"Who are you?"
The man had two thick, black eyebrows, and his dark eyes were sharp. Qi Jiao could tell from his shocked and angry expression that things were serious.
"I..."
Before Qi Jiao could answer, Pei Xia spun around and walked away like a gust of wind.
The small wooden door slammed against the wall, and the door hinge let out a miserable creak.
The narrow doorway was soon filled with people. Hearing the commotion, Tang Guiniang rushed in a few steps.
When she saw from Qi Jiao's painted white face that she wasn't Qi Fu, she murmured that it was all over and collapsed to the ground.
Pei Jin and Pei Li, who came right after, quickly helped her up.
With tears in her eyes, Pei Jin didn't understand why her sister - in - law had suddenly changed, but she knew they couldn't panic at this moment. While patting Tang Guiniang on the back, she coaxed, "Mother, you can't fall. With such a big thing happening, we're counting on you to make decisions..."
Seeing his mother so angry, Pei Li turned to Qi Jiao angrily and said, "Who on earth are you? What's your intention in impersonating the bride?"
Everyone was talking in low voices. Many pairs of eyes looked over, full of curiosity, vigilance, scrutiny, and mockery.
Qi Jiao felt so wronged that she wanted to cry. She didn't want to be in this annoying place at all.
She told the truth, "My name is Qi Jiao. I woke up in the wedding sedan chair. I can't remember anything before that."
Hearing this, an older woman thought for a while. "Qi Jiao - isn't she the younger sister of Qi the Eldest? After the old lady of the Qi family passed away, she left behind an eight - year - old daughter named Jiao Niang. Later, I heard that Jiao Niang was sold by Qi the Eldest and his wife to a wealthy family as a maid. She hasn't been back for many years."
Qi Jiao's background was an old story. No one in Baiyun Village even knew about her.
If it weren't for so many people coming to the Pei family's wedding banquet today, this might not have been discovered.
The Pei family was extremely angry. If this was true, Qi Jiao was Qi Fu's own aunt!
How could an aunt marry her nephew - in - law? Moreover, Qi Jiao hadn't been back for many years. No one knew her background. If she had been sold, she would be of low status. How could she be the new bride of the Pei family?
The great wedding had turned into a joke.
Tang Guiniang was so angry that her eyes went black and her ribs ached. At that time, the Qi family had made excessive demands. To raise enough betrothal money, A Xia had gone fishing at sea from dawn till dusk. He often came home wet in the middle of the night. She was so worried that her son might have an accident at sea that she couldn't sleep at night.
Her husband, Pei Baoyan, had died in a shipwreck many years ago. In the vast sea, not even his bones could be found. She often stood on the dock, hoping that one day he would come back.
But after so many years, her tears had dried up.
For Pei Xia's wedding, the whole family had lived frugally. Besides the betrothal money, there were other gifts, the wedding banquet, the wedding procession... Everything cost money.
If it weren't for Qi Fu being good - looking and having a good reputation, she would never have agreed to the five gold coins, which were exchanged for sixty taels of silver. That was equivalent to what an ordinary family spent in four or five years.
In the end, it was all in vain. The bride had been replaced. How could one not be angry!
"Come with me to the Qi family to get an explanation! Let's see if your elder brother and sister - in - law have any shame left!"
Tang Guiniang was strong from years of hard work. She grabbed Qi Jiao's arm and dragged her outside.
Qi Jiao accidentally stepped on her long skirt and almost fell flat on her face.
She managed to steady herself. Looking up, she saw Pei Xia. Meeting his cold, black eyes, she gritted her teeth and held back her tears.
Pei Xia was standing at the door with the red marriage contract in his hand. He said loudly, "Please follow us to Biwu Village."
It's easier to handle things when there are more people.
The dozen or so young men who had been pouring wine for Pei Xia just now didn't wait for him to call. They immediately followed.
The angry people from Baiyun Village rushed towards the Qi family.
It was almost dark. The men carried torches, and the women carried lanterns. From afar, they looked like a winding fire dragon.
The two villages weren't far apart. According to local customs, the wedding procession had to walk around Yinwan Bay to pray for the blessing and protection of the sea gods in all directions.
So Qi Jiao had been in the sedan chair for a full hour during the day.
Now, being dragged along by the Pei family, the ill - fitting embroidered shoes were filled with sand and gravel, which rubbed against her soles painfully.
Qi Jiao couldn't help crying out, but the angry Pei family didn't care about her at all.
They walked quickly all the way, and the vast crowd kicked up dust as high as their calves.
