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Back to the 80s: A Marriage of Convenience
In this situation, Zhao Ying'er daring to speak up was undoubtedly digging her own grave, blocking all her escape routes.
After all, Zhao Ying'er was still the daughter-in-law of the Wu Family; she shouldn't be saying such things or having any dealings with other men.
However, Zhao Ying'er simply couldn't suppress the overwhelming expectations and fantasies in her heart.
Especially after witnessing Qi Zheng's wholehearted protection of Zhao Jin, in stark contrast to Wu Feng's attitude towards her, Zhao Ying'er was driven mad with jealousy.
Why could Zhao Jin take away her happiness while she had to live such a miserable life?
She was unwilling! She refused to accept her fate like this.
So, in a moment of impulsiveness, Zhao Ying'er started shouting at Qi Zheng, completely ignoring the many pairs of eyes watching and ears listening around them.
Qi Zheng had no interest in Zhao Ying'er's thoughts or plans.
Faced with Zhao Ying'er's self-righteousness, Qi Zheng's tone grew colder. "I remember I already explained to you that I am marrying Jin. As for you, if you want to find a fiancé, just go look for Qi Ze." After delivering a merciless blow to Zhao Ying'er and using Qi Ze as a shield, Qi Zheng changed his tone and added, "I almost forgot, you are already married. Don't come to the Qi Family's door again; the Qi Family does not welcome someone with ulterior motives like you."
The term "ulterior motives" struck Zhao Ying'er hard, leaving her face pale and devoid of dignity.
Yet at this moment, she could not afford to be easily defeated. Otherwise, she would have no chance of turning things around.
The places on her body that had been struck by Wu Feng were still aching faintly. Zhao Ying'er bit her tongue, forcing herself to maintain her composure. Taking a deep breath, Zhao Ying'er mustered all her courage, attempting one last stand: "My grandfather approached the Qi Family because my dad wanted to marry my mom. The set of furniture that Great-Grandfather Qi gifted us is still in my parents' house. The marriage agreement that Great-Grandfather Qi promised should naturally be fulfilled by me. I have an engagement with the Qi Family."
"So what? Just because you have an engagement with the Qi Family, you married into the Wu Family?" Qi Zheng found it hard to understand Zhao Ying'er's thoughts and intentions. It seemed that ever since he sent the bride price to the Zhao Family, Zhao Ying'er had been lost in her own fantasies, always adopting a posture of "you all have wronged me," looking down on this and that. He completely failed to understand where Zhao Ying'er got her confidence and audacity.
To Qi Zheng, Zhao Ying'er was nothing but a joke, a big laugh who jumped around without realizing it.
Qi Zheng would not spare Zhao Ying'er any face. His words were harsh but brutally honest.
Zhao Ying'er was left frozen in place.
Thinking about her marriage to Wu Feng, Zhao Ying'er held back for a moment before suddenly pointing at Chen Cui: "It's not like I wanted to marry Wu Feng! My mom forced me!"
Chen Cui blinked, instantly feeling uneasy.
That's right. The reason they came to the Qi Family today was her idea. However, she had no prior knowledge of the plan to swap Zhao Jin and Zhao Ying'er; it was definitely not something she had instigated.
When Grandma Qi suddenly brought up this topic, it had startled her.
However, considering that Grandma Qi was doing this for their family's good, swapping them back wouldn't be a significant loss for Zhao Ying'er. Although they would face gossip from the surrounding villagers, who would care about outsiders' nonsense when they could live well?
After pondering for a while, Chen Cui felt that Grandma Zhao's suggestion was quite good.
At the very least, if Zhao Ying'er became the daughter-in-law of the Qi Family, she could easily manipulate the Qijia Family. The money from the Qi Family could continuously flow into their home.
Imagining that scene, Chen Cui immediately shut her mouth. She stood quietly to the side, allowing Grandma Qi to put in her best effort.
However, not speaking did not mean that Chen Cui was willing to take all the blame.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have been hiding at the back all this time, waiting for Grandma Zhao to charge ahead while she stood by and reaped the benefits.
Yet, Chen Cui never expected that the first person to use her as a pawn would not be Grandma Zhao, but rather her own daughter: Zhao Ying'er.
Chen Cui believed she had treated Zhao Ying'er well. For so long, whether it was regarding Zhao Ying'er's marriage to the Qi Family or her current situation with the Wu Family, Chen Cui felt heartbroken and had done everything she could to help Zhao Ying'er change her circumstances.
In order to secure Zhao Ying'er's marriage to the Wu Family, Chen Cui had to put on a smiling face and say nice things to Sister-in-law's Family; she almost acted like a grandson to them. It was only after much effort that they finally settled Zhao Yinger's marriage to Wu Family, fulfilling her wish at that time.
At that time, marrying Zhao Ying'er off to Wu Family was not solely her decision! Zhao Ying'er herself agreed without any reluctance, right?
