A Good Country Wife

Lin Yue hadn’t even opened her mouth when Zhao Erhu pulled his little wife over to his side. Zhao Erhu had no particular thoughts about their sibling reunion, so he had kept silent all this while. However, the notion of Lin Qing wanting to take his little wife away, and even considering finding another man for her, was far too much of a challenge to his bottom line. It seemed best not to involve Lin Yue’s birth family any further; otherwise, he’d deeply regret it if they led his little wife astray.

"Big Uncle, this statement of yours is simply too outrageous. Regardless of the reason, once Yueyue married me, she became my wife. For the rest of her life, she belongs to me. Big Uncle, coaxing my wife to seek other men, what kind of reasoning is that? You are a learned man too; surely you wouldn’t be ignorant of the basic principles of propriety, righteousness, integrity, and honor, would you? Since that is the case, please, Big Uncle, leave. When your parents married Yueyue off to me, they made it clear that she no longer had any ties to the Lin family from then on!"

"Zhao Erhu, you brute, do you really think you are worthy of my sister? If I hadn’t been away from home, you would never have taken her away!" Lin Qing was extremely furious, and he found Zhao Erhu utterly disagreeable, especially considering this brute’s attempts to monopolize his sister perpetually. Lin thought his sister, with her temperament and appearance, deserved to be with someone compatible with her. How could a simpleton like Zhao Erhu ever understand how to cherish someone? In his eyes, a literati would suit his sister much better.

"My little wife is right. What has happened has happened. The reality is your parents sold your sister to me for fifteen taels of silver. Surely you don’t think your few words can change that reality? I still hold the agreement in my hands now. No matter where I go, I have the law on my side." In this matter, even if his little wife were to be upset, Zhao Erhu would not yield an inch; otherwise, it would mean handing his little wife over to someone else on a silver platter.

"Zhao Erhu, it’s only because you gave my parents silver, fifteen taels, right? Just you wait; I will gather the silver and redeem my sister."

"Big Uncle, haven’t you understood yet? Yueyue is my wife now, and she will be in the future, for her entire life. Even if you bring fifteen taels of silver, it won’t change this fact. I will not hand my wife over to anyone, no amount of silver can change that. You might as well get that idea out of your head!"

Yet, Lin Qing ignored Zhao Erhu, instead turning his gaze to Lin Yue, "Sister, wait for me. I will gather the silver and come to take you back. Take good care of yourself."

"Eh, no, I don’t need you to..." Before Lin Yue could finish her sentence, Lin Qing had already left quickly, not even giving her a chance to object.

Zhao Erhu was also frustrated; why is it that his Big Uncle seemed incapable of understanding his words, as if all learned men were so stubborn and set in their ways, never to turn back. No, that wasn’t the right idea. He observed that sometimes his little wife could be quite stubborn too. Maybe it was a trait inherited from the Lin family. Regardless, no one would change the fact that Lin Yue was his wife.

After Lin Qing left, Lin Yue looked at Zhao Erhu with a complicated expression, wanting to speak yet hesitating, unclear about what she intended to convey.

Zhao Erhu had been quite forthright in front of Lin Qing, but facing his little wife, he feared that those words might have harmed her self-respect. "Wife, you’re not angry, are you? I didn’t mean to speak that way. He’s your brother, and I wanted us to get along well. But he shouldn’t think about taking you away. You’re the only little wife I have in this life. What would I do without you, what about the children? They already regard you as their own mother. Wife, we can discuss anything else, just not this. I won’t let you leave me!"