Chapter 2 Marriage Contract

Xiao Yu followed her gaze and scanned the area, then nodded hesitantly. It was indeed inconvenient to speak when so many people were watching.

The coachman brought over a stool, and Song Luoning shakily stepped down from the carriage. With a gloomy expression, she glanced at the man standing to the side who had no gentlemanly manners whatsoever, and pursed her lips: "Young master, please lead the way."

"Oh, okay." Xiao Yu hesitated for a moment, then walked ahead, with Song Luoning following behind, carrying a bundle in her arms. The crowd of onlookers made way for them, and Xiao Yu led her into the courtyard. He turned around and closed the gate, but his eyes accidentally caught sight of the carriage. He saw the coachman jump onto one side of the carriage and turn it around to leave quickly.

? !

What's going on?

She was both surprised and astonished. She turned around and stared wide-eyed at the woman in front of her. She was still here. Why had the carriage left?

Are you going to come pick her up again later?

It shouldn't be what she thought. Unless she's blind, who would be interested in the original owner's qualities? Besides, the girl in front of her clearly doesn't know the original owner.

Song Luoning pursed her lips and didn't say anything. Under her gaze, she calmly pushed open the door and walked in.

Xiao Yu followed slowly into the house.

The room was so simple that Song Luoning couldn't help but frown slightly. She glanced at the stool, hesitated for a moment, and then sat down. Xiao Yu quickly poured her a glass of water: "Miss, what brings you here?"

She gritted her teeth. What was there to be nervous about? She'd seen plenty of beautiful women before; she was a woman of the world.

Song Luoning raised her head and lingered on Xiao Yu for a moment before handing him the betrothal letter from her bundle.

What's this?

Xiao Yu took it suspiciously, her heart pounding with apprehension. She hoped it wasn't some kind of IOU.

Under Song Luoning's watchful gaze, Xiao Yu reluctantly opened the letter. Upon reading its contents, she nearly dropped it. Staring at the person before her in disbelief, she stammered, unable to utter a word, "This...you see...we're really not a good match, and we don't even know each other..."

I think she'll understand if I explain it this way.

Song Luo's eyes darkened, and her hand holding the bundle slowly tightened. Given her behavior in front of the carriage earlier, she didn't expect her to say such a thing. She was probably saying one thing and meaning another. She tugged at the corners of her mouth, trying to maintain her expression, and smiled and said, "Since ancient times, marriages have always been arranged by parents and matchmakers."

etc.

This idea is wrong. Arranged marriages by parents and matchmakers force two people who have never even met together together. If they can develop feelings for each other slowly, that's fine, but many will dislike each other and end up as a resentful couple.

She wants to nip this kind of thinking in the bud.

Even though the woman in front of me is my type, is she the kind of person who would be attracted to beauty without any principles?

She would never accept such a feudal arranged marriage without any emotional foundation.

After thinking it through, Xiao Yu seemed to suddenly feel more confident. After considering it for a moment, he said, "Miss, I will not marry you. The idea of ​​an arranged marriage is absolutely unacceptable. You should find someone you truly love to marry; that is the right choice."

Song Luoning frowned, looked up at her with a cold expression and an unfathomable emotion in her eyes. After a long pause, she took out a silver note from her bundle, composed herself, and smiled without her eyes: "I suppose Young Master Xiao is in need of money right now."

She stood up with a smile and looked around carefully from the moment she entered. The room was messy, clearly not tidy up often, and there were no farm tools in the yard. In addition, the woman had delicate features and a slender figure, unlike the burly farmers she was known for, indicating that she did not make a living by farming.

Living in the village without doing farm work is only possible for wealthy people, and this person clearly doesn't fit that category. That leaves one last possibility: this person is idle and short of money.

She would be happy to do so if the money could solve the problem.

Sure enough, the man's eyes lit up when he heard the word "silver," and she was right.

Xiao Yu glanced at the silver note, pursed her lips, and was somewhat tempted. Everyone needs this kind of thing, especially since the original owner was penniless and she had just taken over this body. Her stomach was still growling with hunger. If it weren't for the pain from her head hitting the ground, she would have suspected that the original owner had starved to death.

Moreover, the other party gave her a full thousand taels. Even though she had never lived in ancient times, she still knew basic common sense. An ordinary farming family might not earn that much money in their entire life. This was a huge sum of money. With this money, she could fill her stomach and also make money to support herself.

but......

Her gaze returned to Song Luoning's excessively beautiful face. She pursed her lips, thinking that marrying her wouldn't be a bad deal after all...

I just don't know if she'll mind my current identity.

Just as Xiao Yu was hesitating, Song Luoning seemed to see through her thoughts and said with a smile, "Young Master Xiao can think it over carefully."

What should we consider?

Both of them knew the truth.

