An Jin's rebelliousness came quickly and went just as fast. With her uncle's assurances and the villagers' reassurance, she readily agreed. This was also her original intention: to get married soon and leave the An family so that things would be better.
He acted this way before because he had suppressed his emotions for too long and was afraid that the villagers would discover Brother Yan hiding in the cave. He was satisfied with the result.
Wuyou, who had been hiding in the shadows, shook her head inwardly. An Jin still hadn't truly seen through these people and was likely to suffer. It seemed Sun Xiaoying still had her sights set on An Jin's marriage. She had escaped this time, but what about next time?
Just as Wuyou had predicted, the An family's uncle and aunt were forced to agree to find a husband for An Jin, and naturally, they were unwilling to lose this free and powerful source of labor. Especially Aunt An, because she had fought with An Jin, she hated her to the core and felt that her authority had been violated. She felt that people were looking at her strangely when she went out.
Under such circumstances, how could Aunt An, who was in charge of finding a marriage partner for An Jin, possibly be willing to find him a good marriage?
Logically speaking, given An Jin's looks and competence, there should be many men who want to marry her. However, An Jin has no such intention, and her uncle and aunt want to keep her for a few more years, so things have been delayed.
Nowadays, people get engaged and married early. Men who are of good conditions and of suitable age have already found their partners and are unlikely to break off their engagements for An Jin. Only men of average means and educated youth sent from the city to the countryside are left.
Most of the educated youth were proud and harbored the hope of returning to the city. Only a few who had been there for several years couldn't bear it any longer and reluctantly found someone in the village to marry. Wuyou's group of educated youth had only been there for less than a year, so they would probably have to wait another year or two to get married.
An Jin had initially held some hope for his aunt, believing that marrying well wouldn't harm her. Moreover, with his uncle's supervision, he was confident his aunt wouldn't dare to interfere with his marriage. However, he hadn't expected his uncle to be completely indifferent to his happiness, allowing his aunt to manipulate things at will.
Aunt An carefully selected a very good family for An Jin. The man lost his father at a young age and was raised by his mother. He was a mischievous child who grew up to be a petty thief and a lazy bum. However, he was good-looking and had a smooth tongue, which made him very good at pleasing young women and wives.
Now that he's 20, it's time for him to find a wife. He's taken a liking to An Jin because of her beauty and has hired someone to mediate. Although he's a good-for-nothing, he's not stupid. He never harms his village and his reputation isn't bad.
Aunt An was known throughout the village for her keen hearing; she knew many things others didn't. She had her eye on him the moment she saw him. Finding a husband for An Jin was a delicate matter; she couldn't choose a family that seemed too poor, otherwise it would damage their reputation, making people say they were mistreating their niece. She didn't want to find someone too good, and she didn't want to let this little slut get away with it.
These conditions made things even more difficult, but unexpectedly, someone came knocking on our door.
Even if this person changed into a stylish outfit and looked very proper, no one would guess that he was a lazy and good-for-nothing hoodlum. Even An Jin couldn't help but feel satisfied when she saw him for the first time.
She didn't expect her future husband to be as handsome and gentle as Brother Yan. After all, there weren't many men like that in the world. As long as he respected her, loved her, and could support the family, that would be enough.
This guy is at least good-looking, his family background is neither good nor bad, and he knows how to make girls happy. It's very comfortable to chat with him.
However, An Jin was a cautious person and wouldn't easily agree, especially since she wanted to share this with the person she loved most. Wu You, on the other hand, was glad that the other person still had some sense and came up with a way to let An Jin see the person's true colors.
In the end, the plan fell through. An Jin naturally didn't want to spend the rest of his life with such a person, and at the same time, he gained a new understanding of Aunt An's viciousness. He had originally thought that they were family, after all. No matter what, it shouldn't amount to such deep hatred. But he was wrong; people are ultimately different.
Aunt An will definitely not let this go. Even if I escape this time, what about next time? What should I do? An Jin frowned, her brows furrowed with worry.
This time, it was only because Brother Yan helped him that he was able to see things clearly; otherwise, he might have really married that man in a daze, had his life arranged for him, and regretted it for the rest of his life. She had to save herself.
The An family's courtyard was unusually quiet; everyone else had gone out to work, leaving only An Jin at home. She was diligently chopping firewood with a cleaver, a neat stack of firewood already laid out beside her.
While chopping wood, he pondered his next plan. Before he knew it, he had chopped all the firewood in his hand.
"An Jin, so you're home!" A woman's clear voice came from outside the door. An Jin was startled and almost dropped the axe on the ground.
Looking up through the fence, An Jin saw a pretty face with a friendly smile and gentle eyes. At first glance, she seemed like an approachable and ordinary woman, quite different from Sun Xiaoying, whom she had met a couple of days ago.
"Sister-in-law Zhou, it's you! What can I do for you?" An Jin stood up, gently wiping her hands on her clothes, her face still bearing a serene smile.
Despite his difficult situation, he maintained a calm demeanor, a smile on his handsome face. The blue sky, white clouds, green trees, and houses behind him seemed to serve as a backdrop, making it impossible for people to look away.
It's said that like repels like and opposites attract, so Sun Xiaoying was certainly not captivated by An Jin. She only felt even more jealous, and her sense of crisis reached its peak. Why could she maintain such a calm and composed demeanor even in this situation? Such composure was truly unsettling.
An Jin knew how to treat guests well, so she invited them into the courtyard, poured them a cup of tea, and the two sat down to chat. Sun Xiaoying played with the large bowl in her hand without drinking, and after a few words of small talk, they finally got to the point.
“An Jin, I’ve heard about what happened to you. I was wrong before; I was only thinking about protecting your family’s reputation, so I overlooked some details. I never expected your aunt to be so ruthless as to find you this kind of person.”
As she spoke, Sun Xiaoying reached out and took An Jin's hand apologetically. At first glance, one might think the two had a very good relationship and were close sisters.
An Jin's fingers twitched slightly as she was being held, but her expression remained calm as she said, "I know it's not Zhou's fault."
“An Jin, even after you say that, I still feel a little guilty. I’ve been thinking about it for days and I’ve come up with a good idea for you. I don’t know if you’d like to hear it.” As she spoke, Sun Xiaoying glanced cautiously at An Jin’s expression, then lowered her eyes and hesitated before speaking.
"It's my honor that Sister-in-law Zhou is willing to help me. Just tell me what you need to say." An Jin smiled with delight at the right moment. Anyway, it wouldn't hurt to listen; it might even give her more inspiration.
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