It was the harvest season in autumn. There were many people working in the fields, trying to get more done before it got completely dark. They were startled by the Pei family's imposing manner.
An old woman in Biwu Village grabbed a man at the back of the procession and asked what was going on. "Wasn't the eldest daughter of the Qi family carried away at noon? Why are they back?"
The man thought he couldn't explain the whole thing clearly, so he pointed at Qi Jiao in the red wedding dress in front. "What eldest daughter of the Qi family? The one carried away is the younger sister of Qi the Eldest! The Pei family is here to get an explanation."
The old woman's eyes widened. "This is really strange! The younger sister of Qi the Eldest hasn't been back for many years. Wasn't it agreed that they would marry off their daughter? I even gave a gift the day before yesterday. No, I have to go and see."
So a group of villagers who wanted to watch the excitement followed the already large crowd.
Finally, they arrived at the Qi family's door. Qi Jiao broke free from Tang Guiniang's hand and squatted down, gasping for breath. She didn't even have the strength to speak.
Qian Shi burped twice and was leaning against the door frame, picking her teeth. Suddenly, a group of angry people rushed into the yard, which made her face change several times.
Qian Shi rolled her eyes and ran away, but was blocked in front of the kitchen by the gloomy - faced Pei Xia.
Pei Xia was tall. He blocked the way with his own body. When Qian Shi was swept by his cold gaze, she couldn't help shivering and stopped.
Qian Shi forced a smile. "Big Brother, I haven't killed anyone or set fire. What are you doing here with this noisy crowd?"
Tang Guiniang angrily scolded, "Second Sister Qian! Stop pretending now that things have been exposed! Where's your Qi Fu? Call Qi Fu and her father out!"
Qian Shi hesitated and cried, but refused to say where Qi Fu was.
The Qi family's house wasn't big. It was obvious whether there was someone in the house or not. Pei Jin and Pei Li searched every corner of the house. It turned out that only Qian Shi was at home.
The villagers who came with them couldn't stand it anymore. "Doing something like substituting the bride. How can you have the nerve to accept such a high betrothal gift! Second Aunt Qian, you can't be so heartless."
"Now that Big Brother Pei hasn't consummated the marriage with your younger sister - in - law. If you let Fu Niang come back and go through the wedding ceremony again, it'll be okay."
"That's right. We can't let the Pei family lose both their money and the bride."
Qian Shi, who had just been crying, saw Qi Jiao and immediately jumped up. She rushed over a few steps, grabbed Qi Jiao's hair, and scolded, "You heartless and short - lived thing. You stole your niece's marriage and still have the nerve to come back?"
Qi Jiao had been holding back her anger for a long time. Now being grabbed by this dirty woman and cursed, her anger flared up. She kicked Qian Shi hard in the stomach.
Qian Shi was kicked to the ground by Qi Jiao. Her slanting eyes rolled up, and she became even more unrestrained. She sat on the muddy ground and shouted shrilly, "Good for you, Qi Jiao. You dare to kick me? You're really bold! When your elder brother comes back, I'll let him get rid of you, you evil thing!"
Qi Jiao thought that the original owner's elder brother and sister - in - law were not good people. She took a step back and stood on one leg to shake the sand and gravel out of her shoe. It had been so painful all the way!
Pei Xia frowned and glanced at Qi Jiao. A look of surprise flashed across his face, and his eyes were complicated.
While Qian Shi was wailing, someone in the crowd suddenly shouted, "The village head is coming!"
Qi Jiao looked back. There were rows of torches. She saw an old man with gray hair but a healthy look being surrounded by the young men of Biwu Village and walking quickly towards them.
Another group of people came. There were so many people that they almost pushed down the Qi family's courtyard wall.
The village head's name was Zuo Lide. He was very prestigious among the villagers. He was old and of a high seniority. Almost everyone in the villages around Yinwan Bay knew him.
He took a quick look at the situation and roughly understood what was going on. He asked in a deep voice, "What's going on?"
Seeing the village head coming, Qian Shi seemed to have found a backer. She clapped her hands and wailed, "Uncle Zuo, you're finally here! The Pei family is here to kill me! So many people are bullying a woman like me. I don't want to live anymore!" Her snot - and - tear - filled appearance really seemed like she had suffered a great injustice.
Tang Guiniang quickly took the marriage contract from Pei Xia's hand. With tears in her eyes, she said, "Uncle Zuo, look. The Qi family is bullying us. Clearly, Big Brother was supposed to marry Qi Fu, but the one carried away was Qi Jiao. An aunt substituting for her niece in marriage. Aren't they making a fool of our Pei family?"
