Chapter 219 – The Foolish Prince Consort’s Farming Struggles – You’re Too Ugly (02)
The road from the town to the village was rough. As Bai Tang followed Lin Xiaoshuang, the path grew more and more remote. They eventually entered the mountains, circled around one, and only then did the outline of the village begin to appear.
“Just walk down and we’ll be there,” Lin Xiaoshuang said, wiping her sweat with her sleeve.
Bai Tang remained silent. He was currently playing the role of a boy so poor he had gone numb, sold off into some remote mountain village. Speaking would only attract the heroine’s attention.
That’s what Qiu’er had said. His voice was soft and delicate, clearly not one that belonged to a child from a poor family. With Lin Xiaoshuang’s jealous nature, if he drew her attention too soon, who knows what might happen—she might push him down a mountain, or take him back to the matchmaker and exchange him for someone else.
So Bai Tang obediently followed Qiu’er’s advice and kept his mouth shut.
Fortunately, Lin Xiaoshuang didn’t care. What mattered to her was that she didn’t have to marry the fool—not who ended up marrying the fool in her place.
By the time they descended the hillside and returned to the village, night had nearly fallen.
The village was isolated and rarely saw outsiders.
It was simply too poor—no one was willing to marry into the village. Lin Xiaoshuang’s parents had been forced to offer an extremely high bride price just to arrange a match for her younger brother, Lin Xiaohan. Now they were waiting for Lin Xiaoshuang to get married so they could use her dowry to fund Lin Xiaohan’s wedding.
“You wretched girl! Where have you been all day? There’s still work waiting for you in the fields…” As soon as Lin Xiaoshuang’s mother saw her return, she marched up and twisted her arm.
But Lin Xiaoshuang was no longer the original obedient village girl who let others hit and scold her. She dodged her mother’s hand with a sidestep and said coldly, “Isn’t Lin Xiaohan still around? Let him do it.”
Mother Lin was stunned. This was the first time Lin Xiaoshuang had ever talked back to her. But she quickly recovered and snapped, “What do you know, you stupid girl? Your brother’s about to get married! He can’t go out and work in the fields—what if he gets sunburned? He has to stay fair and handsome so the girl will be willing to marry him…”
Lin Xiaoshuang sneered. “Well, I’m about to get married too. Why can’t I be kept fair and beautiful?”
Without waiting to see her mother’s reaction, she pushed past her and led Bai Tang into the house.
“Unbelievable, talking back now! And why the hell did you bring back a little beggar…”
Lin Xiaoshuang tossed a coarse wheat bun to Bai Tang. This was considered good food in the Lin family—after all, she didn’t want to go through all the trouble of buying someone, only for them to starve to death before the wedding.
“Mom, that’s enough,” Lin Xiaohan said, pulling at his mother who was still cursing. He didn’t want Lin Xiaoshuang to run off after being scolded—he was still counting on her dowry to get himself a wife.
Mother Lin was the type who deeply favored sons over daughters. To her, a daughter was like grass, while a son was a precious treasure. So when her son spoke, she would at least listen somewhat.
“Enough, enough! What are you all arguing about? Sit down and eat.” Lin’s father slammed his bowl and chopsticks on the table. At once, Mother Lin didn’t dare make another sound.
The family sat around the table. Bai Tang took small bites of the rock-hard coarse wheat bun. It tasted awful—and even had sand in it.
“Xiaoshuang, what did you bring someone back for?” Lin’s father asked.
“I bought him. He’s going to take my place and get married,” Lin Xiaoshuang said bluntly.
“The Gao family feeds you well and treats you right. Marrying over there means living a good life. And you’re not happy about it?” Mother Lin started muttering again as soon as she heard that.
Lin Xiaoshuang slammed her chopsticks down on the table. “If you’re so happy about it, why don’t you go marry him?! Do you still think of me as your daughter—trying to marry me off to a fool?!”
“Isn’t it good enough that you don’t have to work anymore? Once you’re married, you’ll be a young madam…” Mother Lin said loudly.
No point talking when they were worlds apart. Lin Xiaoshuang didn’t want to waste another word on this group.
