“Does Mother Lu have some business with me?” He responded, suppressing his impatience. If he could make it clear in front of everyone today that he no longer harbored any feelings for Lu Yue, it would naturally be for the best.
Mother Lu patted the hand of the ger standing beside her, paused for a moment, and said, “Brother Wen, after all is said and done, you once almost entered the gates of my Lu family. Today is your wedding day, so by all accounts of reason and propriety, the Lu family ought to see you off. Right now, your household conditions are poor, and your fertility mole is also unsatisfactory, but fortunately, Young Master Jin is discerning enough to be willing to live out his days with you.”
As she spoke, she raised her eyes to look at Song Wenqing’s forehead, continuing, “You must absolutely not delay your own major life events over my family’s Yue’er ever again.”
Song Wenqing: “…”
Mother Lu was intentionally leading the narrative, and the surrounding crowd followed her gaze to look at his forehead. Though they kept their faces neutral, in their hearts they were all harboring thoughts that Song Wenqing would be difficult to conceive children with, that his household conditions were poor, and that he was still lingering on someone else’s lover.
Instead of getting angry, he smiled and took up the conversation, saying, “What does Mother Lu mean by this? Years ago, after my parents passed away, if it hadn’t been for your family breaking faith first, I would have long been Lu Yue’s husband. Today is my wedding day, yet you claim I still have designs on Brother Lu. Isn’t this pushing me into a fiery pit? How am I supposed to face my husband from now on?”
As he spoke, a hint of a sob crept into his voice, and his eyes filled with tears, making his entire being look utterly pitiable. Song Wenqing was naturally good-looking, and by intentionally putting on a wronged grievance, he appeared all the more endearing and vulnerable. Several young gers standing nearby were completely dazed by the sight.
Mother Lu inwardly cursed him as a little hussy, wondering who he was trying to seduce with that appearance. She had originally thought Song Wenqing would behave as he usually did, avoiding her the moment he saw her, leaving him with no choice but to slink through the door dejectedly. She never expected him to dare say such words in front of so many people today.
She herself was not afraid, but today, Cen Xi, whom Lu Yue had just brought back from the county seat, was present. If she did not refute these words, she was afraid it would cause displeasure in Cen Xi’s heart.
Her eyes darted around quickly, a clear sign that she was brewing no good words: “Brother Wen, your words are too severe. How could Mother Lu ever have the intention of forcing you to your death!” She even slapped her own thigh as she spoke. “It is naturally for the best that you do not have this meaning. Wasn’t I just afraid of causing you grievance?”
Having finished speaking, her entire body went limp and she sank to the ground, crying out loud, “Brother Wen’s words are truly killing Mother Lu! Back then when your family suffered such a disaster, although it was indeed our Lu family who wronged you first, in all fairness, my Lu family did not treat you poorly. We gave you a full twenty taels of silver, terrified that you might starve.”
“We broke off the engagement only because this mole on your forehead is truly far too faint. My Lu family cannot bear the burden of cutting off our ancestral line! How would this allow me to face Yue’er’s deceased father in the future?!”
Song Wenqing sensed that things were going awry. If it were a regular day, it would be fine, but today was his wedding day; having this kind of scene happen was bound to bring bad luck. He hurriedly stepped forward to support Mother Lu. However, he was intercepted by Lu Yue from behind. Lu Yue’s face was incredibly unsightly; after pulling Mother Lu up, he glared viciously at Song Wenqing.
Mother Lu’s speech set the onlookers to whispering among themselves.
“Look, Brother Wen’s fertility mole really is faint. Cutting off an ancestral line is no laughing matter.”
“The Lu family has also done everything required by benevolence and righteousness; that was a full twenty taels.”
“He has a good face, but it is all the same once the lights are turned off.”
Song Wenqing knew he had to let it drop for today. If he kept pushing, Mother Lu would probably start throwing a deathly tantrum, so it would be better to make plans later.
“Why must Mother Lu be like this? This fertility mole is not something I can decide. Furthermore, regarding those twenty taels of silver, I returned them that very day. Surely it must be that you simply didn’t see it.”
He let out a long sigh, tears brimming in his eyes: “Causing Mother Lu displeasure today is Yanci’s fault. I only hope that Brother Lu can fully display his talents in the county seat in the future, live in perfect harmony with his husband, and take first place in next year’s provincial civil service examination.”
