Chapter 12: Taking a Wife and Concubines

  Wang Guiniang was the fifth child of the Wang family and also the youngest, ranking third among her three sisters. The Wang and Li families were not only neighbors in Wangli Village, but had been intergenerational friends since their time in Qingzhou, and it is said that even when their ancestors were still in Yingzhou, Liaoxi, they already had a good relationship.

  She is two years younger than Li Xiang, and has been a childhood friend since she was young. Although both families had once held small official positions in the past, by the time they arrived in Wenden County, they had actually fallen into decline and were just ordinary farming households. There were also fewer rules at home, and the children of the two families almost never deliberately avoided each other, growing up together from a young age. From an early age, Wang Guiniang liked Li Xiang, thinking he was special compared to the other boys in both families.

  Although the Li family has declined, Li Jing has been studying literature since elementary school and has always thought of becoming an official through imperial examination to revive his family. As for Wang Jia's fourth daughter, who grew up together with him since childhood, had a fierce temper, and learned many ancestral martial arts, but couldn't recognize a few big characters, there was no affection between them. In Li Jing's original heart, he hoped for a female companion who was knowledgeable in books and etiquette, clever and charming, and could add charm to his life.

  As the years went by, Li Jing became more and more estranged from Wang Guiniang, and the distance between them grew farther. However, this distance that Li Jing deliberately maintained did not make Wang Guiniang retreat in frustration, but instead made this fiery-tempered girl even more determined to marry him in this life. Especially two years ago, after Li Jing saved her from being attacked by a wolf while picking mushrooms outside, she became even more resolute in this notion.

  After being pardoned and released, Li Jiong returned to Wangli Village under the escort of his family.

  As soon as they arrived at the village entrance, Wang Xiaoshi and a group of young people who had already received the news were burning several large bonfires. In addition, Wang Liang's mother and several other neighboring women each held a handful of sleeve leaves and stood there waiting.

  "Crossing the fire basin to dispel evil spirits, fumigating tangerine leaves to sweep away bad luck!"

  Li Jing took a step-by-step approach, completely following everyone's intentions to complete a whole set of complex rituals, before entering the village amidst the cheers of the crowd.

  "Son, after your last incident, I and your Aunt Wang made the decision to settle the matter between you and Sister San. Previously, we were worried that you wouldn't return, so I took charge again. Now that you and Gui Niang have already been betrothed and have consummated the marriage in haste, today's imperial pardon is a great joyous occasion. I think it's better to seize the day than wait for an auspicious one, so let's invite the village leaders over tonight to drink some tea and wine, and consider you two officially married. Conveniently, all the uncles, brothers, and elders of our family are here today, so there's no need to send someone else to invite them."

  Li Jing felt a sudden headache when he heard the words. In prison, his first time with Gui Niang and Wan Er could be said to have been forced to leave a seed. The second time was actually also entirely due to the special circumstances at the time, considering that he might be exiled and his future uncertain, it was all for the sake of preserving the Li family's legacy and allowing the Han family to keep their hopes alive that there was a second time. Of course, it couldn't be completely ruled out that at the time in prison, he was also confused about his own future.

  At that time, I never thought of the current situation, and only thought that it was the last thing that could be done for the Li family. However, unexpectedly, a pardon from the little emperor of Chang'an gave him a new life thousands of miles away.

  A disaster has been averted, but a new problem has arisen. He now has not only a wife, but also a concubine.

  Refuse? How to refuse, with what to refuse? If it were before entering prison, he might still be able to continue his previous ways. But after this short half month, the relationship between him and Wang Guiniang as well as Wanyi had completely changed, they all had a real husband-and-wife relationship with him, and maybe even children, could he deny all of this once he was out of prison? Even if he wanted to shirk responsibility, would the Wang and Li families agree? Not to mention the Wang family, the first thing that the Han family would not allow is for him to do such a thing.

  To put it bluntly, he has no right to object to any of this.

  Han also never thought that his son would have such thoughts in his heart, otherwise, according to Han's tradition, he would definitely scold Li Xuan for being unrighteous.

