Chapter 565 A Dream of Youth 97
"Yin'er, you've suffered so much these years. I'll ask your father to arrange a good marriage for you. I'm saving up a dowry for you."
Deng Yin couldn't remember what her mother said after that. She only felt her heart growing heavier and heavier. She couldn't laugh. She felt an endless darkness engulfing her.
"Hey!"
When Deng's mother saw Deng Yin run out in one go, she couldn't help but laugh and scold her. She pulled Deng Yue'er, who wanted to chase after her, and said, "Yue'er, your sister is probably too excited. She's happy today, so I'll make you minced meat and egg custard for dinner."
"Okay! Yue'er loves it!"
At the entrance of the manor,
As Chen Wanniang and Xie Ning were about to board the carriage, Deng Yin ran over, breathless, and said, "Madam, I... can I ask you for a favor?"
"What's up?"
"I would like to sign another employment contract with you, to be your maid and serve you for ten years, is that alright?" Maid is also known as a servant.
Deng Yin knelt at Chen Wanniang's feet, her face filled with trepidation and fear. She didn't want to go back, but she couldn't think of any other way. If she became a slave, her father and mother would no longer be able to control her.
Chen Wanniang carried Xie Ning into the car. Seeing Deng Yin's behavior, she looked puzzled. "Deng Yin, you and your mother both signed three-year contracts. If you want to renew them later, you can just do so. Why are you suddenly..."
The contract Deng Yin wants to sign now is different from their previous contracts. They are still free women now, but if they sign a contract to sell themselves into slavery, they will be considered lowly.
“Madam…” Deng Yin lowered her head, her tears falling to the ground, mingling with the rain, yet unable to conceal her bitterness. “Please, Madam, save me.”
Chen Wanniang didn't know what had happened to Deng Yin, and said gently, "Get up first. There are still some accounts to settle in the shops in the city. Come back to the city with me."
Inside the carriage, Deng Yin's face was pale from being soaked in the rain, and she was shivering. Chen Wanniang handed her a cloak and a hand warmer. "Alright, there's no one else here, so tell me, what happened?"
"My mother has found my father..." Deng Yin sniffed and slowly recounted how she and her two daughters were sold and how they escaped with their lives. She had no feelings for her biological father at all; on the contrary, she hated him.
But the mother felt that the father had his reasons.
What could possibly drive him to sell his wife and daughter? Was it simply because he couldn't afford to board the ship?
Deng Yin didn't understand, and she didn't want to understand.
After hearing Deng Yin's story, Chen Wanniang fell silent, which was unusual for her. After a long while, she patted Deng Yin on the shoulder and said, "I can help you draft a fake contract, but if it's your own choice, your mother probably won't let you off easily."
Xie Ning handed over the tea that Qingli had heated, "What if Sister Deng Yin broke a family heirloom?"
In this way, not only can Deng Yin be successfully burdened with a fake debt, but she can also use this opportunity to see what her mother's heart is.
Deng Yin didn't think too much about it; she just thought the method was excellent. But she didn't want a fake indenture; she wanted a real one. She wanted to use this to break free from her parents' control and also to gain more of Chen Wanniang's trust.
Even if she were to break off her contract ten years later, it wouldn't be too late. She was only in her twenties, and she could start over. She could treat those ten years as a learning experience, and she didn't feel anything was wrong with it.
Because she knew the Xie family's character well, they wouldn't easily kill or mistreat their servants.
For some unknown reason, the carriage suddenly stopped.
"What's wrong?"
"Madam, there are soldiers arresting people ahead, we have to take a detour."
Xie Ning lifted the curtain and looked outside. He saw a scholar dressed in a white cross-collar robe with wide sleeves and a headscarf sitting on the ground reciting poetry. Several soldiers were pulling him away, and people were being dragged out of the restaurant next door one after another.
The rain has stopped, but the ground is still flooded. The scholar sitting on the ground is not afraid of the mud and water and is still laughing loudly.
Chen Wanniang sat down next to Xie Ning and lowered the carriage curtain. "Go home from the other street, Bao'er. If you ever encounter someone like this in the future, stay away from them."
Xie Ning nodded. These people who slandered and ridiculed the new law would naturally be punished if they were caught. Recently, there have been many more soldiers patrolling the streets.
Upon returning home, he was informed that Xie Wangzhi had received a new appointment and would be going on a business trip with him.
“A flood occurred in Zhejiang and Jiangsu. The imperial court allocated 100,000 shi of grain to relieve the victims. I had made some suggestions on this matter when I was in Quanzhou, so I was included in the list of officials who went to provide disaster relief.”
Xie Wangzhi held Chen Wanniang's hand and explained in detail that if the disaster relief work went smoothly, he should be able to get a promotion when he returned.
"Don't worry, I'll take good care of things at home."
No one expected that Xie Wangzhi's departure would last for more than a year.
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