Chapter 412 Marriage Swap
Just as the carriage left the prefectural city, Doctor Yan's carriage ran into trouble. Lin Yuesha wiped the sweat from her brow with a handkerchief and hurriedly got out of the carriage to check on the situation.
The purpose of this trip to the capital was to seek medical treatment for her father, Xiao Chenggui. To minimize delays, Lin Yuesha took the initiative to modify all the carriages except those used for cargo, just to save time.
She and Dr. Yan had already planned their route to enter the next city before dark and find a place to stay.
Lin Yuesha's expression turned sour when someone deliberately bumped into her and delayed her trip.
"Sister Yue Sha, it's me."
Lin Yuesha walked around to the back of Doctor Yan's carriage, saw Bai Youran, and asked in astonishment, "Sister Bai, is that you?"
If it weren't for Doctor Yan's sake, Lin Yuesha wouldn't have wanted to call her "sister" at all. She left the city without saying goodbye to Bai Youran.
The two didn't have a falling out, but Lin Yuesha was too lazy to put on a show of politeness. In the end, it was Bai Youran who looked down on Xiao Qi, which angered Lin Yuesha. She was also vengeful and naturally didn't want to see Bai Youran.
"It's me."
Bai Youran wiped away her tears with a handkerchief, pointed to the carriage she was riding in, and cried, "When I learned that my cousin was going to the capital with you, I wanted to go with her..."
Bai Youran only carried Ruyi and a small bundle. The carriage was rented from a carriage company and looked very simple.
"To the capital?"
Yan Yan frowned and said coldly, "Are you kidding me?"
Needless to say, Bai Youran must have run away from home. The coachman she hired wasn't from the Bai family. He looked frivolous and clearly had been drained by wine and women, suffering from kidney deficiency.
If Bai Youran and her servant hire this coachman, it will be very dangerous if they travel to deserted mountains and wilderness.
"Cousin, please have mercy and take me with you."
Bai Youran was sobbing when she saw Doctor Liao's carriage ahead. She lowered her head, her eyes darkening.
She insisted on going to the capital with him no matter what. Doctor Liao actually set off with her cousin. Could it be that he has taken a liking to her?
Bai Youran's fingernails dug into the flesh of her palm without her noticing.
Lin Yuesha stood aside and, seeing Bai Youran's action, narrowed her eyes and decided to observe coldly from the sidelines.
"Nonsense, go back now!"
Doctor Yan said coldly, "You know that your aunt has a bad opinion of me now. If she finds out that you came to the capital with me, she might think that I kidnapped you. What should we do then?"
Her words were very clear: once she went to Beijing, Dr. Yan did not intend to return, and she knew that she would suffer along the way in order to keep up with the schedule, so she did not want to carry any burden with her.
"Cousin, please listen to me first."
Bai Youran stamped her foot impatiently, indicating that she would not go back no matter what. She had brought a maid with her, so she wouldn't be a burden on the journey, and she also had money. As long as she went to the capital, she would go to the Bai family mansion to ask her grandmother for help.
"Make the decision?"
The female doctor, Yan, keenly noticed Bai Youran's choice of words and asked in return.
"Waaah, cousin, ever since Father's concubine got pregnant and then kept the baby, Mother has been acting like she's gone mad!"
Bai Youran openly and secretly resented Doctor Yan for siding with outsiders instead of her own family, and for going so far as to help the concubine who was opposing her mother to keep her pregnant.
"It's nothing special, my mother and Li Ruoxue are on the same side again, she's doing everything she can to please the Li family, trying to arrange a marriage exchange with them!"
After Bai Youran finished speaking, she burst into tears, feeling wronged and completely disregarding her image.
Lin Yuesha clicked her tongue, pondering the meaning of the marriage exchange. It seemed that this could only happen in a remote village, usually when a family's children had defects and they had no other choice.
The daughter of a prefect was forced into a marriage by her own mother—this is unheard of and unseen!
What is this about "marriage exchange"?
Although Dr. Yan felt that her cousin was cunning, they were still relatives and got along fairly well. She couldn't bring herself to send her back directly, so she had to ask her questions carefully.
“Miss, we don’t know what’s wrong with our mistress. She’s taking all her anger out on you.”
Ruyi, as a maid, also felt bitter. She risked her life to run away with Bai Youran, who were already following behind, waiting for an opportunity to appear. They had already left the city, and Doctor Yan couldn't very well send her young mistress back.
"Li Ruoxue has a half-brother who is short and stout, not even three pieces of tofu tall, with a crooked mouth and slanted eyes, and he keeps a group of disreputable women in his yard."
The two families arranged a marriage exchange, with Bai Youran to be sent to the Li family. The Li family gave the Bai family many benefits, all in order to get Bai Youran to marry a short, stout man.
“Our young lady is the daughter of a prefect, how could she be married to an illegitimate son, especially an ugly dwarf like him!”
Ruyi repeatedly emphasized this point, and then joined Bai Youran in playing the victim.
If the man were handsome, Bai Youran might have been willing. The Bai family was in such a mess that she wanted to get married as soon as possible, but she never expected him to be this bad. Now she couldn't even eat chicken.
After watching the commotion for a while, Lin Yuesha concluded that Bai Youran and her servant were quite good at giving people nicknames, and their vivid and descriptive names were second only to hers.
“Cousin, you know my mother’s temper. If I go back to the manor, she will definitely lock me up.”
Bai Youran held onto Doctor Yan's hand and pleaded tearfully, "I don't want to cause you any trouble. I just want to go to the capital to find my grandmother."
The old lady of the Bai family lives in the capital. Bai Youran's goal is to go to the capital to seek refuge with her grandmother. However, she is not stupid. She would be sold again in the capital, and her grandmother would sell her for the benefit of the Bai family.
But right now, Bai Youran couldn't think about that much. More than a month on the road was enough time for her to make her plans.
"Oh well."
After thinking it over, Doctor Yan looked at Lin Yuesha apologetically and said, "Sister Yuesha, let Youran ride in the same carriage with me. It won't delay our journey."
"Sister Yan, what are you saying?"
Although Lin Yuesha disliked Bai Youran, she could only accept the trouble at this moment. After all, her father still needed the care of Doctor Yan. Since it was on her way, she couldn't say anything.
Ruyi paid the driver the fare and immediately boarded Doctor Yan's carriage with her bundle. After a delay of more than a quarter of an hour, the carriage continued on its way.
"Miss, is what Miss Bai said about the marriage exchange true or false?"
Bai Cha was shocked by these two words; she never imagined that even the daughter of a prefect would be involved in a marriage exchange.
"It's probably true."
Now that everyone has left the city, if Doctor Yan is determined to send Bai Youran back, she will inevitably meet with the Yan family. With Bai Youran's intelligence, she will not tell such a lie that is so easily exposed.
"The Bai family doesn't have a good reputation in the capital. Miss Bai thinks that she has escaped from the north to the capital, but she may have escaped the wolf's den only to fall into the tiger's mouth."
Qingxing, who had some knowledge of the situation in the various prefectures of the capital, said dismissively.
The Bai family's daughter has a bad reputation, simply because there is a powerful old lady in the Bai family who, in order for her son to climb the official ladder, did not hesitate to send her delicate and tender granddaughter to a high-ranking family as a second wife.
"A second wife is a remarriage, right? It doesn't seem like a bad thing."
Longjing had barely finished speaking when Qingxing retorted, "To be a second wife for an old man who's about to die."
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