Chapter 4
The second son's wife coaxed the baby to sleep, leaned against the kang (a heated brick bed), and stared straight at her husband.
"The third son's wife started arm wrestling with my parents as soon as she entered the family. The third son is also an educated man. Will there be a place for you and me in this family in the future?"
The honest and kind-hearted second son didn't take it seriously at all; he looked at his son, who was drooling in his sleep, with a smile on his face.
"Don't think too much. Our eldest son is a scholar, and he's already a Xiucai (a successful candidate in the imperial examinations). Our family has a much better chance of getting rich than other families. In the future, neither the eldest brother nor the third brother will abandon us."
“Dad told me that my eldest brother’s house in the county is not spacious enough. His family is already cramped, so how could we possibly fit in? Once he passes the imperial examination, he will definitely buy a big house.”
Wen's second sister-in-law glared at her husband and cursed him in her heart.
She dared not show any outward expression, knowing that men were blindly filial to their parents. If she spoke too plainly and her in-laws found out, her life would be even more difficult.
But she was really unwilling to accept it.
If she had known her man would be so useless, she would never have married him in the first place.
According to custom, the bride is supposed to return to her parents' home three days after the wedding. However, thinking of her indifferent father and her scheming stepmother, Yingxiang didn't really want to go back.
"Husband, why don't we just go to town?"
That morning, after breakfast, Yingxiang's words seemed somewhat unusual, and everyone looked at her. In this day and age, there are still women who don't want to go back to their parents' home.
There's no rush.
When Wen Shi refused without expression, Yingxiang sighed inwardly. This man was a bit rigid. Oh well, let him go. But upon further reflection, she realized he was a scholar, and his reputation was important to him. She had been careless.
"Go to the kitchen and pack ten eggs, grab some vegetables, and while you're at it, go to the butcher's and buy a piece of meat."
Old Man Wen looked at Wen Shi and gave him some instructions.
Wen Shi nodded, took the twenty copper coins handed to him, and left with Yingxiang. Although Liu was heartbroken, she dared not say anything.
After all, this was a matter of family reputation; the third son was, after all, a scholar.
This scene was particularly jarring to Wen Ersao's eyes. Her eyes immediately reddened, but she dared not speak. Despite her resentment, she could only silently lower her head and tidy up.
After Yingxiang entered the family, her life did not improve. She still had to do the work. The thought that this kind of life would never end was unbearable. Perhaps the same would happen when the fourth and fifth sons' wives entered the family.
In the kitchen, the second son's wife couldn't help but shed tears.
After Yingxiang and Wenshi left, Old Lady Wen took the opportunity to go to their room. The box was quite eye-catching, but the lock on it was not to be underestimated.
Liu searched the two's room but couldn't find the key. Remembering that Yingxiang might have it with her, she became furious.
The third son wasn't the type to passively accept things; his wife was even more formidable than him.
Although the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were no longer speaking, this did not stop Liu from feeling disgusted with Yingxiang. She stormed out and returned to her room.
Old Man Wen acted as if he hadn't seen anything and continued sitting under the eaves.
Spring planting is almost over, and there's not much work left in the fields. He thought, why not let the two younger ones help the village chief with the farming? Maybe they can earn some extra money that way.
The family was really struggling financially.
May God bless my eldest son so that he may pass the imperial examination soon, and only then will our family truly prosper.
After Yingxiang followed Wenshi out, she felt completely relaxed. The thought of leaving this home that made her feel so uncomfortable made her visibly happy.
Under a blue sky and white clouds, with a gentle breeze, the two walked one after the other along a country path. Wildflowers were in full bloom by the roadside. As long as Yingxiang didn't think about her parents, she felt very happy.
The two walked all the way to the village entrance.
The group of nosy women stared at Yingxiang and whispered among themselves. Yingxiang didn't care about them. She looked up at the big, green tree at the entrance of the village. It was probably quite old. After leaving the village, the two of them walked straight towards Xiaoliu Village.
The distance between the two villages is neither too close nor too far, so there is no need to take an oxcart. Yingxiang, who had not been out for a long time, ran into several acquaintances along the way and greeted them one by one.
Daliu Village and Xiaoliu Village have some connection; if you go back a few generations, they are related.
The two villages share a stream, and they often quarrel during the busy farming season, but they are usually fine. The two villages also have intermarriages.
At midday, the sun came up, and Yingxiang was sweating. She felt sticky all over, and the smell was pretty much the same.
"Old Liu's daughter and son-in-law are back."
Yingxiang's father counted the days, and this morning he didn't go to the fields at all. He only sent his sons there, but those sons couldn't study.
In his heart, he valued Wen Shi as his son-in-law. As soon as he heard that he was a scholar, regardless of how many brothers he had, he agreed to the matchmaker's proposal without hesitation.
As for why the Wen family took a liking to Yingxiang, that's another matter entirely.
Although Yingxiang had a fierce rivalry with her stepmother at home, she always gave her stepmother face in public. Although her stepmother was biased, she wasn't heartless.
In public, the two of them would praise each other, though neither of them were sincere; they were at least trying to save face for the other.
Both of them had good reputations, which was beneficial to each other. Yingxiang was filial, obedient, and sensible, while her stepmother was kind, virtuous, and understanding.
