Chapter 70: The Lion Opens Its Mouth

Chapter 70: Chapter 70: The Lion Opens Its Mouth

Widow Xie and Hu Liang didn’t return until evening.

Hu Liang handed the exchanged broken silver to Ji Huan, his face devoid of the joy of having his wish fulfilled.

Seeing Ji Huan studying him, he forced a smile and joked, "It’s a good thing law and order have improved in Yeyang recently, with the army taking care of all those bandits and thugs. Otherwise, carrying this much money, I’d have been terrified of getting robbed."

He put on a smile, but anyone could see how strained it was.

Widow Xie didn’t look happy either.

’Did the marriage proposal fail? Did the girl change her mind?’

Ji Huan’s mind raced with anxious speculation, but with the children present, she couldn’t just ask directly.

The family ate in silence; no one spoke at the dinner table.

Before bed, Widow Xie spread a thick, old felt blanket on the floor, then placed two cotton quilts on it, rolling each one up into a tube.

Ji Huan carried the already-asleep Dabao into his bedding first, then lay down in her own.

Seeing Widow Xie still sitting on the edge of the kang bed, lost in thought, she asked softly, "Aunt Xie, is something troubling you?"

Widow Xie had been holding it in all day, and she was about to burst.

Seeing that Ximei and her own mother were sound asleep, she got off the kang and sat down by the bedding. She sighed, figuring Ji Huan was level-headed and decided not to hide it from her.

Country folk didn’t bother with all the formal betrothal ceremonies, so after she and Hu Liang had prepared the gifts in the county town, they went straight to Cao Family Village.

This was her son’s marriage—a once-in-a-lifetime event. Widow Xie gritted her teeth and spared no expense.

She spent over one tael on a silver hairpin alone, then another six mace of silver for a bolt of silk, two mace for a bolt of fine cloth, and on top of that, all sorts of pastries, fruit wine, chicken, duck, fish, and meat.

The Cao Family had been notified in advance. When Granny Cao saw them arrive with a cart full of things, her usually cold face broke into a grin so wide her gums were showing.

Without even inviting them inside to sit and have a cup of tea, she called for her son and daughter-in-law to quickly move the items into the courtyard.

Knowing that today was the day of her daughter’s betrothal gift presentation, many villagers came over to watch. Granny Cao was incredibly smug, completely forgetting how much she used to complain about her late father-in-law arranging this marriage with a poor family.

Only after Granny Cao had shown off enough did she lead them into the house.

A young woman had her modesty to consider, and today was an important day, so Cao Yunyun stayed hidden in her room and didn’t show her face. However, she had prepared the midday meal herself, showing she valued her future in-laws.

Granny Cao praised her daughter’s cooking to the high heavens, but to Widow Xie and Hu Liang, it was just so-so. After all, they had tasted better.

But they had to play along. This was especially true for Hu Liang, who was pleased with everything about Cao Yunyun. Even her mediocre cooking was a masterpiece in his eyes.

Cao Yunyun, busy with the last soup in the kitchen, faintly heard Hu Liang’s praise and blushed secretly.

Although Granny Cao was a nagging pest, the meal was finished in a semblance of harmony.

Granny Cao and Old Man Cao exchanged a look. Granny Cao jutted her chin.

Old Man Cao cleared his throat and said, "Let’s talk about what comes next."

What else could there be? The gifts were all presented. The only thing left was the bride price.

The Northern Pass region wasn’t wealthy, and bride prices were modest. Especially in the countryside, one or two taels of silver was already considered respectable for an average family.

Widow Xie wasn’t a stingy person. Plus, she felt guilty that the Cao family’s daughter had waited for Liangzi all these years, so she planned to add a few more taels to make it a round five taels.

She had intended to be generous for once, but she never expected their appetite to be so much bigger. They opened their mouths and demanded fifteen taels!

Widow Xie’s expression changed instantly. She wanted to leave right then and there, but when she saw her son’s pleading eyes, she forced herself to stay.

She wanted to hear Granny Cao explain what made her daughter so precious—was she plated in gold or silver? How could she be more expensive than a girl from town!