Zuo Lide had already heard something on the way here.
He was related to the Qi family. He also knew about the marriage between Big Brother Pei and the eldest daughter of the Qi family. It was obvious that the Qi family was in the wrong. He waved his hand to comfort Tang Guiniang and didn't even look at the marriage contract.
Then he squinted at Qi Jiao in the wedding dress. After not seeing her for many years, she vaguely resembled the old lady Qi when she was young.
So he turned to Qian Shi and asked, "Jiao Niang was sold by you when she was eight. How did she come back?"
Qian Shi stood up shakily, put her hands on her hips, spat hard at Qi Jiao, and shouted with her eyebrows raised, "You shameless little whore. You didn't work properly and even dared to climb into Lord Guo's bed. You were caught red - handed by the mistress! If it weren't for your elder brother and I taking pity on you, spending money and using connections to bring you back and give you a bite to eat, you would have been sold to a brothel by the matchmaker and ridden by thousands of men! Now you've become wild - minded and even want to take your own niece's man! You sneaked into the sedan chair when we weren't paying attention. You're really a low - class person. I spit on you!"
After scolding loudly, she turned around and howled with wide - open eyes. "My poor Fu Niang! You're so unlucky to have such a shameless aunt. She has ruined your marriage and made me suffer... My daughter!"
The people around Yinwan Bay were simple - minded. Hearing such a scandal suddenly from Qian Shi, they forgot their original purpose for a moment. It was like boiling water exploding in a frying pan.
Qi Jiao had entered the Guo Mansion as a maid when she was eight. After ten years away, who knew what kind of person she was?
Seeing Qian Shi talking so vividly, they all thought that she was greedy for wealth. After failing to climb into the master's bed, she was beaten out by the mistress and then stole her niece Qi Fu's marriage.
The noise was deafening. People inside and outside all pointed at Qi Jiao and criticized her.
The Pei family was stunned. Pei Xia clenched his fists, and his face was extremely ugly.
Qi Jiao was extremely angry. Her voice was hoarse. "You're talking nonsense! If I had done it voluntarily, how could there be a bump on my head? I was clearly knocked unconscious and stuffed into the sedan chair!"
But no one heard her defense, and no one cared. Her voice was soon drowned out.
Tang Guiniang wiped the spittle from Qian Shi's mouth off her face and cursed, "Good for you, Second Sister Qian. You're Qi Fu's own mother. Don't you know whether she got into the sedan chair or not? You used your shameless younger sister - in - law to replace your daughter. The whole Qi family has a heart of darkness! This marriage doesn't count. The betrothal money was our family's hard - earned money. Give the money back!"
At this point, if Qi the Eldest and Qi Fu still didn't show up, there must be something fishy! The Pei family wasn't a fool. How could they marry a maid who had tried to climb into the master's bed as their new bride? Things had come to this. They couldn't lose both their money and the bride!
Hearing this, Qian Shi's face twitched. She quickly calculated and pushed through the crowd. She pinched Qi Jiao hard and said coldly, "Where's the money? Those five gold coins were all given to you!"
Qi Jiao immediately slapped her. "It's clearly you who are greedy and have done all kinds of evil things. Now you still want to frame me!"
A bright red fingerprint soon appeared on Qian Shi's face. She had a guilty conscience. She gritted her back teeth and thought that she might as well go all the way. She would kill this girl and then push all the blame on her, so that the Pei family wouldn't pester them anymore.
Having made up her mind, Qian Shi immediately let out a ghostly scream. "You snake - hearted little whore! How dare you hit me?"
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a large whetstone on the ground. The sharpened kitchen knife was still on the sink and hadn't been put away. Qian Shi's eyes were sinister. She grabbed Qi Jiao's two arms through her wide sleeves and pushed her down forcefully.
Qi Jiao had been on guard against Qian Shi. How could she let her succeed? She grabbed Qian Shi back, and the two of them rolled to the ground together.
Unexpectedly, she used too much force. Qian Shi's arm hit the shiny kitchen knife, while Qi Jiao's head hit the jagged whetstone directly.
Qian Shi's pig - like scream echoed through the sky and startled a few crows on the distant parasol tree.
With a dull thud, Qi Jiao fainted to the ground, unconscious.
Two aunts who were standing close by felt Qi Jiao's breath. Trembling, they said, "Oh no! Jiao Niang is dead!"