Unlike yesterday, both wore deliberately restrained smiles, yet neither could hide her smug satisfaction.
Matchmaker Wang was talking like a river in full flood, boasting to the villagers gathered around:
"Look! Now that's sincerity! The Xu Family's daughter has come in person! What Li Sanlang said yesterday came straight from the heart! A hundred taels, gold and jade, Suzhou satin-now that's a display worthy of our Yulian! The Li family may be struggling right now, but a heart like his couldn't be bought with gold!"
Seeing Li Xuan and his brother return, the crowd parted of its own accord.
Every gaze-curious, mocking, sympathetic, and gleeful at another's misfortune-turned toward them.
Matchmaker Wang's eyes lit up. She hurried forward, her smile blooming like a chrysanthemum:
"Oh my! Sanlang's back! Come, come! Auntie Xu and Miss Yulian have been waiting for ages! We took everything you said yesterday to heart! See, they came first thing this morning. Such sincerity, such an honor-tsk, tsk!"
Li Zhong and Wang were already standing in the doorway, their faces drained of blood.
Supported by Li Xiuer, Li Shan stared fixedly at his youngest son, his chest heaving.
He feared that the boy might say something irretrievable at any moment. The watching villagers held their breath, too.
Just then, Li Xuan suddenly raised a hand and smacked his forehead.
He plastered on a rough-edged grin that mixed chagrin with "sudden enlightenment," and spoke loudly enough for everyone to hear:
"Oh! Just look at my memory! Now that you mention it, Auntie Wang, I finally remember! Right, right! I did say that yesterday! A hundred taels! Gold bracelets! Jade hairpins! Fine Suzhou satin!"
At those words, Li Zhong's knees buckled, Wang covered her mouth, and Li Shan's vision went black.
An uproar swept through the crowd!
Li Laosan was actually agreeing to it?!
Matchmaker Wang and the Xu Family mother and daughter suddenly lit up, their delight almost spilling over!
Matchmaker Wang clapped her hands and laughed. "That's more like it! Sanlang really is a sensible young man! He values affection and loyalty!"
Xu Yulian raised her head as well. A glint of triumph replaced the shyness in her eyes, and her voice was soft and sweet:
"Brother Li... do you really mean that?"
Her gaze once again drifted, seemingly by chance, toward the Mountain Pheasant.
Xu Wang was positively beaming as she chimed in:
"Li Sanlang, if that's how you feel, then Yulian's... acquaintance with you wasn't for nothing. As for the betrothal gifts, they may be rather substantial, but that's precisely what shows your sincerity. Don't worry. Once you marry into our family, the Xu Family won't treat you poorly."
Li Xuan laughed heartily, looking both generous and utterly shameless:
"Of course! When I, Li Xuan, give my word, every spit lands like a driven nail! If I said a hundred taels, then a hundred taels it is!"
He paused and rubbed his hands together. His face took on the sort of "you know, I know" expression a street rogue might wear while bargaining, and he deliberately raised his voice:
"But, Auntie Wang, Auntie Xu, you've seen my family's circumstances. A hundred taels is no small sum, and finding the gold, jade, and Suzhou satin will take time, too. How about this? Go home for now and give me a little time. I'll definitely gather everything and come to your door in grand style!"
Matchmaker Wang was anxious, but since Li Xuan had "acknowledged the debt," she couldn't press him too hard. She was just about to follow his lead and settle on a deadline.
Xu Wang, however, was already bursting with joy, convinced that she finally had this poor boy firmly in her grasp.
Her gaze inevitably settled on the plump Mountain Pheasant again.
Although her family lived in town, prices had been soaring lately, and they weren't exactly flush with money.
The Mountain Pheasant had firm flesh and glossy feathers. It would fetch no small price at market.
An idea stirred in her mind. Her smile deepened, and she spoke in a tone that came close to ordering around a member of her own household:
"Oh, we're all family. There's no need to speak as though we belong to two different households. Child, it's enough that your heart is in the right place. By the way,"
She pointed at the Mountain Pheasant in Li Zhong's hand, then glanced at the mud and grass clinging to Li Xuan's trouser legs.
