Chapter 117 The Second Ending Jinjiang Official Version
"I was fooling around with the prince before, and he wanted to marry someone else, so I became a burden. Then, my childhood sweetheart, Ah Zhao, who I was engaged to, passed the imperial examination and was willing to marry me in grand style. But by then, the prince had ascended the throne and became the emperor. He refused to let me go and said he wanted me to be his queen."
"But, but Ah Zhao passed the imperial examination because he missed me and wanted to marry me. How could I possibly be separated from him?"
"So, I faked my own death, making the Emperor think I was dead, and then I secretly eloped with Qin Sizhao."
"You have no idea how much we've sacrificed to be together, yet you're trying to buy his life for five hundred taels of silver?"
County Magistrate Li's wife looked at Tao Jinrong with pity and guilt, and said:
"Madam, please don't be too sad. Let's settle Master Qin first."
She understood that Tao Jinrong was so shocked that he went crazy for a while and started talking nonsense.
When she lowered her head, she suddenly met a pair of eyes that looked like those of a ghost. Mrs. Li was so scared that she took two steps back and hid behind the servants.
She believed that Tao Jinrong would suddenly pounce on her, strangle her neck, tear off her skin, and then pour the scalding hot tea on her face.
The madwoman was the strongest and she was afraid of her.
"You guys, help her with the funeral arrangements first, and then send her back."
She stuffed a few pieces of silver into the servant's hand.
"Go quickly."
Tao Jinrong handled Qin Sizhao's funeral very calmly.
He didn't leave any instructions before he died, so she buried him in her family's ancestral tomb.
She squatted on the ground, burning paper for him and said:
"If you don't want to be buried here, please come to me in your dreams, A Zhao."
After burning the paper, she had to return to her empty home.
Dahei came over to greet her, wagging his tail. She touched the dog's hard head, thinking that it didn't know that Qin Sizhao would never come back.
After two days of confusion, she heard a hoarse cry at the door and someone banged on it.
"Master Qin! Master Qin, are you there?"
She pushed the door open and said coldly:
"Qin Sizhao is dead."
Standing at the door was a boy of about thirteen or fourteen years old. When he suddenly heard the bad news, he was instantly stunned and took two steps back.
"Then...then what should we do..."
Tao Jinrong had barely eaten anything in the past two days. His cheeks were thin, his eyes were red, and he looked a bit fierce. She scolded:
"You ask me, who should I ask? Who are you? What are you doing here?"
"I... my nickname is Hu Zi... my full name is Yu Si Wen. My mother helps Master Qin run the pharmacy, and I am her son. I remember you, you are Qin Si Zhao's wife."
"What are you doing here?"
Her face was sallow and she looked quite impatient.
The child started crying as he spoke.
"A group of soldiers and bandits came, stole all the money and medicine, and killed my mother... killed my mother."
Tao Jinrong looked very unhappy. He lowered his head and cursed, then reached out and grabbed the child's shoulders.
"It's not safe here. We have to run north quickly."
Hu Zi wiped his tears and begged:
"Sister-in-law, don't leave me. I know Master Qin has a store in the north. They all know me. I'll take you there. Let's hide there first."
"Good boy, keep your mouth shut and don't tell anyone that Qin Sizhao is dead."
She wiped his face with her handkerchief.
"Can you drive? There's a car parked at the back door. Let's go together."
Tao Jinrong resolutely packed up some of the silver bills and hid the rest in a dark room. He also took all the prescriptions and his jewelry, tied Dahei with an iron chain, and got on the car with the dog and the silver bills.
"Huzi, I'll give you a banknote. Put it in the sole of your shoe so no one else sees it."
He nodded and saw a slender hand holding a string of copper coins.
"This is for you. Sister-in-law loves you."
He stammered his thanks and took the string of copper coins with trembling hands.
Tao Jinrong, who hadn't eaten properly for a few days, forced himself to take a bite of the dry and hard bread, straightened his neck and swallowed the bread, saying:
"Let's go all the way north and see how far we can get."
