Transmigrated as an Unwanted Ugly Girl

Chapter 123: Chapter 71: The Business Closes Down, Sun Liu’er Gets Married

Sun Liu’er watched her mother spit and sputter as she calculated for the crowd just how much money had been spent on the dowry. She listed every item, one by one, afraid the villagers were too undiscerning to appreciate its true value. Suddenly, she remembered something Qingmu’s mother had said during their argument that day: ”When you’re sold, we’ll weigh you and see how much you cost per pound.” ’Just how much am I worth per pound?’ she wondered.

The married women who heard this were green with envy. Who else could afford to spend one hundred taels of Silver on a dowry? They made no attempt to hide their admiration and respect, sincerely congratulating Liu’er’s mother. The flattery made her feel like she was floating on air.

Granny Hua’s voice was the loudest of all. She had been let out a while ago, but she’d been acting and speaking with much more restraint than usual. It seemed Li Laoda’s ”cudgel education” had worked after all. But with such a large crowd today, her attention-seeking nature couldn’t be suppressed. She was buzzing with excitement, bobbing her head and practically wagging her tail. She rattled off a string of compliments, declaring that no other family could compare and that this dowry was the finest in the village.

A few old grannies squinted at the brightly colored satin quilt cover, muttering a few words of admiration to each other before reaching out to touch it wistfully.

Granny Hua immediately shouted, ”Granny Liu, you can’t touch that! We farm folk have such thick calluses on our hands. It’d be terrible if you snagged the quilt cover!”

Startled by the shouting, Granny Liu’s hand jerked. Sure enough, a callus on her hand caught a fine thread, pulling it out into a long snag.

Granny Hua continued, ”See? What did I tell you? Us older folks can’t touch it. It’s the young girls, who don’t do much heavy labor, who have soft enough hands not to snag it.”

Liu’er’s mother was also startled. She rushed over in a few quick strides and smoothed the spot with a pained expression. Forcing back the urge to curse, she pulled her lips into a tight smile and said, ”It’s alright. You can’t even see it if you don’t look closely!”

Granny Liu was both ashamed and furious. She shot Granny Hua a hateful glare. ’How did that old hag get let out? Nothing good ever happens when she’s around. If she hadn’t startled me just now, I wouldn’t have snagged the thread.’

She sat awkwardly for a little while longer, but felt too embarrassed to stay. She left the room with the other old grannies. The moment they were outside, the old women started cursing out Granny Hua, saying a leopard can’t change its spots.

After two rounds of the banquet were served, it was time for the bride to be sent off.

The young women and wives in the room all withdrew, leaving only close relatives like her aunt behind. The door was closed, and the mother took her daughter by the hand to begin the ritual weeping.

Tears streamed down Liu’er’s mother’s face as she spoke to Liu’er. ”I know you resent me. But once you’re married, you’ll understand how much effort I put into securing this life of wealth and privilege for you. I don’t expect you to help our family. As long as you can understand my difficult decision and live your life in peace, I can die without regrets.”

Tears were streaming down Sun Liu’er’s face as well. She sobbed softly and said, ”Mother, I’m afraid all your efforts were for nothing!”

Hearing this, her mother was overcome with grief and began to wail loudly. After all, the ritual weeping was supposed to be loud.

Liu’er’s aunt took Liu’er’s mother by the arm and chided her, ”Aren’t you going to stop? Are you crying for real? You’ll make the child’s makeup run. Whether her life is good or not is up to her own efforts now. As her mother, you’ve done all you can. You can’t plan out her whole life for her, can you?”

Amid the blare of suonas and the festive beat of gongs and drums, Sun Liu’er was carried away. Just before stepping into the sedan chair, her face hidden by a red veil, she turned and paused for a moment, looking in the direction of the village schoolhouse. Then, she stepped inside and left the small mountain village that had raised her.