Chapter 313: Chapter 313: The Ji Family’s Calculations
Even before Ji Xiu’e spoke, the atmosphere in the main hall was already tense.
The crux of the problem lay with the new bride.
The new bride was thin-skinned and stayed in the bridal chamber. It was a good thing she did, or the fourth son, Ji Liantang, might have stormed off.
Speaking of the bridal chamber, Granny Kang’s original plan was to tidy up the two wing rooms where the second branch of the family used to live and give them to the fourth son for his wedding.
But then, the fourth son failed the Scholar examination, putting him at a disadvantage when marriage negotiations with the Du Family resumed. ℴ
The Du Family claimed that two wing rooms were too much of an injustice to their precious daughter—they wouldn’t even be able to fit her dowry. They insisted a new courtyard had to be built.
Building a new courtyard? Wouldn’t that mean splitting the family? With only the third and fourth sons left in the old residence, this demand was absolutely impossible to meet.
Even without splitting the family, building a new courtyard would still cost money, wouldn’t it? Leaving aside whether the Ji Family even had the money, even if they did, Ji Qingshan was no longer willing to indulge Ji Liantang.
At the critical moment, it was Granny Kang who came through.
The two rooms from the first branch of the family had been vacated, hadn’t they? Give those to the fourth son and his wife as well, and that would surely be enough space!
Granny Kang looked down on Du Caizhu. The only reason she was willing to grant her so much face was because of that dowry.
But this meant that the entire row of rooms on the left side of the courtyard was now assigned to Ji Liantang.
Mrs. Zhu was not happy about this.
They were both daughters-in-law, yet her family of five was squeezed into two wing rooms while the fourth son and his wife got to occupy four. On what grounds!
In the past, Mrs. Zhu wouldn’t have dared to say a peep. But now, who was afraid of whom? Did they think the fourth son was still that precious Scholar-to-be that the whole family had to accommodate?
His Scholar dream had been smashed to smithereens long ago!
Mrs. Zhu threw tantrums and raised hell at home for several days. Granny Kang couldn’t control her, and Ji Qingshan couldn’t afford to get angry. Left with no choice, they relented, clearing out the western room where the fourth son originally lived and letting Ji Mingmao move in.
Only then did Mrs. Zhu reluctantly quiet down.
But she was still holding a grudge, planning to make another scene after the fourth son’s wife moved in to force them to give up one of their four wing rooms.
However, after seeing the nine large chests Du Caizhu brought with her, Mrs. Zhu immediately dismissed the thought.
Granny Kang deliberately pointed them out to her one by one, using Mrs. Zhu’s own words to shut her up: "You’re both daughters-in-law. Look at her, and then look at you!"
When Mrs. Zhu had first married into the family, she had only brought a few changes of clothes wrapped in a cloth bundle. What face did she have to argue with anyone now?
Fortunately, she was thick-skinned. She immediately adjusted her attitude and became much friendlier toward the fourth son.
’Even if not for his sake, I should do it for his wife’s. Who can argue with Fourth Sister-in-law’s money! If we can latch onto her, our third branch of the family is sure to benefit.’
In the end, everyone was appeased except for Ji Liantang, who was choked with resentment.
The reason he had agreed to marry Du Caizhu was because his mother had told him her dowry was substantial. Once she married in, the family’s finances would improve, and they might even be able to support his continued studies.
Ji Liantang, full of empty pride, had no choice but to bow to reality.
Because of a rather unpleasant experience six years ago, all the wedding formalities this time were simplified. The exchange of birth-date cards, the formal engagement, and the presentation of grand gifts were all completed on the same day, and the bride and groom never met during the process.
It wasn’t until the wedding day itself, when he went to welcome the bride, that Ji Liantang truly saw Du Caizhu for the first time.
Talk about a bolt from the blue—that was exactly what he felt.
If the fellow villagers who had accompanied him to fetch the bride hadn’t held him back, he would have dropped everything and walked away right then and there.
The others tried to comfort him, "You haven’t even seen her face yet. Maybe she has a pretty one."
’With a figure like that, what’s the point of even seeing her face!’
Ji Liantang’s heart filled with grief and indignation. He felt he had been deceived.
He wanted to furiously accuse the Du Family of tricking him into marriage, and he wanted to turn around and leave without a second thought.
But then he thought of his long-missed life at the county school, and of the long-missed Linghua...
In the end, he chose to endure the humiliation for the sake of his future.
He had submitted, but he couldn’t bring himself to be happy.
It was clearly a joyous occasion, yet he felt as if he were visiting a grave, wearing an expression like his parents had just died.
It made Granny Kang’s heart ache for him! As soon as she was free, she hurried over to console him.
"Fourth Brother, don’t you worry. She’s just a little plump, is all. It’s because her family spoiled her! Now that she’s in our family, no one will spoil her anymore. I’ll discipline her for you. I guarantee she’ll lose eighty to a hundred pounds before the year is out!"
