0134 The Golden-Clad Swordsman (Part 7)

After seeing Alai off and changing Shufu's bedding, Ajian had some free time again.

She yawned softly, realizing that the medicine was working again, so she forced herself to stay awake and locked the doors and windows before sitting down in the west room and taking a nap on the table.

The sun shone brightly outside the window, but she had a dream filled with endless rain.

In midsummer, a torrential downpour began.

She woke up in bed to find the mud house damp from the heavy rain, and stepping on it meant getting her feet wet with mud and water, her lungs filled with the heavy, earthy smell.

She stared blankly at the scene before her, her thoughts still unsettled, when she instinctively slipped on a pair of wooden clogs, got up, and retrieved a wooden basin from a drawer. She leaned it against the leaky wall to prevent further water accumulation inside.

Then, a man's curses rang out from outside.

"Normally, you won't see a single drop of rain, but today it poured down without a sound."

The man pushed open the fence gate and entered the courtyard. When he reached the eaves, he took off his raincoat and straw hat and stood them against the wall to drain the water. He stepped into the house and peeked out, calling out people's names.

Upon hearing this, the woman in the main room hurried out to greet him, looking the man up and down: "It's been years since it's rained this hard. I was worried about the precious crops in the fields getting soaked, that would be really annoying... You didn't get wet on the way here, did you?"

The man glared at her: "Don't talk nonsense. Don't speak ill of the heavens, or you'll suffer retribution!"

The woman nodded hesitantly and said, "You've been caught in the rain, and it's not good for you to stay here like this. I'll go to the kitchen and make you some ginger soup. Go back to your room and change into some dry clothes."

To her surprise, the man chuckled and grabbed her arm, saying, "Don't worry about that now. I have good news for you—that thing is settled! Even if there's no harvest this year, we won't have a hard time."

A-Jian leaned against the crack in the door, trying her best to peek out, but the crack was too narrow, and she dared not make any loud noise. Even with all her might, the faces of the man and woman seemed to be shrouded in mist, and she could not see them clearly no matter what she did.

Outside, the rain was pouring down, and the torrential rain seemed to have submerged the world. People walking in it could not distinguish east from west, as if their vision was shrouded in a hazy veil.

Suddenly an idea popped into her head. She raised her hand to touch her face, then rushed to the wooden basin at the base of the wall where she was drawing water.

She rubbed her eyes hard, focused her gaze, and looked down. In the rippling, muddy rain, she saw a girl's figure gradually emerge. The person in the water had a sallow complexion, and was thin and frail like a reed, as if a gust of wind would blow her away in an instant. Only a pair of bright, dark eyes set in her dry cheeks showed some spirit.

A sudden clap of thunder split the leaden sky, startling A-Jian, who finally remembered—

This is her own face, but she was still young at the time and had not yet entered the Shu residence or met the young lady.

The man and woman in the main room also noticed the noise inside. The man immediately frowned and shouted angrily, "You wretched wretch, you're still at home? I thought you were dead. Even when your father came back, you didn't come out to help. All you do is hide in your room and slack off all day, is that it?"

She looked toward the rickety, dilapidated door that was about to collapse, and finally stood up and walked outside.

When the man saw her push open the door and come out, he sat down on the long bench, lifted his mud-stained boots, and beckoned to her, "Your father must be tired after a long day out. Come and give me a foot massage."

A-Jian pursed her lips, her gaze falling on the boots. For some reason, a strong sense of unease welled up in her chest.

She couldn't remember what choice she had made back then, whether she had obediently knelt down to take off her father's boots and massage his legs, but at this moment—

She raised her eyes, her tone flat: "I won't do it," she said, enunciating each word clearly. "Your precious son is secretly eating pork cracklings in the kitchen, he's practically suffocating from the grease in there, why don't you call him over?"

Hearing her reply, the man felt his authority as the head of the household had been challenged, and his thick eyebrows immediately furrowed: "You brat, you've got some nerve, daring to order your brother around!"

Enraged, the man raised his foot to kick her, but she dodged it, causing him to miss and nearly stumble.

"You worthless piece of trash, you've really grown bold, daring to hide now?"

The man rushed over in a few strides, grabbed her hair, and just as a slap was about to land on her face, the woman who had been silent suddenly moved and quickly grabbed the man's arm.