The moment Song Wenqing said this, several people nearby began discussing in hushed tones.
“Just now, I thought the ger that Old Lady Lu was holding onto looked familiar. Isn’t that the ger from the Cen family in the county seat?”
“Looking at this appearance and demeanor, it cannot be anyone else. To think the Lu family could actually arrange a marriage with the Cen family. Even if he gets his name on the board for the provincial examination, the Cen family’s conditions should not be low enough for this, right?”
“What do you know? I heard that this Lu Yue is going to be a matrilocal son-in-law!”
“A matrilocal son-in-law? What is the Lu family after?”
“Naturally, they are after the Cen family’s status. Reasonably speaking, the Cen family would look down on the Lu family. After all, our Yunhan Village has poor conditions, and they would not have the heart to marry their ger off to this place. But they could not withstand Cen Xi’s liking for him; he said he would not marry anyone but Lu Yue. Because of this, the Cen family had no choice but to compromise. The condition was to have Lu Yue become a matrilocal son-in-law.”
“If it were me, I would agree too. What is wrong with being a matrilocal son-in-law? Look at Cen Xi, not only is his appearance extremely fine, but his family conditions are also good. Anyone would be tempted! Poor Brother Wen, though…”
Realizing Song Wenqing was right beside them, the speaker finally fell silent, terrified of rubbing salt into his wound.
Seeing that his purpose had been achieved, Song Wenqing wanted to turn around and leave, fearing he would miss the auspicious hour.
How could Mother Lu not understand the underlying meaning in Song Wenqing’s words? Lu Yue becoming a matrilocal son-in-law was already a thorn in her heart, yet this little hussy dared to damage her pride in front of so many people.
She viciously flung off Lu Yue’s hand supporting her and lunged forward, wanting to grab Song Wenqing’s arm: “Don’t you leave just yet!”
Unexpectedly, before she could grab Song Wenqing, a broom flew sideways through the air, striking Mother Lu’s hand dead-on.
“Ah!” Mother Lu let out a miserable shriek, and this time she truly collapsed onto the ground, wailing loudly, “My hand!”
Seeing Mother Lu’s comical appearance, Song Wenqing could not hold back a laugh.
Several husbands in the surrounding crowd laughed along as well, but realizing it was not quite proper, they hurriedly covered their mouths one after another.
Lu Yue was a man who cared deeply about his reputation, and with Cen Xi right beside him, a surge of adrenaline hit him. His face flushed bright red as he looked toward the person who had thrown the broom.
The newcomer was dressed in a crimson wedding robe. His brows and eyes were cold and sharp, the lines of his face clean and crisp. There was a tiny mole at the corner of his eye, and when he lowered his gaze, his thick, dense eyelashes were visible; he was exceedingly handsome. It was a pity that his legs were crippled; he pushed himself out in a wheelchair, his expression dark and somber.
A ger gasped: “I thought Young Master Jin did not plan to come out to greet his new husband today.”
Seeing the newcomer, Song Wenqing was slightly dazed. This young youth was his future husband, Pei Jinrong. The name was exceptionally good, and his appearance was exceptionally good as well.
“If he were not a cripple, there would surely be plenty of families who fancied him.”
Someone in the crowd murmured a line, pulling Song Wenqing’s thoughts back.
Lu Yue stiffened his neck, his face flushed with anger as he shouted, “Pei Jinrong, what is the meaning of this?”
Cen Xi, who was accustomed to his usual gentle and refined countenance, found him suddenly looking exceptionally terrifying and gave his clothing a gentle tug.
But Lu Yue’s own mother had been bullied, and now she was slumped on the ground crying for her parents while the neighbors and villagers were all watching. If he did not reclaim his dignity today, how would the villagers look at him in the future?
“Get out,” Pei Jinrong said faintly, his eyes deep and dark, making it impossible for anyone to read his emotions.
A single short word inexplicably made Lu Yue and Cen Xi’s faces burn with shame. Cen Xi very much had a mindset of wanting to smooth things over to avoid trouble; he pulled at Lu Yue’s wrist, feeling rather awkward.
This tugging was counterproductive; instead of calming him down, it fueled Lu Yue’s rage. He pushed Cen Xi’s hand away and picked up the broom from the ground, wanting to strike Pei Jinrong with it: “You hit my mother, so if I hit you today, it is nothing less than what you deserve.”
