“Xiao Jiang, you can’t get off the bed. Sit back quickly!”
One of the aunties Gu Jiaoxia had invited pressed Jiang Zhen back onto the festive quilt and explained with a smile near her ear:
“You’re already on your second marriage. Don’t you know the customs? Later the groom will put your shoes on for you, then carry you downstairs in one breath. Your feet can’t touch the ground yourself.”
Jiang Zhen gave an awkward smile.
“I know. I was worried Gu Liancheng and Doctor Qi might start fighting over who goes upstairs first, so I forgot.”
The aunt said, “That shouldn’t happen, but the Qi family is really strange. Why isn’t Doctor Qi fetching the bride? Why did his elder brother come instead? Could something have happened to Doctor Qi? Should I go out and take a look?”
“Yes, please go quickly and check.”
If the Qi family kept delaying like this, Gu Liancheng’s escort team wouldn’t be able to come upstairs. Jiang Zhen didn’t mind what time she went downstairs, but she wanted to see Qi Junshan, the one-eyed man. Since he had come today to fetch the bride, she would be able to see him.
…
Downstairs, Qi Junshan, who had come to fetch the bride, spoke firmly:
“The marriage that both families discussed from the beginning was mine. How did your family think it was my younger brother? My mother and Gu Liancheng’s elder sister have been at odds for more than ten years—everyone in the neighborhood knows that. How could she possibly let the girl who broke off her engagement with Gu Liancheng marry her most beloved youngest son?”
He paused and continued with a mocking tone.
“If I weren’t one-eyed now, and if An Xiuqing hadn’t run to my house saying she had secretly loved me for a long time, our family wouldn’t have discussed this marriage at all.”
Then he added sarcastically:
“Anyway, your family has already broken off an engagement once. Before the bride leaves the house, you can break it again if you like. I can be just as magnanimous as Gu Liancheng. In the future we’ll each marry separately and won’t interfere with each other.”
An Qihui felt utterly humiliated. She had already suspected that the Qi family had agreed too easily, which didn’t match Ji Fengmei’s personality.
But she hadn’t expected the Qi family to be this despicable—using such a trick to swap the groom and scheme to make her sister marry Doctor Qi’s one-eyed elder brother.
Leaving aside that he was already one-eyed and disabled—even if he had been perfectly healthy before, An Qihui still wouldn’t have agreed.
Fan City had only been liberated this year. Before that, Qi Junshan certainly hadn’t been engaged in any honest business. Someone like that could not be married!
“This is too despicable. The engagement is broken right now. Your Qi family can get out!”
Qi Junshan had already achieved his goal. Breaking the engagement was exactly what the Qi family wanted. If the engagement was broken today, no matter how shameless An Xiuqing might be, his younger brother wouldn’t have the face to get close to her again. She had already broken off an engagement with Gu Liancheng and still wanted to marry his brother? The Qi family wasn’t that spineless.
Before leaving, Qi Junshan didn’t forget to add one more insult.
“This is the second time an engagement has been broken right at the doorstep. Sister An, unless your sister never marries again, the third time she might not meet someone as easy to talk to as me or the Gu family.”
An Qihui had suffered a huge loss. It had been the An family who took the initiative to break off the engagement with the Gu family. She hadn’t expected retribution to come so quickly.
If the Qi family didn’t want the marriage, they could simply refuse. Why resort to such a scheme? If they didn’t want the marriage, they humiliated them instead—it was truly vicious.
…
When Gu Liancheng saw Qi Junshan appear, he understood the true meaning of that note from Uncle An.
If Uncle An already knew about the Qi family’s malicious intentions, he should have said it clearly. How could a vague note possibly stop it?
Since it hadn’t succeeded in stopping it, and he hadn’t tried to remedy things afterward, it seemed that Uncle An could indeed be ruthless toward his own daughters. Allowing them to exploit the Gu family’s sense of obligation no longer surprised Gu Liancheng.
Whether the An and Qi families broke the engagement or went through with the marriage was someone else’s business. Gu Liancheng didn’t dare delay the bride-fetching time.
His elder sister had said the timing must not be wrong—they must leave at exactly eight-oh-eight. That way the whole day would go smoothly. If the wedding began smoothly, the married life afterward would also be harmonious. If he was even a little off, his elder sister would nag him about it for the rest of his life.
He himself didn’t want Jiang Zhen to suffer the slightest grievance. Even though it was a partnership marriage, what should be valued still had to be taken seriously.
Gu Liancheng called to the comrades in the escort team:
“The An family won’t be able to decide anytime soon. I can’t wait. Let’s go upstairs first.”
His comrades had been waiting for him to speak. They rushed forward excitedly, eager to see what kind of person their sister-in-law was—the one who had agreed to all the conditions of the agreement.
“She must be especially kind,” they joked.