Mrs. Zhu nodded eagerly. "That’s right, that’s right! Mother is the best at disciplining people. Our sister-in-law is just used to a comfortable life. Once she experiences some hardship with us, she won’t be able to keep that fat even if she wants to! Maybe by next year she’ll be as thin as a beanpole. Then she’ll be pleasant to look at. Just bear with it for now!"
Granny Kang shot her a glare. "What do you mean, ’experience hardship with us’? How is our family’s life a hardship?"
Mrs. Zhu pursed her lips. "Whether it’s hard or not, we all know in our hearts."
"You..."
"Enough!"
Ji Qingshan rapped his cane on the floor. The corner of his mouth was slightly crooked, and his speech was slurred.
"Go in. Keep your wife company. If you... still want... then don’t make her, angry."
Ji Liantang knew what he meant. With an impatient look, he rose to his feet, threw open the door curtain, and stormed out of the main hall.
Ji Qingshan pointed a trembling finger at the door, trying to say something but failing. Instead, he was overcome by a new fit of earth-shattering coughs.
Granny Kang rubbed his back to soothe him, chiding, "Oh, Husband, you should say a few words less. Don’t go upsetting yourself and ruining your health again."
Ji Xiu’e took in the whole farce, then asked abruptly out of the blue, "Father, Mother, now that Fourth Brother is married, when will we take care of Wuan’s important matter?"
Granny Kang’s old face immediately fell.
"With a reputation like hers, you think she can get married? Who would want her? No one would marry her even if we paid them Silver, let alone have someone marry into our family for her! Are they tired of living or something?"
"So we’re just going to stand by and do nothing?"
"We’ve already split the family, and she wants nothing to do with us for the rest of her life. Why should I meddle in her affairs?"
Granny Kang wondered if her eldest daughter was possessed today.
Ji Xiu’e paid it no mind, and with exceptional patience, she began to guide Granny Kang step by step.
"Even if the family is split, she still has the Ji surname. Look at that scandal she caused with Song Jing. What kind of mess was that? Word has spread all over Huangban Village. When outsiders talk about it, they can’t help but mention that the old Ji Family doesn’t know how to raise a daughter. If this continues, Xuechan and Xuejuan won’t be able to find husbands either."
Mrs. Zhu’s ears perked up immediately. If this was going to affect her own daughters, then it absolutely wouldn’t do.
But since it concerned Ji Huan, she didn’t dare take the lead, so she just listened.
Granny Kang heavily favored boys over girls, so her granddaughters’ well-being was not within her scope of concern. But if Ji Xuechan and Ji Xuejuan couldn’t find husbands, wouldn’t the family have to support them?
’That jinx, Ji Huan, was born just to oppose the Ji Family!’
"So what do we do? Give me an idea. Sell her again? We’re not even under the same roof anymore, and with her current temper... I reckon that would be a bit difficult."
"Then let’s find a proper match for her."
Granny Kang didn’t want to let Ji Huan off easy, but the main problem was she really couldn’t find a suitable candidate.
"Taking a step back, even if we could find a candidate, would that jinx be willing to let us arrange her life?"
"She’ll be seventeen by the end of the year, right?" Ji Xiu’e asked instead of answering.
Seeing Granny Kang nod, Ji Xiu’e smiled. "If she’s reached that age, then things will be easy."
Granny Kang and Mrs. Zhu were both completely confused.
"Mother, let me ask you. A few years back, did the village chief Meng ever gather the villagers to announce some decree from the court? The gist of it was that if a girl reaches the age of seventeen in her parents’ home and they still haven’t found her a husband, the government office will step in and arrange a match for her."
Granny Kang had no memory of it. She was getting old, her memory was poor, and she never went when the village chief Meng called a meeting anyway.
Needless to say, it was the same for Mrs. Zhu.
Ji Qingshan, however, did remember. And he had also guessed what his eldest daughter was planning.
"Yes, there was such a thing."
Seeing that Granny Kang still didn’t understand, Ji Xiu’e had no choice but to spell it out for her.
"Something sensational once happened over at my husband’s family’s village. There was a family where the stepmother reported her stepdaughter to the authorities, saying she was over seventeen and still freeloading at home, refusing to marry any of the suitors the stepmother found for her. And guess what happened? The government office directly matched the stepdaughter with a blacksmith, and she left the house in tears."
Although the men the stepmother had previously picked for her stepdaughter were even worse than the blacksmith, she had at least used this decree to get rid of her.
Granny Kang was shocked. "There’s such a good thing? But wouldn’t that be letting that jinx off too easy!"
In Granny Kang’s eyes, even matching Ji Huan with a blacksmith was letting her off too lightly.
"How is that a good thing? Mother, think about it. What kind of decent man needs the government to find him a wife?"
Granny Kang finally caught on. "Are you saying we should report her to the government office?"
She was willing to deal with the jinx, but going to the government office... she was a little intimidated.
"Not necessarily." Ji Xiu’e snorted, her eyes glinting. "First, we arrange a marriage for her. If she refuses, then we bring this up."
When the time came, she would have no choice but to obey.