Chapter 44

“Wow, that Pei’er girl really is lucky. She’s actually engaged to Fourth Young Master of the Cao family.”

The woman in dark green couldn’t help but curl her lip and whisper, “Thanks to this news, Madam Wu’s been strutting around for days now, telling everyone her daughter’s marrying into the Cao family—hmph, you’d think she were the one getting married.”

Madam Wu had long relied on the prestige of having a beautiful daughter, often putting down the other village women. Most kept quiet, but deep down, many held resentment toward her.

The woman in dark red muttered with envy, “Well, can you blame her for showing off? The Cao family is no ordinary household. Just their Qifeng Hall chain is about to span thirty-two provinces in the north of Da Qi—and that’s not even counting their other establishments. If Pei’er really marries into the Cao family, she’ll be set for life, feasting and living in luxury. If she manages to gain a stable footing there, she might even persuade the Cao family to spend the money to release the Liu household from military registration. That would be a true meteoric rise—one person soaring, and even the chickens and dogs rise with her. Ah, such fortune, that deadbeat daughter of mine, Chunxiang, couldn’t even dream of that!”

In Da Qi, getting released from military registration was notoriously difficult—but not impossible. One method was money. But the amount required was staggering. Yun Shuang remembered Sister Hua mentioning it once: to remove a single male from the register, it cost over ten thousand taels of silver, and had to be approved by the provincial authorities. Removing an entire household was even pricier. Although these restrictions primarily targeted men, women born into military households weren’t free either. In principle, a woman from a military household could only marry within one, but since the rules were slightly looser for women, if one wished to marry out, she could pay a redemption fee of one hundred taels to the authorities. This policy mainly aimed to prevent outsiders from avoiding marriage into military families. Yet even that one hundred taels was an astronomical sum for most families—an amount many dared not even dream of. Most simply accepted their fate in silence.

Yun Shuang’s eyes flickered slightly upon hearing that. So Liu Pei’er was going to marry into the Cao family—the one that owned Qifeng Hall. For a girl born into a military household, that was truly the kind of match one could only dream of.

Sister Hua immediately scoffed. “Dream on! To remove the Liu family from military registration would cost at least tens of thousands of silver taels. No matter how rich the Cao family is, their money doesn’t just blow in with the wind. The fact that they’re willing to spend a hundred taels to buy that Liu girl’s freedom is already astounding. Honestly, a household like the Cao family could have their pick of any woman. Why go to such lengths to choose someone from a military family? If you ask me, that Fourth Young Master of Cao probably has some kind of hidden ailment or problem that makes it hard for him to find a wife. That’s the only reason he’d settle for that Liu girl!”

Having long disliked Liu Pei’er and her mother for constantly picking on Yun Shuang, Sister Hua spoke with zero restraint.

“It’s hard to say,” another woman added. “That Liu girl is undeniably pretty—it makes sense that the Cao heir might like her. Additionally, Madam Gu is a renowned matchmaker throughout Shanyang County. As long as the payment is right, there’s almost no marriage she can’t arrange. Even if that Fourth Young Master does have issues, marrying into the Cao family is still a major win.”

The woman in the gray homespun skirt sighed wistfully. “Unlike my daughter Hua’er, who had no choice but to marry a military man from the next village. Poor household, and the man is lazy to boot—leaves all the work to Hua’er. I visited her the other day, and she was sick from exhaustion. Military households really are suffocating! Only women as unfortunate as Shuangniang would willingly enter one. Honestly, with her looks and figure, she deserved a far better life.”

At her comment, the other women couldn’t help but gaze at Yun Shuang with sympathetic eyes.

Yun Shuang couldn’t help laughing and shaking her head. About to speak, she was called by a bright, clear voice from nearby: “Shuangniang, there you are! I heard that Erya was sick the other day—I’ve been so worried. Is she alright now?”

The speaker was Xu Changyong, who rushed over.

The women all turned to look at Yun Shuang with teasing but regretful expressions.

Everyone could see how the Sixth Xu son felt about Shuangniang—but sadly, with her background, even a regular household might struggle to accept her, let alone someone like the Xu family.

Yun Shuang subtly furrowed her brows, her gaze cooling as Xu Changyong ran up and shyly handed her a small packet. “Shuangniang, I’ve been really worried about Erya. I’ve been waiting anxiously for your return from the county these past few days. I bought these osmanthus candies at the market—I remembered how much Erya likes them…”

“Thank you, Sixth Young Master Xu, for your concern for Erya,” Yun Shuang replied flatly. “But her illness has just begun to improve. The doctor specifically warned against giving her any random food.”

Xu Changyong’s expression froze, but he pressed on, still unwilling to give up. “Shuang-niang, please accept it anyway. These candies keep well—Erya can eat them when she’s feeling better.”

Yun Shuang’s brows pinched slightly. This man was completely clueless. Thinking he was doing something kind, yet all it did was put her in an awkward spot. Her expression turned colder, and she was about to say something sharp when Liu Pei’er’s sour voice suddenly piped up from nearby: “Brother Changyong, I love osmanthus candies too. Why didn’t I see you buy any for me?”

Xu Changyong paused, slightly stunned as he looked at Liu Pei’er, who had somehow approached without him noticing. He opened his mouth and said, “Sister Pei’er, that… that wouldn’t be proper.”

Somehow, Madam Wu and the matchmaker surnamed Gu had already disappeared.

“What’s improper about it? We grew up together. You used to be so kind to me, but ever since Shuangniang came, you’ve grown colder and colder.”

Liu Pei’er shot a quiet glare at Yun Shuang, then pouted. “Brother Changyong, you used to buy me osmanthus candies all the time. Now that I’m about to marry, don’t you want to give me any?”

“That’s not it…” Xu Changyong quickly waved his hands, glancing nervously at Yun Shuang, afraid she’d misunderstand.

But Yun Shuang was more than happy to untangle herself from the trouble. Smiling sweetly, she said, “Since Miss Liu said so, Sixth Young Master Xu, you should give her the candies. I’ve got things to do, so I’ll take my leave.”

Without another glance at the pair, she called out to Yun Yi and Yun Yin, who were playing nearby, and walked off. She didn’t even give Xu Changyong the chance to say another word. He stood there, visibly crestfallen as he watched Yun Shuang walk away. Glancing at Liu Pei’er still pestering him, he was suddenly overcome with frustration. He shoved the bag of osmanthus candies into her hands and turned to leave.

Liu Pei’er stood there stunned, clutching the candies, then glanced bitterly in the direction Yun Shuang had gone. That wretched woman!

She was about to get married, and yet Brother Changyong wouldn’t even spare her a kind word, after all these years she’d kept him in her heart.

Liu Pei’er bit her lower lip in quiet resentment. Suddenly, she felt a strong sense of being watched from behind. She whipped around, but behind her were only rows of village houses and endless fields of golden wheat. Everyone who had gathered earlier had already dispersed. She frowned deeply, thinking perhaps she’d imagined it, and walked home clutching the candies in a daze.