Reborn as a Happy Wife in a Rural Family
Chapter 83

Chapter 83: Chapter 83

"You~"

Ms. Yun wanted to argue back, but Gu Qingyan held her back. At least her daughter wasn’t like Gu Qingli, who had been defiled, and no one even knew by whom. Her Mei’er was no slut.

"And you, you useless thing! I told you not to get entangled with the Gu family, and now look what you’ve done!" Ms. Liu was so angry she grabbed Chen Erlang’s ear, as if she would tear it right off.

"Big Brother, please go and invite the Village Chief, Second Granduncle."

Gu Qingyan saw that without adding more fuel to the fire, they wouldn’t compromise.

Heh, then let’s add some fire. They’re slandering the daughters of the Gu family, and the Gu family’s daughters aren’t just Gu Qingmei and Gu Qingli, you know. Once the Village Chief comes and understands the whole story, Chen Erlang wouldn’t dare refuse to marry her. The Village Chief wouldn’t allow Chen Erlang to *actually* not marry my sister. Not only would she gain the reputation of a ’loose woman,’ but it would also affect the reputation of the entire Qinghe Village. Gu Qingli’s ’loose woman’ reputation had just been suppressed with great difficulty, and now another one is popping up. Moreover, five students from the village passed the county-level examination this time. It was supposed to be a joyous occasion, but with this happening, do you think the Village Chief would allow Chen Erlang to act recklessly? The consequence of acting recklessly would be to drive their entire family out of the village, especially since they are outsiders.

Humph! Gu Qingyan sneered inwardly. He was confident Chen Erlang would eventually give in.

When Gu Qingming heard Gu Qingyan call him, he acknowledged with an "Oh" and was about to go.

"I’ll marry her!"

As expected, Chen Erlang finally spoke. He glared fiercely at Gu Qingyan and the others, then closed his eyes.

"Erlang, you?" Ms. Liu looked at Chen Erlang in astonishment.

"Mother, I’ll marry her!" This time, Chen Erlang gritted his teeth as he spoke.

"Heh, Brother Zihao, if you’d just said so earlier, wouldn’t that have settled it?" Gu Qingyan’s eyes crinkled with a smile. He waved for Gu Qingming to sit back down and not go call anyone.

Today was just Chen Erlang’s bad luck. He had gotten drunk, and there was no one to take him home, when it just so happened that Gu Qingyan and his siblings were also at the restaurant celebrating. He and his brother then stood up and said they would take Chen Erlang home, as they were all from the same village, and taking someone home was no big deal. The others at the restaurant also knew they were from the same village and felt reassured letting them take Chen Erlang.

So, the three siblings helped Chen Erlang out of town, took a shortcut up the mountain, and orchestrated events to ensure the deed was done between Chen Erlang and Gu Qingmei.

The two brothers had always been exceptionally worried about their sister’s marriage prospects, fearing her previous reputation would affect them. This time, Chen Erlang had passed the county-level examination, ranking fiftieth—a much more promising future than Gu Qingyan himself. How could they pass up such a win-win situation when it landed right in their laps? They weren’t fools, after all.

So, as soon as they arrived, the two brothers left Gu Qingmei and Chen Erlang alone, planning to return when they thought enough time had passed to ’catch them in the act.’

However, they had barely been home for long when Gu Qingmei returned in tears, telling them everything. The deed had been done, but Chen Erlang had simply pulled up his pants and left, refusing to acknowledge it.

This was unacceptable. The two brothers, bringing First Brother Gu, Ms. Yun, and Gu Qingmei, charged straight to Chen Erlang’s home.

At first, the Chens denied everything, but eventually, it escalated into a heated argument. That was when Gu Qingyan felt he had to add more fuel to the fire.

He was certain Chen Erlang wouldn’t want this matter blown up, affecting his reputation. Reputation was incredibly important to a scholar; Chen Erlang couldn’t afford to lose his.

Hehe~ Just as expected. Gu Qingyan was delighted. Now that his sister was marrying a county-level scholar, wouldn’t their family’s status also rise? Perhaps he might even become a proper scholar or something in the future.

