Chapter 4

She immediately brushed off the speculation.

If Lu Miao had known that Li Qinglin would become a big shot in the future, there’s no way she would’ve given up that marriage so easily.

Sure, He Mingchuan had a bright future ahead, but he was way too ruthless. Marrying him would only lead to a divorce sooner or later.

Even though she didn’t really like Lu Miao, she had to admit—this girl was a sharp opportunist. The second she realized there’d be no gain from marrying He Mingchuan, she definitely wouldn’t choose him.

The very next moment, Lu Miao’s response gave her a bit of relief.

“To be honest, it’s not like I’d totally refuse marrying Professor He’s grandson.”

Not just Lu Lu—everyone else in the family let out a sigh of relief at Lu Miao’s words.

But then she added, “Being part of a rich family isn’t easy. If the dowry is more generous before the wedding, I’ll be able to stand tall and live better after marriage.”

The uncle’s side of the family thought: whether you hold your head high or not in your in-laws' house, what’s that got to do with us?

Lu Lu thought of He Mingchuan’s tough mother, and she wanted Lu Miao to experience that overly proper and fake woman. A faint smile formed on her face.

In that tense atmosphere, Lu Lu suddenly smiling looked kind of eerie.

Still, all eyes were on Lu Miao, and no one noticed Lu Lu smiling.

Lu Miao tilted her head and looked at them. “If life in my in-laws’ house turns out bad, I might start wondering what life would've been like if my cousin hadn’t stolen Li Qinglin. I can’t promise I won’t try to see him privately again. And if that messes with Sister Lulu’s relationship with her future husband, well, who knows how that’ll turn out.”

The whole room suddenly went dead silent. The eldest aunt snapped, “You’re messing around with someone else’s man! In the old days, girls like you would’ve been paraded through the streets as homewreckers!”

Lu Miao looked her right in the eye and chuckled, “Well, you said it—it was the old days.”

Things have changed. These days, people don’t get beaten to death just for flirting with someone.

The eldest aunt turned to Old Man Lu, the family head, for help. “Dad, you better discipline this girl. She’s ruining the family’s reputation!”

Lu Congge sneered, “If we’re talking about ruining reputations, it all started with Sister Lu Lu.”

Everyone knew Lu Lu wasn’t innocent, but people were biased.

Just like Lu Congge stood by Lu Miao no matter what, others blindly sided with Lu Lu.

Hu Jing gave a fake smile and threatened, “Sanshui, don’t go too far. You haven’t even married into the city yet.”

She was warning Lu Miao—whether she gets to marry into a city family still depended on Old Man Lu’s approval.

So she’d better play nice.

But was Lu Miao afraid? Not at all.

She replied easily, “That’s even better. If I stay in the village, I can drop by Sister Lulu’s place anytime to see her and her husband.”

Whether Lu Lu would even allow that was another matter entirely.

After all, Lu Miao had looked like a little enchantress since she was a kid. If she wanted to seduce someone, no man could resist.

And let’s not forget, in her past life, Lu Miao and Li Qinglin were husband and wife—and very much in love.

Lu Lu would send her away in a heartbeat to stop any chance of rekindling their relationship.

There’s no way she’d let Lu Miao stay nearby.

“I didn’t know you and your cousin were so close. Willing to give up everything for Lulu,” Hu Jing said sarcastically.

She was subtly trying to warn Lu Miao to think things through—don’t throw your future away just because you’re mad.

Lu Miao just smiled, “Everyone seems relieved. Since Sister Lulu treasures Li Qinglin so much, maybe he really will do well one day. If I had ended up with him and he gave me all his money, well, people say wives can’t compete with concubines, right...?”

Lu Congge was stunned. His sister usually spoke so eloquently, but now she sounded like the village aunties—completely unfiltered.

But Lu Miao had nothing to lose, so she wasn’t afraid to say whatever she wanted. The more Lu Lu cared about Li Qinglin, the more power Lu Miao had.

The rest of the family were still trying to sway her, like two vendors haggling at a market. One side names a price, and the other side either bargains or walks away.

