"My goodness, sixty-eight taels of silver, did I hear that right?"
"That's outrageous! This is outrageous!"
"The number of wives a landlord's son can get is about this many. The wealthy can't even compare to the landlord."
"He has no money, but his niece Yang Cui has plenty. Her rice noodle factory and pastry shop are doing incredibly well, making a fortune every day."
The villagers were gossiping, and they could all tell that the Gao family had ill intentions. Otherwise, wouldn't every family hide their daughter's pregnancy out of wedlock? But they were being so high-profile, as if they wanted everyone to know.
The villagers' chatter made An Dafu very uncomfortable, and his old face turned bright red: "You all come in and talk."
The Gao family members entered the An family home with their heads held high.
Although the villagers are gossipy, they are too embarrassed to go into people's houses to listen to gossip. They can't listen, but that doesn't stop them from gathering in groups of three or five to chat.
"Didn't Xiao Jiang get engaged to a rich girl from the city? How come another girl is pregnant with his child?"
"What man doesn't have an affair? Even if he doesn't, there will be people who tempt him to have one. The An family is so rich, it's hard to guarantee that no one will be jealous and deliberately try to get close to them."
A villager lowered his voice: "That's true. I think I heard around the first month of the lunar calendar that the Gao family mother and daughter framed Xiao Jiang."
"They must be after the An family's money."
...
The An family couldn't hear the gossip outside, but they could roughly guess that it wasn't anything nice. At this moment, the An and Gao families sat together, discussing how to resolve the matter.
Gao Xiaoyu's grandparents and brother insisted that the An family must pay a bride price of sixty-eight taels of silver.
An Dafu sneered: "Sixty-eight taels of silver? Do you think my family is a gold mine? Or is your Gao Xiaoyu made of gold? You shamelessly schemed against my son and now you want a bride price? Where do you get the nerve?"
Gao Xiaoyu's grandmother said, "Uncle, you're wrong to say that. Our Xiaoyu gave her body to your son with a pure and innocent body, and now she's pregnant with your An family's eldest grandson. You can't even bear to part with this little bit of dowry?"
Gao Xiaoyu's grandfather: "That's right, this amount of money is not a problem for you at all. Our two families are relatives, so we're even closer. Sixty-eight taels of silver is the minimum."
"Don't tell me I don't have sixty-eight taels of silver. Even if I did, I wouldn't give it to her. Is Gao Xiaoyu worth that much?"
It's no wonder An Dafu spoke so harshly; in his opinion, the Gao family was going too far.
They could have sat down and resolved the issue calmly, but instead they loudly announced to everyone that Gao Xiaoyu was pregnant with Xiao Jiang's child. People who didn't know the truth would definitely think that their son was immoral, when in reality, their son was the victim.
“Auntie, what do you say? Xiaoyu is your own niece, we are sisters.” Wen Xiuli’s gaze fell on Wen Shi, who was strong on the outside but soft on the inside.
An Dafu: "Don't ask her, I'll make the decision."
“She’s Xiao Jiang’s mother, how can she not make decisions? Second Sister…”
“Because I am the head of the household!” An Dafu said defiantly. “In short, there will be no bride price. If Gao Xiaoyu wants to come in, she will be a concubine. A concubine should have a bride price. It’s laughable.”
The Gao family members looked extremely grim.
"Don't you care about the baby in Xiaoyu's belly?"
"She's already pregnant, who would want Gao Xiaoyu? What right do you have to act so high and mighty? In short, if you want to come in, you'll be a concubine, and you won't get a penny. If you don't want to, then get out. I'd like to see which cuckold is willing to take her on."
The Gao family members exchanged bewildered glances. The An family hadn't been this assertive last time! They'd thought the An family was gentle and easy to manipulate, but now…
"That's right, no one will want Little Fish anymore. Little Fish, go hang yourself at their doorstep! Let's see if they can sleep at night!"
"Here we go again? You want to hang yourself, huh? Go ahead." Wen was extremely anxious when she heard her husband say this, and reached out to tug at him.
An Dafu glared at her and then said, "Don't threaten me with death. I'm not afraid. Everyone is relying on my niece to make money right now. I don't believe they dare to talk nonsense. The peaches and plums will be in season soon. If they dare to say anything, let's see who they sell their peaches and plums to."
An Dafu stood up for himself, and the Gao family backed down.
They backed down and changed their minds: "Then... we don't need a bride price, but our Xiaoyu must be the principal wife, or at least a secondary wife, since she's carrying the eldest son and grandson."
“It’s impossible for her to be a concubine; at most, she’ll be a lowly concubine,” An Dafu said. “You all go back first. Xiao Jiang isn’t here today; we’ll talk again tomorrow.”
Wen Xiuli: "Marriage is a major event, decided by parents and arranged by matchmakers. It doesn't matter if Xiao Jiang isn't here, as long as you all agree."
"The concubine is for him, so of course he has to stay home! And you said Gao Xiaoyu is pregnant, how would we know if it's true or not? You all go back first, we need to think about it."
“We’ve come all this way, so we won’t go back today. We’ll stay here. You guys go and call Xiao Jiang back right away.”
"We have nowhere to live."
The Gao family said, "It's alright. We'll sleep on the floor as long as we make sure Xiaoyu is well taken care of. She's carrying your An family's precious grandson."
The Gao family had no intention of going back; they were determined to get a few good meals at the An family's house today.
They won't go home until the problem is resolved.
In reality, An Dafu didn't know what to do either. He didn't like the Gao family, but Gao Xiaoyu was really pregnant, so he couldn't just ignore it. It was the An family's child. But now that Gao Xiaoyu had entered the family, what would happen to the Deng family?
An Dafu was in a bad mood, so he went over to Yang Cui and asked her for advice.
Upon hearing from the servants that An Dafu had arrived, Yang Cui could guess why he had come.
"Xiao Cui, what do you think we should do about this?"
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