Pain…
The first sensation Ziman felt after she regained her consciousness was a terrible pain at the back of her head. Her head was buzzing, leaving her dizzy and nauseous.
She was not unfamiliar with this kind of feeling. Once she had slipped down from the stairs and ended up knocking her head. She had felt a similar pain at that time. When she went to the hospital for a check-up, the doctor said that she had a minor concussion.
A concussion!? She had a concussion…
This was Ye Ziman's first reaction.
Her plane crashed, and all she had was a concussion?!
This was her second thought.
Ye Ziman tried to move but failed.
She was unable to move her hands and legs and seemed to be blindfolded. Through the slits at the bottom of the blindfold, she could feel dazzling light outside.
Was she not dead?
Her body seems to be tied up by something, making her unable to move. She shook her head, but just a slight shook made her nauseous leaving her extremely uncomfortable.
Someone seems to be talking…
Ye Ziman stopped moving and tried to listen carefully. She could vaguely and intermittently hear someone speaking faintly.
"…Miss, you can't do this…" The old female's voice rang out, with an apparent hesitation in her voice.
"…Huh," it was a young female with a delicate and crisp voice but full of viciousness. "What's wrong?… Anyway, tomorrow Dad will move the whole family to the south and join the office there. Even if he found her missing, would he delay the trip and stay back just to find her? Not to mention that she might not even be found missing. …"
Ye Ziman listened in a daze, feeling that her brain was very slow. Even though the voices were very faint and could only hear intermittently, she could still grasp the general meaning.
She?!
Who was she?
Lost?
Who was lost?
She could vaguely hear the old female voice saying something. But then the delicate and crisp female voice raised, and became sharp, "…come back? What if he comes back?… Not to mention, it's been two years, and yet there is not even a single letter, who knows if he is already dead on the battlefield… I can't see you doing this… There's a big brother, you all afraid of her… Not to mention he is concubine born… A pair of bastards…"
The young female's voice crackled like firecrackers. "…Even Dad treats her differently and is willing to betroth her to cousin…Cousin! He is my cousin. What does it have to do with her…"
The old female's voice suddenly rose, "…Oh, young miss, you keep your voice down, keep your voice down…" It seemed as if her mouth was covered by the old woman.
"…Well, nanny, you can rest assured." The crispy female voice sounded again, with a tinge of coquettishness." I have already arranged for everything. Baowang family has contacted the trafficker Qian. As long as you pay attention and help me conceal it, we will not be found…"
"But, she is your sister, after all. …If something embarrassing happens to her, your reputation may also get affected…"
"Sister?! What sister, she is mere concubine born, I don't accept her!" The delicate female voice raised agitatedly but quickly lowered and gently said, "Okay~~ nanny ~~ I understand what you mean, that's why I didn't sell her into those nasty places, ah. I only let them sell her faraway to the mud legs. Didn't she dream of marrying into a noble family and become a rich lady? Hmph, I will let her shovel in the soil with mud legs for the rest of her life…"
The nanny wanted to say something but was impatiently interrupted by her young miss, "Don't worry, nanny, we won't be discovered. We sent her out of the capital without anyone knowing it, and she is, after all, a weak woman, don't worry…"
"We can be rest assured as long as we pass tomorrow, one day, successfully. After that, even if Dad found that she is missing, it would too late for him to find her back. Let's say that even if he found her back, she would have been missing for several days, and her name would be ruined. By then, it wouldn't matter even if he found that we were the ones behind it. Would he blame me, his di daughter, for a mere shu daughter whose name was ruined?" She had planned everything meticulously a long time ago; otherwise, she wouldn't have dared to do this. "Mother has also given me her support. We just have to make sure not to bring her name in front of the father tomorrow. Later even he found her 'missing', it would be too late, and no would have the energy to look for her. "
The nanny didn't try to persuade her out of it anymore. Once her young miss decides to do something, even Emperor Laozi can't stop her.
Ai, let it be, now she had better think about how to conceal this matter and report it to madam. As for Young miss Wan, she should handle this matter prudently and make sure that nothing goes wrong.
Since the young miss is already set on this matter, the servants had to take care of the mess. If something goes wrong, not only will their young miss would be in trouble, but they, servants will not be able to escape the aftermath.
Ye Ziman was in a daze as she listened to the two pairs of footsteps disappearing. Her head was still throbbing make her feel dizzy. She tried hard to keep her eyes open, but another wave of dizziness hit her, and her eyes turned black and fainted again.
When Ye Ziman woke up again, she had no idea how much time had passed.
