Yu Zizhen hugged Xinghua tightly and refused to let go. "Xinghua is very smart and listens to me. She won't cause me any trouble."
Mr. Jiang had a headache. A fool, and his own son actually called him clever...
Yu Zizhen continued, "I know Mr. Jiang doesn't trust me. He thinks I'm just a child and that my words and actions are unreliable. But are you adults really more trustworthy and reliable than us children? Xinghua has always obeyed my words, and she will prove to you with her actions that she really won't cause me any trouble. But what about you adults? What have you done to me?"
Mr. Jiang: ...It's heartbreaking. For Yu Zizhen, a child abandoned by his biological parents and sent to the capital, where he was subjected to various forms of abuse by the accompanying maids, the very concept of "adults" was nothing short of untrustworthy and unreliable.
Although he started paying attention to Yu Zizhen after she was named the Prince of Zhenbei, a series of events that happened in this short period of time made Mr. Jiang realize that Yu Zizhen was actually a very smart child.
How could a child like this not see that he was a shield pushed forward by his parents to protect his younger brother?
From a big picture perspective, the decision made by the Zhenbei King and his wife may not be wrong, but from the child's perspective, how could she not feel disappointed and disheartened with her parents?
In addition, Nanny Hong, who was ordered by her mother to be her housekeeper, used the title of Princess of Zhenbei to torment her to the extreme, causing her old illness to relapse on the first night of her departure.
After she went through this life-and-death experience, how much blood relationship with her parents could she still maintain?
Considering the terrible consequences of angering Yu Zizhen and letting her make a fuss without any care, Mr. Jiang compromised.
He made an agreement with Yu Zizhen that if Xinghua could really avoid causing trouble for Yu Zizhen, he would allow Yu Zizhen to keep Xinghua by his side to serve him.
On the other hand, if Xinghua couldn't, he would help Yu Zizhen find a place to properly settle Xinghua so that she could live an ordinary but safe life.
Yu Zizhen agreed. Xinghua would definitely not hold her back anyway, so there was no need to mention Mr. Jiang's so-called "reverse".
She looked at Madam Zhang and Liu Ping'an, "Who are these two?"
Mr. Jiang then remembered that he had brought two servants to serve Yu Zizhen. "These are Madam Zhang and Liu Ping'an. I bought them temporarily to serve the prince."
Yu Zizhen rubbed her hands under the quilt and made a "yeah" gesture. She looked at Mr. Jiang and said, "Give me the indenture."
Mr. Jiang knew that she wanted to keep the mother and daughter in her own hands instead of letting them become the eyes and ears and hands of others.
He followed his instructions and placed the indentures of Madam Zhang and Liu Ping'an on the table. "Then, my lord, please have a good rest. If you need any help from me later, please have someone call me over."
Yu Zizhen nodded, "Thank you for your hard work, sir."
After Mr. Jiang left, Yu Zizhen looked at the uneasy Madam Zhang and Liu Ping'an, "Can you tell me why you chose to sell yourselves?"
In terms of food, clothing, housing and transportation, the slaves of wealthy families did have a better life than ordinary people outside, but at the same time, they also had to lose their civilian status.
Yu Zizhen believed that the vast majority of people in this world, if given a choice, would not be willing to let themselves and their descendants go from being good people to being slaves.
"My Lord, I can no longer live. My husband died on the battlefield, and my daughter and I were driven out by our in-laws..."
She spoke incoherently about her predicament. Perhaps because Yu Zizhen had always been gentle, Madam Zhang lost control and told Yu Zizhen all the past events of her family.
According to her, her husband, Liu Qingshan, was the second child in the family and had never been as favored by his parents as his older brothers. When the village allocated conscription quotas, the Liu family elders, despite the fact that he had just married and his wife was pregnant, forced his name to be accepted.
Madam Zhang prayed day and night for her husband's safe return, and even named her newborn child "Ping'an". However, when Liu Ping'an was more than three years old, news of Liu Qingshan's death still came from the border.
Part of Liu Qingshan's pension was withheld by the government, and part was divided up by the Liu family. Madam Zhang and her daughter were directly kicked out of the house by the two elders of the Liu family.
With nowhere to go, Mrs. Zhang took her daughter back to her parents' home, but her parents could only provide them with a place to stay, and Mrs. Zhang had to find a way to provide food for the mother and daughter herself.
Fortunately, the postmaster of this post station and Liu Qingshan are good brothers who grew up in the same village. Although it is inappropriate for him to interfere in the affairs of the Liu family, he arranged for Madam Zhang to work in the kitchen of the post station to do rough work for the sake of Liu Qingshan.
The job paid very little, but the woman could live with her children. With him looking after her, Mrs. Zhang and her daughter could at least have enough to eat every day and would not be bullied.
The postmaster had good intentions, but Zhang Niangzi's new sister-in-law was a naive and unruly person. She had her eyes on Zhang Niangzi's job and wanted to steal it for herself so that Zhang Niangzi could go home and work in the fields instead of her.
Mrs. Zhang disagreed. She couldn't rely on her parents and brother at all, and she was still hoping to use this job to earn some money for herself and her daughter.
Her sister-in-law's plan failed, and she was so angry that she started spreading rumors that Madam Zhang was having an affair with the postmaster.
The postmaster's own wife worked as a cook at the post station. She knew that there was nothing going on between her husband and Madam Zhang, and the two of them even kept their distance. Even when it came to helping Madam Zhang, the postmaster only gave suggestions, and then his own wife took care of it.
But what's the point of knowing just these people at the post station? Madam Zhang's sister-in-law didn't come to the post station to disparage Madam Zhang.
She spread rumors everywhere in the village, causing Madam Zhang to be pointed at by people who did not know the truth.
There were several times when she went back to her parents' home during the holidays, and there were even some unscrupulous men who tried to take advantage of her.
Mrs. Zhang was overwhelmed by this, and her in-laws also came and wanted to use the power of the rumors to snatch away her daughter and the money she had saved over the years.
Their plans were going smoothly, and they were thinking of getting money from Madam Zhang first, and then selling Liu Ping'an for a betrothal gift.
Madam Zhang had long seen through the Liu family and naturally would not let them take her daughter away.
But as long as she didn't agree, her relatives from her mother's side and her husband's side would not let her live a peaceful life.
They were making a lot of noise, and even if the postmaster didn't do anything, their behavior would undoubtedly affect the normal operation of the post station. Even if he did do something, those people would just try their best to throw dirty water on him.
He was afraid that his reputation would be ruined, which would affect his personal future and his children's marriage, so he recommended the mother and daughter to Mr. Jiang, who happened to be looking to buy someone.
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