Ugly girl only wants to farm

Chapter 336 The Calm Lake (76)

As luck would have it, the steamed bun rolled right up to Aunt Qi's feet, and she didn't realize it at first.

The uncle reacted quickly, smiling and smoothing things over: "There's still some in the pot, I'll go get some for you right away, Xiao Meng's wife? Don't worry, I'll go right away."

Aunt Qi picked it up from behind, smiled awkwardly at her, and patted off the dust: "I'll tear it up and feed it to the chickens later. You happen to be here today, so please say a few good words for me. You should know best what kind of person my Yu'er is. We must give Yue Niang an explanation for this."

The old woman waved her hands anxiously, saying, "Sister, you can't do this! Your family saved my daughter's life, we're already grateful, how can we burden Qi Yu with his life? My daughter is a divorced woman, how can she be worthy of your son?"

Aunt Qi stepped forward and grabbed her hand, looking excited: "Old sister, please don't say that. Yue Niang is capable and kind-hearted. If anyone is unworthy, it's my Yu'er. We must take responsibility for what happened yesterday. A real man must be responsible."

Xu Chaoyan saw the two arguing back and forth, as if they were competing to see who could shout the loudest.

She took a deep breath: "Gentlemen, could you please hear me out?"

Aunt Qi quickly came over and grabbed her hand again: "Little Meng's wife, you must put in a good word for me. I've already prepared the gifts. It's just that our family's circumstances are limited, so I hope you'll understand, elder sister. I'll have Yu'er try her best to make it up to Yue Niang in the future."

The old woman didn't know what to say next. Although Qi Yu was a good person, it was indeed due to a specific reason; if it weren't for Qi Yu's intervention, Ya Ya would have lost her mother long ago. They were planning to prepare a generous gift in a couple of days to thank him properly, but who would have thought he would come directly to propose marriage?

Qi Yu probably accepted the marriage out of a sense of responsibility and commitment. She couldn't let her selfishness ruin the other person's life.

Xu Chaoyan looked at the two elderly people, one insisting on marrying and the other unwilling to give up their daughter, and then asked solemnly, "Aunt Qi, is this your idea or Qi Yu's idea?"

"This is our decision, mother and son. Since such a thing happened, as a man, he must take responsibility. If word gets out, how will Yue Niang face people in the future?"

Xu Chaoyan finally understood. The mother and daughter had been discussing this matter all night. No wonder she saw a faint light coming from their room when she got up in the middle of the night.

She wondered what had happened to Aunt Qi, thinking that she had been frightened during the day and couldn't sleep at night, and was even thinking of getting her some calming soup the next day.

“Aunt Qi, marriage is a matter of mutual consent. Qi Yu was only acting out of desperation to save someone. Why should we be so formal? Let’s just let this matter pass. I’m sure my sister thinks the same way. We can’t let this little incident ruin Qi Yu’s life. I’m sure he will meet someone better in the future.”

After hearing this, Aunt Qi frowned again and again: "How can you think like that? A real man must have a sense of responsibility."

Xu Chaoyan was also in a dilemma. Seeing that the two elderly people suddenly had a headache, she said, "Why don't I go ask my sister for her opinion? It's no use for you two to talk so much here. We have to ask the person involved." She wanted to go out and hide for a while.

Before she could go inside to look for the person, Zhang Yueniang slowly came out of the house.

Xu Chaoyan looked over and saw that her older sister's complexion was slightly better than yesterday, but she still looked sickly.

“Aunt Qi, there was a reason for what happened yesterday. I should thank Qi Yu for saving my life and relieving my parents of the pain of losing their daughter. As for the marriage proposal, I will pretend it never happened. I cannot ruin Qi Yu’s future because of my mistake. Besides, I am older than him, so it is even more inappropriate.”

As Aunt Qi watched Zhang Yueniang come out, her brows furrowed. Although her words were somewhat stern, they were filled with deep concern.

"Why did you run out here all of a sudden? You fell into the water yesterday, caught a cold, and were frightened. You should rest in bed for a few days. Is there anything wrong with you?"

With her help, Zhang Yueniang sat down on a stool and said softly, "Thank you for your concern, Aunt Tie. I'm fine, I'll be better after a few days of medicine. I also want to thank Qi Yu for saving my life yesterday. I'll definitely prepare a gift to thank him properly once I'm better."

Aunt Qi sensed the unspoken meaning behind her aloofness and indifference, and her expression immediately turned sour.

