Lady of Fortune, Jiao Niang

Ye Jiao was awakened by a burst of firecrackers.

Upon opening her eyes, a big red veil greeted her sight.

Still groggy from sleep, she subconsciously stretched out a limb to grab it, but before she could touch it, Ye Jiao suddenly froze.

She… has a hand?

This surprised Ye Jiao. She hadn’t forgotten that she was worrying about transforming into a human form just not long ago.

Her body was a ginseng, she had cultivated for thousands of years, but she had been unable to transform into a human form.

The little fox who was cultivating with her can already charm men, the tiger spirit can dominate the woods, and even the stupid little black bear can become a human being, but she was the only one left who can’t.

Ye Jiao didn’t care about these. Even when the little fox was showing off in front of her about how prosperous the world is, how delicious the food is, and how the men are so handsome they can be compared to the gods, which made the little fox so happy.

The little ginseng spirit doesn’t think that men are good. She just wanted to not be buried in the soil anymore. It is best if she can eat and drink and enjoy the good things of being a human.

But who could have imagined that she just slept, didn’t even cross the tribulation, and suddenly she became a human?

Ye Jiao stared at her hand in a daze, looking at it over and over again. The more she looked, the better she felt.

Look at these hands, how elegant and beautiful they are. They are not much worse than those of the little fox!

But before she could finish her self-appreciation, she saw another hand stretched out and grabbed her.

Ye Jiao realized that she was sitting in a sedan chair. At that moment, the curtain on the window was pulled open, revealing a strange face.

Ye Ersao1 looked at Ye Jiao, whose face was covered by a red veil. She was crying on her face, but was smiling in her heart.

This Ye Jiao is the youngest daughter of the Ye family. Her parents died early. Fortunately, there are two older brothers in the family.

Ye Dalang2 was talented – capable of both literary and military skills. In the whole village, there was no one as heroic as the Ye family’s eldest son.

It just so happened that after he left five years ago, he never came back. Only in the first two years did he send money to the family. In the following years, not even a copper coin was sent. Not long ago, someone brought a letter saying that Ye Dalang died on the battlefield after joining the army – not a single bone was collected.

Compared with the eldest son’s ability, Ye Erlang3 was a real waste. He couldn’t farm and he always lose money when doing business. After his eldest brother left, Ye family’s second son seemed to be throwing money out. It didn’t take long for the Ye family’s not-so-rich house to be left empty.

With no money at home, Ye Ersao who was not a hard-working person, thought of an idea involving Ye Jiao.

Ye Jiao was born beautiful, and Ye Ersao also felt that her sister-in-law was no worse than the ladies in the city.

It’s just that Ye Jiao is timid and doesn’t usually go out. Ye Dalang was also afraid because of her appearance, so he asked her to stay at home and to help with the housework. She was not allowed to do farming at all. She is obviously a peasant girl, but she was raised by Ye Dalang as a charming lady.

But in Ye Ersao’s eyes, she was a burden who ate for nothing.

Now that Ye Dalang will no longer come back, and Ye Erlang can’t be relied on. By coincidence, Qi Yun, a wealthy son from another village, who has always been sick and ill, was going to die. And so, the Qi family is looking for a bride for Chongxi marriage4. She lied to the Qi family and said that Ye Jiao was willing. Yes, she took the Qi family’s money and prepared to marry off her cumbersome sister-in-law.

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Her crying face was only a show for the neighbors to see.

With heavy silver taels in her arms, Ye Ersao had to cover her mouth with her hands to hide the rising corners of her lips.

So what if others say that she sold her sister-in-law to the sick young man?

They were just jealous that they don’t have a daughter who is so beautiful that she can catch the admiration of the Qi family!

She held Ye Jiao’s hand tightly, looked inside the sedan chair, and whispered, “Jiao Niang5, don’t blame your brother and sister-in-law. The Qi family is rich. You should be obedient when you get there, don’t cry.”

The underlying message is, whether Qi Yun is dead or alive in the future, Ye Jiao has nothing to do with the Ye family anymore.

Even if she becomes a widow in the future, don’t come back here to eat for nothing!

Ye Jiao didn’t say anything. She really didn’t understand what Ye Ersao said…

Ye Ersao took Ye Jiao’s silence as an acceptance. She was proud in her heart, thinking: so what if Ye Jiao cried in the house for a day yesterday? She threatened to commit suicide, but she ended up in a sedan chair today. Didn’t she still accept her fate?

So she squeezed Ye Jiao’s hand and said, “From the time you sat on the sedan chair today, you became a member of the Qi family. You can’t come back later, do you understand?”

Ye Jiao still had no words and tried to withdraw her hand subtly.

At this moment, the sleeves of Ye Jiao’s wedding dress slipped down her arms. Ye Ersao’s eyes were sharp, and she saw the gold bracelet on her wrist at a glance.

Ye Ersao recognized this bracelet as the relic of the old lady of the Ye family.

She thought that after the old lady died, this thing was also buried in the soil. Who knew it was actually here with Ye Jiao!

