"Mom, the third brother has left, and the third sister-in-law just had her meal. Why didn't she react at all!" said Yang Chun, the eldest of the Yang Family.
"Dear father, this third brother's wife, I always feel something off about her. Wasn't it said that she is ugly, lazy, good for nothing, and quite unreasonable? But at first glance, she seems passable, quite polite towards us. She doesn't seem like an unreasonable person from the looks of it. It's just that she can't do housework; her being lazy might actually be true. You see, she went straight back to her room after eating without offering to help clean up."
"You said it yourself, they were just rumors. You can't judge a book by its cover." This family was full of naïve straightforward people, only the head of the family was somewhat shrewd and saw things more clearly. "I see this girl as good-natured. We should teach her more in the future. Maybe she and our third son could live happily together."
"Tomorrow is the day to formally present the bride. The third brother isn't here; how can we proceed?"
"Eldest, second, both of you should go hunting in the mountains and try to get some wild chickens or rabbits for the gift tomorrow. Mom will prepare twenty eggs, and we'll take out that jar of wine we made earlier; that'll be it, as we don't have much else! If it really doesn't work out tomorrow, we can let the youngest follow her back home."
"Dad, how can a younger brother-in-law follow his sister-in-law home! Wouldn't that be a laughing stock?"
"So? With your third brother gone, what else should we do? You go tomorrow. Luckily, the villagers don't know your third brother, so you could just pose as him."
"But her family is so fearsome; they might beat me to death!"
"......" The whole room fell silent, exchanging glances as though their eyes were saying, Youngest Brother, take good care of yourself and good luck!
"Brother Yang, yesterday was your joyful wedding day—how come you're already back at the Academy today?"
"Right, right, how's the new wife? I heard she is quite a beauty, hahaha!"
"Beautiful or not, when you close your eyes, they're all the same, hahaha!"
"Brother Yang has indeed married a good wife, hahaha!"
A group of classmates surrounded him, making fun of him. They were all here to mock Yang Ming. So what if he was good at studying, a potential Top Scholar, or favored by the Academy's teachers? He still ended up being forced into a marriage with a notoriously ugly wife. Oh, how satisfying it was! They had to come and rub it in, every word dripping with mockery.
Yang Ming was suffering in silence, resenting the thought of the wife he had at home; it was enough to make his blood boil, considering forced marriage a tremendous disgrace. He planned to stay in the Academy for a few months first, letting his wife hang. She wanted to get married, right? He didn't believe someone like her could last in a rural setting. He was waiting for the day she couldn't stand it anymore and would leave on her own accord.
At this moment, Xiaoxiao was unaware of her cheap husband's scheme. After returning to her room, she started contemplating how to live her future life. First, she wanted to renovate her living space to make it habitable. Next, she needed to understand the current state of the country, and then the focus was on earning money to improve her quality of life. Once she had saved enough, she would travel the world. In an era devoid of mobile phones and computers, besides hiking and sightseeing, there wasn't much leisure activity to speak of. That's what she decided. Taking the silver from her dowry, she stepped out, determined to find someone who could tell her how much it was worth, because it was crucial for renovating her house!