After the Scholar Rejected Me, I Married the Rogue and Got Rich - Chapter 1

The seventeen-year-old girl had already grown into her full figure. She wasn’t stunningly beautiful, but she had delicate features and healthy honey-colored skin. A long, glossy black braid hung down behind her head, swaying gently with her movements.

What’s most remarkable is the agility and nimbleness she exudes, as if she has inexhaustible energy.

She was a well-known capable girl in Linjia’ao, the eldest daughter in her family, with two younger brothers and a younger sister.

Her parents and fourteen-year-old younger brother were excellent at working in the fields, and her eleven-year-old second brother could also lend a hand. Her eight-year-old younger sister and all the household chores fell on her shoulders.

Life was poor, but thanks to the family’s diligence, they were never short of food and clothing.

After she came of age, matchmakers practically wore down the threshold of the Lin family home. In the end, her parents carefully selected a man named Zhang Mingyuan, a scholar from a neighboring village, to marry her.

The Lin family was extremely satisfied with this marriage. The Zhang family only had a widowed mother, and Zhang Mingyuan had passed the imperial examination at a young age and was a well-known scholar in the surrounding area.

Marrying into the family means becoming a scholar’s wife, which is a source of pride. If she passes the imperial examinations and becomes a successful candidate in the provincial or metropolitan examinations, her daughter can escape rural life and become an official’s wife.

The reason why the old lady of the Zhang family chose Lin Sang was because she was capable and efficient, able to manage household chores, take care of her son’s studies, and was a down-to-earth person.

The two families quickly reached an agreement, exchanged birth charts, and were just waiting to choose an auspicious day for the wedding.

Lin Sang couldn’t say whether she liked or disliked her fiancé, whom she hadn’t had much contact with. She only knew that he was a scholar, and she harbored some expectations for the future.

She planned that after marrying into the family, she would take good care of everything so that her mother-in-law and husband would have no worries.

However, this seemingly perfect “marriage” has come to an abrupt end today.

As soon as she stepped into the courtyard, she heard a suppressed sob and her mother’s raised voice shouting angrily from inside the house: “Bullshit! Song Jinhua, have you no shame? You brought your shameless daughter to our door to force us to resign? Do you think our Lin family is easy to bully!”

Song Jinhua is her aunt.

Lin Sang’s heart sank, and she quickly walked into the main room.

The mother, Wang, was so angry that her face turned red and her chest heaved violently. Her father, Lin Laoda, squatted in the corner, silently smoking his pipe, his brows furrowed.

On the other side, Song Jinhua looked somewhat guilty, yet she forced herself to maintain a composed demeanor. Behind her stood her cousin, Lin Jiao’er, who seemed to be hiding away.

Lin Jiao’er is sixteen years old this year, one year younger than Lin Sang, and has loved to compare herself with her since childhood.

Because Lin Sang had to take care of her younger siblings and do housework, she didn’t get out of bed. Lin Jiao’er also refused to get out of bed. She was spoiled by her uncle and aunt so much that she couldn’t lift a finger. She just imitated the mannerisms of the town’s young ladies, emphasizing being delicate and frail.

At this moment, she was wearing a slightly worn peach-colored jacket, her eyes were red and swollen, and she kept wiping away non-existent tears with a handkerchief, looking as if she had suffered a great injustice.

“Auntie, you can’t say that!” Song Jinhua said in a shrill voice. “This isn’t us forcing her to marry us! It’s Zhang Xiucai who has taken a liking to our Jiao’er and insists on marrying her! Our Jiao’er has no choice. Her reputation is… ruined by him. Who else can she marry if not him? Your Lin Sang is capable. She can find someone better. Why does she have to cling to a man who doesn’t want her?”

“Pah!” Madam Wang spat on the ground. “Ruined her reputation? I bet she went after him herself! That blind Zhang Mingyuan, ignoring a decent girl like our Sangsang, and instead taking a fancy to this piece of trash? You must have used some underhanded methods!”

Upon hearing this, Lin Jiao’er cried even harder, her voice so sweet it could melt water: “Auntie, how could you wrong me like this… Brother Mingyuan and I are in love…”

“Mutual affection?” Madam Wang sneered. “Why weren’t they in love before the engagement? Now they’re in love after? Let me tell you, no way! This marriage belongs to Sangsang, and no one can take it away from her!”

Just then, there was another commotion outside the courtyard gate, and Zhang’s mother and son arrived.

Zhang Mingyuan was wearing a faded blue shirt, was slender, and had a refined appearance, but at this moment his face was full of impatience and determination.