After the meal, Lin Xiaoshuang pointed at the outdoor kitchen shelter and said to Bai Tang, “You’ll sleep here.”
To prevent Bai Tang from escaping, before going back to her room, she tied his hands and feet with rope, securing the other end to a pillar. That way, there was no chance of him running off.
Having finished everything, Lin Xiaoshuang clapped the dust from her hands and returned to her room.
Once the lights inside the house were out, Qiu’er untied Bai Tang’s ropes and took out a steaming hot meal from her small spatial pouch.
He was starving. That hard little bun full of sand earlier didn’t just taste terrible—it wasn’t even filling.
Bai Tang dug into the meal with gusto. The refined rice and fresh vegetables were far better than the Lin family’s dinner.
Once he was full, Qiu’er, worried that Bai Tang might catch cold, brought out a soft cotton quilt and layered it three times over the yellow earth. Bai Tang lay on one, covered himself with another, and ended up sleeping better than anyone inside the house—without the slightest chill from the cold night breeze.
Xiao A and Qiu’er stood guard over Bai Tang. They even set up a protective shield around the shed, so there was no fear the Lin family would notice anything unusual if they got up in the night.
By dawn, the air had turned a little chilly, and there was some movement from inside the house.
Qiu’er and Xiao A quickly woke Bai Tang, packed away the blankets, and retied the ropes—restoring everything to how it had been.
Lin Xiaoshuang came out and saw Bai Tang still lying under the shed, sleeping against the post. She nodded in satisfaction. The people from the Gao family would be arriving soon to present the betrothal gifts.
She had already made up her mind: the Lin family was a bottomless pit. After Lin Xiaohan got a wife, they’d still need to raise children. Even if she avoided marriage this time, there would probably be a second or third attempt. Better to take part of the dowry, split it with the Lin family, and sever ties with them altogether.
Having made her decision, Lin Xiaoshuang specifically invited the village chief over before the Gao family arrived.
In a small mountain village, the village chief was the highest authority—and no one dared disobey him. Having him as a witness was the best choice.
Baili was the imperial surname, and the name Baili Luo stood out too much. To protect the now “dim-witted” Baili Luo, the head guard told others their surname was Gao and that the young master’s name was Gao Luo.
The Gao family and the village chief arrived at the Lin household almost at the same time.
“Congratulations! Best wishes to the Gao and Lin families for becoming in-laws.”
Lin Xiaoshuang hadn’t yet told the village chief that she’d invited him to witness a severing of ties. The chief assumed he was there to officiate a wedding and immediately offered his congratulations.
“Oh, the village chief is here—please, come in and sit!” Mother Lin greeted him enthusiastically.
“Gao Luo, you’re here too, come in!”
When Mother Lin saw the several carts full of cloth, goods, and the ten large cages of chickens and ducks behind Gao Luo and Uncle Gao, her eyes lit up. She became even more warm and fawning toward the two.
“Xiaoshuang, what are you standing around for? Go sit next to Gao Luo!” Mother Lin said, pushing her forward.
But Lin Xiaoshuang curled her lip and didn’t follow her mother’s instructions. Instead, she turned and went outside to bring Bai Tang in.
“Village Chief, I invited you here today to be a witness. I, Lin Xiaoshuang, am severing ties with the Lin family because they sold me. From this day forward, I have no connection with the Lin family. I will not be marrying Gao Luo. He will.”
She shoved the filthy Bai Tang into the equally grimy arms of Gao Luo.
It had rained the night before, and the ground was wet. That morning, Gao Luo had slipped and fallen. Elder Gao, afraid of missing the lucky time for the betrothal, didn’t take him back to change clothes. So now, Gao Luo and Bai Tang looked equally disheveled—one had a face covered in mud, and the other was smeared with soot. Two “dark-skinned” figures, with their handsome appearances completely hidden.
As soon as Gao Luo saw Bai Tang being pushed toward him, he instinctively reached out and caught him.
He grinned at Bai Tang, revealing a set of clean, white teeth—which only made him look even more foolish.
Looking at the dirty and seemingly simple-minded Gao Luo, Bai Tang’s heart ached. His husband had always been full of spirit and pride—how had he ended up like this?
