Chapter 386 This is your second aunt
Cheng Yuanyuan is thirty-seven years old this year, only three years older than Cheng Wanwan, but she looks ten years older.
Her hair was dry and dull, her face was wrinkled even without expression, and there were bruises on her neck and scars on her arms... This was a woman who had weathered many storms.
Cheng Wanwan sighed almost imperceptibly.
Upon arriving in this era, the first thing she did was to fall out with the Cheng family, and she automatically blocked out all people and things related to the Cheng family from her mind.
If she hadn't seen Cheng Yuanyuan today, she would never have remembered this older sister of the original owner of this body.
"Wanwan, I'm fine." Cheng Yuanyuan's eyes were full of gentle smiles. "Half a year ago, I heard you became the Lady of Sui, and I was happy for you every day... But you know what kind of person your brother-in-law is. I didn't dare tell him, afraid he would cling to you. I didn't expect him to find out anyway. Wanwan, don't pay attention to him. You can't give a guy like him face..."
“Since you know what kind of person Liu Kui is, why don’t you get a divorce?” Cheng Wanwan said softly. “You have both new and old wounds on your body. He must have hit you a lot. And Sanmao is only ten years old. He hits her so hard. And this is in the Cheng family. I can’t even imagine how violent he will be when he goes back to the Liu family.”
"Divorce?" Cheng Yuanyuan shook her head violently. "I've never heard of anyone getting divorced in the surrounding area. Besides, Liu Kui and I have five children. What will happen to them after the divorce? Also, with my mother's personality, she won't allow me to go back to my parents' home after the divorce, and she certainly won't allow me to bring shame to the Cheng family... This is how my life is going to be, and that's fine too."
Cheng Wanwan remained silent.
In ancient times, divorce was indeed a grave offense, and it was impossible for the eldest sister to agree to it so readily.
This matter can only be addressed gradually.
However, since she hit Liu Kui in public today, Liu Kui will definitely take his anger out on her older sister when they return to the Liu family.
She pondered silently, saying nothing more.
The Cheng family's banquet ended quickly, and the villagers helped clean up. Cheng Wanwan then prepared to head home.
"Zhao'er, you don't need to see me off." She said with a smile, "After you finish what you've been doing at home, you should go to your studies."
After passing the imperial examination and becoming a Xiucai (a scholar who passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations), one becomes a regular student at the official school in Huzhou. As the top student, one is exempt from room and board and receives an extra subsidy every month. This journey takes at least six months.
Zhao Sidan said with a grin, "Big cousin, I'll come to Huzhou to see you then."
He had never been to Huzhou before and was eager to see the world.
Cheng Zhao patted his head: "Study hard and try to have the opportunity to go to Huzhou to participate in the prefectural examination next year."
"Of course!" Zhao Sidan puffed out his chest. "If Brother Yu passed the exam, I'll definitely pass it too. It's just a matter of time."
"Alright, alright." Cheng Wanwan shook her head with a laugh. "It's getting late. Get in the car and let's go home."
She turned around and walked out of the courtyard. Wei Xiaohai had already driven the carriage over, and there were quite a few people watching.
This is the first horse-drawn carriage in Dahe Village, and also the first horse-drawn carriage in the surrounding area. From the moment the carriage appeared here, people would pass by, their eyes practically glued to the horse.
As soon as Cheng Wanwan passed by, the crowd immediately scattered, afraid of being laughed at.
Only Liu Kui remained standing by the carriage. He stroked the horse's back and clicked his tongue, saying, "What a fine horse! Wanwan, this carriage must have cost a lot of money."
Cheng Yuanyuan frowned: "Why are you asking about these things? Hurry back and you can get some work done before the sun goes down."
"What are you babbling about, you old hag!" Liu Kui glared at Cheng Yuanyuan, then turned to Cheng Wanwan with a big smile on his face. "Wanwan, look how big this carriage is. How about giving your brother-in-law a ride? He lives in Liu Family Village in Baiyun Town, which is quite far. It takes two hours to get there, and it'll be almost dark by the time he gets back. Could you give him a ride on your way?"
He was worried that Cheng Wanwan wouldn't agree, after all, the two of them had just had such a big fight.
