Chapter 34
Chapter 34: A Crack
“Mother—”
Qin Hui Yin burst into the Tang family’s main hall, still gripping Tang Lu Wu’s hand. Tang Lu Wu’s fingers were icy, her shoulders drawn tight as if she were trying to fold herself smaller.
Two unfamiliar women sat inside.
One wore a bright, practiced smile that didn’t reach her eyes. The other had a lean face and a sharp gaze that raked over Qin Hui Yin and Tang Lu Wu as if she were measuring livestock.
Li Tao Hua sat in the upper seat, back straight, expression cold enough to frost the room.
The smiling woman rose at once. “Oh, it’s only been a few days, and Yin Girl has grown even prettier. When she comes of age, the young men for miles around will probably fight until their heads split open for her.”
Madam Qian.
Qin Hui Yin recognized the type. The kind who could flatter a stone until it felt handsome.
And she had found Li Tao Hua’s soft spot the moment she opened her mouth.
Qin Hui Yin didn’t bother with pleasantries. “Mother, who are they?”
Li Tao Hua’s lips pressed together. After a beat, she said, “This is Auntie Qian, and this is Madam Li from the Zheng family.” Her eyes slid, not quite meeting Tang Lu Wu’s. “They’re here about your sister’s marriage.”
Tang Lu Wu’s face went even paler.
Qin Hui Yin’s anger, barely contained on the road, flared again. “My sister is 12. It’s far too early for her to come of age, and it’s too early to arrange a match.” She looked straight at Madam Li. “Besides, even if we were arranging one, it wouldn’t be with a man from the Zheng family.”
Madam Li’s mouth twisted. “The Zheng family is willing to give six taels as bride price.” Her tone dripped with condescension. “Go ask around. What family pays that much to marry a little girl? What else are you dissatisfied with?”
Qin Hui Yin didn’t blink. “Your precious son has rotten character and filthy habits. He’s not even worthy to carry my sister’s shoes.”
Madam Li spat as if she’d been slapped. “Bah! She’s a little girl, all skin and bones and dark as soot. Our family doesn’t mind her. What right does she have to be picky?”
The hall door banged, and Zheng Da Pang barreled in, panting as if he’d run the whole way.
He pointed at Qin Hui Yin as if she’d been set out for him. “Mother! I want to marry her.”
Li Tao Hua’s face changed in an instant, a flash of fury cutting through her cold composure. “What kind of daydream are you having?”
Zheng Da Pang stamped his foot like a spoiled child. “Mother, I want to marry her! Don’t we have money? Ask them how much silver they want and give it to them.”
Madam Li grabbed his arm, hissing, half scolding, half indulging. “You little wretch, what’s the point of marrying her? To worship her like an ancestor? Look at her—does she seem like someone who can work?”
“I don’t care!” Zheng Da Pang shouted. “This is the one I like!”
For a moment, mother and son spoke as if the Tang family weren’t even in the room, as if Qin Hui Yin would belong to them the moment they tossed enough silver on the table.
Even Madam Qian’s smile strained. “Madam Da Pang,” she said quickly, “didn’t we agree we were coming to propose to Lu Wu?”
Madam Li waved a dismissive hand. “My son likes this one. We’ll propose to her instead.”
The hall fell into chaos—voices overlapping, Tang Lu Wu trembling, Qin Hui Yin’s fists clenched so tightly her nails bit her palms.
Then a calm voice cut through it.
“What’s going on?”
Tang Yi Chen stepped in from outside.
Dust clung to the hem of his robe, and his face carried the faint edge of exhaustion from a day spent threading through people and secrets. But the moment he saw the scene—the strangers in the hall, Tang Lu Wu white as paper, Qin Hui Yin bristling like a cornered cat—his gaze sharpened.
Li Tao Hua flinched under it. Guilt hit her so hard she couldn’t meet his eyes.
Days ago, when Madam Qian first came to float the match, Li Tao Hua had been tempted. Marry off the stepdaughter, get a bride price, lighten the burden—easy arithmetic for a hard life. But once Qin Hui Yin started bringing money into the house, Li Tao Hua hadn’t seriously thought about it again.
This time, Madam Qian arrived with Madam Li, and Li Tao Hua hadn’t even found the right words to refuse before Qin Hui Yin stormed in. Then Zheng Da Pang barged in and started shouting about marrying Qin Hui Yin, and in the flare of anger, Li Tao Hua’s mouth had fallen out of order.
Now Tang Yi Chen stood there, looking at the mess as if he could see straight through every excuse.
Madam Qian rushed to fill the silence, words spilling fast in a desperate attempt to smooth the edges. She laid out the arrangement she’d discussed with Li Tao Hua days ago, then pivoted quickly, trying to steer the conversation back into something salvageable.
