Xiao Dayong ignored him completely and said indifferently
“You told me to come, so I came with you. I said Cao Chengan wasn’t suitable when Xiao Yan got married. You all said I was useless and wouldn’t let me get involved. You didn’t even invite me, your brother, to the wedding. Now, of course it’s none of my business. Are you leaving or not? If not, I’m leaving!”
After Xiao Dayong finished speaking, he turned and left. Old Mrs. Xiao and Xiao Yan were unwilling to give up and wanted to knock on the door again, but every time they took a step forward, the big black dog would take a step forward and even make a gesture as if it was going to bite them. Although Old Mrs. Xiao and Xiao Yan were furious, they were helpless and could only return empty-handed in the end!
After all these incidents, Old Mrs. Xiao and her family had become notorious in the village. So when people saw Xiao Dayong and Old Mrs. Xiao returning one after the other, with both of them looking resentful and with long faces, they knew that they definitely hadn't gotten their dowry back. As a result, the mother and daughter received another wave of merciless ridicule!
Even more gloating were those who directly and bluntly mocked him.
"A daughter who has been divorced by her husband's family is a once-in-a-hundred-years occurrence in our Xiao family. It's not shameful enough. If it were me, I would have been too ashamed to leave the house!"
Some people are just shameless; they don't know what it means to be shabby!
"That's right. A few days ago, some people went to Xiejia Village to stir up trouble, saying that the divorced daughter had disgraced the whole clan and should be expelled from the clan. Now that their own daughter has been divorced, why don't they drive her out and bring her back to disgrace the whole clan!"
"Could it be that he suffered retribution for doing evil and degrading someone's good girl?"
Xiao Dayong pretended not to hear and went straight back to Xiao Yi's house. Old Mrs. Xiao and Xiao Yan couldn't out-argue or fight against so many people, so they could only lower their heads and hurriedly run home.
But they had to go to the capital, and they needed money. Since they hadn't gotten their dowry back, the old couple discussed it and decided to sell the land!
Xiao Yan also agreed; she didn't want to stay in the village for even a day longer, so she joined in the persuasion.
"Right now, saving my fourth brother is the priority. Since he's locked up, he doesn't need that much land. My eldest brother doesn't care, and there's no one to farm it anyway. We might as well sell it and go to the capital to find the princess to rescue my fourth brother first."
"We've sold the land. We'll buy it back when my second brother comes back. He's a general now, he can't possibly be short of money!"
When the old couple heard this, they realized it made sense, so they asked Liu to go out and ask the local landlords and wealthy families who were buying land!
Widow Liu went out and asked around, and only the landlord Wang Pangzi from the next village had taken a fancy to the six acres of high-quality land near the river bend of the Xiao family's land, and was willing to pay sixty taels to buy it.
The best farmland near the water normally costs twelve taels of silver per mu, but Old Man Xiao was in a hurry to sell, so Fatty Wang took the opportunity to lower the price. Anyway, no one else in the vicinity could afford it except him. Those who could afford it were not near Phoenix Mouth, so farming and harvesting would be inconvenient.
Old Man Xiao was not satisfied with the price, but despite Widow Liu's repeated attempts to negotiate with Fatty Wang, Fatty Wang remained unmoved.
In the end, Old Man Xiao had no choice but to sell it at a low price.
Having received sixty taels of silver, Old Madam Xiao and Xiao Yan packed a bundle overnight, took fifty taels of silver with them, and followed the escort agency to the capital.
The family left ten taels of silver for Old Man Xiao to treat his back pain, and also for the two pregnant women to use during their postpartum period.
Qiu Hong and Xie Yujiao were both over seven months pregnant. They both said they were too heavy and ordered Liu the widow to serve them like a competition. For the first month, Liu the widow took care of the two pregnant women and an old man with a back injury, Xiao, all by herself. She was exhausted!
In the second month, Old Man Xiao recovered completely, and not long after, before Xie Yujiao and Qiu Hong gave birth, Widow Liu actually became pregnant!
That's right! She's pregnant! With Old Man Xiao's!
After enduring so much humiliation and working like a slave for so long, Widow Liu finally got her revenge and managed to get some attention from Old Man Xiao.
"Having a child late in life is the greatest blessing. This child is sure to bring you good fortune. You'll see that once the child arrives, everything will be alright!"
After the fourth son went to jail, he probably couldn't continue his studies. But Heaven must have been unwilling to let all his years of hard work go to waste, so it sent another son to help him become the top scholar!
No matter how capable the second son is, he's still a military officer. What if something happens to him one day? The Xiao family's path to officialdom would be cut off!
Having brothers makes all the difference! If we train them well, one a scholar and the other a warrior, they can support each other in the court. Then the Xiao family will officially enter the officialdom!
Old Man Xiao was so flattered by Widow Liu that he grinned from ear to ear. He didn't feel ashamed at all. Instead, he walked with a spring in his step. He was completely different from the dejected man he was when he returned from Tai'an Prefecture. He seemed to have become ten years younger. He even set up two tables of banquet and made Widow Liu his concubine!
Xie Yujiao was about to give birth, and not only was there no one to take care of her, but Widow Liu was also taking care of her pregnancy in a very proper way!
When you come in or go out, you still have to call her "Auntie"!
Xie Yushu was so angry that she immediately lost her temper. Everyone hurriedly carried her into the house and found a midwife.
However, Xie Yujiao's pregnancy started prematurely due to anger, and it took her two whole days to give birth to a six-pound baby girl.
With Liu Shi pregnant, Old Man Xiao wasn't as eager for Xie Yujiao's grandson anymore. Now that he saw that the promised grandson had turned into a granddaughter, he cared even less. He didn't care whether she did postpartum confinement or not. He just had Qiu Hong bring her some food for each meal, and that was it.
Her mother, Madam Ma, and the others were afraid that if Xiao Yuanhang were exiled, Xie Yujiao would be divorced and sent home again, so they didn't dare to stay long. They just brought a few eggs, took a look, and left. Xie Yujiao's postpartum period was incredibly frustrating.
Qiu Hong, on the other hand, having worked in a brothel, was better at weighing the pros and cons. Seeing that Liu was gaining power, she immediately began to flatter Liu, making Liu very happy. Not long after, she gave birth to a son, and Liu would often go to visit her. Her postpartum period was much more comfortable than Xie Yujiao's.
Grandma Xiao and Xiao Yan arrived in the capital after a long and arduous journey, only to find out how big the city was. After walking for two days, they still couldn't tell which way was which and were still asking around the entire capital about the Princess's residence. They had no idea that their home had been occupied.
Meanwhile, the more chaotic the Xiao family was, the more comfortable Xie Yushu was. Not only were these vermin not around, but she also gained a capable assistant—Sun Chongren!
Xie Yushu didn't really expect anything in return for helping Sun Chongren, after all, he was doing free medical consultations at the time.
Moreover, Sun Chongren was a very good student, and now that his leg had almost fully recovered and he had received compensation from Master Cao, she thought he would continue his studies and pass the exams all the way through.
As a result, Han Zhongyu dealt with Magistrate Liu and Xiao Yuanhang that day. Sun Chongren and her son returned to their hometown to pay respects to their father, and then the mother and son packed up and came to her!
He even signed the indenture himself and brought it with him!
In ancient times, it was true that some people would bring their entire families and possessions to seek refuge with high-ranking officials and nobles. She never imagined that she could become one of those people worthy of her reliance. For a moment, her feelings were somewhat complicated, and she couldn't help but confirm it again and again.
"Are you really sure? If I take this contract of servitude, you'll lose your freedom, and you won't have the right to take the imperial examinations anymore!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
