The elderly lady was given quite a fright. She was just about to scream when Madam Zheng stuffed her mouth shut.
She stared at her own daughter in shock, her face full of disbelief.
The next moment, Hu Laifu also stepped forward and used hemp rope to tie the elderly lady up securely.
As Madam Zheng tied up her mother, she said in a low voice, “I’m sorry, Mother. We have nowhere left to go now. Just consider this helping your daughter and giving us a way to live. If I have the opportunity in the future, I will repay you.”
The elderly lady’s eyes nearly split with rage, wishing she could bite a piece of flesh off her body. But her legs were inconvenient, and she was facing her strong and sturdy daughter and son-in-law. Other than the ‘wuwuwu’ sounds from her mouth, she could not do anything at all.
Madam Zheng could guess even with her toes that she was definitely cursing very foully, but it did not matter. They couldn’t hear her anyway.
After tying up the elderly lady, Madam Zheng opened a chest at the head of the bed. Under the elderly lady’s red and furious gaze, she opened the box at the very bottom.
The Zheng family was fairly well-off. The household money earned by the several sons was all handed over to the family’s common fund, all of which was kept by the elderly lady.
On top of that, when Madam Zheng sold Zhaozhao’s ring two years ago, it was the elderly lady who helped make the connections, and the elderly lady even gained five taels[1]五两银子 (wǔ liǎng yínzi) – five taels of silver, using a traditional Chinese unit of weight that was also used as a monetary measure. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3351102_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3351102_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], }); of silver from it. So Madam Zheng knew that the elderly lady had money.
They were going to flee for their lives, yet they happened to have little silver in their hands. Originally, they still had the jade pendant and anklet snatched from Zhaozhao that could serve as a fallback, but now those were gone too. They could only take some from the Zheng family.
Sure enough, once the small box was opened, it was filled to the brim with pieces of silver, along with a silver note.
Madam Zheng counted it, and there were actually more than two hundred taels.
Even Hu Laifu was shocked, “How could there be so much?” They were a farming household[2]农户人家 (nóng hù rén jiā) – a household whose livelihood primarily comes from farming. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3351102_1_2').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3351102_1_2', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });, and there were so many people in such a large family. How could they have saved more than two hundred taels of silver?
Madam Zheng suddenly turned her head as if she had thought of something and looked at the furious elderly lady, “The money from selling the ring back then was actually far more than twenty taels, right?”
A trace of guilt flashed through the elderly lady’s eyes. Madam Zheng became furious. The next moment, she noticed that there was also a small, somewhat exquisite cloth pouch in the corner of the box.
She opened it and took a look, and her expression instantly became very ugly.
Inside the cloth pouch was actually a ring, the ring taken from Zhaozhao.
Back then, she had asked the elderly lady to help sell two of them, yet there was actually still one here. So she had only sold one? And she had sold it for far more than twenty taels.
Madam Zheng was furious to death. She resentfully said to the elderly lady, “Originally, I still wanted to take half and leave some for you. Now it seems there’s no need. Since you cheated your daughter like this, then don’t blame your daughter for being unfilial.”
After saying that, she poured out everything in the small box and swept it all into her own pocket, taking it all.
The elderly lady ‘wuwuwu’ed even more forcefully, occasionally banging her head against the bed board, with tears streaming down her face.
Madam Zheng ignored her. Seeing that they had gotten the things into their hands, she exchanged a look with Hu Laifu and set off to leave.
Although Madam Zhou was busy in the kitchen, she still looked this way from time to time. Madam Zheng called out to her, “Sister-in-law, Mother said to add two more dishes tonight. Our Baodun wants to eat winter bamboo shoots. Go dig up two from the bamboo grove ba. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of Mother here.”
Madam Zhou was unwilling, but seeing that the elderly lady did not stop her, she knew that the elderly lady meant the same thing and could only carry a basket out the door.
As soon as she left, the three members of the Hu family quickly left the Zheng family’s home.
Two quarters[3]两刻 (liǎng kè) – two ke, a traditional Chinese measure of time, roughly half an hour. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3351102_1_3').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3351102_1_3', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], }); of an hour later, Madam Zhou returned, only to see the open room door and the elderly lady, whose hands and feet were tied, already unconscious.
