Abandoned Woman Busy Farming

Chapter 1586: Chapter 1586: Hanging Beam in Front of the Door_1

Bai Ruozhu watched with envy, unable to help but wonder, what would it be like if Achun carried her on his back to the sedan chair? With his strength, he would surely not drop her to the ground.

Would he carefully remind her when stepping on the rice cake? What would he say?

She suddenly felt a little disappointed; she and Achun had never had a wedding, and although she wasn’t one to fuss over formalities, every woman harbors some expectations for such a significant moment in her life.

Jiang Yichun leaned over, his large hand sneakily grabbing her smaller one, he asked in a low voice, ”Why can’t you bear to part with Zhihe?”

Bai Ruozhu gave him a big eye roll. This man was too obtuse, completely missing her thoughts. Forget it, she couldn’t be bothered with him!

But Jiang Yichun chuckled softly, ”So you’re envious of Zhihe’s marriage, blaming me for not giving you a proper wedding.”

Suddenly having her thoughts guessed accurately, Bai Ruozhu felt a bit embarrassed and retorted stubbornly, ”How could that be? The children are so big now, why would I think about those things?”

By saying this, she felt even more suffocated; the children were so large already, yet she hadn’t even had a wedding. Wasn’t her life too bitter?

”Otherwise, we could divorce and then I’ll court you again, so we could have a grand ceremony,” said Jiang Yichun with sparkling eyes, his smile somewhat silly.

Bai Ruozhu couldn’t help but lift her foot to stomp on his, ”If we divorced and remarried, only a ghost wouldn’t be ashamed to hold a grand ceremony with you. You might not be afraid of ridicule, but I can’t afford to lose that face!”

She huffed and turned to walk away, going to find Madam Jiang and head over to the Yu Family together.

Jiang Zhihe’s dowry was not substantial, and the procession of dowry carts wasn’t long. As soon as the dowry left the house, two more carts were added from behind. Madam Jiang was taken aback and hastily looked at Bai Ruozhu, who smiled at her and nodded, ”We’ve divided the family assets, we should do our part.”

Madam Jiang couldn’t hold back her tears again. The day’s shocks were too much, and she was once more moved by Bai Ruozhu; recalling how she’d once treated Bai Ruozhu poorly, her heart felt both touched and ashamed.

”Ruozhu, I...”

Bai Ruozhu patted Madam Jiang’s hand, saying, ”We are one family.”

Madam Jiang cried even harder, ”Right, we are one family.”

Just then, a round of applause erupted in front. Bai Ruozhu and Madam Jiang eagerly stretched their necks to look in the direction of the relatives, only to see strangers placing items into Jiang Zhihe’s dowry carts.

”We’ve been graced by Lady Bai’s kindness, and today, as her sister gets married, we wanted to contribute a little. The items aren’t worth much, may the bride not disdain them,” someone shouted loudly.

Soon others added bolts of cloth and handkerchiefs, and there was also a basket of eggs added. The cart driver couldn’t be more nervous, fearing that a careless move might knock over that basket of eggs, after all, it was the dowry of the Jiang Family’s second young miss.

Jiang Zhihe, curious about the commotion, heard the matchmaker whisper beside the sedan, ”Miss, the common folks are adding to your dowry. This is rare even in our Capital.”

Jiang Zhihe’s voice was choked with emotion, ”This is all thanks to my sister-in-law’s blessings.”

Bai Ruozhu was also moved by this scene. Since leaving Mountain Village, she hadn’t felt this kind of genuine human connection for a long time, and the constant deceits had left her exhausted.

”This, this...” it took a long time for Madam Jiang to get the words out, her eyes filled with nothing but emotion.

Following this event, the Jiang Family began distributing porridge at their doorway during the holidays, and surprisingly, it was Madam Jiang who had taken charge of this task. She even cooked porridge for the common folk because she couldn’t forget the scene from her second daughter’s wedding. She always felt that she needed to find an opportunity to repay the people’s enthusiasm, or else she would never be at peace in her life.

As a result, this act almost became a custom for the Jiangs in the Capital, continuing for many years after Madam Jiang had passed, with Jiang Yihong persisting with the tradition.

Yu Chenghua incessantly apologized to the people adding to the dowry on horseback, and someone joked, ”Why are you apologizing, groom? We’re giving gifts to the bride, not you!”

Everyone laughed along, enjoying teasing the groom and bride, a beloved tradition.

Jiang Zhihe, unable to leave the bridal sedan, whispered to the matchmaker who then loudly said, ”The bride thanks you all for the dowry gifts and also invites you to drink Wedding Wine!”

The onlookers cheered, saying they would go to the Yu Residence for a drink to share in the happiness.

The grandeur of Yu Chenghua and Jiang Zhihe’s wedding quickly spread throughout the Capital. It became a hot topic among the common people and within aristocratic circles. Some envied Jiang Zhihe for marrying a good husband, while others admired her for having a kind sister-in-law. Yet, many more cursed Dou Ning and her husband for their ingratitude and insatiable greed, and even their attempt to forcibly marry their daughter to the newly honored scholar became a subject of gossip.

Meanwhile, the small courtyard where the Dou Family was temporarily staying was in complete chaos, as Dou Xingde wanted to go to the Government Office to rescue his parents, with Dou Yun urging him not to cause any more trouble and assuring him that Officer Fan would soon release their parents.

All of a sudden, Dou Xingde slapped Dou Yun across the face and shouted at her, ”If it weren’t for your marriage to Bai Zepei, our parents wouldn’t have offended the Bai Family and gotten kicked out by the old man. Now you won’t even help them; have you lost all your conscience to the dogs?”

Dou Yun covered her face, her eyes filled with shock and despair. The younger Dou Xingji and Dou Xingyun, scared to tears, each grabbed one and begged them to stop fighting.

”You think I wanted this marriage? Fine, since you all hate me so much, was it me who wanted to marry Bai Zepei at the beginning? Wasn’t it you who were captivated by his wealth and status? What am I to you?” Dou Yun screamed desperately, covering her face.

Dou Xingde wanted to argue further, but refrained when someone from over the wall threw rotten cabbage and shouted, ”Who’s screaming like a ghost in the middle of the night? Shut up, or I’ll send you to the Government Office to reunite with your ungrateful parents!”

Dou Xingde, who could only be fierce at home, wilted the moment an outsider shouted, not daring to make a peep, only glaring furiously at Dou Yun as if he wished her dead.

In a surge of anger, Dou Yun ran out the door, thinking, so they’re all pushing her to this point, she might as well die and show them! Since her reputation was already ruined and no decent household would marry her, and since her parents would take out their anger on her when they returned, she decided to break completely.

Why should she suffer while others lived well? Why?

With envious eyes turning red, she walked step by step onto the main street, casually asked a few people and found the location of the Yu Residence.

By now, it was the time for lighting the lamps, and the two big red lanterns at the entrance of the Yu Residence stung Dou Yun’s eyes. Why should Jiang Zhihe have such a good marriage and receive everyone’s praise? Why?

With glaring eyes, she untied her belt, made a knot, and threw it over a beam of the Yu Residence. Then she put her neck into the belt, kicked at the Main Gate, and shouted, ”Jiang Zhihe, you ruined my reputation, caused my parents to be imprisoned. I’ll die in front of your door. Are you satisfied now?”