"What?" Mu Rendong let out an exclamation. "What did you say?"
"I, want, to, marry, her!" Jing Xunche looked down on Mu Rendong, but still answered her word by word.
Mu Fengqie looked at the confused faces of the villagers. In fact, she was quite confused herself. Young man, we don't know each other!
Moreover, at my age, I could be your mother. If you want to marry me, would your mother agree?
Suddenly, the joke about being three years older popped into Mu Fengqie's mind.
Jing Xunche said to his mother, "I'm getting married."
His mother asked, "How old is the girl?"
Jing Xunche replied, "Three years older."
His mother said, "It's good to be three years older. A wife three years older brings prosperity."
Jing Xunche then said, "She's three years older than you."
"No, no, no!" Mu Fengqie shook her head vigorously. She suddenly remembered that people got married early in the Yin Dynasty. Maybe she could even be Jing Xunche's grandma. There's no such thing as an old cow eating young grass like this.
If this got out, how could she face her students, her nephews and nieces, and her patients?
"No!"
It seems that the connection between mother and child is real. Look, isn't Mrs. Kong voicing her thoughts?
"What right do you have to marry my daughter?"
Huh? Mu Fengqie was stunned. Why is this person so changeable? Just now she said that Mu Fengqie had shamed the Mu family and that she would no longer be her daughter. How come in such a short time, she's her daughter again?
"You have nothing. Except for those two thatched cottages at the foot of the mountain, what else do you have? What right do you have to marry my daughter? You need to pay a betrothal gift to marry a wife!"
Oh! Mu Fengqie understood. Now that she saw someone willing to take her, Mrs. Kong wanted to use her as a cash cow again.
As for being ashamed, what's more important than silver? Mrs. Kong looks down on the poor but not on the immoral. She could even sell her daughter as a child bride to ward off bad luck. Would she still be afraid of being ashamed?
Mrs. Kong rolled her eyes. "Twenty taels. Master Wang offered fifty taels of silver. Asking you for twenty taels is already a bargain. Can you afford it?"
Mrs. Kong wasn't acting on a whim, nor was she feeling sorry for her son - in - law because he was poor.
Jing Xunche had no fields. His only skill was hunting. He surely couldn't come up with fifty taels of silver. If she asked for fifty taels right away, she might end up with nothing. It was more prudent to ask for less.
Twenty taels of silver was actually quite a lot.
In Mu Village, whether it was for a man to marry a wife or a girl to get married, there had never been such a high - value betrothal gift. Six or seven taels of silver and two big roosters were already considered excellent gifts.
Twenty taels of silver would really make one break the pot and sell the iron.
But Jing Xunche didn't even hesitate. He put Mu Fengqie down, supported her with one hand, and took out a gold tassel from his bosom and threw it to Mrs. Kong. "Is this enough?"
When Mrs. Kong caught the gold tassel, her eyes lit up.
One tael of gold could be exchanged for ten taels of silver. This gold tassel was so long. It was at least three or four taels, which could be exchanged for thirty or forty taels of silver.
She made a profit!
"Is this enough?" Jing Xunche asked again.
Mrs. Kong's eyes were fixed on the gold tassel. She didn't even lift her head. "Enough, enough!"
Jing Xunche took off his outer coat and put it on Mu Fengqie. He pushed aside her bangs that were sticky with sweat, his eyes full of pity. He whispered, "I'm late. I've made my wife suffer."
Mu Fengqie's head was groggy. She didn't even remember if she had said "Good grandson, grandma is fine." Then she fainted.
A group of people watched as Jing Xunche carried Mu Fengqie away. Someone suddenly asked, "Mrs. Kong, are we still going to bury her?"
"Bury what?" Mrs. Kong immediately tightened her grip on the gold tassel. "Don't you know that a married woman follows her husband? Mu Fengqie is no longer a member of the Mu family. Whether she lives or dies is up to her husband!" After saying that, she clutched the gold tassel and left.
The rest of the people looked at each other for a while and then dispersed.
In the evening, Mu Fengqie woke up groggily and found herself lying on a wooden board bed. The bed was extremely hard.
There were two red candles burning on the table. Red wedding characters were pasted on the window. Through the open door, it seemed that there were two red lanterns hanging on the courtyard gate. It was quite novel.
She withdrew her gaze and tried to sit up. What she saw was a splash of red beside her pillow. On top was the bride's red veil, and below was the red wedding dress.
It had no embroidery. It was the simplest style, but it showed care.
After all, in the village, it was rare to prepare a new wedding dress for a wedding.
For a moment, she couldn't react. Had she really gotten married?
Married to a young man who could be her grandson?
The man, also in red, strode in. Seeing Mu Fengqie sitting up half - supported, he quickly stepped forward, helped her lean against the head - board wall, and stuffed a pillow behind her to make her more comfortable. "My wife is awake. Do you still feel unwell?"
Mu Fengqie was in a daze. Well, this grandson was quite considerate when taking care of people. If he became a caregiver, he would be very popular.
I heard that he was a hunter. You know, there are safe ways to make money, but he has to take risks.
"My wife?"
Mu Fengqie was startled and let out an "Ah?"
"It was a bit hasty today, and there was no one to witness the ceremony. I've wronged my wife. Later, when our life gets better, I'll make it up to you." With that, he reached out to pull at Mu Fengqie's clothes.
"What are you doing?" This time, Mu Fengqie reacted quickly. She raised her hand to slap Jing Xunche's hand away and shrank back.
Jing Xunche seemed not to expect Mu Fengqie's reaction. His hand paused for a moment. Then he remembered that he should explain it to her. "Today is our wedding day. You're not feeling well. I'll change your clothes for you."
"No, no need!" Mu Fengqie shook her head. Even if he was like a grandson, the body she was in was only fifteen years old. Men and women should avoid physical contact!
"It's okay." Jing Xunche thought Mu Fengqie was afraid of troubling him. As he reached out his hand, he comforted her, "After today, we'll be husband and wife. I'm your husband. It's only right for me to change your clothes."
"Don't!" Mu Fengqie let out a scream and had shrunk into the corner.
If Jing Xunche continued to insist, she would have nowhere to retreat.
When Jing Xunche heard her scream and looked up at her, he met her panicked eyes. Immediately, his whole body went stiff. He suddenly remembered what he had done to her was a hurt.
Even though he had later rescued her from Mrs. Kong's hands and was willing to marry her, he still couldn't change what he had done wrong. At most, he could only try to make up for his mistake.
"I..."
"You go out first and let me calm down!" Before Jing Xunche could finish his sentence, Mu Fengqie spoke first. If he made any more moves, with her small arms and legs, she might not be able to stop him.
Thinking like this, she quickly gave Jing Xunche an ingratiating smile and pretended to be weak. "So many things have happened recently. Can you let me take a breather?"
Jing Xunche stood beside the bed, looked at her for a while, and finally took a quilt. "I'll sleep outside. If you... if you need anything, call me."
Mu Fengqie watched his somewhat lonely back and slapped her head in annoyance. "What a mess!"