Chapter 35: An Engagement?

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Jiang Lihua was at a loss for words... Still, she obediently accepted the book. She believed that the master Gu Qingran had found for her could not possibly be as ordinary as he appeared.

“All right, you two may leave. This old man is going back to sleep.”

After Gu Qingran and Jiang Lihua stepped outside together, Gu Qingran asked, “Lihua, where is the gift you promised me?”

Jiang Lihua spread her hands. “There isn’t one.”

Gu Qingran pretended to be angry and turned away from her.

“Hahahaha...” Jiang Lihua burst out laughing. Then, as if performing a magic trick, she produced a ballpoint pen and handed it to him.

Gu Qingran took it and examined it in his hand. “What is this?”

Jiang Lihua took the pen back, uncapped it, and wrote a character on his hand.

Gu Qingran exclaimed in astonishment, “This is actually a pen!”

Jiang Lihua nodded. “It’s for you, Brother Gu.”

Gu Qingran continued turning the pen this way and that, studying it from every angle.

Jiang Lihua said goodbye to him and returned to the village first. She still had books to memorize.

Old Man Bai had given her the Divine Farmer’s Classic of Materia Medica, which contained detailed descriptions of the medicinal properties of several hundred Chinese herbs.

As the saying went, the whole day depended on how one spent the morning.

Jiang Lihua now rose every day at dawn to memorize her texts.

Apart from eating and sleeping, she spent all her time studying. It made her feel as though she had returned to her school days in the modern world.

One day, Jiang Lihua was sitting in the courtyard, reciting her book and taking notes.

Suddenly, the sound of gongs and drums came from outside, disturbing her so badly that she grew irritable.

“Auntie Zhang, go see what’s happening outside.”

Auntie Zhang took a look, then hurried back in, her face filled with panic.

“Miss, this is terrible! Your mother has brought a large crowd with her. They’re beating gongs and drums—it looks... it looks like a wedding procession!”

“What?”

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Jiang Lihua sprang up from her chair.

What scheme was Madam Zhou plotting now?

Jiang Lihua left the courtyard with Auntie Zhang. Sure enough, Madam Zhou was approaching with a group of people, dressed in a bright red padded jacket as they beat gongs and drums.

The commotion drew many villagers out to watch. They all wondered which family was preparing to celebrate a wedding.

Before long, the procession stopped in front of Jiang Lihua.

Madam Zhou looked at her with a radiant smile. “Lihua, your mother has arranged a marriage for you!”

Jiang Lihua pressed her lips together and stared at Madam Zhou with icy eyes. She felt she had been far too tolerant of her already.

Under that cold gaze, Madam Zhou grew uneasy, and her face paled slightly. She forced a smile and said, “Come out, Scholar Zhang of Daxi Village.”

As she spoke, she pulled forward a young man dressed in festive clothing.

The moment Scholar Zhang saw Jiang Lihua, he recognized her. Wasn’t she the wealthy young woman who had saved someone on the road to town the last time?

He clasped his hands and bowed. “Miss, do you remember me?”

Before Jiang Lihua could answer, Madam Zhou covered her mouth and cried, “You two know each other?” Then she laughed. “What a marvelous fate!”

What kind of decent person would conspire with Madam Zhou to cause trouble? Jiang Lihua did not even spare Scholar Zhang a glance. She merely said coldly, “I don’t remember him.”

Scholar Zhang looked embarrassed.

“Oh, but now you know each other, don’t you?” Madam Zhou said. “Scholar Zhang, this is the girl you’re betrothed to—my daughter, Lihua.”

Then she turned to Jiang Lihua. “Lihua, this is Scholar Zhang, the man you’re engaged to. He’s handsome and accomplished, and he became a scholar at such a young age!”

Jiang Lihua stared at Madam Zhou expressionlessly. “I advise you to take this group of people back wherever you came from while I’m still in a good mood.”

At that, Jiang Lanlan strode up to her, planted her hands on her hips, and pointed at her while shouting, “You ungrateful wretch! How dare you speak to Mother like that? She’s only doing this for your own good!”

The instant she finished speaking, a slap flew toward her face.

Jiang Lanlan had no time to dodge. A red handprint appeared on her cheek, and she covered her face, staring blankly at Jiang Lihua.

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This was the first time Jiang Lihua had ever hit anyone.

It felt wonderful.

The air suddenly fell silent. No one had expected Jiang Lihua to act the moment she said she would.

It took Jiang Lanlan quite some time to recover.

“Ah! Jiang Lihua, I’ll fight you to the death!”

Screaming, Jiang Lanlan lunged violently at Jiang Lihua.

Jiang Lihua was knocked to the ground. Just as Jiang Lanlan’s fist was about to strike her face, Uncle Jiang arrived and kicked Jiang Lanlan away. Auntie Zhang hurried over and helped Jiang Lihua to her feet.

“Miss, are you all right?”

Jiang Lihua shook her head. “I’m fine.”

Fortunately, Auntie Zhang had gone to find help first.

“Uncle Jiang, drive these people away. If they come back again, beat them every time.”

Jiang Lihua no longer intended to give way.

Madam Zhou sat on the ground and began making a scene. “Lihua, I’ve already accepted their betrothal gifts and promised you to him.”

“That’s your business! Get out of here! And don’t call yourself my mother. I must have suffered through eighteen lifetimes of bad luck to end up with a mother like you!”

Jiang Lihua’s words were vicious.

Everyone was stunned. Then Jiang Lihua continued, “When I was barely four years old, you sold me because you were pregnant with your son. You never asked about me or cared what happened to me. When the Yang family killed me and dumped me in the hills, where were you?”

Madam Zhou stared at her blankly. “It was fate! And hasn’t all that happened already? Look at you now—you’re perfectly fine. Nothing happened to you!”

Jiang Lihua was so enraged that she laughed.

Scholar Zhang stepped between them. “I don’t care about all your old grievances. Your mother has already accepted my betrothal gifts. You are now my fiancée.”

Hmph. He had heard that this girl possessed a great deal of money. They had promised him five hundred taels of silver so long as he became engaged to her.