, it would only make life harder for this girl.
Ruan Tang nodded.
“Tangtang…”
Jiang Ye came before Ruan Tang, his tone plaintive, hanging his head like an injured big dog.
For a moment, Ruan Tang really wanted to pat his head.
But she knew it wasn’t the right time yet.
So she leaned closer and whispered reassuringly: “Go back with Auntie first, don’t wander off. I’ll come find you this afternoon.”
“Really?” Jiang Ye’s dark eyes lit up, both surprised and somewhat disbelieving.
“Really, stop dawdling and go quickly.”
The gloom around Jiang Ye dissipated as he left the courtyard, looking back at her every few steps.
Once out of Ruan Tang’s sight, the grievance in his eyes faded, replaced by a sharp glint.
Watching them walk away, Ruan Tang took a deep breath and turned to go back inside.
Actually, she felt an indescribable discomfort.
In her dream, after she died, her parents had been clearly grief-stricken and cared deeply about her.
But now, while she was alive, they didn’t seem to care as much.
She didn’t understand, couldn’t figure it out.
She didn’t know why they had become like this.
As soon as Ruan Tang entered the room, Wu Mengzhi said: “Tangtang, Jincheng was indeed wrong before, but now he realizes his mistake. Why don’t you give him another chance?”
“After all, we’re all human and make mistakes. Why must you hold onto this so tightly?”
“If you marry into our family, both you and Xiang Bei will have jobs. You’ll benefit, your brother will benefit – it’s good for your whole family!”
Ruan Tang didn’t want to argue with her, deliberately ignoring her remarks as she said to Ruan Fu and Ruan Mu: “Trading my marriage for my brother’s job – have you asked for his opinion?”
“Do you think he would agree? That he could accept this job without any psychological burden?”
Ruan Fu and Ruan Mu had initially been furious when she said she wouldn’t marry.
How could she refuse marriage so casually, even talking about going to the countryside – it was simply absurd.
But when she mentioned Xiang Bei, they hesitated.
Xiang Bei was only a year younger than Tangtang, and they were closest.
Before that incident happened, Xiang Bei would definitely have agreed to Tangtang marrying Jincheng, but now…
They weren’t so sure anymore.
After careful consideration, Ruan Fu said: “Maybe we should stop here for today. Let’s wait until Xiang Bei returns and discuss it then. Marriage is a big matter anyway – a couple days won’t make a difference.”
Wu Mengzhi knew this couldn’t be rushed.
Regardless, she had achieved her goal for today. As long as Ruan Tang remained unmarried, her son still had a chance.
So she didn’t press further and left with Su Jincheng after exchanging a few more pleasantries.
No sooner had they left than Ruan Mu tapped Ruan Tang’s forehead with her finger and complained, “You really don’t know how to appreciate good fortune. That was a thousand yuan! Those who don’t earn money don’t understand the cost of daily necessities. That money could support our family for two years.”
With their wages from the past two years saved up, they could accumulate nearly two thousand yuan, which would be enough for both sons’ weddings.
“And what about those two job opportunities? Do you know how hard it is to get a job nowadays?”
“You can’t even buy one with money!”
The more Ruan Mu spoke, the angrier she became.
Listening to her mother’s words, Ruan Tang felt her heart grow cold.
Her mother only cared about the money and hadn’t considered her wishes or feelings at all.
“Mom, have you forgotten the dream I told you about?”
“Even after all this, they’re still clinging to me. Haven’t you wondered why?”
This clearly took Ruan Mu aback.
Her anger subsided slightly. “You said it yourself—it was just a dream. It might not be true.”
“Besides, dreams are usually the opposite of reality.”
The hope in Ruan Tang’s eyes faded, replaced entirely by disappointment.
Meanwhile,
Wu Mengzhi began instructing Su Jincheng as soon as they left the compound. “For the next couple of days, don’t do anything else. Whenever you have time, come find Ruan Tang. Take her to see a movie, stroll in the park, or if all else fails, take her to the department store to buy some clothes or something.”
“Girls—as long as you’re willing to spend money on them, whatever happened before is nothing. They’ll forget it immediately.”
Su Jincheng didn’t want to go, but he didn’t dare disobey Wu Mengzhi, so he had no choice but to nod in agreement.
“Jincheng, Auntie Wu, what are you doing here?”
Just as they reached the entrance of the alley, they ran into Cai Xiaolan and Sister-in-law Cai.