Chapter 254: Chapter 254: The Replacement

"Uncle, Auntie, Xiao Shan might just be out having fun, or maybe something came up and she’s spending the night at a friend’s house. You shouldn’t worry too much. But we can’t let the villagers know about this yet, or there will be gossip that could affect Xiao Shan’s marriage."

Wei Qing’s words were a wake-up call for Liu Sufen.

Plenty of people in the village were green with envy over their family’s match with the Zhao Family.

The Zhao Family was coming to present the betrothal gifts tomorrow. Who knew if some jealous busybody would run to them and spread rumors to ruin this good fortune for her family!

And so, the Wei Family kept Wei Shan’s absence quiet, only searching for her secretly around the village.

Of course, they didn’t find her.

The night grew deeper. Normally, the Wei Family would have been asleep by now, but tonight the entire family was gathered around the kerosene lamp, sick with worry.

"I have no idea where that damn girl Xiao Shan has run off to! When she gets back, I swear I’ll give her a piece of my mind!"

Liu Sufen was furious, but her curses couldn’t hide her deep worry for her daughter.

She and Wei Shuan had only one daughter, the youngest of their children. She was the apple of their eye.

Wei Shuan, on the other hand, wasn’t too concerned about his daughter’s safety. He was convinced she was just out having fun and would probably be back tomorrow.

He was only worried about the Zhao Family coming to present the betrothal gifts tomorrow.

If the Zhao Family arrived and his daughter still wasn’t home, how would they explain it?

"Auntie, Uncle, I know you’re worried about the betrothal ceremony. How about this? If Xiao Shan doesn’t make it back tomorrow, I’ll wear her clothes and complete the ceremony with the Zhao Family in her place."

Hearing Wei Qing’s words, the Wei Family couldn’t help but exchange stunned glances.

Wei Shuan hesitated. "Will that really work? What if the Zhao Family recognizes you?"

The eldest, Wei Guojun, said, "Jingyang hasn’t seen Xiao Shan in over half a year. Wei Qing’s hair is about the same as Xiao Shan’s. He probably won’t be able to tell the difference right away."

「The next day.」

The Wei Family waited and waited, but there was still no sign of Wei Shan. With the Zhao Family about to arrive at their doorstep, they had no choice but to have Wei Qing put on Wei Shan’s clothes and pretend to be her to deal with them.

At half past nine, the Zhao Family arrived with the gifts.

There were six gleaming red carrying poles, laden with pork, a large rooster, bolts of fabric, shoes and socks, cigarettes and liquor, sweets, eggs, and more.

A huge crowd of villagers followed along to watch the spectacle.

There was no work to be done in the fields during winter, and everyone was bored stiff. They wouldn’t miss a good show for anything.

As the Zhao Family came through the door, Wei Qing quickly spotted Zhao Jingyang in the crowd.

Even though she had mentally prepared herself, seeing Zhao Jingyang in person was still a disappointment.

Zhao Jingyang wasn’t ugly, but he was far too short—only five-foot-three.

Compared to the tall and handsome Zhang Jia Ming, he was a world apart.

The Zhao Family was invited into the main hall for tea. The gifts they brought, however, were all displayed in the courtyard for the villagers to gawk at—this was a custom in Lotus Village.

Before a wedding, the more lavish the groom’s family’s gifts, the more it showed how highly they valued the bride.

Inside the main hall.

Wei Qing stood behind Bai Chunyan, her head bowed and her eyes downcast, her ear-length bob hiding half her face.

To the Zhao Family, it just looked like their future daughter-in-law was being shy. Little did they know the person before them was a complete imposter.

Seeing her son repeatedly stealing glances at his fiancée-to-be, Mrs. Zhao said knowingly, "With so many of us around, it must be awkward for the young ones. Jingyang, why don’t you take Xiao Shan out for a walk? Go have a little chat."

Under normal circumstances, the Wei Family would have been happy to let their daughter and future son-in-law spend some time alone to nurture their relationship.

But this "daughter" was an imposter. Wouldn’t she be exposed the moment she opened her mouth?

Before Liu Sufen could object, Wei Qing had already walked shyly up to Zhao Jingyang.

