Chapter 024: Madam Cao, the heroine of Niangdaowen
Look at this little girl's neither humble nor arrogant demeanor and her bright and compelling eyes. Even the ladies from wealthy families in Bianjing City probably can't behave so tactfully.
She couldn't help but praise him, "The backpack you made is also very useful. I asked my two daughters-in-law to modify their bags according to yours. They are much lighter now. I hope you don't mind."
"No problem, you can use it. Being exiled to the same place is a bit of bad luck. We'll have to support each other on the road. I hope you don't mind its crudeness."
Mr. Fang, who was sipping a cup of tea, put down his cup and asked curiously, "Little girl, how did you come up with the idea of turning a bag into a backpack?"
Xu Zhenying thought for a moment and smiled, "It's actually very simple. I figured it would be easier to carry the weight on two shoulders than just one, so I thought I could add two shoulder straps to the bag. This would save effort and free up my hands."
Mr. Fang praised: "Young lady, you have quite some ingenuity. And what about this legging... where did you get it from..."
Old Madam Fang seemed displeased. She frowned and whispered, "Master, don't dwell on those messy things. This world belongs to the Zhou family. You've already fulfilled the late emperor's instructions, yet you've ended up like this. Now that you're a commoner, why bother planning for the Zhou family? Don't think I don't know you're trying to implement this leg-binding method in the army. Don't forget your current status. Is there anyone in the court who would listen to an old man like you?"
Old Master Fang sighed, his thoughts hidden within his heart revealed by his wife. He was truly embarrassed as he stammered, "Your Majesty is young, and has been bewitched by treacherous relatives and ministers. As subjects, we cannot always be by His Majesty's side to teach him how to discern the true nature of people. We can't even protect ourselves. We truly have failed the late emperor's trust in his dying breath."
Old Madam Fang snorted coldly, "What do you have to be ashamed of? If it weren't for the Zhou family's own foolishness and suspicion, not trusting you old ministers, nor trusting their own son, but instead trusting those rootless people, causing chaos in the court. I think exile is a good idea. Away from factional strife, our Fang family can at least live a few more days!"
"You!" Old Master Fang was so angry that his beard stood up and he was speechless. "Woman, what a lie! A man should stand tall and fight for the people. How can he hold himself back just because a treacherous minister is in power? If that happens, how can the people of this world survive?"
Seeing the two about to bicker again, the eldest daughter-in-law of the Fang family, who was serving on the side, quickly and calmly changed the subject, "Dad and Mom, we still need to ask Miss Xu Liu to teach us how to bind our legs. How can we waste Miss Xu Liu's time?"
Old Madam Fang snorted, then turned around and said to Xu Zhenying with a smile, "Don't bother with this old man. Girl, teach my grandchildren your skills so they don't get too painful to walk tomorrow."
Xu Zhenying responded, and the eldest daughter-in-law of the Fang family summoned the rest of the family, attracting the exiles nearby. A thin, elderly-looking woman said, "Miss, does your method really work? If it does, I'll tie it up for my son too."
Xu Zhenying didn't finish his words, only saying, "You can try it. If you find it useless tomorrow, you can take it off."
Someone said, "That sounds nice, but I need to cut a large piece of cloth. If it's useless, can you compensate me with the cloth?"
"You're so proud, it's a beautiful thought."
"Exactly. Why don't you just let this girl give you a set of clothes?"
Xu Zhenying wasn't angry, but smiled and said, "If you trust me, I'll teach you. If you don't want to, I won't force you."
Old Mrs. Fang felt that Miss Xu Liu really had a good temper.
The woman from before quickly said, "Little girl, I believe you. Wait for me, I will bring my son here right away."
After a while, a large group of people came forward.
Xu Zhenying explained the principles and precautions of leg binding clearly. Everyone was curious, and those who had extra fabric cut and tied it up according to Xu Zhenying's instructions.
The woman seemed to be in a hurry, and she only had a bag filled with some dry food. Seeing that there was no cloth, she looked around, as if searching for something.
Her son was about seven or eight years old, delicate and much smaller than his peers. His eyes were restlessly darting around, revealing a pampered upbringing. Seeing everyone around him cutting cloth for leggings, the child, curious, started crying and clamoring to get his own leggings made.
"This... what should I do? I haven't had time to sort out all the scraps of cloth at home..."
"No, I want... the material on my eldest sister is beautiful. I want the one she's wearing!" The child collapsed on the ground, crying and throwing a tantrum. The woman was helpless and said to her eldest daughter, who was a little taciturn, "Zhao Di, take off your coat and go borrow a pair of scissors."
The eldest daughter nodded, pretended to take off her coat, and went to borrow a pair of scissors with a numb expression.
The second daughter was probably no more than ten years old. She frowned at the moment, looking a little dissatisfied. She wanted to say something but held it back.
The woman continued to coax her son gently, "Da Lang, wait a minute. I'll tie the best one for you right away. I guarantee it will outshine all the others."
Xu Zhenying suddenly had an impression and remembered that he seemed to have seen this family today.
The woman had been carrying her son on her back. Her hunched body seemed to be extremely exhausted. She walked very slowly, falling from the front to the back. She was also chatting happily with the girl from the Qian family who was at the end of the team.
At that time, Xu Zhenying was surprised that such a thin woman could carry the little boy on her back for a whole day, and it seemed that her family did not see her at all.
Xu Zhenying couldn't help but sigh: "This is really loving a son like killing him."
Old Madam Fang sneered repeatedly, as if she looked down upon the woman. "What son? That's not even her son!"
Xu Zhenying raised his eyebrows.
"That son was born to the concubine. The woman had money with her when she was exiled, but her husband coaxed her into leaving with a few words. He said the concubine had been in poor health since giving birth and couldn't travel far, so he made her trade her money for a donkey cart. Look, her husband and concubine are happily sitting in the front donkey cart."
Xu Zhenying was stunned after hearing this. Then he heard Old Madam Fang scolding with a tone of dismay, "It would have been fine if she'd just been coaxed out of her money, but she's so obsessed with trying to please her bastard that he's become so spoiled that he doesn't know his place. He beats and scolds her legitimate sister at will, and she doesn't care. She only cares about pleasing the bastard and doesn't care about her own daughter's well-being. I really want to award her a chastity arch. She's really bringing shame to us women!"
Xu Zhenying didn't expect the story to be so complicated and was shocked.
"Grandmother, that sister from the Cao family has a miserable life. She can't give birth to a son, so she can only rely on the illegitimate son to survive in the future. You must get closer to the illegitimate son so that you can have someone to rely on in the future."
A delicate and weak voice came from behind the donkey cart curtain.
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