WBICDPH Chapter 71

Chapter 71: Things Do Not Go as One Wishes

Zhou Wencai was a gentle man—gentle with everyone alike.

He did not want to hurt Zhu Eryao’s feelings, yet he also did not want to argue with his mother. Caught between the two sides, he ultimately failed, during this visit home, to marry the woman he loved.

As she had done countless times before, Zhu Eryao saw him off at the village entrance, wishing him a safe journey and continued success.

Zhou Wencai looked at her, emotion stirring faintly in his eyes.

Before leaving, he gently took her hand and asked, “A-Yao, do you trust me?”

She smiled at him. “Of course. You’re Brother Wencai. I trust you.”

Hearing that, the tension in his heart eased, and a slight smile curved his lips.

“A-Yao, will you wait for me?” he asked earnestly. “Mother just hasn’t come around yet. If I persist, she will agree. Once I’ve persuaded her, I will marry you properly. Then I’ll take you to the capital. There are so many delicious foods and interesting sights there—you’ll love it.”

Zhu Eryao lowered her eyes slightly.

She pressed her lips together and did not answer directly. “Brother Wencai, you should go. Don’t keep the driver waiting.”

As if he understood her silence, the light in Zhou Wencai’s eyes slowly dimmed.

Still, he did not give up. Before departing, he held her hand and repeated again and again, “Wait for me.”

Zhu Eryao never responded.

She had never been a particularly strong girl. That day, after Zhou Wencai left, she hid alone in the fields and cried for a long, long time—until her eyes were swollen like peaches.

She wanted to say that she trusted her Brother Wencai.

But she no longer wanted to wait.

She had already waited far too long.

She no longer wanted to be the one standing at the village entrance watching him leave. She did not want to sit on the large stone day after day, hoping hopelessly for his return. She dared not imagine that the illustrious top scholar would marry a simple country girl like her—even though they had once played together in the fields, even though they had played countless childhood games of mock weddings and lifting bridal veils.

A game was only a game.

In reality, even if Zhou Wencai defied all obstacles to marry her, there would be endless whispers behind their backs, people saying she was not worthy of him.

Zhu Eryao did not want Zhou Wencai to become the subject of others’ gossip.

Nor did she want to be pointed at, belittled, and looked down upon.

Her father had once told her that A-Yao was the best child in the world, worthy of the very best person.

He had said that no matter what the future held, she must never wrong herself. She was to live all her life happily.

But now, she was no longer happy. Even beside the Brother Wencai she loved most, she would never again feel the carefree joy she once had.

She did not want to suffer in silence. Yet her Brother Wencai could not protect her. If she stayed by his side, she would have to endure grievance after grievance—and keep waiting endlessly.

That day, she cried until dusk before returning home.

Afraid of being scolded by Madam Zhou, she ran all the way back to prepare dinner. But to her surprise, Madam Zhou did not question where she had gone. Instead, she smilingly led Zhu Eryao inside and introduced her to someone.

“A-Yao, this is Fang Daming, son of the hunter from Five Dragons Village. Daming, this is our A-Yao. Isn’t she lovely?”

Zhu Eryao froze for a moment, then quickly understood.

Madam Zhou did not want to marry Zhou Wencai, and she feared her son would continue thinking of her. So no sooner had Zhou Wencai left than she invited an eligible young man to meet Zhu Eryao.

Fang Daming had dark skin, thick brows, and large eyes. He was tall—when he stood, Zhu Eryao did not even reach his shoulder.

At first glance, he looked somewhat fierce, and she was a little afraid. But after spending time with him, she realized he was honest and reserved. Whenever their eyes met, he would grow flustered and quickly look away.

Seeing the tips of his ears turn red, Zhu Eryao could not help but secretly smile.

She did not dislike him.

After that day, Fang Daming often traveled all the way from Five Dragons Village to see her.

He could not make pinwheels, but he could ride horses and carve all sorts of interesting wooden trinkets.

He patiently taught her to ride and took her beyond Double Happiness Village, farther than she had ever gone. Once, they encountered wolves in the wild. Fang Daming shielded her behind him and drove the beasts away.

Standing behind him then, Zhu Eryao felt a sense of security she had not known since her parents’ deaths.

She thought: she would be willing to stand behind him forever.

Thus, the engagement was settled. Everything went smoothly, except that Fang Daming’s parents looked down on her for being an orphan and made a few cutting remarks during the betrothal. Though a man of few words, Fang Daming was not foolish. He defended her, rebutting each disparaging comment one by one.

During the days she spent with him, Zhu Eryao gradually regained the carefree happiness she once had. After their engagement, she eagerly awaited their wedding day—awaited the moment when that big, bashful man would lift her bridal veil with reddened ears.

On her wedding day, she wore the gown her mother had left her. Her mother had once said she should wear it and smile as she married the man who would bring her happiness.

Zhu Eryao thought perhaps she had done just that.