His mother, Old Mrs. Zhang, followed behind him, her face ashen. She looked at her son, then at the scene inside the house, and sighed heavily.

“Uncle Lin, Aunt Lin.” Zhang Mingyuan cupped his hands in greeting, but his tone was stiff. “I have come here today to discuss the annulment of the engagement. Miss Lin and I are not compatible, and forcing it will be futile. Moreover… I am in love with Miss Jiao’er and cannot betray her. I beg you, Uncle and Aunt, to grant my request.”

As he spoke, his gaze swept over Lin Sang, who was standing at the door carrying a laundry basket.

The girl was tall and straight with bright eyes, but in his eyes, he only saw “roughness” and “brute force”. He had heard from the villagers that Lin Sang was strong enough to carry half a pig and had a straightforward temper that was almost shrewish.

Compared to Lin Jiao’er’s gentle, considerate, and pitiful appearance, he felt even more certain that his decision to annul the engagement was absolutely correct. The image of his shrewish wife in his dream sent chills down his spine.

Grandma Zhang grew anxious and tugged at her son’s sleeve: “Mingyuan! What nonsense are you talking about! Sangsang is such a good girl…”

“Mother!” Zhang Mingyuan interrupted her, “I will decide my own marriage!”

The room erupted into chaos again. Wang cursed the Zhang family for their betrayal and called Song Jinhua and her daughter shameless. Song Jinhua retorted that Wang was being tactless. Lin Jiao’er sobbed. Zhang Mingyuan was determined to back out. Old Mrs. Zhang was caught in a dilemma and sighed repeatedly.

Lin Sang listened and watched the farce quietly. She saw Zhang Mingyuan’s undisguised disdain, Lin Jiao’er’s affected performance, and her parents’ anger and helplessness.

After the initial shock and a touch of sadness, I felt strangely calm.

Is a man who is easily swayed, unable to distinguish right from wrong, and only judges by appearances without understanding the inner qualities, really worthy of entrusting one’s life to? Today he was fooled by Lin Jiao’er’s tricks and broke off the engagement. If he meets someone more “gentle and considerate” in the future, will he also easily discard Lin Jiao’er like a worn-out shoe?

Lin Sang didn’t care for such “good fortune”.

Just as the argument was escalating, she suddenly spoke, her voice not loud, but clearly drowning out all the noise:

“Stop arguing.”

Everyone was stunned, and all eyes turned to her.

Lin Sang gently placed the laundry basket against the wall, walked to the center of the main room, looked calmly at Zhang Mingyuan, then glanced at Lin Jiao’er, and finally landed on her parents.

“Father, Mother,” she said calmly, “let’s call off this marriage.”

“What?” Wang exclaimed in surprise, “Sangsang, are you confused? This is the scholar’s wife!”

Zhang Mingyuan was also stunned. He didn’t expect Lin Sang to agree on her own initiative. He thought it would take a lot of trouble.

Lin Jiao’er and Song Jinhua couldn’t hide their joy.

Lin Sang looked at her mother and said clearly, word by word, “Mother, what’s the point of forcing a man whose heart isn’t with me to marry me? He can humiliate me like this now for someone else. If we really get married and face each other every day, how will I have a good life? The title of ‘scholar’s wife’ sounds prestigious, but only I know the bitterness inside. I don’t want this blessing. I’ll give it to my cousin.”

Wang opened her mouth, looking into her daughter’s clear and determined eyes, and then thinking about Zhang Mingyuan’s outrageous behavior today, the anger that had been weighing on her heart suddenly dissipated a little. Yes, her daughter was right, marrying such a man would only bring suffering. But… this feeling of resentment was still hard to bear!

“But Sangsang, your reputation…”

“It’s better to have a bad reputation than to have your whole life ruined,” Lin Sang said calmly.

Ultimately, at Lin Sang’s insistence, Wang Shi, despite her great reluctance, agreed to annul the engagement with tears in her eyes for the sake of her daughter’s long-term future.

Zhang Mingyuan felt relieved and immediately prepared to write a letter of annulment. Old Mrs. Zhang was heartbroken but could not go against her son’s wishes. She could only propose to reduce the betrothal gifts by half to give the Lin family an explanation and vent her anger. Song Jinhua, though heartbroken, had no choice but to agree so that her daughter could marry smoothly.

The farce has come to an end.

Holding the returned half of the betrothal gifts and the annulment letter, and watching Song Jinhua and her daughter leave happily, Lin Sang stood at the courtyard gate, her gaze passing over the onlookers and landing on the distant, rolling fields.

A scholar’s wife? Nothing special.

She has a long way to go.