Hong Xiaoduo nodded and said, "I believe you."
Ge Jinshuo stared at Hong Xiaoduo for a long while, making sure that she wasn't just making excuses for him. He sighed and said, "Because of my reputation, I haven't been able to find a wife. My mother was anxious. Finally, a matchmaker helped me find a husband. My mother took out all the money she had from selling the shops and fields before we moved and used it as a betrothal gift."
But on our wedding night, I learned that she wasn't a virgin. Thinking of my mother's hardships, I endured the awkwardness in my heart. I thought that if it weren't for this reason, how could she have married someone with such a tarnished reputation as me?
I tried to convince myself that perhaps she had made a mistake in a moment of confusion.
But who would have thought that not only was she not a virgin, but she was also pregnant. She deceived me like I was a fool. In order to cover it up and avoid arousing the suspicion of my daughter and me, she deliberately climbed up to dry beans and dropped them, making up an excuse that the child was "premature" because it was not yet the right gestation period. Little did she know that I already knew.
Although I am a man, I am not an ignorant fool. What kind of woman vomits and craves sour foods just days after getting married? They even lied to me, saying it might be due to the change in environment or stomach upset!
I chose to continue pretending to be stupid for my mother's sake.
I thought that as long as she could live a good life with me and treat my mother well, that would be fine. But I never expected that she would only be peaceful for a little over a hundred days. My mother tried every possible way to cook three meals for her every day, and she only gave her the best food, but she still complained and was picky.
She took advantage of my mother's kind nature, and when I wasn't home, she treated my mother like a maid, ordering her around in all sorts of ways.
I even caught her pushing my mother to the ground once, just because the steamed buns my mother bought for her had gone cold.
My mother has a leg injury and can't walk fast, so how could she possibly make the steamed buns still be at the temperature of just coming out of the steamer when they got home?
That was the first time I laid a hand on her, and she held a grudge. Every time I went out, her abuse of my mother intensified. My mother didn't dare tell me; I only found out after I sensed something was wrong and pressed her for answers.
I lost my previous tolerance towards her. After being disciplined, she cried and ran out. So, this good-for-nothing scoundrel of mine gained another charge: beating his wife.
After giving birth, she took the child and said she was going back to her parents' home for a few days, but she never came back. I was too lazy to look for her. Later, I heard that she had become a wet nurse in a wealthy family.
Then, that man surnamed Jiang asked someone to pay me money so that I could divorce her.
I never intended to take this woman back, so I agreed. I wasn't after the money they offered; it was only a little more than the dowry I had given. I just considered it as getting back the dowry and a little interest.
"Alright, that's what happened. I've said everything I needed to say. Whether you believe it or not is up to you." After saying this, Ge Jinsuo found it unbelievable that he would tell such things to a complete stranger, a young girl. Why did he sound like a woman who had suffered injustice for many years?
"Hey? What are you doing?" As soon as she finished speaking, she saw Hong Xiaoduo looking down and rummaging through her purse.
“I’ll give you five taels of silver in change,” Hong Xiaoduo said.
"No need to look anymore, who wants your five taels of silver?" Ge Jinsuo said with a dark face.
Hong Xiaoduo looked up: "Didn't you say that you can rest assured? This is your reward for clearing up my doubts. I'm giving it to you willingly. It's not something you're extorting."
"Alright, no need to look anymore. I'm not afraid to tell you the truth. Even though our family looks poor and run-down, we're not really so poor that we can't afford to eat."
"The money I got back after the divorce was kept by my mother. Even if I act recklessly, I don't gamble or visit prostitutes, and my mother and I don't spend much money on daily expenses." Ge Jinshuo didn't know why he would refuse the money that was so readily available.
“Listening to you, you’re not exactly a wicked person, so why can’t you just behave yourself and live a peaceful life with your mother? Wouldn’t your mother be more at ease if you did less of those wicked things?” Hong Xiaoduo asked, puzzled.
Ge Jinshuo smiled bitterly and said, "My mother knows the reason for the mess I made, and she also knows that I never do evil things like bullying men and women or bullying the weak and women and children. It's just that I'm annoying and take advantage of others. I always know my limits. I don't plan to repent. I don't care about my reputation. My mother doesn't care either. Let's just live like this."
As the two were talking, Tian Shu, carrying freshly boiled water, came out with the old man.
They all looked at the two people in the courtyard; the old man looked at his son, while Tian Shu looked at Hong Xiaoduo.
Just now in the kitchen, in order to distract the old man, Tian Shu deliberately chatted with him.
However, judging from the expressions of the two people in the courtyard, they both breathed a sigh of relief, so the conversation probably didn't fall apart!
The old man was worried that his son might say something inappropriate.
Tian Shu was worried that if this man provoked Hong Xiaoduo and was dealt with by her, the old lady would be heartbroken, anxious, and sad.
"Grandma, your son has told me everything I wanted to know. It's getting late, so we'll take our leave now." Hong Xiaoduo stood up and said goodbye to the old woman.
"Ah, you're leaving already?" The old man said with some reluctance.
Hong Xiaoduo asked Tian Shu to take some of the New Year's goods he bought from the donkey cart and leave them behind.
Tian Shu immediately agreed to fetch it. Seeing that Ge Jin Suo was about to say something, Hong Xiao Duo said first, "Don't overthink it. It's not out of pity or charity. The New Year is almost here, and it would be too impolite to come empty-handed."
We've bought quite a lot along the way; let's share some with you all so we can all have a good New Year.
Ge Jinsuo did not refuse Hong Xiaoduo's kindness this time, and accepted everything that Tian Shu sent in.
After leaving Ge Jinsuo's house, Hong Xiaoduo and her companion went to find an inn. They had already completed the business they needed to do, so there was no need to return overnight and trouble Xiao Hui.
At night, thinking about Ge Jinsuo and his mother, she couldn't fall asleep for a long time. Before leaving, she couldn't help but ask Ge Jinsuo how his mother went blind in one eye and how she got the injury on her leg. Ge Jinsuo told her that after his mother became a widow, someone climbed through her window at night to try to humiliate her, but because she was a widow, she didn't dare to speak up even if she was wronged.
His mother, struggling against the hairpin, lost her strength and ended up blinding herself. The injuries on her legs were from being beaten by thieves who came to steal from them. After reporting it to the authorities, the government arrested the thieves, and only then did the mother and son realize that the thief was actually their neighbor.
The saying goes, "Don't advise others to be good if you haven't experienced their suffering." Hong Xiaoduo wasn't good at preaching or advising Ge Jinsuo to change his way of life and take the right path.
But perhaps we can find a way to help them.
Besides dealing with the mother and son, she also needed to think about how to bring up Jiang An's matter when she got back...
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