Transmigrated as an Unwanted Ugly Girl

Chapter 480: Chapter 251: A Fortuitous Test (Part 2)

Juhua laughed. ”My brother was up at the crack of dawn sweeping snow. After breakfast, my dad took over. I mean, how much snow could there possibly be? They’ve even cleared a path outside the courtyard.”

Just as Liu Xiaomei was about to speak, she saw Guizhi enter the courtyard with a young married woman. Guizhi, whose belly was just beginning to show, smiled at Juhua and said, ”Juhua, is your brother around? I heard more pork was delivered and they want us to make this batch of sausages and cured meat, so I brought Sister-in-law Zhou.” This woman was the wife of Zhou Xiaonian, from the east side of the village.

Seeing her striding so briskly, Juhua grew worried. She quickly stood up, took Guizhi by the arm to help her sit down, and said, ”My brother has already gone to the workshop. Sister-in-law Guizhi, you should walk more slowly on this snowy ground. Don’t hurry so much.”

At the same time, she gestured for Liu Xiaomei to bring another small stool for Xiaonian’s wife, whose eyes were darting around and sizing everything up. Liu Xiaomei went into the house, fetched a stool, and gestured for Xiaonian’s wife to sit.

Touched by Juhua’s concern, Guizhi happily stroked her belly and said, ”It’s fine, I’m being careful. The elders always say you shouldn’t be too delicate when you’re expecting. If you do more chores and walk around more, as long as you don’t overdo it, the delivery will be much quicker.”

After looking Juhua up and down, Xiaonian’s wife chimed in, ”That’s absolutely true. Look at us country folk—we pop out babies like sows birthing piglets, quick as can be. But those ladies from wealthy families, they’re so delicate they want to lie in bed all day and need someone to hold them up just to walk. For them, giving birth is a life-and-death struggle. One wrong move, and it’s their life on the line!”

Guizhi shot her a glare. ”What an ugly thing to say! ’Birthing piglets’... Honestly. How many ladies from wealthy families have you even met to be spouting such nonsense? Even if they are a bit more delicate, they’d still listen to a doctor, wouldn’t they? And what kind of doctor would tell them to just lie in bed all day? That’s not a doctor, that’s a charlatan selling snake oil.”

Juhua and Liu Xiaomei pressed their lips together, trying to hide their giggles.

Xiaonian’s wife immediately shot back in a loud voice, ”Oh, come on! Why would I lie to you? It’s true! You must not have heard. The last time Liu’er came home to visit her family, she was pitifully thin. Liu’er’s mother said she had a miscarriage and lost the baby at five months. She said it was all the maid’s fault for not looking after her properly, for not even supporting her when she took a walk in the garden. I ask you, when we were pregnant, did any of us need someone to hold us up just to walk?”

When Guizhi saw her dredging up village gossip, she refused to continue the conversation. Besides, Juhua and Mei were still young unmarried girls, and it wasn’t proper to discuss things like miscarriages in front of them. She said to the woman, ”Sister-in-law Zhou, let’s get going. The others should be there by now, and we can’t be late, or we’ll lose our bonus for the month.” The workshop wages weren’t so easy to earn, after all.

Xiaonian’s wife clearly hadn’t had her fill and wanted to say more about Liu’er, but since Guizhi and Juhua wouldn’t take the bait, she had no choice but to drop the subject.

Just then, Zhang Huai hurried in. He glanced first at the main house, then turned to Juhua, who was sitting in the sun. ”Juhua, has your brother gone to the workshop? Oh, Sister-in-law Guizhi, Sister-in-law Jin, why aren’t you two on your way to work?”

As he spoke, he walked a few steps closer, then stopped and gazed tenderly at Juhua.

He had heard from his mother just last night that it was settled with the Yang Family—he and Juhua would be officially engaged by year’s end. He’d been in a state of sweet bliss all night because of it, and he’d been in an exceptionally good mood all morning at Xiatang Market. He was smiling so much while he worked that Li Changyun had asked him what good fortune had come his way to make him so happy. Now, seeing Juhua, he was overcome with an irrepressible joy. For a moment, he forgot everyone else was there, his gaze so full of tenderness it seemed to overflow.

Liu Xiaomei didn’t think much of it, but Guizhi and Xiaonian’s wife stared, stunned. A look of sudden understanding crossed Xiaonian’s wife’s face as she thought, ’No wonder! So that’s how it is!’

She was sitting right beside Juhua and heard her say to Huai Zi, ”My brother left right after his meal. Are you all about to get busy again?”

Zhang Huai nodded and smiled. ”We bought four more pigs, and all the meat has been delivered. I should get going then! Sister-in-law Guizhi, you two should hurry along too.” With that, he started to turn and leave.

Guizhi stood up and agreed. She was just about to urge Xiaonian’s wife to leave when the woman cried out with exaggerated surprise, ”Oh my! Juhua, that veil of yours is so pretty! Guizhi, doesn’t Juhua look lovely like this? Don’t you think so? Oh, dear, my hand...”

She muttered sheepishly, standing there as if terribly embarrassed, but out of the corner of her eye, she secretly glanced at Zhang Huai.

Juhua’s veil had been ripped off. Her face was covered in a raised, red swelling, a lumpy, scabby layer of flesh that was horrifying to look at.

Everyone in the courtyard was stunned into silence. After a moment, almost in perfect unison, Zhang Huai and Liu Xiaomei roared at Xiaonian’s wife, ”What do you think you’re doing?!”

Liu Xiaomei stared at the scabby patch on Juhua’s face, unable to believe her eyes.

’I saw the scabby patch on Juhua’s face when I was just a little girl. Back then, Juhua never came into the village, so I never had a chance to get close to her, and I’d completely forgotten about it. By the time I met her again and we became friends, she was already wearing the veil. And now that it’s been ripped off, this... this lumpy, uneven mess is what’s underneath?’

’Poor Juhua! How much must she be suffering?’

Liu Xiaomei was devastated. Her pity instantly transformed into pure rage, and she lunged toward Jin’s Wife. Her normally rosy, round face was now beet red, and her eyes burned with fury as she stared at the wretched woman.

Zhang Huai’s face fell. Just as Qingmu had suspected, the sudden sight of the diseased skin on Juhua’s face made his heart clench so painfully he could hardly breathe.

’I’ve seen her face before, for so many years. I used to pity her, look out for her, and my heart even ached for her. But it was never like this, never this unbearable!’

’It really is different when you hold someone in your heart!’

(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to support it with recommendation votes and monthly passes on Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.)