Chapter 440 "My benefactor Li, please, please marry me!"
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Zheng Meiniang, far away in Andong, would never have imagined that her casual words of comfort to Li Xiatian would unexpectedly come true!
Yes, Li Wangzheng did more than just remarry!
His new wife did indeed give birth to a new baby for him!
Moreover, this baby is even smaller than Pingping and An'an!
In other words, the woman, oh, that is, Li Wangzheng's new wife, named Xiulian, gave birth to a boy named Li Shi'an, who has been named by Li Wangzheng, and he has become Pingping and An'an's uncle!
Amidst the sound of rain, Li Wangzheng was crying because he was crying for his wife and daughter whom he hadn't seen for many years, as well as for the concern and worry that his younger sister and niece had for him!
Even though the two sides had not yet communicated or met in person;
But just hearing the words of searching spoken by others, Li Wangzheng felt that the missing piece in his heart caused by his years of fighting for survival in the army was suddenly filled!
That was his wife and the biological daughter he had raised for over a decade!
If he were a heartless and ungrateful person, he wouldn't have remained alone for so many years after leaving Lijia Village in Henan!
For the first two years of his military service, Li Wangzheng struggled to survive, living cautiously alongside his fellow clansmen, including Li Wangtian and Li Wangshan.
It was also Li Wangzheng's good fortune that the rebellion of the Prince of Jing'an gave him the opportunity to fight on the battlefield and make meritorious contributions.
In this way, Li Wangzheng started from the bottom as a private and rose step by step from squad leader to platoon leader.
Later, he fought with the barbarians on the border of Youzhou, and that time he almost died!
This was considered a significant achievement, which led to Li Wangzheng's promotion from platoon leader to squad leader.
That battle also left Li Wangtian crippled.
Li Wangtian became a cripple because he saved Li Wangzheng!
According to Li Wangzheng, he could never repay this debt of gratitude in his lifetime.
As for how Wang Xiulian, the new bride, met Li Wangzheng, and why they became husband and wife?
That story begins two years ago.
In Li Wangzheng's fifth year in the army, he followed the general to suppress bandits. On the way down the mountain, he happened to save Wang Xiulian, who had sprained her ankle while gathering firewood.
Because Li Wangzheng's village was right next to Wang Xiulian's hometown, Wangjia Village, after sending Wang Xiulian back to Wangjia, Li Wangzheng forgot all about the matter.
However, Wang Xiulian went to the outskirts of the village to look for Li Wangzheng one after another. Each time she went, she used the excuse of thanking her savior. This time she brought Li Wangzheng some boiled chickens, and next time she would bring him some seasonal fresh fruit.
After this back and forth, it was clear to everyone that Wang Xiulian had taken a liking to Li Wangzheng, a tall and imposing man who was also a minor leader.
Although Wang Xiulian was much younger than Li Wangzheng, she was still a woman in her thirties.
Wang Xiulian's first husband was in poor health. They were married for only two years before he fell ill and died.
They don't have any children together.
Logically speaking, Wang Xiulian, who had become a widow, only had two paths to take: one was to return to her parents' home and find someone to remarry.
The other option is to stay in the husband's family and change her status from daughter-in-law to "adopted daughter," with her former parents-in-law, and later adoptive parents, arranging for a man to live with them.
Wang Xiulian knew that if she abandoned her parents-in-law and returned to her parents' home, she would probably have to go through the same marriage process as before, with her parents taking the betrothal gifts, giving her a quilt, and sending her off to get married.
So Wang Xiulian thought, why not stay!
She recognizes her parents-in-law as her adoptive parents, brings a man into her family, has children to carry on the family line for her adoptive father, and takes care of her adoptive parents in their old age and sees them off when they die!
Back then, if Wang Xiulian's parents-in-law hadn't been quite wealthy, how could a healthy young woman like Wang Xiulian have been married off to such a sickly man as her ex-husband?
It's all because Wang Xiulian's in-laws gave her too much!
Wang Xiulian was sold for the dowry.
Later, Wang Xiulian actually kowtowed to her parents-in-law and became their adopted daughter instead of their daughter-in-law.
But before Wang Xiulian could bring a husband into her family, her adoptive father fell seriously ill and passed away within two months.
Then at the end of the year, her adoptive mother went out in the winter and missed a step, fell hard, and broke her leg.
Even though Wang Xiulian took great care of her adoptive mother at home, her adoptive mother only lasted for less than half a year before passing away.
After arranging the funeral for her adoptive parents, Wang Xiulian lived in their home and, relying on the allotted land, diligently observed the three-year mourning period according to custom.
