After being jilted, the entire neighboring village was filled with deep regret.

Chapter 20 Mo Chunxiang is jealous
Sun was so angry that her eyes widened and her face was full of doubt. "One tael of silver as a betrothal gift? Are you out of your mind? My nephew didn't even need one tael of silver to buy a wife!"

Han raised her chin triumphantly, "That works! Does everyone think there's a problem with me looking down on her nephew?"

The villagers all nodded in agreement. Putting everything else aside, just looking at the dowry alone, anyone would know how to choose.

With everyone's support, Madam Han became even more confident. "The Shen family is willing to give so much to marry our Xiaotai, which shows that they value her! If there were really something wrong with our Xiaotai, how could they possibly give so much in betrothal gifts? Only some people who are so jealous that they've gone mad would talk nonsense like that. Be careful or they'll have their tongues pulled out!"

Sun was so angry that her chest heaved violently, and she almost fainted.

Madam Huang secretly gave Madam Han a wink and said, "Alright! It wasn't a big deal to begin with, so everyone keep quiet and let's disperse!"

This commotion spread the news that Shen Yi had spent a fortune to marry Su Tai.

Just then, Mo Chunxiang, who had just been engaged to Xiong Kai, was happily making clothes with Guan Shi in the courtyard when a woman returned from buying water from Dongmen Village. Seeing the mother and daughter, she immediately started gossiping loudly outside the fence, "Chunxiang's mother, have you heard? Shen Yi, who was engaged to your Chunxiang before, is now engaged to the Su family girl from Dongmen Village, the one who broke off her engagement with Xiong Kai."

Guan and Mo Chunxiang exchanged a glance, then hurriedly stepped forward, shaking their heads repeatedly, "When did this happen?"

The woman was somewhat disappointed. "You really don't know! I heard that the Shen family gave the Su family a dowry of one tael of silver, plus fabric, fish, rabbit meat, and grain! You say the Shen family is poor, but they don't seem poor to me! You must be mistaken!"

Guan's face tightened, and she couldn't even force a smile. "I think you must have misheard! Shen Yi has no parents, how could he possibly produce so many things! He's probably just making things up!"

The woman began to have doubts, muttering to herself, "That might be... something's not right! If the Shen family hadn't given such a large dowry, how could the Su family have turned down other marriage proposals and chosen the Shen family? This doesn't make sense!"

Guan's face grew increasingly grim.

The woman just wanted to watch the show, and when she saw that Guan was about to turn hostile, she immediately ran away.

As soon as the person left, Mo Chunxiang suddenly overturned the basin on her lap, her face contorted in rage.

Startled, Guan turned around abruptly and quickly ran over to pick up the things on the ground. "Why are you so angry? You were the one who wanted to break off the engagement, and you chose Xiong Kai yourself. Now you're upset because of a few words of gossip from others?"

"Mother! The Shen family is clearly slapping me in the face by doing this! Shen Yi wants to get engaged, so why make it public?" Mo Chunxiang bit her lip in anger.

Although she didn't think she had done anything wrong, breaking off the engagement was indeed dishonorable. Wouldn't it have been better for everyone to quietly get married on their own? Besides, Shen Yi gave such a large dowry to a fool, while hers wasn't even half of what the fool received. Why was that?
Guan was also annoyed and complained, "I thought that since Shen Ping was so righteous, his son would probably be just as righteous. I didn't expect him to be so petty and vengeful. Luckily, the marriage was canceled. Otherwise, you would have to suffer his humiliation after marrying a penniless man. It would be like tearing my heart out!"

"I think you shouldn't go out for a while, so you don't hear those gossips and get upset. Let's stay home and happily prepare for your wedding. You can live a good life with Xiong Kai. We're from the same village, and you have your father and brothers to help you. Your life will definitely be better than that silly girl from the Su family."

These words struck a chord with Mo Chunxiang, who shook her head smugly and indeed stopped being petty.

Autumn harvest season arrived in the blink of an eye, and this year, the surrounding villages couldn't even muster a decent amount of grain. Only a handful of families could afford to pay taxes. Even the wealthy Ma family in town was constantly lamenting their plight. Because Fufeng Township was the first to dig wells, their grain yield was neither the best nor the worst, and even the county magistrate had taken notice. Under these circumstances, Ma's grain was completely unprotected, so he had no choice but to seek help from the town official's son-in-law.

Su Changfu happened to be there too, so he went to see a play.

"The magistrate wants to take my life by levying grain on me! Why should I have to pay more when everyone else has no harvest? I refuse to accept this!" Outside, Ma Yuanwai dared not utter a sound, but in front of Liu Tiechui, he became unrestrained.

Liu Tiechui watched his father-in-law throw a tantrum silently, and pondered for a moment, saying, "As far as I know, the county magistrate only levies a little more tax on each household. The Ma family is large and wealthy, and they haven't divided their property yet. At most, they'll just get a little more grain, and they'll even gain a good reputation. Why is my father-in-law so angry?"

"I," Master Ma's eyes flickered, and he stubbornly shook his head, "I just won't give more!"

Liu Tiechui sneered twice, "I can't do anything if my father-in-law disagrees. The order was issued by the county magistrate. You can go to the county government office to appeal your case, or wait for the yamen runners to come to your door."

"Are you still my son-in-law, Ma Rencai? You left your own father-in-law in trouble and refused to help him! I truly regret marrying Yujie to you!" Master Ma began to dredge up old grievances.

Liu Tiechui remained expressionless, but Su Changfu could tell at a glance that he was angry.

Just then, Ma Yujie came over. "Oh! Dad's here! What did my husband do to make you so angry?"

"You've come at the right time! The magistrate wants my family to pay more grain, but I have no way of paying it. This matter must be resolved by that Liu fellow, otherwise I will disown him as my son-in-law!" Master Ma said fiercely.

Ma Yujie's voice suddenly turned shrill, "Father? Did I hear that right? You want to defy the magistrate's decree and make my husband a scapegoat? What? Doesn't my husband's future matter? Doesn't his life matter? What did you say when my mother died? You said you would protect me and my elder brother and guarantee our safety and well-being for the rest of our lives!"

I'm living a good life now, and you want to ruin it? How can you face my deceased mother?

Faced with Ma Yujie's repeated questioning, Ma Yuanwai's face turned ashen, unable to refute. Finally, he sighed, "That's not what I meant! You know that our family's fields are all in Fufeng Township, and your stepmother's brothers' fields are also there. It's no big deal for our family to pay a little more grain, but they finally get some grain, and they have to give away most of it. How are they supposed to live?"

Ma Yujie laughed in exasperation, "Dad! How come I didn't know you were so kind-hearted? You even care about other people's affairs! If you have this kind of concern, you should worry about your daughter and send me more money and food. Don't show favoritism!"

"Stop messing around! The Liu family lacks nothing, why should your father worry about anything?"

Asking him for money and food is like asking him to die!

Ma Yujie's face immediately darkened. "Since you can't offer me any benefits and yet you want to ruin my good life, don't blame me for being impolite! The Sang family doesn't want to give so much grain, right? I'll make them bleed a lot!"

(End of this chapter)