"That Mountain Pheasant looks rather good. Yulian's father has been wanting something nourishing lately. And you, once you... join our family, you'll have to learn some proper manners and pay more attention to cleanliness and appearances. Look at all that mud and dirt on you. People will laugh and say the Xu Family took in a 'mud-legged peasant' as a son-in-law. How unpleasant that would sound."
She had meant to emphasize her family's "high threshold" while extracting a little immediate benefit, her tone carrying the condescending air of someone offering "guidance."
Xu Yulian nodded gently and agreed in a delicate voice:
"Mother's right. Brother Li, you really should take more care in future."
The words "mud-legged peasant" fell like a drop of ice water into Li Xuan's suddenly chilling eyes.
Li Xuan, who had just been agreeing with such "generosity," looking every inch a rogue, instantly darkened.
He slowly raised his head, and that shameless grin vanished from his face.
In its place came sharp mockery and icy coldness.
He took two steps forward, closing in on the donkey cart. His gaze scraped across Xu Wang and Xu Yulian like a blade. His voice wasn't loud, but it instantly plunged the entire gathering into dead silence:
"Who... did you just call a 'mud-legged peasant'?"
His stare made Xu Wang's heart jolt, but she believed herself in the right and stubbornly maintained her superior air:
"I... I was saying you don't keep yourself clean, child. Once you join our family..."
"That's fucking bullshit!"
Li Xuan suddenly roared, cutting her off. Spittle nearly struck Xu Wang's face as the ferocity of a street thug erupted in full force.
"Mud-legged peasant? There's nothing I hate more than being called a mud-legged peasant!"
"I was born in the mountains and grew up in the dirt! I live off the mountains and earn my food with my own strength! This mud got on me while I was risking my life in the mountains for something to eat! There's nothing dirty about that!"
He jabbed a finger at Xu Wang's nose, his gaze savage:
"A man lives for his pride! You dare insult me? Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west-fortunes turn! I'm not going through with this marriage!"
This sudden outburst and reversal left everyone utterly stunned.
"Huh? You're calling it off?!"
Matchmaker Wang's mouth hung open, and for a long while she couldn't close it.
She hadn't expected it either. Li Xuan had been perfectly agreeable a moment ago, yet a single ill-chosen remark had made him turn hostile?
If this fell through, her share of the betrothal money would vanish!
Xu Wang was stunned as well. Li Xuan viciously knocked aside the hand she had reached out to grab the Mountain Pheasant.
She pointed at Li Xuan, stammering, "You, you, you," unable to get anything else out.
Xu Yulian was even more dumbfounded. She had been pampered her entire life. When had anyone ever lashed out at her like this?
Besides, Li Xuan had always obeyed her every wish before!
That fragile expression froze completely on her face.
Li Zhong and Wang were stunned at first. Then an indescribable rush of satisfaction and confidence surged through them!
Wang reacted first. Life had toughened her, too.
Seeing her younger brother-in-law strike back, she could no longer restrain herself. She rushed forward, pointed at Xu Wang, and cursed:
"Did you hear him? My brother-in-law doesn't give a damn about your
family! And you still want the Mountain Pheasant? Your hide's thicker than that old tree bark! Get out! Don't dirty the Li family's ground!"
With her joining in, their momentum grew even stronger.
Li Zhong's blood rose as well. He puffed out his chest and stepped in front of his younger brother and wife.
Shocked, furious, and burning with humiliation, Xu Wang saw the situation slipping out of control. Losing all restraint, she shrieked at Matchmaker Wang:
"Li Xuan, so what if I called you a mud-legged peasant? Hah! Agreeing to let you marry our Yulian was doing you an honor, yet you dare..."
Matchmaker Wang panicked, too, and tried to smooth things over:
"Sanlang, let's talk this out. Auntie Xu didn't mean it that way..."
"If she didn't mean it that way, then what did she mean?"
Li Xuan glared, his brazen, reckless streak on full display.
"You call me a mud-legged peasant, then try to snatch my game? Do you take me for a fool? Get out! All of you, get the hell out! Come here again, and my bow and blade won't recognize any Auntie Xu or old woman Wang!"
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