The Wei Family’s hearts leaped into their throats, terrified that the Zhao Family would recognize Wei Qing.

Fortunately, Mrs. Zhao didn’t notice anything amiss and happily let her son go out with Wei Qing.

Watching Wei Qing and Zhao Jingyang leave, one after the other, the Wei Family was a bundle of nerves.

But things had already gone this far. There was nothing they could do but secretly pray that Wei Qing would be able to pull it off.

Right then, there were still plenty of villagers standing outside the Wei Family’s gate, watching the excitement.

The moment she stepped out of the Wei Family’s gate and met the villagers’ gazes, Wei Qing grew so tense her back went ramrod straight.

She knew there was a risk of being exposed, but she had no other choice.

’As long as I can get past the villagers,’ she thought, ’I can replace Wei Shan for good!’

The villagers’ eyes were mostly fixed on Zhao Jingyang. After all, he was the village’s first son-in-law from the city.

A few, however, were looking at Wei Qing.

Wei Qing was dressed up very nicely today. She wore a red padded jacket, had her eyebrows penciled in, and wore lipstick, looking as festive as a doll from a New Year’s painting.

It wasn’t until Wei Qing and Zhao Jingyang had walked some distance away that a group of village women came to their senses.

"Huh... why do I get the feeling that wasn’t Wei Shan? Looked more like Wei Qing to me."

"Are you blind? How could it be Wei Qing? You think Liu Sufen would let Wei Qing go out alone with her son-in-law?"

"That’s true. I probably saw wrong. Gosh, I can’t even tell those two sisters apart anymore."

Wei Qing and Wei Shan’s facial features were already quite similar, and they both had the same hairstyle, always wandering around in front of the villagers.

They were like two oranges with barely any difference in appearance.

At first, the villagers could tell them apart.

But over time, people’s eyes start to play tricks, and they can no longer tell who is who.

They walked all the way to the edge of the creek. Seeing that none of the villagers had recognized her, the knot of tension in Wei Qing’s chest finally loosened.

"Xiao Shan."

Wei Qing turned and looked directly into Zhao Jingyang’s eyes without a hint of shyness.

Even the villagers couldn’t recognize her. She wasn’t the least bit worried about being exposed in front of Zhao Jingyang.

Compared to her boldness, Zhao Jingyang seemed rather bashful and shy.

"You... you look really beautiful today."

Wei Qing smiled faintly. "I’m glad you like it."

Zhao Jingyang looked a little surprised. "Why does your voice sound different than before?"

Wei Qing didn’t panic in the slightest. "My voice has always been like this."

Her composure made Zhao Jingyang second-guess himself.

He scratched his head and chuckled, "Maybe I’m misremembering."

The two of them stood by the creek chatting for half an hour, until Liu Sufen came out and called Wei Qing back to cook lunch.

Wei Qing prepared two meat dishes, three vegetable dishes, and a soup, filling the table with six different dishes.

Seeing her future daughter-in-law so capable and hardworking, Mrs. Zhao couldn’t stop grinning from ear to ear.

After lunch, the Zhao Family said their goodbyes and left.

After seeing the Zhao Family off, Liu Sufen shut the door and, without warning, slapped Wei Qing across the face.

The force of the blow knocked Wei Qing’s head to the side, but she didn’t cause a scene or cry. She just calmly held her cheek and asked:

"Auntie, what did I do wrong?"

Liu Sufen glared, her eyes like daggers. "I told you to stand in for Xiao Shan to keep the Zhao Family happy! Did I tell you to seduce Jingyang? He’s your cousin’s fiancé! If I hadn’t called you back, were you going to throw yourself at him? You shameless creature!"

As a woman herself, Liu Sufen had sensed something was wrong the moment Wei Qing offered to go out with Zhao Jingyang.

Not long after they left, she had made an excuse to go out as well. Hiding in the shadows, she saw Wei Qing and Zhao Jingyang laughing and chatting, and she was about to explode with rage.

"Auntie, I was interacting with Jingyang in Xiao Shan’s place. How could I be seducing my own cousin’s fiancé?"

Wei Shuan spoke up, trying to smooth things over. "Alright, that’s enough. The important thing now is to find Xiao Shan."

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