Chapter 208: Why Don’t You Go Die?

"What did you say!" Ms. Qian yelled, jumping to her feet and lunging forward again. Luckily, her aunt grabbed her and held her back.

"It’s your shameless son who’s the problem, going after my Xing’er! You’re the one who needs to keep an eye on your boy. If he dares to come looking for my Xing’er again, I’ll break his legs."

Shanzimama sneered. "Oh, don’t you worry. I wouldn’t look twice at a girl from your family. With a mother like you, the daughter can’t be any good!"

"Not even betrothed, and she’s already carrying on with a boy. Ptui! How shameless! What family would dare to marry a girl like that?"

Xing’er, who had been crying with her face in her hands, choked on a sob at those words and bit her lip hard.

Ms. Qian went berserk. Just as she was about to lunge, Shanzi suddenly roared, "Mom, that’s enough!"

He suddenly dropped to his knees before Ms. Qian. "Aunt Qian, I’m serious about wanting to marry Xing’er. I’m begging you, please let us be together."

Shanzimama was so furious she could only point a trembling finger at Shanzi.

Ms. Qian spat in Shanzi’s face. "Pah! To hell with you! Take a good look at your family’s situation. You think someone like you can afford to marry my Xing’er?"

"You want to marry Xing’er? Fine! Bring me a betrothal gift of thirty taels of silver!"

Aunt Liu muttered from the sidelines, "She’s gone mad with greed!"

Back in their home village, the betrothal gift for a bride was only several taels of silver. A poorer family might give two taels of silver; a well-off family, five taels at the absolute most.

Thirty taels?

Heh.

Hearing this, Shanzimama’s anger actually vanished. She shot Shanzi a sidelong glance. ’See? What did I tell you? With a mother like that, you still want to marry her daughter? You’d better give up on that idea, and fast!’

Shanzi was stunned by the figure. Thirty taels. At their wealthiest, his family had only ever saved a little over twenty taels of silver, and that was money his father had practically given his life for. Now, not only was the silver gone, but they were in debt.

’Thirty taels... When could he possibly save up that much money to marry Xing’er?’

’He just wanted to hold her. He wanted to hold her every single day. The desire was driving him mad.’

Shanzi’s expression darkened. Staring hard at Ms. Qian, he said suddenly, "Auntie... Xing’er has no choice but to marry me. We’ve already—"

Shanzimama’s face went white as a sheet.

Xing’er was so shocked she lowered her hands from her face, staring blankly at Shanzi.

"Oh, good heavens, you’re killing me!" Ms. Qian shrieked, collapsing onto the ground.

Gu Zhong’s face flushed crimson. He grabbed Shanzi by the collar, a vein throbbing on his forehead. "What did you just say?"

Shanzi jutted out his chin. "Xing’er and I, in the Little Tree Woods—"

Before he could finish, Gu Zhong’s fist smashed into his face. "I’ll kill you, you bastard!"

Gu Zhong’s fists rained down on Shanzi, but Shanzi didn’t even try to dodge, letting Gu Zhong beat him relentlessly.

Shanzimama was frantic. Forgetting everything else, she threw herself over her son, shielding him from Gu Zhong’s fists and screaming, "Stop it! Stop hitting him! It’s too late even if you kill him now!"

Xing’er stared blankly at the scene before her. Only two words echoed in her mind: ’It’s over.’

’It’s over. My reputation is completely ruined.’

’She looked at Shanzi as if he were a complete stranger. They had kissed, they had held each other, but they truly had never gone any further.’

’Of course, in this world, kissing and hugging was enough to be considered unchaste. It made no difference whether they had gone further or not.’

’She knew Shanzi was saying all this because he wanted to marry her.’

’But if this was her reputation, who wouldn’t point and whisper behind her back for the rest of her life?’

’A girl who married under such a cloud would be despised by her husband’s family.’

Ms. Qian suddenly sprang up from the ground, her eyes bloodshot. She grabbed Xing’er by the hair and began beating her wildly. "You shameless little whore! Why don’t you just go and die? After doing something so disgraceful, how can you still have the nerve to be alive?"