Guan Rong had been frail since birth: she could not bear the fierce sun in sumr, nor endure the cold wind in winter. In spring and autumn, the insect bites were a tornt. Therefore, in the room where she lived, bamboo curtains hung at the windows and the door all year round.
Although it was now the end of August, the lingering heat of the season still had so ferocity. Approaching noon, the sunlight was harsh, and the curtains over the doors and windows were lowered, making the room dimr. Guan Rong’s mother glanced down at her and saw her grinding her teeth in anger. The light filtering in through the curtain gaps cast mottled shadows on her face, which seemingly added a hint of malevolence. Her mother felt a chill in her heart.
"What else do you want to do..." Guan Rong’s mother placed the ointnt box on the table, heaving a long sigh, "Isn’t the suffering you’ve had over the past year because of that Hua Xiaomai enough? It’s because of her that the villagers gossip about you, treating you like a joke. Just when things had started to quiet down, why must you tangle with her endlessly? Now in her diner, there are Chun Xi and La i, those two troublemakers, staying with her every day, what good can you possibly get from this?"
This accusation was utterly unreasonable. It was always Guan Rong who initiated the trouble, yet sohow she appeared to be the one terribly wronged. Could it be that in their household, not gaining an advantage was considered a loss?
Guan Rong sneered, "The matter with her can be settled slowly in the future. Right now, I have no ti to fuss with her. All these years, my heart has been set on one man, and even if I were to marry, it definitely wouldn’t be her!" Having said this, she gestured for her mother to co closer and whispered so quietly it was almost inaudible.
The more her mother listened, the more frightened she beca. Her shoulders and back began to tremble, and she was unable to utter a coherent sentence. Staring at her daughter with wide eyes, it took a while before she managed to stamr out, "You’re out of your mind, completely muddle-headed. This cannot be covered up. Once the villagers find out, do you still care about your reputation?"
"What use do I have for it?" Guan Rong spoke with a calmness as if talking about soone else’s issues, "After the new year, I will be nineteen, frail and sickly. I’m dood not to be married off anyway. Might as well risk everything. Before, I couldn’t even dare to dream, but today I’ve thought it through. Nothing is impossible, as long as you’re willing to go all out."
"You... How could you not be married off?" Her mother struggled to swallow, "These past two years, there were people who ca asking for your hand in marriage..."
"Indeed, there were so," Guan Rong said with a sorrowful smile, "Mother, you’re referring to the younger son of the Jiang family in the neighboring village, aren’t you? Hmm, he spends seven or eight months of the year in bed. If I marry there, he’s a sick ghost, and I’m a sick ghost—we might well die on the sa day, which really would fulfill the saying ’live separately, die together’!"
"Stop talking nonsense!" Her mother quickly spat on the ground and embraced Guan Rong, persuading her with a tearful voice, "My daughter, please think again. I truly cannot help you with this! If your father finds out..."
Guan Rong looked up at her mother, "Isn’t it fine if we just don’t let father know? You’ll see, Mother. Yuhuai is most likely going to be entangled with his mother for so ti over that marriage and won’t be able to return to the county right away. Let’s take care of this in the next few days. It will be a great accomplishnt."
Guan Rong’s mother had always indulged her sickly daughter, and at this mont, she found it hard to persist. With a glimr of hope stirring in her heart, she hesitated, "Haven’t you thought that even if you manage to do this, Yuhuai isn’t going to fall for it at all, what will you do then?"
"As neighbors for so many years, how can Mother be unclear about what kind of person Yuhuai is? He may speak little, but he values loyalty and responsibility the most. He definitely won’t ignore it," Guan Rong said with her head bowed, "Even if, after all that, he still refuses, I accept my fate."
Having said that, she knelt down, grabbed her mother’s trouser leg and began to sob, "Mother, this is my only wish. Please agree to it, or I truly won’t be able to go on!" She cried uncontrollably.
Guan Rong’s mother was moved to tears by her daughter’s crying. She quickly pulled her up from the ground, and the mother and daughter clung to each other, weeping bitterly in each other’s arms.
Setting aside what strategy Guan Rong was ultimately concocting, the scene at the diner in the eastern part of the village was not peaceful either.
No sooner had ng’s old mother and Guan Rong left than Hua Xiaomai was pressed against the counter by Chun Xi and La i, who were determinedly bombarding her with questions.
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