Farm Tough Girl

Chapter 118 - 118 119 Frustration_1

?Chapter 118: Chapter 119 Frustration_1 Chapter 118: Chapter 119 Frustration_1 Because of her impulsive action, not only did she fail to gain Wu Haoli’s favor, but she also lost her reputation. The marriage with Tofu Zhang was definitely going to fall through—who would want to marry a girl with a bad reputation? This perfectly good marriage prospect was ruined just like that. Not to mention finding such a good match in the future, it’s even doubtful whether she could marry at all now.

Qiao Lianhua locked herself in her room, refusing to eat or drink. Mrs. Ji was angry at her for being rash and messing things up, but after all, she was her own dear daughter, so of course she felt pained. No matter how she tried to persuade her, nothing worked.

Qiao Dalang was even more infuriated: “How could Qiao Muniang be so malicious? After all, we’re family. She actually schemed against her own sister like this. No, I have to confront her and settle the score!” He was counting on Lianhua’s dowry to marry a wife. Now, with Lianhua’s marriage prospects and reputation ruined, where would the money come from? Thinking of this, Qiao Dalang felt extreme hatred towards Muniang.

Fortunately, Mrs. Ji was quick to stop him: “What are you planning to do? Qiao Muniang is quite arrogant now, with servants blocking the door. Don’t get yourself beaten for nothing.”

“Then what should we do? Just watch Lianhua’s reputation get destroyed like this? Will she even be able to marry now?” Qiao Dalang shouted.

“I’m already churning with frustration here, why are you making such a fuss?” Mrs. Ji also lost her temper and started scolding.

As the two were arguing fiercely, Xia Bing arrived at an inconvenient time: “Auntie, are you home? I’ve come—”
Just as she entered, she saw Mrs. Ji and Qiao Dalang in the midst of a heated argument. She was caught off guard and stood there in shock.

Mrs. Ji gave Qiao Dalang a sideways glance before saying, “Bing’er is here. What’s the matter?”

However, her tone was not too pleasant. Understandably, seeing her own daughter suffer, how could anyone keep a pleasant demeanor? Even though the Xia Family had always been on good terms with the Qiao family, and Xia Bing often visited, Mrs. Ji couldn’t manage a friendly face.

Xia Bing smiled and said, “Auntie, I came to see how Lianhua is doing. I heard some unsettling news on the way here, and I’ve been worried about her, so I came to check on her.”

The way she said it was so composed and sincere. Who would ever suspect that she was the mastermind behind the troubles?

Mrs. Ji felt a pang of heartache when she heard this. Ever since her daughter had caused this trouble, not a single person had been willing to visit, not even Qiao Dazhi and Madam Zhao, her own parents, who just found her a disgrace.

Mrs. Ji’s tone softened considerably, “Oh, I see. She’s been shutting herself in her room these past few days. Since you’re close to her, do comfort her more.”

“Sure, don’t worry Auntie.”

Watching Xia Bing enter Qiao Lianhua’s room, Mrs. Ji finally heaved a sigh: “Such a well-behaved girl. If she could marry into our family in the future, wouldn’t that be fortunate?”

However, she was only speaking hypothetically. If Qiao Yuanshan hadn’t done such disgraceful things before, their family’s standing in Tupo Village would still be considered above average. Now, with no money left in the family and Lianhua’s favorable marriage gone, the Xia Family would naturally look down upon them. Even though they were not a wealthy family, which family’s daughter doesn’t aspire to marry up?

As for Qiao Dalang, upon hearing Mrs. Ji’s words, his eyes brightened. Even though Xia Bing’s appearance was nothing special—her features plain and her skin slightly dark, inferior to his sister’s by far—the way she carried herself was impeccable, with curves in all the right places, and her eyes were more captivating than those of ordinary girls.

With the current state of the household, if he could marry her, it wouldn’t be bad at all.