She was so frightened that she dropped the basket in her hands and hurriedly went to find someone for help. By the time the elderly lady woke up, the sky was almost dark, and the Zheng family members had also all returned.
Then, they heard the elderly lady’s heart-wrenching wails.
After hearing the entire story from her in broken fragments, the Zheng family members were all dumbfounded. Immediately afterward, they angrily went to look for Madam Zheng to settle the score.
But by this time, the three members of the Hu family had long since disappeared without a trace. There was not even a clue to look for them.
Shangliu Village was similarly in a mess. When Yue Chai saw the constables from the government office arrive, he took them to the Hu family’s home, only to find that the Hu family had already left with no one remaining. Yue Chai’s heart sank, and he immediately brought the people to Zhengjia Village. Then, he saw the Zheng family in complete chaos.
Yue Chai was dumbfounded. The Hu husband and wife… had actually been this ruthless.
Unlike their chaotic situation, Zhaozhao in the Sky Screen was very happy at this moment.
She obediently lay on the comfortable large bed, covered with a soft quilt, while beside her was Mom, softly humming a song to coax her to sleep.
There were no houses here that let the wind in from all four sides, no worn-out blankets that could not keep out the cold, no rats running back and forth by her feet, and no scolding and beatings that made her frightened from time to time.
She could eat wontons filled entirely with meat, eating until she was completely full. She could also drink hot water. She could not even remember when the last time she drank hot water was.
Not only that, she could also bathe with hot water. That very magical showerhead would continuously produce hot water as soon as it was turned on. It was just that it washed out so much dirt, making her very embarrassed.
But Mom did not dislike her. She even applied fragrant face cream to her. Her face, which had originally been dry and cracked and hurt whenever the wind blew, seemed to have become tender and soft. This face cream was so much better than that face balm in Madam Zheng’s room. Even when she smelled it, there was none of that stinky smell.
It really was… like a dream ah.
It was just a little strange. Why was there only Mom in the house? What about her Father?
Zhaozhao wanted to ask, but she was afraid of saying the wrong thing, so in the end, she still did not speak.
She was reluctant to close her eyes and sleep. She was afraid that after waking up, she would have to face that life of being beaten and scolded again.
But Jian Yunsang’s singing was soft and gentle and very soothing, and Zhaozhao was truly exhausted. In the end, she could not hold on any longer, closed her eyes, and slowly fell asleep.
At the same time, the Sky Screen also darkened along with it.
Jian Yunsang listened until her breathing became steady before stopping her movements. Looking at the little one dependently clutching her clothes, she slowly let out a breath.
She lay beside her and carefully examined her. The more she looked, the tighter her heart clenched, and the angrier her expression became.
She knew that Zhaozhao had not lived well these past two years, and she thought she was mentally prepared, but when she bathed Zhaozhao and took off her clothes, she still could not control herself. Looking at the lines of injuries on her body, one bruise after another, old and new alternating, Jian Yunsang wished she could immediately find the people who had hurt Zhaozhao and tear them into a thousand pieces.
Shangliu Village, is it?
She would definitely find them. No matter where they were, she would absolutely find them.
“…Mom.” A soft murmur suddenly came from her arms.
Jian Yunsang instinctively answered, “Mom is here.” When she lowered her head to look, Zhaozhao was still sleeping with her eyes closed.
Her expression instantly softened, her eyes reddened, and she softly murmured again, “Mom is here.”
When Zhaozhao woke up the next day, she was still somewhat groggy. Her body clock had already formed, and every day she had to get up before the sky was bright.
Today was the same. It was just that, unlike usual, she felt warm all over, as if she were still dreaming.
A dream?
Zhaozhao collected herself for a moment and turned her head to see Jian Yunsang still with her eyes closed. Somewhat uncertainly, she raised her hand and gently touched her face. Only after feeling the warmth did she confirm that this was real.
Jian Yunsang had slept lightly these past two years. As soon as Zhaozhao reached out her hand, she woke up.
She pulled the child closer into her arms, “It’s still early. Sleep a little longer, okay? When you wake up, Mom will take you somewhere.”
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