Xu's mother firmly remembered that Lin Ruoshan was a jinx to their family, and seeing her like a plague, she immediately reached for a broom to chase her away.
Lin Ruoshan let out a soft cry and retreated hastily, her face pale.
She saw that Xu Zifan's gaze was very cold, Xu's father's face was full of disgust, and everyone else had curiously gathered around. She hurriedly covered her face and ran away, not daring to stay any longer, her heart filled with the humiliation of being insulted.
Xu's mother let out a breath, put down the broom, and smiled at everyone, saying, "I'm sorry for making a fool of myself in front of everyone."
Someone asked in confusion, "I remember your family and Manager Lin of Yuanlai Tavern are on good terms, aren't they?"
An insider seized the opportunity to probe, "Sister-in-law Xu, was the girl you were engaged to your son just now the one who broke up with you? What happened?"
Xu's mother waved her hand with a smile, "It's nothing. Why talk about things that make you unhappy? Our daughter-in-law is the eldest granddaughter of the Lin family head, and she will be married through the Lin family head. From now on, our only in-law will be the Lin family head."
She clearly drew a line between herself and Lin Ruoshan, and greeted everyone with a smile, "My son and the eldest granddaughter of the Lin family are a match made in heaven, this is a joyous occasion! From today until their wedding, our fabric shop will offer a buy-three-foot-get-half-foot-free deal on all fabrics, so everyone can share in the joy."
"Oh dear, I'll have to buy more then, I need to make clothes for my daughter."
"I'll buy some too; my parents need new clothes."
"Sister Xu is so generous, thank you so much, Sister Xu."
It's fine to ignore other people's gossip; what matters is the real benefit you get. Everyone immediately flocked to the fabric shop, carefully selecting their favorite fabrics.
The cloth shop became lively again, and Xu Zifan and his parents greeted everyone, hearing many auspicious words.
He greeted them with a smile, responded generously to their stares and inquiries, and even helped them roll up the fabric, dispelling rumors that he was terminally ill.
Those who had speculated that Lin Ruoshan had broken off the engagement because of his poor health all changed their minds. This marriage was definitely caused by the Lin family and had nothing to do with Xu Zifan.
Lin Ruoshan hid in her own tavern for quite a while. When she walked to the door, she glanced around seemingly unintentionally and saw that the cloth shop was bustling with customers. She was immediately annoyed.
That old hag dared to chase her away in public and even shoo her with a broom; she's a truly unreasonable shrew. She even talked about doing good deeds to bring blessings and virtue, but given how stingy the Xu family was with her, it's more likely they brought disaster upon themselves with wicked intentions. Their family's ruin in their past life must have been retribution for their impure thoughts.
Lin Ruoshan turned back to Lin Fu and checked the accounts to ask if the Xu family had bought any wine. The answer, of course, was no. Lin Ruoshan didn't believe it. In her previous life, from the time she married into the Xu family until Xu Zifan's death, Xu Zifan was unable to walk on his own and had never even left his bedroom. Something must have changed that in this life; the most likely explanation was her spiritual spring water or her wine.
Lin Ruoshan repeatedly instructed Lin Fu not to sell wine to the Xu family, and even exaggerated the story of Xu's mother kicking her out.
Lin Fu, narrow-minded and petty, flew into a rage upon hearing this and wanted to take her to settle scores with the Xu family. Lin Ruoshan managed to persuade her to stay, and then took the opportunity to bring up how Lin Ruonan had disowned her parents for the sake of the Xu family, which made Lin Fu even more disgusted with Lin Ruonan.
Lin Ruoshan held a grudge and wanted to retaliate after being humiliated by Xu's mother. She thought that refusing to sell them wine would be like cutting off Xu Zifan's lifeline, and that making her parents dislike Lin Ruonan and give her less dowry would be like cutting off Lin Ruonan's support.
In the following days, she was annoyed to find that Xu Zifan was helping out at the cloth shop every day and his health was getting better and better; Lin Ruonan was embroidering a wedding dress at Grandpa Lin's place, and when she went there, she only saw Lin Ruonan's smile, as if she was very happy.
All her calculations failed to meet her expectations, leaving her feeling as if a huge stone was lodged in her chest, making her extremely suffocated.
Lin Ruoshan herself didn't realize that she was paying too much attention to the Xu family and Lin Ruonan, so much so that she was thinking about these things all day long, and even seeing the spiritual spring didn't make her happy.
Mr. and Mrs. Xu attached great importance to their soon-to-be-married daughter-in-law, and the betrothal gifts they prepared were significantly upgraded.
Xu's mother took out all her gold jewelry and exchanged it for a pair of dragon and phoenix bracelets for Lin Ruonan. This was the most valuable item in the betrothal gifts. Other items included ten bolts of the finest cloth from the shop, ten sets of various ready-made clothes, rouge and face powder, tea cakes, fruits, and so on.
