Old Madam Zhao’s heart instantly turned to ash, her eyes fixed straight on Jun Jiuli. She was old, and the fall had been no light matter.
“Xiao Wei, help Grandma… hurry and help Grandma up, my back hurts. I’ll never sell your sister again, don’t leave me alone.”
As she spoke, she began to sob. She tried to move using her hands and feet, but to no avail. Tears and snot streamed down her face; she was truly terrified.
Jun Jiuli took two steps forward and stopped before her.
“Grandma, did you see it just now? Did you see clearly? Tell me, did my father return? Do you think he’ll hate you? Will he come looking for you tonight?”
“No, no. Grandma knows she was wrong, and won’t have any more crooked ideas. Xiao Wei, you must save me, Grandma doesn’t want to die. When I get to the underworld, I’ll apologize to your father.”
“Grandma, you can tell him yourself,” Jun Jiuli said sinisterly.
Old Madam Zhao looked up at Jun Jiuli’s face, so similar to the deceased Zhao Dafu, and let out a scream, frightening herself into unconsciousness.
…
Old Madam Zhao had three sons and one daughter, namely Zhao Dafu, Zhao Dagui, Zhao Dayou, and Zhao Jiaojiao. Her sons were married to Madam Xu, Madam Li, and Madam Zhang respectively.
The eldest son’s family had three children, siblings Zhao Xiaowei, Zhao Xiaochun, and Zhao Xiaohong. The second son’s family had two daughters, Zhao Juhua and Zhao Xing’er, and the third son’s family had only one daughter, Zhao Xue.
The family had only three mu of land, and the soil was not fertile, yielding a low output, certainly not enough to support such a large family. Therefore, the three Zhao brothers all found work outside, leaving the family land for others to cultivate.
The county required one laborer per household to perform corvée labor for river channel construction. Not only was there no pay, but food, clothing, and labor tools had to be provided by the family.
The workload was immense, and there were overseers. No one wanted this kind of chore, and in the end, the three brothers decided by drawing lots for Zhao Dafu to go.
Zhao Dafu was unfortunately crushed to death by a falling stone while working on the river channel. There was no compensation; the family was notified to bring the body back for burial and that was that. With the pillar of the eldest branch gone, their status plummeted.
In this era, the custom was that children did not divide the family property as long as their parents were alive, so the large family continued to live together. However, the second and third branches felt that the eldest branch was getting preferential treatment, with more children and fewer laborers.
The wives of the second and third sons directly stopped doing housework, returning home to wait for meals. Sometimes even clothes were left for Madam Xu to wash. Madam Xu did the most work, both in the fields and at home, and her three children were not idle either.
She couldn’t count on her own family; they had no land in the village. If she didn’t work more, her three children would surely not survive. Therefore, she had no complaints about doing these chores, only hoping that her children would be safe and sound.
Old Master Zhao and Old Madam Zhao doted on Zhao Jiaojiao, their youngest daughter, and her two elder brothers naturally did the same. Their sisters-in-law dared not speak too much, even if they had complaints.
In a neighboring village lived a woman who had previously worked as a maid in a wealthy family. Once she saved enough money, she bought her freedom. After returning to the countryside, she married a scholar and lived a good life.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Jiaojiao wanted that woman to teach her some manners and etiquette. Old Madam Zhao thought this made sense; her precious daughter couldn’t be ignorant of everything.
But the family was desperately poor, and even providing meals was a problem. Zhao Jiaojiao also wanted to learn to read and write, so Old Madam Zhao set her sights on six-year-old Zhao Xiaochun.
The original owner had always protected his two younger sisters since childhood. He was now the only male grandchild in the family. Old Madam Zhao actually cared for him quite a bit, fearing he might cause trouble or make things difficult later.
Therefore, she specifically sent the original owner away today to successfully sell Zhao Xiaochun. Madam Xu had initially cried her eyes out and refused, but Old Madam Zhao paid her no mind.
When she tried to stop her, Old Madam Zhao said, "Xiaochun going to a wealthy family as a maid is a blessing. If she stays here any longer, she'll only starve to death."
"If you continue to object, I'll split you three apart. Xiaowei must stay with my Zhao family. Then, let’s see if you have the ability to support these two little girls. Hmph, you think about it carefully."
As she spoke, she jabbed Madam Xu’s head. Madam Xu’s mind was confused for a moment. She felt that what Old Madam Zhao said had some reason, and without realizing it, she let go.
Afterward, she regretted it deeply. Her eyes were so tear-blinded that she couldn’t find Zhao Xiaochun. The original owner was also filled with indignation, but at seven years old, where could he find his sister?
If he and his mother and sister left the family, they would not escape death. Madam Xu couldn’t stand on her own and had no special skills. With two children, she couldn’t even recognize the way.
Other villages wouldn’t easily accept them. Without seeds or land, they wouldn’t find work.
In this era, they couldn’t even manage wasteland reclamation; it required taxes, took time, and the quality of the wasteland was poor.
If they waited until then, they would have long since become a pile of white bones, so they could only continue to stay in this household, working like oxen and horses.
Finally, the original owner grew a bit older. As the eldest grandson of the family, Old Master Zhao and Old Madam Zhao still saved money to prepare for marrying a granddaughter-in-law.
The original owner thought that once he married, he could divide the family and the land, so that his mother and sister would no longer have to be so humble and hardworking.
They wouldn’t have to constantly worry about his younger sister being sold in the future. But fate was not as they wished.
The landlord of the county fancied Zhao Jiaojiao’s beauty and wanted to marry her as a concubine. The Zhao family naturally refused. Over the years, Zhao Jiaojiao had grown more and more beautiful.
She had also mastered embroidery, poetry, calligraphy, and etiquette. Suitors almost broke down their door. Among them, the most accomplished had even passed the imperial examinations for the Xiucai degree, but Zhao Jiaojiao looked down on them all.
She believed that something better awaited her. This time, the landlord intended to take her by force. The Zhao family had no power to resist. It was at this moment that Zhao Jiaojiao found a man on the mountain.
That man was highly skilled in martial arts. After waking up, he learned of this wicked affair and immediately said he would help his benefactress resolve it. The old landlord died that very night.
The landlord’s family sent several groups of people for revenge, but they were all dealt with by the man. The man was named Shen Yici and was from the capital. After a period of getting to know each other, he fell in love with Zhao Jiaojiao.
Shortly thereafter, his guards found him. Shen Yici expressed his feelings to Zhao Jiaojiao, leaving behind a jade pendant as a token of their love, and vowing to return and marry her.
Not long after he left, the landlord’s family learned of the news. The Zhao family members were terrified, and a group of them fled to the mountains to seek refuge.
Unfortunately, they were still caught. The original owner’s legs were directly crippled. Just then, divine soldiers descended from heaven, and Shen Yici’s men eliminated all of the landlord’s subordinates.