Divorced woman with child travels through time

When she turned around, Wang Erniu was already fast asleep. Chen Wenfang's playful fingers traced down his high nose to his warm lips. She sighed, couldn't help but kiss his lips, and then fell asleep as well.

Wang Erniu tightened his arms around her as she slept, pulling her even closer.

The next morning, Chen Wenfang woke up to Wang Erniu's harassment.

"Don't move~ Let me sleep a little longer." Chen Wenfang grabbed his mischievous hand.

"The sun's already high in the sky, time to get up and eat." Wang Erniu used one hand to restrain her two hands, while continuing his mischievous antics with the other.

"Ugh~ You're so annoying!" Chen Wenfang couldn't break free, so she woke up, rolled over and pinned him down, and said with a fierce smile, "Behave yourself, or I won't kill you!"

Wang Erniu looked at her with a half-smile, leaning forward slightly, "The guns are all with you, what are you going to hand them over with?!"

Chen Wenfang blushed. Even after being married for so long, she was still shy. "You're so annoying, you rascal!"

“I’m only a scoundrel to you, you’re my woman. If I’m not a scoundrel to you, who am I a scoundrel to?” Wang Erniu said with righteous indignation.

"Get up in broad daylight!" Chen Wenfang slapped away his messy hand and made a move to get up.

With a clever move, Wang Erniu shifted Chen Wenfang beneath him again. "It's still early, my wife. Why get up? Keep your husband company for a while~~~"

"Ugh!" The rest of her words were swallowed back down, and then another round of commotion ensued. By the time Chen Wenfang woke up, starving, he was already gone. Oh dear, she hadn't even had time to tell him the important things.

Chen Wenfang was having a light lunch when Brother Nie came over and said to her, "Madam, Second Brother said he knows about those three master chefs. He'll have someone look into their background later, so don't worry."

Chen Wenfang nodded.

Dazhuang returned in the afternoon, along with Chuyi, who came to see what was going on.

Dazhuang is seventeen this year. The food has been good these past two years, and he has grown particularly strong. He also trained very hard in the army, which resulted in him having a lot of muscles. He is also easily embarrassed; his face turns red when a few aunties laugh at him.

Chu Yi, with his thick skin, spoke up for him and pulled over the family that Aunt Liu had arranged for him to meet. One was the eldest daughter of the Lu family in Fengshu Village, five miles away from their Wangjiazhuang. She was eighteen years old, a little older than usual, with two younger sisters and a younger brother. Her parents and three brothers made up a large family. They heard that the girl had been very capable since she was a child, but there was some discord among her brothers. However, Aunt Liu could accept that after marriage, it would be just the two of them living together.

Another one is in Wujiawuchang, six miles above Wangjiazhuang. She is the second daughter of Wu Laosan's family. I heard that she is very talented and famously beautiful.

The next day, Dazhuang went to town and visited Chen's Tea House. He looked at both of them for a while, and then returned home with a dark expression that evening.

Aunt Liu didn't seem very happy either. Chen Wenfang wanted to join in the fun, but she had been too exhausted by Wang Erniu yesterday and overslept.

"What's wrong? Everyone looks unhappy. What happened?" Chen Wenfang asked with concern as she drank ginseng tea with red dates.

Aunt Liu wanted to say something but held back, clearly quite angry. Chahua took a sip of tea and said, "Don't even mention it. Neither of these families are easy to deal with. It seems our Chen family has become famous; everyone thinks we're a big shot and tries to rob us."

"That's right! Brother Dazhuang, it seems you're having a hard time finding a wife. What kind of families are you living in?" Chu Yi chimed in angrily.

"What's wrong? Are there still people who dare to look down on the people in our village? Who bullied our aunt? Tell us, and we'll fight them to the death!" Chen Wenfang immediately imitated Chu Yi's tone and said indignantly.

"Pfft~" Aunt Liu was amused by her serious expression, and her anger subsided considerably. She said with some grievance, "Those two girls seem fine, but their dowry demands are too high. The Lu family wants fifty taels, and the Wu family's is even more outrageous, eighty taels. This, this, is simply unreasonable..."

Chen Wenfang pondered for a moment and said, "That's alright, it's not like you can't afford it, what's wrong?"

"Oh dear, my lady, this family is just an ordinary household on the estate, not some high-ranking noble family with a dowry of estates and shops. They all just brought a bundle when they married into the family. Every family pays five or six taels of silver when they marry a wife. This is outrageous! Do you think we're easy targets? You're shameless!" Chahua quickly explained.

"Ah, I see. It seems I've been living too comfortably and forgotten how hard it was to earn money in those tough times." Chen Wenfang chuckled self-deprecatingly. "So what's next? Dazhuang, which girl do you like?"

Dazhuang was silent for a while before speaking, "None of them are very good. Let's take another look. I'm still young."

Chu Yi patted him on the shoulder reassuringly, "That's right, a real man should never worry about not having a wife."

The two went directly to the military camp the next day.

Chen Wenfang thought it was best to wait a while before discussing the matter, but a few days later, Aunt Liu came over with a beaming smile to hand out wedding candies. She said that on the day Dazhuang and the others returned to camp, they rescued a girl whose carriage had overturned on the road. It was said that she had been robbed by refugees and had become separated from her companions. In her panic, she lost her way and the carriage overturned into a ditch. Fortunately, she was not injured.

This girl was skilled in martial arts and was the daughter of a镖头 (bodyguard/escort) from the Weiyuan镖局 (bodyguard/escort agency) in the neighboring county of Jiujiang. Her name was Ye Peining, which was quite different from her personality. Because of her fiery temper, she had been waiting until she was twenty years old without anyone proposing marriage.

It was fate. Dazhuang admired Wang Erniu and had a similar personality—down-to-earth, kind, and a hero who saved a damsel in distress. It was like a match made in heaven. The girl took a liking to him at first sight and inquired about him openly and secretly. Chu Yi was perceptive and noticed Dazhuang's slightly flushed face. She quickly went along with it and told him where he lived, how many people were in his family, and even how much Dazhuang had saved up for his wedding.

Now the girl was exactly what she wanted. She was good-looking, had a good heart, and knew how to save money steadily. She also had a generous air about her. After Dazhuang took her home, she quickly took the opportunity to let her father take a look at her. After receiving her father's satisfied look, she reluctantly saw them off.

The next day, as soon as Aunt Liu opened the door, Chief Escort Ye brought several burly men to propose marriage, which startled Aunt Liu and Uncle Liu Hai. They sent Shi Tou to invite Brother Nie and the others over. Why didn't they invite Chen Wenfang? She was sleeping, and it wasn't convenient for her to take the lead in this matter. It would be perfect for Brother Nie to take charge.

After discussing it, everyone was surprised to find that Brother Nie actually knew about Chief Escort Ye. They got along very well and settled on the marriage. The betrothal gift was fifty taels of silver, and the Ye family would provide two horses and a carriage as part of the dowry. They wouldn't ask about the rest of the dowry. Both sides agreed readily, and the wedding was set for five days later. Chen Wenfang couldn't understand the speed of the wedding, but she respected it. She discussed it with Wang Erniu and gave Dazhuang twenty taels of silver as a dowry. They would also give him a small house belonging to their family. However, Dazhuang decided to live in his own house. Chen Wenfang didn't force him, but since the house was originally meant for their family, they would keep it.