The old woman glared with her triangular eyes, her face turning red with anger.
"How dare you talk to me like that? You... what did I say wrong? Your second uncle is more successful than your father. Once he passes the imperial examination, I'll enjoy the good life with him. Do you expect your father, a peasant, to make me a scholar's wife?"
"I have no money. If you keep making me angry, get out. I have a second son, I don't need you guys."
Every word was like a knife piercing Fang Daniu's heart.
It's so painful.
He had been holding back his anger, but finally couldn't help but start shouting.
"Enough!"
Fang Daniu abruptly interrupted the old woman.
This was the second time Fang Daniu had lost his temper with the old woman. The last time, by the well, the old woman slapped him, but he still didn't get angry.
But now she's scared.
Because Fang Daniu's face looked so terrible at that moment, the old woman inexplicably saw the shadow of a dead man in him.
Her husband also has a dull personality like Fang Daniu, but if you really provoke someone like that, he can be more ruthless than anyone else when he takes action.
The old woman knew she couldn't continue arguing.
"Mom, give me the money and I'll go get the land back. And please don't try to take the bean sprouts again."
When those dark, somber eyes looked over, the old woman instinctively swallowed.
"You, you unfilial son!"
She cursed Fang Daniu with a weak voice.
"Are you really going to abandon your brother? He's your own brother! We'll all be counting on him from now on..."
“Mother, don’t bring this up. I know our family’s income and expenses. We should be able to come up with one or two taels of silver for my second brother’s tuition.”
The old woman's lips trembled slightly.
Yes, it is indeed possible to offer it as tuition.
But she didn't want the delicious meat that was almost in her mouth to slip away.
"Are you forcing me? Fine, then I'll just run myself over and kill myself today."
She made a gesture as if she was about to bang her head against the wall, but the other three people in the room did not try to stop her.
She stared at Fang Daniu for a long time, and when she realized that Fang Daniu was determined to do so, she burst into tears.
"Why is my life so miserable? You saw Eryou's father, didn't you? This is how they treat me."
She sat on the ground crying. Fang Qing was too lazy to argue with her, so she went over to rummage through the old woman's hidden money under the bed.
The old woman pounced on him like a mad dog guarding its food.
"Get out of my way, I'll take it myself."
She bent over and crawled under the bed, pulling out a piece of paper.
"It hasn't been sold yet; we've only agreed on a price with someone."
Fang Qing snatched the certificate from her hand, checked it, and put it into her bosom after confirming it was okay.
"This is the last time. If you dare to touch my things again, I'll never forgive you."
After saying that, Fang Qing pulled Zhao Shi out.
The old woman felt chest tightness from anger.
"Why is my life so miserable? Old man, take a look."
Fang Daniu wanted to say something to the old woman, but he swallowed his words and could only walk out the door helplessly.
Because of this incident, the old woman was picky about dinner, and only fried a bowl of eggs to eat alone in the inner room.
That evening, Fang Daniu asked about the two acres of land and whether Fang Qing needed any help, but Fang Qing brushed him off.
Fang Daniu didn't take it seriously. He thought Fang Qing was just a child and would probably forget about it in a few days.
Fang Qing didn't sleep very well that night; it was the first time she had a dream since coming into this world.
That was a scene she had never experienced before.
The first thing that appeared in my dream was a man dressed in a black python robe. He sat on the ground, looking coldly at the man in front of him who was holding a sword to his head.
"Zhao Shi'an, you never thought this day would come, did you?"
"Haha, why are you looking at me like that? Don't actually think I consider you a friend, you wolf in sheep's clothing! The pastries you just ate had arsenic in them; today is your death day!"
Fang Qing stared blankly at the exceptionally handsome man dressed in a black python robe.
Is this Zhao Shi'an as an adult?
If you look closely, her facial features still bear some resemblance to those she had when she was a child.
The dream was so real that Fang Qing actually saw the blood slowly seeping from the corner of Zhao Shi'an's mouth.
He stared at the arrogant man wielding the sword with an almost murderous look.
But then he laughed.
"What are you laughing at?"
The man wielding the sword panicked.
"Of course I'm laughing at your foolishness. Do you really think that if I die, imperial power will return to your royal family?"
"What do you mean?"
"My elite guards have already left the city. In less than three days, Yuquan Pass will be wide open. Tell me, how can the weakened and depleted imperial court resist the eighteen tribes in the north?"
The man wielding the sword turned deathly pale instantly.
"You're a madman! You're a madman!"
The scene suddenly shifts, revealing a sea of blood and mountains of corpses. War has destroyed a country, soldiers have been slaughtered, and people have been displaced.
Fang Qing looked at the sounds of difficulty breathing and the cries for help in her dream growing more vivid, and she suddenly opened her eyes.
Fang Qing pressed her chest to calm the palpitations caused by the dream.
"Zhao Shi'an..."
He made an entire nation pay the price for his actions.
The bloody scene lingered in my mind.
Is this the villainous Zhao Shi'an?
That's terrifying.
The noise that overlapped with the dream continued, but neither Fang Daniu nor Zhao Shi were in the house.
Fang Qing vaguely heard "fire," so she got dressed and went outside.
As soon as I stepped out of the house, I saw flames shooting into the sky.
The house at the very front of the alley was on fire, and the neighbors were rushing to put it out with buckets and basins.
Fang Qing watched for a while but couldn't help, so she stood in a corner where it wouldn't get in the way.
Suddenly someone said, "Is there still one child who hasn't been rescued?"
The sounds of the fire and the commotion of firefighters drowned out these words.
Fang Qing frowned and looked at the family.
In Douya's memory, there were six people in this family. The head of the household was Fang Xiaoshuan, who was the same age as Fang Daniu. His wife was from another town, and they had two sons.
Besides the family of four, there are two boys, one thirteen years old and the other six years old, who are the children of Fang Xiaoshuan's older brother, Fang Dashuan.
Two years ago, Da Shuan passed away for some reason. His wife remarried and their two children lived with his uncle. The older boy now works odd jobs in the county town to earn money and can only come back every few days.
Five people should have been rescued, but at this moment only Fang Xiaoshuan and his wife and their two children were found. Fang Qing did not see the thin, weak, and always sick little boy.
Seeing the still-burning house, Fang Qing quickly walked towards Fang Xiaoshuan's wife.
"Auntie, where's your little persimmon?"
That sickly little boy was named Little Persimmon.
Xiaoshuan's wife was wiping away tears as she cried about her house. When Fang Qing mentioned Xiaoshizi, she started cursing.
"What do you mean 'my'? My house doesn't have that jinx!"
“Our family is already in such a state, he would only be a burden if he lived, he might as well be dead.”
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