TFWYH – Chapter 183 Seeking Help from Zhang Tao

Ling Canghe was so furious that he actually laughed. He nodded and said,
“Fine. If you’ve got the guts, go ahead and make a scene. But let me tell you this—if this marriage falls through, I’ll sell you straight to that old landlord in the neighboring village. And when I’ve pocketed the money, it won’t matter whether you agree or not.”

Throwing those words over his shoulder, Ling Canghe turned and left, not even bothering to look at his daughter again.

Ling Xiaofang’s face darkened, her cheeks twitching with rage.

She knew it—her secret had been exposed. Ling Canghe wasn’t bluffing this time.

But she had no strength left to resist!

After venting her anger in the room for a while, she finally changed into clean clothes and stepped out.

When Yang Laosan saw her, disappointment immediately flashed across his face.

Why was she so ugly—and so thin?

She was nothing like his Third Sister Tang!

Even though Tang Wan wasn’t chubby anymore, she still outshone Ling Xiaofang by miles!

Ling Xiaofang caught the disdain in his eyes and nearly coughed up blood in anger.

That dark-faced fool—how dare he look down on her! Hasn’t he ever looked in a mirror?

Yang San wasn’t satisfied with Ling Xiaofang, but Ling Canghe was good at talking.

“This girl is hardworking and quick, endures hardship without complaint, and is very filial. I’m away from home most of the year—it’s thanks to her and her mother that the household runs smoothly. Look, my parents are healthy and well cared for because of her.”

Yang San glanced at the plump, rosy-faced Old Madam Liu and the spirited Old Man Ling and thought… well, that did seem true.

A good wife should be virtuous. If this girl was as capable as claimed, maybe she’d be a fine daughter-in-law after all—someone to care for his mother.

So in the end, Yang Laosan agreed to the marriage and offered thirteen taels of silver as the bride price.

That delighted Old Madam Liu to no end—she grinned from ear to ear and became even more attentive to Yang Laosan and his mother.

As for Ling Xiaofang, when she realized that the dark-faced fool had truly agreed, her face turned deathly pale.

She couldn’t get married!

If she married, she and Cousin Yu would be finished forever!

She refused to accept that!

Her Cousin Yu—the man she had loved since childhood, the one she dreamed of having—

Watching everyone laughing and chatting happily, the fire of unwillingness inside her burned so fiercely it nearly consumed her whole being.

She would not marry.

Even if she died, she would not marry!

Halfway through the meal, Ling Xiaofang found an excuse to slip away and ran to the abandoned pigsty in the back courtyard.

Since guests were visiting that day, Old Madam Liu didn’t want Yang San to get a bad impression, so she had driven Zhang Tao to the pigsty earlier and forbidden her from coming out.

Zhang Tao had long been beaten into submission by Old Madam Liu.

She both hated and feared the old woman.

The only consolation was that Deng Sanpao often came to see her late at night, bringing her food. Sometimes Ling Xiaofang also slipped her some leftovers—otherwise, she might have starved to death by now.

Zhang Tao was no longer the fresh-faced girl she had once been. She’d grown thin and haggard, her clothes worse than a beggar’s.

And it wasn’t just that—she had to serve Old Man Ling when he occasionally climbed into her bed, and also tend to Deng Sanpao.

If not for the burning fire of hatred inside her, she wouldn’t have survived this long.

That was when Ling Xiaofang appeared, rushing up to her in desperation. “Sister Tao, please help me! My father’s going to marry me off—I’m only fourteen! I don’t want to get married!”

Zhang Tao’s lifeless eyes flicked toward her, and she let out a cold, mocking laugh. “I heard. Marrying into town sounds wonderful—you should be happy.”

“But I’m only fourteen, I—”

“Why don’t you just say it straight? That you love Ling Yu, and you’ve stayed chaste for him—that’s why you don’t want to marry?” Zhang Tao wasn’t stupid. After all the time she’d spent in the Ling household, she’d already figured it out.

How ridiculous—Ling Xiaofang actually thought she didn’t know!