"You can go; I know now," Su Zhiruan said as she flipped through the opera book, her interest piqued.
Ancient version of a romance novel, huh!
When Ji Xiaoyuan saw her gaze fall on the opera book, he locked the door, ready to head for the mountains. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novｅlfire.net
At this point, they still didn’t know that the news of Ji Xiaoyuan taking a fairy as a wife had already spread.
After Cuihua returned home, her unnatural demeanor caught her mother’s attention, prompting her to probe further.
Who would have expected, they’d uncover something huge!
"What? What did you say?!" Cuihua’s mother was stunned when she heard the news.
She knew her daughter had been taking big bones to Ji Xiaoyuan, and she’d turned a blind eye, thinking Ji Xiaoyuan would definitely be their son-in-law, virtually her half-son, so a few bones given away was no big deal.
But she had only found out today that Ji Xiaoyuan had secretly kept a concubine, and even others didn’t know that he had already taken a wife.
"It’s... Mother, what should I do!" Cuihua’s voice was laced with sobs, her whole being crying so miserably, draped across the bedding, unable to stop.
"What was Ji Xiaoyuan thinking! Our Cuihua is so beautiful; he better not fail to recognize a good thing," Cuihua’s father couldn’t contain his anger. He thought his daughter was good-looking, virtuous, and hardworking, yet Ji Xiaoyuan had married someone else, "Flower, you’re saying his wife is a cripple?"
"Ptui! A cripple?! Our Flower is young and beautiful, decisive in action, where does she fall short compared to that suddenly appearing crippled woman?!"
Cuihua poked her head out, crying as she added a few words, "Dad, Mom... she, Brother Xiaoyuan’s wife... is very beautiful."
Despite her words, her parents didn’t believe it—they thought their own daughter was the most beautiful, and besides, what good would a crippled woman’s beauty do, no matter how striking it was?
"Wait here, I will go find your aunt from next door." Cuihua’s mother rose swiftly, pushing the door open, preparing to spread the news.
Cuihua’s father had other matters to attend to; he hurriedly comforted Cuihua, "Don’t worry, there are thousands and thousands of good men in the world, we can find someone else besides him."
Cuihua nodded despondently and returned to her bed, covering herself with the blanket in sorrow.
However, despite her sadness, after crying for a while, she was shocked to realize that all she could picture in her mind was the face of Ji Xiaoyuan’s wife; she truly was beautiful.
She was undoubtedly not an ordinary village woman and not accustomed to labor; she must have been coddled like a Miss from a wealthy family.
Cuihua was young and her grief, intense but fleeting, didn’t last long. Soon, she started to fantasize about what life would be like if she were a Miss herself.
Soon, she fell asleep.
And in just the space of a morning, the village was shaken by this sudden piece of news.
Cuihua’s mother, seeking out a neighbor to vent her woes, happened upon a house full of other people who, upon hearing the news, were uniformly astonished.
"Can it be true? I never heard anything about young Ji getting married before. His house was still empty when I went to deliver something not long ago. How come he suddenly has a wife now?"
"Could it be because he and that woman did certain things, but he’s actually unsatisfied, hence he’s telling people he’s taken a wife now?"
"I think it’s only been a matter of a couple of days—hey, hey, hey, later on, maybe we should all go and have a look."
"It’s just a pity for our Little Cuihua. Such a good girl, pretty and capable, has been disrupted by a woman who appeared out of nowhere. Could that woman possibly be more beautiful than our Little Cuihua?"
After everyone had their say, the news spread rapidly.
Meanwhile, Ji Xiaoyuan was still up in the mountains, aiming a strong crossbow at his prey, and with one shot he made a handsome catch.
It was then that he turned a corner and met a village youth.
"Brother Xiaoyuan!!" The young Aliang, upon seeing him, immediately greeted him with a smile.
He had a basket on his back, filled with plants he had gathered along the way.
"Just got to the mountains?" Ji Xiaoyuan glanced at his basket, which contained few items, indicating he hadn’t been there long.
Aliang scratched his head sheepishly and chuckled, "Brother Xiaoyuan really has a keen eye. I got out late because I was listening to my mother and the others chattering away this morning."
"Oh, right!" His eyes lit up as he looked at Ji Xiaoyuan, "Brother Xiaoyuan, when did you get married? We had no idea, we haven’t even seen your wife!"
"How did you know?" Ji Xiaoyuan put away his crossbow, standing in front of him.