A Good Country Wife
Chapter 283 - 277: Helplessly Becoming a Thief_1

Chapter 283: Chapter 277: Helplessly Becoming a Thief_1

These days, the Wei Family was feeling exceedingly proud; their youngest son was about to get married, and their daughter, after many years of hoping, was finally pregnant. One piece of good news followed another, and every day was filled with smiles. Even Li Xiaomei seemed more pleasing to their eyes—a clear sign of their good spirits.

After Zhao Lingxiang fainted that day, the Wei Family was beside themselves with worry and called for a doctor to take her pulse. To their amazement, the diagnosis was a happy pulse, indicating pregnancy. This delighted both mother and daughter of the Wei Family, who immediately sent Xiaocui to the Wei Residence to share the joyous news. The Wei Family then promptly killed a hen to make a nourishing soup to strengthen Zhao Lingxiang’s constitution.

Master Wei, advanced in years, was overjoyed to have a child at his age. Upon hearing the wonderful news brought by Xiaocui, he first rewarded Xiaocui and the servant who was attending to them, then quickly arranged for a comfortable carriage to personally pick up the people from Zhao Family Village. Zhao Lingxiang enjoyed a moment of glory, and the news of Madam Zhao’s pregnancy spread throughout the entire Wei Residence. The Wei Residence’s back courts were steeped in jealousy; the mistress of the house was so furious she smashed everything in her room. She had originally planned to deal with Zhao Lingxiang after the affair, but this lowly concubine had gone and gotten pregnant—how did she manage that?

"That wench, thinking she can bear a child to compete with my son for the family property, she wishes!" said the mistress, her face twisted with malice, so unlike her usual dignified and graceful demeanor. She could tolerate Madam Zhou’s son, though mostly because of Master Wei’s blatant favoritism, which made her hesitant to harm Madam Zhou. Moreover, she could tell that Madam Zhou’s ambitions did not lie within the Wei Residence. But Zhao Lingxiang was different; her ambitions and desires could not be easily concealed. Had it not been for her lack of influence and the master’s disregard, she might have already caused chaos in the household. Just recently, the master showed Zhao Lingxiang slightly more favor due to business matters, and she acted as if she had risen above her station, as if she could hardly wait to replace her. If Zhao Lingxiang were to give birth to a son, there would be no peace for her in the future.

At the moment, Zhao Lingxiang was blissfully unaware of the mistress’s sinister intentions. She was immersed in happiness and joy, pampered as a treasure by Master Wei. Even the servants were diligent in their care, not daring to show the slightest neglect or mistake, an experience Zhao Lingxiang had never enjoyed in her twenty-odd years of life. With such treatment, she naturally felt elated and carried a sense of disoriented wonder about what the day held.

However, all this had nothing to do with Lin Yue and her family. As long as Zhao Lingxiang did not set her sights on their household, the couple wanted no involvement with the Wei Residence.

In a few days, it would be Zhao Xing’s wedding day. Lin Yue and Zhao Erhu were discussing whether or not to go to the banquet. In principle, as half-brothers, Zhao Erhu should attend, but given the evident tensions between their household and the Wei Family, it was a difficult decision to make.

After much deliberation, they decided to go. Zhao Erhu’s father, Zhao Jingen, was still alive, and Zhao Dahuo and his wife had not yet split from the Zhao family home; creating too much friction wouldn’t be good. There would always be some intersections. Besides, it was just half a tael of silver for a gift. Additionally, Lin Yue was curious to see what the rumored bride looked like—would she be able to change her bad habits once married into the family? Thinking of Zhao Xing marrying such a woman, Lin Yue couldn’t help but feel a touch of schadenfreude.

When Zhao Xing went to receive the bride, he recognized the bride’s sister-in-law as the girl he had seen before, which made his expression sour. He realized he might have made a mistake, but it was too late for regrets. Stoically, he married the woman and brought her home. The Chen Family, upon noticing Zhao Xing’s displeasure, thought he was aware of their daughter’s unsavory reputation. Since they were in the wrong, they dared not say much, just hoping Zhao Xing would complete the procession without abandoning the bride along the way.

The bride was not the person Zhao Xing had expected, which made him anxious, yet it was not the appropriate time to lift the bride’s veil in front of everyone. He worried about what he would do if he ended up marrying an unattractive woman. After all, it was he who had insisted on pursuing the Chen Family girl; he had no one to blame but himself. Finally, after they finished the ceremonial exchange of cups, he lifted the bride’s veil, only to find her even more beautiful than the sister-in-law from the Chen Family. Zhao Xing’s joy was genuine; he finally looked and acted like a groom, his face breaking into a celebratory smile. He wanted to talk more with the bride but was whisked away to toast the guests.

"Wife, wait for me, I’ll be back soon," Zhao Xing reminded the bride as he left.

"Enough already, she’s already your wife. You can get close to her later, so hurry up and go toast to the guests; everyone is waiting for you."

Chen Family’s face turned a deep shade of red from Zhao Xing’s act. Seeing Zhao Xing follow the others out to toast, and with no other people left in the room, she couldn’t sit still after a while. Her hands itched to do something, and after some time had passed with still no movement outside, Chen Family locked the door and quickly began rummaging through the room. She turned the bridal room upside down, and the congratulatory gifts Zhao Xing had received earlier and carelessly placed on the cabinet were also packed by Chen Family into her dowry chest.

"Hey, why is the door closed? Who doesn’t know the rules? The bridal room door can’t be closed at this time; let’s open it and go see the bride!" In the Zhao Family village and the neighboring villages, it was customary that, before the consummation of marriage on the wedding day, the door of the bridal room should never be closed, as people would come at any time to look at the bride and ask for wedding candy and lucky money.

Hearing people coming outside, Chen Family sped back to the bed and resumed her previous bashful demeanor, barely daring to lift her head, leaving no one to suspect what she had done moments before.

Lin Yue also came with the rest to see the bride, but she was more attentive than the others and knew the bride’s background. Seeing the room looked as though it had been searched, her glance at the bride carried a mix of indescribable implications, making Chen Family feel uncomfortable, as if seen through.

At that moment, Lin Yue was internally mourning for the Wei Family and her son. Chen Family, as a new bride, and on her wedding day at that, was already behaving in such a manner. It was not hard to imagine the days ahead would be anything but peaceful. However, Lin Yue thought she had to remind Zhao Dahuo and his wife, so they wouldn’t be duped by Chen Family as well. After all, this was their sister-in-law; even if Chen Family really stole something, it would still be awkward to deal with her.

"Wow, the bride is really beautiful, it seems like Shanglin Village truly produces beauties! Look at Erhu’s wife, and now our bride today, each one as pretty as the next. Zhao Xing, that lad, is really lucky," someone exclaimed.

It was only then that Lin Yue took a closer look at Chen Family’s appearance, and indeed she was quite pretty with a pitiable charm, no wonder Zhao Xing insisted on marrying her. Yet for all her beauty, why resort to thievery?