"Aunt Wang, can you not think of me so badly?" Yu Dong grabbed her jacket and draped it over herself. Though the winter was still far away, the autumn mornings were rather chilly. She opened the front door and walked out of the house. Just the day before yesterday, Aunt Wang couldn't calm down because she was upset with the wedding arrangements. Today she was asking her to hurry up. Yu Dong couldn't help but feel helpless as she looked at Aunt Wang and Uncle Fu, who was carrying his third son in his arms. "I am already awake and was just preparing the bride price for Fang Chi. There is no way I would sleep in on such an important day."
"It's not that I wanted to come here to bother you either, you stinky girl. It's your uncle who wouldn't stop worrying, saying it's too cold and you might sleep in because of it. Who asked you to have such a poor track record?" Aunt Wang was unhappy too. She really didn't want to place much importance on this marriage either. It was as like she was bowing her head to those unscrupulous people by letting Yu Dong marry Fang Chi. She promised Mother Yu that she would take care of Yu Dong, but now she was so helpless that she could only watch this tragedy happen in front of her. Yu Dong was a good seed, she could marry anyone she liked now, but instead, she had to marry a mer whose cinnamon bar was so faint that it was almost invisible. Aunt Wang was worried that this marriage would end in separation sooner or later. Yu Dong was a straightforward woman and Fang Chi - who didn't know what happened between him and that Mu brat. Though no one said anything out of respect for Mu Xuan, everyone clearly understood the matter.
Marrying a mer whose heart wasn't with her, Yu Dong will surely suffer.
"Now is it the time for you to complain?" uncle Fu admonished Aunt Wang. Yu Dong had a sick suspicion that if not for his little son in his arm, Uncle Fu would have hit Aunt Wang. "It's such an important day; how can we not be fast? Do you want the villagers to make fun of Fang Chi later on? Saying that Yu Dong doesn't hold him in respect or something? It's better to do things in accordance lest the poor boy feels dejected later on."
Aunt Wang snorted but said nothing. Instead, she turned to look at Shen Li and Ye Liu and asked, "Where is the bride price? Let us load it all in my ox cart. I know you have a carriage, but people wouldn't be able to get a clear view of the bride price if we bring it in the carriage. Load it all on my cart so that the villagers can get a full view of it and die of bitter resentment. If you use your carriage, they might try to nitpick on it."
Yu Dong nodded; she understood what Aunt Wang was trying to say. The villagers were the ones who forcefully matched her and Fang Chi together. It was better to give them a good show so they wouldn't feel unsatisfied. She turned around and shouted towards the house, "Lang, are you done? We need your help to load the bride price in the ox cart. Come and help us out a little."
"I am done, I'm done!" Lang was washing together with Lang Ru when Yu Dong woke up. However, because Zhu Qian was still sleeping, it took Lang a while to cook breakfast for her daughter, who was a bit upset at the fast rate Yu Mai was growing up, yet she was still skinny. Lang did try to explain that all mer grew up around six or seven years of age. Then their growth slowed down around eleven, but her daughter was adamant, so her meals grew from two meals a day to three proper meals and snacking in between. "Let's go, I was cooking for Qian Qian and Ruru, so it got a bit late. Sorry for the delay."
"It's fine," Yu Dong waved her hand and went inside. Se, Aunt Wang, and Lang hoisted up the gifts one by one and started to load the ox cart.
Uncle Fu and the others couldn't do anything to help, as mers they were not allowed to move the bride price. They can help organize it, but once the bride price left the house's threshold, it was something that couldn't be held by the mers. Uncle Fu turned to look at Shen Li and Ye Liu. He could feel that the two were in a downcast mood, so he deliberately rocked his little son and said with a smile, "Zhuang, greet your brothers-in-law."
"Sister!"
"It's not sister; it's brother-in-law, "said Shen Li. He knew that Aunt Wang had a mer and a daughter before having another mer son. Wang Zhuang's older brother lived with his wife in the next village. Zhuang grew up with Wang Cai, the only daughter of Aunt Wang and Uncle Fu, so he only knew how to pronounce the word sister.
"Sister!" Zhuang was the youngest son of Aunt Wang, and he was born at a very late age; thus, Aunt Wang doted on him a lot. Most importantly, Zhuang looked like the younger version of Uncle Fu, so the doting was endless. It could be said that because he resembled his daddy's features, Zhuang has never heard the word no. The more someone tried to correct him, the more vivacious he became.
"You brat, you are only this old. Yet you already know how to go against people. One day you are going to drive your wife mad!" Ye Liu teased the young boy before taking out some snacks prepared for guests and handing them to Uncle Fu. "Uncle, we don't have really anything else right now, so take these snacks for little Zhuang and Xiao Cai."
"You little brats, do you need to be so polite with me? Didn't Yu Dong give us a lot of meat and whatnot last time? This little glutton has been eating really well, so you don't have to worry," Uncle Fu has seen Shen Li and Ye Liu grow in front of him.. Though he was not as familiar with them as Yu Dong, he was still reasonably friendly with the three mers.