She was awakened by pitiful wailing of the girls. She slowly opened her eyes. Her eyes were not blindfolded this time, but her hands were still tied, and she was curled up in the corner of the carriage.
She looked at her tied hands, the embroidered blue dress on her body, and then glanced at the several young women around her dressed similarly in various ancient costumes with their hands tied behind them.
Ye Ziman once again confirmed her speculations- she has crossed the worlds. The setting was similar to one of the web novels she had read in her past life.
Yes, she crossed.
When she was unconscious, many images flashed in her head. They were the thoughts and memories of the original body.
This place was called the Daxi Dynasty, which was a bit similar to the Song and Ming Dynasty in her previous world's history. The original owner of this body was called Lin Qingwan, the eldest young miss of the Lin family. Her father was a fifth rank official in the ministry of appointments.
Although Master Lin was a mere small rank official, the Lin family was considered as a scholarly and prestigious family with a great history. But their family was not the main family and can only be regarded as a branch family closer to the main family.
Lin's family's current patriarch, her father's uncle, was a Left Prime minister, a true first-class official. The Lin family was prosperous, and many members from the main family became officials. In the capital, the Lin family was known as 'Lin Banzhao', which itself spoke volumes about the authenticity of the family.
As for the original owner of the body, Lin Qingwan, she was born to to Councillor Lin Zhixizn's concubine.
This concubine was previously a maid who served Lin Zhixian since childhood. When she grew up, the old madam saw that she was an honest person. The young masters from the aristocratic family should be aware of certain 'bedroom matters' when they reach adulthood; thus, she was promoted as a tongfang by the old madam.
The concubine was also a hardworking person; within a few months, she was pregnant and gave birth to Lin Qingwan's brother Lin Qingting the following year.
According to the law, the firstborn should always be from the main wife, but the Lin family wasn't prosperous in terms of children.
Master Lin's father, Lin Qingwan's paternal grandfather, died early, leaving Master Lin as their branch's sole heir. Concubine knew that old madam was in-charge of the backyard, so she flattered the old madam during her pregnancy. After all, she was promoted by the old madam. Thus under the protection of the old madam, she gave birth to Lin Qingting, the Lin family's eldest son.
When Lin Qingting was more than a year old, Madam Liu married into the Lin family. Not long after that, the First Concubine who was still a tongfang at that time was promoted to the concubine's position.
This was because the eldest young master of the Lin family came from her belly. Otherwise, based on the Lin family's status, it would never be her turn to be the master's concubine. But now she was Lin Zhixian's first concubine and must be registered in genealogy records.
The main wife had yet to cross the dross, but the man had the eldest son, moreover he came out of the belly of his childhood sweetheart. Undoubtedly she would be a thorn in the main wife's flesh, no matter who the person was.
But the old madam indeed had a good eye. The concubine was indeed honest and knew her place. She never instigated troubles and fought for the favor.
Therefore, after the main wife gave birth to a son, first concubine gave birth to Lin Qingwan the following year based on her former affections with Master Lin.
For a woman who was previously a maid to become a concubine, her life was indeed good.
Growing up with the master, having both son and daughter, obviously, both of them had mutual affection, so in the future, she would still be favored and would have someone to fall back on in her old age.
Unfortunately, the first concubine's fate wasn't good, she died of illness a few years after giving birth to Lin Qingyuan.
At that time, Lin Qingting was only 10 years old, and Lin Qingwan was 6 years old.
Children who were not guarded by their mothers were truly unfortunate and lacking. Although the shu born in families like Lin family wouldn't lack food and clothes, nevertheless, Lin Zhixian was all year round busy with his officialdom and rarely entered the backyard to care for the children. Moreover, over time, the number of children in the backyard also gradually increased.
It was unlikely to shortchange in terms of food and drinks as the aristocratic families still need to care about their faces. But it was common to be stingy and deduct their allowances.
Besides, when the boy was over ten years old, it was natural to be rebellious and playful, coupled with several people around him instigating him, with no adult around to guide him he was lead astray. Fighting all day long, visiting brothels and gambling houses. Since then the eldest young master Lin was said to have bad reputation.
Lin Zixian also became extremely disappointed with his first born child, and was even lazy to pay attention to him.
Thus the shu born brother and sister became invisible in the Lin family.
Besides every time, Lin Qingting got into trouble, he would incur his father's wrath and met his planks.
Lin Qingting was not a fool either, over a period of time, he understood his di mother's thoughts.
His title, eldest young master Lin, made his mother unable to tolerate him, as there was still a di younger brother below him.