To his surprise, Cheng Wanwan nodded directly: "Although it's not on the way, it's no problem to give you a ride. Sister, please bring Sanmao and get on. Brother-in-law, you sit outside."
"Great!" Liu Kui was overjoyed. "I knew Wanwan didn't look down on her brother-in-law. Well done!"
Cheng Yuanyuan was about to dissuade her.
Cheng Wanwan grabbed his wrist and said, "Big sister, let's go, get in the car."
She sat in the carriage with Cheng Yuanyuan, and the two children, Sidan and Sanmao. The four of them weren't crowded at all.
“Wanwan…” Cheng Yuanyuan sighed, “Didn’t I tell you to ignore him? He’s the kind of person who takes advantage of anyone who gives him a break. He’s shameless and no one in the village respects him. Why did you…”
"Big sister," Cheng Wanwan interrupted her, "I want to see what kind of life you're living. Even if he doesn't mention it, I'll still go to Liujia Village."
"Second Aunt, my mother is having a very hard time." Sanmao suddenly spoke up. "My father likes to drink, and he gets drunk every few days. When he's drunk, he beats people, and every time he beats my mother until she's covered in bruises... Ugh!"
Cheng Yuanyuan covered his mouth: "Don't listen to the child's nonsense. I'm doing very well. A woman's life is just about men, children, and the kitchen. It's fine."
Cheng Wanwan didn't say anything more. Her older sister was stubborn and couldn't be persuaded. She would wait until they got to the Liu family to talk about it.
The carriage sped along and soon arrived at Baiyun Town. It entered the village via the official road and gradually arrived at Liujia Village.
It was springtime, and the villagers of Liujia Village were busy with farming. Farmers were working in the fields when a horse-drawn cart drove in. Many people stopped what they were doing and looked up to watch the spectacle.
Sitting outside the carriage, Liu Kui couldn't help but boast, "Do you know who this is? She's my sister-in-law, Lady Sui, a seventh-rank official in the imperial court. You've all heard of Lady Sui, right? She's an incredibly important person, hehe. Lady Sui calls me 'brother-in-law' and personally escorted me back. You all go away, don't crowd around here..."
The carriage weaved through the crowd and arrived at the entrance of the Liu family's courtyard.
A mud-brick house with four rooms and a mud courtyard. There were people in the courtyard: a woman with a child and two men in their early twenties sitting and resting.
Cheng Wanwan got out of the car and subtly observed the people in the courtyard.
The eldest sister had five children: three sons and two daughters. The two eldest sons were already married and had children, while the two daughters were thirteen or fourteen years old and still unmarried. The youngest son was Sanmao. The whole family lived in this small courtyard.
"Don't you all know how to greet people?" Liu Kui snorted. "This is Madam Sui, quickly call her Second Aunt!"
Cheng Wanwan searched through the original owner's memories but couldn't find any trace of the children. After her eldest sister got married and had children, she often returned to the Cheng family, but it seemed that she never brought her children back. So even if the original owner came, she probably wouldn't recognize these nephews and nieces.
"Second Aunt."
Several children came over and called out to them.
Cheng Wanwan noticed that the family was very poor. Apart from the three guests who were visiting today, who were dressed relatively cleanly, everyone else was dressed in tattered clothes with patches everywhere. The two little girls, in particular, looked like they were wearing burlap sacks. Not only were the clothes tattered, but they were also very dirty, making them look like beggars on the street.
She was observing quietly when suddenly a wail came from the side.
Liu Kui fell right into a puddle, his clean clothes instantly soaked in mud. He jumped out of the puddle and immediately cursed, "Damn it! Which bastard dug this hole here?!"
Liu Daya shrank her neck and said, "Didn't Dad say yesterday that he was going to dig a hole in the yard to raise ducks...?"
Last year's locust plague left the villagers shaken. Someone suggested raising ducks to ward off locusts, so this year every household raised ducks. Since there was no pond at home, she dug a small pit in the yard… She thought she wouldn't get a beating today, but her father actually fell into the pit…
Thinking of this, Liu Daya closed her eyes and curled up into a ball.
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