There were also two live geese and a dowry of eighty-eight taels of silver, which was considered one of the best dowries in the whole town, almost emptying the Xu family's pockets.
But the couple felt it was worth it, because it was a blessing for their son to marry a wife, a daughter-in-law brought together by the God of Love!
Lin Ruonan was flattered and overwhelmed by the betrothal gifts, feeling quite at a loss. No matter how independent she was, she was still just a sixteen-year-old girl, and no one had ever valued her so much before, giving her so many good things; she was almost hesitant to accept them.
But the big weight that had been hanging over Old Master Lin's heart was finally lifted.
He had always disagreed with the arranged marriage and even fell ill from anger. Then his eldest granddaughter approached him, wanting to marry into the Xu family and asking him to mediate. He didn't think it was a good idea at all; an arranged marriage would definitely be looked down upon by the in-laws. Besides, everyone had agreed to the engagement back then; how could he go back on his word and marry his granddaughter to the Xu family?
Fortunately, everything turned out well in the end. The Xu family valued his eldest granddaughter and seemed to like this daughter-in-law very much. So, his eldest granddaughter should be able to have a better life in the Xu family, and he could rest assured.
He told Lin Ruonan, "Keep these gifts safe. Take them with you to the Xu family as your dowry. If the Xu family ever needs money in the future, you can take them out again. Grandpa has also prepared a dowry for you, and he will make sure you are not inferior to others."
"No. Nan Nan, the Xu family treats you so well because they are kind and virtuous. You must get along well with them."
Lin Ruonan nodded solemnly, "Grandpa, don't worry, I will."
She has decided to treat the Xu family as her own, and she is confident that she will have a good life in the future.
The betrothal gifts were so outstanding that they became the talk of the town. Not only did the entire village of Linxi know about them, but most people in the town had also heard about them, saying that the Xu family valued this daughter-in-law highly.
Lin Ruoshan overheard two women from her neighborhood discussing this matter and was utterly shocked. Without thinking twice, she rushed over and asked, "Is it true? The Xu family gave Lin Ruonan such a large dowry?!"
The two women were startled, but when they saw it was her, they smiled insincerely and said, "Is this fake? Who in the whole town doesn't know that Sister-in-law Xu likes this daughter-in-law? Ruonan and her son have had their horoscopes checked, and the master said it was a match made in heaven, bringing good fortune to their family. Anyone would like that."
"If you ask me, this is really good for their family. Just look at how much cloth the Xu family's cloth shop has sold recently! How much profit have they made?"
Lin Ruoshan could no longer hear what they were saying. She only felt that everything had gone off track, and the arranged marriage was inherently humiliating. The Xu family should be furious, and Lin Ruonan should be heartbroken, but dared not speak out.
As a result, all their anger was directed at her, and they were surprisingly harmonious with each other. On one hand, they were happily preparing for the wedding, proclaiming everywhere how much they liked this daughter-in-law and how high the dowry was; on the other hand, they were also happily embroidering their wedding dress, disowning their parents under their grandfather's protection, and turning against them, as if they really liked this marriage.
She wanted to upset them and make them unhappy, but in the end, only she was unhappy, while they were all happy!
Lin Ruoshan ran back to her room without saying goodbye. The two neighboring women pursed their lips and whispered among themselves. They knew about Lin Ruoshan and Xu Zifan's engagement; Xu's mother had even brought fabric over a few times.
When Old Master Lin got angry, his voice was loud, and everyone knew it was because Lin Ruoshan disliked Xu Zifan and was making a fuss about a marriage arrangement. That kind of wicked girl, she's probably regretting it now when she sees the betrothal gifts. She's really disgusting.
They'll have to talk to their relatives and friends about this, lest someone who doesn't know the truth marries this kind of girl.
Lin Ruoshan was completely absorbed in her own anger, her mind filled with things like gold bracelets, betrothal gifts, and ten bolts of cloth. Compared to her previous life, the betrothal gifts the Xu family had given her were utterly meager.
She never considered that in her past life, she looked down on the Xu family and loathed Xu Zifan, and made a scene to break off the engagement before marrying him. How could the Xu family possibly value her and give her too much betrothal gift?
Furthermore, there was no such thing as a fortune teller in the previous life, and the original owner's health had not improved. The Xu family had all their money set aside for Xu Zifan's medical treatment, so naturally they could not take it out.
Lin Ruoshan didn't think about any of this. She only knew that Lin Ruonan's situation was always different from hers. She was forced into marriage, while Lin Ruonan could choose not to marry; the Xu family gave her such a meager dowry, yet Lin Ruonan's was the envy of the entire town; her grandfather never gave her a cold shoulder, but he was fiercely protective of Lin Ruonan. It was all so unfair. Why was Lin Ruonan better than her in every way?