Blocking others' way, others can only ruin you in all aspects. Ruining his reputation was just the beginning, later it would become even more serious.
Thus, Lin Qingting, understanding the situation, decisively signed up for the army when he was 17 years old.
This news stirred a huge wave of uproar in the Lin family. For generations, the Lin family was serving as officials. There was not even a single precedent joining in the army. For scholars, it was a shame to be a soldier.
But Lin Qingting being stubborn and rebellious, coupled with Madam Liu deliberately fanning the flames with the intention of 'supporting' him, Lin Qingting packed up his bags and went to the border alone after informing his sister.
Bringing glory to his ancestors wasn't his intention, but to make a living and support his sister lest she got married unjustly and bullied without anyone's support.
Originally, Lin Qingting was anxious about his sister, but in the past few years, apart from giving her a bit of a hard time, their di mother didn't bully her much. Thus letting his sister stay at home was the best choice.
As for Lin Qingwan, the Liu shi did not bother to deal with her, even if she was the concubine's eldest daughter.
It wouldn't matter to invite a few talented gentlemen to let her see the 'world' and let her marry her sweetheart with a bit of dowry when she is of age as long as she knew her place.
Moreover, aristocratic families establish connections with marriages, and daughters are meant to pave the way for the sons by marrying, whether beneficial or not, at least better than nothing. At most, sometimes, she would be irksome, that's all.
As for the situation she was in now, based on the what she had heard the first time she woke up, and with her being tied up now, she had an idea what had happened. Based on the original owner's memories, she was asked by Lin Qinglan to go out together to pray for the blessings before getting knocked out.
Ye Ziman, no, it's Lin Qingwan now, based on her analysis, it was clear that her di younger sister was the perpetrator.
But this move of Lin Qinglan's was truly ruthless and effective.
Lin Qingwan couldn't help but smile bitterly in her heart.
For the women of this era, purity and integrity are very important. She didn't know for how long she had been missing, probably a day or two. As of now, it wouldn't matter even if she was found for her reputation might already be ruined, and no one would be willing to marry her in the future.
And from what she had heard from Lin Qinglan's words to her nanny, she was sure that the probability of her being 'found' was extremely low.
Lin Qinglan's nanny, Wang mama, was aware of this matter, so Liu shi would also know it. Considering the circumstances, she would surely push the boat with the current and will conceal this matter.
Obviously, Liu shi being the master of the rear court would surely conceal this matter. After several days her father would be 'informed' that his daughter, Lin Qingwan, was 'lost' during the travel.
As for how she got 'lost', the most suitable excuse would be when getting off the carriage to take rest…anyway Liu shi would perfunctorily conceal this matter.
Lin Qingwan found joy in sorrows as she analyzed in her mind how she would be found missing.
Will anyone grieve for her loss? But based on how she was an invisible person in the Lin family's rear court, no one would feel sad for her. The only one who would feel bad for her would be her brother, but now he is not even aware of this matter.
Brother… don't know where her brother is right now…
Thinking of Lin Qingting, Lin Qingwan couldn't help but feel a trace of longing and sadness, must be because of the emotions and memories that the original owner still had left in her body, right!
Would Lin Qinglan expect her maid to directly kill Lin Qingwan just from hitting her from behind? Making it convenient for her to cross over. If she knew, would she regret making a wrong move? …
Nevertheless, when her plane was about to crash, she thought she would die tragically without a proper burial site. Now that she could live again as Lin Qingwan, she was thankful to God.
Although her circumstances were challenging, how difficult can they be, right?!
This is what she did best in her previous life. Her natural disposition was tenacious, and she could be at home wherever she was. She was born as an orphan, if she didn't know how to find joy in sorrows, it would be impossible for her to live.
Now her only hope was that everything would go well…
As Lin Qingwan sank into the deep memories, unknowingly, her cheeks streamed with tears.
"Hey~~ Are you okay?" A small voice sounded beside her.
Lin Qingwan looked up to see a 14-15-year-old girl who was all skin and bones and had a dry yellow hair. Because she was too thin, her eyes looked particularly big. At first glance, she only saw a pair of big eyes.
Lin Qingwan was taken aback.
"You… you are?"
When the girl saw that she was fine, she leaned back into the corner. "My name is Xiao Hua. You have an injury on your head and were in a coma for a few days. Trafficker Qian had asked me to look after you for these two days."
Lin Qingwan touched her head, which was wrapped in a white cloth, but it didn't hurt much. When she woke up, she didn't feel nauseous or dizzy either. "Thank you for your care over the past few days. May I ask where we are…?"