Granny Cao saw the entire exchange of glances between mother and son. A moment ago, she was a little afraid Widow Xie would storm out, but now her worries vanished. She even wished she had asked for more.

’As long as Hu Liang’s heart belongs to Yunyun, Widow Xie will have to cough up the money, no matter how unwilling she is.’

"My dear in-law, not to toot my own horn, but you’ve seen our Yunyun. In terms of looks, figure, needlework, and cooking, she’s more than good enough to marry a man from town. I won’t lie to you, quite a few families have come knocking these past two years... ahem, but we didn’t agree, of course. The main reason is that Yunyun is just so stubborn. She turns down every young man, no matter how rich or handsome. Her heart is set on marrying your Hu Liang. She even went on a hunger strike over it..."

As Granny Cao spoke, she stole a glance at Hu Liang and saw, as expected, that he was filled with both guilt and emotion.

She continued to add fuel to the fire. "Actually, fifteen taels isn’t high. One family even offered thirty taels, just because Yunyun looks like she’d be good at bearing children. If we were greedy, we could have just agreed and married our daughter off... Besides, the original agreement between her grandfather and Liangzi’s father was just verbal, with no proof. If we really wanted to back out, there’s nothing you could do, right? But we of the Old Cao Family value integrity; we wouldn’t do something so shameless."

’Integrity, my ass! You just haven’t been shameless enough! And "good at bearing children"? What’s she going to bear, a dragon’s egg?’

Widow Xie did her best to suppress her anger and tried to reason with them.

"You know our family’s situation. Since Liangzi’s father and his older brother passed away, our family has been full of mouths to feed with no one to earn money. It’s only gotten a little better these past two years since Liangzi has grown up. But we can only offer five taels. Any more... and you’re just making things impossible for us. You know the going rate. Feel free to ask around in other villages and see how many families can pay a bride price higher than that."

"You can’t say that," Cao Yunyun’s sister-in-law, Mrs. Wang, sneered. "Everyone knows your family started a business recently. Plenty of people from our own village sell vegetables to you. I hear that new thing you’re making is sold to the army barracks? That must be making a fortune! You’re getting rich in secret, helping outsiders instead of thinking to give your in-laws a leg up, and we haven’t said a word about it, have we? So why are you being so stingy with the bride price? Just five taels? Isn’t offering five taels embarrassing for you! With what your family has now, fifteen taels should be a drop in the bucket."

Widow Xie finally understood why the Cao Family was making such an outrageous demand today.

So, they had heard from somewhere that her family was making money, and their greed had been stirred.

’But no matter how much money it is, we earned it through hard work. The Cao Family thinks they can just take it from us by dangling their daughter? In their dreams!’

Widow Xie immediately stood up, grabbed Hu Liang, and started to leave.

Hu Liang was also furious with the Cao Family’s behavior. He said nothing more and followed his mother out of the main hall.

Just as he stepped one foot out of the courtyard gate, he heard a voice call, "Brother Liangzi."

He turned to see Cao Yunyun peeking out from the kitchen, her face half-hidden and wet with tears. It was obvious she had been crying.

Hu Liang’s heart clenched, and his feet felt rooted to the spot.

Widow Xie knew this wasn’t Cao Yunyun’s fault, but seeing the rest of the Cao Family acting like they had them right where they wanted them, she couldn’t swallow her anger. She stubbornly dragged Hu Liang away.

After hearing the whole story, Ji Huan was a bit speechless.

A bride price of fifteen taels truly was a drop in the bucket for a wealthy family, but for a farming family, it could take five or six years to save that much, if they were lucky. The Cao Family’s ancestors were all farmers; they should have known this full well. It was astounding they even dared to ask for it.

No wonder Hu Liang had come back looking so devastated today.

Once her anger subsided, Widow Xie began to worry again.

"I really don’t want to go through with this marriage to the Cao Family anymore. But Liangzi has his heart set on their daughter, and she’s a good girl, she’s waited all these years... What if we call it off and she... does something drastic?"