Chapter 162: Fend for yourself

The seventh day of the ninth lunar month, an auspicious day.

It was also the grand day for Jiang Zongbao's wedding.

The sun was already hanging over the treetops, yet the groom was still lingering in bed, not a hint of joy on his face.

"Zongbao, be a good boy, get up quickly and change your clothes, alright? Everyone outside is urging us," Cao Shi said, holding the wedding robes and trying to persuade him earnestly by the bedside.

Jiang Zongbao turned over and said gloomily, "Whoever is urging can go themselves; I'm not going!"

That ugly woman, Hao Jinzhi, was as dark and burly as a bear; just looking at her made him lose his appetite.

Moreover, she was a husband-killer; he had already been harmed by her to the point where his 'little sparrow' couldn't even stand up. If he married her, wouldn't he be throwing his life away too?

Thinking of this, Jiang Zongbao felt restless, wishing he could just smash his head against the bedpost.

Cao Shi knew her son was suffering, but...

"Son, you have to go. This matter has already blown up. The Hao family said that if you don't marry Hao Jinzhi, they'll go to the Ya Men and report you! Do you really want to go to jail?"

"Let them send me to jail. I'd rather go to jail than marry that ugly monster!" Jiang Zongbao huffed.

"Talking nonsense again, aren't you?" Cao Shi raised her hand and patted him lightly. "Do you think life in jail is easy? It's full of heartless people who will find ways to torture you. You won't be fed, you won't sleep well, and you'll get beaten at every turn. My own backside still hurts to this day."

Jiang Zongbao fell silent.

He was only being tough with his words; he didn't dare to actually go to jail.

But if he went to fetch the bride, there would definitely be many people from Haojia Cun coming to watch, looking at him like a monkey in a show—it was just too shameful!

If only someone could go in his place to fetch the bride...

That's right, why not find someone to replace him?

Jiang Zongbao's eyes lit up. He sat up with a start and asked eagerly, "Mother, have the people from the Second Branch arrived yet?"

Cao Shi rolled her eyes. "Arrived my foot. It's so late, and I haven't even seen a shadow of them!"

She looked at her son suspiciously. "Why are you asking about them?"

"Naturally, I have a reason. Mother, do you remember? Before, when Du Shi entered the house, it wasn't Jiang Li who fetched the bride, but his second brother, Jiang Zhan. Since Jiang Li could do that, why can't I?"

Cao Shi didn't understand. "You mean..."

Jiang Zongbao smiled insidiously. "I mean, why not let Jiang Cheng go fetch the bride for me?"

By then, the one being laughed at would be that brat Jiang Cheng. Haha.

Cao Shi thought about it and felt it was feasible.

"Then wait here, Zongbao. I'm going to go catch that little rabbit right now!"

She put the wedding robes on the bed and happily walked out of the room.

In the courtyard outside, three Eight-Immortal Tables were set up, looking cold and desolate, with seven or eight men sitting by them.

Everyone's expression was unpleasant.

They were called here to help fetch the bride, yet the hosts wouldn't even bring out a bit of food, leaving them with bellies full of cold water.

Out of consideration for being part of the same clan, they endured it.

But now, at this hour, the hosts were still putting on airs and refusing to come out!

"Auntie, are we going to fetch the bride or not? I have a pile of work in the fields; if we aren't going, I'm leaving," one of the hot-tempered ones shouted at Cao Shi.

Cao Shi was all smiles. "Soon, soon, we can set off immediately."

She quickened her pace toward the gate of the courtyard.

Just as she stepped out, she bumped into the Jiang Clan Head, who was walking in with a cane.

Seeing Cao Shi in such a rush, the Jiang Clan Head asked casually, "You aren't inside entertaining guests, where are you going?"

"It's like this, Zongbao is acting up again, he can't get up, so he can't go fetch the bride himself."