Ye Ersao naturally wouldn’t let Ye Jiao take away a single copper coin from the house. What’s more, this golden bracelet looked like it had some weight. She didn’t know how Ye Jiao hid it until now!

Seeing that the sedan chair was about to go, Ye Ersao reached out and grabbed Ye Jiao’s arm, her voice eagerly said, “Jiao Niang, this is something from your maiden family, you can’t just bring it to someone else’s house, let me take it off!”

Ye Jiao, whose soul already changed, looked at the yellowish woman with disgust and wanted to withdraw her hand, only to find that the woman was very strong, and she cannot get away after struggling.

This changed Ye Jiao’s expression.

She heard from the fox a long time ago that people have always been malicious towards spirits. If they are discovered, they will probably be burned to death.

She didn’t understand a word of this woman’s gibberish, but the strong desire to survive made Ye Jiao struggle harder. She even reached out and pushed Ye Ersao!

“Ah!” Ye Ersao screamed and stepped back abruptly.

The sobbing that was just a pretense before has become a real sobs, and her tears can’t stop.

Unfortunately for her, the neighbors all around are thinking that Ye Ersao was acting again. After all, this woman can even sell her husband’s sister for Chongxi. What else can she dare not do?

Ye Ersao was so angry, but the sedan chair was lifted up, the firecrackers were lit, and the sound of gongs and drums started; leaving only Ye Ersao behind, clutching her hands and grinning.

Ye Jiao originally wanted to run away after pushing her. However, at the moment when the sedan chair was lifted up, suddenly, memories of the original Ye Jiao bombarded the little ginseng’s head.

It took a while for the little ginseng spirit to finally understand that she has not gained a human form. Instead, she entered someone else’s body…

Now, she was forced to marry someone who is dying?

If it was other people, they would cry with despair, blaming the unfair destiny.

But the little ginseng spirit is very happy.

She doesn’t know what a marriage is, so she doesn’t care whether her future mate will be dead or alive.

All she knows was that she has a proper identity, and she can finally be a human being!

But soon, Ye Jiao found out that being a human is not easy.

Why would someone have to be carried on the back to enter the door?

Why did she have to cross a brazier?

Why… has she heard a rooster cry?

After tossing for a while, Ye Jiao finally stood in the hall and looked at the big rooster beside her with a blank look. She looked at the red silk tied to the big rooster, and at the other end of the red silk on her hand. She suddenly felt that being a human is so hard, there are so many confusing things.

But this chicken is quite fat, not sure if it would taste good.

Little ginseng spirit, who has never eaten meat, admitted that she was drooling.

The two elders of the Qi family looked at Ye Jiao, who was standing upright, and their expressions were not very good.

Buying this “Ye Jiao” from the Ye family, they didn’t care about her physical appearance. They bought her because the Ye family from the next village was the only one willing to marry their daughter off to their Qi family.

The health of their second son, Qi Yun, was indeed deteriorating in the past few years, even to the point of dying. No family would like their daughter to be married off only to become a widow soon after.

When they met someone willing to be a Chongxi bride, the second elder of the Qi family didn’t even have time to look at Ye Jiao. They just hurriedly found a day and let her come to be married.

Since it is a Chongxi, it must be grand and festive.

Although the Qi family is not wealthier than those rich people in the city, they can be regarded as rich in the village. They even prepared a big feast, and many people were invited.

Who knows, this Ye Jiao has been standing here for a long time, and she is motionless!

The smile on Liu-shi‘s6 face was slightly slipping. She naturally knew that it was normal for a good girl, who will be married only to become a widow, to feel unhappy. But if you were not willing, say it earlier. They are all here now, who will not give them some face??

However, Liu-shi‘s eyes moved to the rooster, and her anger turned into sadness.

Her Yun’er, why can’t he live a little longer…

Liu-shi covered her mouth and wanted to cry, but she was afraid of disturbing the auspicious time of this good day, so she could only hold back until her face turned red.

An old lady from the village who often gossip around came to Ye Jiao. She grabbed her by the arm, and with a lower voice, she told her, “Bride, kneel down, kneel to worship.”

Ye Jiao’s eyes were still staring at the big rooster at that moment, so there was no response.

All of a sudden, there was a noise in the crowd.

Liu-shi looked at the incoming person and stood up abruptly, her eyes widened.

Ye Jiao soon felt that her other hand was being caught.

This person’s hand was a bit cold, and Ye Jiao subconsciously tightened her fingers.

Then, she heard a low voice in her ear, “Take the chicken away. I’m not dead yet.”

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Footnotes

means the Ye family’s second sister-in-lawmeans the Ye family’s first sonmeans the Ye family’s second sonThere is a saying said one wedding could counter three disasters. Chongxi wedding is a ritual held to obtain good luck after a bad time.“Niang” means lady or girl. Jiao Niang is a nickname for our protagonist.Qi Yun’s mother. Her maiden family was Liu, so she is referred to as “Liu-shi.”