“I didn’t expect Da Pang to suddenly take a liking to Yin Girl,” Madam Qian said, laughing as if this were merely amusing. “Yin Girl is fine too, but she’s a bit young. How could Hui Yin’s mother bear it? Da Pang, Lu Wu is very capable—”
Tang Yi Chen’s eyes didn’t leave Li Tao Hua. “You want to marry off my sister?”
Li Tao Hua straightened, forcing boldness into her spine. “When a family has a daughter, a hundred families seek her. If someone comes to propose, am I supposed to slam the door in their face?” Her voice tightened. “I purposely raised the bride price. I didn’t mean it. I just wanted them to back off when they saw how hard it would be.”
Tang Yi Chen studied her, cold and still. He could see the lie—could see the guilt—but he didn’t expose her in front of strangers.
Instead, he turned.
His eyes landed on Madam Qian, then Madam Li, then Zheng Da Pang. His voice dropped, sharpened. “Leave.”
Madam Qian’s smile twitched. “Brother Chen’s boy, who in this village doesn’t know your family’s situation? Just marry off two sisters and everything gets solved! Yesterday I saw Squire Jiang. He’s still interested in Yin Girl and is willing to pay 50 taels.”
The words hit the air like a slap.
Tang Yi Chen’s jaw tightened. “Get out.”
Madam Qian tried again, stubborn as a fly. “If you won’t marry Yin Girl, then at least consider Lu Wu and Da Pang. Six taels isn’t low.”
Tang Yi Chen’s gaze flicked to Zheng Da Pang. “Didn’t he just say he didn’t want my sister?”
Zheng Da Pang’s eyes were still stuck on Qin Hui Yin, as if Tang Lu Wu didn’t exist.
Madam Li didn’t care about that. She’d come for Tang Lu Wu because the girl looked honest, obedient, and hard-working—the kind who could be folded into a household like a new broom.
Madam Li leaned forward, voice hard. “Seven taels. That’s the highest I’ll go. And even if we take Tang Lu Wu into our house, we won’t consummate right away. Look at her—skin and bones. Who knows how many years it’ll take to fatten her up before she can give my family sons? If we marry her, you’ll even save the money of feeding her.”
Something in Tang Yi Chen’s expression shifted, the calm splitting to show the blade beneath.
He smiled.
It wasn’t a pleasant smile.
“Does your household not own a mirror?” he said lightly. “If not, turn left when you go out and walk straight to the river. Make him squat and take a good look at himself.” His voice cooled. “Though I’m not sure whether a slaughterhouse pig knows how to look into water.”
Madam Li’s face darkened. “What do you mean by that?”
Tang Yi Chen lifted his chin, every word deliberate. “You can’t understand? Then are the things on the sides of your head just holes? I’m telling you to get out of my house. If you don’t, I’ll make this walking pig crawl out.”
He pointed at Zheng Da Pang.
Zheng Da Pang shrieked, offended as if he’d been stabbed. “Mother! He called me a pig! He called me—”
Madam Li lunged, sleeves already rolled. “I’ll tear that filthy mouth of yours apart!”
Qin Hui Yin stepped in front of Tang Yi Chen without thinking.
Madam Li’s palm swung down.
Before it could land, a broom cracked through the air.
Smack.
Li Tao Hua stood, broom raised like a weapon, eyes blazing. “Try touching my daughter.”
Madam Qian flailed between them, hands up. “Let’s talk nicely! Even if the marriage doesn’t happen, don’t ruin the relationship—”
Madam Li was too furious to hear. And Li Tao Hua was too furious to stop.
The broom came down again and again, each strike fueled by the kind of rage a mother only saved for people who dared to treat her child like merchandise.
“Ah—Mother!” Zheng Da Pang screamed.
Madam Li whipped her head around and saw her son stumbling backward, trying to protect his face, only to be chased down by Qin Hui Yin and Tang Lu Wu.
Qin Hui Yin had a wooden stick. Tang Lu Wu clutched a feather duster like it was a sword.
They beat Zheng Da Pang with all the fear and anger they’d swallowed. Every time he tried to swing back at them, Tang Yi Chen stuck out a foot with perfect timing and tripped him, sending him face-first into the dirt.
The moment he hit the ground, the two girls swarmed him again.
“Enough!” Zheng Da Pang wailed, scrambling. “Stop—stop hitting me—”
“Didn’t you want a kiss?” Qin Hui Yin snapped, swinging.
Zheng Da Pang howled.
Madam Li threw herself over him, arms spread as if her body could shield him from consequence. She began to sob loudly, the kind of crying meant for an audience. “Fine! Fine, if you won’t marry, then don’t! Why are you hitting my son? You’re bullying us!”
Her words echoed in the hall, but the crack had already formed—sharp and ugly—splitting something that had been pretending to hold.