Chapter 161 The Cunning Lu Zheng

Madam Xia was so angry that her fingers trembled, and she almost fell over: "You, you little slut, how dare you twist the truth!"

Xia Qianqian didn't even bother to lift her eyes. Why bother reasoning with these kinds of people? They always think they're right and everyone else is wrong.

Just like now, even though Qin Yan lost his composure first, Madam Xia was able to turn the tables and accuse him with a straight face.

The surrounding chatter grew louder, with villagers whispering amongst themselves: "This Madam Xia is so unreasonable!" "It was clearly the young master of the Qin family who stopped them first..."

Madam Xia's face flushed red and then turned pale. She was afraid that these words would reach the ears of the head of the Qin family and cause the marriage to fall through on the spot. Suddenly, she reached out and wiped away tears that were not actually there.

"Qianqian! I know you still resent what happened back then! But today is Wenwen's big day! Please have pity on your sister and let her go this time!"

"Pah! You were the ones who bullied my mom first!" Er Ya popped out from behind Lu Zheng, hands on her hips, her little face flushed with anger. "I heard everything! It was Qin Yan who stopped Mom from speaking first, and he said shameless things!"

Madam Xia was speechless, and after a long while, she gritted her teeth and said, "But...but if you hadn't come, none of this would have happened?!"

"Mom, stop talking."

A soft, weak voice suddenly broke the silence. Xia Wenwen, dressed in a light red cotton coat, came out of the courtyard and reached out to help Madam Xia: "Sister, you came to see me out of kindness..."

As she spoke, she glanced up and smiled at Xia Qianqian, but her eyes held a venomous resentment.

Why? Why is it that even though Xia Qianqian is married and has a child, she can still make Qin Yan lose his mind? Today should have been her most glorious day!

Fortunately, she also prepared a gift for Xia Qianqian!

Xia Wenwen dug her nails deep into her palms to suppress the surging resentment in her eyes. She advised Madam Xia, "Mother, today is a joyous occasion; let's not let outsiders laugh at us."

She then turned to Xia Qianqian: "If you find it noisy, sister, go back and rest first. I'll bring you the wedding cakes in a few days."

These words were so well-chosen that they made Xia Qianqian's earlier rebuttal seem like she was being unreasonable.

Xia Qianqian was too lazy to say anything more, and tugged at Lu Zheng's sleeve: "Let's go, we can get covered in filth even from this far away."

Lu Zheng looked down at her, a dark and ambiguous light flashing in his eyes, and simply nodded: "Okay."

Just when everyone thought the farce was finally coming to an end, Lu Zheng suddenly flicked his finger, and a small pebble cut through the air, hitting the ankle of the man carrying the box at the front.

The man was staring intently at the bluestone slab beneath his feet when suddenly his ankle went numb, and he stumbled forward as if a muscle had been pulled out!

"Ouch!" The mahogany chest he was carrying crashed to the ground, the lock popped open, and the contents tumbled and rolled all over the floor.

Caught off guard, the people behind were knocked down one after another. The four large wooden crates rolled into a heap on the bluestone slab, the red silk cloth was smudged and dirty, revealing the rough wooden planks underneath.

"My goodness! What kind of stuff is in this box?"

Someone shouted first, and the villagers reacted as if a hornet's nest had been stirred up, with a buzzing sound filled with gasps of cold air.

Someone stood on tiptoe and craned their neck to get closer, forgetting to even hold their pipe in their hand: "Is that all? A thermos, a spittoon, an enamel basin... In our village, that would be considered shabby for a wedding, and you dare to call it a dowry from a wealthy family in the provincial capital?"

"That's right! Those bolts of cloth look like cotton, but they feel so rough you could twist them into rope! And that piece of grayish material looks like wool, but the color is all faded. Is it some old stock that's been stored away in a trunk?"

Xia Qianqian, who was being led away by Lu Zheng, suddenly stopped in her tracks upon hearing these words.

She looked back and saw that in the broken wooden box, the coarse cloth was rolled up crookedly, the bag of brown rice was torn and the white rice was spilled on the bluestone slab, several earthenware pots were rolling to the side, and pickled vegetable juice was spilled everywhere. The most "decent" piece of woolen cloth, with yellowed edges, was folded at the bottom like a forgotten rag.

That's it?

She frowned slightly, looking towards the Qin family's direction with some disbelief.

The Qin family, losing face, suddenly kicked the man carrying the box next to them, spitting as they shouted, "You bunch of good-for-nothings! Can't you watch where you're going?!"

He bent down and pointed at the thermos on the ground, its inner lining already cracked. "Can you afford to pay for these things if they break? Hurry up and clean them up!"

The man who had been kicked scrambled to his feet, clutching his back and wincing in pain. Hearing Manager Qin still yelling, he suddenly slammed his carrying pole into the ground and roared, his eyes red, "So what if you have a little money? Do you really think we're your slaves?"

He spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva: "I carried this heavy junk so far, I almost broke my back, and you didn't even offer a word of comfort, you just started cursing? I quit! I quit!"

"That's right! We're quitting!" Several of the porters nearby also got angry, dusting themselves off as they stood up. "This broken thermos and spittoon, you dare call it a betrothal gift? Even Old Wang's family next door got a better one for their wedding! We're ashamed to carry this!"

These words were like a spark thrown into a haystack. The villagers first chuckled, then someone burst out laughing, instantly igniting the entire scene.

The men stood with their hands on their hips laughing, the women covered their mouths with handkerchiefs and laughed, even Er Ya tugged at Xia Qianqian's clothes, pointing at the pickled vegetable jar on the ground and giggling: "Mom, look! They're using pickled vegetables as a betrothal gift!"

Mr. Xia stood at the gate of the courtyard, his face flushed like a boiled shrimp, turning from red to purple, and then to black.

He knew that the Qin family was not what it used to be. When the Qin family said that the bride price would be "simple", he was prepared for the worst, thinking that even if it was a bit shabby, they were still a respectable family from the provincial capital.

But seeing this mess, even he, a former sent-down youth, felt ashamed!

"Qin Yan!" His voice trembled with anger as he pointed at the pickled vegetable jar on the ground. "Is this what you call 'simplicity'? You think you can fool the Xia family with this stuff?!"

Qin Yan could only bite the bullet and try to salvage the situation: "Mr. Xia, don't listen to their nonsense. These are all temporary. I've already had the valuables prepared in the new house in the provincial capital. Once Wenwen gets married, I guarantee she'll have a grand and glamorous wedding!"

Mr. Xia's face turned ashen. He had never suffered such humiliation in his half-life! But now, if he didn't take this opportunity to save face, his daughter's marriage would be completely ruined.

He took a deep breath and forced a smile: "Yes, I was confused! Young Master Qin is very thoughtful!"

The villagers refused to believe it. Some scoffed, while others watched the spectacle with their arms crossed. But since Mr. Xia had already said so, there was no point in dwelling on it any longer. Their enthusiasm for watching the spectacle had long since vanished, and they dispersed in twos and threes, leaving only the unpresentable pile of "dowry" at the Xia family's doorstep.

Lu Zheng put his arm around Xia Qianqian's shoulder and walked back slowly.

Xia Qianqian suddenly laughed: "How did you know the Qin family would pull something like this?"

Lu Zheng looked down at her, a mischievous smile in his eyes: "I guessed."

"Guessing?" Xia Qianqian raised an eyebrow.

“Where would the Qin family find spare money to prepare a lavish betrothal gift? I noticed the weight of the box was off, so I thought I’d give it a try.”