Chapter 429 Decision
Only now did Cuilan understand why Zhou Dalang had used tricks to take her body before their marriage!
So that's what they were planning!
He wanted to use the fact that he had taken her body as leverage to blackmail him, and then reduce the betrothal gifts so that his family would suffer a hidden loss and have no choice but to agree.
Otherwise, if the betrothal gifts are changed halfway through, the engagement can be called off directly.
At this time of year, divorce and remarriage are commonplace; it's just a matter of disagreements leading to an annulment, nothing much to say about it.
However, if a woman is a girl who has lost her virginity before marriage and has been jilted, then even in this day and age, people will not let Cuilan off easily, and it may even affect Cuilan's brother's marriage.
Cuilan listened to her younger brother's angry words: "The Zhou family is so dishonest, they are no good family. Zhou Dalang is no good man either. Sister, you should just give up on the marriage with them."
"We can find another matchmaker. My sister is intelligent and kind, and our family has a generous dowry. What's there to worry about?"
Neither the old man nor the woman agreed. "It's better to tear down a temple than to break up a marriage," was the prevailing view on marriage at the time.
But when it comes to one's own children, who can truly bear to suffer such injustice?
Before the woman could respond, the old man slammed his hand on the table and said in a deep voice, "Let's just forget about the Zhou family. Cuilan is not old. Even if we have to pay another year's head tax, our family can afford it."
Hearing her family protect her like this, Cuilan felt a pang of sadness in her heart. She wanted to tell them about how Zhou Dalang had taken liberties with her, but she was afraid. In the end, she could only shed tears and keep her mouth shut without saying a word.
Cuilan's marriage to Zhou Dalang was thus delayed. During this time, Zhou's mother and Zhou Dalang visited Cuilan's home twice. Zhou's mother's words were mostly disdainful, looking down on Cuilan's home, which only had a small general store.
This further displeased Cuilan's family.
When Zhou's mother and Zhou Dalang came to visit for the third time, Zhou's mother was furious at Cuilan's attitude of not submitting to the Zhou family and said: "She is just a virgin who has lost her chastity. If it weren't for my son's liking, I would not want to come to your filthy place."
These words startled the woman and the old man, who both looked at Cuilan, whose face had suddenly turned pale. Seeing Cuilan's terrified expression, their hearts skipped a beat.
Finally, the woman took a broom and chased Zhou's mother and Zhou Dalang out.
When Cuilan realized she could no longer keep up the deception, she tearfully confessed that Zhou Dalang had drugged her earlier.
With a loud "bang," it was the sound of Cuilan's younger brother angrily throwing a teacup to the ground.
"I'm going to kill Zhou Dalang! I'm going to kill him!"
He deserves to die! He absolutely deserves to die!
After saying this, Cuilan's younger brother turned around and went to the kitchen, picked up a wood-chopping knife, and headed towards the courtyard gate.
The woman was stunned. The old man, for some reason, did not get up to stop her. Cuilan, who was still ashamed of her concealment, saw her brother like this and quickly stepped forward to grab his arm from behind.
"Brother, don't go, don't go. If you kill him, you'll die too. Your sister is already in this state; you can't let anything else happen to her."
Cuilan's brother was furious and didn't care about what she said. He pushed her aside with a little force, walked to the courtyard gate, unlatched the gate, and was about to step out when Cuilan saw this and could only shout at the top of her lungs, "I'm pregnant!"
Cuilan's younger brother turned his head blankly, and the wood-chopping knife fell to the ground in fright.
Cuilan closed her eyes, tears streaming down her face. Her voice was cold and pained, but she remained calm as she said, "I'm pregnant, about three months along."
Late at night, the dim candlelight shone on Cuilan's face, obscuring her expression. Cuilan and her family were discussing what to do.
"Now that we have a child, it would be best if we could get married."
When the woman said this, no one responded.
Cuilan reached out and touched her still flat stomach, her eyes filled with an unreadable expression, as if she were thinking something.
"Sister, do you want this child?"
When faced with her brother's question, Cuilan looked into his eyes and remained silent.
Cuilan's younger brother didn't see the answer he wanted in Cuilan's eyes, so he lowered his head and said in a muffled voice, "If you want this child and Zhou Dalang as your husband, I'll go and beat Zhou Dalang up so he won't dare to bully you in the future."
Cuilan raised her head and said resolutely, "But if you don't want this child, I will make sure Zhou Dalang suffers. At the very least, I will break one of his legs and make him suffer."
It all depends on what my elder sister wants to do.
"Brother, I...I...let me think about it, let me think about it."
Lying on the bed, touching her belly, Cuilan knew that there was a little life inside, and the life and death of this little life was in her hands.
"I wanted to give birth to you, but your biological father was such a cruel and despicable person."
Cuilan thought she still had time to think about what decision to make and how to treat the child, but reality gave her a rude awakening.
"Hey, I always knew that woman wasn't a good person. She looks fair and clean, but she's really filthy behind the scenes."
Tsk, isn't this a case of a secret pregnancy?
Who knows whose child it is?
Only Zhou's eldest son, attracted by his handsome face, was still willing to come and propose marriage.
"Hmph, I knew it! I even asked for her hand in marriage for my son before, but who knew she was that kind of person? It's a good thing she rejected my family."
"Haha, I knew it. For a family like theirs to be willing to give half of their wealth to their daughter as dowry, there must be something good about it."
Who could provide such a large dowry for a young woman?
He's not some important person, just someone who runs a general store.
After the woman returned home with a dark expression, she gritted her teeth and said resentfully, "It's the Zhou family, it must have been the Zhou family who spread the rumors!"
It must be their family!
The woman grabbed Cuilan's hand: "Lanniang, don't be afraid, they won't dare to say it to you."
"If anyone dares to say a bad word, Mother will tear their stinking mouths apart."
At this moment, Cuilan suddenly understood.
Cuilan squeezed the woman's hand back, her face showing a look of understanding, and said, "Mother, come with me to the pharmacy."
The woman was startled by Cuilan's faint smile. "Lanniang, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell? Where are you? Did you catch a chill last night?"
As she spoke, the woman reached out to touch Cuilan's forehead, but Cuilan gently brushed the woman's hand away. "Mother, I want an abortion. I want to get rid of this bastard!"
Cuilan understood. "I was reluctant to bring this child here before, after all, it's a human life."
But with such a father, how could this child be a good one?
So, Mother, I'm going to abort this child.
"There's no way I'll have a child with the Zhou family. Those bastards should all die; if they were born, no one would suffer."
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