With no parents to offer tea to, she bowed instead before their memorial tablets and to the Zhou couple who had taken her in all these years.

Afterward, Fang Daming would lead her into the bridal sedan chair and take her to Five Dragons Village. Once they completed the wedding rites, she would be his wife. She would finally have a home of her own.

The sedan swayed gently and soon arrived outside the Fang family home. But before she could step out with Fang Daming’s support, she suddenly heard a voice in the distance, hoarse and desperate:

“Stop!!!”

At that voice, Zhu Eryao trembled violently.

Seeing her fear, Fang Daming stepped forward protectively.

Under nearly a hundred watching villagers, Zhou Wencai tumbled from his horse. He looked disheveled. Kneeling on the ground, unable to rise, lips trembling, he asked:

“A-Yao, do you truly disregard all our years together and marry another? What about me? What am I to do? Without you, how am I to live?”

Whispers erupted among the crowd.

Zhu Eryao, always timid, shrank instinctively behind Fang Daming.

She lifted her veil slightly to look at Zhou Wencai, but when her eyes met his burning gaze, fear seized her.

She wanted to say: But you never chose to marry me.

You only ever told me to wait.

I don’t want to wait anymore. I don’t want to marry you.

There is someone who protects me now. I want to marry him.

But whether from nerves or panic, no sound came.

The cruel murmurs around her grew louder, and she began to shake uncontrollably.

Zhou Wencai turned his accusations toward Fang Daming instead. “Who are you? She loves me! She said she would only marry me! Why are you stealing my wife?”

Fang Daming looked at him calmly. “She is my wife now.”

“No! You haven’t completed the rites yet—it doesn’t count! A-Yao, I know you’re being forced. Come with me. I’ll marry you. We’ll go to the capital together.”

For a man gentle and hesitant all his life, this was the boldest act Zhou Wencai had ever done.

Zhu Eryao had once longed for him to be brave—for him to take her away. But now, when she no longer hoped for it, his courage came at the worst possible moment.

Humiliated, she lowered her head as the gossip grew vicious.

Fang Daming heard every word too.

Yet he never released her hand. He ignored Zhou Wencai and insisted on proceeding with the ceremony.

But Zhu Eryao gently pulled her hand free.

I’m sorry.

She was too afraid to speak, apologizing silently in her heart.

If Fang Daming married her today, he and his entire family would endure a lifetime of slander because of her.

She could not allow that.

The gossip swelled louder and louder as she walked, step by step, toward Zhou Wencai.

Standing before him, she lifted her veil.

As a child, she had imagined this moment countless times.

But now, facing the man she had once dreamed of marrying, tears streamed down her face—not from joy, but from grievance, resentment, and sorrow.

This was not what she had imagined.

Zhou Wencai, however, smiled.

Soon after, he collapsed.

Later, a stranger escorted both him and Zhu Eryao back to Double Happiness Village.

She removed her bridal ornaments and changed out of her wedding gown, sitting quietly in her room while arguments raged outside.

Madam Zhou stormed in and slapped her hard across the face.

“Was it you? Did you secretly inform Wencai and incite him to snatch the bride? He’s a top scholar—a future high official! Without you whispering in his ear, how could he have done something so reckless? You scheming girl! Let’s see who dares marry you now!”

“I will!”

Zhou Wencai rushed in and knelt. “I’ll marry her! In this life, I will marry no one but Zhu Eryao!”

“You’ll do no such thing!” the stranger snapped, dragging him up. “What about the princess? How will you answer to His Majesty? Do you want your entire family executed?”

“Princess? What princess?” Madam Zhou demanded.

“The Emperor’s eldest daughter,” the man sneered. “She fell in love with him at first sight and insists on marrying him. His Majesty has named him as her consort. Yet he rode back here, killing eight horses along the way, just to disrupt this wedding. Even if you take her, can you truly marry her?”

Zhu Eryao could not speak.

She wiped her tears silently.

She wondered: Why was she being blamed? Had she done something wrong? She was the one most hurt by today’s humiliation—yet somehow, it had all become her fault.

In the end, Zhou Wencai was dragged away.

As always, Zhu Eryao saw him off at the village entrance.

Halfway down the road, he ran back, grasped her hand, and repeated the words she knew too well:

“A-Yao, wait for me. I will marry you. Once I return to the capital, I’ll explain everything to the Emperor and the princess. Even if I give up my post, I’ll still marry you. I swear—I will only ever love Zhu Eryao. If I break this vow, may heaven strike me down.”

He pressed a red coral bead into her hand.

“Wait for me.”

She sat once more on the large stone at the village entrance, watching him go.

The cold bead slowly warmed in her palm.

What else could she do?

She was back where she had started.

Before, she could refuse. Now, she did not even have that right.

The blame was hers. The disgrace was hers. The waiting was hers.

Even if Zhou Wencai asked her to wait a lifetime—

She could only wait.