Chapter 9 Cuihua Gets Married
Ever since Old Man Liang said that he wanted to marry Cuihua off as soon as possible, Old Lady Liang had already started looking for someone to find a husband for Cuihua, and they all looked in the neighboring villages.
In just two days, Old Lady Liang arranged a marriage for Cuihua.
The family that was chosen was a family surnamed Sun in Xiangyang Village.
There are two villages between Xiangyang Village and Yunfeng Village, and they are about ten kilometers apart.
The eldest son of the Sun family is named Sun Wang. He is 24 years old this year and has not yet married. His family is also worried about this matter.
Sun Wang was not tall, only about 1.66 meters, and not good-looking. In addition, his family was not rich, so no family in the village was willing to marry their daughter to him.
Old Lady Liang spread the rumor that she wanted to marry Cuihua off, and the matchmaker heard about it and ran to the Sun family to tell them about it.
This time, Sun Wang's mother gritted her teeth and gave up her savings, taking out 4 taels of silver for the coffin as a betrothal gift to the Liang family. After some flattering by the matchmaker, Mrs. Liang agreed immediately.
"Mom, Sun Wang is already 24 years old. Isn't he a little too old to be with Cuihua? Why don't we take a look and pick someone else?" Zhu was a little disgusted with Sun Wang's age.
"Twenty-four is not that old. The Sun family has offered four taels of silver as a betrothal gift. If you choose again, can you guarantee that there will be someone willing to pay four taels of silver to marry your daughter? You should know that with this money, Wen Yong can get married. If you miss this opportunity, you will never get it again."
Old Mrs. Liang knew that her eldest granddaughter was of ordinary appearance, and ordinary families would at most give two taels of silver. No one would be willing to give four taels of silver as a betrothal gift like Sun Wang's family.
When Zhu heard this, she kept silent. Her daughter was already fifteen years old, and no one had come to propose marriage. It would be hard to find a family willing to give four taels of silver as a betrothal gift, even with a lantern.
With this money, she can help Wen Yong get married. In her heart, a son is much more important than a daughter.
Thus, Cuihua's lifelong event was decided.
Cuihua found out that her family was going to marry her to the Sun family, which lived in several villages neighboring their own. She was so angry that she made a big fuss at home, smashing things, swearing, and insisting that she would not marry anyone other than her cousin.
Seeing that she refused to repent and continued to behave in this way, Old Man Liang felt that his eldest granddaughter was too troublesome and became more determined to marry her off as soon as possible.
He asked Old Lady Liang to lock Cuihua in the woodshed and let her cry and make a fuss.
Cuihua was locked up in the woodshed but still not at peace. She blamed everything on Qianhuan and started to curse her desperately: "Qianhuan, you vixen, it's all because of you that I can't marry my cousin, why don't you just die..."
Old Man Liang listened to the dirty words she uttered and wished he could marry her off immediately to avoid the embarrassment of keeping her at home.
It just so happened that Sun Wang was getting older and his family was very worried, so the two families hit it off and only three days after the engagement, Sun Wang came to the Liang family to marry Cuihua.
Although Cuihua made a fuss and refused to get married, there was nothing she could do. In ancient times, a woman's marriage was arranged by her parents and the matchmaker. No matter how reluctant she was, she finally had to obediently enter the Sun family.
On the day of the wedding, Zhu's family members also came to the wedding banquet. Cuihua's cousin Zhu Wu naturally also came with his parents to attend his cousin's wedding banquet.
When Cuihua saw her beloved, she didn't even care about etiquette and pulled Zhu Wu to the corner of the backyard.
"Cousin, I don't want to marry Sun Wang. The person I like in my heart has always been you. As long as you are willing to marry me, I will not agree to this marriage today." Cuihua pulled Zhu Wu's sleeve and expressed her feelings to him almost beggingly.
"Cousin, stop messing around. Today is your big day. I told you last time that I have always only treated you as my sister."
Zhu Wu pulled his hand away from Cuihua. It would be terrible if others saw him and the bride flirting, especially the Sun family.
"It's because of Qianhuan, right? It was that vixen who seduced your soul away." Cuihua questioned Zhu Wu with an unwilling look on her face.
"I do like Sister Qianhuan, but even if Sister Qianhuan didn't exist, I would never have thought of marrying you. In my heart, you are just my cousin."
Zhu Wu cut the Gordian knot and didn't want Cuihua to have any more illusions.
"What's so good about her? Why do you like her and not me?" Cuihua was heartbroken at this moment and couldn't help crying.
"Cuihua, why are you hiding here? The groom is here to pick you up, hurry back to the house." Zhu went to the bridal chamber but didn't see Cuihua, so she looked everywhere for her. Who would have thought that she was hiding in the backyard with Zhu Wu.
Zhu naturally understood her daughter's thoughts, but Zhu Wu didn't like Cuihua. Today was her big day, and she couldn't make a fool of herself. She had to get her back to the bridal chamber as soon as possible.
Cuihua didn't want to leave yet. She kept asking Zhu Wu: "What's so good about her that you like her so much?"
Zhu Wu didn't know how to answer Cuihua's question, because he didn't know why he liked Qianhuan. He only knew that when he first saw Qianhuan as a child, he thought she was very cute and he liked her very much.
Later, as she grew older and became more beautiful, he found himself falling in love with her.
