Transmigrated as an Unwanted Ugly Girl

Chapter 484: Chapter 253: Gossip (2)

Mrs. Yang was at her wit’s end with her daughter.

When it came to her marriage, she wasn’t the least bit shy. Any other girl would have simply done as her parents said and hidden herself away. But not Juhua. Not only had she put both herself and Huai Zi through the wringer, but now that they were discussing the engagement, she was arguing heatedly with her family, insisting they not have a big celebration.

She shot her daughter a look and said, "What’s wrong with a proper engagement? It’s a huge deal. How can we just do it casually? It’s not about spending a lot of money. It’s about letting all our relatives and friends know that our daughter is engaged. Otherwise, if we get you engaged without a sound and nobody knows, what happens if other suitors come calling? Wouldn’t we be doing them a disservice?"

Zheng Changhe nodded repeatedly. "Of course, it should be a lively event. When your brother got engaged, your sister-in-law’s maternal grandmother and uncles all came. We don’t have many relatives—just your maternal grandmother and uncles, plus two great-aunts. It’s not that many people; it would be improper not to have them over. Huai Zi’s family, though, is another story. He has four maternal uncles alone, not to mention his paternal aunts. Heh heh! Dashuan is going to be busy!"

Qingmu reminded his father with a laugh, "Dad, for an engagement, they bring the betrothal gifts to the bride’s family. Everyone will be coming to our house."

Hearing this, Juhua grew even more annoyed with this dreadful custom.

But Zheng Changhe just chuckled calmly. "If they lived far away, there’d be nothing to be done about it. But now our two families are neighbors. When the guests arrive, you think Dashuan would dare not help host?"

After laughing and talking for a while, the family finally went to bed.

The next day, Zheng Changhe and Zhang Dashuan settled on a date for the engagement: the tenth day of the twelfth lunar month. And so, both families joyfully began their preparations.

Zhang Huai was getting engaged to Juhua!

The news caused a huge stir in Qingnan Village, creating a sensation just as big as when Meizi and Li Changming had gotten engaged. The two of them had such a tangled history, and who knew how many different versions of their story the idle gossips had spread around. Now, they were suddenly getting engaged, and the plot had taken a turn no one had expected. How could that not be major news?

Just as everyone was speculating about the real story behind the engagement, a rumor suddenly started to spread: the Zhang family was only so eager to propose because they saw that the Zheng Family was now rich. Otherwise, who would marry that ugly girl unless they were out of their mind? The rumor went on to vividly describe how, that afternoon in the Zheng Family Courtyard, Zhou Xiaonian’s wife had accidentally pulled off Juhua’s face covering. It claimed Zhang Huai had turned pale with shock and nearly collapsed, clearly disgusted by her appearance, but had later put on an act and told Juhua something like, "You shouldn’t wear this face covering anymore. It gets in the way. You should let your face breathe."

As the gossip spread, some people relished it, while others were utterly disgusted. Anyone with half a brain knew not to believe it. After all, didn’t the villagers know what kind of people Zhang Dashuan’s family were? But some people just loved to gossip. What could be done?

The first thing Li Changming and Meizi did was go find Granny Hua to ask if she had been spreading this story.

Granny Hua cried foul to the heavens, swearing up and down that she hadn’t said a thing. She was very busy, she insisted. She worked slowly, and now that it was winter, she had needlework to do. She didn’t have time to go visiting everywhere. When she did go out, it was mostly to her son’s house—because she could get a free meal and keep her pregnant daughter-in-law company. How nice was that!

Li Changming nodded. "Mom, as long as you didn’t say it, that’s what matters. We believe you. From now on, if someone starts telling you these things, just walk away. That way, they can’t spread it themselves and then blame it on you."

Meizi nodded eagerly. "Yes, that’s right! Mom, just don’t go around spreading rumors. When you have free time, come to my place. We can do needlework together, and I’ll make you some pastries to eat when we’re done." When Meizi got worried, she would resort to coaxing. She was also furious about the rumor. ’Juhua is my friend! How could they say things like that about her?’

Granny Hua was happy to hear this. She nodded repeatedly and promised that from now on, she wouldn’t stand around gossiping with people.

Granny Hua didn’t say who started it, but there was no need to guess. Who else could it have been but Zhou Xiaonian’s wife?

At Big Mouth Zhao’s house, Guizhi sat by the foot stove, clutching a shoe sole with a worried frown. She had no heart to continue her stitching. For the past two days, whenever she ran into someone, they would ask her about what had happened that afternoon at the Zheng Family Mansion—she was being treated like a key witness. Although she kept a stony face and ignored them, she still felt terribly vexed.

She said to Big Mouth Zhao regretfully, "It’s all my fault. If I hadn’t brought that woman to Juhua’s house, none of this would’ve happened. I thought the drama would end that day, but who knew she’d be so shameless? What good does she get from stirring all this up? Juhua even said that if she’s provoked again, she’ll have her father and brother come knocking on their door!"

Big Mouth Zhao’s face hardened. He declared imposingly, "That damned woman. I’m going to go find Zhou Xiaonian and ask him just how he controls his wife. She dragged you into this, saying you were there, and now everyone keeps bothering you about it. I’m going to go with Qingmu and knock on his door."

Seeing her husband take charge, Guizhi immediately agreed. "She needs to be taught a lesson! In Huai Zi’s words, this is Qingnan Village, not Qingbei Village! If we don’t show her how serious we are, she’ll just keep making up lies about people."

And so, the straightforward Big Mouth Zhao charged over to settle the score with Zhou Xiaonian.

As the main parties involved, the Zheng Family and the Zhang family were the most furious. Huai Zi was livid, Qingmu was enraged, and even Juhua regretted her little test. ’See? This is what happens when you don’t trust someone. It’s a punishment.’ Although she wasn’t about to die of anger over the words of ignorant village women, she couldn’t help but think, ’Since I have to live here, it’s better to keep a low profile. Constantly being the center of attention is hardly an honor!’

Just as Qingmu and Zhang Huai were about to do the same as Big Mouth Zhao and confront Zhou Xiaonian, Zhang Dashuan and Zheng Changhe stopped them. "Don’t you two go making a scene," they said. "The bigger the fuss, the more people will treat it as a joke. You’ll only make things worse. Let your father and I handle this. We’ll go find Zhou Baozhu, call Shorty Zhou over too, and we’ll all sit down for a proper talk about this daughter-in-law of the Zhou family." (To be continued. If you like this work, please support it with your votes and monthly passes on qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.)