On March 16th, Yun Manyan got married.
She was pulled up early by her mother and two nannies to get dressed and made up.
She was calm now, much more composed than when she first heard she was going to marry a peasant.
The reason for her calmness was twofold: firstly, Zhao Huai had shown her sincerity and simplicity during their several meetings; secondly, the clothing shop she was currently running gave her sufficient confidence.
She knew, just as Xiao Youran had said before, that life was something you earned, not something you begged for.
Although she didn't know in what direction Xiao Youran meant by Zhao Huai's "promising future," she knew that her future would be good, now that she owned a clothing shop and managed twenty or thirty embroiderers.
Looking at herself in the mirror, dressed in a bright red wedding gown, her vision blurred.
Mrs. Zhou noticed her daughter's unusual behavior, bent down and hugged her, saying, "Daughter, be brave and move forward, don't look back."
She knew what her daughter was thinking. The former Yunhou Mansion, the former glory and wealth, were all just a passing cloud.
Yun Manyan stroked her mother's hand, holding back her tears. "I just wish my father and brothers were here."
Zhou's eyes immediately reddened. "I've already written to your father, and he knows about it. He agrees, and even said... he never liked the person they were looking for in the capital. This is perfect..."
Yun Manyan chuckled, "Father hasn't even met Zhao Huai, yet he's already taken a liking to him just from seeing a few words of your name?"
Mrs. Zhou patted her daughter's shoulder, "Zhao Huai seems like an honest and upright boy to me. There have been some rumors going around these past few days, but he's refuted them all."
"What rumors?" Yun Manwan became nervous.
Madam Zhou sighed, "It was my oversight back then. I saw his house; it's just a mud-brick house. It's definitely not suitable for your wedding. So I was thinking of rebuilding the row of small houses behind the old house that were destroyed, so that you two could live there. Firstly, it would save us the trouble of finding a new place to build on a new foundation, and secondly, it would be better if we lived closer, so it would still be like you weren't married. But to outsiders, your house being next to the old house makes it seem like he became our son-in-law. It's not a nice thing to say!"
"So what did he say?"
“He said that my husband and I can live wherever we want, and whether he is a son-in-law or not, we’ll see what his son’s surname is in the future!” Zhou said, mimicking Zhao Huai’s tone.
Yun Manyan chuckled, "He's so frank about it!"
“I think it’s a good thing that this child isn’t afraid of gossip. She won’t be embarrassed by trivial family matters and take her anger out at home.” Zhou lovingly straightened her daughter’s clothes, then looked down and noticed the red coral trim on the outside of her embroidered shoes. She exclaimed in surprise, “The red coral on these shoes…”
Yun Manyan smiled, "Mother, this is a dowry gift from my little cousin Youran."
Mrs. Zhou smiled, "If it's from Xiao Fu Bao, it must be to support you."
Just then, Hongyu's panicked voice came in, "Madam! Madam! Aunt Hua is here again!"
Zhou turned around abruptly, a familiar pain shooting through her head.
She rubbed her forehead, and once the pain subsided and she calmed herself, she immediately unleashed her powerful aura. "That old hag is causing trouble again?!"
He's always haunting her, trying to ruin her daughter's good time!
Hongyu said, "She looks like she's gone mad..."
Madam Zhou said to Yun Manwan, "Daughter, don't worry about such a small matter!"
Today is a joyous occasion. My family is all here, and many of the villagers who have been helping with the work recently have also come to lend a hand.
In the past month or so, the Yun family has been building houses, planting trees, setting up workshops, and hiring people to make instant noodles, paying them very generous wages. Their relationship with the villagers has improved considerably.
I heard that the eldest daughter is getting married today, so many villagers came early this morning to help.
She hurriedly walked out, just in time to run into Xiao Youran, who was also walking out while holding Su Shi's hand.
When the three arrived at the courtyard gate, they saw a disheveled woman yelling and lunging at Yun Tiankuang.
Yun Tiankuang's skills have improved significantly in recent days; he kicked Aunt Hua over with a single kick.
Aunt Hua got up from the ground, clutching her neck tightly with both hands, and lunged at Yun Tiankuang again with a ferocious expression.
Yun Tiankuang kicked her to the ground again.
Aunt Hua suddenly hugged her arms tightly, frantically pulled up her sleeves to cover her face, and began to tremble all over. Then she started pulling at her neck with both hands, her eyes were bloodshot, she was covered in sweat, but drool started to drip from the corner of her mouth.
Xiao Youran felt something was wrong; this wasn't just ordinary madness.
A moment later, Aunt Hua started yelling and attacking the people next to her, who were so frightened that they quickly dodged away.
As everyone dodged, someone bumped into the table, and the sound of shattering cups and saucers could be heard.
I don't know if the jar containing water or wine spilled or tipped over, but there was a gurgling and dripping sound coming from it.
Suddenly, the old woman stopped attacking, fell to the ground, covered her ears, curled up into a ball, and looked terrified.
Hydrophobia!
Xiao Youran suddenly remembered something and shouted, "Everyone stay away from her, whatever you do, don't get bitten!"
The clan chief and his wife also arrived. Upon seeing her, they immediately asked, "Little Youran, little divine doctor, do you know what's wrong with her?"
"Rabies! It's rabies! Everyone back up! Whatever you do, don't get bitten!" Xiao Youran shouted solemnly.
The clan chief was so frightened that he took three steps back. "Quick, quick, a few people come and tie her up! And gag her too!"
Soon, several young men grabbed her, tied her up, and tore off a piece of her clothing to gag her.
Before long, Doctor Gu was dragged over by Granny Wang. He examined Aunt Hua's condition and was shocked. "It really is rabies! We have to take her back and stop her from harming people."
The clan chief shouted, "Where's the cripple? Quickly, have him drag the man back!"
The clan chief's wife patted him on the shoulder, "This back and forth is wasting time. Today is the eldest daughter's big day, you young men should work hard and carry her straight back, just make sure she doesn't bite anyone. And tell the lame man not to let her run out again!"
Two young men quickly carried her away, but when they returned, they looked terrible. "The cripple wouldn't let her in, cursing her as unlucky and a crazy woman! We had no choice but to take her back to the idiots' house and tie her to the bed. But... this isn't a solution either. Those two idiots are already too sick to get out of bed..."
Doctor Gu's expression was solemn. "Those who have rabies will die once the disease develops."
As for those two idiots, he didn't know the situation and couldn't draw any conclusions easily.
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