Zhou Qingrui frowned as he listened; the things Jiang Zhenniang said were truly disgusting.
Zhou’s mother looked coldly at Jiang Zhenniang. No wonder Jiang Tingting had been treated like a slave in the Jiang family—it turned out her parents were unkind, and her younger siblings had no love or compassion either.
“You can do it!” Jiang Tingting said with certainty. “Zhenniang, sell yourself. You can fetch three taels of silver.”
Jiang Zhenniang’s eyes widened in shock, staring at Jiang Tingting in disbelief. “Sis—you, you… you want to sell me?”
“It’s not me selling you. I’m saying, for the peace of the family, you should sell yourself. Once you have the silver, Daniu will have money for school, Mother and Grandmother won’t fight anymore, and Father won’t be caught in the middle.” Jiang Tingting smiled with feigned kindness. “Hurry back and tell Mother this wonderful idea.”
Jiang Tingting even reached through the gap in the wicker fence and grasped Jiang Zhenniang’s hand. “I know you’re kind and always think of the family. Go on! I believe you’ll share the family’s burdens and solve their troubles.”
Zhou Qingrui was dumbfounded. Zhou’s mother paused for a moment, barely suppressing a laugh. Tingting really was too mischievous.
“Your sister is married now, no longer a member of the Jiang family, so I can’t help you anymore. Zhenniang, the Jiang family depends on you. Go on now.” Jiang Tingting urged.
Jiang Zhenniang’s mind went blank, completely at a loss for words.
Before, whenever she said she was tired, her sister would do things for her, and she wouldn’t have to lift a finger.
Now, why wouldn’t her sister help her?
And on top of that—she wanted to sell her?
“Sis, you can ask your mother-in-law for money. They gave so much as a bride price for Grandmother, so they must have money. They—”
“Jiang Zhenniang!” Jiang Tingting cut her off with a cold shout. “The Zhou family’s things are not something an outsider like you can scheme over.”
“But, sis, you’re a member of the Jiang family!” Jiang Zhenniang cried out in anguish.
Jiang Tingting smiled. “But I’m married now. I’m a member of the Zhou family.”
“Look—when has our grandmother ever dared to come to our house and ask Mother for anything? She tried once, and didn’t Grandmother beat her back?” Jiang Tingting let out a scoff and asked, “Do you want to try what it feels like to be beaten back too?”
“Sis, you’ve changed.” Jiang Zhenniang sniffled, looking at Jiang Tingting with a face full of disappointment. “You don’t care about Mother and Father anymore. Sis, you’ve let me down so much!”
Jiang Tingting laughed inwardly. How stupid had she been in her past life?
With such clumsy tricks, Jiang Zhenniang had led her around by the nose, and she’d gone along with everything Jiang Zhenniang wanted.
Sigh…
It seemed that in her past life, she’d been far too good to Jiang Zhenniang, so much so that Jiang Zhenniang didn’t even know the evils of the world.
That wouldn’t do. She needed to correct Jiang Zhenniang’s way of thinking.
“Zhenniang, don’t say that…” Jiang Tingting said sorrowfully, looking at Jiang Zhenniang. “How about this—I’ll go home with you for a visit.”
Hearing this, Jiang Zhenniang finally broke into a smile. “Sis, I knew you were the best.”
“Wait for me a moment. Let me tell my mother.” With that, Jiang Tingting turned and went inside the house.
Zhou’s mother had already heard everything clearly. Before she could speak, Zhou Qingrui lowered his voice and spoke first. “Sister-in-law, don’t go back!”
Jiang Tingting smiled with relief. This young brother-in-law truly had a caring heart.
“I’ll go take a look.” Jiang Tingting said to Zhou Qingrui with a smile, then turned to Zhou’s mother. “Mother, I’ll go and make things clear, so there won’t be any more trouble in the future.”
She had come to bring the Zhou family a comfortable life, not to bring them trouble.
If she didn’t resolve this today, the Jiang family would keep coming back to cause problems.
Zhou’s mother set down her chopsticks and said, “This matter—it won’t do for you, a younger generation, to go alone. It’s better if I go.”
Jiang Tingting was taken aback, then quickly waved her hands in refusal. “Mother, there’s no need. This matter…”
“You are my daughter-in-law. I must step forward for this.” Zhou’s mother said in a tone that brooked no refusal. “Come, let’s go see.”
“Mother, I’ll go too!” Zhou Qingrui stood up.
He was the only man in the family, so naturally he had to protect his mother and sister-in-law.
Zhou’s mother looked at her youngest son, who had matured so quickly in such a short time. She felt both relief and a bitter sadness, but she didn’t show it. She simply instructed, “Go and invite the village head to the Jiang house.”
“Alright.” Zhou Qingrui nodded quickly and agreed.
“Let’s go.” Zhou’s mother patted Jiang Tingting’s hand, calloused from years of hard labor. This child had suffered more than enough.
When Zhou’s mother and Jiang Tingting reached the yard, Jiang Zhenniang, who had been waiting at the gate, was startled. She looked at Zhou’s mother in confusion and asked Jiang Tingting, “Sis, this is…”
“My mother is worried about me, so she’s coming along.” Jiang Tingting wore a happy smile, linking her arm through Zhou’s mother’s and speaking coquettishly. “Mother, really, I could have gone alone. You didn’t need to make the trip.”
“How can that be? You’re the daughter-in-law of the Zhou family. If anything were to happen to you, I couldn’t bear it!” Zhou’s mother said forcefully.
Jiang Zhenniang felt a dull ache in her chest, especially as the happy smile on Jiang Tingting’s face stung her eyes painfully.
Why should Jiang Tingting be doted on by others?
Only she deserved to be doted on—what was Jiang Tingting anyway?
Jiang Zhenniang was secretly furious, but she didn’t show it on her face. She only urged, “Sister, hurry up. Mother and Grandmother are fighting. If we delay any longer, I’m worried something will happen to them.”
“Oh my.” Jiang Tingting gasped. “Then we need to hurry. Zhenniang, you go ahead and stop them first. Mother and I will follow shortly. My mother is old and not as fast on her feet as you.”
Jiang Zhenniang couldn’t say much and could only run ahead.
As for Jiang Tingting, she supported Zhou’s mother and walked along at a leisurely pace.
Zhou’s mother glanced at Jiang Tingting but said nothing.
This child Jiang Tingting had undergone a complete change in personality. Could it be that Jiang’s mother trying to sell her to the matchmaker had caused her to become like this?
Zhou’s mother only speculated inwardly and didn’t voice it aloud.
Soon, they arrived at the Jiang family home.
The front of the Jiang house was quite a spectacle—a crowd of villagers had gathered to watch the commotion, packed in layers upon layers, making it hard to even get through.
Fortunately, Jiang Tingting had no intention of pushing her way in. Instead, she exclaimed from outside, “This—this has turned into a fight?”
Even from outside the crowd, she could hear her grandmother and her mother cursing each other—truly fierce.
The villagers heard the commotion and turned to see Jiang Tingting dressed as a married woman. Their expressions were hard to describe: “Tingting, you really got married?”
They had already pieced together the whole story from the quarrel between the Jiang grandmother and mother.
In truth, they had all thought highly of Jiang Tingting as a girl. If not for Jiang’s grandmother and mother being so domineering, they would have wanted to marry this diligent girl into their families as a daughter-in-law.
They never expected that Jiang Tingting would marry a dead man from another region—this meant she would be living as a widow for the rest of her life.
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