If there was anything good about her, in his eyes, she was good in every way. But he couldn't say this, after all, Cuihua was his cousin, and saying it would probably make her even more sad.
Just when he was in a dilemma, his mother suddenly appeared.
"Hey, what's wrong? It's a big wedding day, why are you crying before the bride even leaves the house?"
Zhu Wu Niang stood at the door of the backyard, her arms crossed over her chest, and asked with a slightly sarcastic look in her eyes.
She was more or less aware that Cuihua liked her own son, and her sister-in-law had hinted openly and covertly that she wanted to make the two children closer, but Zhu Wu's mother didn't like Cuihua as her niece at all.
Cuihua was plain-looking and lazy, and her behavior was often impolite, which she, as her aunt, knew clearly. Her son took after her and was handsome, so how could he marry a woman like Cuihua?
"Sister-in-law, it's okay. Cuihua just can't bear to leave her family, so she's talking to her cousin about the past. Cuihua, let's go back to the new house. You married into Xiangyang Village. Although there are two villages between them, the actual distance is only a dozen kilometers, which is not very far. You'll have plenty of opportunities to come back and see your family in the future." Zhu quickly tried to smooth things over.
Cuihua was already heartbroken at this point, and she let Zhu drag her back to the bridal chamber like a puppet.
Someone once said that one of the most painful things in life is that I love you, but you don't have any feelings for me. Cuihua treats Zhu Wu as someone she likes, but Zhu Wu only treats Cuihua as a sister.
Being unable to get the love you want is one of the greatest sufferings in this world, but it is also the norm.
"Humph, a toad wants to eat swan flesh, and dares to covet my son."
Zhu Wu Niang spat after Zhu and Cuihua left. She didn't like Zhu as her sister-in-law and also looked down on Cuihua.
"Mom, don't talk nonsense. My cousin and I are just catching up on the past." Zhu Wu still cares about Cuihua's reputation. Today is his cousin's wedding day, and he can't cause any trouble.
His mother didn't expose him. For the sake of her husband and son, she pretended to be deaf and dumb. Besides, today was Cuihua's wedding day.
After Zhu Wu entered the house, he had been looking for Qianhuan. Finally, he saw Qianhuan busy in the kitchen, and Liu was also helping at the stove.
Although Qianhuan was almost killed by Cuihua who pushed her into the river, Liu and Qianhuan could not forgive Cuihua in their hearts, but today was her wedding day after all, so the mother and daughter still helped the banquet preparers with chores.
"Sister Qianhuan, is there anything I can help you with?" Zhu Wu walked over and said to Qianhuan in a flattering manner.
Qianhuan turned around and looked at the young man in front of her. He was about 172 cm tall, with ordinary features. He was neither handsome nor ugly. It was such an ordinary man that made Cuihua kill the original owner.
Qianhuan just felt sorry for the original owner. There was nothing attractive about a man like this, and she really didn't like him at all.
When she was in modern times, she would look for a boyfriend who was at least 180cm tall. As a face control party, thick eyebrows, big eyes and a high nose bridge were the most basic requirements. But Zhu Wu, in terms of height and appearance, did not meet the standards at all.
"Cousin Zhu, you should go and have a rest. I don't need your help here." Qianhuan tactfully rejected Zhu Wu. She really didn't want to have too much involvement with him.
"Sister Qianhua, you are much thinner and tanned now. I heard that you had a hard time at home after your father broke his leg. I didn't believe it before, but now it seems that the rumors are true. Your cousin really feels sorry for you."
Zhu Wu hadn't seen Qianhuan for a long time. When he saw her today, he felt that she looked much more haggard. He said with concern.
"Cousin Zhu, you should pay more attention to Cuihua. After all, Cuihua is your biological cousin. I'm doing fine at home. My parents love me very much. I don't need anyone else's sympathy." Qianhuan said to him coldly.
Zhu Wu looked at Qianhuan's cold expression and thought that she had seen what happened in the backyard just now.
He quickly explained, "Qianhua, I only treat Cuihua as my cousin. I don't have any romantic feelings for her."
"Cousin Zhu, what are you talking about? Cuihua can only be your cousin. Today is Cuihua's wedding day. Cousin Zhu, you'd better go into the house and have a rest. Don't talk nonsense here. There are so many guests in our house today, and it would be bad if you say something wrong." Qianhuan was a little puzzled when he said this to her.
Seeing that there were more and more people, Zhu Wu realized that it was not a good place to talk, so he had to go into the house.
Cuihua was inside the house, looking through the window at her cousin talking to Qianhuan with a flattering look on his face. She had a face full of resentment, and stared at Qianhuan who was busy, as if she wanted to stare a hole in her.
Sun Wang had already come down to pick up the bride, surrounded by the crowd. Cuihua had already put on her makeup again, so no one could tell that she had been crying.
Cuihua was taken back to the Sun family by Sun Wang, and from then on she became a member of the Sun family.
In the evening, Sun Wang came to remove the wedding veil. He had drunk some wine and was a little tipsy. He grabbed Cuihua's hand and promised solemnly: "Cuihua, from now on you belong to me, Sun Wang. Don't worry, I will treat you well."
Cuihua did not answer. She was deeply shocked by her cousin's rejection. Even though she was already married to Sun Wang, it would probably not be easy for her to accept the plain-looking Sun Wang.
Cuihua finally married someone she didn't like, which was considered the retribution for her killing the original owner.