She urged Wang, who was equally unwilling, to demand the betrothal gifts. With so many gifts, Wang was naturally envious; logically, they should belong to them. She persuaded Lin Fu to return to Linxi Village and tentatively mention it to Old Master Lin, who immediately smashed his cup in anger.
"Get out! You don't need to pay a single penny of Nan Nan's dowry. From now on, she won't ask you for anything, and you shouldn't ask her to do anything for you. Just treat her like she has no parents."
Lin Fu left in a disheveled state, his anger flaring. He took it out on Wang Shi and Lin Ruoshan, and when he got back, he unleashed his fury on them, giving them a thorough dressing-down.
Lin Ruoshan's face turned ashen. She slammed the door and went back inside. Inside, she could still hear Lin Fu cursing her for making trouble and for having ulterior motives. She bit her lip, her eyes growing increasingly fierce, so angry that she felt dizzy and almost couldn't breathe.
This time, Old Master Lin was furious. He found a deceased cousin in the clan and adopted Lin Ruonan into his own family.
The cousin had no children before his death, and his parents, knowing that Lin Ruonan would provide for his descendants in the future, were very willing to adopt him.
Thus, Lin Ruonan is still the eldest granddaughter of Old Master Lin, but she is the daughter of his adopted "eldest son"!
Lin Fu dared not speak out in anger, fearing that further escalation would ruin Lin Ruoshan's reputation, his own, and the tavern's business. In any case, his eldest daughter had lost all ties with him and was audacious enough to disown him; so be it, she could be adopted. A married daughter is like water spilled from a cup; he didn't care for such an unpleasant daughter.
This didn't happen in his past life, and Xu Zifan never expected that Old Master Lin would give him such a pleasant surprise, resolving his in-laws' problems. He thought about it and guessed that it was because his changes had affected Lin Ruoshan, and as a result, Lin Ruoshan's schemes backfired, and she ended up benefiting them instead.
That's true; as long as they're doing well, Lin Ruoshan can't be happy at all. The pain of comparison is the most intense. I wonder how Lin Ruoshan will feel when she sees Lin Ruonan happily married into the Xu family.
On their wedding day, Xu Zifan did something the original owner of this body hadn't done in his previous life—he went to fetch the bride.
In her previous life, the original owner of this body couldn't get out of bed, and it was only after Lin Ruoshan arrived at the Xu family that others helped her through the wedding ceremony. In this life, Xu Zifan, dressed in a red wedding attire, rode a white horse, accompanied by a bridal sedan chair and a grand wedding procession, arriving at Linxi Village to fetch his bride with music and fanfare.
Many people from the town came out to see what was going on, and everyone in the village gathered at Grandpa Lin's house.
Seeing such a grand wedding procession, the villagers gathered around with curiosity and amazement. Xu Zifan, dressed in a wedding gown, looked even more handsome and dashing. The villagers regarded him as a noble young master and dared not approach him, allowing Xu Zifan to smoothly receive his bride.
Lin Ruonan had no brothers, so it wouldn't be appropriate for someone else to carry her. Xu Zifan personally carried her to the bridal sedan chair, bowed to Grandpa Lin, and solemnly said, "Grandpa, rest assured, I will treat Ruonan like a precious jewel and never abandon her."
Grandpa Lin quickly helped him up, nodding repeatedly with tears in his eyes, "Good, good child, Grandpa is entrusting Nannan to you!"
Xu Zifan mounted his horse, and the villagers watched until he was out of sight, still buzzing with excitement. Lin Ruonan was truly blessed; her groom was in excellent health, like a celestial being, far from the frail figure rumored.
Not only the villagers said so, but people in town who had heard that Xu Zifan was in poor health were also saying the same thing. They said that Xu Zifan rode a horse for so long with his back straight and without showing any signs of fatigue, clearly indicating that he was in very good health. Who was so heartless as to say that someone had a health problem? There are plenty of people who are born weak, but as long as they are healthy and can do anything, it's not a big deal.
The local custom is to bring the bride's dowry back with the wedding procession, so the procession is followed by those carrying the dowry. Those large red wooden chests, filled to the brim with thirty-two loads of dowry, have no lids, so everyone can see that they are full of the finest things.
The Xu family practically emptied their betrothal gifts, along with the dowry that Old Master Lin had saved up his whole life. It was a large and respectable dowry, wasn't it the best of the best?
This level of status is unmatched even by the daughters of some minor officials; it is truly unique in Shuixi Town.
Lin Ruoshan hid on the second floor of the restaurant, looking out the window at the long queue on the street. Her fingernails dug into her palms, and her heart ached as if it were being pricked by needles.