Xia Bing had no idea she was now the object of someone’s attention; her thoughts were solely fixed on Tofu Zhang. When it came to the Qiao family, she might give Qiao Yuanzhen a thought, but as for Qiao Dalang, who was utterly worthless and as poor as a church mouse, heh, dream on.

“Lianhua, what’s the matter with you? Look at your eyes, all red, you look like a rabbit. Your aunt told me you’ve shut yourself in for several days, why aren’t you taking care of yourself? Is there something on your mind that’s so unbearable?”

As soon as Xia Bing entered, she rattled off a whole lot, seemingly offering comfort, yet there was an unmistakable schadenfreude in her tone.

Qiao Lianhua didn’t think too much about it; seeing her good sister coming, she spilled all her grievances to her, cursing Qiao Muniang not less than ten times.

Xia Bing secretly snickered at her naivety, yet with righteous indignation, she said, “She’s really shameless, obviously jealous of you. She herself married an idiot and can’t stand to see you marry well, so she did it on purpose. Some people are just like that; you shouldn’t let such a person ruin your health. It’s so not worth it.”

Qiao Lianhua wiped her tears and grabbed Xia Bing’s hand, “Good sister, it’s only you who cares for me.”

Then she spitefully said, “That Qiao Muniang is too bullying, does she think she’s above the law just because she has some money? I, Qiao Lianhua, won’t be bullied so easily!”

Xia Bing chimed in with support, “Exactly, what kind of sister does that? Even if bones are broken, tendons should still be connected. It’s outrageous.” As long as it doesn’t affect her, what does she care about whom Qiao Lianhua hates?

Xia Bing’s scheming against Qiao Lianhua this time was also driven by jealousy, envious that she could marry so well. Tofu Zhang was a man of some means; although not rich, when it came to a place as remote and poor as Tupo Village, it was indeed a lofty match. She just couldn’t stand Qiao Lianhua’s smugness.

But disliking her was one thing; their relationship couldn’t be strained. Who knew if the Qiao family would one day soar high with Qiao Yuanzhen? The Xia family had been eyeing Qiao Yuanzhen as a prospect with potential, which was why they let their daughter get closer to the Qiao family. With both the Qiao family’s older daughters married off, and no other girls at home apart from Qiao Lianhua, Xia Bing, though she wanted to cozy up to Qiao Yuanzhen, had no choice but to ingratiate herself with Qiao Lianhua because of his aloof nature.

This time Qiao Yuanzhen had gone to participate in the county examination, and who knows, he might even come back as a Scholar. By then, having a good relationship with the Scholar’s niece might just bring benefits to her family as well.

Qiao Lianhua, upon hearing Xia Bing’s words, was filled with grievance and anger, lumping Muniang into the category of a venomous woman, she gritted her teeth, “Qiao Muniang, just you wait! I, Qiao Lianhua, won’t be provoked so easily!”

Madam Liu originally thought that a gold-thread embroidered screen was already quite luxurious, but when the major client brought the materials, she realized she was so naive. Just the base alone was made from fine nanmu wood, and the hollowed-out sections were to be filled with crystal and colored glaze, even the inlays were to be jade, ivory, precious stones, and cloisonné, with bright yellow brocade twined with gold threads. One could only imagine how luxurious the finished piece would be.

It seemed that the wealthy households of the Capital City really were on another level. Not to mention that the Embroidery House was commissioned to make the screen for just a thousand pieces of silver; the materials alone were probably worth several thousand pieces of silver.

While Madam Liu was inwardly clicking her tongue at this extravagance, she also felt it was even more important to ensure the embroidery turned out exceptionally well.

“Such fine craftsmanship, if the rich families in Chatu Town saw it, their eyes would pop out with envy,” said Muniang, touching the fine cloisonné, “It really does pay to be an official. We common folk rejoice over a few tens of pieces of silver, and for those high-ranking officials, a piece of jade is as common as cabbage to them.”