Chapter 3: Lin Shi’s Backing

Lin Shi thought of the conditions that Butcher Wang had promised. As long as the marriage was settled, in addition to the agreed bride price, he would also give her an extra two taels of silver. Her thoughts stirred once again.

“Mother, don’t be angry. I’m really doing this for Nian Nian’s sake. In all the villages within ten miles, what kind of girl can still find a good match after being rejected from a marriage? Butcher Wang may be a bit older, but he knows how to cherish someone. If Nian Nian marries him—”

Before Lin Shi could finish, Qiao Nian cut her off. “Second Aunt, there’s no need for you to worry about my marriage. The other day, I saw Big Sister vomiting badly. It looked like she wasn’t feeling well. You should focus your attention on her. In this village, anyone who’s ever been married knows what that means. If you don’t want things to get ugly, it’s best you stop bothering us from now on.”

Indeed, a few days ago, the original Qiao Nian had seen Qiao Jiaojiao vomiting by the corner of the backyard wall. She had approached out of concern, and Qiao Jiaojiao explained that she had eaten something bad and was feeling nauseous. The original host hadn’t thought much of it and believed her. But Qiao Nian didn’t buy that excuse for a second.

Especially with the way Hua Guixiang had spoken earlier, combined with how hastily the Chen family had tried to finalize the engagement—only a fool wouldn’t sense something fishy going on.

Qiao Nian had no intention of being anyone’s easy target, allowing herself to be pushed around. Besides, she wasn’t the original host. She had no interest in Chen Ming, someone she had only met a few times in the original host’s memories, and she certainly wasn’t about to get married this early in life.

If the rules of this world allowed it, her ultimate goal would be to have money and freedom, to live without marrying or having children.

These words struck Lin Shi like a heavy blow to the head, landing squarely in her heart and instantly throwing her thoughts into disarray.

Just moments ago, Hua Guixiang had been hinting at something unusual with Jiaojiao. Though Jiaojiao was also a daughter of the Qiao family, and Lin Shi felt uneasy, she knew that even if Hua Guixiang was biased toward the main branch, she would never go so far as to harm the second branch. She would never outright expose the matter.

But Qiao Nian was different. She had lost such a good marriage match—Chen Ming was going to take the imperial exam next year. As long as he passed the prefectural exam, he would become a titled scholar, and his wife would be a scholar’s wife.

How could Qiao Nian possibly accept that without resentment? Marrying her off to Butcher Wang wasn’t just because of the generous bride price—part of it was also to send her away early, to avoid any further entanglements with the Chen family and spare her precious Jiaojiao from needless irritation.

Lin Shi’s thoughts were in complete turmoil. She cursed inwardly—how could her daughter be so careless and let both the elders and children in the household notice something was wrong? Even though guilt gnawed at her, she had always been someone who spoke before thinking. Without even stopping to consider, she snapped, “What nonsense are you spouting? If you ruin Jiaojiao’s reputation, see if I don’t tear your mouth off!”

“A wretched thing that no one wants, one who even brings misfortune to her Father and Mother—won’t you still need our second branch to back you up in the future? And now you dare be disrespectful to me? Careful, or I’ll throw you all out!”

By the time she reached the end of her tirade, Lin Shi had somehow regained her confidence. In the future, the second branch would be the ones calling the shots in this household—which meant that she, Lin Erya, would be the one making the decisions. And besides, her daughter would become a scholar’s wife one day. Who would dare look down on them then?

In the past, she had always put on a sweet and obedient front in front of Hua Guixiang. But now, she couldn’t be bothered to pretend anymore.

The more she thought about it, the more emboldened she felt. Like a rooster that had just won a fight, she raised her head proudly, the look in her eyes toward the three of them full of open contempt.

In her heart, she thought: You’d all better learn your place. Not just those two freeloaders—even that old hag won’t be allowed to yell at her again in the future.

And what was with this wretched girl today, suddenly so sharp-tongued? She even dared to threaten her? Did she really think that just because that old crone supported her, Lin Shi would be afraid? If she knew what was good for her, she’d obediently marry Butcher Wang. But if she didn’t… then she had better not blame Lin Shi for what would come next.

Lin Shi thought her words would intimidate the siblings, but to her surprise, after she finished speaking, the three before her—grandmother and grandchildren alike—remained silent. They simply stared at her, their eyes filled with emotions she couldn’t decipher.

The look unsettled Lin Shi, making her heart tremble inexplicably. But then she reminded herself that she often hurled a few insults at those two money-losing burdens from the main branch, and her mother-in-law never said much. Besides, the couple from the main branch were dead—who else could the old woman rely on, if not their second branch? That thought straightened her spine, and she raised her head with renewed arrogance, assuming a posture of let’s see what you can do to me.

“What are you staring at? I didn’t say anything wrong. From now on, isn’t this family going to rely on our second branch anyway? You eat what’s mine, drink what’s mine—what, I can’t even speak my mind?” She let out a cold snort, as if that could thoroughly suppress the three people standing before her.

Just as Qiao Nian was about to speak, Hua Guixiang cut in first. “Ping’an, go to the village chief’s house and ask your Uncle Village Chief to come by. While you’re at it, check if your Second Uncle is at the village entrance—if he is, call him back too.”

Ping’an glanced at Hua Guixiang and Qiao Nian. Seeing both of them nod, the clever boy didn’t ask any questions and dashed out the door.

“Mother, what are you calling the village chief for?” Lin Shi asked suspiciously. But then she quickly dismissed the thought, believing that the old woman couldn’t stir up much trouble anyway, so she didn’t speak up to stop her.

Hua Guixiang ignored Lin Shi and took Qiao Nian into her own room, carefully closing the door behind them once they were inside.

Seeing Hua Guixiang’s serious demeanor, Qiao Nian had a vague sense of what was coming, but part of her wondered if she was just overthinking it.

In her memories, Hua Guixiang had always been a strong, open-hearted woman. Twenty years ago, she and her husband had fled famine together and eventually managed to settle down in Huaishu Village under the jurisdiction of Huaizhou Prefecture.

Most of the villagers here had similarly fled from disaster. Their surnames were diverse, and there was no clan structure—meaning no ancestral family ties to lean on or receive support from. Whether a family lived well or suffered was entirely dependent on their own hands.

Over the years, through gradually building trust and cooperation, the villagers had finally achieved the peaceful coexistence they enjoyed now.

Back then, when the Qiao family had fled to Huaizhou Prefecture, they had numbered more than a dozen. But by the time they arrived, only Qiao Laotou and Hua Guixiang remained. The couple registered their household and truly started from scratch—relying solely on each other, supporting one another through hardship—until they built the Qiao family of today.

Three years ago, Qiao Laotou passed away after falling ill. Then, just a month ago, their eldest son and daughter-in-law also died together. The sorrow of those losses was something only Hua Guixiang herself could truly comprehend.

Now, she had only one son left—Qiao Lao’er. Yet he and his wife were scheming to use the two children left behind by the main branch for their own gain. As a woman who had already lost her husband and then her son, how was she supposed to endure that? How could she not feel pain?

Whether palm or back of the hand, both are flesh—losing either was like having her heart ripped open.

The grief and desolation in her heart could not be expressed, no matter how many words were spoken.

After all the commotion caused by the second branch today—especially how Lin Shi had treated Qiao Nian and her younger brother—now that Hua Guixiang had summoned the village chief to the house, Qiao Nian couldn’t help but wonder.

Could the old woman really be steeling her heart to split the second branch off from the family?

Or… was she preparing to separate them, the main branch?