CHAPTER 370: CHAPTER 363: I’M JUST A SUCKER FOR LOOKS 5

After Anning left, Xu Bao’er pondered for a long time.

She eventually decided to keep to their respective positions and planned to persuade her father not to call off the arranged marriage.

Xu Bao’er had met Yue Zhong before, and indeed, the man was quite ugly.

She also remembered that even after Anning had become a first-rank wife, she never seemed very happy upon each meeting.

Back then, Xu Bao’er thought it was due to the concubines in the rear court causing trouble, but now she figured Anning had never been happy since marrying into the Yue Family.

After all, Anning liked pretty things; even when picking a pet cat or dog, she would choose the cute and good-looking ones, let alone choosing a husband.

Anning had made it so clear, if she insisted on Anning marrying Yue Zhong, wouldn’t it just disgust her for a lifetime?

But if the arranged marriage isn’t called off...

Truthfully speaking, Xu Bao’er herself didn’t have the courage to marry Yue Zhong either.

If Yue Zhong was just ugly, she might have endured it.

The key was that after Yue Zhong became wealthy, he had a slew of concubines, and there was one more thing that Anning might not know about, but Xu Bao’er did.

That was Yue Zhong’s later fondness for a girl from the brothel.

He even secretly redeemed the girl’s contract, but later when Yue Zhong met with some friends, one of them introduced him to a son of a wealthy merchant family, which specialized in the horse trade.

This merchant’s son had acquired a Ferghana horse, which Yue Zhong liked very much and wanted to persuade the merchant’s son to part with it.

The son was willing to give it to Yue Zhong but asked for a condition: that Yue Zhong give him the brothel girl whose contract had just been bought out.

And Yue Zhong really did it.

He was well aware that the merchant’s son and the girl had some animosity, yet he still agreed, just for a horse.

At that time, Xu Bao’er had inquired specifically and learned that the girl ended up dying a horrible death.

This matter had disgusted Xu Bao’er for a long time.

Also, Yue Zhong was narrow-minded and held deep grudges.

Yue Zhong’s mother was not any better, known for being harsh on daughters-in-law.

Considering marrying into such a family...

Xu Bao’er felt terrified just thinking about it.

Anning was independent-minded and intelligent, with martial arts skills, so she naturally wouldn’t be afraid to marry into that family,

But Xu Bao’er herself was gentle and fragile, with no skills beyond reading and writing; her days would definitely be hard for many years after marrying into that family.

Having lived a lifetime, Xu Bao’er was no longer just an innocent young lady.

Her considerations were deeper.

She thought, Anning marrying into the Yue Family could urge Yue Zhong to pass the Imperial Examination as an Advanced Scholar, but if she married into the Yue Family, the outcome was uncertain.

After all, she was gentle and not as assertive as Anning, and couldn’t control that mother and son. If she married into the family, the Yue Family might not only fail to prosper but could become increasingly destitute.

With such thoughts, Xu Bao’er began to contemplate why her father had initially swapped the arranged marriage.

Xu Pengju was not foolish; he was a decidedly astute man and a scholar. Over the years, because of the marriage arrangement with the Yue Family, Xu Pengju had been secretly supporting Yue Zhong.

If Yue Zhong truly had the talent for studying and showed potential to Xu Pengju, then Xu Pengju might not have thought of swapping brides.

Perhaps Xu Pengju had also noticed Yue Zhong’s flaws, knowing that her marriage into the Yue Family would worsen over time. Instead, with Anning’s different temperament and personality, if Anning married into the Yue Family, she might be able to keep Yue Zhong in line and manage the Yue Family well, hence the idea came to mind and was put into action.

Thinking this way, Xu Bao’er became even more scared.

After all, if even her father didn’t have confidence in the marriage arrangement, her marrying into it would probably mean a lifetime of being wronged.

Caught between a rock and a hard place, Xu Bao’er felt like crying.

In the afternoon, Mrs. Xu paid Xu Bao’er a visit; Xu Bao’er was now awake, and with no signs of illness, Mrs. Xu was in a good mood and her face bore a smile.

