Land Officer’s wife dragged Yang Chuxia and told her the whole story from beginning to end. Chuxia felt speechless and somewhat sympathetic towards Yang Dayong, but of course, she also felt like hitting someone.
It turned out that the marriage had already been arranged for Yang Dayong by Land Officer Yang a few years ago. At the time, it seemed like a pretty good match, with the girl being smooth and attractive, and the two seemed well-suited for each other. The girl’s father also happened to be a land officer and an old friend of Land Officer Yang, which made the two families hit it off quite well, so they found a matchmaker and set the match after checking their ancestral compatibility.
If everything had gone smoothly, it would have been just fine, but unfortunately, things took a wrong turn.
The girl’s family was from Daqian Village, which was located at the northern part of the town—yes, that was the village Ruoqiu mentioned earlier. It was a fishing village, and many villagers relied on fishing to make a living, so even land officers like her father often sailed out to sea.
However, going out to sea in ancient times was not the same as it is now, as there were fewer safety measures and the ships were not as advanced and reliable as modern ones. It was inevitable that something would go wrong at some point.
And during the last voyage before the government enforced a sea ban three years ago, the girl’s father disappeared, not to be heard from again. The entire ship sank.
With the girl’s father dead, they had to postpone the originally planned wedding. After all, it wasn’t right for the girl to ignore mourning for her father and jump straight into marriage.
Land Officer’s wife thought that if it was only a matter of waiting another three years, they might as well just annul the engagement, pay the girl’s family some compensation and be done with it. However, Land Officer Yang didn’t agree, as he felt it would be unfair to his deceased friend. He couldn’t just take advantage of the girl when her father had just died, could he?
As for Yang Dayong, he also disagreed with breaking off the engagement, thinking that as a man, he could wait patiently. If the girl could endure three years of waiting, why couldn’t he? Since both Dayong and Land Officer Yang didn’t want to annul the marriage, Land Officer’s wife had no choice but to give up on the idea.
Finally, the three-year mourning period had passed, and Land Officer’s wife felt that they could finally arrange for the wedding. So last month, she went to the girl’s family with the matchmaker and suggested that they should get everything done before the year ends.
The girl’s family happily agreed.
But a few days ago, the male matchmaker went to deliver some small gifts to the girl’s family. He accidentally caught sight of the girl and noticed that her belly was slightly bulging. One might think she had just gained some weight, but the matchmaker, being sharp-eyed, could tell that she was pregnant.
Even though the matchmaker noticed this, he didn’t think too much of it and simply assumed that the young couple had been uncontrollably passionate. After returning home, he even congratulated Land Officer’s wife, saying that they would soon have double happiness.
Land Officer’s wife was dumbfounded—where on earth was this second blessing coming from? Sensing that something was off, the matchmaker then told Land Officer’s wife what he saw. Upon hearing this, she couldn’t just sit there and do nothing.
It suddenly occurred to her that she had not seen the girl when she last visited Daqian Village. Without any hesitation, she grabbed a young carpenter from their household and got on an ox cart to Daqian Village. When she arrived, she made a huge fuss, insisting on seeing the girl.
After seeing the girl, there was no more doubt—the girl was indeed pregnant, and her son wore a green hat before even getting married.
Land Officer’s wife had a fiery temper and couldn’t put up with this. She caused a scene in Daqian Village and even had a fight with the girl’s mother before returning home.
There was no possibility for the marriage anymore, but the more Land Officer’s wife thought about it, the angrier she became. In the end, she had a massive argument with Land Officer Yang.