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

Chapter 68 Envious Gossips
Xiong Kai remained hidden in the bustling crowd, silently observing everything happening at the Su family's residence, his fists clenched unconsciously.

He was on his way to town to find work when he heard that Su Chunlin's family in Dongmen Village was having a wedding, and somehow he ended up there.

When he first saw the Su family's large courtyard, he felt a deep sense of jealousy. When he saw Shen Yi using an eight-bearer sedan chair to pick up his bride, he felt a sense of shame and indignation, as if he had been slapped in the face. But what hurt him the most was the dowry that the Su family had prepared for Su Tai.

When Mo Chunxiang married him, her dowry consisted of only one tael of silver and some worthless items, which wasn't even a fraction of Su Tai's dowry.

At this moment, he deeply regretted standing here and hearing these words. If he hadn't impulsively broken off the engagement back then, would all these things have been his? He wouldn't have been ridiculed by the villagers behind his back for being unlucky, and he wouldn't have had to think twice before speaking to his wife because of his in-laws.

Ke Zhengping was about to enter when he saw Xiong Kai standing to the side, and their eyes met.

Ke Zhengping warmly greeted them, "You've come for the wedding banquet, right? Come in and have a seat."

Xiong Kai pursed his lips, turned around and left quickly.

Ke Zhengping felt completely bewildered and immediately told Su Chunlin about it.

Based on Ke Zhengping's description, Su Chunlin roughly guessed that the person was Xiong Kai. He curled his lips in a mocking smile, telling Ke Zhengping not to worry about it.

The wedding procession traveled for most of the day and finally arrived at Shenjiazhuang before dusk.

Xu and Shen had been greeting guests outside Shen Yi’s new house for a long time. Upon hearing the commotion, Liu Ang and his family ran forward together.

Xu pinched Shen Zhuang excitedly, "They're back! They're back!"

As she spoke, she glanced subconsciously at the cows and sheep in front of the wedding procession, and beamed with joy, "Honey, the Su family is really generous. They actually gave their daughter cows and sheep as dowry. Even wealthy families in the neighboring towns don't have such a grand wedding!"

Previously, when she spread the word about Su Tai's dowry, the villagers all said she was daydreaming. Today, they even came specifically to see her make a fool of herself. Now, she'll see who's making a fool of themselves.

When the cattle and sheep were led into Shen Yi's house.

The villagers were truly dumbfounded.

The gossipy woman shouted exaggeratedly at the top of her lungs, "The Su family really gave their daughter cattle and sheep as dowry? Are they crazy? They're such a money-loser!"

Then, she angrily scolded her daughter-in-law, "Without elders to keep them in check, the Su family is incredibly stupid. Our family must not follow their example!"

Mao, who was on good terms with Xu, couldn't help but retort, "Aunt Cuihua, don't just curse people out of jealousy. The Su family is rich, so what's wrong with giving their daughter cattle and sheep as dowry? It shows that Su is favored by her maternal family, and her husband's family also benefits from it. Even if you want to learn from her, you need to have that kind of family wealth!"

Aunt Cuihua rolled her eyes at Mao and snorted, "Even if I had mountains of gold and silver, I wouldn't let outsiders have them! Only you people treat a worthless piece of trash like a treasure!"

Xu, who had just walked over, didn't like what she was hearing and said coldly, "How interesting! They're cursing themselves. I wonder who's really stupid."

"Shen Zhuang's wife, what do you mean? Don't think you're all that just because your nephew married a rich wife!" Aunt Cuihua shouted angrily, hands on her hips.

Xu was no pushover either. She proudly raised her chin, her nostrils pointing directly at her, looking utterly arrogant and self-satisfied. "I'm proud, I'm showing off, I'm happy, I want to be on top of the world, so what! You old hag! If you want to fight, then come at me! Don't think I'm afraid of you!"

Seeing that things were not going well, Cuihua's daughters-in-law quietly retreated.

Aunt Cuihua was so angry that she couldn't catch her breath and fell backward, only to find that she was caught by other women in the village. Her daughters-in-law had long since disappeared. She immediately sat on the ground and cried and wailed.

Madam Xu's face immediately darkened, and she roared, "Shen Zhuang, call a few people over and carry this old geezer away! He's bad luck!"

Aunt Cuihua was shocked, "Xu! How dare you!"

"You'll see if I dare!" Xu rolled up her sleeves and pounced on Aunt Cuihua. Her decisive and swift manner startled Aunt Cuihua, who nimbly rolled over and quickly got up from the ground and ran away.

She ran while cursing. Mao stepped forward and pulled Xu back, "Alright, she's already gone, don't bother with her. Let's hurry inside, the bride and groom are about to have their wedding ceremony."

Su Tai, who was in the main room, could vaguely hear the arguing outside, but she did not move because of her status as the bride.

After a short while, the outside quieted down, and Madam Xu entered with a smile, saying to the matchmaker, "The auspicious time has arrived, we can begin!"

The matchmaker hurriedly stepped forward and shouted loudly, "The newlyweds are about to have their wedding ceremony!"

After some fuss, Su Tai was led into the bridal chamber by Shen Yi.

They accepted the veil and drank the nuptial wine.

The two looked at each other, then tacitly looked away, their cheeks flushed.

From this day forward, they are now a legitimate married couple in the eyes of the world.

After the others left, Shen Yi said gently to Su Tai, "I asked my second aunt to steam some egg custard and white flour buns for you. Have some to tide you over first, and I'll have someone bring you more food when the feast begins. If you feel your jewelry is cumbersome, you can take it off for now."

Su Tai nodded quickly, "I'd like some more hot water to remove my makeup."

God knows how desperately she wanted to remove her makeup; the lead powder from ancient times was truly unbearable.

"Okay! I'll go prepare it for you right away." Shen Yi carefully inspected the room, closed the door, and quickly left.

Su Tai immediately sat down in front of the dressing table and took off her hairpins.

Only after feeling relieved did I have the mind to carefully examine my new house.

The room was quite spacious, containing a two-meter canopy bed, a sizable round table, an eight-panel cabinet, and her dressing table, yet it didn't feel cramped. What pleased her was that there was a small screen next to the cabinet, behind which was a chamber pot for nighttime use, avoiding embarrassment and the smell of urine—a very well-planned arrangement.

Su Tai became more and more satisfied as she looked at it, a smile playing on her lips.

Soon, Shen Yi personally delivered two large wooden tubs of hot water, gave some instructions, and then left.

By the time she finished washing up and eating, it was already dark.

Shen Yi also returned at this time.

Seeing that he had drunk too much, Su Tai quickly helped him to bed, took off his shoes and coat, and washed his face.

The nervousness of being newlyweds was left behind in this flurry of activity.

After finally getting everything ready, afraid of waking Shen Yi, she tiptoed to bed. Just as she lay down, the sleeping man next to her suddenly rolled over and pressed down on her with lightning speed.

Su Tai was sealed before she could even cry out.

The red candles flickered, filling the room with the enchanting colors of spring.

The next day, when Su Tai opened his eyes, he was still a little disoriented. It wasn't until he saw Shen Yi smiling at him that he realized what was happening and sat up abruptly. "What time is it?"

"It's just past Chen Shi (7-9 AM)." Shen Yi got up and said with a doting look, "We don't have any elders in our family, so you can sleep as long as you want from now on. Don't worry about being scolded by your elders. I'll take you to offer incense to my parents later."

Su Tai relaxed completely, her eyes crinkling with a smile.

Life after marriage without in-laws couldn't be better!