Transmigrated as an Unwanted Ugly Girl

The crowd roared with laughter, all praising her for her clever flattery, which had clearly delighted the older relative.

Juhua’s heart twitched when she heard this. ’Am I a sow popping out piglets? Two every year?’

He was indeed very pleased and didn’t think too much of it, casually remarking, "That’s a nice thought, but our Juhua really suffered with this birth. She’ll need a few years to recover, so she can’t have another baby next year."

Hearing this, the crowd started asking questions with great concern.

Only then did He realize she had let it slip. She quickly tried to cover her tracks, "Juhua has a very frail constitution. Pushing two babies out naturally took a toll on her, so I’m just having her focus on a proper recovery."

Huai Zi’s maternal grandmother and aunt lavished praise on Juhua, as if she were the Zhang family’s greatest hero. Meanwhile, the relatives from Juhua’s maiden family felt incredibly proud. Juhua’s own grandmother took her hand, stroking it with heartfelt sympathy.

An old woman there was from the family of Huai Zi’s paternal granduncle, a close enough relation that they were still within the five generations of mourning. Everyone called her "Fifth Granny," and she lived in the next village. They didn’t usually interact much, but now that Zhang Yang had become a scholar, she had come to curry favor.

When she heard that Juhua’s health had suffered, her eyes darted about as an idea sparked in her mind.

She glanced at Juhua’s veiled face and thought, ’Huai Zi really got the short end of the stick marrying this pockmarked woman. She has no looks to speak of, and now she’s ruined her health just by having a couple of babies. Who knows if she can even have more in the future. They say she needs a few years to recover, but who knows if she ever will? If she can’t have any more children, is Huai Zi supposed to stop at just two?’

’That would never do! The scholar’s family is already doing her a favor by not despising her for her ugliness. If she can’t even produce more children, they might as well just divorce her and send her back home.’

’Hmph, and so what if she can have more? The Zhang family isn’t what it used to be. If they don’t take a few concubines to help expand the family, who’s going to manage this huge estate in the future? Besides, Zhang Yang will need his brothers and nephews to support him later on. It’s always better to rely on your own people than on outsiders.’

Her calculations were flawless, as if she were the true matriarch of the Zhang family.

When it was time for the banquet to start, there were four tables of guests in total. He found the idea of serving in two shifts troublesome, so she had all four tables set up at once, with two of them at the Zheng family’s house.

Amid the eating, drinking, and laughter, He got up to check on things in the kitchen. Seeing her chance, Fifth Granny scurried after her.

The kitchen happened to be empty, so she grabbed He and earnestly spouted a string of concerned words about the Zhang family and Huai Zi. Just as He was growing impatient and baffled, Fifth Granny finally revealed her true purpose: she wanted to help Huai Zi take a concubine. She added that she had a granddaughter who would be perfect—big hips, a lucky face, and the look of someone who was good at childbearing.

"Huai Zi’s mother, I don’t mean to criticize, but this daughter-in-law of yours is just not up to snuff. Let’s not even talk about how ugly she is. With a face like that, she just doesn’t look like she brings good fortune. After this difficult birth, who knows if she’ll be able to have more children. We can’t let Huai Zi suffer for it..."

He was both shocked and furious. She quickly cut her off, "Fifth Auntie, what are you talking about? We’re just simple farming folk. Marrying one wife and living a peaceful life is good enough for us. All this talk of taking a concubine... is that something a family like ours should even be getting involved in?"

Fifth Granny said, displeased, "And why can’t we take a concubine? The Zhang family isn’t what it used to be..."

Just as she was speaking, someone suddenly shot out from behind the stove. With a dark expression, she cursed at Fifth Granny, "What part of the Zhang family are you from? How come I’ve never seen you before, you old witch? You never showed up when the Zhang family was poor, but now you come rushing to ride their coattails. Sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong, worrying about other people’s descendants. Is your granddaughter so desperate she can’t find a husband that you have to push her on someone as a concubine? Well, don’t try to push her on the Zhang family. There are plenty of rich families in Xiatang Market."

When He saw who it was, she was mortified. "Yunlan," she said hastily, "Fifth Auntie was just joking. She didn’t mean it. Please don’t tell Juhua."

Fifth Granny saw this pretty young wife with her sharp tongue. The scolding made her blood boil, but she suppressed her anger and asked He suspiciously, "Who is this?"

He grabbed her arm and started pushing her out. "This is Juhua’s sister-in-law from her maiden family. Fifth Auntie, hurry back and eat before all the food is gone."

But the old woman saw He’s evasive attitude and assumed she just didn’t want to argue with Juhua’s family, not that she was actually against her son taking a concubine. Her expression hardened as she turned to Liu Yunlan. "You’re from a younger generation, and what’s more, you’re from Juhua’s family. You have no manners at all, shouting and screaming in front of others. What kind of behavior is that? Whether or not the Zhang family takes a concubine is none of your business! And with Juhua looking the way she does..."

He shoved her toward the door with all her might, terrified she’d say something even worse. If it wasn’t her grandsons’ one-month celebration, she would’ve started cursing the woman out herself. But even if she kept quiet, Liu Yunlan wouldn’t back down. A public argument would be humiliating for everyone, so she just tried her hardest to push the old woman away.

Sure enough, Liu Yunlan chased after them. "’Our Zhang family,’ my foot! Who knows where you crawled out from. You old hag, have you no shame? At your age, instead of doing good deeds, all you do is cook up wicked schemes just to push your granddaughter on someone as a concubine. Pah! As long as Juhua is here, you can forget about it."

She was furious. After busying herself helping out, she had just hidden by the stove to grab a few bites of food when she overheard this disgusting business.

Juhua wasn’t just her sister-in-law; the two were also very close. But even setting that aside, she could never accept the idea of taking a concubine. ’Just imagine,’ she thought, ’if someone tried to get Qingmu to take a concubine, how could I ever stand it?’ So, putting herself in Juhua’s shoes, she naturally had to step up and defend her. Besides, she was Juhua’s sister-in-law from her maiden family. Even if she caused a scene, she wasn’t afraid—at worst, people would just call her tactless, which was far better than her own mother-in-law from the Yang family stepping in to raise a fuss.

Fifth Granny was furious too. "Is Juhua so high and mighty? If it weren’t for the fact that she gave birth to two children, she’d deserve to be divorced! With a face like that, marrying Huai Zi must be the result of good karma from a past life. But her good fortune is Huai Zi’s misfortune! Marrying an ugly woman has already brought shame on the scholar’s family, and now she can’t even have more children. The fact that they haven’t divorced her..."

After she spat out such words, Liu Yunlan, contrary to expectation, fell silent. Her face darkened as she turned to look at He, waiting to see how she would respond.

He was trembling with rage. This old woman had completely ruined such a happy, auspicious day.

She snapped, "Fifth Auntie, on this joyous day, all you talk about is divorce, divorce, divorce! Are you deliberately trying to ruin things for me? If you don’t want to stay for the banquet, then please just go home. You don’t need to worry about my family’s affairs; his father and I know what we’re doing. Our family will not be taking any concubines. If you’re so keen on getting someone a concubine, go get one for Fifth Uncle!" (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian.com to vote for recommendation and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)