Liang Lao Er's wife took a sip of water and continued, "What kind of job is it to work in a brothel? They don't even blink when they start beating people. If they use too much force, they can kill someone. My aunt had connections with the Jin family and was bought from a brothel by my father. She said that she once saw a girl she was close to being beaten until she bled from all seven orifices and died because she refused to be sold into prostitution."
Mentioning being beaten to death, Sun Miao'er thought of the day she woke up. Wasn't the original owner beaten to death by Jin Shi with a stick? It turns out that the skill of beating people was passed down from father to daughter.
"No wonder Grandma said that my grandfather didn't approve of this marriage when he was alive." Sun Miao'er recalled Jin Shi's face, a beautiful exterior hiding a rotten and foul heart.
Aunt Liang suddenly remembered something, "Oh right, your mother..." Before she could finish speaking, she realized she had said the wrong thing and quickly stopped talking.
Sun Miao'er knew she didn't mean it. She was quite interested in the Sun family's past, and with a "I'll get to the bottom of this" attitude, she pressed on, "It's nothing, Aunt Liang, what's wrong with my mother?"
“Your mother is also from Dahuai Village. That’s when I remembered that the person who was supposed to be given to your second uncle was Song Shi, not your aunt. I just don’t know why it didn’t work out later.” Seeing that Sun Miao’er didn’t mind her missing mother, Liang Shenzi spoke up as soon as he thought of something.
The original owner's memories of the Song family were fragmented, partly because the original owner was young at the time, and partly because the original owner had suffered a brain injury at the hands of the Jin family, making many of her childhood memories blurry.
All I can remember is that the original owner's mother, Madam Song, was a stubborn and resilient person, introverted and quiet. My younger brother, Xiao Ning, was a carbon copy of Madam Song in both personality and appearance.
As for Song's maternal family, Sun Miao'er had no memory of them. Even on the day Sun Yuanyong died in the mountains, Song held back her tears and tried her best to comfort the two children and properly handle Sun Yuanyong's funeral arrangements.
How could she suddenly become so despondent and go mad? Sun Miao'er had never thought about these things before, but after hearing Aunt Liang talk about what happened back then, she felt something was amiss. Could this also be the work of Jin Shi?
Perhaps her own mother wasn't insane, but was buried by someone hired by the Jin family... Sun Miao'er didn't dare to think about it any further. This matter needed to be investigated carefully. Most importantly, she needed to find out what exactly happened back then from her grandmother. Old Mrs. Sun should be the one who knew the inside story the most.
After seeing Aunt Liang off, Sun Miao'er went to Grandma Sun's house.
"Grandma, are you still coughing these past few days?" Sun Miao'er asked with concern.
When Grandma Sun woke up in the morning, she felt for ten copper coins under her pillow and knew that her granddaughter had secretly put them there. Just as she was thinking of returning them to her, her granddaughter came to find her. "Grandma is much better. Miao'er, what was your aunt arguing with you about outside just now?"
"It's nothing, it's nothing." Sun Miao'er sat down by the bed and took Grandma Sun's hand. "Grandma, it's all alright, I can handle it. Aunt Liang came over just now, and I heard some old stories. I wanted to ask you about them!"
"Oh dear, Grandma is so old, if you have any questions for me, I'll definitely tell you everything!" Grandma Sun loved her granddaughter with all her heart. Although she was a girl, she felt that her granddaughter was no less than any other boy!
“It’s about my mother,” Sun Miao’er slowly uttered.
Grandma Sun's kind smile froze instantly. Song was a thorn in the Sun family's side, and mentioning her caused Grandma Sun's heart to ache. "Your mother, what have you heard?"
As Grandma Sun pressed for answers, Sun Miao'er knew that Aunt Liang was definitely not lying to her; there was something fishy going on!
“I heard that my mother originally intended for my second uncle, but he later married my aunt…” Sun Miao’er lowered her voice, glancing at Old Mrs. Sun’s face, which was not pleasant.
Once old stories are brought up, a person's thoughts flow out like a floodgate opening.
Grandma Sun nervously fiddled with the wooden edge of her cane, not expecting that her granddaughter would eventually find out. She couldn't hide it anymore. She sighed and said, "Yes, your mother and your aunt are both from Dahuai Village. Your maternal grandfather was a student who almost passed the imperial examination. When your grandfather was still alive, our family was considered a good match. We also had an old friendship, so we decided to arrange a marriage between our two families. Both families thought it was a good thing."
“But our Sun family has two sons. Your father has had a stutter since he was a child, and he doesn’t speak very well. The Song family took a liking to your second uncle at first sight. He’s eloquent and his grandfather also favors his younger son. So this marriage was arranged. The matchmaker and betrothal gifts were sent over, and the date was set. Suddenly, the Jin family came knocking on our door.” The guilt in Old Mrs. Sun’s eyes was mostly for her granddaughter and the Song family.
Grandma Sun breathed a sigh of relief as she said this. She explained that keeping things to herself made it easier to sleep, and that it was much more comforting to say it out loud. "She said her daughter, your aunt, is pregnant, and the child is your second uncle's!"
"Huh?" Sun Miao'er thought to herself, this is really dramatic. It seems that Madam Jin is quite resourceful. She used such methods to get married into the family.
Grandma Sun gradually calmed down, and the fig leaf of the Sun family was finally torn off. "What kind of mess is this? Your grandfather and I never expected your second uncle to pull something like this on us!"
“The Jin family is not someone to be trifled with. They came to Fushui Village to cause trouble, and after that, they went to the Song family to cause trouble. When the Song family heard this, they refused to give in and insisted that we give them an explanation.”
Sun Miao'er retorted, "So the family switched this marriage arrangement and put it on my father's head?"
Grandma Sun sighed with regret, "We have no other choice but to do this! The Sun family and the Song family have been made a mess of by that Jin family. We're not a wealthy family, how can we keep a concubine in our family! That Jin family says our daughter has lost her chastity and is threatening to kill herself at home. The Song family refuses to break off the engagement, saying that if they do, he will have no face left in the village and how will he teach his students in the future?"
Sun Miao'er finally understood. So, all they wanted was for the Sun family to clean up the mess?
"In the end, our family gave another betrothal gift to the Song family, so your father went to the Song family and your second uncle married the Jin family. Only then did things calm down." Old Mrs. Sun felt guilty towards the Song family. She had not disciplined her son well, which almost ruined the Song family's reputation. She also hated herself for letting a woman like the Jin family into the family back then.
"Back then, our family visited Dahuai Village and found out that the Jin family did all sorts of shady jobs. Your grandfather was so angry that he fell ill and was bedridden. The marriage was done against his will, sigh!"
Sun Miao'er was at a loss for words. If the Sun family had been more decisive back then, they wouldn't have ended up in such a miserable state. If Old Man Sun had raised his son properly, without favoritism or spoiling, he wouldn't have raised a son like Sun Yuanhu.
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