During the past few days when the old house was being prepared as the bridal home, Jiang Zhen had taken on most of the heavy work. She got along well with the four children. Gu Pan was especially attached to her, and the two of them often whispered secrets together behind everyone’s backs. Jiang Tang had even grown jealous. Gu Pan had shared half of her treasured New Year’s money with Jiang Tang and smoothed over their sisterly relationship.
Now both Gu Jiaoxia and Xiao Jianzhou were reassured. Being able to find Jiang Zhen as a partner made Gu Liancheng feel fortunate.
“I’m the lucky one. She doesn’t get angry easily, but today is our wedding day. I wouldn’t dare challenge her bottom line. Let’s go.”
“Let’s go, hurry up! Don’t crowd—let Gu Liancheng go in front!”
Everyone surged forward.
Suddenly An Qihui blocked the stairway and refused to let the Gu family’s escort team go upstairs.
“Gu Liancheng, you can’t get married today!”
…
The An family liked to bully those they thought were weak, but the Gu family was not soft prey. They had only tolerated the An family’s demands because of the supposed life-saving debt. Now that Uncle An might not even be dead, that debt no longer existed.
An Qihui was not someone who could be reasoned with. If they argued endlessly, it could last all day. With one sentence, Gu Liancheng raised the matter to the level of calling the police.
“Your sister didn’t get what she wanted, so you won’t let me marry? Does the An family have anyone who speaks reasonably and understands right and wrong? If not, I’ll call the police!”
Once the police station got involved, they would definitely arrest whoever was causing trouble. The An family had already lost face today. They couldn’t afford to lose even more at the police station.
Several elder relatives of the An family knew that An Qihui wanted Gu Liancheng to go upstairs and bring her sister down to marry him. Wasn’t that pure fantasy?
Even if they tried to exploit the favor again, the Gu family would never agree to such an outrageous demand.
Gu Liancheng had found his own marriage partner. He wouldn’t break the agreement. And the woman upstairs—Jiang Zhen—might look easygoing, but she had a temper too. If she made a scene at the workplace, several people in the An family might lose their jobs.
You couldn’t make a fuss about something when you had no justification. Apart from suffering losses yourself, nothing would come of it.
The elders pulled An Qihui aside and urged her not to cause trouble.
“Why are you interfering with the Gu family’s affairs? Right now you should be deciding what to do with the Qi family.”
“You expect Gu Liancheng to leave the bride upstairs and go home just because you said so? Causing trouble like this is unrealistic. I’m embarrassed just watching.”
“If you keep making trouble, we’ll all leave and let you sisters deal with it yourselves.”
…
But An Qihui continued crying and refused to give up.
“My father died saving Gu Liancheng’s parents. If the father owes a debt, the son must repay it. Why shouldn’t he repay it?”
Several of Gu Liancheng’s comrades were unhappy hearing this.
“On the battlefield, we’re willing to die for our brothers. My old squad leader… he died saving me. That kind of favor should be repaid. But I’ve never seen a family like yours squeezing someone dry for more than ten years. Besides, when Gu Battalion Commander’s parents were alive, they treated you sisters even better than their own children. His parents are gone now, and you still want his family to repay the debt for generations?”
Unable to tolerate it any longer, Gu Liancheng directly revealed the truth he was already certain of.
“I’ve already found clues. Uncle An isn’t dead. From now on, no one has the right to mention a life-saving debt to the An family.”
An Qihui’s father wasn’t dead?
If Gu Liancheng said it, there had to be evidence. He wouldn’t speak nonsense.
The Gu family elders immediately felt confident.
“Even if the Qi family swapped the groom, it was your sister who took the bait. What’s the use of complaining now? Either she marries him, or she breaks the engagement. The Qi family left your family a way out. If she won’t choose, and instead tries to stop our Liancheng from marrying, is there no law left? Stop arguing with the An family—call the police.”
The An relatives hurried to pull An Qihui away.
“Don’t call the police. With us here, we won’t let An Qihui cause trouble.”
Meanwhile, Qi Junshan, who had been preparing to leave, suddenly changed his mind when he heard that An Qihui’s father might not be dead.
“Sister An, I have plenty of patience. Why don’t you go upstairs and ask your sister again—does she want to marry or not?”
…
Jiang Zhen had been infected by the festive atmosphere of the bride-fetching ceremony and began taking it seriously.
One of the young soldiers in the escort team smiled and said,
“Sister-in-law, during that bandit-suppression operation, you even treated my wound in an emergency. You probably don’t remember me.”
If it had been the real Jiang Zhen, she would never have forgotten something so recent. The person who bandaged that soldier had been the “Jiang Zhen” she had replaced.
She quickly smiled to cover it up.
“Sorry, that day was too chaotic and rushed. I didn’t remember anyone’s face.”
Gu Liancheng was crouching down, preparing to carry her. He glanced back and said,
“His name is Xiao Qingfeng—my brother-in-law’s nephew and Wan Yuan’s son-in-law.”
