Old Mrs. Fan had a thin face, high cheekbones, and triangular eyes. It was clear at a glance that she was a mean old woman. At this moment, she was staring at Han Yiyi with disgust.
She often beat and scolded her two children, thinking they were as useless as their mother, so Daya and Shitou were very afraid of her.
Seeing the fear in Shi Tou's eyes and hearing his grandmother's voice, Han Yiyi felt her heart melt. She was about to speak when she was about to say that if they didn't agree, she would take the two children and go to town to spread the word that the man had just passed the imperial examination and was about to abandon his wife.
His reputation is ruined. Let's see if he can still maintain his reputation as a scholar. She knows that in ancient times, the imperial examination not only tested knowledge but also character.
Before Han Yi could even speak, the woman with the round face tugged at the man's sleeve and said in a coquettish voice.
"Brother Ting, I don't want to be a stepmother to other children, especially those in my belly..." she said, glancing down at her flat stomach.
Han Yi saw the woman's movements and knew that she must be pregnant. He thought to himself, "Good! If she doesn't agree, I'll have another story to tell. In ancient times, premarital pregnancy was punishable by being drowned in a pig cage. I'll make sure that these two scoundrels don't have a good ending."
Hearing Han Yiyi's words, the man frowned. He could do without the girl, but Xiao Shitou was a boy, just as his mother had said, he was a member of the Fan family.
However, seeing the woman's expression beside him, he thought that not only was she carrying his child, but he was also still young and would have plenty of opportunities to have a son in the future. Besides, the son born to this worthless idiot would probably be useless anyway.
Thinking of this, he patted the woman's hand reassuringly and whispered something in her ear. The woman couldn't help but glare at the man, then nodded with a slightly flushed face.
Seeing that her son was not speaking, Fan's mother became anxious and wanted to go over and pull Xiao Shitou over, but she had only taken two steps when her arm was grabbed by the man.
"Mother, let the little ingrate go if he wants to. I'm still young. I can have as many children as I want in the future..."
Then he whispered in Fan's mother's ear, "Mother, Cuihua is pregnant with my child. The doctor has already checked, and it's a boy. You'll have a grandson to hold in your arms. Besides, Cuihua's mother has already agreed. Cuihua will have a dowry of twenty taels when she marries into the family..."
As Fan Ting spoke, he glanced disdainfully at Han Yiyi. That was twenty taels of silver! He wondered how many handkerchiefs that useless, sallow-faced woman could embroider with that money…
If she weren't so useless, I wouldn't have ended up using the worst writing materials among my classmates.
When Fan's mother heard that it was twenty taels, her eyes lit up. As a peasant family, they could only save four or five taels of silver a year by working themselves to the bone. For them to give twenty taels in one go, they must be from a wealthy family.
From then on, she, as the mother, wouldn't have to worry about her son's school fees anymore. Not only that, but she, as the mother-in-law, would definitely reap many benefits in the future, and might even live a life where she could have servants at her beck and call...
At this moment, Madam Fan seemed to have forgotten that ever since the original owner, Han Yiyi, married into their Fan family at the age of fifteen, the money used for her son's education had all been embroidered stitch by stitch by this useless daughter-in-law in her eyes. She had never contributed a single penny. In this way, the original owner could not slack off in any of the household chores, such as washing clothes, cooking, and working in the fields, otherwise she would be subjected to a barrage of insults from Madam Fan.
Recalling the original owner's experiences, Han Yiyi felt more and more that this mother and son were like bloodsucking leeches. After they were done, they would complain that there wasn't enough blood. They were truly greedy and disgusting.
Thinking of this, Han Yi looked at the two children and became even more determined to sever ties with this disgusting mother and children.
With the dowry of twenty taels of silver, and the fact that she was already pregnant with the Fan family's child, Madam Fan naturally took a liking to Little Stone's grandson, and so she spoke up.
"Fine, take these two ingrates with you. Let's see how you'll support them. If you ever beg again, remember to stay away from our scholar's residence, lest you bring us bad luck..."
Han Yi rolled her eyes inwardly. These three dilapidated thatched houses, calling them a mansion? It's laughable. People who don't know her would think her son passed the imperial examination with the highest honors, if they didn't know her son had passed the lowest honors.
Despite her inner complaints, Han Yi breathed a sigh of relief when she heard that Granny Fan had agreed to let her take Xiao Shitou away, and quickly spoke to the mother and son.
"Then write a letter severing ties with your parents. That way, when you become a high-ranking official and live a life of luxury, you won't have to worry about your two children clinging to you..."
When Han Yiyi asked him to write a letter severing ties with his family, Fan Ting hesitated, after all, this was his child.
Even if it's just a little girl like Daya, she'll be able to find someone to marry in a few years. The bride price will be at least a few taels of silver. Besides, when Xiaoshitou grows up, I'll be his father, so it's only right that I ask him for some filial piety money every month. But if we sever ties, then none of this will concern him anymore.
But upon further reflection, just as his wife had said, he was now a scholar, and becoming a high-ranking official was only a matter of time. To prevent them from taking advantage of him and clinging to him in the future, Fan Ting decided to write a letter severing ties with his family.
Fan Ting quickly went back to the house and took out paper and pen. He wrote down clearly that he was breaking off his relationship with the two dolls. Seeing the man sign his name, Han Yi breathed a sigh of relief and quickly got up to get it.
Just as I stood up, a sudden wave of dizziness hit my head, and I almost fell to the ground again. Fortunately, someone helped me up, preventing me from falling again.
Han Yiyi turned her head and saw an old woman with gray hair and a kind face. According to the original owner's memories, this person was Aunt Zhang who lived next door to the Fan family. So Han Yiyi thanked her.
"Thank you, Auntie..."
Aunt Zhang was a kind person. When she saw the injury on Han Yiyi's head, her eyes were full of heartache. She sighed and said, "Oh! You child, you have such a hard life..."
An elderly man, around fifty or sixty years old, came in with Aunt Zhang. He was the village chief of Zhushan Village. The village chief had a stern look in his eyes, and when he saw the letter of severance of kinship in Fan Ting's hand and the divorce papers on the ground, his eyes were full of disapproval.
"Young Master Ting, what are you doing? How could you, having just passed the imperial examination, do something like divorcing your wife and abandoning your child? Don't you want to ruin your reputation...?"
Upon seeing the village chief arrive, both Fan Ting and his mother felt somewhat guilty. Fan Ting's mother glanced at the crowd watching the commotion outside the wall and thought to herself, "I wonder which idle gossip woman brought the village chief here."
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