Chapter 10 Choose a loyal maid for yourself!
Lanes and alleys.
Lu Zhaoruo found Dong Rou's low-roofed courtyard. The courtyard walls were mottled and the door was half-rotten. She could faintly hear the sound of slapping coming from inside.
Back then, when Lu's father bought Dongrou, he paid two taels of silver as payment for her body. After Dongrou returned home, Lu Zhaoruo did not ask for this payment.
However, not long after Dongrou returned home, her elder brother was about to get married and urgently needed money, so her heartless parents sold her to a wealthy man as a concubine.
The head of this household is about forty years old. Although he has a legal wife, he has taken ten concubines and still has no children.
Those concubines all died one after another from illness, but anyone with discerning eyes could tell that there was probably something else going on behind their deaths.
When Lu Zhaoruo found Dong Rou again, she was lying on a damp pile of straw, her thin body twisted unnaturally.
The coarse linen shirt he wore had been ripped to shreds by the whip, and not a single patch of the exposed flesh was intact. New wounds were layered on top of old ones, and some of the wounds had already festered...
"My wife..."
Dongrou called out softly, her voice barely a whisper, and pulled a faded sachet from her bosom, saying, "This is what I've saved up; I can't take it with me when I die... My mistress treats me better than my parents and brothers at home..."
The sachet was opened, and three pieces of silver shards stained with blood and a gleaming silver magnolia hairpin rolled out.
The sachet was embroidered by Lu Zhaoruo herself and given to her, while the hairpin was picked out of her own makeup box as a gift.
Lu Zhaoruo felt a pang of bitterness as she recalled the events of the Shen family. Her parents-in-law, whom she served with all her heart, and her husband, whom she loved with all her heart, were ultimately not as good as this little maid.
Therefore, she wants to keep her by her side in this life!
Based on the timeline, this was precisely when Dongrou's parents were discussing selling her.
Lu Zhaoruo pushed open the door and entered, seeing Dong Rou huddled in the corner with the lingering handprint on her face. When she saw Lu Zhaoruo come in, her eyes lit up for a moment, then she quickly lowered her head again.
Lu Zhaoruo took out five taels of silver, wanting to buy Dong Rou's bone fracture contract.
Chen glanced sideways at the few pieces of silver, a sneer on her lips: "You dare to try and buy people with just this little bit of silver?"
She said smugly, "Master Niu has long admired my Ah San because of her good looks and wanted to make her his concubine! He gave her a full ten taels of silver!"
As she spoke, she walked over and grabbed Dong Rou's hand, which was covered in chilblains, and pretended to wipe away her tears, saying, "Of course, your mother has to stand up for Ah San. It's better to enjoy a good life with Master Niu than to go to your house and be a slave!"
"Enjoying life?"
Lu Zhaoruo's lips curled up slightly, a cold glint flashing in her eyes: "Master Niu is already forty years old. Although he is very wealthy, his wife is in charge of the household. Her reputation for being shrewish is known throughout the county. Even if he really takes a fancy to Dongrou and buys her as a concubine, do you think his wife will tolerate her?"
She suddenly raised her eyes, her gaze sharp as a blade: "It's strange, the Niu family has taken ten concubines over the years, and they have all died one after another. Aunt Chen, do you really not know the reason behind this, or..."
She paused slightly before asking, "Intentionally playing dumb?"
Chen's eyes flickered, but she remained defiant: "That's because they're unlucky! If my son Ah San has a child..."
"Adding a new member?"
Lu Zhaoruo chuckled lightly: "The principal wife has been childless for many years, and the ten concubines are also childless. Aunt Chen, do you think it's because these women are all infertile, or because that Master Niu is simply useless?"
Her tone grew colder, "Even if Dongrou is lucky enough to get pregnant, the child will be raised by the legal wife. Do you think the legal wife will spare her life?"
"If they can't conceive, aren't those concubines who died of illness just examples?"
"In the end, not only will you not gain any benefit, but you will also..."
Lu Zhaoruo looked at Dongrou, who was huddled in the corner, with pity, "What a waste of such a filial daughter."
