Chapter 231 Disdain
Hu Aniu wasn't the only one implicated and lost her job; Xu Erni, Xu Sanni, and Xu Sini were also verbally abused and beaten by their in-laws on the same day.
Having experienced the same fate, the four Xu sisters finally cleared their eyes and dared not have any more ideas about Xu Jinnian, and sent Ma Dahua to Shengyuan.
Ma Dahua was left all alone at home, struggling even to get a hot meal.
She was afraid of dying, and even more afraid of starving to death, so she crawled and stumbled to the clan chief, kneeling and begging him to give her justice and get back the money she and her husband had spent on Xu Huaining.
It's common knowledge in the village that Xu Laosi's family has been exploiting Xu Laosan and his wife for years.
However, Xu Laosan and Ma Dahua were willing to do so, hoping to expose Xu Huaining so they could live a better life with him, and the villagers didn't see anything wrong with it.
Now that Ma Dahua is unhappy, it's reasonable for her to demand that the money she gave out be taken back. So the clan elders took Ma Dahua to Xu Laosi's house to resolve the matter.
Xu Laosi and Feng Lianhua were greedy by nature and never thought of returning the money. They pointed at Ma Dahua and cursed her with extremely foul language, making the clan elders frown.
Finally, Xu Huaining, who was resting in bed, came out leaning on his cane and handed Ma Dahua a hundred taels of silver notes:
"Third Aunt, I will remember your kindness to me for the rest of my life. Please keep this banknote safe. If you ever need anything in the future, please come to me."
Fearing the family might change their minds, Ma Dahua hurriedly snatched the silver note, examined it carefully against the light, and then handed it to the clan chief, still worried that there might be something wrong with it.
Seeing this, Xu Huaining smiled bitterly, seemingly hurt by Ma Dahua's actions.
Feng Lianhua felt a pang of heartache, her eyes fixed on the silver note: "Over the years, they've spent a maximum of fifty taels of silver on you, why did they need a hundred taels?"
Xu Laosi also felt that his son had gone too far. He looked at the silver notes in the clan chief's hand, then at the frail Ma Dahua, and his eyes darted around as he pondered how to get his hands on the hundred taels.
Ma Dahua ignored the family of three. Only after the clan chief said there was no problem with the silver notes did a smile appear on her face, and she hurriedly put the silver notes away.
Then, she looked at Xu Huaining, her expression somewhat complicated: "Your parents are heartless and rotten, don't learn from them."
Ma Dahua was truly devoted to her nephew Xu Huaining. Even if she harbored some ulterior motives, she believed she had never done anything to wrong him.
A few days ago, Xu Laosi and Feng Lianhua teamed up and beat her up, leaving her covered in bruises. Yet, she couldn't feel a trace of resentment towards Xu Huaining.
After all, Xu Huaining did try to stop him, but he was unable to because of his leg injury.
With the matter resolved, the clan elders left, and Ma Dahua, clutching the silver notes, scrambled away.
Feng Lianhua was still upset about the money, and grumbled:
"That old bitch really dares to accept this. Isn't she afraid of choking herself? If I had known she would pull this stunt, I should have been tougher that day and made sure she couldn't cause any more trouble."
Xu Laosi also felt regret: "It's a pity that Da Ni and the others were too useless and couldn't get this woman to be given to that bastard Xu Jinnian."
Before Feng Lianhua could say anything more, Xu Huaining coldly interrupted her: "Third Uncle and Third Aunt have been kind to me. We are the ones who have wronged them. The rumors circulating in the village these past two days have been too nasty. Don't add to the trouble."
Seeing their son's displeasure, Xu Laosi and Feng Lianhua immediately fell silent, not daring to upset him.
Xu Huaining rubbed his temples, looking at the still dilapidated house, a hint of annoyance flashing in his eyes:
"I will be setting off for the capital in a couple of days. I don't know when I will be back. If my parents have nothing to do, they should tear down this dilapidated house and build a new one."
Xu Laosi was stunned and asked incredulously, "You...you're not taking Father and Mother to the capital?"
Xu Huaining, suppressing his impatience, reluctantly explained, "I'm going to the capital to take the imperial examination, not to settle down there. It's inconvenient to take you there."
He didn't have much money left, barely enough for the expenses of the journey. He simply couldn't afford to support two more people.
Upon hearing this, Xu Laosi and Feng Lianhua looked extremely disappointed.
Xu Laosi was not giving up. Looking at Xu Huaining's injuries, he muttered, "If you need someone to take care of you on the road, let your father accompany you."
Xu Huaining refused without hesitation: "No need. I have arranged to travel with other scholars. They will take care of me on the way."
In reality, it was Scholar Zhao who gave him two servants; he had no shortage of people to take care of him along the way.
He didn't want to bring Xu Laosi and his wife along because he felt they were not presentable and that bringing them to the capital would embarrass him or even cause trouble that would implicate him.
Xu Laosi and Feng Lianhua were completely unaware of their biological son's dislike for them, believing he genuinely cared for them, and their faces showed relieved smiles.
"Okay, okay, it's good that someone is looking after us. We can rest assured now."
Seeing that the couple understood, Xu Huaining's expression softened, and he reminded them again, "Remember to build a new house, a brick and tile one."
Xu Laosi looked hesitant, feeling that his son had other plans.
Seeing that Xu Huaining had no intention of saying more, he suppressed his unease and nodded in agreement.
After Xu Huaining returned to his room to rest, Xu Laosi said to Feng Lianhua:
“We only have one son, Huaining. Once Huaining passes the imperial examination and becomes a Jinshi, we will definitely follow him. Is there any need to rush to build a new house?”
After being reminded by him, Feng Lianhua also realized that something was wrong.
She glanced around the room, couldn't see anything wrong with it, and after thinking for a moment, said:
“Huaining is a scholar who has passed the imperial examination. We have been living in an old house, which is not worthy of his status. I suppose he was afraid of what outsiders would say, so he thought of building a brick house for us to live in better.”
Xu Laosi suddenly realized: "That's right, that's definitely it!"
It's definitely not that Huaining disliked them or didn't want to keep them by his side to enjoy a good life, which is why he repeatedly urged them to build new houses.
The couple were full of anticipation for a better future, never considering that they had no money and Xu Huaining hadn't given them any, so how were they going to build a big brick house?
The news that Xu Huaining had given Ma Dahua a hundred taels of silver in public reached Sheng An's ears the next day.
"Isn't he doing this to deliberately make life unbearable for Ma Dahua?!"
Sheng An realized that he had underestimated Xu Huaining's viciousness. With Ma Dahua holding this hundred-tael silver note, what difference was there between it and a death warrant?
Given Xu Huaining's intelligence, it's impossible that he didn't think of this.
"It's just dogs fighting, no need to care."
Xu Jin gently stroked his wife's ear, pinching her plump earlobe; it felt wonderful.
Sheng An shook his head: "This kind of person is no different from a poisonous snake. Even someone who has been good to him for more than 20 years can be ruthlessly schemed against by him."
After saying that, she took the man's hand and looked up at him: "Luckily, your father brought you to the city when you were a child, otherwise, under the nose of this venomous snake, your life might have been ruined by him."
Xu Jinnian's childhood misfortunes were all influenced by Xu Huaining.
"It's easier to change mountains and rivers than to change one's nature." Only those who have been fooled by him would believe that he would become kind as he grew up.
Sheng An cautioned Xu Jinnian: "You've always been one step ahead of him, so he probably hates you a lot. We must be careful when we get to the capital!"
In the unfamiliar capital city, Xu Huaining was practically a local strongman, so it would be much easier for her to scheme against her man than it was in Qingzhou.
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