"Sister-in-law, if we go further north we will be out of the city."
Two officers stopped them.
"Your Majesty is going to hold a beauty pageant here. You are only allowed to enter but not leave. Please go back."
Tao Jinrong suddenly felt a surge of anger and hatred in his heart.
Yes, Gu Shi wanted to hold a talent show in her hometown, but he ignored the rampant epidemic and turned a deaf ear to the coming of the enemy. She was the only one who had to live alone and endure it all.
And what about him? With just a single order, he squandered the money collected from every household and grandly organized a talent show. Did he care how many people died of illness or became homeless?
Either they are immoral, incompetent, or both.
She suppressed her anger and said in a trembling voice:
"Huzi, good boy, let's go to the store you mentioned first."
When she entered the grocery store and learned that the accountant was surnamed Zhao, a middle-aged woman who had been widowed for a long time, Tao Jinrong couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. He briefly explained the current situation to her and said:
"A Zhao was called away by County Magistrate Li's men, and he can't get away for a while."
She felt a lump in her throat and wished that this was the truth.
Aunt Zhao's voice was sharp and quick:
"We should be fine here, right? The audition is going to be held here, so there should be someone maintaining order."
"None of those officers and soldiers are good people. They extort money from people whenever they see them. We should be prepared for both scenarios."
There was an obvious personal grudge in Tao Jinrong's voice.
Aunt Zhao obviously didn't take it seriously. She just laughed and said:
"It's okay, it's okay. I'll clean it up for you. It's just a little crowded. It's great that there's room for you to live here. Finally, someone is here to help me. I have the title deed here with the official seal on it. This is the property of the Juren master, so there's no tax to pay."
Tao Jinrong stayed in the store with Hu Zi for the time being. She was in high spirits. Every time someone came to the store, she gritted her teeth and forced herself to smile and chat with others.
She learned that the disease was too virulent, with a high probability of death once contracted, and therefore did not spread widely. Even so, she still wrote out the prescription for free, but several customers waved their hands, claiming they were illiterate and clearly not taking it seriously.
If there were no major troubles, Tao Jinrong just wanted to save money. Once she saved enough, she could secretly hire someone to kill the woman who killed her husband.
No matter how much she has her own difficulties or how much she loves her son, it is her own business.
Since she chose to go against the will of heaven and save her son's life, she should exchange it with her own life. This is fair.
Tao Jinrong was determined to kill.
After a few days, officers and soldiers patrolled the streets every day, making up all kinds of excuses to make merchants pay money.
Even though Qin Sizhao was a juren, he couldn't avoid having some of his wealth taken away from him.
She had already found out that the ones who killed Hu Zi's mother were a group of rebellious bandits, who had been wiped out, and the ones causing the rebellion were a group of desperate remnants.
But the damage has already been done. Even if they are eventually wiped out, what can they do?
Her eyes grew tired and she could no longer cry, so she just sighed quietly.
She turned her head, looked at Hu Zi, and said:
"This grocery store is too messy. Young girls will definitely not like it. You should reduce the number of shelves by two rows, put away those ugly bamboo baskets and soap nuts, and arrange the remaining items more neatly."
Aunt Zhao said in a shrill voice:
"What about the customers who come to buy these?"
"They're all familiar faces anyway, so just give it to them. I used to live in the capital, and some sophisticated young ladies never go out to buy things. It's always the young maids at home who do the shopping. They're definitely not going to like it."
She picked up a soap that was said to have beauty-enhancing properties and used it for two days, enduring the pungent smell.
It's big, black, and has a bad smell. This thing itself has no effect. A square face can't be turned into a small mouse face after using it. It will definitely not sell.
She removed all the effective but smelly high-cost medicinal materials and replaced them with sweet-smelling dried osmanthus flowers. She also asked Hu Zi to make a small and exquisitely patterned mold. Finally, she added quartz powder that could make the skin shimmer with a beautiful layer. She was finally satisfied with her finished product.
Of course, it doesn't actually have any effect.
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