Chen choked, her face turning pale and then bluish.
Dongrou's father whispered in her ear, "She is, after all, the matriarch of the Shen family. She owns two shops, and her brother from her maternal family even passed the martial arts exam. Her father is also a teacher who runs a private school and has a great reputation. In short, her family is no less well-off than that Mr. Niu's."
“She’s right. Ah San was bought to be a concubine, and all we can get is this 10 taels of silver.”
Upon hearing this, Madam Chen sneered while holding her handkerchief: "Since you are so proud of your uncle's academic achievement, I will make an exception and sell Ah San to you."
She suddenly turned serious and said, "It's only ten taels of pure silver. If you're short one coin, don't even think about signing the contract!"
Lu Zhaoruo softened her tone: "Sell her to me for five taels of silver, and Dongrou will continue to receive her monthly allowance as usual, and she can still give money to you two during festivals. But if she goes into the Niu family..."
She paused, then said, "If you enter the Niu family, not only will you not receive a monthly stipend, but you will also be branded as someone who 'sold their daughter for personal gain'."
She added, "Besides, when my father bought Dongrou, he paid two taels of silver as 'bribe,' which you haven't paid back yet. If this goes to the village head, you'll be accused of selling yourself into prostitution..."
Chen clutched the hem of her clothes, her eyes darting around.
Lu Zhaoruo suddenly stood up: "Never mind, anyway, five taels of silver can buy three maids in the market."
With tears streaming down her face, Dongrou called out anxiously, "Mother..."
Her father hurriedly grabbed Chen's worn-out sleeve, and Chen finally gritted her teeth and said, "Six taels of pure silver! Not a penny less."
Lu Zhaoruo smiled slightly, took out one tael of silver, and immediately signed a contract.
After Chen signed and sealed the document, Lu Zhaoruo loudly proclaimed: "Upon the completion of this transaction, you shall be the slave of the buyer forever, severing all ties with your birth parents and having no connection with them in life or death. If you disobey, you shall be fined ten catties of copper and handed over to the authorities."
As soon as she stepped out of the house, Dongrou knelt down with a thud, her frail body prostrate on the ground: "Thank you so much, my wife..."
She choked back tears: "If I were to enter the Niu family, if I were to live, I would be worse off than dead; if I were to die, I would be left without a complete corpse..."
She kowtowed deeply: "Now that you have saved me from this hellhole, my life belongs to you! I will serve you faithfully for the rest of my life and never have any other thoughts!"
Lu Zhaoruo helped her up, wiping away the tears on her face with her fingertips: "Silly girl, if you follow me, your future will be hard."
Dongrou shook her head: "This servant is not afraid of hardship, I'm just afraid... I'll never meet a kind-hearted mistress like you again in this life. Besides, following you is not hardship, it's sweetness."
Then, with tears in her eyes but a resolute gaze, she said, "From now on, I will follow you, my wife, even if it means going through fire and water!"
Lu Zhaoruo looked up at the snow falling all around her, the smile on her lips carrying the chill of her past life.
In her past life, she was imprisoned in the deep courtyard of the Shen family's mansion. The key jingled on the waists of those people. She lived as their blood slave, her blood and bones squeezed out inch by inch until she withered like a dead tree.
But those people...
I'd rather let her rot to ashes than turn that rusty lock.
How cruel...
Fortunately, she was reborn after a lifetime of foolishness. This time, she is determined to steal the key and unlock her own cage.
Lu Zhaoruo took Dongrou to the county government office to have the contract stamped with the official seal.
As she stepped out of the government office's bluestone steps, she bumped into Li Yanei, who was strolling towards her with a gold-flecked hand fan, his face bearing a nauseatingly obsequious smile: "Oh, isn't this the young lady from the Shen family, living a life of widowhood? Your husband, who stole women's writing materials to save face, is probably long gone, either fed to the river fish or has married a new woman overseas..."
"How about..."
He pressed his fan against her chin with a "click," his smile lines greasy: "Come with me, be my concubine, and I will cherish you dearly."
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