So why did it suddenly turn into her being forced by her own mother?
Caught off guard by becoming the villain in Zhao Ying'er's eyes, Chen Cui had no mental preparation whatsoever. After a while, her face flushed as she managed to squeeze out three words towards Zhao Ying'er: "You're ridiculous!"
Zhao Ying'er did not intend for Chen Cui to take the blame. It was just that in a moment of urgency, those words slipped out.
At this moment, under the gaze of everyone present, Zhao Ying'er couldn't change her words. Thus, she could only grit her teeth and insist, "I didn't lie! At that time, the Wu Family clearly had their eyes on Zhao Jin, and you even helped with that matter at Zhao Jin's Family. It's just that later you thought the Qi Family was poor and not as good as the Wu Family, so you switched me and Zhao Jin. Then Zhao Jin was forced to marry into the Qi Family, while I ended up marrying into the Wu Family."
Compared to Chen Cui's overly simple three words, Zhao Ying'er's rebuttal was undoubtedly more convincing. It was well-founded and coherent, and those in the know showed disdainful expressions, while those who were unaware listened with great interest, feeling that this drama was too exciting.
However, Chen Cui was certainly not one of those who found it exciting.
Glaring fiercely at the incompetent Zhao Ying'er, Chen Cui wished she could slap her.
Does she not know her place? She was supposed to be on Zhao Ying'er's side, yet Zhao Ying'er dared to bite back? And not just once; she had bitten several times!
Chen Cui considered that there were not many people in her life to whom she had truly opened her heart. But for her two children, Zhao Ying'er and Zhao Lei, she had always tried her best to protect them completely.
Perhaps Zhao Ying'er could complain that her mother was somewhat biased, thinking more about her son Zhao Lei. But Zhao Ying'er certainly could not deny her mother's consistent efforts.
Regarding Zhao Ying'er's marriage to the Wu Family, aside from the fact that Zhao Ying'er wasn't living well now, Chen Cui's intentions were genuinely for Zhao Ying'er's benefit.
In fact, to ensure that Zhao Ying'er married well, Chen Cui had actively urged Grandfather Zhao and Grandma Zhao to sever ties with Zhao Guoqiang's family completely.
What Chen Cui did not anticipate was that the Wu Family was not a golden nest or a silver nest but rather a pigsty or doghouse that couldn't even compare to the Qi Family.
Chen Cui had heard that the Wu Family's parents were not easy to get along with. However, since they did not live in the same village, their interactions were limited, and thus her personal experiences were not profound enough. This led to her oversight and misjudgment of the situation.
If Chen Cui had anticipated that Zhao Ying'er would end up in such a situation after marrying into the Wu Family, she would not have fought to secure this marriage.
Wasn't Wu Feng quite fond of Zhao Jin? Didn't the Wu Family wholeheartedly want to marry Zhao Jin? She could have stopped meddling and instead worked hard to help facilitate the match.
Chen Cui clearly remembered when Wu Feng came to their house to deliver the Bride Price, only to stand outside the gate of Zhao Jin's Family for quite a while.
Just thinking about how Wu Feng must still have feelings for Zhao Jin made it hard for Chen Cui to let go of her resentment.
How could her Ying'er possibly compare to Zhao Jin? Zhao Jin was already married, yet still on Wu Feng's mind... Just thinking about it was infuriating enough.
After the initial anger and embarrassment, Chen Cui couldn't help but look for an outlet for her frustration in Wu Feng. For instance, she thought that Wu Feng must be blind.
Thus, when Grandma Zhao suddenly proposed swapping Zhao Jin and Zhao Ying'er, although it caught her off guard, Chen Cui accepted it calmly.
After all, with so many people watching, if Grandma Zhao succeeded in causing a scene, it would undoubtedly benefit their family immensely.
Since there was clearly an opportunity to gain something, she wouldn't miss out on it.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have repeatedly encouraged Grandma Zhao to take advantage of the occasion when the Qi Family was celebrating, to come over and create a ruckus.
As for the Wu Family, Chen Cui wasn't worried at all.
After all, compared to their own Zhao Ying'er, the Wu Family would surely be more satisfied with Zhao Jin. She was doing a great favor for the Wu Family, while also correcting their tangled paths. Surely, the Wu Family would appreciate her decision and might even be particularly grateful to her.
Chen Cui had calculated everything and made complete preparations. What she did not expect was that the person who first rendered her speechless would be Zhao Ying'er.
Chen Cui was very clear that this time coming to the Qi Family, it was a matter of success or death. And Grandma Zhao's scheme suddenly emerging was not without a chance for a turnaround.
Chen Cui firmly believed that as long as the two families could swap their entangled marriages back, what awaited Zhao Ying'er in the future would be a smooth path.