  "Now you also know the situation at home, and your mother knows that arranging the marriage in such a hurry is somewhat rash. But our family has no other choice, and once you're married, we can also arrange for Yuanying and Wang Erlang's wedding to take place soon. This time, although you were able to return thanks to the emperor's amnesty, the Wang family's efforts in running around and helping us were also a huge help. Especially since they gave us their 20 mu of land, this kindness we must remember for a lifetime. Now that we can't repay the Wang family, let's just have Yuanying and Wang Sanlang get married as soon as possible." Han Shi sighed on the side, still remembering the Wang family's help to the Li family this time, and how they had put aside their past conflicts to lend a hand, leaving him deeply moved.

  "Mother, Fourth Sister and Wang Er's marriage, shouldn't we reconsider it?" Li Jing hesitated.

  "What else is there to consider? The Wang family has taken out all their property to help us, what's there to think about? Child, one cannot forget one's roots, and besides, your fourth sister agreed to this marriage herself."

  Li Jing let out a bitter laugh, he wanted to say something, but what could he say?

  After gaining freedom, the first thing Li Jing thought of was to avenge Wang Liang. A man who does not avenge his enemies is not a true husband, but how to do so was a problem. Killing Wang Liang would not be difficult, but it was hard to do so without being caught. Until he was certain that he could kill Wang Liang and get away with it, he would not act rashly. After this experience of imprisonment, he would never again foolishly fall into prison. If it were just him alone, he might not be afraid, but behind him were the women of the Li family.

  Li Jing intended to personally get rid of Wang Liang, and for the time being, he wouldn't tell his family about it, so they wouldn't worry together. As long as he thought of a foolproof plan to get rid of Wang Liang, when the time came, he would choose an appropriate opportunity to reveal the evil things Wang Liang had done, which wouldn't be too late.

  No matter what, Li Jing would never let his sister marry that scoundrel Wang Liang. As for not speaking out now and accepting the marriage to Wang Guimeng, he thought about it and felt that this matter didn't require much consideration after all. After all, although he currently had no feelings for Wang Guimeng, they were already husband and wife in reality.

  Looking at the bustling courtyard of his own home, Li Jing decided to take on all this temporarily by himself. A man should be responsible, rather than letting a woman worry and bother, it's better for him to think of a solution alone.

  The so-called perfect marriage is nothing but simplicity. Since Li Jing and Gui Niang have already become husband and wife in reality, what's left now is just a simple ceremony of going through the motions. There was no flower sedan chair, nor any music band; they borrowed tables and chairs from their neighbors and set up over ten tables in the courtyard. The villagers from Wangjiazhuang and Li family relatives were both guests and witnesses. A pair of red candles, Li Jing and Wang Gui Niang, dressed in simple yet solemn wedding attire, bowed to each other, and that was it - they were officially married.

  As for Wan'er, although she was raised as a daughter in the Li family, at this time she could not change her status as a concubine. With a new set of clothes and a pair of red candles, without even a formal wedding ceremony, she was considered to have entered the household.

  The wedding was simple, and the wedding banquet was even more concise. A few jars of homemade sour plum wine, a large pot of porridge, and several dishes of pickled vegetables were considered a wedding feast.

  Li Jing held up his wine bowl and made a toast in all directions. When he raised his head, he found that the last table was actually occupied by Wang Liang.

  "How dare you come?" Li Jing gritted his teeth and said in a low voice, his eyes flashing with anger as he stared fiercely at Wang Liang.

  Wang Liang's face was smiling, but his heart wasn't; he was surprisingly calm.

  "Today is not only your big happy day, but also the big happy day of my third sister. From now on, we are just one family. Oh, just now my mother and your father have already agreed that in half a month's time, it will be an auspicious day, when I will formally welcome your fourth sister into our home." Wang Liang said with satisfaction, although previously he had secretly plotted against Li Jing, but was foiled by a sudden turn of events, yet it seemed that Li Jing still hadn't made this matter public, and had even married Gui Niang, so in his heart he became more and more convinced that Li Jing wouldn't mention this matter again, and he also began to calm down.

  "You think so!" Li Jiong let out a low growl. Just because he didn't expose Wang Liang's evil deeds today, it doesn't mean he was going to let it go. And now he even dared to think of marrying Wan Jing? This would never happen.

  "In half a month it will be an auspicious day, we are eagerly waiting. Haha!" Wang Liang laughed triumphantly and left.

  Li Jing's eyes were about to spew fire, standing there gritting his teeth and seeing him off with a swaying motion, his mind began to turn a hundred times, quickly thinking of ways to deal with this scum.