The originally simple case became complicated in the face of three marriage certificates. It turned out that more than ten years ago, Xu Zuguang did not disappear, but fell in love with the daughter of a wealthy and powerful man, so he abandoned his wife and became a son-in-law. After he passed the imperial examination, he forced the daughter to death and married the concubine's daughter of Yushi Wan.
He has relied on women all along, and his actions are truly despicable!
After the case was reported, the verdict came down quickly. Xu Zuguang was stripped of his honors and official position and exiled thousands of miles away. Wan Xiuer was beaten with eighty sticks and demoted to a concubine. The woman returned to the Xu family with her two children and became the real master of the family.
In order to improve his official reputation and show his political stance to his superiors, Censor Wan did not dare to cause trouble for the woman. Instead, he sent a lot of silver and shops with great fanfare to compensate her for the suffering she had endured over the years. He also completely drew a line with Wan Xiu'er and personally went to her to apologize, saying that he was deceived by Xu Zuguang and had no idea that he had married two wives.
The woman decided to quit while she was ahead and immediately reconciled with Censor Wan. The people in the capital also praised Censor Wan for his integrity and righteousness, and the matter was thus over.
But some scars can never be healed, such as the maid who died tragically for seeking justice for her master, the young orphan who was left alone, Wan Xiuer who miscarried a baby boy, and Xu Zuguang who was exiled and his life or death is unknown. The woman achieved her goal and took away the family property that Xu Zuguang had worked so hard to accumulate over the years, but she was not happy about it. Her two children could not forgive her cruelty and always avoided her and blamed her.
They originally had a father who was an official, and in the capital they were considered the children of officials, able to live a life of luxury and respect. But now, whenever they go out, they will be laughed at as the descendants of criminal officials. There is only one letter difference between Beijing officials and criminal officials, but the treatment they receive is worlds apart. They should have had a better life and a brighter future. Everything would have been possible as long as their mother was willing to be patient. But not only could the mother not bear it, she also personally brought down the father and the entire family. What was she thinking?
The children were resentful but they didn't tell the woman. The woman was busy supporting this broken home and had no time to communicate with them. So the knot in their hearts was tied tightly and would be difficult to untie for a long time.
After Xu Zuguang was exiled, the family lost their income, so under Lin Dan's guidance, his wife opened a rouge shop, a pastry shop, an embroidery shop, and a spice shop. Lin Dan asked her to find a few skilled masters to act as a cover and not to reveal her own skills. The woman did as she was told. Those masters could constantly get the unique recipes from her and their reputations were improved, so they naturally didn't ask too many questions. As time went by, this dilapidated home was made prosperous again by the woman.
She spent a large sum of money to send her son Xu Weibai to the best academy, gave him money for social activities and let him make connections; she also prepared a generous dowry for her daughter Xu Yuling, only hoping that she could marry into a simple and wealthy family in the future and live a stable life.
At the same time, she did not treat the little concubine's daughter left by Xu Zuguang harshly. She invited a teacher to her home to teach her reading and writing, and she took care of her food, clothing and other expenses in the same way as her own biological daughter. She was very careful. As for Wan Xiu'er, she was too lazy to take care of her and never asked a doctor to treat her body, which resulted in her damaging her foundation and she could no longer get pregnant.
It was only after Wan Xiuer asked her aunt to secretly invite a doctor to see her that she learned the news. She cried bitterly and hated the woman, but there was nothing she could do. She was once a famous talented woman in Beijing, and was a perfect match for Xu Zuguang, the top scorer in the imperial examination. If it weren't for that vicious woman, she would be living a very happy life now!
She was tormented day by day. She found that there was a gap between the woman and her two children. Thinking that she could not get pregnant, she actually paid attention to them. She showed concern and care for them every day. The contrast with the woman's strictness actually won the hearts of the two men.
Whenever the two secretly came to visit her, Wan Xiu'er would wipe her tears and say, "If your father were still alive, he would have been a fourth-rank Imperial College Priest by now, and the entire Imperial College would be controlled by your father. How glorious it would be outside? Our family can also be considered a first-class noble family in Beijing. Weibai, why do you need to go to that useless academy to study? Why do you need to serve those playboys? As long as your father says a word, you can enter the Imperial College to study, and you will definitely have a bright future in the future! Your grandfather was an imperial doctor, and a step further will be the prime minister of the cabinet. To describe your fate in one sentence, it is - a golden fish is not a pond, it will turn into a dragon when it encounters wind and clouds."