Xiao Yu pondered for a moment, then met Song Luo Ning's gaze and asked the question that had been bothering him: "Why do you insist on marrying Yuan—no, why do you insist on marrying me?"

Song Luo Ning curved her lips into a smile, her eyes softening with a gentle light, like a fairy in a painting, so beautiful that one couldn't look away.

Xiao Yu swallowed hard, turned her face away, and dared not look at him again.

Song Luoning: "I said it was arranged by my parents and the matchmaker."

Xiao Yu: "..."

What is the reason for this?

Was the mindset of women in ancient times really as described in books, adhering to the Three Obediences and Four Virtues?

Everyone does it this way, so there's not much to doubt.

She hesitated for a moment. With money in mind, she still maintained a sliver of rationality. There were some things she should clarify with the other party before getting married.

For example, her own identity as a woman disguised as a man.

Xiao Yu considered it for a moment and said, "Actually, it's not that I don't want to marry you."

Song Luo Ning gazed at her with eyes as clear as water, awaiting what would happen next.

Do I have to be so calm?

Xiao Yu gritted her teeth: "I am also a woman. Are you sure you still want to get married?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Song Luoning's smile froze, her mind went blank for a moment, and when she came back to her senses, her brows furrowed slightly. Although she didn't know why her father insisted that she marry her, since her father had said so, he must have his reasons.

Song Luoning quickly calmed down and carefully examined the person in front of her.

This person's face was too delicate, and although her figure was tall, it was very slender. Even if a man was very thin, his figure would not be like this. Song Luoning already believed seven or eight parts of what she said, and naturally she had to personally confirm the remaining two or three parts.

She decided to stop pretending and her expression turned cold: "How can Young Master Xiao prove it?"

Xiao Yu: "..."

Seemingly surprised that she needed to prove it, Xiao Yu paused for a moment, then her gaze shifted downwards and landed on her flat chest.

Xiao Yu mentally prepared herself, gritted her teeth, and unbuttoned her clothes, revealing layers of white fabric underneath.

Song Luoning was stunned by her actions. She saw a white strip of cloth flash before her eyes, but before she could take a closer look, the person had already closed her clothes again and was adjusting the ties.

"Did you see that clearly?"

Song Luoning: "......"

After a long pause, he nodded blankly.

She thought she had seen it clearly, but she wasn't entirely sure herself.

Xiao Yu: "So... is this marriage proposal okay?"

After he finished speaking, the atmosphere seemed to freeze, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

The two had no feelings for each other to begin with, and rather than dealing with a man, marrying her didn't seem like a bad thing, at least it saved them a lot of trouble.

After a moment's thought, Song Luoning pursed her lips and pushed the thousand-tael silver note forward to show her determination.

Xiao Yu was taken aback. She hadn't expected her to accept this. Could she really have some ulterior motive?

I couldn't help but wonder if I had been too hasty just now.

As if afraid she would regret it, Song Luoning said, "Young master, are you perhaps afraid of a weak woman like me?"

Is she a weak woman?

Am I not one?

Xiao Yu sized her up and considered it in her mind. They were both weak women, and compared to the other's sickly appearance, she should be slightly better, right?

After a moment of silence, remembering that he would need money in the future, he put away the silver notes and kept them close to his body, so that at least he wouldn't starve to death.

Having accepted the money, and adhering to the principle of "taking money to solve problems for others," Xiao Yu gritted his teeth and said, "I wonder when we should go and get the marriage certificate."

In modern times, a marriage certificate is required for marriage. In ancient times, it was called a marriage certificate, which she knew.

Song Luoning paused, then hesitated and asked, "Where is your engagement token?"

A token?

What is it?

Xiao Yu looked bewildered, and then saw Song Luoning take half a fish-shaped jade pendant from her neck and place it on the table.

She instinctively touched her neck, but there was nothing there. Her heart sank. Could it be that the original owner, that spendthrift, had sold it?

She hadn't even had a chance to warm the silver notes yet.

It's easy to receive money, but when it comes to returning it, it's a different story.

Xiao Yu was heartbroken. Biting her lip, her mind was in turmoil. She quickly went through the original owner's entire life story from childhood to adulthood, from eating, drinking, defecating, and sleeping to fighting, cursing, and harassing respectable women. She searched through everything but couldn't find a single piece of information about the jade pendant.

Xiao Yu couldn't help but glance at Song Luo Ning. Had she mistaken someone? Was the person she was engaged to not be the original owner of this body at all?

How could the original owner possibly be engaged to a woman?

"Is there a problem?" Song Luoning's clear and sharp voice rang out like a death knell.

"Nothing? I forgot where I put it." Since he couldn't find it now and didn't want to return the silver note, Xiao Yu decided to keep her calm for the time being and said with a forced smile, "I think my mother put it away."

Song Luoning remained silent, taking in her panicked state.

"Um...should I go ask my mother?" Xiao Yu panicked and desperately tried to salvage the situation.