Chapter 4 : Marrying into the Xiao Family

With Chen Jinhua’s compromise, the matter was finally settled. Jiang Sui was married to Xiao Hechuan for a dowry of five taels of silver.

The old village chief was invited to witness the agreement. Chen Jinhua handed over Jiang Sui’s household registration documents to Xiao’s mother, along with her birth date.

Back when Jiang Dayong had picked up Jiang Sui, her birth date and horoscope had been tucked into her swaddling cloth. It was clear that she had been deliberately abandoned.

On the spot, the village fortune-teller compared the horoscopes of Jiang Sui and Xiao Hechuan. Upon doing so, he was visibly shocked. Their horoscopes, when paired, were a perfect match truly a union destined by the heavens. The fortune-teller openly admitted that he hadn’t seen such a compatible match in many years.

Upon hearing this, Mother Xiao was overjoyed, laughing so hard her eyes could barely stay open.

The next day, Father Xiao took the household registration documents of both Jiang Sui and Xiao Hechuan to the county office to officially register the marriage. Once the paperwork was processed, they were legally husband and wife. From then on, Jiang Sui would be known as Xiao Jiang, a member of the Xiao family.

Three days later was deemed an auspicious day. The Xiao family, worried that delays could cause problems, decided to keep the wedding simple and hosted a modest banquet to mark the occasion.

Jiang Sui got up before dawn that morning. Chen Jinhua cooked her a bowl of noodles and, surprisingly, even added an egg, something that had never happened before.

She also pulled out a red dress from somewhere and tossed it to Jiang Sui. The dress had several patches and the fabric was stiff and faded from age.

But Chen Jinhua hadn’t lost her sharp tongue and continued with her usual barrage of sarcastic comments. Jiang Sui was used to it by now and didn’t bother to respond.

It was, after all, her wedding day but she still wore that shabby, ill-fitting red wedding dress.

In modern times, Jiang Sui was just an ordinary girl. Her greatest ambition was to save enough money while she was young so she could retire early, live comfortably, and travel without worries.

Now that she had time-traveled into this book, her goals hadn’t changed. In an era like this, women lived cautiously, like walking on thin ice. Just because the book mentioned that the future top scholar Xiao Hechuan had outstanding character, was gentle, elegant, and deeply filial, Jiang Sui decided to take a gamble. She bet that he wouldn’t abandon his wife even after achieving success. She didn’t expect him to love her deeply, she only hoped to live a peaceful, stable life.

And so, just like that, Jiang Sui had arrived and just like that, she was married off.

She brought nothing with her except a few sets of worn clothes and entered the Xiao household.

The moment she stepped into the Xiao family’s courtyard alone, everyone had different thoughts running through their minds.

It was just daybreak, and the neighbors who were supposed to help hadn’t arrived yet. Only the Xiao family members were present.

When Mother Xiao saw the thin, fragile Jiang Sui standing there in her tattered wedding dress, her nose stung and her heart ached. ‘This child is pitiful too,’ she thought.

All of the Xiao family’s sons were present, as well as the youngest daughter but Xiao Hechuan was noticeably absent.

Second sister-in-law Zhou and third sister-in-law Liu exchanged glances as they looked at Jiang Sui’s shabby appearance. The former simply maintained a faint smile without showing much emotion, while the latter curled her lips in clear dissatisfaction.

Mother Xiao walked over first, took Jiang Sui’s hand, and led her inside. When she looked down, she noticed that Jiang Sui’s shoes were so worn her toes were peeking through.

Her heart ached once again. She led the girl into her youngest daughter’s room. Seeing this, the youngest daughter, Xiao Lanlan, quickly followed them inside.

Liu also wanted to join in the fun and see what her mother-in-law was up to. But when the bride arrived, she didn’t go to her husband’s room instead, she was taken to her sister-in-law’s room. Just as Liu was about to step over the threshold, Mother Xiao shut the door in her face, almost hitting her nose.

Liu snorted and rolled her eyes, but she wasn’t about to leave after being shut out. She wanted to eavesdrop on the conversation. Not satisfied with listening alone, she tried to pull in her second sister-in-law, Zhou, to join her.

Zhou was peeling cabbage. She looked up at Liu, shook her head, and didn’t move.

Inside the room, Mother Xiao gently led Jiang Sui to sit down on a chair, her face full of warmth and affection. Xiao Lanlan, her daughter, also smiled sweetly at Jiang Sui.

Jiang Sui could feel the kindness coming from this mother and daughter .

“Lanlan, go get that new pair of shoes I made for you and give them to your fourth sister-in-law to wear for now. I’ll make you a new pair tomorrow,” Mother Xiao said to her daughter.

Lanlan nodded eagerly, went to her small closet, and generously brought out the new cloth shoes. They were pink, with two small flowers embroidered on the uppers.

“Fourth sister-in-law, here, change into these quickly!”

She stuffed the shoes into Jiang Sui’s arms. Jiang Sui looked down at the brand-new cloth shoes in her hands, then at the ragged shoes on her feet, feeling a bit self-conscious.

“You two are about the same age, so your feet should be about the same size. Today’s a joyful day, and people will be coming to see the bride. We can’t let you lose face, can we? Girl, hurry and change. Wait here, I’ll be right back,” said Mother Xiao.

She was a woman of quick action. As soon as she finished speaking, she opened the door and stepped outside.

The moment the door opened, she caught her third daughter-in-law, Liu, leaning against it, eavesdropping. Liu immediately straightened up and called out “Mother” with a guilty look on her face, pretending nothing had happened.

Mother Xiao sighed helplessly. This was just how her third daughter-in-law was, she had long since gotten used to it. She didn’t make a fuss and went straight back to her own room. After rummaging through the drawers, she pulled out a red outfit from the very bottom.

This red dress and matching pants were from her own wedding. Made of cotton, the fabric had faded a bit over the years, but because it had been well preserved, there were no patches or tears. It was still more presentable than the oversized, worn-out wedding dress Jiang Sui was currently wearing.

Mother Xiao returned with the outfit in her arms, closed the door behind her, laid the clothes on the kang (bed-stove), and said to Jiang Sui

“Girl, don’t mind it. This was the dress I wore when I married your father. It’s old, yes, but it still looks decent better than what you’re wearing now. Don’t overthink it. It’s not that we care what people say about our Xiao family, I just don’t want you to be laughed at. You’re the bride today. You should look joyful and dignified, right?”

Mother Xiao hurried to explain, fearing Jiang Sui might misunderstand and think she was being looked down on or that they were ashamed of her.

Truthfully, Jiang Sui couldn’t help but feel moved. From the moment she arrived, she could tell that Mother Xiao genuinely cared.

Her eyes turned red, and she nodded earnestly.

“Thank you.”

She knew full well that if she got married looking like this, people would laugh at her but she had no other choice. This was already her best path forward.

As long as the Xiao family treated her well, she would be willing to be united with them in heart and spirit.

“What are you thanking me for? We’re one family now, no need to be so formal. Go on, get changed. We’ll be waiting for you outside,” Mother Xiao said as she took her youngest daughter out of the room to give her privacy.