This made me realize Su Yao was also a "big-footed" woman. My words had struck a sore spot. She blushed crimson at the whispers of the widows but couldn't retort, as she truly hadn't bound her feet. She had told me that when she was five, the age for foot-binding, her grandmother and mother had prepared to bind her feet. Foot-binding was excruciating, requiring binding cloths to forcefully break the foot bones and bend the four toes, excluding the big toe, towards the sole to prevent further growth.
Su Yao was in agony. Her father, my maternal uncle, adored his daughter and couldn't bear to see her suffer. On the second day of binding, he couldn't stand his beloved daughter's wails anymore. "Defying the will of heaven and earth," he forcefully removed Su Yao's binding cloths, saying, "Child, don't be afraid. Even if you can't get married, I'll support you for a lifetime!"
Alas, fate is unpredictable. Last year, Yanmen Commandery, where the Su family resided, was engulfed by war. Although the Su family was a local powerful clan, they couldn't escape the misfortune of leaving their homes and enduring hardship in the face of foreign armies.
Thinking of this, Su Yao felt even worse. She tried to tuck her feet under her skirt, bit her lip, and asked me, "Brother, are you really going to choose a wife with big feet?"
"Take me over. Let me get a closer look," I said with a gentle smile.
"Look at feet?"
"...Look at faces!" I frowned. Who would be so perverted as to squat down and look at someone's feet?
Su Yao supported me as we approached the donkey cart. The pair of sisters slowly stood up. Although they could hardly believe I truly intended to choose them, a sliver of hope remained in their hearts. For instance, what if this blind young master didn't care about big feet? He couldn't see anyway, so out of sight, out of mind.
I squinted, using the strong midday sunlight, and approached the two sisters. Within a meter, I could tell that these two girls were exceptionally beautiful. Even in the 21st century, they would be considered top-tier beauties. Moreover, their features bore a nine-tenths resemblance to the sisters Lin Xi and Lin Chi. Could it be they had transmigrated?
I tested them, "Young ladies, are you named Lin Xi and Lin Chi? Do you have an elder brother who is a governor?"
The two exchanged a startled glance. "Young Master, what are you talking about..."
It seemed not.
I nodded with satisfaction, "Very good, very good. I'll choose you two."
"Ah? Us?" the sisters exclaimed. "Young Master wants to choose both of us?"
"Did I say I couldn't choose two?" I smiled. Such beautiful women, and the current laws even encouraged having more children. What else could be said? Only children make choices; I want both. This way, I'd have two laborers to help my cousin with her work, and I could pay more taxes.
The sisters looked at each other, unable to believe it was true!
I broke the bamboo slip in my hand in half and gave each sister one piece.
The constable holding the banner paid no mind to such matters. Seeing that I had made my choice, he immediately unfolded red paper on the table and swiftly wrote several marriage certificates. He then took out the official government seal, breathed on it, and stamped it with red ink.
With the important matter settled, one of the sisters suddenly leaned close to my ear and whispered, "Chengfeng, 201 asked me to tell you something."
A sudden chill ran down my spine. "What did you say?"
"We were all designed by the Miao King and sent here. Thank you for helping us complete the first task."
"What are you talking about?" I scratched my head. "Are you... truly Lin Xi and Lin Chi?"
The two smiled knowingly. "Let's go and see your new home. If nothing unexpected happens, the fox demons should already be there."
I blinked. "What do you mean? Which fox demon?"
The beauty who looked like Lin Chi playfully punched my shoulder. "Stop pretending. You, let's go. The story is just beginning..."
I tried, confused, to activate my physiognomy technique. The fundamental principles were the same, and I could still activate it.
As expected, these two were both purple qi!
As Xi said, the story is just beginning...?