He reached out with his bony, skin-and-bone hand, gently trying to brush off the dried mud on Gao Luo’s face.
“Dirty… dirty…” Gao Luo muttered as he grabbed Bai Tang’s hand, refusing to let him touch his face.
“It’s dirty.” Gao Luo took Bai Tang’s soot-covered hand and wiped it against his own white clothes.
Bai Tang’s hand was a bit cold. Gao Luo picked it up, blew warm breath on it again and again, then tucked both of the boy’s hands into his coat. “Warm.”
Bai Tang leaned into Gao Luo’s arms, letting him hold him more comfortably without having to strain.
Everyone present was surprised by how affectionate Gao Luo was with a boy he had supposedly just met for the first time.
Lin Xiaoshuang was the first to recover her composure. “Forced marriages bring no happiness. Since Young Master Gao clearly likes this little begg—him, marrying him would be better than marrying me. But since I’m the one who brought him back, and without me, Young Master Gao would never have met him, doesn’t that make me the matchmaker? I want half the bride price.”
“Absurd!” Lin’s father bellowed. If news spread that Lin Xiaoshuang had severed ties with the family, where would he put his old face? He absolutely refused to allow it.
“Sis, how can you be like this?” Lin Xiaohan also objected. Half the bride price—that was fifty taels! Enough to build a big house for their family, and they could live comfortably for three years without lifting a finger.
“Oh heavens, open your eyes and look at this ungrateful daughter!” Mother Lin wailed, crying and shouting. “I went through so much pain to give birth to her, to raise her—and now she turns around and bites the hand that fed her! She’s killing me!”
She absolutely refused to let Lin Xiaoshuang sever ties with the family. Even if the marriage didn’t go through, the boy had been bought with the family’s money. Since he left through the Lin family’s door, he still counted as one of their people. The dowry would still be accepted. Later, if Lin Xiaoshuang married someone else, they could collect a second dowry. What a great deal!
Mother Lin had such a loud voice that the whole house seemed to tremble three times with every shout.
Gao Luo quickly covered Bai Tang’s ears to protect them from the noise, and Bai Tang did the same for Gao Luo—what if Ah Luo went deaf from the yelling?
What kind of situation was this? Uncle Gao was filled with frustration.
The Lin family was yelling and quarreling, while the two young ones clung to each other affectionately.
“Enough,” the village chief bellowed. Mother Lin immediately fell silent.
The village chief looked sternly at Lin Xiaoshuang. “Are you sure you want to sever ties with the Lin family?”
“Yes, I’m sure. If they can sell me once, they can sell me a second and third time. If you don’t believe me, ask my mother—would she force me to marry again just to collect another bride price?”
The village chief turned to Mother Lin. “And you? What do you have to say for yourself?”
“Women have to get married eventually. What, is she supposed to stay home and eat up our savings? She’s my daughter. She’ll marry whoever I tell her to marry, and however many times I want her to. It’s that simple.” Mother Lin spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Lin Xiaoshuang’s actions had given her ideas—she could go to town, buy a few people, claim them as her godchildren, and marry them off for money. A few rounds of that, and the family could move to town, never having to suffer in this mountain village again.
Although arranged marriages were common, it wasn’t acceptable to sell people into marriage—especially multiple times just to collect bride prices.
Mother Lin’s intentions were written all over her face.
The village chief wasn’t an unreasonable man, but he clearly disapproved of her behavior. He said to Lin Xiaoshuang, “Lin girl, your approach isn’t exactly honorable either. First settle things with the Gao family, then I’ll help you sever ties.”
Lin Xiaoshuang took a deep breath and asked Gao Luo, “Hey—you want to marry him, or me?”
Gao Luo looked at Lin Xiaoshuang, then down at the boy in his arms. Without hesitation, he tightened his hold around the youth, as if afraid he’d run off.
“I don’t want you. You’re too ugly,” Gao Luo said.
Author’s Note:
I’m not in a great mood today. But as long as you enjoy reading what I write, and want to keep going, that’s enough to make me happy. I’ll keep writing, and I won’t let those unpleasant things bother me anymore.