But walking away didn’t mean they were really leaving—it was all part of the psychological game. Whoever backed down first, lost.

Lu Lu couldn’t let that happen. Her whole future depended on Li Qinglin’s money and affection.

But Lu Miao’s casual remarks shattered her emotional guard. She blurted out, “No!”

Hu Jing cursed silently—Lu Lu was too reactive. She’d just exposed how much she cared about Li Qinglin, giving Lu Miao all the leverage.

“How much do you want?” she asked.

Lu Miao smiled sweetly, “Thirty or fifty is fine. A hundred or two wouldn’t be too much either.”

“Mom, give her fifty yuan,” Lu Lu said quickly. She was desperate to end Lu Miao’s connection to Li Qinglin once and for all.

Fifty yuan was acceptable to the uncle’s family. More than that would take time and wouldn’t be worth it.

Most villagers only made thirty or fifty yuan a year. Uncle Lu, being the team leader, earned extra from side jobs, so the amount wasn’t too painful for them.

“Here’s your fifty yuan. Just don’t mess with Li Qinglin again,” the eldest aunt snapped. “Got it?”

That wasn’t a small amount of money to hand over, and the whole family felt it.

But they loved Lu Lu too much to care.

The eldest aunt grabbed the money from the East Room—five ten-yuan notes—and tossed them at Lu Miao.

Lu Miao cheerfully agreed, “No worries. I won’t flirt with my future brother-in-law. I’m a good, law-abiding citizen.”

She only promised not to flirt—but didn’t say she wouldn’t mess with Lu Lu’s relationship with him.

Hehe.

Mission accomplished. With money in hand, Lu Miao told her brother Lu Congge to take the chicken on the table back home too.

Lu Congge obeyed without hesitation. Ignoring the angry glares from the others, he grabbed the chicken and ran.

Old Man Lu and Old Lady Lu stared at the remaining chicken head and neck, fuming.

No one from the uncle’s family even got a taste of the meat before it was all gone.

Hu Jing, trying not to laugh, gave her son Xiaohui an egg.

She had actually hidden a few chicken pieces earlier, knowing how meat in this house would vanish fast. She planned to take Xiaohui for a walk that evening and let them share the secret stash.

When Lu Miao and Lu Congge got home, Qiao Yanxiang still hadn’t started cooking dumplings.

Lu Lao Er was sitting silently by the stove, scared to speak.

Finally, when the kids came home, he broke the silence.

“Mom, look what we brought you,” Lu Congge said.

Lu Miao chimed in, “Uncle and Aunt were so generous! I told them you probably didn’t have meat to eat at home, and they insisted we bring some back.”

The seven people eating next door nearly choked. Generous? Bring back? That was their meat!

The family hadn’t had meat in a while. When Lu Lao Er saw the chicken, he couldn’t stop staring.

“Should we still make dumplings tonight?” he asked his wife.

Qiao Yanxiang shot him a look. “Of course. That picky eater definitely didn’t eat much over there.”

Later, after dinner, Lu Miao pulled her mom aside.

“Mom, I want to eat meat again tomorrow.”

Qiao Yanxiang scolded, “All you ever think about is food. You think money grows on trees?”

Lu Miao pulled out the fifty yuan she earned and made it flutter like it was flying in the wind. “Look, it does!”

Qiao Yanxiang couldn’t believe it. Lu Miao never went out—except earlier, when she went to her uncle’s house.

Could that money have come from next door?

She didn’t dare ask Lu Miao, who would never spill. So she tried her luck with Lu Congge while he was washing his feet.

He had zero filter. Before she even finished asking, he told her everything.

Qiao Yanxiang’s eyes turned red. She’d been married into that family for over 20 years—she knew how shameless they were.

Her husband had bad legs, couldn’t work in the fields in fall and winter, so he gathered firewood from the mountains.

She burned it sparingly, but noticed the pile kept shrinking.

Turned out, whenever they were out, Old Lady Lu would sneak in and take their firewood.

There was a small gate between the courtyards, just a half-meter fence—easy to climb.

Qiao Yanxiang was furious. Her husband worked hard to bring that wood home, and his own mother and siblings stole it.

