Braving the biting cold wind, Lin Dongmei walked with a hunched back on the silent street.
Although there is no heavy snowfall in the south, the winter is still bitterly cold.
Turning into a narrow alleyway overflowing with sewage, lined with low thatched huts, her family had moved there several months ago.
When my sister got married, the dowry from the Yu family bought her a spacious house, but my brother had already used it to pay off his gambling debts.
When she knocked on the door, Lin Chunfang looked at her with a pitiful expression in her wet, doe-like eyes; it was obvious she had been crying.
Before I could ask, I heard Yu Suqin's voice.
"Dongmei, have you seen your sister?"
Lin Dongmei was cold and hungry, and walked heavily toward her brother's room.
There were several thatched huts, but only the brother's and mother's huts had windows; she and her sister slept in the woodshed.
Before she even entered the house, she could smell a strong medicinal odor. Just as she was about to speak, she suddenly heard the sound of a bowl shattering on the floor inside the house.
Lin Dongmei stood at the door and saw a large bowl of white porridge spilled on the floor next to the bed.
The aroma of rice made Lin Dongmei swallow hard, her mouth watering.
"Get out! Don't worry about me! Just let me die!" Lin Zhaohui roared at Yu Suqin.
He looked dejected, propping himself up with his hands and throwing things off the bed to the floor, all his former high spirits gone.
Yu Suqin quickly pressed his hand down, "Hui'er, if you feel unwell, tell your mother."
After venting his anger, Lin Zhaohui's chest heaved violently, and he stared at Lin Dongmei, who was standing at the door, with a sinister look in his eyes.
"Did you get the silver?"
Lin Dongmei opened her mouth, and then, as if possessed, said, "No, my sister forbade me to go to her again. The eldest young master of the Yu family is locked up, and she can't even protect herself."
“She’s pregnant with the Yu family’s eldest grandson, and now that she’s all grown up, she thinks we’re a burden to her,” Lin Zhaohui said bitterly.
Yu Suqin cursed, "She's an ingrate. I raised her with all my heart and soul."
At this moment, Lin Dongmei suddenly felt a strong urge to escape this family. When her older sister married into the Yu family, she didn't even take a single penny of betrothal gifts. She left all the good things to the family, and in the end, she was accused of being an ungrateful person.
Mother always listens to her eldest brother in everything. Why doesn't she think that all of this is caused by her eldest brother?
Too lazy to listen to their curses, Lin Dongmei went into the kitchen.
The kitchen was cold, with no pots or stoves, and not even a drop of hot water. My heart sank.
Lin Chunfang stood at the door, handed her a vegetable pancake, and whispered, "Mother said you went to your eldest sister's for a feast, so she didn't leave you any food."
"You save your food for later, I'm not hungry." Lin Dongmei didn't take the food; she knew Chunfang had a big appetite and was always hungry.
She picked up a handful of dry firewood, lit it, and put it into the stove to boil some hot water for drinking.
Lin Chunfang squatted down beside her, thoughtfully tore off a piece of the pancake and fed it to her. The two sisters ate it, one bite at a time.
After finishing the pancake, Lin Chunfang leaned her head against Lin Dongmei and sobbed, "Second sister, Mother wants to sell me."
Lin Dongmei paused in her work of burning firewood. "Who told you that?"
"Go find my eldest sister today. I overheard Mother talking to an aunt with a flower in her hair. That aunt said that with my looks, I'll definitely be famous throughout Nanzhou Prefecture within three years."
Lin Dongmei's heart tightened. Chunfang was nearly eleven years old. Because of Yu Suqin's indulgence, she had been a glutton since childhood, and her figure and appearance were the best among the three sisters.
"Did Mother accept that man's money?"
Lin Chunfang shook her head, "No, Mother said she needs to think about it. She came back and discussed with my eldest brother about looking at two more places, saying that the highest bidder wins."
"Sister, Mother and my eldest brother want to sell me into a brothel. What should I do?"
Lin Chunfang was heartbroken at the end of her story.
Lin Dongmei patted her back and comforted her, "Don't worry, they haven't made a decision yet. Let your second sister think of a solution."
Hearing a noise outside the kitchen, Lin Chunfang quickly wiped away her tears and pretended to be nonchalant as she started the fire.
Yu Suqin came in carrying a bowl of medicine. "Dongmei, come out for a moment."
The two sisters exchanged a glance, and Lin Dongmei stood up and followed Yu Suqin into her room without saying a word.
Yu Suqin pulled out a brightly colored cloth from a chest at the foot of the bed.
"Take this cloth back and make yourself some clothes. Come with me on a trip in a couple of days."
Lin Dongmei frowned, her eyes filled with confusion and bewilderment. "Where to?"
“Of course, it’s to find you a husband,” Yu Suqin said.
Hearing that she was going to meet a potential partner, Lin Dongmei blushed slightly. She had already reached marriageable age, and most women at this age were already engaged.
"Has Mother found a suitable family?"
Filled with anticipation, she didn't ask her future husband to be rich and powerful, as long as he was down-to-earth and hardworking.
Remembering what the matchmaker had said, Yu Suqin was so happy she couldn't stop smiling, her eyes and brows beaming with pride.
Those who could be favored by her mother must come from good families. Lin Dongmei's furrowed brows slowly relaxed.
Yu Suqin chuckled and said, "I've taken a liking to Master Cai in the city. His wife died last year, and he said he wanted to arrange a remarriage after the New Year. Luckily, your mother has good connections, so the matchmaker revealed this news to me."
"Master Cai, whose son is a captain in the army?" Lin Dongmei's heart skipped a beat, and she suppressed her smile as she asked Yu Suqin.
Yu Suqin nodded. "That's right, it's him. When you marry into the Cai family, you'll be the official wife, which is much more prestigious than your eldest sister being a concubine."
Lin Dongmei's hands trembled slightly, and her heart felt as if it had been struck by a heavy hammer and shattered into pieces.
"Mother, do you know that Master Cai is older than my father?" She tried hard to control her emotions.
Yu Suqin said nonchalantly, "Older women are more considerate, and it doesn't matter if you can't have a son in the future. You're the legal wife, and all the younger generation will have to respect you..."
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