Cao Shi's eyes flickered. "So I was thinking of going to the Second Branch to have Sanlang come over and fill in."

Hearing this, the Jiang Clan Head waved his hand.

"No need to go. Their family is starting construction on their Zhai Zi today; no one is at home."

"What?" The mole on Cao Shi's face twitched violently, and she began to clamor in a flustered rage, "I was just saying, why hasn't anyone come yet? So they are specifically acting against our First Branch. Why start construction today of all days? Can you say it isn't on purpose?"

The Jiang Clan Head's eyebrows stood up. "Stop flattering yourself. Everyone knows today is a good day; if you are allowed to hold an event, why aren't others?"

He waved his hand impatiently. "Enough, don't go bothering the children of the Second Branch. If Jiang Zongbao really can't get up, just take a rooster."

A rooster? Cao Shi was troubled. "Is that really okay?"

"Whether it's okay or not is up to you, but I do not agree to having Sanlang replace your son to fetch the bride!"

The Jiang Clan Head fished a string of copper coins from his robes and threw them to Cao Shi. "Here are sixty wen, the gift money from the Second Branch. Count it."

Cao Shi actually counted it; there were sixty in total, not one more, not one less.

"How come there's so little? The Second Branch has made a fortune now; for a cousin's wedding, it should at least start at one tael of silver."

She looked at the Jiang Clan Head suspiciously. "You didn't make a mistake, did you?"

That look was as good as explicitly saying the Jiang Clan Head had embezzled the money.

The Jiang Clan Head was so angry he nearly fell backward.

He snatched the money back from Cao Shi's hand. "Courtesy demands reciprocity. Your family having a wedding is a happy event, and the Second Branch sent gift money; the Second Branch building a Zhai Zi is also a happy event, so by rights, you should send some too. This money can be considered as offsetting that!"

After saying this, he turned around and walked away in a huff.

"Hey, Clan Head, don't go..." Cao Shi called out, but the more she called, the faster he walked, without even looking back.

Judging by the direction, he was heading straight for the Second Branch's construction site.

Cao Shi spat at his back and muttered, "Old thing, always favoring the Second Branch."

It seemed the plan to have Jiang Cheng replace him to fetch the bride had fallen through. With no other choice, she returned to the room and told Jiang Zongbao about it.

Jiang Zongbao's face looked as foul as if he'd eaten dung. Reluctant as he was, he had no choice but to obediently get up and change his clothes.

If he really took a rooster to fetch the bride, wouldn't Hao Jinzhi's brothers tear him apart?

Those siblings were all cut from the same cloth, tall and strong; they were not to be trifled with.

"By the way, why haven't I seen Grandmother?" Jiang Zongbao asked.

Cao Shi straightened his collar and said casually, "Your grandmother went to the Gu Ge Pavilion. She said she wanted to tell Qin Shi about your remarriage so she wouldn't linger like a ghost and cause trouble for the new bride."

Jiang Zongbao curled his lip.

Qin Shi wouldn't do that. In Qin Shi's eyes, there was only that Shi Qing; she didn't care about him, her husband, at all, so how could she come to cause trouble for Hao Jinzhi?

It was a pity that Qin Shi died without knowing that her beloved cousin was still alive.

He reckoned he was probably serving some imperial concubine in the palace right now, wasn't he?

As for Jiang Zongbao's wedding, the villagers had no interest in it.

They had already seen the bridal chamber on the spot; what else could attract them?

On the contrary, the Jiang Family's Second Branch building a new Zhai Zi drew everyone to run over and watch the excitement.

"Oh my, why are there so many craftsmen? How big are they planning to build?"

"It's definitely not small. In our village, who has ever had such a grand display? Usually, they just hire a few masons and be done with it."

"That must cost a lot of money, right? The Jiang Family's Second Branch is going to become landlords!"

"You bet. The eldest is a Bu Tou, the second is a Prefectural Top Scholar, and the third... *cough cough*, even the youngest sister has been sent to the academy to study. Who in the village isn't the best of the best?"