She thought that after the mourning period ended, she could find a matchmaker to bring a son-in-law into her home, and then she could still make a living.
But how could that be?
Finally, Wang Xiulian was driven out of the village by the family clan, and the farmland and houses left by her adoptive parents were taken back by the family clan.
Fortunately, Wang Xiulian's adoptive mother was kind-hearted. Before she died, she gave Wang Xiulian several pieces of her jewelry in advance, asking her to hide them in case of emergency.
Otherwise, how would Wang Xiulian, who had nothing to her name, survive in the future?
However, even though she had some money, Wang Xiulian still had to return to her parents' home in the end.
I had only been at my parents' home for less than three months when the world went into chaos.
Even if Wang Xiulian's family wanted to sell her for a dowry and use her as a servant, they would still need someone willing to take her.
At that time, the world was in chaos, but it was not yet the end of a dynasty or a time of warlordism.
The Wang family hadn't even had time to fully exploit the value of their daughter, Wang Xiulian.
However, if chaos were to truly descend upon the land, Wang Xiulian would likely be the first to be sold to such a despicable place by her parents and brothers.
However, even if she hadn't been sold, Wang Xiulian still had to work the hardest and eat the least at her parents' home.
So, after twisting her ankle on the mountain and encountering Li Wangzheng, who then rescued her, Wang Xiulian actually had feelings for him.
She wanted to get rid of her family's entanglement and didn't want to be sold off for money again.
Of course, she didn't want to be sold to a filthy place, so for Wang Xiulian, the only option was to find a capable man to remarry.
Therefore, why would Wang Xiulian mind that Li Wangzheng was older than her?
Even though Li Wang once righteously and sternly told Wang Xiulian, "Putting aside the age difference between us, I'm already married with children back in my hometown, and they're still waiting for me to come home..."
But Wang Xiulian wouldn't care about any of that.
At that time, all she could think about was clinging to Li Wangzheng as her lifeline!
Until last year, there were signs that the world was about to descend into chaos again.
Wang's parents were thinking that if they didn't marry Wang Xiulian off soon, she would get older every year. If they kept delaying, how much dowry would they be able to get in the future?
So, soon, Wang's parents reached an agreement with a family that had lost two wives and already had five children, and they were going to marry Wang Xiulian to them!
As long as Wang Xiulian marries into the family, her parents will receive a dowry of thirty taels!
You should know that nowadays, a family of seven or eight people only spends about eleven or twelve taels of silver a year.
So, where did these thirty taels come from as betrothal money?
This is Wang Xiulian's money to save her life!
Moreover, Wang Xiulian secretly spent money to find someone to inquire about that family. Why do you think that family's son married two wives and both of them died?
It was that family's son who did it!
They were probably beaten to death!
If the people don't complain, the officials won't investigate. Those two women were originally from out of town. Their parents, like Wang Xiulian's, received the betrothal money and didn't care about their daughters' lives anymore.
Therefore, Wang Xiulian was naturally unwilling to obey her parents' wishes and get married.
She seized an opportunity to sneak out of the village and waited and waited on the road outside the garrison. Sure enough, she met Li Wangzheng, who was traveling with the general.
"My benefactor Li, please, please marry me!"
Otherwise, I... I... I really would only have death as my only option!
Wang Xiulian was crying pitifully, tears and snot streaming down her face, kneeling on the ground and just looking at Li Wangzheng.
As Li Wang looked at Wang Xiulian in front of him, he recalled the news he had heard from the merchant earlier that day.
Since Li Wangzheng was promoted to captain, he and the other men from Lijia Village pooled their money and found many merchants in Youzhou. They even begged their general to ask someone to help send a message back to their hometown in Henan Province, hoping to send a message to their families and let them know that they were safe.
But all those letters disappeared without a trace; not a single person returned to Youzhou with a reply.
Just before Wang Xiulian fled from her parents' home and knelt down to beg Li Wangzheng, Li Wangzheng accompanied the general on an inspection tour and met the merchant in the market who had previously paid him to help deliver a letter of peace back to Henan Province.
Today, he finally got a definite answer from the merchant: "...I went to the place you mentioned, but there's no one there."
The road into the village was in a terrible state of disrepair. My friend and I mustered our courage and went into the village to take a look, but there wasn't a single person in the village!
I was thinking, could it be that your entire clan has left?
"Or perhaps something terrible happened in the village after you joined the army, which led to the complete annihilation of everyone in the village."
Thus, Li Wangzheng, who had sentenced Zheng Meiniang, Li Qiutian, Li Xiatian, Li's mother, and Li Shiyue to death in his heart, finally nodded to the tearful Wang Xiulian and agreed to marry her.
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