When Lu Chuan first passed the imperial examination and became a scholar, he wanted his mother to propose marriage to Li Youran at the Li family's residence. However, Lu Chuan hesitated. He wasn't a complete person; what if Li Youran discovered this...?
Fortunately, Li Youran was ignorant about matters between men and women and was fooled by him. However, he still needed to find a way to solve the problem of having a child as soon as possible; only with a child could his mother stop causing trouble.
After an unknown amount of time, Li Youran fainted from the pain, and only then did Lu Chuan stop torturing her.
"Sister-in-law, are you up yet?"
The next morning, before Li Youran had even gotten out of bed, a clear female voice rang out from outside the door.
This is my sister-in-law. She treats me very well usually, but because she has two daughters and no sons, she is always scolded by my mother-in-law. When my mother-in-law scolds me, she will say a few words in my defense, but because she has no sons, her words have no weight and she ends up being scolded by my mother-in-law as well.
"Get up now." Li Youran then remembered that today was the wedding day of her neighbor next door.
The old blacksmith next door has a son who returned from the battlefield a few months ago. Because he injured his leg, he finally managed to find a marriage partner.
The old blacksmith was a kind man who often helped his neighbors repair pots and forge knives. Once, You Ran accidentally burned through the large pot at home. Afraid of being scolded by her mother-in-law, she secretly went to the old blacksmith to have it repaired. When You Ran offered her jewelry as payment, the old blacksmith refused to accept it, saying it didn't require any materials and she didn't need to pay.
Although she didn't like the blacksmith's cold-faced son, for the sake of the old blacksmith, You Ran quickly got up, washed, and went to help with the cooking.
When the two sisters-in-law arrived at the old blacksmith's house, he had already started killing chickens and fish, and the two quickly rolled up their sleeves to help.
"Tang Lei is a handsome young man, over eight feet tall. If it weren't for his leg problems, he wouldn't have such a hard time finding a wife."
"The Wang family is notoriously greedy, and their daughter is incredibly arrogant. It's strange, really, how could Wang Xiangyu agree to marry Tang Lei?"
"You wouldn't know this, would you? Tang Lei made meritorious contributions on the battlefield and injured his leg, so the imperial court naturally gave him a lot of compensation."
A group of young wives and older women were working and gossiping when they heard a series of crackling sounds outside the door. It turned out the new bride was returning, and everyone hurriedly put down their work and rushed to the door to see what was happening.
"My little darling, hurry up and get down here! We're already at the door!"
"What are you standing there for, groom? Go and coax her!"
No matter how the matchmaker tried to persuade her, the bride refused to get out of the sedan chair, and the onlookers began to gossip.
What happened?
Upon hearing Li Youran's voice, a young woman turned around and said, "Oh, it's the scholar's wife! This bride has suddenly broken off the engagement for some reason and refuses to get out of the sedan chair. What should we do?"
“Since ancient times, only husbands divorce their wives, not wives divorce their husbands. Carry the sedan chair directly into the Tang family!” Just then, an elderly man came out to take charge.
"I, Wang Xiangyu, have not yet stepped into the Tang family's gate, so I am not a daughter-in-law of the Tang family. Whether I marry or not is my own decision!"
Wang Xiangyu stepped down from the sedan chair herself and lifted her red veil.
On their wedding day, she called off the engagement and even got off the sedan chair herself to lift the red veil. This is simply unheard of and unseen.
"Tang Lei, listen to this old lady's advice." The matchmaker panicked when she saw this and continued to say to Tang Lei, who was riding a horse, "You'd better say a few nice words to the bride, coax her and persuade her, otherwise you really won't be able to marry her!"
Tang Lei remained expressionless and did not dismount from his horse, simply staring coldly at Wang Xiangyu.
In You Ran's memory, Tang Lei always had a cold face and seemed unapproachable. Although Tang Lei had once helped You Ran carry a load of water, You Ran always felt afraid whenever she saw him.
But today, You Ran felt that Tang Lei looked very tall, especially when he was sitting on his horse, like a majestic general.
"The scholar's wife's family is on the same street as Wang Xiangyu's!"
Someone shouted something, and everyone joined in, urging You Ran to go and persuade Wang Xiangyu.
"Child, try to persuade him, it doesn't matter whether it works out or not." The old blacksmith walked through the crowd and came to You Ran, saying to her.
“Uncle Tang…” You Ran wanted to refuse, but seeing the old blacksmith’s distressed expression, she couldn’t bear to refuse. She swallowed her words, nodded, and walked towards the bride.
"Xiangyu, things have gotten this far, which isn't good for you. Just name your terms, we can discuss anything..."
Before You Ran could finish speaking, Xiang Yu interrupted her, saying, "There's nothing to discuss. I just don't want to get married."
Wang Xiangyu's gaze towards You Ran was complex, containing envy, jealousy, and resentment.
She was no less capable than Li Youran, so why was Li Youran the scholar's wife while she could only marry the cripple of the blacksmith's shop?
Before long, Lu Chuan would pass the imperial examination and become a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial-level imperial examinations), and Li Youran would go from being a Xiucai's wife to a Juren's wife. Unfortunately, Li Youran was not blessed with good fortune. She went through great hardships to obtain a child from the temple and gave birth to the Lu family's only son, but she died in childbirth.
After Li Youran left, Lu Chuan devoted all his attention to his children and never remarried. Everyone envied Li Youran for having such a devoted husband.
In her past life, she was a complete joke. For the sake of non-existent compensation, she married the cripple at the blacksmith's shop, only to find out after the marriage that there was no compensation at all. Moreover, the cripple later disappeared without a trace, and she inexplicably became a widow.
Since God has given me a second chance, I must seize it and never repeat the mistakes of my past life!
"Xiangyu, if the engagement is called off, your family will have to compensate you for the betrothal gifts and the money spent on the wedding banquet. Will your parents agree to that?"
Li Youran's words shattered Wang Xiangyu's beautiful illusion...
"That's none of your business. Go tell them that this engagement must be called off!"
Wang Xiangyu glared at Li Youran and said through gritted teeth.
"Since you've made up your mind to break off the engagement, then so be it."
Tang Lei dismounted and limped over to Wang Xiangyu, saying, "Just return the betrothal gifts; you don't need to worry about anything else."
"My dear little ancestor, what's going on here!" Seeing the matchmaking money slip through her fingers, the matchmaker slapped her thigh and cried out in despair.
"Aunt Mei, I will give you every penny of the matchmaking fee."
Upon hearing Tang Lei's words, Aunt Mei quickly wiped away her tears, as if nothing had happened.
"Good child, I'm sorry you had to go through this." After saying this to Tang Lei, Aunt Mei turned to look at Wang Xiangyu with a different expression.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