Jiang Zhen had some impression of Wan Yuan, the organizer of the social event. She had worked as a temporary worker in the hospital and had never met the dean, but he had spoken a few words during the event.
Like Gu Liancheng and An Xiuqing, Xiao Qingfeng also had overlapping memories. So far, the three of them were known to have been affected by the earth tremor triggered by the mirage.
A sudden thought flashed through Jiang Zhen’s mind.
Had the secret of her transmigration already been discovered? But the department responsible for security here hadn’t arrested her, and they had even approved Gu Liancheng’s marriage application.
She thought to herself that as long as she followed the rules and laws here, there shouldn’t be any problems.
…
Thinking this way, Jiang Zhen felt a secret sense of satisfaction, as if she had grasped Gu Liancheng’s little secret—I know that you already know my secret, but you don’t know that I already know you know.
Happily, she leaned onto Gu Liancheng’s back.
“I’m a bit heavy. Going down five floors in one breath—can you handle it?”
Gu Liancheng: …“Whether I can or not, I still have to carry you all the way. I can’t exactly throw you down halfway.”
But in his heart he felt uneasy. After the marriage report had been submitted, normally they would just call Jiang Zhen’s hometown household registration police station to check her identity background. Yet the organization had sent two steady colleagues to investigate, even asking clearly about Jiang Zhen’s height and weight.
Before coming to search for her relatives, Jiang Zhen probably weighed around fifty kilograms. The person on Gu Liancheng’s back now was about the same weight. Secretly observing and probing his own wife like this, he was afraid of uncovering something extraordinary.
Fortunately, the organization bore no ill will toward Jiang Zhen. In fact, they intended to place special protection on her.
Letting Xiao Qingfeng leave the hospital early to come along for the bride-fetching was meant for him to identify whether Jiang Zhen and the “Jiang Zhen” who had bandaged him were the same person.
Gu Liancheng wanted to know the answer just as much. Whether they were the same or not, the organization would not interfere with Comrade Jiang Zhen. But for him personally, he hoped to understand more about the woman who had become his partner in marriage—what kind of person she truly was.
…
Jiang Zhen had already been carried down to the third floor on Gu Liancheng’s back when she heard the An sisters arguing. She immediately leaned close to his ear.
“Walk a little slower. Let’s listen to a couple more lines.”
Gu Liancheng couldn’t help laughing. The An sisters were shouting so loudly that even if they didn’t hear everything now, the gossip would reach them later through the relatives who came afterward.
But since she wanted to hear it herself, he slowed down.
Soon they heard An Xiuqing roar at her elder sister:
“Yes, I always knew the person I was going to marry was Qi Junshan. I deliberately said it was Doctor Qi because I was afraid you wouldn’t agree. Today you can’t stop me—I’m going to marry him.”
Both Jiang Zhen and Gu Liancheng were surprised.
Jiang Zhen said with certainty, “An Xiuqing doesn’t know, but she’s decided to marry anyway.”
Gu Liancheng thought the same. It was probably related to An Xiuqing’s experience of rebirth—she believed marrying him might give her more opportunities than not marrying.
“Then we’ll be neighbors in the future. Will that bother you?” Gu Liancheng asked.
“Whoever’s life turns out worse will be the one bothered. I’m not bothered,” Jiang Zhen replied.
Gu Liancheng laughed silently. What a good mindset. A positive mood could influence everyone around her. When she was happy, the whole family could be happy.
It was just that when he thought about the secret he had to hide from Jiang Zhen—and how he had to be careful not to let her discover it—it truly made things difficult.
…
Downstairs, Jiang Zhen finally saw the one-eyed Qi Junshan. She quickly called to Gu Liancheng, who had been preparing to detour around him.
“Walk a little closer. I want to observe Qi Junshan.”
“Why?” If Gu Liancheng’s comrades hadn’t been blocking the crowd of onlookers, even their quiet voices might have been overheard.
“On the way here while searching for my relatives, among the bandits I met there was one whose eye I gouged out. I want to see if it’s Qi Junshan.”
That ruthless?
When facing bandits, being ruthless was a good thing. But not many people could bring themselves to do it. Gu Liancheng now had no doubt about the warning Jiang Zhen had given during their matchmaking meeting—don’t commit domestic violence, don’t hit women or children, otherwise she might beat someone to death.
He didn’t avoid Qi Junshan, who was deliberately blocking the path. Jiang Zhen wanted to confirm whether he was the bandit, and Qi Junshan also wanted to confirm whether Jiang Zhen recognized him.
Gu Liancheng carried Jiang Zhen on his back, while Qi Junshan stood there with a black cloth covering one eye. Behind his smiling face lurked probing suspicion. The two sides passed each other slowly, deliberately taking as much time as possible to observe each other at close range.