Transmigrated as an Unwanted Ugly Girl

Chapter 544: Chapter 283: Urgent Marriages

Qingmu’s face changed color again. He shot to his feet—his sister and his wife were now his Achilles’ heel. Zhang Huai was also alarmed and asked, ”These people... these people, is there no law?”

Li Changyu gave a bitter smile. ”The law? We can’t hope for any peace until the new emperor ascends the throne.” After a moment of thought, he added, ”This sort of thing doesn’t just happen in chaotic times. It’s common for officials to scour the countryside for young girls under various pretexts. After being ’trained,’ they’re sent to high-ranking officials as playthings. The lucky ones might become a handmaiden or a concubine. The unlucky ones are just passed from one person to another, and some eventually disappear without a trace, not even their bones left behind.”

His words left Qingmu and Zhang Huai speechless, their fists clenched tightly.

After saying this, Li Changyu hastily took his leave, saying he had to go back and prepare for Jinxiang’s wedding.

After Li Changyu left, Zhang Huai was about to speak to Qingmu when Qingmu cut in, ”Go home and get ready. Marry Juhua and bring her home at once.”

Zhang Huai froze. ’Someone like Juhua... would they even notice her? She said she didn’t want to get married right now.’

Seeing him dazed, Qingmu said with displeasure, ”Those men are monsters. Do you have any idea what kind of twisted games they play? What if they take a fancy to the way Juhua looks wearing a veil? It’s better to be safe than to be caught unprepared when disaster strikes.”

Zhang Huai’s expression changed instantly. His heart leaped into his throat, and he choked for a moment before saying angrily, ”How are people supposed to live like this?”

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to get married, but marriage meant having children, didn’t it? Look at Qingmu—Liu Yunlan was pregnant less than two months after their wedding. But how could Juhua have a child right now?

No matter how worried he was, getting married immediately was now a certainty. Not only had Qingmu told him so, but when Juhua heard the news, she also insisted they marry at once. Her parents, Mrs. Zheng and Zheng Changhe, didn’t want to waste a single moment. They were already in a nervous discussion with Zhang Dashuan and He, wishing Juhua and Huai Zi could be married that very night.

Zhang Dashuan and Zheng Changhe had just been called back from the fields. They had been transplanting rice seedlings—helping the Zhang family today. But then, first Huai Zi and Qingmu were called away by Li Changyu, and next Mrs. Zheng had come to call the two fathers home. They were still puzzled. It was too early for the midday meal, so why were they being summoned?

As they sat in the Zhang family’s main hall discussing the matter, Zhang Dashuan and his wife, He, weren’t as anxious as Zheng Changhe and his wife. Believing Juhua to be unattractive, they were more concerned for her well-being, saying things about how her constitution was weak and she hadn’t fully developed yet.

Mrs. Zheng, who had been sitting on a small stool, jumped to her feet in her anxiety. She rushed over to He, grabbing her arm with tears in her eyes. ”Huai Zi’s mother, my Juhua’s face has healed! The blemishes are gone now. What will we do if they snatch her away?” And with that, she spilled the whole story about how the scabby patches on Juhua’s face had fallen off.

Zhang Dashuan and his wife were stunned!

He didn’t have time to ask why Juhua still had the blemishes on her face the year of her engagement. Perhaps she assumed they had disappeared afterward, or perhaps she wasn’t thinking about any of that at all—only the present crisis. Her voice trembled as she asked, ”Juhua’s face has healed? There isn’t even a scar?”

This should have been a happy occasion, but she felt a sense of dread. ’I know what Juhua looks like. If her face is clear, she’s no less beautiful than her sister-in-law. With things as they are, isn’t that just inviting disaster?’

Mrs. Zheng wiped away her tears. ”After the scabs fell off her face, there was still a huge scar. She was always applying facial masks. After all these years, the scar has faded. Just the other day, she was so happy, saying it was almost invisible...”

He didn’t even ask what a ”facial mask” was. She just grabbed Mrs. Zheng’s hand and asked desperately, ”What do we do? What do we do?”

When Zhang Dashuan heard that Juhua’s face had healed, he was stunned for a moment before huddling together with Zheng Changhe to discuss it in low voices. Zheng Changhe had only said a few words when he heard He crying out ”What do we do?” He looked up, exasperated, and said, ”What else can we do? We have to get them married right away!”

He said in a panic, ”You don’t understand. Those people don’t care about that. If a girl is truly beautiful, they don’t care if she’s married or not. When I was little, a girl from our village was taken away. They said she was going off to live a life of luxury, but who knows where they took her? It’s been so many years, and there’s been no sign of her, dead or alive...”

Mrs. Zheng grew even more desperate hearing this. But then, a thought struck her, and she calmed down. She said to He, ”Never mind that. Let’s get them married first. To the outside world, my Juhua is still the girl with the scabby skin. No one knows she’s healed. A girl with scabby skin is a girl with scabby skin. It’s not like it can just heal overnight...”

She let out a long breath, silently thankful that Juhua had always worn a veil. She then whispered a plan to the other three. Afterward, the two families, forgetting all about their work in the fields, launched into a whirlwind of activity.

Just as the rice transplanting was finished, a piece of news began to spread quietly through Qingnan Village. Instantly, every family with a daughter was thrown into a panic. Those with engaged daughters rushed the weddings, and those without fiancés for their daughters scrambled to find someone. They didn’t even know what counted as a ”beauty.” In short, the first priority was to marry their daughters off. Even if a girl wasn’t pretty, she had to be married—what if those black-hearted, rotten-livered bastards snatched her to be a maidservant?

Liu Sanshun had only gotten engaged to Xiu at the end of last year, but now he hurriedly married her. Laixi also brought Liu Xiaomei into his home. Jinxiang was married off that very night to a family in Xiatang Market. Li Changxing had been trying to convince Old Cheng to let him marry his daughter, Zhuzi, but there was no need for persuasion now; Old Cheng ordered him to bring Zhuzi home within two days. Old Cheng’s other young daughter, Lin Zi, was also quickly promised to Li Changyun after a brief discussion with Li Gengdi.

Shorty Zhou had just married his daughter Xiu off to Liu Sanshun, but he still had another young daughter, Cui. He didn’t care that she was still young and wanted to marry her to Liu Sixun. However, Liu Sixun was still a student and didn’t want to get married, which left Shorty Zhou so anxious his eyes were practically spitting fire.

While Zhang Dashuan and his wife were frantically busy with Huai Zi and Juhua’s wedding preparations, they received a visit from Li Changxing’s second paternal uncle and aunt. They had come for Yan.

When Zhang Dashuan and He heard that the couple wanted to ask for Yan’s hand in marriage for their youngest son, Zhang Yang, they were dumbfounded. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian.com to vote for recommendations and monthly passes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)