Chapter 385: I'll Sleep in This Room Tonight

Shanzi lay on the bed, hands laced behind his head. “Go on.”

Shanzimama lowered her voice. “That little beggar from earlier was a girl, a refugee fleeing the famine. She’s fifteen this year. I was thinking… getting a wife in the city is expensive these days, and we can’t even afford the betrothal gift. How could we possibly afford a proper bride? This girl has no family left. She’d be perfect for you.”

Shanzi shot up from the bed. “I don’t want her.”

“Even if I never get married, I won’t marry a beggar! She’s filthy and smelly, it’s disgusting!”

Shanzimama slapped him lightly. “Keep your voice down.”

“Are you stupid? Was that beggar girl born a beggar?”

“She came from a good family. It’s just that she’s fallen on hard times and had no other choice.”

She sighed. “If our family hadn’t followed Second Uncle Gu’s, do you think we’d be much better off than that girl right now?”

“Didn’t I tell you the other day? That Taotao lost her husband and both her sons, and her mother died too. She had to beg on the streets all the way to Ping’an City.”

Shanzi fell silent. Shanzimama added, “I got a look at her earlier. Now that she’s cleaned up, she’s actually quite pretty.”

“Tomorrow, I’ll buy a pair of Dragon and Phoenix Candles. You’ll bow to Heaven and Earth, and that will make you married. From then on, you can live a good life together, and we can stop thinking about people we shouldn’t be thinking about.”

Shanzi remained silent.

Shanzimama knew what was on her son’s mind. She said, “Her name is Du Juan. She should be asleep by now. Come with me. Go see for yourself if she’s pretty or not.”

Shanzimama picked up the oil lamp and led the way. After a moment’s hesitation, Shanzi got up and followed.

The mother and son walked to the room across the way and pushed open the door. Du Juan was already fast asleep on the bed.

Shanzimama moved the oil lamp closer to Du Juan, and Shanzi saw clearly. There really was a girl lying on the bed.

It was now the sixth month, and the weather was hot, so Du Juan wasn’t covered with a blanket. She was wearing Shanzimama’s old clothes. Shanzimama was tall and stout, so the clothes were much too large for Du Juan. Lying on her side, the slanted collar of her tunic had fallen open, revealing the bodice underneath.

Shanzi stared at the red bodice. As he watched, his breathing grew ragged.

Just as Shanzimama was about to call him out, Shanzi’s face suddenly flushed beet red. He whispered, “Ma, I… I’ll sleep in this room tonight.”

Shanzimama was startled. She was about to say something, but then she had another thought. ‘It’s rare for Shanzi to be willing. I was so worried he was still hung up on Xing’er and wouldn’t get married.’

‘Since that’s the case, what difference does it make if it’s today or tomorrow?’

She lowered her gaze, took the oil lamp, and slipped out of the room without a word. Once outside, she pulled the door shut behind her, blew out the lamp, and stood silently in the darkness.

Inside the room, Du Juan awoke with a start. In the faint moonlight, she saw a man’s face just inches from her own.

She cried out in alarm, “Who… who are you? What are you doing?”

Shanzi buried his face in the crook of her neck, greedily inhaling the faint scent of soap and her natural girlish fragrance.

His hands began to tear at her clothes as he mumbled indistinctly, “You’re my wife now. I’m going to sleep with you.”

Du Juan instantly understood who he was. She pushed at him with all her might, shouting, “Not yet! We haven’t performed the ceremony! Get away from me! Mmph—”

The rest of her words were choked in her throat.

Du Juan’s legs thrashed wildly, but Shanzi threw his entire weight on top of her. Tall and powerfully built, he was like a mountain, and she couldn’t even struggle anymore.

Her hands clawed and scratched at Shanzi’s back, but no matter how she fought, he was completely unmoved. In a few rough movements, he tore off her clothes.