As soon as Shen Yu'an entered the door, he heard his three sisters-in-law talking.
Looking again, Chai Tinglian blushed with embarrassment.
At first, he thought Chai Tinglian was being forced by her family, and he was secretly anxious.
Seeing how happy she is now, it's likely that she did this voluntarily.
When the Chai family saw Shen Yu'an arrive, they all stood up and shielded Chai Tinglian behind them.
"Shen Yu'an, what are you doing here?"
Shen Yu'an was extremely calm at this moment. He stared at the Chai family members in the room for a moment, then smiled and said, "Uncle and Aunt, brothers and sisters-in-law, I've come to see Tinglian today. Is there any happy occasion in your family?"
Upon seeing Shen Yu'an's reaction, the Chai family immediately realized that he was unaware that Tinglian had chosen someone else.
Originally, I was worried that the Shen family would come and cause trouble, so I thought I would tell Shen Yu'an after Tinglian got married.
They figured they wouldn't dare mess with the Sun family in town, so they could only suffer in silence.
Now that he's here, we have no choice but to bring it into the open.
Father Chai said with a stern face, "Very well, since you're here, let's call off your marriage with Tinglian."
"Why?"
Sister-in-law Chai said, "Why? Don't you know why? You still have the nerve to ask? Tinglian didn't ask for a betrothal gift when she got engaged to you, out of consideration for your family's poverty. What have you ever bought for Tinglian? She only wanted a gold hairpin but couldn't have it. She's someone our Chai family has cherished since she was born. How can you treat her like this?"
Shen Yu'an looked at Chai Tinglian.
For some reason, Shen Yu'an wanted to hear Chai Tinglian tell him herself so that he could finally give up.
Chai Tinglian pushed her family aside, glanced at him with disdain, and said:
"Shen Yu'an, this is our engagement letter. I'm tearing it up right now in front of you. Our engagement is off. Your family didn't give any betrothal gifts back then, so we don't owe you anything. You can leave now."
Even though she already knew the outcome, hearing Chai Tinglian say that still caused Shen Yu'an immense pain.
Can you tell me why?
"A poor wretch like you doesn't deserve to get married. I heard your family goes hungry, digging up devil's tongues in the mountains every day. You might just die any day now. Do you want me to die with you?"
The voice seemed to come from Chai Tinglian's nose, carrying a strong sense of disdain.
“I never liked you from the start. I liked Shen Yushu. He’s a scholar, destined to be the top scholar. If he could pass the imperial examination, I could enjoy a life of luxury with him. But Shen Yushu doesn’t like me. Otherwise, why would he let you have such an easy time? Now you, Shen Yu’an, have left the Shen family and can’t even afford to eat. You still dare to dream of marrying me?”
At this moment, Shen Yu'an completely gave up hope.
This was the first time he had ever liked someone so much; he dreamed of marrying her.
My dream was shattered just like that.
When Shen Yu'an took out the butterfly-shaped gold hairpin from his bosom, the Chai family members all held their breath and looked at him.
Chai Tinglian also looked at him.
My goodness, this hairpin is so beautiful, much prettier than the one her village girl wears.
That sister's style is an older design; it was left to her by her grandmother.
If she could wear this gold hairpin when she got married, she would definitely be the most beautiful bride.
Watching Shen Yu'an move forward step by step, she felt excited and unconsciously gripped her handkerchief.
Is he giving this to her as compensation?
It seems Shen Yu'an is head over heels in love with her. If he weren't so poor, she could still marry him.
At that moment, Shen Yu'an really wanted to put it on her head himself, but as he walked up to her and reached out to put it on her head, he regained his senses and said with a slight part of his lips, "Congratulations."
After saying that, he turned and left without looking back.
Only Chai Tinglian remained, cursing: "That stingy bastard! Luckily I didn't marry him. No, Father and Mother, I like that gold hairpin."
Upon hearing this, Chai Tinglian's three older brothers immediately said, "We'll help you get it back as compensation for the year he delayed you."
"Come back here, all of you."
Before the three older brothers even reached the door, they heard their father's voice: "Aren't you ashamed? We were in the wrong to begin with. If you keep stealing our things, how will the Chai family be able to face anyone?"
At this moment, Chai's father regretted his decision. He liked Shen Yu'an quite a bit. This son-in-law was good-looking, hardworking, and honest. However, his family was too poor, and he couldn't bear to let his daughter suffer. So, he listened to his wife and let his daughter marry someone else.
Seeing that Shen Yu'an had scrimped and saved to buy a gold hairpin for Tinglian, he felt even more guilty.
"father…."
Chai Tinglian stomped her feet and acted coquettishly.
Mr. Chai glared at his willful daughter and said, "You'll regret this."
"Hmph, how could I possibly regret it? I'm marrying into a wealthy family in town to enjoy a life of luxury. Do you think Father wants his daughter to suffer in the Shen family? Besides, the gold hairpin that Shen Yu'an took is of dubious origin. How could the Shen family possibly afford more than a hundred taels of silver to buy a gold hairpin? Otherwise, they wouldn't be eating devil's taro."
Chai Tinglian muttered softly.
Mr. Chai was somewhat skeptical. Based on his understanding of Shen Cheng and Shen Yu'an, he believed they were incapable of doing such a thing.
He had heard some things; it was that Shen Cheng's second daughter, who had been switched at birth, had brought back some money.
The fact that they could afford a gold hairpin shows that they brought back a considerable amount of money.
If the Shen family doesn't let their daughter suffer, he would still be very fond of Shen Yu'an as his son-in-law.
However, there's no turning back now that the arrow has been released; it's too late to say anything.
"What? The Chai family is bullying us like this? I'm going to find them and get to the bottom of this."
When Shen Cheng learned what had happened, he became secretly anxious.
"Father, no need, I no longer want to marry her."
Shen Cheng sighed. His son had suffered such a great injustice, and he, as the father, could do nothing about it. It was all his fault for being incompetent.
Zhou's face was also red from crying.
What's the point of contacting the Chai family? Chai Tinglian's wedding date has already been set. The Sun family in town is a powerful family in Sifang Town, and they can't afford to offend them.
What's done is done, it's too late to say anything now.
“Father and Mother, I don’t think that woman is good enough for my elder brother. My elder brother is such a good person, there will be a better woman who will be interested in him.”
Zhou: "Why do you say that?"
“Mother, you probably don’t know this, but my eldest brother first gave her a hair ornament, which she rejected, so he gritted his teeth and bought her a gold hairpin.”
Such a materialistic and snobbish woman is not worthy of such a good older brother.
Although Shen Danru also felt that her elder brother should buy some gifts for his sister-in-law, gifts are not distinguished by their value. Although gold hairpins are expensive, hair ornaments also have their beauty; they are all expressions of goodwill.
At this moment, Zhou's eyes became even redder.
"Mom, don't worry, I'm really fine."
Shen Yu'an took out a silver bracelet and put it on Zhou's wrist.
“The son was wrong. He should have been filial to his mother first. He was selfish before.”
When Zhou saw the large silver bracelet on her wrist, she never imagined it would be like this before.
She quickly took the bracelet off and said, "You child, why are you wasting money? I'm old, I don't need to wear these."
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