All these things, Aunt He saw them. To say she didn’t feel a bit sad would be a lie.
Yu Tingwan paused slightly, unable to hear: "Aunt, you didn’t make a fuss?"
Aunt He’s eyes dimd.
It’s almost laughable, looking around, the only one who could speak her true heart was just Yao.
So things she had kept buried in her heart for a long ti.
No secrets left untold.
"Your uncle is not stupid, he’s just itching, but he knows his limits. All he dares to do is chop so wood, can he really take care of soone in bed?"
Yu Tingwan suddenly understood.
Indeed.
Uncle He is the best at reading faces.
Although he is a man, the real head of the He Family is Aunt He.
If anything really happened, the sons and daughters-in-law below would naturally side with Aunt He.
That Old Lu had a miserable late life, without the care of the younger generations, a living example right in front of us.
He wouldn’t be so foolish.
"Moreover..."
Aunt He gestured towards Widow Jiang’s house: "She is also a pitiful person."
Aunt He sighed.
"After her husband died, her in-laws despised her for only giving birth to a daughter and simply washed their hands of her. If it weren’t for the fear of gossip, they probably would have driven the mother and daughter away. She’s young, and good-looking too, I heard her family ca the other day to take her back, with the intention of remarrying her for another dowry."
"How could she agree? How could she bear to part with her four-year-old daughter?"
"Many n had ulterior motives, wanting to pay for a night, but she didn’t agree."
She shook her head as she spoke.
"She’s also smart. She realized your uncle has intentions, but not the guts, so..."
She didn’t finish the sentence, but Yu Tingwan understood.
Aunt He is the toughest on the outside and softest on the inside. If Uncle He hadn’t helped, she would have lent a hand.
Otherwise, she would have gone over long ago to make sure the widow was in trouble.
Aunt He sighed: "I have finally endured through my hardships."
"But Yao, ah."
She smiled and raised her hand to tuck the girl’s unruly hair behind her ear.
"You don’t know, in this world, won have it the hardest. Their husbands don’t value them, the family they co from tries to squeeze the last bit of value out of them. The law can’t control, since ancient tis, n marry and won wed by parental order and matchmaker’s word. Without protection, the world will devour people. It will devour us won until not even a scrap is left."
"If we won cause trouble for other won, then there truly will be no way out."
"Do you think she wants to say nice things about your uncle, that old man?"
"Do you think she wants to lose her dignity?"
"Now she takes so laundry work. In the middle of winter, her hands are cracked and covered with chilblains. She hasn’t sold her body, and yet a bunch of filthy n rush to give her rice and grain, why shouldn’t she accept? To survive, sotis you have to bend your back and plead."
"That seductive charm, I despise it, but as a mother, I respect her."
"If I were in her position, I’d probably be the sa."
Seeing the girl remain silent, she realized the topic had veered off course without her noticing, and she had said too much, restless from the mont they entered the room.
Aunt He slapped her thigh.
"Look at , babbling on about this to you. You wouldn’t understand."
Without having experienced it, one wouldn’t know the hardships of the world.
As she said this, she went to look at Yu Tingwan’s hand.
After being treated with ointnt, it was white and tender, no longer showing any calluses, hiding any hint of what it once looked like.
"I hope that in your lifeti, you never have to understand."
Yu Tingwan glanced in the direction of her gaze.
She couldn’t tell what she was feeling at that mont.
Doesn’t understand?
What a pity.
She understands.
Mother understands too.
The girl smiled faintly, revealing not a hint of the past hardships.
The past is past, and everything is getting better now.
What she needs to do now is to look forward.
As they spoke, they heard a commotion outside.
Followed by the sounds of clattering, filthy curses, won screaming, and children crying loudly.
The sounds ca from Widow Jiang’s house.
Aunt He muttered that sothing was wrong.
"This might be trouble, I’ll go take a look."
Unlike the tranquility of the Wei Family’s alley, it’s more lively here.
It’s a pri location, the most prosperous area in Ze County, step out of the alley and you’re on the main street, lined with dical clinics and restaurants.
The alley was surrounded tight. Many people buying vegetables on the street heard the noise and ran over to watch.
"Not coming with ? You filthy woman!"
"Your parents took my five taels of silver! You’re mine. I didn’t even mind you being second-hand, how dare you mind ?"
The la man wore a fierce expression, pulling on Widow Jiang’s arm to drag her out.
Widow Jiang looked very cold, trying to struggle free.
"Let go."
"I am a woman of the Jiang Family, with in-laws above , they have no right to sell ."
The la man laughed.
He was in his forties, had two wives before who were beaten to death by him. If it weren’t for Widow Jiang being so delicate, he would have started to hit.
Now he couldn’t bear to.
"What do you an sell? Our elders agreed to this. Even the governnt can’t interfere."
"It was your own brother who sought out, saying he had a widowed sister with good looks. Hearing this, I ca to watch, saw you, and thought you were decent, so I agreed to pay the five taels."
His money wasn’t whipped up by the wind.
"Your in-laws?"
"How co they’re still in the dark? Your in-laws had no objections, split the money with your parents, and were quite pleased."
"Their calculations are smarter than anyone’s. They didn’t even want their granddaughter, told to take her too. Later, they could sell this house of yours, and count the money laughing. Tch. Do I look stupid? Raise soone else’s child?"
"Co with , have a few sons for , behave properly and serve well, and I will surely treat you kindly."
"In the future, you are not allowed to associate with these people, including this little brat."
"If you et this little brat behind my back, I’ll beat you to death."
Saying this, he didn’t want to waste any more words.
Seeing Widow Jiang still struggling, he couldn’t help but turn red with anger, beat her twice with a cane, and picked her up to carry her off.
Widow Jiang was in great pain.
"Mother!"
"Let go of my mother."
A small girl with pigtails, neatly put together, chased after them.
Her face covered in tear stains, obviously terrified. But even so, she rushed forward and bit the la man’s leg.
The la man cried out in pain, kicked her away.
"You beast! Get lost."
The child was fragile, directly kicked away, landing heavily on the ground. She twitched in pain, curled into a ball, and burst into tears.
"That’s my mother, she’s my mother!"
"You’re a bad person."
"You all are bad people."
Crying, she crawled towards her mother.
Yu Tingwan saw this, her heart aching.
Especially for Widow Jiang.
She was speechless with anxiety, her eyes red.
That was the child she nearly lost in childbirth, after her husband died, that child is her life.
"Zhaozhao!"
Her heart sank with sorrow: "I beg you, you’ve hurt her. Let go and see."
"I have no thoughts of remarrying, I just want to stay with my daughter."
"Whoever took the dowry money, you go find them. My mother took it, you go marry her."
This remark caused those around to gasp, yet everyone started gesturing and murmuring.
"So unfilial."
"Her mother gave birth to her, raised her, how could she harm her?"
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