Chapter 213 Return of the Contract
The child nodded slightly. "She said she would sell me far away, making me a slave for the rest of my life, to be driven and beaten by others."
Xie Wanniang sighed again, "So what do you plan to do next? Should I take you to report to the authorities, or should I try to contact your mother for you?"
If this were an innocent and naive child, she wouldn't use the tone and manner of speaking to an adult to communicate with the other person on an equal footing. But this child is clearly precocious and understands everything. Therefore, it would be inappropriate for Xie Wanniang to continue treating the other person like a child.
"Please help me contact my mother." The child bowed deeply and revealed his true purpose in telling Xie Wanniang about his past experiences.
Although his two uncles didn't have a father who lived a long life to lay a foundation for them, they have made their own achievements over the years. Although they still can't compete with his scumbag father now, they might be able to in ten or eight years.
Most importantly, he himself was not a mediocre or incompetent person who could only rely on the protection of others. He was intelligent to begin with, and after his parents' divorce, he forced himself to grow up quickly in order to survive.
While his half-brother, who was only half a year younger than him, was still throwing tantrums and begging for cakes, candies, clothes, and toys, he had already shown a rare talent for studying.
As a result, his stepmother regarded him even more as a thorn in her side, someone she wanted to get rid of as soon as possible.
When she was still a mistress, no matter how much she disliked this child, she could only endure it because she couldn't find an opportunity to harm him, letting her jealousy and hatred erode her reason.
But after she became the child's rightful stepmother, it became much easier for her to harm the child.
She had endured the humiliation for less than a year before she was no longer satisfied with just beating and mistreating the child in secret. Instead, she couldn't wait to find an opportunity to have her trusted servants send him away far away.
At that time, the child already showed signs of illness. After all, he had been lacking food and clothing for nearly a year, and his body was covered with new and old injuries.
For a child who is not yet eight years old, this year of tragic experiences not only took a toll on his body, but also left indelible scars on his heart.
Xie Wanniang thought that he must have asked his scumbag father for help before, right? The reason why he never had any expectations of his scumbag father again was probably because his scumbag father never gave him any protection from beginning to end.
He unconditionally stood by his new wife, and he didn't care how much his son from his previous marriage was mistreated by his current wife.
Patting the child's head, Xie Wanniang asked him in a gentle tone, "How is your mother's situation now? Does she have enough assets to support you and your sister?"
The child looked up at her. "Yes. She has a dowry, and my uncle and aunt are very good to her and my sister."
Although his maternal grandparents' family fell into decline due to the sudden outbreak of war, this "decline" was relative to their former glory and prominence. In fact, although they returned to their hometown to escape the war, they still managed to retain some of their wealth.
To prevent his mother from being ridiculed or mistreated by her in-laws and husband after her marriage, his uncle gave half of his family fortune to his mother to prepare her dowry.
After she was divorced, she took most of those things back to her parents' home.
His scumbag father had tried to use him as leverage to force his mother to keep her dowry, but his uncles firmly refused.
It wasn't that they didn't care about their nephew; they just knew very well that even if his mother left these things at his ex-husband's house, the poor little guy would definitely not benefit from them.
Rather than handing over such a large sum of money to their heartless ex-brother-in-law, letting him use their family's money to support his mistress and illegitimate child, they might as well shamelessly visit every now and then and show that scumbag couple that they still care about their nephew.
Unfortunately, they underestimated the audacity of the despicable couple. After taking their sister and niece away, the couple not only brazenly got married, but also separated them from the child.
Every time they visited, the two brothers couldn't even see their nephew. They couldn't even enter their former brother-in-law's yard; the gatekeeper would jeer and drive them away.
If the child hadn't overheard the servants' private conversations, he wouldn't have known that even though his uncles were constantly turned away and humiliated by the doormen, they still persisted in visiting regularly.
They tried to see him, to deliver messages and things to him, but all their attempts failed. However, the boy still gained some support and courage from their actions.
This is why, as precocious as he was, the first thing he thought of after escaping was to go to his mother, rather than being held back by doubts about whether his mother and uncles would treat him the same way his father would.
He told Xie Wanniang, "My uncle and my mother were both very good to me. They originally planned to take me with them when they left. Even though those two forcibly separated me from them, they have been trying to reconnect with me."
Xie Wanniang nodded to indicate that she understood. "Alright, then once you've fully recovered, I'll send someone to take you to your mother."
She instructed Haitang, "Bring me the child's indenture."
Haitang agreed and went into Xie Wanniang's bedroom. A short while later, she brought out the child's indenture from the inner room.
Xie Wanniang handed him the indenture, saying, "Keep this safe. With this, when you see your mother and uncle, you can ask them to help you get rid of your indenture."
Although the laws of the time clearly stipulated the source of servants, the child's stepmother was also powerful and influential. If her lackeys wanted to find a loophole to share their master's burdens, Xie Wanniang believed that there would be plenty of people, whether willingly or unwillingly, doing things that violated the law for the other party.
Otherwise, this child wouldn't have been sold to a place like Yi County as a slave.
"Thank you." The child accepted the indenture and bowed deeply to Xie Wan Niang once again. "I will never forget your great kindness. If you ever need my help in the future, I will do my best."
The child was short, clearly not growing taller since his father divorced his mother. In fact, due to being neglected by the servants and mistreated by his stepmother, his original chubby and adorable appearance had completely disappeared. However, the elegance and demeanor in his speech and behavior still revealed his extraordinary qualities.
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