“Moon Lady, how could you think like that? Yesterday, Yu’er carried you, soaking wet, through several streets. Your reputation is ruined, and he has to take responsibility. Besides, he's just a poor boy; what does it matter if it's delayed or not? Marrying you is his blessing in this life. You are so capable and kind-hearted. Are you worried that we will reject Ya Ya? Don't worry about that. Ya Ya is very smart and lovely. She likes to stick close to Yu’er, and I think they get along quite well. Maybe this is fate. It turns out that my Yu’er has wasted all these years, but his destiny is with you.”

Zhang Yueniang's hands were held by Aunt Qi, and her face flushed slightly: "I'm a little embarrassed by your praise."

The older woman chimed in, "Sister, we think your Qi Yu is quite good, but is he really willing this time? You can't force him."

In that short moment, she suddenly understood. If Yue Niang and Ya Ya were to live alone, then after they both passed away, the mother and daughter would need someone to rely on.

Having spent time with the Qi family mother and son, what kind of people are they? They know their daughter has someone to rely on, and they've also put their minds at ease. Ya Ya does indeed enjoy being with Qi Yu. That boy is quite patient in teaching his granddaughter to read, and sometimes he'll even bring her some snacks.

She suddenly changed her mind; if this marriage could go through, it might not be a bad thing.

Aunt Qi heard that she seemed to be relenting. She quickly smiled and sat down next to her, taking her hand and saying repeatedly, "Sister, don't worry about this. If Yu'er doesn't agree, there's no use in saying anything. As the saying goes, forced marriages are never sweet. I definitely got my son's approval before I came to propose marriage."

Pointing to the pile of things on the table, she said somewhat apologetically, "I hope you won't mind that our family's conditions are like this, and that Yue Niang has suffered. But don't worry, Yu'er will definitely treat them both even better in the future. These are all small gifts I brought when I came to propose marriage. I will take care of everything for their wedding."

Aunt Zhang was in a very good mood at the moment. Looking at the gifts on the table, she smiled broadly and said, "What are you saying, sister? It's the thought that counts. We don't need to be so formal."

Then, as if remembering something, his brows suddenly furrowed again.

Aunt Qi had been happily discussing the wedding with her, but when she suddenly saw her looking worried, her heart skipped a beat. Still, she tentatively asked, "Why are you frowning, elder sister? Is there something wrong? Or is there something we haven't done?"

The old woman was at a loss for words, unsure how to begin. She glanced at her daughter sitting beside her, then at Xu Chaoyan.

Seeing her troubled expression, Aunt Qi was so anxious she almost stamped her feet: "Sister, just tell me what's wrong. Your expression has startled me. My heart is pounding like crazy, like I have a few rabbits in my arms, all flustered."

Xu Chaoyan then spoke up for her, saying, "Aunt Qi, don't worry. I guess you're just reluctant to part with your daughter. We're leaving the county town, aren't we? They've only been together with their daughter for a short time, so they're probably reluctant to leave."

Aunt Qi slapped her thigh a few times: "Oh, I was wondering what it was about. It's such a small thing. I knew it even before you told me. You've scared this old woman so much she's almost sick."

The old woman looked at her apologetically: "Sister, I'm so sorry. I can't keep things to myself. We only started living with our daughter last year, and we really miss them. I hope you'll forgive us for making this happen."

Aunt Qi waved her hand and finally breathed a sigh of relief: "It's not a big deal. Yu'er and I have discussed it. If you go, we'll go together to spare Yue Niang the pain of separation. Besides, it's the same for an old woman like me, no matter where I live. I also plan to let Yu'er take the imperial examination again to fulfill his wish."

Xu Chaoyan stared at Aunt Qi with her mouth agape in astonishment, her face filled with disbelief.

"Aunt Qi, do you have any connections?"

The mother and daughter were also very curious about what could be done to get him to take the imperial examination again.

When Aunt Qi saw that all three of them were looking at her, she suddenly felt a little embarrassed.

"Whether this will work out or not is still unknown. Ever since I decided to go to the prefectural city with you, I've been thinking about this matter. I used to be a maid in a wealthy family. I'll try to find someone to pull some strings and get a thorough investigation to give my son justice."

Xu Chaoyan nodded repeatedly with a happy expression: "Whether it works or not, we have to give it a try. Last time I felt that there was something wrong with those lads, and the county magistrate was just trying to smooth things over. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help."