Chapter 23: Bride Price Dilemma
"I’m just a regular farmer’s son," he finally says as his words take everyone by surprise.
"My father was a farmer but he died a couple of years ago. I wanted to move to another village but I wanted to see if it was worth my taste. I ran into some gangsters and they robbed me and left me injured. That was how Lin Xu found me and saved me."
He then walked up to me slowly, taking hold of my hands. "And it was then I fell in love with her and wanted to marry her."
He said, his eyes still lingering on me and the heads of the villagers nodded in understanding.
"Oh please! We didn’t ask for your stupid love story... how the heck did you get so much money? My father has so many farms yet he doesn’t even make such an amount of money in a year, how did you suddenly get it in five days, farmer boy!!"
She shouts as Mo Ying flashed her a disgusted look. "And who are you again?"
"Y-you—" her face turned red as she whined like a baby to her mom who said, "My daughter has a point. Most villagers here are all farmers yet they aren’t this rich. Who the heck are you trying to fool?"
She shouted as her husband and kids anchored in her defense.
Rolling his eyes, Mo Ying then turned to the village chief and responded, "In order to pay the bride price I sold all my father’s farm and even my house. I’m the owner of everything so I sold them all to raise money to marry Lin Xu, is that something illegal?"
Village Chief nodded in approval. "Well done, selling one’s land is the boldest thing anyone could do... I hope you don’t regret your decision later. If you truly want to marry Lin Xu then there is absolutely nothing stopping you then."
Village Chief Yan said as I and Yan Mei exchanged smiles.
Turning to Aunt Lu and her family with the other villagers and Physician Li.
He announced loud and clear, "Today we are here to witness the joining of these two young souls. Lin Xu has suffered a lot these past eight years but happiness has found a way back into her life. Mo Ying will wed her tomorrow and all these things he has brought in exchange for her hand in marriage. I, Village Chief Yan, approve of this marriage so any reason whatsoever that anyone has is invalid. The wedding will take place in the next two days. Please be present."
He announced as everyone cheered and congratulated Lin Xu.
But amongst the celebration, Aunt Lu and her husband together with their children just stood there, anger shown all over their eyes.
"This—aargh! Enough celebrating, we are leaving... Lu Fong, take the carriage and bring all those things back to the Lu residence."
She ordered her son as he made his way to the carriage ready to pull but Fuhan got in his way and stopped him.
"Who said everything here belonged to you?"
Mo Ying says, causing everyone to keep quiet as all eyes including mine were now glued to him.
"What do you mean by that question, can’t you see we are leaving? We have to take the bride price along with us!" Uncle Lu responded, annoyed.
As Mo Ying raised an eyebrow to his words, "Is that so?"
Turning to Fuhan he gave him a look and Fuhan immediately understood the assignment.
Climbing the carriage he carried out the 10 bags of rice, the eight bags of grains, and the eight chickens, leaving the two bags of grains, two chickens alone on the floor for them to carry away.
"What’s the meaning of this?" Aunt Lu shouted, taken aback by his actions.
Smiling I shouted, "Why are you surprised? Isn’t this what you asked for? You only asked for 150 taels, two bags of grains and two chickens. You’ve got them so why are you looking confused?"
I asked mockingly as Yan Mei and Mo laughed slightly.
Aunt Lu’s mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water as she pointed at the things on the ground, her face turning an ugly shade of red.
"You—you dare mock me like this?! Those were just my starting words! Do you think I don’t know how much a woman is worth? Lin Xu was raised under my roof for eight years, she owes me her life! Everything here belongs to us, you ungrateful brat!" she screamed, her voice sharp enough to pierce eardrums.
But Mo Ying’s calm voice cut her off, smooth and cold like a blade.
"Raised under your roof?" He tilted his head slightly, his eyes narrowing in disdain. "Funny... because all I’ve seen is you sucking her dry like a leech. Do you think the entire village doesn’t know how you treated Lin Xu? You fed her scraps, dressed her in rags, and worked her to the bone like a slave. And now, you dare say she owes you?"