He knew that continuing like this would be bad for both sides, especially since today was Pei Jinrong’s wedding day. If the matter truly escalated to the authorities, it would only disadvantage him.
Yet he simply could not swallow this insult. Pei Jinrong was just a cripple whose family background was still unknown; what right did he have to act arrogant in Yunhan Village?
Today was just Pei Jinrong’s bad luck to run into him. He would definitely make him realize whether Yunhan Village sided with its own villagers or an outsider like him.
Contrary to the scene Lu Yue had imagined, Pei Jinrong firmly caught the broom handle and raised his eyes to look at him coldly. Turning the broom around in his grip, he swung it toward Lu Yue’s head.
How could Lu Yue have ever expected that a crippled person like Pei Jinrong would possess such powerful arm strength? Terrified of actually getting injured, he hurriedly shielded his head with his arms.
Seeing Lu Yue act so cowardly, Pei Jinrong let out a light sneer and repeated, “Get out.”
Song Wenqing: “…”
He certainly had a lot of personality, but unfortunately, he was not his type.
Cen Xi’s face turned various shades of blue and purple. How could a young master from the county seat have ever witnessed such a scene of village people throwing tantrums and making spectacles? From a young age, the Cen family had always told him that a ger must mind his image when outside, exercising prudence in words and actions.
Pulling a long face, he squeezed out of the crowd and walked straight toward the village entrance.
The moment Mother Lu saw this scene, she knew it was a disaster. It had been no easy feat to secure this marriage alliance; if it fell through, finding another match would not be hard, but finding a wealthy family like the Cen family would be nigh impossible.
She could only scramble up from the ground, glaring viciously at both Song Wenqing and Pei Jinrong. She nearly spat out a mouthful of blood; today, she simply had to swallow this loss.
She pinched the soft flesh on Lu Yue’s arm, frustrated by his lack of competence, and said, “Why aren’t you chasing after him yet!”
Only then did Lu Yue run off in the direction Cen Xi had left.
As soon as the Lu family departed, the wedding proceeded as normal. The youth sat in his wheelchair, tilting his head up to look at Song Wenqing. Song Wenqing raised an eyebrow. He was not sure if it was his imagination, but as he looked into Pei Jinrong’s watery eyes, he felt that the youth’s current demeanor was entirely unrelated to the cold-faced boy who had just driven people away.
A warm hand clasped his tightly, and Song Wenqing heard Pei Jinrong say with a smile, “Let’s go home.”
A strange sensation welled up in his heart. Home? He lowered his eyes; for him, this distant and unfamiliar word had remained in his past life when he was five years old.
That was precisely why he had been so obsessed with buying a house; once he had a house, he would have a home. Studying medicine was not easy and took a long time, but he had stubbornly forced himself to become the only person in the hospital to become a deputy chief physician at the age of twenty-eight, and, of course, he had worked himself to death.
With one hand pushing the wheelchair and the other holding Song Wenqing’s hand, Pei Jinrong led him through the door.
Only then did Shen Xiaolan, who was afraid of trouble, come in with a leisurely smile, holding the jade ruyi to place the red bridal veil back over Song Wenqing.
Seeing their clasped hands, she curled her lip, wondering who they were putting on a show for.
Pei Jinrong did not care what she was thinking; he led Song Wenqing into the inner room. According to the village custom, after sending the husband into the wedding chamber, the red veil could not be lifted until evening, while the groom had to go out to toast the guests.
But after thinking for a moment, even though marrying Song Wenqing was a choice born of helplessness, since he had married him, he had to take responsibility for him and could not let him suffer any grievance. Thinking this way, Pei Jinrong smoothly took the scale rod from the table and lifted Song Wenqing’s red veil.
Song Wenqing was startled by his action, knowing that this did not conform to propriety. He saw that the youth’s eyes were full of stars, his smile bright, innocent, and pure: “Brother A-Yan, the room is quite stuffy. If you want to pass the time, you can read some storybooks first. In a little while, I’ll have Auntie bring you some food to line your stomach.”
Since crossing over to this world, this was the first time he felt that things might not be so difficult to accept. Song Wenqing’s heart felt as though it had been lightly brushed by a feather, itching slightly.
He said, “Alright, then thank you, Husband.”