"Do as you please. I’m not getting involved anymore," Ms. Liu snapped, then slammed the door and went into the bedroom.

Chen Dalang had no right to speak and led his wife into their room.

Father Chen sat on a stool by the doorway, puffing continuously on his dry pipe, coldly observing the farce. He merely glanced up at Chen Erlang, then at the tear-stained Gu Qingmei, shook his head, and said, "Since the matter is settled, pick an auspicious day for the wedding. In-laws, you can take your eldest daughter back to rest now."

First Brother Gu glanced at Gu Qingyan, who nodded at him. First Brother Gu then chuckled dryly a few times and said, "Alright, in-laws, Erlang, we’ll head back first."

Father Chen merely nodded; Chen Erlang didn’t move a muscle.

The Gu family, having achieved their objective, left in high spirits.

SMACK!

After they left, Father Chen stood up, slapped Chen Erlang across the face, and cursed, "Worthless creature!"

Having cursed, he turned and went into the house. Ms. Liu, inside the room, heard Chen Erlang being hit and cursed. She was just about to ask Father Chen why he hit their son and what it had to do with the boy when, before she could open her mouth, she heard Father Chen’s warning: "Behave yourself! If you dare cause trouble, see if I don’t break your legs!"

Ms. Liu trembled and swallowed her words, obediently helping Father Chen to bed. She was all too familiar with Father Chen’s temper. If he insisted on taking control of a matter, whoever dared to interfere or question it might very well be beaten to death by him.

She really couldn’t bring herself to like Gu Qingmei; that girl was a home-wrecker. With such a scourge marrying into the family, who knew what would become of their home in the future? Ms. Liu sighed. She had been headstrong her whole life, only to end up suffering this silent loss.

「On the Gu family’s side」

After achieving their goal, everyone’s mood was excellent. Gu Qingmei was no longer crying; her face was all smiles, radiant as a flower, as if she were about to become a bride.

Master Gu sat at the main entrance, puffing hard on his dry pipe. Watching his family return happily, he thought of Ms. Hua lying in bed. Master Gu said in a muffled voice, "Eldest daughter-in-law, go and give your mother a sponge bath."

Ms. Yun pouted. "Father, I don’t have time. Mei’er’s marriage is settled, and I have to prepare her dowry."

"What dowry can you prepare at night?" Master Gu’s face was displeased, his grim expression appearing somewhat sinister and terrifying under the flickering oil lamp.

Ms. Yun was startled and quickly pulled Gu Qingmei into the kitchen to boil water.

Once the water was hot, the mother and daughter carried it to Ms. Hua’s bedroom.

As soon as they entered the bedroom, a foul stench assaulted their nostrils, making both mother and daughter retch.

"Mother, it’s too smelly!" Gu Qingmei whined, tugging at Ms. Yun’s sleeve.

"Stop pulling. Hurry over and help your grandmother take off her pants." Ms. Yun covered her nose with one hand and pushed Gu Qingmei with the other.

Gu Qingmei had no choice but to dawdle over to Ms. Hua, remove her pants, and start cleaning her.

By the time they finished cleaning up, the mother and daughter felt like they had vomited out all their bile.

In the Space, Gu Qingli was growing drowsy, so she decided to sleep there. Without Xiao Yunjing outside, she couldn’t fall asleep no matter what.

「Meanwhile」

Xiao Yunjing and Mr. Xiao arrived at the border and quickly established contact with Feng Zhiqiang. Xiao Yunjing, Mr. Xiao, and the men from the Secret Sect, all disguised, were brought into the military camp by Feng Zhiqiang.

In just a few days, Xiao Yunjing had Feng Zhiqiang promoted to Thousand-Man Commander. He, Mr. Xiao, and the men from the Secret Sect continued to pose as ordinary soldiers.

In this life, he definitely wouldn’t become a general again. To control military power, one didn’t necessarily have to be a general oneself. Feng Zhiqiang was the best candidate. They would hide within the ranks, helping him climb step by step. Only when Feng Zhiqiang had grasped military power would he proceed to the next phase of his plan.