Chapter 1 The Foolish Girl's Engagement Rejected
In the summer, a large patch of thick, dark clouds was gathering in the southeast, gradually converging upwards.
The villagers were very experienced; when they saw the dark clouds, they knew a heavy rain was coming, so they all went home to avoid getting soaked.
On a stone bridge south of Wutong Village—
"Cousin Luo Xi, look, there's a huge fish in the river."
A rural girl, who was fairly pretty and about thirteen or fourteen years old, looked around to make sure no one was around. Her anxiety about doing something naughty calmed down a little.
She glanced at the fourteen or fifteen-year-old girl beside her, whom she called her cousin, and a wicked glint flashed in her eyes, but there was no one else around.
He immediately pointed dramatically at the river and shouted, trying to lure the woman next to him to check.
"Cousin Luo Dan, where, where..." The girl being called "cousin" seemed a bit slow-witted. Hearing that there were fish, she leaned forward and looked in the direction the girl was pointing, disregarding how dangerous her position was.
The girl called Luo Dan saw that most of Luo Xi's cousin's body was hanging over the stone bridge. After looking around again to make sure no one would notice what was happening, she hardened her heart and pushed Luo Xi's cousin into the river.
"Splash." The person was pushed down, creating a huge splash.
"Help, help, ugh..." Luo Xi, who was pushed into the water, could only struggle desperately because she couldn't float. Her desire to survive made her open her mouth to call for help, but the river water mercilessly poured into her mouth, and she swallowed several mouthfuls in a row.
Standing on the stone bridge, the girl from Luodan looked at the girl still struggling in the water, and thought viciously: Lin Luoxi, go to hell, hurry up and die. Anyway, you're stupid, the sooner you die, the sooner you'll be reincarnated. Don't block my future...
Looking expressionlessly at her so-called cousin who was desperately crying for help in the river, Miss Luo Dan remained unmoved. Only after the river calmed down did she breathe a sigh of relief, pretending nothing had happened, and quietly left.
Unbeknownst to them, someone under the stone bridge witnessed the entire incident and successfully rescued the person.
After the people on the stone bridge had left, he dragged the girl he had quietly rescued and slowly walked towards the shore.
Just as they were about to swim the unconscious child to shore, the long-planned downpour came down unexpectedly.
The torrential rain, accompanied by thunder and lightning, seemed to be telling everyone that a secret murder had just taken place.
The crops, which had been nearly scorched by the sun, finally regained some life thanks to the arrival of this rain.
The villagers, who had been hiding under the eaves, finally smiled when they saw the heavy rain coming.
The Lin family in Wutong Village, however, were not as happy as the other villagers.
Sitting in the main seat, Lin Dayou, the head of the household, thought he had misheard. He looked uncertainly at the matchmaker sitting on the lower right, whose head was adorned with a large red flower and whose lips were painted an unusually bright red, as if she had just eaten a child. He couldn't believe his ears and asked uncertainly, "Matchmaker Zhang, what did you just say?"
Seeing Lin Dayou's expression, Zhang the matchmaker rolled her eyes disdainfully, dodging the rainwater dripping from the gaps in the thatched roof. "Dayou! It's not that your aunt doesn't want your family to prosper, it's just that Scholar Wang asked me to cancel Luoxi's marriage."
As Zhang the matchmaker spoke, she reached into her sleeve and touched the one or two taels of silver that had been warmed by her body heat. She was extremely satisfied with the Wang family's generosity.
When she saw Lin Dayou's bare house, she looked at it with utter disgust. If it weren't for the money, she wouldn't have wanted to step into a house that even rats would despise.
Seeing Lin Dayou stare wide-eyed in disbelief, as if struck by lightning because of her words, looking like he couldn't withstand any storms, she felt even more contempt for him.
However, considering that Wang Xiucai now holds an official title, if she could help him successfully connect with the eldest son of the Lin family, she would have no worries about making money in the future.
Thinking about this, I wanted to expedite the marriage arrangements at Lin Dayou's family's place so I could go to the next family.
"You can't blame them. When your two families were betrothed, no one expected that your eldest daughter would be mentally challenged. Now she's a scholar..." implying that your mentally challenged daughter was not good enough for the Wang family.
Lin Dayou slammed his fist on the table angrily. "Nonsense! Back then, when our family hadn't fallen on hard times, his father was eager to become in-laws with us. I only reluctantly agreed because he was a good friend and so sincere."
"I never expected that as soon as his father passed away, Wang Guangrong would be so eager to cancel my daughter's engagement."
“I think he’s disgusted by our family’s current poverty, and now that he’s passed the imperial examination, he feels our daughter is no longer good enough for the Wang family, so he’s eager to dump her…” Lin Dayou was honest, but not stupid; he immediately guessed the implications.
They thought the Wang family was loyal and righteous, and that they could rest assured when their daughter married into the family.
Unexpectedly, the first thing Wang Xiucai did after passing the imperial examination was to break off his engagement with his daughter. Such heartlessness! I really misjudged him before.
The thought that if Wang Xiucai really broke off the engagement with his daughter, who would dare to come and ask for her hand in marriage in the future would be a concern.
"Aunt Zhang, it's not that I'm unwilling to give up, but once I do, my daughter's reputation will be ruined. What are we supposed to do then?"
At this moment, Lin Dayou's tone was pleading, as if doing so would make the other party take back what they had just said.
“Dayou, it’s not that your aunt is heartless. I’m just the middleman. I know that it’s better to tear down ten temples than to break up one marriage, but I really can’t make the decision in this matter.”
Seeing that Lin Dayou still had some conscience, Zhang the matchmaker felt a little sorry for him and held back her harsh words.
At this moment, a woman dressed in patched but clean clothes came in carrying a bowl of brown sugar water, which she had shamelessly borrowed from her neighbor because of Zhang the matchmaker's visit. Hearing her husband's words, she understood why Zhang the matchmaker had come.
He nervously brought the brown sugar water to Zhang the matchmaker and called out, "Aunt Zhang, please have some sugar water."
Fearing that she might offend Zhang the matchmaker and affect her children's marriage prospects, Wang appeared extremely humble in front of the matchmaker.
When Lin Dayou saw his wife come out, he said anxiously, "Mother of my child, quickly beg Aunt Zhang. She's representing the Wang family and wants to break off our eldest daughter's engagement..."
When Lin Dayou's wife, Wang, heard this, her face turned pale. What was bound to happen had finally come.
Since my daughter had a high fever that left her mentally impaired, our family has spent all our savings on her medical treatment.
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