Chapter 8 It’s not Song Fu, it’s Song Jianjun?

By now, a large crowd had gathered around to watch the drama, whispering and pointing fingers—some siding with one person, others with another. Even Xu Xiaowei was beginning to look at Wang Huimin with a hint of doubt in his eyes. Although he had already believed something had happened between Zhang Chunyan and Song Fu, he wasn’t sure about the rest.

Wang Huimin wiped her tears and looked even more wronged than Zhang Chunyan.

“Chunyan, we grew up together. I really didn’t expect you to treat me like this, even now trying to smear my name.”

“I wasn’t going to say anything, but now I have no choice. I ask all the uncles and aunties here to be my witnesses.”

“It’s true that my family accepted 1,000 yuan in bride price from the Song family, and it’s true that the engagement was for me—but the person I’m supposed to marry is not Song Fu. It’s his third uncle, Song Jianjun.”

“And my parents, after taking so much bride price, didn’t even prepare a dowry for me and wanted to kick me out. I felt ashamed and didn’t want to talk about it, but now it’s being twisted into an excuse to throw mud on me.”

“I’ll clarify it now: if I’m related to Song Fu in any way, it’s only because once I marry his third uncle, I’ll be his third aunt. Whatever relationship he has with anyone has nothing to do with me. We’re a generation apart. Isn’t it ridiculous to drag me into this?”

As soon as Wang Huimin said this, the whole crowd of neighbors, friends, and villagers was stunned.

What?! Did they hear that right?

Wang Huimin, considered one of the most decent girls in the village, was actually going to marry Song Jianjun—the older bachelor with a limp?

People started murmuring…

“She’s only eighteen or nineteen, and that Song Jianjun is nearly thirty, isn’t he? That’s ridiculous!”

“A good girl like her marrying an older, disabled bachelor—what a waste.”

“Well, not necessarily. Song Jianjun is a good guy—he served in the army and contributed to the country.”

“Sure, he’s got a limp, but he can still work just fine, and he gets a stipend every month. That’s better than us scraping by on farmland.”

“Her family’s terrible—crooked to the core. They don’t treat that girl like a human being.”

“Didn’t I hear the Song family gave 1,000 yuan in bride price? Looks like they really bought themselves a wife.”

“Exactly. And they won’t even give her a dowry after taking so much money. That’s just ruining a girl’s life. Only their family would sell their own daughter like that.”

…

With just a few sentences, Wang Huimin not only cleared up the rumor that she was involved with Song Fu, but also publicly confirmed her engagement to Song Jianjun, and threw dirt on Tian Yongmei and her husband—all in one go. A perfect three-birds-one-stone move.

People had all kinds of things to say, but Zhang Chunyan was the one who looked the most shaken, her face full of disbelief.

“No way. Wang Huimin, you’re lying! Your family clearly betrothed you to Song Fu. How did it suddenly become his uncle?”

Wang Huimin shot back sharply, “Zhang Chunyan, stop spouting nonsense. Would I lie about something this serious in front of everyone? You think I’m like you?”

Zhang Chunyan pointed a trembling finger at her. “You’re lying! I went to your house yesterday—your mom and your sister said they were setting you up with Song Fu. I heard it with my own ears.”

“So how come now it’s suddenly his third uncle? What—did you fall for both the uncle and the nephew?”

That line was a serious insult.

Before Wang Huimin could reply, a deep and pleasant voice came from the back of the crowd.

“The one marrying Wang Huimin is indeed me. I’m here right now. If you have any questions, you can ask me directly.”

With that voice, the crowd instantly fell silent. Everyone turned toward the speaker, and a path opened naturally to reveal Song Jianjun himself.

When he arrived and walked straight to Wang Huimin’s side, Zhang Chunyan’s face froze.

Song Jianjun’s timely arrival gave Wang Huimin a deep sense of reassurance. She moved to his side and, naturally, didn’t call him “Uncle” anymore.

“You came?”

Seeing that her eyes were red from crying, and knowing this whole mess had been stirred up by her, Song Jianjun still felt a pang of sympathy for this brave girl. His voice was gentle.

“A neighbor told me what was going on, so I came. Are you okay?”

Wang Huimin shook her head. “I’m fine. As long as you’re here, I feel safe. Otherwise, they’d keep bullying me.”

Song Jianjun comforted her. “Don’t worry. It’s okay now. I won’t let anyone bully you.”

At that moment, Wang Huimin suddenly remembered how in her previous life, Song Jianjun had defended her like this too—not out of love, but because it was the right thing to do. Still, it had given her warmth. Her eyes turned red again.

“Thank you.”

The words were soft, but they struck deeply. Everyone around heard them.

Even though the two weren’t married yet, there was already a sense of intimacy between them, like a young couple. That alone confirmed what Wang Huimin had said—she was indeed engaged to Song Jianjun. With his personal appearance and confirmation, everything Zhang Chunyan had claimed was now deemed false.

While the Zhang family stood stunned, unsure how to respond, Tian Yongmei and Wang Qingcai—the parents—also arrived after getting word, a step later than Song Jianjun.

As soon as she saw them, Zhang Chunyan grabbed on like a drowning person to a life raft.

“Aunt Wang! Didn’t you say before that the one Huimin was engaged to was Song Fu? How is it suddenly his uncle?”

“What’s going on? You’d better explain, or no one will understand what’s true!”

Wang Huimin immediately shot back, “What is there to explain? Song Jianjun and I are both standing right here. Isn’t that clearer than any explanation you could ask for? What else do you want?”

“Do you want all of us to go along with your little performance—cover up everything you’ve done and pin all the blame on someone else?”

“Everyone here has clear eyes—you really think doing this will work?” Zhang Chunyan was furious. How had she never realized before that Wang Huimin could speak so sharply? She was left speechless. “Wang Huimin, you—!”

At that moment, Song Jianjun looked over at Wang Qingcai and Tian Yongmei with a serious gaze.

“Brother Wang, Sister-in-law Wang, it won’t be long before I call you father- and mother-in-law,” he said. “My engagement to Huimin has already been settled, and I’ve delivered the bride price.”

“I don’t want this marriage to be ruined by anyone’s malice. There can’t be any unexpected problems.”

“We’re about to become in-laws—I’m sure you don’t want any trouble at this point, right?”

Who couldn’t read between the lines of that? If anything happened now that ruined the marriage, the 1,000 yuan bride price would have to be returned to the Song family. Of course, Wang Huimin’s parents wouldn’t be happy about that. It didn’t matter who their daughter was married off to—as long as the money stayed, that was what really mattered.

Tian Yongmei was quick-witted and didn’t spare so much as a glance for the embarrassed expressions on Zhang Chunyan and her parents’ faces. She immediately smiled and said:

“Yes, yes—what Jianjun says is right. We’re practically family now, and nothing can go wrong with such a good match.”

“Our Huimin is still young. If she does anything wrong after the marriage, don’t hesitate to tell me—I’ll make sure to correct her.”

Wang Qingcai had just come back from work and arrived in time for the scene. He didn’t have much of a backbone and had always been firmly under Tian Yongmei’s thumb—she ran the household. Since Wang Huimin was willing, he shared his wife’s view.

“Huimin will be in your care, Brother Song. When we get back, we’ll pick a good day to hold the wedding.”

Now that even the girl’s parents had spoken, and with Song Jianjun publicly acknowledging Wang Huimin and standing by her side, it was clear to everyone who was right and who was wrong. The Zhang family of three looked like nothing more than ridiculous clowns being watched by the crowd.