The crowd went silent, the whispers starting to rise like the wind.
"She did treat Lin Xu badly..."
"I always thought it was unfair..."
"I saw with my own eyes how that girl went hungry while she kept her children eating meat..."
The voices spread quickly, and Aunt Lu’s face darkened even more as she stomped her foot in fury.
"You—you shut your mouth! What do you know?! You only just came here! This matter is between us and Lin Xu, an outsider like you has no right to meddle!"
Mo Ying chuckled, but it was without warmth. He stepped forward, his voice steady and commanding.
"Outsider? Then let me make myself clear. From this day onward, I am Lin Xu’s husband so I have absolutely every right to meddle in her life!"
I felt my breath hitch in my chest at his words, my heart slamming so hard it almost hurt. His hand tightened around mine and for the first time in years, I felt a strange sense of safety wrapping around me like a shield.
The villagers began to murmur again, this time louder, some even nodding in approval.
"Well said!"
"Finally, someone is standing up for her."
"Aunt Lu went too far, it’s about time she was put in her place."
Yan Mei smirked, folding her arms as she looked at Aunt Lu with a victorious grin. "Aunt, you should stop embarrassing yourself. The whole village is watching. You’ve already gotten what you demanded—150 taels, two chickens, and two bags of grains. Isn’t that enough for your greedy stomach? Or do you want people to say you’re trying to sell Lin Xu like cattle at the market?"
"You—!" Aunt Lu’s finger shook in the air as she pointed at Yan Mei, her voice trembling with rage but unable to find a comeback.
Uncle Lu, however, wasn’t ready to give up. He stepped forward with a scowl, glaring at Mo Ying. "Boy, don’t be so arrogant! You think just because you’ve got a sharp tongue and a bit of money, you can trample over us? You’ll regret offending my family!"
Mo Ying raised an eyebrow, a faint smirk tugging at his lips. "Regret? Pfftts we’ll see who regrets soon. But right now, you should take what you’re owed and leave before I change my mind."
He pointed to the two bags of grains and two chickens lying on the ground.
The yard fell into a tense silence. Aunt Lu’s face twisted like she’d just swallowed poison, but under the watchful eyes of the villagers, even she couldn’t cause more trouble. Grinding her teeth, she finally snapped, "Fine! We’ll take it. But mark my words, Lin Xu, you’ll regret this marriage!"
Her son Lu Fong, humiliated, bent down and grabbed the bags while shooting me a glare that could have burned holes through my skin.
I only smiled coldly and raised my chin. For once, it felt good to see them swallowing their pride.
As they struggled away with their pitiful share, laughter and cheers rose among the villagers, and I could feel the tight knot in my chest loosening.
For the first time since I came to this new world, I didn’t have to strain my voice trying to teach those old hags a lesson.
Soon the villagers left and the village chief then turned to me, "Since we are done here I’ll take my leave... Yan Mei will stay with you either way so I’ll go alone. The wedding arrangements should start soon Lin Xu, the sooner you marry him the better it would be for you. I’ll take my leave now, if you need anything at all... you know where to find me."
Nodding I bowed slightly as he took his leave.
Before I could face Mo Ying, Physician Li then suddenly walked up to me, his face looked a little down.
"Lin Xu, are you really getting married to that stranger?" He asked as I just nodded awkwardly.
"But you refused to marry me, what’s the difference between us... why did you agree for him and not even look my way?" His words kind of made me feel bad but I just couldn’t do anything.
Though he did have a point, why on earth did I even choose Mo Ying? I was desperate yes, but I was still very much picky about the men I want. I know absolutely nothing about him yet why did I even choose him.
That farmer’s son story was obviously a lie, that’s for sure.
Smiling slightly, I said to him, "Mo Ying is an orphan... he has no family who would stress me out when I marry him. And he doesn’t want any kids and that’s very good for me... so I’m sorry." I said as I turned and left and soon he left too.
Sigh! Such was life.