Jiang Lin’s mother had no choice in the end and still handed over one tael of silver.
Qianhua had known all along that Madam Jiang was not honest.
She cried poverty with her mouth, yet in the end she was still able to take out silver.
This one tael was an unexpected gain.
When Jiang Lin annulled the engagement, he returned the sachet that the original owner had embroidered for him.
Madam Liu took back the twin-knot Jiang Lin had once given, tore up the marriage contract on the spot, and the two families officially dissolved the engagement.
Seeing Qianhua tear up the marriage contract, Jiang Lin felt extremely displeased about losing one tael of silver, but being able to withdraw from the engagement as he wished still counted as a happy event.
After the engagement was canceled, Jiang Lin immediately left the Liang household with his mother.
Among the onlookers, some were simply gawkers enjoying the spectacle, some felt deep regret for Qianhua, some pitied Liang Second Uncle’s family, and some villagers with daughters had already begun setting their sights on Jiang Lin.
There were also people who had long been jealous that Qianhua had been chosen by Jiang Lin’s mother for an engagement.
After all, Jiang Lin was one of the few literate men in Yunfeng Village and the first to pass both the county and prefectural exams.
His future looked boundless. Seeing Qianhua get dumped, these people couldn’t help but secretly rejoice.
Among them was Aunt Li, who had previously quarreled with Liang Second Uncle.
“Some people think that just because their daughter is pretty, she can marry up,” Aunt Li sneered. “Too bad a sparrow will always be a sparrow—it’ll never fly onto a branch and become a phoenix. Look at her now, dumped and unwanted. A discarded sparrow like that—forget becoming a phoenix, she won’t even have a branch to perch on. Wanting to remarry? That’s pure wishful thinking.”
Her words were viciously cutting. Liang Second Uncle and Madam Liu wanted to defend their daughter, but they were poor with words and didn’t know how to refute her.
Now that their daughter had been dumped, becoming the village’s laughingstock, the pain in their hearts as parents was unbearable.
“Auntie,” Qianhua said coldly, “whether I marry or not—what business is it of yours? Have I eaten your rice or drunk your water? Why are you sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong?”
She had no intention of being polite to someone who kicked others when they were down and delighted in others’ misfortune.
“Hmph! A sharp-tongued, ill-mannered woman like you deserves to be dumped. You’ll never get married in this lifetime,” Aunt Li snapped angrily.
“Whether I get married or not is none of your concern. Who do you think you are? Since when is my marriage your business?” Qianhua retorted. “And we’re about to eat now, so stop standing here drooling. My family didn’t cook for you. The gate’s over there—see yourself out.”
She pointed straight at the courtyard gate and unceremoniously chased her away.
“Hmph, I’ll leave then. As if I care to stay here,” Aunt Li said coldly.
Usually sharp-tongued herself, she hadn’t expected to lose this round. With no choice, she left in a huff.
Seeing the show was over, the villagers dispersed in a rush.
Only the Liang family remained, sitting at the table and continuing their meal.
Liang Wenyong wanted to comfort his cousin, but couldn’t find the right words.
He could only lower his head and eat in silence.
Liang Wenzhi, on the other hand, secretly felt delighted at his cousin’s broken engagement.
There were only three scholars in the entire village—himself, Jiang Lin, and Hu Zhixiong—and people always compared the three of them.
This year, all three took the county and prefectural exams together.
Only Jiang Lin passed both and became the village’s sole xiucai candidate, while he and Hu Zhixiong failed even the county exam.
The villagers constantly praised and flattered Jiang Lin.
If Jiang Lin had become his cousin’s husband, the comparisons would only intensify—he would have been utterly crushed by Jiang Lin. The engagement being broken was perfect—simply perfect.
As for Qianhua’s reputation being damaged, what did that have to do with him?
Madam Chen looked at Qianhua with sympathy. This little niece had nearly died from drowning just days ago, barely returned from the brink of death, and now had her engagement canceled—misfortune truly never came alone.
Second Brother’s leg injury still hadn’t healed. How would their family of three survive in the future? Third Brother was away, and she herself was raising her son alone—she wanted to help, but lacked the strength.
