Chapter 12: Clouds of sorrow and mist, marriage proposal

“Yes, I’ll spend the next two days packing my things. You can come pick me up the day after tomorrow,” Wang Huimin said.

Given how the Wang family treated her—essentially selling their daughter—there was no way they’d hold any kind of wedding ceremony for her. But now that the marriage certificate was in hand, she and Song Jianjun were legally husband and wife. All that was left was for Wang Huimin to move into the Song household.

Seeing how she didn’t want to stay a moment longer in that house, Song Jianjun agreed, “Alright, I’ll come for you the day after tomorrow.”

As they walked back together, red marriage certificate in hand, they ran into quite a few neighbors from the village, all offering their congratulations. At this point, their marriage was officially public knowledge.

Song Jianjun dropped Wang Huimin off at her doorstep before returning home—he still had to prepare a gift and visit the Zhang family to formally propose the match between Song Fu and Zhang Chunyan. He was going to be busy in the coming days.

Unlike the joy surrounding Wang Huimin and Song Jianjun’s new marriage, things at the Zhang household were bleak.

Since the incident yesterday, Zhang Chunyan had done nothing but sit at home and cry—refusing to eat or drink.

Under persistent questioning from Li Guiqin and Zhang Yongfa, she finally confessed how she and Song Fu had started seeing each other in secret—and how they’d been caught red-handed by Wang Huimin and Song Jianjun.

Upon hearing the full story, Zhang Yongfa and his wife were so furious they were practically foaming at the mouth. They were utterly exasperated by their foolish daughter.

Li Guiqin was overwhelmed with worry. It was obvious—if Zhang Chunyan didn’t marry Song Fu, she’d likely never marry anyone.

As Chunyan sobbed, Li Guiqin joined her in crying too, which only irritated Zhang Yongfa further.

“Enough already! Both of you shut it! I can’t stand the sight of you crying anymore!” he shouted.

Zhang Chunyan, full of grievance, cried out, “Dad! After all that’s happened to me, how can you still talk like that? I’m your daughter! Don’t you feel even a little pity for me?”

Zhang Yongfa glared at her harshly.
“What good is pity?! How many times did your mother and I warn you to behave, to keep a low profile?”
“Of all the young men in the village of marriageable age, Xu Xiaowei was the best. Good family, good prospects. If you’d married him, you would’ve had a good life!”
“Your mother and I worked so hard to make that match happen, we were doing everything we could—and then you went and ruined it all!”
“Song Fu’s a no-good punk, and you chose to sneak around with him?! And worse, you got caught by Song Jianjun and Wang Huimin! You ruined yourself!”

Through her sobs, Chunyan cried, “Dad, I know I was wrong. I swear I didn’t write that letter—it was Wang Huimin, framing me on purpose!”

Zhang Yongfa’s eyes bulged in fury.
“Does it matter whether it’s true or not now? What matters is that Wang Huimin was more cunning than you. Your reputation is ruined—no one will believe anything you say now.”
“This village is full of gossips. Good news stays quiet, but bad news spreads like wildfire. Now the whole area knows what you’ve done.”
“The Xu family will never accept you now. If you don’t marry Song Fu, what are you going to do—stay home and be an old maid the rest of your life? What solution do you want me to come up with for that?”

Zhang Yongfa and his wife had been married for years but, strangely, had only one child—Zhang Chunyan. After many failed pregnancies, she was their miracle daughter. Naturally, they loved her deeply.

But she’d acted so carelessly and gotten herself caught, bringing shame on the family. Yongfa was angry, heartbroken, and powerless.

Zhang Chunyan wept bitterly.
“Dad, I didn’t mean to. I was just jealous of Wang Huimin. She was always better at school, prettier than me—next to her, I’m nothing. I just couldn’t stand it.”
“I found out she was going to be engaged to Song Fu, so I went and got close to him. But I swear, nothing actually happened between us! Song Fu’s the scumbag—only that slut Wang Huimin deserves someone like him.”
“I’d rather be a spinster forever than marry him. That would ruin my whole life. Dad, you can’t let this marriage happen!”

The Zhangs ran their household differently from the Wangs. Zhang Yongfa was the final authority; Li Guiqin followed his lead in everything.

Although she loved her daughter dearly, she also joined in pleading,
“Old Zhang, Chunyan’s right. Everyone in the village knows what kind of man Song Fu is—no decent family would give their daughter to him. We can’t just throw our girl into the fire.”
“So what if her reputation’s ruined? Let her stay home for a few years. Maybe people will forget in time, and we can find a better match then.”

Zhang Yongfa was about to explode from frustration.
“You’re just spouting nonsense—this girl’s brain is clearly just like yours!”
“Everyone starts talking marriage at this age. Wait a few more years and there won’t be anyone left to marry. She’ll rot at home!”
“You think other people are stupid? Her reputation’s destroyed, and no one will forget it. Ever.”
“The only option left is for her to marry Song Fu. There’s no other way. She brought this on herself—she has to face the consequences.”

Realizing her father was dead set on this, Zhang Chunyan burst into loud sobs.
“I won’t marry Song Fu! I’d rather die than be with him! I’d rather be dead!”

Zhang Yongfa’s eyes narrowed dangerously.
“Shut your mouth! This isn’t the old days—otherwise you think you could do something so shameless and not get thrown into the river to drown?”
“If you’re so set on dying, at least wait until after you’re married, so it has nothing to do with the Zhang family. I won’t let you drag your mother and me down with you.”
“Look at us—we can’t even hold our heads up in the village anymore. All thanks to you. If you cry one more time, I’ll throw you out right now!”

Earlier that day, he’d overheard villagers gossiping about how Wang Huimin and Song Jianjun had gone to the village committee and registered their marriage. The two had walked out hand in hand.

It was done—final. There was no room for turning things around. What else could he say?

Seeing Zhang Yongfa was serious, both Chunyan and her mother dared not utter another word.

Chunyan’s talk of suicide was really just a threat—she didn’t have the guts to actually go through with it. The whole family was left gloomy and silent.

Not long after lunch, Song Jianjun arrived with a gift in hand.

Zhang Yongfa was still fuming inside, but he had to push it down and force a smile as he invited him in.

Worried Chunyan might cry or say something foolish, he had Li Guiqin drag her into the west room and made sure she stayed out of sight.

Song Jianjun didn’t beat around the bush. He said he was there to formally propose marriage on behalf of Song Fu.

After everything that had happened, it didn’t matter who was right or wrong—Song Fu and Zhang Chunyan had to marry.

The sooner they held the wedding, the sooner the gossip would die down.