Jiayin, standing outside the crowd, had already guessed most of it. At this moment, she went in and took her grandmother's arm.
Tao Hongying turned her head and saw this, raised her hand to tidy up the stray hairs at her daughter's temples, and turned to the side to block the cold wind.
Jiayin didn't speak; if it was a matter concerning the village, she would naturally handle it herself.
But these people were military dependents from the second village, and their adoptive father had to intervene.
Soon, the Marquis emerged from the courtyard, wearing a dark cloak.
His gaze swept indifferently over the elderly, weak, women and children kneeling in front of the door, then he turned to Grandma Li and said, "Auntie, I'm sorry to have troubled you."
“This is no trouble at all,” Old Mrs. Li shook her head, recalling her own conviction years ago when she was widowed with her child, and then whispered her advice: “Without a man, they will definitely have a hard time living in the future. If you can help them, then help them as much as you can.”
The Marquis nodded, and then said to the two families, "Zhao Tietou and Qi Dalu died in battle; it is an honor to sacrifice themselves for the country."
"Three days later, the ten taels of pension from the imperial court will be issued, and I will add another ten taels."
"In addition, each of your two families' children will receive 20 catties of grain and 500 coins per month from the Marquis's mansion."
"It can be considered that I raised them on behalf of their father until they turned fifteen."
Everyone was happy for the two families. With twenty taels of silver as a foundation, they could live in a house in the village, have jobs in the workshop, and their children would receive food and money every month. Their future was sure to be bright.
"That's wonderful!"
"Yes, Your Excellency is truly virtuous."
The two families were overjoyed and cried even harder.
The old woman and the children crawled forward on their knees, kowtowing repeatedly to the Marquis.
Worried that he would delay the lord from going out to take care of his business, the village chief quickly told the villagers to send the two families back to the second village.
After all, the ashes of two men still haven't been laid to rest, so even if the funeral is simple, some preparations still need to be made...
Unexpectedly, at this moment, Qi Dalu's wife suddenly asked, "My lord, if I take the child back to my parents' home... will the child's food and provisions be cut off?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the area in front of the courtyard gate immediately fell silent.
The village chief and Uncle Zhao looked grim. They were shrewd and experienced; while others might not have caught the unspoken meaning in their words, they understood perfectly.
This woman isn't going back to her parents' home; she's preparing to remarry!
The bodies of the men who died in battle are barely cold; how could she possibly have such a plan?!
Old Lady Li had guessed as well. Fearing that the Marquis might not understand, she immediately took over the conversation, "Da Lu's wife, if you want to go back to your parents' home, you can go back by yourself, but the children should stay in the village to study and grow up."
"Besides, if they go with you, who will send them money and food all the way over a thousand miles?"
"Madam, don't we have caravans in our village? And the master also has a fleet of ships..." Qi Dalu's wife was a little anxious, but when she saw Old Madam Li's dark face halfway through her sentence, she swallowed her words awkwardly.
Grandma Li glanced at the two children of the Qi family, a boy of eight or nine years old and a girl of five or six years old, both of whom were too young to understand anything.
Suddenly losing her father, and now stuck with such an unreliable mother...
She directly exposed Da Lu's wife's thoughts, saying coldly, "Da Lu's wife, let's not beat around the bush. You're still young, and if you're planning to go back to your parents' home, you must be thinking of remarrying."
"But if you bring two children with you, they will be disliked no matter whose house you go to."
"Perhaps in the end, the money their own father risked his life to earn will benefit outsiders, and they will have to pay for the outsiders every month, while they themselves will suffer from hunger and cold, and even be beaten and humiliated..."
Da Lu's wife blushed with embarrassment and quickly looked at the Marquis, wanting to say a few more words in her defense.
Old Madam Li waved her hand, "You don't need to look at the Marquis, I've made the decision. If you want to remarry, no one will stop you; if you want to leave, you can leave anytime!"
"But the two children cannot go with you. They have enough money and food to survive and grow up. As for them, if they want to come to you after they grow up, we will not stop them!"
By now, everyone in the village understood.
They had initially sympathized with Dalu's wife for losing her husband, but immediately turned to contempt.
"That's incredibly cruel of her! The man hasn't even been buried yet, and she's already thinking about remarrying!"
"Exactly, if you want to remarry, you should consider the children more!"
"Forget it, she's just planning to run off with the man's hard-earned money, and she's also eyeing the child's finances!"
Qi Dalu's wife shrank back and waved her hands frantically, trying to say it was all a misunderstanding.
But who would listen to that!
The Marquis's expression was equally grim. He asked the two children of the Qi family, "If your mother remarries, will you go with her or stay in Broken Gold Beach?"
The young man from the Qi family grabbed his sister's hand, wiped away his tears, and said loudly, "My lord, when my father went to war, he told me to study hard and learn skills in the future."
"They even arranged for my younger sister to marry someone from Suijintan when she grew up, saying that life there was good and the people were kind."
"My sister and I won't leave; we'll stay here. When I grow up, I'll definitely repay the Marquis's kindness!"
"Good lad!" Before the lord could speak again, the villagers cheered and praised him.
"Yes, no one will bully you here. You will have food and drink to grow up, and you will not be afraid of being bullied by others."
"That's right, if you go with your mother and marry into another family, you're handing your lives over to them!"
The Marquis nodded, "If you don't want to leave, then no one can take you away!"
The Qi family's son and sister knelt down and kowtowed. Qi Dalu's wife glared at them fiercely, but also lowered her head and dared not speak.
Upon seeing this, Jiayin said, "Godfather, the medicine for your injuries is ready. You should set off now and don't worry about home."
Grandma Li also said, "Yes, these are all small matters at home, and everyone helps out."
The Marquis then mounted his horse, led his personal guards, and headed to the dockside military camp.
There are still more than a thousand wounded soldiers waiting for treatment with special medicine powder, and even more ashes of fallen soldiers have not been disposed of...
Seeing that the Marquis had gone far away, the Zhao and Qi families also returned to the Second Village.
Grandma Li then discussed with the village chief and others, "Pay close attention to this Qi family daughter-in-law recently. She probably already has her next husband in mind, otherwise she wouldn't be in such a hurry."
"Be careful she doesn't run off with the money and harm the two children as well."
The village chief nodded and sighed, "Those two children from the Qi family are so pitiful."
Jiayin, worried that the old lady would be anxious, said, "Grandma, Grandpa Village Chief, don't worry. In my opinion, the two children are actually blessed."
“If they don’t come from their hometown, they’re really like fish on a chopping board, at the mercy of their mothers.”
Everyone thought it made sense, and after exchanging a few more casual words, they dispersed...
Soon, the mourning tents for the Qi and Zhao families were set up, and mourning banners were placed in front of the doors.
The veterans and their families in the second village felt deeply for the situation and did their best to help.
Even though they had heard that Qi Dalu's wife was not a good person, they didn't say a word about it in front of Qi Dalu's coffin.
Qi Dalu's wife felt wronged, whether out of a guilty conscience or because she felt she had been bullied.
In short, she cried her heart out; anyone who didn't know better would have thought they had a wonderful relationship...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com