On several occasions, Liu saw the two walking together, chatting and laughing, their relationship was very harmonious. It was rare to see a stepmother and stepdaughter so harmonious.
After encountering her many times, she became curious about Yingxiang, especially since Yingxiang was quite pretty, unlike the average village girl.
The third son was also her own son, and she secretly wanted to find him a good wife. Compared to other girls who were pale and thin, Yingxiang was not thin and had fair skin.
This is why she later had the matchmaker speak to her; Old Man Wen only valued his eldest son and didn't care much about Wen Shi.
Fortunately, everything went smoothly afterward, and the marriage was settled. However, right now, Liu is filled with regret, feeling that she has made a mistake in choosing him.
"Father, Mother, my husband and I are back."
Yingxiang led Wenshi to her parents' courtyard. Yingxiang's father immediately stood up, and her stepmother was all smiles.
"You're back. Please sit down. Your mother has prepared tea for you."
Regardless of what she was really thinking, this stepmother was undeniably good at maintaining appearances, and soon she brought out a half-new, half-old lamp from the kitchen.
Actually, farmhouses don't have much good tea. A sip is mostly tea foam, but we didn't mind the smell. It's already quite rare that they even offer it.
"Father and Mother."
He called out in response.
"Okay, okay, have a seat."
Yingxiang's father greeted the two with a beaming smile, his face crinkling with laughter as he looked at his handsome son-in-law, dressed in a long robe.
"I'm going to the kitchen with Mom to get busy. You guys chat."
"Um."
When they arrived in the kitchen, Yingxiang's smile faded considerably, and her stepmother, holding a cleaver, looked much less cheerful.
How does your mother-in-law treat you?
"I heard that you ran to the village entrance crying right after your wedding, but then you went back."
As for this stepdaughter, Yingxiang's stepmother, Madam Hu, had mixed feelings of love and hate. She used to think that her stepdaughter was too smart and difficult to control. If she were her own daughter, it would be fine, but she wasn't. Yingxiang wasn't very enthusiastic towards her, nor was she obedient.
Her childhood and adulthood were like two extremes. She was so obedient and hardworking before, but she became so rebellious later on, which made her so angry that she almost jumped up and down several times.
But she had also come up with a plan to make her mother-in-law never dare to come to her house again. Yingxiang's father had an older brother who was Yingxiang's uncle, but the two brothers did not get along well, all because the old man was too biased. When the family was divided, he practically kicked them out.
Logically, they should have broken off relations by then, but Yingxiang's father, though seemingly a tough man, was spineless. Every time his mother came to freeload, he would just let her take whatever she wanted without saying a word, as long as she cried.
Madam Hu was unwilling, as she had several sons of her own, but out of filial piety, she could do nothing even if she was angry.
Yingxiang naturally disliked this old lady who favored sons over daughters and would always scold her whenever she saw her. Later, she gave Hu a suggestion.
Every time the old lady came over, he would kneel down, hug her legs, and cry as loudly as he could.
It would be best to alert the neighbors. At first, Mrs. Hu was a little embarrassed, but later, when she saw that the old woman was about to take away all twenty eggs she had painstakingly saved, leaving not a single one, she was very embarrassed.
At that moment, she didn't care about anything else and immediately started crying.
There were some results, of course. Later, every time the old lady came, she would cry. The old lady also wanted to avoid her, so she would go to the old lady's door to cry. She wouldn't say anything when others asked, looking like she had suffered a great injustice.
Rumors spread like wildfire throughout the village. The eldest son's family had a scholar, so naturally they cared about their reputation. After that, the old lady stopped coming around as often.
After all, there are discerning people in the village; this trick, though underhanded, is quite effective.
These days, there are plenty of gossipy women, which Yingxiang was not surprised about. She then said, "There was no other way. My mother-in-law wanted my dowry, so I had to agree. That's why we made such a fuss."
"Isn't your eldest son a scholar? Why would she care about your meager dowry?"
Now that there's no conflict of interest, and Yingxiang isn't bothering us by eating at home anymore, plus she received a dowry, Madam Hu still finds her quite agreeable.
"Even if he becomes successful, he might not bring his whole family to the county. He'll just have a reputation, but he'll still have to rely on himself."
"Let's stew all this meat and boil a few eggs too, so your dad won't say I'm stingy."
Yingxiang nodded.
"Your mother-in-law has finally met her match with you."
Yingxiang didn't say anything upon hearing this. No one is born a rogue, but in the countryside, there's no reasoning at all. If she obediently listened to her, her life would be over.
If you don't resist, you'll only live a life of grievances and resentment. But if you resist, life might be better.
Thinking of something, she made an excuse to go back to the house she had lived in before she got married. Her father was laughing so loudly, and she didn't know what he was saying to Wen Shi.
But as long as he's happy, that's all that matters. Yingxiang knows that her father is also a sexist.
She silently signed in, opened her backpack, then clasped her hands together, opened her eyes, and found a finely crafted silver hairpin in her hand. Yingxiang examined it for a moment, then hid the hairpin in her sleeve and went out as if nothing had happened.
A silver hairpin is definitely more valuable than a wooden hairpin; it's at least a piece of jewelry, and she can wear it when she goes to town in the future.
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