Old Master Liang felt deeply dejected.
His granddaughter had been dumped, her reputation damaged, and the Liang family’s face lost as well.
He cared deeply about reputation and pride, and now he was too embarrassed to even go out and face others.
Old Madam Liang, however, was filled with regret that she hadn’t agreed to divide the household a few days earlier.
One reason she had opposed the separation was because Qianhua was engaged to Jiang Lin.
Jiang Lin had always been studious, and now that he had become a xiucai candidate eligible for the provincial exam, his chances of earning an official title were high.
If their family gained a grandson-in-law with an official future, they could bask in reflected glory.
But now Qianhua had lost even this fiancé, and Old Madam Liang wished nothing more than to hurry up and send their branch out.
“Qianhua, when you had a fever, the medicine cost three taels of silver. Now that the Jiang family has returned one tael, shouldn’t you hand it over to the family treasury right away?” she said.
Having just regretted not separating the household, Old Madam Liang immediately set her sights on the silver in Qianhua’s hand.
“Grandmother, you know exactly why I fell into the water,” Qianhua replied calmly. “If you want the three taels for medicine, you should ask Uncle’s family for it. I was the victim. That medical expense was never ours to pay, so we will not return a single copper coin to the family treasury.”
She had no intention of repaying the money.
She hadn’t even demanded emotional compensation from Cuihua—yet they still wanted her to pay?
Old Madam Liang was left speechless. She felt that since falling into the water, this granddaughter had become sharper-tongued and bolder than ever.
“Qianhua, you wretched girl! How dare you talk to your grandmother like this? You fell into the water—why should my father pay for your medicine?” Liang Wenzhi snapped angrily, unaware of the truth.
“Why should your father pay? Go ask your good sister,” Qianhua shot back.
Everyone doted on him for being a scholar and indulged him—but she would not.
What was so great about studying a few years? She herself had studied for over ten.
Cuihua panicked. She was terrified Qianhua would reveal what she had done.
Sun Wang was still here—if he found out about her past actions, even he might look down on her.
“That’s enough! Everyone shut up,” Old Master Liang barked. “No one is allowed to mention this again. Old woman, you are not to ask Second Brother’s family for money anymore. Today is Cuihua’s homecoming day—we’re supposed to be happy. Now eat properly.”
Once the head of the household spoke, everyone fell silent and continued eating without a word.
Sun Wang looked utterly confused, but fortunately he was an honest man and didn’t ask questions.
However, after the Jiang family’s disruption, how could Madam Liu and Liang Second Uncle still have any appetite? Their moods had sunk to rock bottom; they could barely swallow a bite.
What would happen to their daughter now that her engagement had been broken? Once a girl’s reputation was damaged, it would be extremely difficult for suitors to come knocking again.
Even if someone did come, it likely wouldn’t be a good family. The couple was filled with worry.
Qianhua, on the other hand, was hardly affected.
Breaking off this engagement was a cause for celebration to her.
The sooner she rid herself of that man, the better. Given his and his mother’s money-grubbing, profit-driven nature, if she ever earned money in the future, they would cling on desperately and refuse to cancel the engagement—then it would truly be troublesome.
Unfortunately, the coarse rice was hard to swallow, and after all the commotion, the food had gone cold. She disliked cold food, so she didn’t eat much.
Her parents assumed she couldn’t eat because she was heartbroken and felt even more distressed for their daughter.
Cuihua, however, couldn’t hide the joy on her face.
This was wonderful—Qianhua had been dumped by the Jiang family. Losing such an outstanding fiancé, her reputation in Yunfeng Village was ruined. Remarrying would be difficult, and she would become the village’s laughingstock.
At this moment, she completely failed to realize that she herself also bore the Liang surname. Even as a married-out daughter, Qianhua’s bad reputation would still affect her own name to some extent.
Madam Zhu was also in high spirits. She had never liked Madam Liu or Madam Chen and always enjoyed comparing herself to them.
Now her own daughter had married so well, while Qianhua was disgraced and dumped—how could she not feel pleased?
The mother and daughter ate more heartily than usual that day, both filling their bellies.
And so the meal ended amid a tangle of very different thoughts.