"You mustn't hit her!"

The man glared angrily: "She's my daughter, I'm her father, what's wrong with hitting her?"

The woman hesitated for a long time before replying softly, "She has a pretty face. What if you hurt her and the head of Wangzhuang doesn't want her anymore?"

The man fell silent, but A-Jian, who was being pulled behind the woman, suddenly raised her face and looked at the two of them with wary eyes: "What do you mean? What do you mean that the head of Wangzhuang doesn't want it anymore?"

The woman looked back into her dark eyes, perhaps overwhelmed with guilt, and hastily wiped away the tears on her cheeks before turning away, unable to look at her.

The man clapped his hands and laughed: "Your father and mother have found you a good marriage. The Wang family is located at the east end of the village. They own more than ten houses and countless fertile fields. You'll be living a life of luxury if you marry into their family."

Her mind went blank for a moment, then she glanced at the endless, cold rain and finally remembered everything.

She was only eleven years old that year, while her younger brother was seven, just the time when they were beginning their education.

When the imperial examination system was introduced in this dynasty, my parents had the idea of ​​sending their youngest son to school so that he could pass the exam. Even though they lacked food and clothing, they made sure to pay for his tuition.

But studying is a long-term endeavor, and a few days of frugal living wouldn't be enough to support a scholar. So, the father decided to marry her off and use the dowry to pay for his younger brother's schooling.

However, for ordinary farming families to marry, the dowry was only a few strings of coins and a few feet of cotton cloth, which was far from enough to cover the cost of the bride's upbringing. Therefore, Aye set his sights on the Wang family, a wealthy family in the village.

The Wang family had a mentally challenged son who, at nineteen years old, didn't even recognize his parents. Ordinary families wouldn't have a young woman willing to marry him, and ordinary parents wouldn't have the heart to let their daughter have such a son-in-law.

But her father was different. Everyone else would avoid the idea of ​​the Wang family arranging a marriage for their mentally challenged son, but when her father heard about it, he was like a rat that had fallen into a haystack. He hurriedly took her birth date and time and went to their house to discuss the compatibility. The Wang family didn't care about choosing a wife. They just went through the motions and decided on an auspicious day.

A-Jian felt a tightness in her chest, tears welled up in her eyes, and she stared intently at her biological father.

She was the same way in my memory, only she was more timid and would just cry.

But she's not like that anymore. She's been with the girl for so long, and she's no longer the timid, delicate little girl who's afraid of being pushed around like a sprout.

She knew that on this day, the day when the rain in the suburbs of Chang'an seemed to never end, the girl would come to her door to take shelter from the rain. Even if the girl didn't come, she was no longer a soft person made of clay.

"Why should I marry a mentally challenged man, only to have the money I earn go to your son's schooling? He's a human being, but I'm not?"

"Ask yourself honestly, who is smarter, him or me? He can memorize the shapes of characters in school after three days of hard work, but I can memorize them all at a glance; he can't write neat characters even after his hands are swollen and red from being beaten by the teacher's ruler, but I can write them with a stick used for burning firewood!"

"Since all you want is for your child to study hard, get ahead, and be someone to rely on in the future, why don't you ask me to go? Master He in the city has an obese daughter who is looking for a husband, why don't you ask him to marry into her family?"

"We were all born of you, what have I done to wrong you that you would be so biased towards us!"

The man was stunned by her scolding and didn't react for a moment, remaining silent.

The boy who was peeping at the door was frightened by the older sister's anger and burst into loud sobs.

A-Jian glanced around, grabbed the ceramic cup on the table, and smashed it hard against the door, cracking it and leaving a pile of shards on the floor.

The man then came to his senses, his eyes turning bloodshot with rage, and he raised his hand to strike her.

A-Jian swiftly dodged, rushed to the door, grabbed the wooden stick she used to prop it up, and prepared to fight back fiercely if he tried to take another step closer.

Let them make a scene, make it even bigger.

All that talk about family ties and blood relations is just bullshit used to manipulate her. She only trusts the girl in this world. Once the girl arrives, she will beg to go with her and leave this home forever without looking back.

Just then, a faint sound came from the fence gate outside, and someone spoke, their voice muffled by the rain.

Is anyone home?