Hearing this, the sadness in Zhou Jin's heart surged out like a tide, and tears rolled down her cheeks.
She choked up as she recounted her experiences at Zhuangzi, and every word seemed to be soaked in endless bitterness and helplessness.
Her daughter Xiaohe stood beside her. When Zhou Jinshi said that the head of the village wanted to take her as his concubine, she covered her face with her hands and tears seeped out from between her fingers.
Xue Shanqiu listened quietly at the side, feeling pity and sympathy in his heart.
She paid special attention to Xiaohe, who was of the same age as her. She had a sallow and haggard complexion. Not to mention the third-class maid in the marquis's mansion, even the fire-stoker in the kitchen looked much healthier than her. The difference was like heaven and earth.
Looking down, she found that although the two men had changed into clean smocks, their cloth shoes were still worn out, and there were even holes on the toes.
When Xiaohe looked up, what suddenly caught her eye was Xue Shanqiu's charming figure.
She was wearing a double-breasted jacket in the color of a crabapple flower. The bright color made her skin look as smooth as cream and as delicate as a baby's.
She wore a pomegranate pleated skirt, and the pomegranate flowers embroidered with Suzhou embroidery technique were lifelike, as if they were dancing lightly.
Xue Shanqiu sat there, as if adding a touch of bright color to this spring day, making everything around him seem dull.
Xiao He suddenly felt inexplicably awkward under Xue Shanqiu's brilliance.
She seemed to be aware of Xue Shanqiu's gaze, which made her feel even more ashamed and embarrassed. She involuntarily pulled her feet into her skirt, trying to hide her inner panic and anxiety.
Hong Yingrong asked Zhou Jinshi and gradually figured out the truth of the matter.
She suddenly asked angrily, "Is it Zhao Wu from the village west of the city?" This angry shout also brought Xue Shanqiu's attention back to his mother.
Zhou Jin replied tearfully, "It's Zhao Wu, the accountant. He's been drinking and causing trouble at the farm. He tells everyone that our maidservant at the Marquis's residence is incompetent and was punished by the Crown Prince's wife to do hard labor at the farm south of the city, where she's not allowed to leave for a year. Now he's complaining about having no one to serve him, and he's forcing Xiao He to be his concubine. If she refuses, he's going to kick us out of the farm."
Speaking of Zhou Jin's experience, it is indeed sympathetic.
Her husband was originally a tenant farmer on the farm, but he died of tuberculosis a few years ago.
At that time, the manor was still under the care of the general manager Xue Zhong. Seeing that Zhou Jinshi's orphan and widowed mother had a hard life but were familiar with farm work, he let them continue to stay on the manor and work.
In recent years, Xue Zhong has grown older and no longer runs back and forth between the marquis's mansion and the farm. He is mainly responsible for the affairs of the marquis's mansion, and the farm in the west of the city is handed over to the new head of the farm and the accountant for management.
I never thought that a momentary negligence would allow such bullying of the weak to happen.
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