The villagers clicked their tongues in envy.

When the auspicious hour arrived, Lu Gong led the people of the Jiang Family's Second Branch to begin worshipping the Earth God.

"Sun accumulates grain, heaven and earth open for business. Today we break ground, breaking ground brings great prosperity; in front, the Vermilion Bird brings flourishing descendants, behind, the Black Tortoise guards the hall, on the left, the Azure Dragon brings treasures, on the right, the White Tiger enters the vault; first, we want ten thousand descendants, second, we want wealth from all directions, third, we want descendants to flourish forever, fourth, we want children and grandchildren to sit in the imperial court and pass the examinations early..."

Afterward, Jiang Li, as the head of the household, broke the ground, digging a shovel into each of the four corners of the foundation, signifying peace and smoothness in all four directions.

Du Ruo, the mistress of the house, wasn't idle either; she led Zheng Shi and Chun Hua to distribute melons, fruits, and snacks to everyone.

Since it was the start of construction, the livelier, the better.

The villagers got the food, and flattering words flowed from their mouths, as if they were free, showering them upon Du Ruo.

Du Ruo responded with a smile.

Once all the procedures were completed, the craftsmen, under Lu Gong's direction, began work. The first step was to demolish the old house, the one where Doctor Gu had lived.

Then they started laying the foundation.

Du Ruo didn't concern herself with these things; she trusted Lu Gong, so she left everything to his arrangement.

She herself went to prepare lunch with Yao Yulan and the others.

The cooking area was not far from the construction site. Jiang Li and Jiang Cheng had set up a few sheds and built a few stoves, and they had borrowed pots, bowls, ladles, basins, tables, and chairs.

As for the cook, Du Ruo planned to let Chun Hua do it. Chun Hua had a great talent in this area, and the taste she produced was already almost indistinguishable from Du Ruo's.

She was a bit young, but with Yao Yulan and her dozen or so aunts and sisters-in-law looking after her, nothing would go wrong.

The first day passed in such a busy manner.

At dusk, the family returned to the original courtyard. They were a bit tired, but their hearts were happy and excited.

Du Ruo even cooked a few good dishes herself to reward everyone.

Just as they finished eating and were preparing to rest, Yao Yulan came over and told them a joke.

"Jiang Zongbao went to fetch the bride today and fell into a ditch!" Just as she started, Yao Yulan laughed until she was doubled over.

Du Ruo and Zheng Shi looked at each other and laughed along.

The groom falling into a ditch was indeed worth a laugh.

But was it really worth laughing this hard?

"How did he end up falling into a ditch?" Du Ruo asked.

Yao Yulan wiped away the tears of laughter and continued, "The people of Haojia Cun were just too enthusiastic. They surrounded Jiang Zongbao in three layers inside and three layers outside, watching him like a monkey. Jiang Zongbao is thin and small to begin with, and being squeezed around, he was almost trampled to death. It's a good thing he jumped into the ditch to save his dog life."

Du Ruo was surprised. "Was it that crazy?"

"You don't understand, do you?" Yao Yulan's face was full of schadenfreude. "I only just found out that Hao Jinzhi had previously cursed several fiancés to death, so they all wanted to come and see what this latest unlucky ghost looked like, which is why so many people came."

Zheng Shi couldn't help but interject, "Jiang Zongbao was almost trampled to death; could it be that Hao Jinzhi cursed him?"

Yao Yulan hadn't thought in that direction, but suddenly being prompted, she realized it in a flash.

"That's right, it must be! Oh my, that Hao Jinzhi's fate is just too hard; she almost cursed her husband to death on the first day of marriage, pfft."

Du Ruo didn't believe in these things, but she was still very happy to see Jiang Zongbao have such bad luck.

Fend for yourself, you dead scumbag! ===== CHAPTER 163 =====