Faced with the formidable Mrs. Evans, the cousins who had come to help didn't dare say another word. Sighing, they lowered their heads and pushed the door open to enter.
Just then, Ethan, having changed his clothes, emerged from behind the screen.
"!!!"
Seeing Ethan dressed entirely in red, a flicker of astonishment crossed their eyes. They all knew their younger cousin was good-looking. Plus, since he rarely worked in the fields and often wandered into the woods, his skin was fairer than any girl's in the village. Usually, however, he wore those patched, faded old clothes, which concealed much of his natural handsomeness.
But today, dressed in this brand-new red suit, he seemed transformed, possessing an almost unearthly elegance.
"Damn! Why couldn't Ethan have been born a girl?"
"Seriously, that Damian fellow really spared no expense!"
Everyone knew Damian's family was nearly as poor as the Evanses; otherwise, why would the two families resort to a marriage exchange to settle their children's marital affairs?
In this isolated village, red fabric was extremely rare. Even the wealthiest family, the Harrisons, when they celebrated a wedding last month, their new bride only wore a simple, pale pink dress.
"Mom~"
Glaring at his gawking cousins, Ethan skipped over to his mother, spun around proudly, and grinned, revealing a set of pearly white teeth. "Mom~ Don't I look handsome?" he asked cheekily.
His lively, slightly smug demeanor was a world away from the refined, almost otherworldly presence he had projected just moments before.
"Handsome. My Ethan looks handsome no matter what he wears." Mrs. Evans wiped away tears, an indescribable sorrow welling up inside her.
"Mom?" Ethan tilted his head in confusion, then seemed to understand suddenly. He slowly reached out and gently wrapped his arms around his mother's somewhat frail shoulders. He patted her back rhythmically, as if soothing a frightened little animal. "Mom, are you thinking about Uncle again?" he asked softly, his voice filled with concern and tenderness.
Mrs. Evans didn't speak, just nodded silently.
Seeing his mother like this, Ethan frowned, wondering how to cheer her up.
At this moment, the cousins turned their heads back, their gazes fixed on Ethan. They knew their cousin was clever and silver-tongued, often saying things that were both annoying and amusing to lift people's spirits. Seeing him now, they waited expectantly, curious to hear what sweet words he would come up with next to console his mother.
As expected, Ethan's eyes darted mischievously, a cunning smile playing on his lips. He opened his mouth and declared loudly, "Mom, don't be sad! How about this—from now on, you can just think of me as your younger brother! That way, Dad can call me his brother-in-law? Heh heh..."
The moment the words left his mouth, the room fell into dead silence. Not only did Mrs. Evans's face darken, but the cousins, who had been waiting eagerly, were all dumbstruck. Mr. Evans, who had just been demoted a generation without warning, trembled with rage, his face flushing crimson.
He pointed a shaking finger at Ethan and roared furiously, "You insolent boy! What nonsense are you spouting! Just watch me teach you a lesson today, you clueless brat!"
"Honey, you can't hit him today~"
Just as his father was about to explode, before he could make a move, a commotion erupted outside.
The door was knocked, and the voice of their neighbor, Mrs. Gable, called out, "The time is here! The bride needs to leave!"
Damn it! Ethan only then remembered he was getting married today, and worse, he was already wearing the new suit!
Take it off! Must take it off immediately!!!
While mentally cursing his brother and Damian, the man he was being forced to marry, Ethan frantically fumbled with the buttons. The priority was to get out of this wretched suit.
However, before he could undo the first button, his cousins, receiving a silent signal from Mrs. Evans, lunged forward. One pinned Ethan down while the other two quickly tied his hands and feet.
"Damn it! What are you doing? Let me go!!!"
Startled by the sudden assault, Ethan struggled desperately. But alas, his modest height of maybe 5'8", combined with his slender build, was no match for his cousins, who were tall, powerfully built from years of farm labor, and possessed considerable strength. His struggles were like an ant trying to shake a tree.
Just then, the eldest cousin holding him down said apologetically, "Ethan, sorry about this." With that, he slowly crouched down in front of him.
The second and third cousins standing behind then worked together, forcefully hoisting the resisting Ethan onto the eldest cousin's broad, sturdy back.
According to local custom, Ethan should have been carried out by his own older brother, Caleb. Unfortunately, today was also Caleb's wedding day. Caleb had left at the crack of dawn to fetch his own bride, so the task of carrying Ethan fell to the eldest cousin instead.
"Mmmph! Mmph!" With a veil thrown over his head and his mouth gagged, Ethan could only wriggle his body and make muffled noises.
"There, there, Ethan, be good~ Don't move around," Mrs. Evans said, wiping tears from her eyes while gently patting his rounded backside.
"Mmph... mmph..." Mom, don't you love me anymore?
Ethan squirmed like a worm, still making muffled sounds.
Mrs. Evans turned her face away. The second cousin quickly stepped forward and opened the door.
As soon as the door opened, Ethan immediately shut his mouth. He had his pride, after all. Thankfully, the hem and sleeves of the wedding suit were large enough to hide his bound hands and feet... otherwise, the humiliation would have been unbearable!
Outside the door...
The simple yard was now crowded with villagers who had come to watch the spectacle. In the center of the crowd stood the ox cart meant for fetching the "bride." The flatbed cart, normally used for hauling crops, had been meticulously cleaned. Flowers adorned the sides, and petals were even scattered in the cart bed—clearly, someone had put effort into decorating it.
Sensing the eyes of the gossiping villagers, Ethan shut his eyes tightly, playing dead.
It was only a few steps from the door to the gate, a negligible distance for the tall and burly eldest cousin. He strode forward on his strong legs, reaching the ox cart in a few large steps, and gently placed Ethan onto it.
"Well, well~ Damian's family really went all out, even getting him a red suit," a slightly sour voice commented from the crowd. As for two men marrying, with the shortage of women in the village, it was something they had long grown accustomed to.
"Hmph, what's it to you? Jealous, are we? How come we don't see you marrying off your own daughter, Lily, to him then?" an older woman standing nearby retorted sharply, clearly displeased by the comment.
"Who's jealous? Pfft! With how poor Damian's family is, they can barely keep food on the table, right? Their house is falling apart, barely better than having no roof at all. Just for this red suit, who knows how much hardship she'll—I mean, he'll—endure after marrying, how long they'll go hungry! Whoever wants that kind of miserable life can have it. My Lily certainly isn't jumping into that terrible situation!" the person who made the sour comment shot back immediately, their words dripping with disdain and contempt.