Xu Weibai's blood boiled with excitement because of her few words, but then he thought that everything was ruined by his mother's paranoid behavior, and it was like a bucket of cold water was poured on him, and his heart turned cold.
Seeing the resentment in his eyes, Wan Xiuer smiled slightly and said to Xu Yuling: "Yuling, if your father were still alive, you would be a proper official lady now. Those who look down on you are not even worthy of carrying your shoes. It's a pity that your father... Alas..."
Wan Xiu'er sighed and wiped her tears, which made the two children feel heartbroken and hate their mother for being so stubborn and hurting their father.
In this way, this family, which seemed harmonious on the surface but had actually collapsed internally, managed to hold on for three years. Three years later, when the young emperor got married, Xu Zuguang was pardoned and returned home, having become extremely thin. Seeing his miserable appearance, the woman's resentment faded, but her heart ached. She even made peace with him, supported him with precious medicinal herbs, and gave him a lot of money she earned. He learned his lesson this time. He tried to please the woman on the surface, but then turned around and gave all the money to Wan Xiu'er, allowing her to live a better and better life. It was a pity that the couple had never been able to have children, so they could only rely on the woman's two children in the future, so he became more active in winning them over.
The two children had been deprived of their father's love for more than ten years and had no resistance to Xu Zuguang's kindness. Seeing how frustrated he was, their resentment towards their mother deepened. The woman didn't notice it, but Lin Dan saw the clues and always asked her to be on guard against Xu Zuguang and their two children.
The woman was possessed again and refused to listen to Lin Dan's advice. She just worked hard to make money to support the family. She gave Xu Zuguang whatever he wanted and bought the children whatever they asked for. In fact, most of those good things went into Wan Xiuer's pocket. They just treated her as a tool to make money. They respected her on the surface, but in fact, everyone looked down on her.
Three years later, Xu Weibai passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi. The woman spent a lot of money to smooth over his connections and got him into the Hanlin Academy. She also found a virtuous girl for him. However, Xu Weibai fell in love with Wan Xiu'er's niece Wan Ling, and knelt down to beg the woman to grant his marriage.
The woman felt uncomfortable but couldn't persuade her son. She wanted to ask Wan Xiu'er for help, but after meeting Wan Ling with her own eyes, she refused to agree because Lin Dan told her that Wan Ling was pregnant and Xu Weibai didn't want to be the scapegoat.
The woman was so angry that she forced her son to marry Zhao Huiniang, the girl she liked, which eventually led to a complete rift between mother and son. Later, her daughter Xu Yuling's marriage also made her exhausted. She found a husband for her daughter, the legitimate son of a wealthy squire, but her daughter fell in love with a scholar who came to Beijing to take the imperial examination, and almost eloped with him. If Lin Dan hadn't noticed something and asked the woman to be on high alert, this pair of wild mandarin ducks would have already lived together.
The woman was so angry that she almost vomited blood. Without saying a word, she set a date for her daughter's wedding, gave her a bowl of muscle-softening powder, and sent her to the bridal sedan. After this trip, mother and daughter became enemies and even refused to see each other when they returned home. Xu Yuling only went to her father and Wan Xiu'er's yard to kowtow, treating them as her real parents and ignored the woman.
The woman stood outside the courtyard wall, listening to the laughter inside, her heart aching as if it were being cut into pieces. She has suffered and been tired for half her life, but for whom? As depressed as her was Xu Weibai's wife Zhao Huiniang. She had to stay alone in her empty room all day, watching her husband take concubines one after another, and she was already heartbroken.
The son did not love her, the daughter did not recognize her, and the husband had nothing to say except asking for money. The woman could only focus on running the store, and over the years she had accumulated a large fortune. At this time, her son and daughter's attitude towards her suddenly improved, and they asked her to pay money to smooth the relationship for their father so that he could return to the official career.
