Typically, Shen Yijia would avoid Auntie Tian whenever she came to the house. However, when Widow Wang came, she was very happy to interact with her.
The reason was very simple. Every time Widow Wang came, she would bring gossip from Xiagou Village. She would talk about which family’s young lady was with which young man, which family’s wife was cheating on someone, and which family’s man was blocking her bed. She could even tell which family’s pig had given birth to piglets.
Shen Yijia listened with relish every time. Bruiser probably inherited this trait from Widow Wang.
“You don’t know how lively the village is today. Most of the villagers went to the old Song residence to attend the wedding banquet.” Widow Wang smacked her lips and said, “That table is already in the middle of the road.”
Madam Li paused for a moment. “Their third son is getting married?”
“How could that be? I heard that Song Maolin is going to marry a young lady from a wealthy family when he becomes an official in the future. Why would he take a fancy to a girl from a small place like ours? It’s that girl, Song Jiayue, who’s getting married.” Widow Wang leaned closer and lowered her voice as she continued, “I heard that she’s going to be sent to Old Master Liu in town to be his fifth concubine. It was her eldest sister-in-law who pulled the strings. Even so, she still dares to show off openly, as if she’s afraid that others won’t know that her daughter has become a concubine.”
“What? I remember that Jiayue hasn’t reached marriageable age yet, right?” Madam Li was also shocked.
She really couldn’t figure out what kind of family would push their daughter into a fire pit.
“You’re right she isn’t. It’s all because of the money.” Widow Wang suddenly glanced at Shen Yijia. Shen Yijia was puzzled and thought that Widow Wang was thirsty. She immediately poured a cup of tea and handed it over. She winked at her to continue.
Widow Wang choked. She took the tea and coughed dryly before continuing, “Weren’t the three of them injured previously?”
Shen Yijia nodded. She was the one who beat them up.
“Not only did they empty their pockets to treat their injuries, but they even chased their second son-in-law out to live in their father-in-law’s house as a live-in son-in-law. However, this amount of money is still not enough. I didn’t expect their eldest sister-in-law, who had been married for a few years, to suddenly come back. She came back just to arrange this marriage for Song Jiayue.”
“Old Master Liu is one of the richest people in our town. I heard that he gave the old Song family 300 taels of silver. Song Dajiang agreed to this marriage without hesitation.” With that, Widow Wang picked up her teacup and drank it in one gulp.
Shen Yijia was dumbfounded. She did not expect Song Maolin to be so important in that family.
At this moment, in the Song family’s old residence, Song Maolin was listening to the laughter outside. His eyes were so full of malice that it seemed like poison would drip out of them.
On the other hand, after An Xiu’er returned home, she had been distracted. For a moment, Song Jingchen’s face appeared in her mind, and in the next moment, she saw Shen Yijia pulling at a man.
As she thought about it, she seemed to see herself entering the Song family in a bridal gown. In her daydream, Song Jingchen, who was also in wedding clothes, sat beside her and looked at her gently.
“Xiu’er, what are you thinking about?” An Dong was here to see if Father An’s medicine was ready.
An Xiu’er came back to her senses. Her face was red as she said nervously, “I’m cooking medicine for Father.”
“The medicine has almost dried up. Are you feeling unwell? Your face is so red.”
“No, nothing. It’s just warm here because of the fire. I’ll go back to my room first.” With that, An Xiu’er covered her face and ran away.
An Dong frowned at her back.
He suddenly recalled the day she went to the Song family to deliver snacks.
