In the afternoon, just as Xue Yue stepped into the He Family's courtyard, she heard arguing from inside the house.
It was a woman speaking, her voice rather shrill.
"I'm not wrong! Why should the Third Son get a 500-yuan betrothal gift for his wedding? When I got married, it was only 10 yuan and a bag of cornmeal, and that was it! We haven't even split the family assets, so that money belongs to all of us. I won't allow it."
"Second Brother's wife, your betrothal gift wasn't high, that's true," Mrs. He retorted. "But don't you forget, there was a famine when you got married. You were about to starve to death at your parents' home. That one bag of cornmeal saved your family's lives. Ten yuan might not seem like much, but it was a high price back then."
"I won't even talk about my time. But who asks for a 500-yuan betrothal gift to marry off a daughter these days? If people heard about this, would they think you're marrying off a daughter or selling her? You snuck her in while my family and I were away. And besides, the Third Son isn't even here! How can he get married?"
Gao Cuiyun never would have imagined this. She had just planned on going back to her parents' for a few days after the autumn harvest. Then today, out of the blue, someone told her the He Family's Third Son had gotten married with a 500-yuan betrothal gift, and even asked if hers had been that high back in the day.
Gao Cuiyun hadn't believed it at first, but an uneasy feeling prompted her to come back and check. She hadn't expected to find that not only was the Third Son absent, but they had already brought the woman right into their home.
"What do you mean, 'while your family was away'? This was a special situation! The Xue family desperately needed money to save a life. Your father and I made the decision about the Third Son's marriage. It's none of your business."
"How is it none of our business? The family assets haven't been split, so we have a share in that money! The Third Son does nothing all day but freeload at home. If my husband wasn't a factory worker, would this family even have this much money?"
The more Gao Cuiyun spoke, the more aggrieved she felt. Her husband was a worker and earned a good salary, but since the family hadn't split its assets, all his money was handed over. She'd always been resentful about it. And now, the Third Son was spending so much to get a wife—wasn't it all money her husband had earned?
"Gao Cuiyun, I'm the one in charge of this family. It's not your place to question how the money is spent. If you have something to say, have the Second Brother come talk to us."
Mrs. He refused to coddle her. While it was true that the Second Brother had earned a portion of the money, the family hadn't split its assets. Besides, when the Eldest and Second Brothers got married, their betrothal gifts had also been considered high for their time. Moreover, more than half of the 500 yuan had been secretly given to her by the Third Son himself. But Mrs. He knew she couldn't reveal that, so she kept it from them.
"I see you're just playing favorites with the Third Son! I don't care, I want to split the family!" Gao Cuiyun's voice was tinged with tears as she spoke.
"Sister-in-law, we don't split the family while our parents are still with us," said the eldest brother, He Nan.
"The matter of the Third Son's betrothal gift was your mother's idea and mine," Mr. He, who had been sitting and smoking quietly, finally spoke up. "If you want to split the family over this, your mother and I have no objection. We'll discuss it when the Second and Third Brothers get back."
Mrs. He glanced at Mr. He but said nothing.
He Nan looked at his father. "Dad, we're not splitting the family."
Beside him, the eldest sister-in-law, Guo Jinfeng, hadn't said a single word from beginning to end, her thoughts a mystery.
Xue Yue heard everything clearly from the doorway, feeling awkward. The one arguing was her second sister-in-law, Gao Cuiyun. 'Should I go in? What could I even say if I did? I'm the one who took the money, and now it's causing them to fight about splitting the family.'
Only when the arguing inside died down did Xue Yue turn and go back to her room.
At dinner, Xue Yue met her second sister-in-law, Gao Cuiyun. She had a square face, features that weren't unattractive, and slightly dark skin. When she saw Xue Yue enter, she looked her up and down, then snorted without a word of greeting.
Mrs. He made the introductions for Xue Yue. "That's your second sister-in-law. And those are your second brother's two children, Little Chen, who's ten, and Xiao Yang, who's eight."
"Second Sister-in-law," Xue Yue said to Gao Cuiyun.
