Jiang Dashan shot a glare at him. “You just said ‘a child shouldn’t talk about strange things,’ and now you’ve forgotten? I think she’s been hiding it all along.”
“Hiding? Second Brother, if you had that ability, could you have been bossed around for over ten years?”
Thinking about his usually quiet and hard-working niece, Jiang Dashan wasn’t so sure anymore.
“This girl… she can’t stay anymore!” For Old Man Jiang, who couldn’t accept his authority being challenged, Jiang Ning’s change was the most intolerable thing.
Before, he hadn’t believed what his wife had said, but now it seemed that keeping her around might bring disaster.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Dahe immediately perked up and whispered to his father, “Father, I heard that the county magistrate is offering 100 taels to take a concubine. I think that girl would be just right!”
He had heard this by chance from his classmates at the academy and came back on purpose.
Considering how Jiang Ning had caused so much trouble and embarrassed him, he thought it might be better to sell her off.
At least he could get a bit of pocket money from his mother, and if he could connect with the county magistrate, he might be able to deal with that troublesome girl who thought she could be a scholar’s wife.
Jiang Dahe and Zhuang Yunqing were in the same academy, and the matter between Zhuang Yunqing and Liu Xueying wasn’t a secret. He believed that Jiang Ning being rejected by her fiancé was just a matter of time, so why not sell her off at a good price?
Everything had been planned, but when he came back, his mother had already said that the girl was being arranged to marry Lu Huai’an.
And she didn’t even have a proper betrothal gift—basically, she was being given away for nothing.
Now, she even had the nerve to threaten him and ask for a dowry. It was outrageous!
But that girl was really something, always causing trouble for scholars.
She had rejected one marriage and was now marrying someone else, ruining his chances to sell her.
But now that his father had spoken, and seemed to be unhappy too, he quickly shared everything he knew.
“100 taels?” Old Madam Jiang exclaimed as she entered the hall.
The broken things had been cleaned up quickly, just thrown away. Niu Shi took the children to the east wing, and Old Madam Jiang came to the hall, not expecting to hear such big news.
“Mother, keep your voice down!”
Jiang Dahe pointed to the back of the house, signaling her to lower her voice. He didn’t want that girl to find out that he had been the one to stir things up.
“Are you talking about that County Magistrate, the one who enjoys tormenting women and has already killed a few concubines?” Old Madam Jiang asked in a low voice.
This was common knowledge in the nearby villages. The County Magistrate harmed young girls from the surrounding areas, presumably because he was afraid of causing trouble.
“Yes, that’s him.” Jiang Dahe confirmed.
“I think it’s a good idea,” Old Madam Jiang said fiercely, “It would be great if we could torture her to death.”
They could get a large sum of money and dispose of a troublesome girl at the same time. Old Madam Jiang thought this was an idea that was just too perfect.
Jiang Dashan disagreed, “But she’s now a proper scholar’s wife. Won’t we get into trouble? What if…”
What if they offended the scholar and ended up risking their lives?
“You don’t need to worry about that,” Old Madam Jiang slapped her thigh. Her old face, wrinkled like a chrysanthemum, was filled with disdain.
“Lu Huai’an was forced into this marriage. He doesn’t care about that dirty girl at all. I saw it with my own eyes yesterday.”
“If it doesn’t work out, we can marry our Xiuniang to him. She’s much prettier than that dirty girl.”
Old Man Jiang thought that Jiang Ning was difficult to control, and even if she had a successful future, she wouldn’t help her maternal family.
Xiuniang was much better. He thought Old Madam Jiang’s idea was good.
“But will she let us control her? What if she fights back and ends up hurting the County Magistrate? We’ll all suffer,” Jiang Dashan was cautious. He was now a little afraid of Jiang Ning.
“Do you really think the County Magistrate can’t handle a little girl?” Old Madam Jiang didn’t believe it.
“Yes, the County Magistrate’s manor has a lot of servants. No matter how strong that girl is, she can’t fight against so many people,” Jiang Dahe said, growing more confident in the plan.
“We can inform them in advance, so the County Magistrate can prepare. It might even trigger his desire to conquer her.”
“But how do we make her obedient?” Jiang Dashan raised the key question.
Jiang Dahe thought for a moment and then suggested, “We should find a chance to drug her, knock her out, and send her directly to the County Magistrate’s manor. Once it’s done, she’ll have no choice but to accept.”
“Anyway, Lu Huai’an is still at the clinic. We can send Xiuniang to him and maybe he’ll even be grateful.”
“Don’t act too hastily, though. We need to figure out how to get Lu Huai’an to divorce that dirty girl first.”
Old Man Jiang, who had worked for many wealthy families, understood that a scholar’s wife couldn’t be treated carelessly.
“So when do we do this?” Jiang Dahe was getting frustrated. He could see the silver slipping away from his grasp and was annoyed.
“Alright, we’ll make a good plan and not let her find out. Everyone, go back to your rooms.” Old Man Jiang waved his hand, signaling the family to leave.
When the head of the family had spoken, everyone quickly left the hall and returned to their rooms.
Meanwhile, Jiang Ning had returned to the small hut. She was pleased to find her clothes neatly washed and set on the bed. She was satisfied with how obedient Jiang Xiu had been.
She entered her space and drank some spiritual spring water, feeling her health improve significantly.
Suddenly, she noticed something: two new plots of land had appeared in the small courtyard within the space, each about 10 square meters.
She walked over to take a closer look. One plot was labeled “Spiritual Field,” which could be used to plant various plants. The other was labeled “Herb Field,” suitable for growing medicinal herbs, and could be irrigated with spiritual spring water to make them grow quickly.
Jiang Ning immediately felt energized. This was a windfall! Tomorrow, she would go to the county to buy seeds.
Remembering that she hadn’t bathed yesterday, she grabbed some clean clothes and planned to take a bath.
Just as she stepped outside, she heard Old Madam Jiang’s shocked voice.
Curious, she quietly approached the hall to eavesdrop. Although she couldn’t hear everything clearly, she gathered that the Jiang family was planning something against her.
This family was truly heartless. She would just wait and see how they made their move.
To be safe, she went to the firewood room and found a thick firewood stick to store in her space. It would be perfect for self-defense.
When everyone had dispersed, she headed to the bathhouse in the east.
She lit an oil lamp and saw two bath tubs—one large and one small.
She thought, “A carpenter’s family sure is good, even separates the baths for men and women.”
The poor original owner never had the chance to enjoy this because the family wouldn’t allow her to use hot water.
She first heated some water in the stove, checked that it was the right temperature, and poured it into the small tub.
After locking the door, she undressed and got into the tub.
For the first time since she crossed over, she finally relaxed a little, letting go of the tension that had been building up inside her.