Chapter 20: Yang Wenbin's Father

“Speak up, what exactly happened?” Huang Yingrong shouted, “Grandfather, your granddaughter went to bed early last night. He must have been the one who took me away.”

“I didn’t do it. Even if I wanted to take someone, it wouldn’t be you. I don’t know what’s going on—I was sound asleep at home,” Yang Wenbin replied.

“What do you mean, Yang Wenbin? You slept with me and yet you still look down on me?”

The village head, seeing their endless bickering, barked loudly, “Enough! You two, shut up!”

“You must have offended someone and fallen victim to a trap.”

“Think carefully—who could you have offended?”

Yang Wenbin thought of someone but kept silent.

Huang Yingrong shouted, “It must be that wretched Lizi girl. Ever since she came, she’s disliked me.”

Lizi? The village head said nothing but made a mental note.

“The best solution now is for you to marry. Only then can your reputation be saved.”

Hearing this, Huang Yingrong refused outright. How could Yang Wenbin compare to Scholar Ni?

“What? Grandfather, I won’t marry him. I want to marry Scholar Ni. Yang Wenbin, I’m going to report you to the authorities!”

The village head sighed deeply, “Your reputation is ruined now. Do you think he will still want you?”

He knew Scholar Ni was better than Yang Wenbin, but given the circumstances, there was no other choice.

Yang Wenbin’s heart leapt when he heard Huang Yingrong threaten to report him. If she did, his reputation would be destroyed.

He resolved to follow the village head’s advice and marry Huang Yingrong.

“Village head, given the situation, I am willing to marry Rong’er.”

“No! Grandfather, I won’t marry him!”

“Silence!” the village head snapped coldly. Huang Yingrong shrank back, no longer daring to speak.

Yang Wenbin’s mother, Sun, hurried to the village head’s home upon hearing the news.

“Bin’er, Bin’er, how are you?”

“Mother, I’m going to marry Rong’er. Please discuss it with the village head.”

“What? Bin’er, that...”

Yang Wenbin cut her off, “Mother, we can talk about the rest later.”

Sun turned to the village head, “Village head, I will take the children’s birth charts to find an auspicious date.”

“Good.”

The village head had once despised the sharp-tongued Sun, but now she was the mother-in-law-to-be. Sigh.

Sun and Yang Wenbin left.

Huang Yingrong timidly called out, “Grandfather.”

The village head sighed and spoke earnestly, “Rong’er, I raised you since you were little. I don’t want you to marry into the Yang family either. But now your reputation is ruined, and they won’t accept you. Yang Wenbin is at least a scholar.”

“But grandfather...”

“No buts. As long as I’m here, they won’t dare to mistreat you.”

---

“What about that wretched Lizi girl? She harmed me like this—do you think I’ll just let it go?”

“We don’t know yet if it’s her. First, settle your matter. Don’t provoke her anymore.”

Huang Yingrong said nothing and returned to her room, lost and despondent.

---

At the Yang family estate, Sun asked, “Son, what’s going on? How did you end up mixed up with that Huang Yingrong girl?”

“I don’t know either. I woke up and it was like that.”

“What about Jiang Lihua, that wretched girl? She’s your childhood betrothed.”

Sun thought for a moment and said, “No, Bin’er, I’ll go fetch her back now.”

Yang Wenbin hurriedly stopped her, “Mother, let me think first.”

He carefully analyzed the situation.

Huang Yingrong never wanted to marry him in the first place.

If this escalated and they found out his childhood fiancée was still alive, the village head would oppose the marriage.

He’d be doomed if sent to prison.

Better to marry Huang Yingrong first.

After that, he and the village head would be family. He didn’t believe the village head wouldn’t support him.

Yang Wenbin explained all this to Sun.

“Alright, let’s follow Bin’er’s plan. When Huang Yingrong marries into our family, we’ll have control.”

Sun busied herself with preparations.

Yang Wenbin sat alone, deep in thought.

He was certain this was the doing of that wretched Jiang Lihua.

Otherwise, why would only he and Huang Yingrong suffer like this?

He hadn’t realized she had someone powerful behind her.

Had he known, he would have treated her better before.

Now, that wretched girl probably hated them deeply.

Luckily, he still had the indenture contract; otherwise, she could have given them trouble.

Hmph, just wait.

Yang Wenbin grew darker with each thought.

Once he caught that girl, he’d teach her a lesson.

---

Early that morning, Jiang Lihua had already heard what Uncle Jiang told her.

On top of that, news was spreading about Yang Wenbin and Huang Yingrong’s shameless behavior.

Jiang Lihua was in high spirits.

A few days later, she overheard Yang Wenbin publicly claim that he and Huang Yingrong were truly in love.

That day, passion got the better of him, causing what happened.

He promised to marry Huang Yingrong and take responsibility.

The uninformed villagers praised Yang Wenbin for being responsible but condemned Huang Yingrong for her lack of propriety.

Jiang Lihua shook her head.

Life went on day by day.

---

The day of Yang Wenbin’s wedding to Huang Yingrong arrived.

The celebration was lively and bustling; most villagers attended, after all, they lived in the same village and saw each other often. Besides, Yang Wenbin was a scholar.

Sun stood at the door, overwhelmed by the gifts pouring in.

Yang Wenbin’s father, Yang Daqiang, had also taken leave to return home.

Upon returning, he learned Jiang Lihua had died. He sighed but said nothing.

No one listened to him—the family was beyond his control.

That’s why he worked away from home most of the time, rarely returning.

By afternoon, the guests had mostly left.

Sun began bossing Yang Daqiang around, criticizing everything he did.

“Yang Daqiang, you’ve been gone so long and brought back hardly any silver. You can’t even do a simple task properly. All you do is eat—what else are you good for?”

Sun couldn’t stand Yang Daqiang’s feebleness.

If he dared strike her, she’d think he was brave.

But Yang Daqiang was a closed book—no matter how much she nagged, he never responded.

Fed up, Yang Daqiang grabbed his pipe and went outside.

The sound of the pipe echoed softly along the village paths.

Without realizing it, he walked to the edge of the village.

There, a courtyard had been newly built—the workshop of Jiang Lihua.

Jiang Lihua stood outside talking with Uncle Jiang.

Yang Daqiang wanted to take a closer look.

Entering, he saw Jiang Lihua and was momentarily stunned. Wasn’t this the Lihua girl? But she looked much fairer than before.

He trembled as he called out, “Lihua.”

Jiang Lihua looked up when she heard someone call her.

Seeing Yang Daqiang, memories flooded back.

This was Yang Wenbin’s father, the only one in the Yang family who had shown her kindness.

When at home, Yang Daqiang would secretly hide food for Jiang Lihua.

Sometimes Sun discovered this, and Yang Daqiang would suffer her wrath.

Later, he left to work elsewhere, returning only on festivals.

She had been under the noses of Yang Wenbin and Sun for so long without being recognized, yet Yang Daqiang recognized her at once.

Then again, Sun and Yang Wenbin had never looked at her properly—how could they recognize her?