Bride Swap Backfire: My Cousin's Rebirth Made Us a Power Couple-Chapter 42 - 37: Calling Off the Engagement (Part 1)
"Cousin, nothing has ever gone my way in my entire life. I don’t want to anger my parents and family, so I’ve always avoided fighting for anything if I could. But this marriage is the one thing I’ve been praying for. Please, just take pity on me and let me have my way this once. I won’t just take your betrothal for nothing. I’ll give you Zhao Jing. He already gets along so well with your family. If we could make our families even closer..."
"Will you just shut your mouth! Why are you always so tactless? Wanyue, have you ever considered that the reason your life is so difficult is because of that mouth of yours!"
Just as Chen Wanqing was about to say more, a soft cough came from outside.
Zhao Jing had appeared at the doorway at some point. He cleared his throat and asked in a clear voice, "Sister, is the hot water ready?"
"It’s almost ready. Jing, why don’t you go sit with your uncles in the main hall for now? Just leave the tea with me. I’ll bring it over once it’s steeped."
"Just give me a shout later, Sister. I’ll come carry the tea..."
"Alright, I got it. Now, go on in."
A few moments later, Xu Suying returned.
She had also brought the family matriarch, Mrs. Fang, and the patriarch, Chen Dachang. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺
Chen Lin and Mrs. Li followed close behind them. The couple had their hands tucked into their sleeves, shoulders hunched against the cold as they shivered uncontrollably.
"Eldest Sister-in-law, why did you call us all over here? On a day this cold, couldn’t you have just told us what was going on? Did you really have to make Father and Mother come all this way? What a nuisance."
Chen Lin’s snide tone was enough to get on anyone’s nerves.
Xu Suying had never been one to coddle her third brother-in-law, so even in front of her mother-in-law and father-in-law, she fired right back.
"If you don’t want to be here, then you can go home right now. Do you think I *wanted* to invite you people over? I’m only doing this because someone asked me to. If Zhao Jing hadn’t requested it, you wouldn’t be setting foot in my house for the rest of your lives."
Back when Xu Suying and Chen Song were split off from the family, Chen Lin and Mrs. Li were already married.
That couple usually followed the patriarch into Qingshui County to sell baked flatbreads and had managed to save up a pretty penny. Xu Suying and Chen Song, on the other hand, toiled like oxen on the family’s few acres of land. They ate poorly, dressed in rags, and were so broke their pockets were cleaner than their faces. On top of that, they had to endure the old matriarch’s daily torment, suffering her open taunts and veiled sarcasm.
But Xu Suying was no pushover. The second time it happened, she got into a shouting match with the old matriarch.
In the heat of the argument, the topic of splitting the household came up. The old matriarch dug in her heels, declaring that if they had the nerve to leave the family, then they’d better have the nerve to do it without taking anything she and her husband had earned.
Xu Suying’s temper flared, and she did just that, dragging her husband out with her.
The couple left with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Even when the village elders heard what had happened and came to mediate, the old matriarch refused to budge, not giving them so much as a single grain of rice.
While this was partly because the old matriarch had never liked the couple to begin with, it was also inextricably linked to the third son, Chen Lin, fanning the flames from the sidelines.
The old matriarch was an elder, so if she came to visit, Xu Suying was bound by filial piety and couldn’t drive her away. But as for the third son and his wife, they hadn’t set foot in this house since the day it was built.
If it weren’t for today’s important business, which forced Xu Suying to temporarily set aside her grudges, she would have grabbed a large broom and chased that couple out the moment they stepped through the door.
As the group entered the house, Chen Wanqing came out of the kitchen.
Xu Suying lowered her voice and asked, "Is everyone here?"
"They’re all here, sitting in the main hall. De’an and Jing are keeping them company."
The old matriarch and Chen Dachang had already had their suspicions on the way over. Now, hearing that Jing was also present, everything became crystal clear.
Even Chen Lin and Mrs. Li had expressions of sudden realization.
When they had returned at noon after selling their flatbreads, their mother told them Wanyue’s engagement to Li Cun was settled. A girl can’t be promised to two families, so even if Zhao Jing hadn’t brought up breaking off the engagement, they had planned to go to the Zhao family’s home tonight to press the issue.
After the incident where Shusheng had been in peril, the old matriarch’s status as "divinely favored" was confirmed.
Nowadays, the old matriarch’s word was law in the family. No one dared to go against anything she said.
Since the Bodhisattva himself had told the old matriarch that Zhao Jing had no hope of passing the imperial examinations and that Li Cun would become Qingshui County’s first scholar, what was there to hesitate about?
Of course, they had to break off this engagement as soon as possible. The proper thing to do was to prepare for Wanyue’s marriage to Li Cun.
At this thought, Chen Lin delayed no longer. He bypassed the old couple and headed straight for the main hall.
"Breaking off an engagement is a serious matter; it can’t be delayed. Father, Mother, you two hurry up. We mustn’t keep the uncles waiting."
The old matriarch and Mrs. Li also quickened their pace to follow, leaving only Chen Dachang behind. He shuffled along, his movements as slow as a turtle’s crawl.
Chen Dachang bore some resemblance to his son, Chen Song. He was a tall man, though age had left him somewhat stooped and hunchbacked.
He wore a well-worn long robe and held a tobacco pipe. He appeared hale and hearty, but the wrinkles on his face were like deep, heavy furrows in the dry earth.
