Transmigrated as an Unwanted Ugly Girl

Chapter 27: Chapter 19: Juhua’s Panic

With a taut face and furrowed brows, Yang Family said firmly, ”Grandma Wang, I’m not blaming you—I should be thanking you! I just don’t want to form an alliance with a family like that anymore. In the future, if another suitable family comes along, I’ll still have to trouble you.”

But Wang, squinting at her with a smirk, said, ”I told you not to be hasty, but you wouldn’t listen. Let me ask you, what if the next family you’re interested in also gets hung up on this point and won’t let go? What will you do then? Just give up again? Is your Qingmu ever going to get married?”

Seeing Yang Family gaping, she felt a surge of satisfaction. ’See? You’re out of ideas, aren’t you? This is exactly when a matchmaker needs to step in! Otherwise, what are we even for?’

She looked at Yang Family with a superior, triumphant air and asked again, ”No matter how much you dote on your daughter, you still want what’s best for her, don’t you? If you can marry her off respectably, you’re not going to just keep her at home, are you? Once your daughter is married, your son’s marriage problem will be solved!”

Yang Family calmed herself, collected her chaotic thoughts, and said seriously to Matchmaker Wang, ”If a good family comes along, of course she’ll get married. But our Juhua is still young. That Liu Fugui was already looking down on our Juhua before he even met Qingmu. We don’t want to form an alliance with people like him.”

Matchmaker Wang secretly curled her lip. ’With that ghastly face of your daughter’s, you still expect her to marry into a good family? What good family would ever have her?’

Of course, she wouldn’t say this out loud. Instead, she continued with a beaming smile, ”But of course! A child is a piece of their mother’s heart; who wouldn’t dote on them? While I was looking out for your Qingmu, I also kept Juhua’s situation in mind. As for Juhua, well, I’ve found a few potential matches for her. Let me tell you about them, and if you’re satisfied, I’ll go to their homes and propose the match.”

Yang Family repeatedly demurred, ”Grandma Wang, our Juhua is still young. Let’s talk about it again in a few years! It’s too early for her to get married now.”

Matchmaker Wang exclaimed in feigned surprise, ”My dear woman, you call that young? Won’t it be even harder for her to marry if she gets any older? You can’t go wrong listening to me. There’s a widower in Old Wang Village, only in his forties, and his family is quite well-off...”

CLANG!

The sound startled Matchmaker Wang. She looked up and saw that Qingmu was back. He had slammed his hoe down on the stone steps and was glaring furiously at her, his eyes looking like he wanted to eat her alive!

Seeing his foul expression, Matchmaker Wang quickly plastered on a smile. ”Oh! Qingmu, you’re back! Look at that build—Aunt Zheng, I’m not just saying this to be nice—your son is truly one in a hundred!”

”My sister is not getting married right now!” Qingmu snapped before turning and stalking into the kitchen, leaving Matchmaker Wang stunned on the spot, her red-painted lips hanging wide open.

Qingmu walked into the kitchen to find the pot cold and the stove unlit. Juhua was squatting in front of the hearth, her face streaked with tears, sobbing softly.

He rushed over, squatted down, and took her arm, his heart aching for her as he called out her name, ”Juhua...”

Juhua looked up, clutching her brother’s sleeve tightly, and sobbed, ”Brother, I don’t want to get married... I don’t want to marry a widower! I can support myself...”

’I was truly terrified today, absolutely horrified.’ The same fear and helplessness she’d felt when she first transmigrated here flooded her heart once more. ’It turns out that in this strange time and place, I am nothing. Without the love and protection of my father, mother, and brother, my fate would be utterly miserable!’

’That Liu’er was always seeking out my brother. Aside from her feelings for him, wasn’t she also trying to escape being made a concubine? But with a mother like hers, her resistance seems so naive!’

’I thought this ugly face was my protective coloration, but I never imagined it would become an obstacle to my brother getting married!’

’Even though Mom, Dad, and Brother don’t mind my face and keep saying they’ll support me my whole life even if I never marry... Qingmu is only sixteen. If he still can’t find a wife by the time he’s twenty, or even twenty-five, will Mom and Dad still feel the same way?’

’So it turns out I’m not unmarriageable after all. There are old widowers, old bachelors, old creeps—all sorts of old and ugly men who are still willing to have me!’

’Turns out, my life after transmigrating wasn’t so terrible after all. You could even call it happy. The scenery is beautiful, Mom, Dad, and Brother all dote on me, and even if we weren’t eating pure white rice, at least there was rice in our meals!’

’I’m realizing the most terrifying thing in the world isn’t poverty or sickness. It’s being trapped in a dark mental prison, forced to face people you never want to see and live a life you never want to live—like being married off to some old widower from the countryside!’

Listening to Matchmaker Wang’s words, her heart turned to ice. Wave after wave of fear washed over her, leaving her utterly lost, with nothing and no one to rely on. ’Having left my old world, an individual’s power is so insignificant. Even if I ran away from home, I’d probably just end up in an even worse situation!’