The Qi Family had changed. Qi Zheng could make money, and the Qijia Family was easy to get along with. Zhao Ying'er could live carefree like Zhao Jin, without worrying about food and drink, and without having to do any work...
On the contrary, if this matter did not succeed, then everyone’s faces would surely look bad.
Regardless of how the Qijia Family would react in the future, it was likely that the Wu Family would be the first to come looking for trouble.
Moreover, their own family's reputation would be completely ruined.
Just thinking about the gossip they would face if they failed made Chen Cui secretly regret her earlier inaction.
If she had just intervened a little, perhaps things wouldn't have escalated so much, and Zhao Ying'er wouldn't have gone wild like a rabid dog, disregarding everything and biting her out?
Ultimately, it was still Zhao Ying'er who should not have been so impulsive this time.
She should have handled things better with Zhao Ying'er. At the very least, situations like this should have been avoided.
Now things were in a mess. The Qi Family had not been settled yet, and Zhao Ying'er had already collapsed under pressure and revealed everything.
Looking at the current situation, Chen Cui suddenly had a very bad premonition: they were likely to return empty-handed.
Chen Cui should have anticipated this outcome long ago.
Did she really think everyone was like ants in her palm, easily manipulated by her? Neither the Wu Family nor the Qi Family were her puppets; how could everything possibly go her way?
What attitude the Qi Family and Wu Family had was something Chen Cui couldn't afford to dwell on for now. The urgent matter she needed to face was Zhao Ying'er’s betrayal.
Due to Zhao Ying'er’s accusations, Chen Cui immediately became the target of everyone's criticism. At this moment, her options were either to stubbornly deny Zhao Ying'er’s claims or to take full responsibility for everything.
Was Chen Cui the kind of person who would take responsibility? Certainly not.
Thus, in the next moment, Chen Cui shook her head with a serious expression, putting on an innocent look as if wronged: "Who came up with this idea is clear to everyone. It certainly wasn't me, and I don't want to say much more."
Of course, Chen Cui didn't want to say much more. Was she really going to accuse Grandma Zhao to her face? Or worse, engage in a dog-eat-dog fight with Zhao Ying'er?
If it came down to confronting Zhao Ying'er, Chen Cui wouldn't be afraid. However, Zhao Ying'er was raised by Chen Cui. She knew Zhao Ying'er’s temperament all too well.
Zhao Ying'er truly dared to do anything. If she continued to let Zhao Ying'er go unchecked, Chen Cui wasn't sure what unexpected things might happen.
Thinking of this, the first thing that came to Chen Cui's mind was to shut Zhao Ying'er up.
"Zhao Ying'er, come here!" Chen Cui scolded as she saw Zhao Ying'er continuing to cause a scene in front.
Zhao Ying'er was not one to listen. The threat in Chen Cui's words was quite obvious, and Zhao Ying'er took a step back, wishing she could distance herself even more from Chen Cui.
"I won't!" Accompanying Zhao Ying'er's evasive action was her firm refusal.
She knew very well what her mother's temperament was like. After saying such things, revealing all her mother's secrets, it would be truly surprising if her mother forgave her.
Since she had already anticipated the impending scolding and hitting, Zhao Ying'er would not get close to Chen Cui at all. Thus, her strong reaction came about.
Moreover, Chen Cui, feeling guilty and cautious, inevitably could not match Zhao Ying'er's momentum. Therefore, in the eyes of the onlookers, Zhao Ying'er was justified. In contrast, Chen Cui appeared to have been exposed, not knowing how to respond.
At this point, Chen Cui had clearly become the villain in everyone's eyes. The impression and perception of her among the crowd quickly turned negative.
"Truly knowing a person’s face but not their heart; completely unrecognizable."
"Isn't the Zhao Family being a bit too much? Who are they bullying?"
"It sounds ridiculous. They seem to be living well together and even have two Fat Babies, yet someone wants to ruin that."
"I think it's just jealousy! Why else would they come over today of all days?"
"Chen Cui only cares about her own daughter without considering whether the Qi Family even values them."
"The Wu Family has completely lost face. Does Wu Feng know that Zhao Ying'er is here today?"
Amidst the rising discussions, Chen Cui's complexion grew increasingly pale, and she could no longer hold back.
"Mother, should we just..." Chen Cui was somewhat hesitant. She felt that if they stayed any longer, more people would witness her embarrassment.
However, while Chen Cui was having second thoughts, Grandma Zhao was not.
Compared to Chen Cui, Grandma Zhao's mental fortitude was undoubtedly stronger, and her fighting spirit was not to be underestimated.
Despite facing numerous gossips, Grandma Zhao resolutely refused to back down. She had not yet obtained what she wanted, so how could she give up? That was not her style.
Since things had already reached this point, Grandma Zhao was determined to settle everything at once to avoid wasting time. If it had to be laid bare, then so be it; who could she possibly fear?
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