After finding out, she bought bricks and sealed the entrance.

Their relationship with the uncle’s family soured after that—but she didn’t care.

She was poor, yes, but she never took advantage of anyone.

Still, she was constantly looked down on. Her daughter was bullied. All because they didn’t have money.

Tears welled up as she held those five ten-yuan bills.

“Our little Sanshui has been through so much,” she said.

Lu Congge teased, “I thought you’d throw the money back at them and say you didn’t want their dirty cash.”

She snapped back, “Why wouldn’t I take it? My daughter earned that fair and square.”

“Tomorrow, I’m taking her to the department store in the city to buy a couple of nice dresses with this money.”

She pinched her son’s arm. “You need to work hard too. Study, get into college, become a cadre, and support your sister. We’re only looked down on because we’re poor.”

Lu Miao didn’t feel wronged at her uncle’s house—but her mom and brother definitely thought she was.

They were the kind who believed in rising from the bottom.

The next morning, Qiao Yanxiang suggested taking Lu Miao to buy clothes.

Two reasons: to spoil her daughter, and to dress her up beautifully before Lu Lu’s wedding—so the Li family would regret choosing Lu Lu.

“You’re about to get married. Let’s buy some nice clothes so you won’t be looked down on at your in-laws’ place.”

Lu Miao did want to see the city, but it was just too hot out. She rolled over on the kang. “Let’s go another time.”

Her lazy attitude made Qiao Yanxiang want to smack her.

“I’ll fry you an egg.”

“Not hungry,” she mumbled.

Qiao Yanxiang left the room with a sigh.

It was August—too hot to work in the fields. Most families were home doing side work, like weaving baskets.

Qiao Yanxiang and her husband sat outside weaving too.

Meanwhile, Uncle Lu’s house was getting ready for Lu Lu’s wedding.

They hadn’t expected the marriage so soon and were rushing to prepare the dowry.

Money and coupons were easy—but daily necessities like basins and thermoses took more effort.

And bedding had to be handmade, sewn by the bride’s female relatives.

Aunt Lu wanted to show off, so she planned eight bedding sets—enough even for future kids.

Being the team leader, Uncle Lu got help from many women in the team.

Lu Miao heard the commotion next door and asked about it.

“Let’s go help out too,” she said.

Qiao Yanxiang didn’t want to go. Their relationship wasn’t great.

But Lu Miao, ever-practical, said, “You’ve got beef with Aunt and Uncle, not Lu Lu. Holding a grudge against the younger generation just makes people laugh.”

Qiao Yanxiang shot back, “Lu Lu stole your man. That’s not just adults’ business.”

“Still,” Lu Miao insisted, “if you keep harping on it, people will blame us, not her. Let’s go take a look.”

She pushed her mom out the door—she really just wanted to watch the fun.

As soon as they stepped into the courtyard, the lively vibe froze.

Everyone knew the two Lu families didn’t get along. And everyone knew how Lu Lu snagged her man.

They figured the families would never speak again.

One friendly aunt finally broke the silence. “Oh, you came too!”

When in doubt, complimenting someone’s kid always works. “Wow, Sanshui’s really growing into a beauty—better looking than her mom!”

The mood lightened. Everyone started praising Lu Miao.

And it wasn’t just flattery—she really was gorgeous. Her fair skin, big bright eyes, and the way clothes looked on her made her stand out.

Her forehead injury was healing well—only a faint red mark was left.

Lu Lu’s face fell. She felt like Lu Miao was stealing her spotlight—right before her own wedding.

Some people noticed Lu Lu’s mood and tried to fix it. “Both Lu Lu and Lu Miao are beautiful girls.”

But that didn’t satisfy Lu Lu. Being “just as pretty” as Lu Miao wasn’t exactly a compliment in her eyes.

Then a villager nicknamed “Tian Dayuan’s wife,” trying to suck up to Lu Lu’s family, snarked, “Doesn’t matter how pretty she is—her in-laws didn’t want her.”

Basically, she was saying the Li family picked Lu Lu over Lu Miao.

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