After being jilted, the entire neighboring village was filled with deep regret.

Chapter 43 Who doesn't know how to play the victim?
Han presented the table in the main room with steamed buns as if presenting a treasure. Counting them, there were thirty-six, an auspicious number.

Seeing so many plump, white steamed buns, Su Chunlin's pent-up frustration from the day instantly dissipated, and a smile appeared on his face. "As expected of my daughter, she's so capable!"

Feeling a little embarrassed by the praise in front of Shen Yi, Su Tai quickly asked, "Father, what did the town magistrate say?"

Su Chunlin sat down and drank a large bowl of water. "The Sang family insisted that we had emptied their house. When the town official asked them what was missing, the Sang family said that their bed, cabinets, and grain jars were all gone."

Listen to this! It's a joke! Such a big item, with so many people in Sangjia Village, dozens of eyes watching it. If we were really capable of moving everything, would we have needed to fight them like that?
The town magistrate's face turned green. He asked Sang Yong three times, but Sang Yong wouldn't change his story. Brother Changfu felt sorry for the family and suggested that they get a doctor to check if they had been beaten silly.

Later, Master Ma arrived, insisting that the town magistrate uphold justice for the Sang family. The magistrate calmly sent someone to report to the county government, saying the constables would arrive the next day. He added, "We're innocent anyway. I want to see what kind of trouble the Sang family can cause!"

Su Tai smiled slightly, exchanged a glance with Shen Yi, and acted as if nothing had happened.

When midnight arrives.

Su Chunlin carried the goods in front, followed by Han Shi, and then Su Zhan, Su Ming, Shen Yi, and Su Tai. The group, dressed in new clothes, trudged through the snow to the new house, where they crossed the fire pit to worship the gods and set off firecrackers.

As soon as the door closed, the whole family suddenly felt a strange sense of security.

The group exchanged smiles and a few auspicious words before returning to their rooms to rest.

The front yard of the Su family's new house has two rows of houses. One row is used as a kitchen, woodshed, water boiler, and bathhouse, and one room is still empty. The other row of four side rooms is used for guests, and Shen Yi lives in one of them.

Everything in the room, from the bed to the stools, cabinets, and bedding, was brand new.

Shen Yi lay down and immediately fell into a deep sleep.

As soon as it was light, Han went to the old house to busy herself preparing food for today's feast.

Farmers don't have many formalities. They use ordinary wine for their banquets, a jar costs fifty coins, and they also serve a basket of flatbread, wild vegetables, and egg drop soup. If they can afford it, they might also serve some chicken or duck. That's considered quite decent.

Han couldn't bear to part with the white flour steamed buns from yesterday, so she made some coarse flour pancakes instead. Since they didn't raise chickens or ducks at home, the meat they used was two wild rabbits and pheasants that Shen Yi had sent, which was enough to make do.

As the work progressed, the village women gradually came to help.

When Han saw Su Yan's aunt, Tao, she asked about what happened yesterday.

Tao sighed, "The Sang family has ulterior motives. The child's father went to inquire and said that the Sang family wanted to get engaged to our family because of our village's water source. Later, it rained and the drought was relieved, so they looked down on the marriage and wanted to break off the engagement. Sang Yong somehow found out that our family had bought the same grain seeds as your family, so he came to our door eagerly to set a wedding date. He implied in his words that he wanted the grain seeds and said that since we were now in-laws, we should help each other in the future."

Bah! Yan'er isn't even married into the family yet, we haven't even seen any benefits from her, and she dares to make such a shameless request. My uncle didn't agree at the time, and my wife pretended not to hear it. I guess Sang Yong had already spread the word, but we didn't take it seriously, so she got angry and started to humiliate Yan'er.

The poor girl hasn't eaten or drunk anything since we brought her home yesterday. Her mother cried all night and stayed by her side, too afraid to go out. I just came to help out for a bit; I'll have to go check on her again later.

"Oh! Then hurry up and go. I have plenty of people helping out here, so it won't be a problem!" Han quickly took out a wicker basket, filled it with some flatbread and soup, and asked Tao to take it back to Huang.

Tao didn't stand on ceremony; he picked up his things and turned to leave.

Su Tai waited until she finished her chores at home before going to see Su Yan. Upon seeing her, Madam Huang burst into tears, sobbing softly, "Xiao Tai, you must go and comfort your sister Yan! She hasn't eaten anything since she came back yesterday. That damned Sang Rong! If anything happens to my daughter, I'll take them all down with me!"

"Auntie, don't worry, I'll go in and take a look." Su Tai reassured Huang Shi and went straight into Su Yan's room.

Su Yan was curled up on the bed with her back to her, not moving at all.

Su Tai sighed silently and sat down on the edge of the bed. "Sister Yan, I know you're not asleep. Can we talk? Will you blame me for how I treated Sang Rong yesterday?"

Su Yan shook her head slightly.

Su Tai immediately smiled, "Since you don't blame me, do you also know that he's not a good man?"

Su Yan turned over and sat up, her hair disheveled and her lips chapped.

Su Tai quickly handed her a bowl of water.

She took a sip and murmured in a hoarse voice, "I just can't understand it. He really saved me, he really cared about me, he really proposed to me. He was so perfect in my heart. How did everything suddenly change?"

Yesterday, he complained to my face that I was being unreasonable, refusing to prepare my dowry according to his father's wishes. Suddenly, the person in front of me felt so unfamiliar, so unfamiliar that it chilled me to the bone. Ironically, this was my savior, the man I had longed to marry.

Su Tai hugged her tightly and comforted her, "You've already cried. No matter how sad things are, they won't matter tomorrow. Besides, the fault lies with the Sang family. They're already scheming for your dowry before you're even married. Even if they really saved your life, would you dare to marry into such a family?"

"I," Su Yan, lowered her head wearily.

Su Tai pressed on, saying, "Besides, I've already asked around. That snake won't kill you at all. Even if Sang Rong doesn't show up, I'll hear you if you call out a few more times, and I'll still save you. You won't die anyway."

As the old saying goes, a blessed woman doesn't marry an unfortunate one. If this marriage is ruined, so be it. Your uncle and aunt will find you a better husband later.

Huang, who had been eavesdropping outside the door, immediately popped out with a pleading smile on her face. "Yes, yes, Xiaotai is right. Your parents will definitely find you a husband a hundred times better than Sang Rong. It's no big deal if you lose a man like that! Shall we eat something?"

Su Yan initially wanted to refuse, but Su Tai gently tugged at her hand, and she nodded in agreement.

Su Tai left only after Su Yan had eaten.

Mrs. Huang was extremely grateful and wished she could escort her to her doorstep.

When Su Tai returned home, she found that her maternal grandfather's family had also arrived and were talking to Shen Yi. Listening to them talk about grain seeds and such, she roughly knew what her maternal grandfather was talking about. Her eyes met Shen Yi's, and Shen Yi immediately agreed.

Han looked proud of himself.

After a while, the officials arrived; it was the same two as before.

Because they were having a banquet, the two of them sat down as well, and their attitude was fairly mild.

(End of this chapter)