She entered the room and said to Xu Bao’er: "Bao’er, Madam Yue from the Yue Family came to see you yesterday, she said to let you recover well, and once you’re healed, they will proceed with arranging your marriage to Yue Zhong."

Xu Bao’er’s heart thumped in alarm, and she quickly grabbed Mrs. Xu’s hand: "Mother, I... I don’t want to marry. I still want to stay at home and devote myself to looking after you and father."

Mrs. Xu chuckled amusedly: "Silly child, how can you not marry? You’re already of age. If you don’t marry now, you’ll become an old maid."

"I won’t marry."

Xu Bao’er acted coquettishly towards Mrs. Xu: "I’ve heard that marrying is not good at all. I just want to stay in our family, Mother, please let me stay."

Mrs. Xu soothed Xu Bao’er for a while but did not relent in postponing the marriage, which left Xu Bao’er disappointed and also prompted a sense of urgency.

After Mrs. Xu left, Xu Bao’er bit her lip and sent Du Juan to call for Anning.

She had always known that Anning was smarter than her, with more ideas. She wanted to seek Anning’s advice on what to do.

After Anning arrived, Xu Bao’er eagerly tried to get out of bed.

Anning quickly stopped her: "Little sister, what are you doing? Lie down quickly. You’ve just woken up and are still weak; you mustn’t move around carelessly."

After getting Xu Bao’er to lie down properly, Anning asked: "Little sister, why did you ask for me?"

She also observed Xu Bao’er: "Your complexion has improved a bit. It seems the medicine the doctor prescribed is quite effective."

Xu Bao’er let out a dry laugh and then had Du Juan send the maids out.

She whispered to Anning: "Sister, I... I don’t want to marry into the Yue family."

Anning was stunned.

She originally thought Xu Bao’er, knowing about Yue Zhong’s achievements in her previous life, would be quite willing to marry into his family, but she hadn’t expected that Bao’er would be reluctant.

"Why not?"

She really was somewhat at a loss.

Xu Bao’er bowed her head, self-pitying: "I know my own situation. My mother dotes on me excessively, leaving me with little to show for myself, save for better looks and some literacy. Truly, I don’t know what else I’m good at. Besides, I’m a bit too timid. If I marry into the Yue family, I fear I won’t be able to uphold the family reputation. Moreover, Scholar Yue isn’t exactly an agreeable person, and the mother from the Yue family is also..."

She hesitated to speak ill of Lady Yue and looked at Anning: "Sister, you probably know, right?"

Anning pondered thoughtfully.

Xu Bao’er grew more anxious: "But I know father also doesn’t want to break off the engagement, so I thought since sister always has ideas, you might help me think of a way out."

"Do you really not wish to marry?"

Anning asked again.

Xu Bao’er nodded firmly: "Even sister prefers handsome men; how could you understand that I also like good-looking ones?"

Anning laughed: "If you really don’t want to marry, then go and talk to father. Just say this..."

She leaned into Xu Bao’er’s ear and whispered for a while.

Xu Bao’er listened, her eyes growing brighter and brighter. Once Anning finished speaking, she thanked her: "Thank you, sister, your idea is great. If it goes like this, father will surely be willing."

Anning patted Xu Bao’er’s hand: "In that case, take good care of yourself, and tomorrow I’ll come to see you again. Once your health is restored, I’ll take you out to have some fun."

"Okay."

Xu Bao’er smiled very happily.

Anning left Xu Bao’er’s room. Instead of returning to her own, she took a detour to the Xu family’s small garden.

Actually, Anning had been pondering over Xu Bao’er’s situation since last night.

She inherited the original body’s feelings and knew that the original host cared deeply for her little sister Xu Bao’er.

The original host, in her previous life, had actually already forgiven Xu Pengju.

She had never hated Xu Bao’er.

She was just a little worried. Being a very rational and smart person, she knew that if the marriage wasn’t called off, Xu Bao’er’s life in the Yue family would not be easy, but she had no way to help Xu Bao’er.

After Anning took over, being rather fond of Xu Bao’er, she wanted to lend her a hand.

Anning meticulously reviewed the original host’s memories over and over again and finally came up with a good plan.