Gao Cuiyun snorted again and didn't reply.
SLAP! Mrs. He slammed her chopsticks on the table.
Even Xue Yue jumped in surprise.
"Second Brother's wife, are you mute? Didn't you hear the Third Brother's wife greet you?"
Gao Cuiyun's heart was still pounding from Mrs. He slamming her chopsticks down. She didn't dare talk back, so she just grunted "Mm" at Xue Yue as a reply.
Mrs. He didn't press the issue further.
Xue Yue looked at the two boys sitting across the table. They ate while watching her with curiosity.
Xue Yue smiled at them.
"..." In perfect unison, the two children quickly lowered their heads and focused on eating.
Xue Yue felt a laugh bubble up inside her.
In truth, she could see that the children of the He Family were well brought-up. All three of them ate quietly, without fighting over the food.
After dinner, Xue Yue went to help with the dishes.
She'd been here for two days now; she couldn't just keep doing nothing.
In the kitchen, Guo Jinfeng was already washing them.
"Eldest Sister-in-law, let me help you," Xue Yue said, walking over.
Guo Jinfeng smiled. "I can handle it. There are only a few bowls."
Xue Yue smiled back but didn't leave, helping her rinse.
"I heard from Mom that your older brother had surgery. How is he?" Guo Jinfeng asked as she washed the dishes.
"He's woken up. He still needs a few more days of IV medication for observation."
The fact that Xue Xingzhou had surgery was no secret, nor was the reason why Xue Yue had married into the He Family.
Guo Jinfeng nodded. "That's good. Now you can rest easy."
That night, Xue Yue returned to her room, wiped herself down, and went to bed.
She hadn't slept well last night and was a bit drowsy, so she planned to sleep early.
But just as Xue Yue was drifting off, she felt someone staring at her.
Startled, Xue Yue's eyes flew open. Sure enough, a dark figure was standing on the floor.
"Ah!"
Xue Yue cried out in fear and quickly sat up, only then realizing it was a person standing there.
Then, with a SCRATCH, the person struck a match and lit the candle.
Only then could Xue Yue see clearly. A man was standing there—a very tall man. When she saw his face, she froze.
She had never seen anyone look so handsome in a simple white shirt.
A white shirt and black pants. The shirt's sleeves were halfway rolled up, his hands were tucked into his pockets, and the top button was undone, giving him a hint of wildness.
"Miss, are you sleeping in the wrong place?"
the man said, his tone casual and laden with meaning.
Xue Yue snapped back to her senses.
'This must be the He Family's Third Son, He Lang.'
"I'm not in the wrong place. My name is Xue Yue. I'm your wife," she said through gritted teeth, meeting the man's intense gaze.
The man raised an eyebrow, his voice slow and drawn out. "My wife?"
Xue Yue didn't know how to describe her current feelings, nor did she know how to respond.
"Third Son, is that you back home?"
Mrs. He's voice came from the courtyard.
Mr. and Mrs. He had just fallen asleep when they heard the scream and hurried out to see what was happening.
Seeing a light on in the Third Son's room and hearing voices, they figured he must be back.
When Xue Yue heard Mrs. He's voice, she let out a long, quiet sigh of relief.
But then she met the man's teasing gaze again, and her breath caught.
The man turned and walked out.
"Mom, it's me."
Mrs. He yawned and looked He Lang over.
"You rascal, you never use the front door. Hopped the wall again, didn't you? Why are you so late?"
"Mom, first, you tell me. What's the situation with the woman in my room?"
Mrs. He paused, her eyes darting around for a moment before she grabbed He Lang's arm.
"Come on, let's go inside and talk."
With that, she pulled He Lang into the main house.
Hearing them enter the main house, Xue Yue thought for a moment before getting fully dressed.
'Honestly, I don't know if He Lang will accept this. If he really can't, then I'll just do what my older brother said: call off the marriage and give back the betrothal money.'
'It's just that He Lang is quite handsome.'
'Mm, it would be a bit of a shame to call off the marriage.'