With the intention of compensating Xu Zuguang, the woman agreed and eventually sent him to the army, where she found him a civilian job. She also spent a large sum of money to help her son's career, and even went to the home of her son's superior to treat his illness. She would try her best to make friends with anyone who could help her son in his career. She would go in and out of these people's backyards, diagnose and treat the illnesses of their female relatives. Over time, she had accumulated a lot of connections and was even able to get some information about the palace.
Her medical skills are just average, but it doesn't matter. In this world, there is no disease that that remnant soul cannot cure. With her help, she was doing very well, and as a result, Xu Zuguang and Xu Weibai's careers also became smoother. After a few more years, Xu Zuguang had established a firm foothold in the army. Although his official position was not high, he had some real power. Xu Weibai had been promoted to the rank of fourth-rank lecturer in the Hanlin Academy. He was truly a swan that soared high and made great achievements in one fell swoop.
This originally dilapidated home was finally held up thanks to the woman's efforts. When outsiders mentioned her, they all praised her for her dignity, generosity and outstanding abilities. She is a role model for thousands of independent and self-reliant women. Even many dignitaries admire her very much and are willing to make friends with her.
However, at this moment, she fell ill due to overwork and fell bedridden. She thought that after she had redeemed her sins over the years, her husband and children would forgive her. However, she did not expect that they would not even come to visit her, and even cut off her medicine, isolating her in a remote courtyard to fend for herself.
"They won't come. All your efforts will be a joke." Lin Dan looked at the dying woman's face calmly.
The woman shook her head and seemed to want to speak, but her dry throat was sticky and she couldn't utter a word. The concubine's daughter named Xu Miaomiao secretly bought some medicine and was feeding her mouthful by mouthful with a spoon. In this family, only Xu Miaomiao truly respects and loves her. She would rather not get married than stay with her even though she is half dead.
Lin Dan turned to look at the crumbling door, and then the door opened. A young woman walked in. It was Xu Yuling. She chased Xu Miaomiao away, turned around and poured out the bowl of medicine in front of the woman, sneering, "You ruined my lifelong happiness, you didn't expect that you would suffer this retribution, did you?"
The woman's eyes were red with anger, but she could not utter a word.
Xu Yuling was annoyed even to look at her any longer and turned around and walked out. Not long after, Xu Weibai came and just stood beside the bed, staring at the woman's face without saying anything. His eyes and expression were very calm, as if he was looking at an object rather than his mother. The woman was frozen by the cold gaze. Tears welled up in her red eyes, but then slowly dried up. She suddenly realized that these people were not worthy of her tears, even though they were related to her by blood.
After Xu Weibai left, Xu Zuguang sent Wan Xiuer to the door and said gently, "Come out after you're done. Don't get sick, or I'll be heartbroken."
"I know. I'll just say a few words to her. You stand here and wait for me." Wan Xiu'er's voice was sweet and tender, like that of a young girl. However, the woman lying on the bed had already turned her black hair white due to excessive work.
Wan Xiuer walked gently to the bedside, covered her mouth and nose and whispered: "You said you worked so hard for what? When you didn't know, your son and daughter had already called me mother. So what if you are the legal wife? In the end, your husband is mine, your children are mine, and even the money you earn is mine. What was the point of you tossing and turning in the first place? Do you know how happy I am to see you fall to this point? I don't have to fight with you at all, everything you have will naturally be handed over to me. Do you hate it? Do you resent it?"
Wan Xiuer covered her mouth and chuckled, then swung the fragrant embroidered handkerchief and said slowly: "Then you can hate and resent me, and go to hell with these two things!" After she finished speaking, she pushed the door and walked out.
Tears of blood flowed from the woman's eyes, and her eye sockets were almost popped, but who would care?
Lin Dan lowered his eyes and looked at her, sighing deeply.
The woman raised her right hand, as if she wanted to grab the only remaining soul that gave her support, and said weakly: "If there is an afterlife, I will definitely abandon everything and just live happily. Tell these people, tell them all to go to hell!" After she finished speaking, the hand fell to the side of the bed, and the temperature slowly dissipated.
Xu Miaomiao ran in quickly, lay on the woman and cried bitterly, but she could no longer hear anything.
Lin Dan sighed deeply, then disappeared into the jade pendant and fell into a deep sleep...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
