Upon seeing the gold bracelet, Qiu's mother quickly said, "This is too precious, Tingting, you can't accept it."
Cheng You smiled, "Auntie, this isn't a betrothal gift. It's a gift from me as a friend and future sister-in-law, for Tingting's dowry."
Qiu Tingting didn't stand on ceremony with her and accepted the gift.
"Mom, Cheng You and I are friends, and this is from her. Why wouldn't I accept it?"
She put the gift away and then walked outside with Cheng You.
During their casual chat, the matter of the Feng family came up.
"Tingting, Feng family's situation needs to be explained clearly to your parents."
Qiu Tingting nodded, "Don't worry, I'll tell them tonight after you leave."
"Don't wait until we leave. It's best to clarify it soon, and have Brother Xu explain it."
Qiu Tingting said, "Okay, I'll tell Ah Xu in a bit."
Meanwhile, Feng Xue also felt bored.
With the elder keeping an eye on her, she didn't dare to say anything.
She was afraid of saying something wrong and being lectured by him.
So she found an excuse to go out.
In reality, there was nothing to see in this village, and she found it all rather distasteful.
Not long after, Feng Xue was called to a halt, "Daughter! Wait for me, daughter!"
Turning back, she saw it was the auntie who had guided them earlier.
Old Zhang's wife took out another handful of melon seeds and offered some to Feng Xue.
"Want some?"
Feng Xue shook her head, "I don't eat them."
Old Zhang's wife then started cracking them herself.
"It's nothing, I'm just a bit curious. Are you Tingting's partner's sister? Your own sister?"
Feng Xue looked a little uneasy and shook her head, "Not my own sister."
"Then a cousin or something?"
Feng Xue put on a straight face, "Neither. Auntie, just say what you want to say."
Old Zhang's wife then asked, "I just want to ask, what illness does Tingting's boyfriend's father have? Is it serious? I don't mean anything else, I'm just asking. Daughter, marriage is for a lifetime, you need to know these things."
In the countryside, if the in-laws have problems, it's naturally the daughter-in-law who takes care of them.
Qiu Tingting was known as the pampered daughter of the Qiu family, who never did manual labor, let alone served others.
Feng Xue's eyes flickered, "My dad had a stroke and is paralyzed."
"What? Paralyzed?"
Old Zhang's wife felt she had asked the right question.
This was a big deal!
Seeing Feng Xue's troubled expression, she suddenly had an idea.
Feng Xianxu was determined to marry Qiu Tingting, but what if the bride's family didn't agree?
"Yes, my dad had a stroke. His health isn't good and it costs a lot of money."
Old Zhang's wife tentatively asked, "Is your mother taking care of him now?"
Feng Xue shook her head, her expression pure and harmless, as if she didn't see what the auntie was thinking. She said directly, "My mother is in jail. How can she take care of my dad?"
"What? In jail!"
Feng Xue quickly covered her mouth, "Auntie, did I say something wrong?"
Old Zhang's wife calmed her shock and asked, "No, I was just a little surprised. Tell me carefully, how did... how did she end up in jail?"
Feng Xue smiled slightly and blinked her eyes.
"My mother was having an affair and my dad caught her. When the other man tried to escape, my mother pushed him from the third floor, and he fell to his death."
Old Zhang's wife had initially just wanted to chat casually, but she never expected to uncover such things.
This was... truly shocking.
How were people in the city more chaotic than those in the countryside?
For such a family, Qiu Tingting absolutely could not marry into it, no matter how much money they had.
Old Zhang's wife's face was solemn, "How many brothers does your father have?"
"Just two brothers."
"Then your uncles are also elders, why didn't they come for the proposal today?"
Feng Xue picked at her palm, "My second uncle made a mistake, was demoted, and transferred to a remote mountainous area to guard."
Old Zhang's heart raced, "What mistake did he make?"
Feng Xue smiled, "A matter of conduct. He had an affair during his marriage. The military is quite strict and has zero tolerance for such scandals, so he was demoted."
She conveniently omitted her own involvement.
Old Zhang's heart pounded. Everyone had watched Qiu Tingting grow up, and she couldn't let this child jump into a fire pit.
She hurried back to the Qiu family's home, feeling she had to quickly tell Qiu Tingting's parents about this.
As a result, when Cheng You and Qiu Tingting returned home, the people in the courtyard had already dispersed.
Qiu's mother's initial warmth had turned into a desire to see them out, all in an instant.
Cheng You didn't understand what was happening, and then heard Qiu's mother say, "Marriage is a matter for two families. I cannot easily marry my daughter into such a family. Please leave."
Cheng You understood and guessed that Feng Xianxu had probably confessed.
As they got closer, she heard Qiu's mother say, "Ah Xu, I have a very good impression of you. You are polite, sensible, and outstanding yourself. However, you chose to hide your family's situation, which has greatly disappointed me."
Cheng You: "..."
She and Qiu Tingting exchanged a look. Did Qiu's mother hear it from somewhere else?
"Mom, it wasn't that he was hiding it. I told him not to say anything. We originally planned to tell you later."
Qiu's mother's eyes widened in disbelief and she roared, "So you knew about all those things in his family too!"
"Yes, I did. His family's affairs are not a secret in the compound. His parents have problems, his second uncle has problems, but it has nothing to do with him. He was raised by his grandparents and doesn't live with his parents!"
Qiu's mother was so angry she was almost pulling Qiu Tingting's ear to scold her. Was her daughter foolish?
Marrying into such a family was like jumping into a nest of vipers.
Cheng You followed up with an explanation, "Auntie, the wedding date can be postponed. We still have a long time. You can observe him carefully and see what kind of person my brother is before making a decision. But please don't outright reject it."
Qiu's mother's face was stern, "You should go. Take your things with you."
In any case, she would never agree to this marriage with someone from that kind of family.
The elder looked a bit dejected. It was his failure in upbringing that caused his two sons to affect his grandson's marriage.
He couldn't even find words to explain.
After a long moment, the elder finally stood up.
"It was our fault for not being clear from the beginning. Since that's the case, we'll take our leave for now. Ah Xu, take your things, let's go."
Cheng You remained silent, and as she had done when she arrived, helped carry the things.
Feng Xianxu looked at Qiu Tingting and smiled, "It's alright. If it doesn't work this time, I'll just come again next time."
He wasn't going to give up just like that.
The Feng family came, and left without even having lunch, which caused the villagers to sigh with regret.
Although Qiu Tingting was unhappy, she wouldn't blame her parents for their decision.
Their decision was made out of concern for her.
If she didn't know Feng Xianxu, she probably wouldn't have married into such a family herself.
Qiu's mother advised, "Daughter, break up with him. Mom will find you someone better."
Qiu Tingting said helplessly, "Mom, I'm not asking you to agree to our marriage right now. Give yourselves time to get to know him. Just give us another chance. If you still think he's not good enough then, I'll break up with him."