Chapter 1: Matters in the Little Grove

“Hey, have you heard about the Ji family?” At the entrance of Shixi Village, a group of women gathered excitedly after work, gossiping about the Ji family.

“Tsk tsk, you mean that thing with the Ji family and that lame guy from Peach Tree Village sneaking into the woods?” one woman said disdainfully. “He’s just an elementary school teacher, but his behavior is scandalous. He should be dragged out for public criticism, paraded through the streets, and trampled on by a thousand feet.”

“But Ji Ling always seems so aloof, hardly ever mingling in the village. He has such high standards; there’s no way he’d be interested in that lame guy from Peach Tree Village. Don’t spread rumors, or Ji Third Brother might come after you.”

“Hmph, you won’t believe me even if I say it. I saw it with my own eyes—they ran out of the woods one after the other. If it wasn’t that, then what was it?” The woman, annoyed by the disbelief, blurted out her conjecture. “That girl may have good qualities, but that lame guy is wealthy.”

She drew a needle across her forehead twice, spat on the ground, and while cobbling a shoe sole, continued, “At the time, Ji Ling’s clothes were disheveled, and Sun Erlang was chasing right behind.”

Those nearby exchanged knowing glances and then lowered their heads, smiling foolishly with deep implications.

Ji Ling listened expressionlessly to the commotion outside her door. In the courtyard, Matchmaker Zhang’s eyes gleamed with calculation as she dribbled saliva, earnestly persuading her parents.

Hah, she had finally been reborn. This lifetime, she would never regret again.

Last time, she had heard her mother, torn between preserving their family’s reputation by betrothing her to the Sun family and using the arrangement to cover her eldest brother’s medical bills. Bitter and suffocated, she ran away from home and never returned.

Her eldest brother, overcome with guilt, hanged himself; her mother, seeking her, drowned; and her father, despondent, passed away after two years.

At the thought, Ji Ling held a basin of cold water with a grim face and pushed open the rickety thatched door of her room. “Get out!”

Matchmaker Zhang shivered as if frozen, screaming sharply, “What are you doing? What are you doing! Ji girl, my name is known far and wide. Who doesn’t know me? I say I’m second—who dares to say they’re first?”

“I’m speaking kindly, trying to arrange a marriage for you. Look at these, these are the betrothal gifts from the Sun family. They say all you have to do is marry there. They don’t want anything from your family—they just fancy you. And you act like this? How reasonable is that?”

Matchmaker Zhang grumbled and rolled her eyes. The mole at the corner of her mouth bobbed up and down as she spoke. “Besides, you’re already involved with him. If you don’t marry him, then who else would you marry?”

Ji Ling’s father could no longer bear it. He grabbed a broom and chased her out, scaring Matchmaker Zhang to jump like a frightened rabbit. The courtyard erupted into chaos.

Listening to Matchmaker Zhang’s meddling, Ji Ling threw open the door wide and stood on the threshold. “Did you see me lying with him?” She glanced at the crowd gathered at the door, raising her voice. “Ladies and gentlemen, uncles and aunts, I’m sure everyone has been curious about my affairs these past few days. Fine, let’s clear this up once and for all.”

“Lingling,” her mother tugged at her, half disapproving and half worried, “don’t make trouble. This will ruin your reputation.”

“Mom, if you’re really my mother, then don’t stop me.” Ji Ling scanned the crowd again, immediately spotting that spitting woman at the village entrance. “Aunt Hua Er, I heard it was you who saw me running out of the woods? Come, come here and tell everyone what you saw.”