Xiao Hua looked at her, but did not curiously ask why she had an injury on her head and was in a coma for several days, and why she didn't even know where she was now. Having lived in influential families, she knew well that curiosity kills the cat…
"This is trafficker Qian's caravan…"
Looking at the girl who was still confused, she kindly added, "Trafficker Qian is taking us to the north, to sell us. Currently, we are on the way."
"Sell?" Lin Qingwan was stupefied and murmured in a daze as she repeated again, "Sell us…"
"Yes," Xiaohua replied affirmatively. As if to let her know the situation she was facing right now.
Lin Qingwan looked around in a panic. This time she carefully scrutinized her surroundings, unlike her previous casual glance. She was now in a long and narrow carriage, crowded with girls in disheveled clothes, and hands tied just like her.
Some were leaning back and resting with their eyes closed, some were weeping with their head buried in their knees, while some sitting woodenly in despair.
Due to the lack of circulation in the air, a nauseating smell permeated in the carriage. It seemed to be the foul odor of sweat and urine.
Lin Qingwan retched and held her nose before leaning behind with her back against the wall, her heart full of panic.
It seems that Lin Qinglan's words to her nanny were not false, she really sold her out of the capital.
She felt a burning sensation as the gastric juices churned in her stomach. Her body had not eaten anything for days, the nauseating smell in the carriage also didn't help her situation, making her extremely uncomfortable.
Lin Qingwan also felt her mouth dry and painful, it should have been cracked, just now she only spoke a few words, but she felt her mouth salty and fishy.
"Are you hungry?" Xiaohua asked in a low voice but then found her question ridiculous and laughed at herself. "You must be hungry. After all, you were in a coma for three days."
Three days? So currently she was already very far away from the capital?
Lin Qingwan remained silent but felt someone nudging her waist. She looked down to see a pair of dirty hands tied at the wrists just like her, with a small piece of…pancake between them?
"You have this first, this is my leftovers from yesterday." Xiaohua said nonchalantly, "Everyone here only gets a hard pancake and a bowl of water every day. Everyone can't eat enough, so… don't mind if it is dirty."
"Thank you." Lin Qingwan thanked her, silently received the dirty-looking pancake from Xiao Hua's hand, and took a bite. But before she could even take a bite, she felt a piercing pain in her mouth, accompanied by salty and fishy smell.
Ignoring the pain, she bit the pancake and chewed slowly. Her throat was parched and hot, every time she swallowed, she felt as if her throat was split and smoke came out.
Dirty? As a child, she hadn't eaten anything dirty in her past life, but as long as she could her fill, she would even go through the dustbin.
In her last life, with great difficulty, she had stood on her own feet and was able to make her own living, and was no longer a street urchin who no one cared about. But, unexpectedly, fate turned around; she passed through and was once again forced to go through the difficult circumstances she had faced in her childhood….
She was overwhelmed with the feeling of helplessness, panic, and was at a loss to what was held for her future… what should she do? …
Suddenly the carriage stopped, and bustling sounds were heard from outside.
The carriage door was then abruptly opened by a stout, and a boorish woman, staring daggers at the girls inside.
She wore a dark blue silk dress with a long waistband, her hair was rolled up in a bun, and had an epa1 on her forehead. Her otherwise decent face had a fierce look.
"Cry! Cry! Cry! What are you crying for? Are you in mourning? If you want to complain, blame yourselves for offending nobility. Why didn't you cry when you climbed into the master's bed? Otherwise, go blame your own parents for selling you."
The woman cursed whilst hitting the carriage door, making the fat on her body tremble. "Hurry up, get down, and relieve yourselves if you want. Otherwise, when we resume our journey in a while, you would have no choice but to pee in your own pants."
The girls in the carriage stopped crying and helped each other to get down the carriage.
Lin Qingwan also wanted to stand up, but unfortunately, her legs became numb due to lack of movement and blood circulation and fell back again. Xiao Hua beside her kindly gave her a hand.
"Yo, you are awake?" Trafficker Qian recognized her silhouette at a glance. "I thought you wouldn't be able to make it, so I was about to report back about your situation."
When the nobleman sent her here, he had explicitly asked not to let her die; otherwise, she wouldn't have spent this much effort to ask people to take care of her.
Although right now, she cut a sorry figure, this girl's appearance was still quite inviting. If it weren't for the nobleman's repeated instructions to make sure to sell her far away from the capital to mud legs, she really wanted to tidy her up, dress her in beautiful clothes and send this girl to some high-end brothel. She would definitely sell it for a high price.
But this idea, trafficker Qian only dared to think. After working in the capital for so many years, she was well aware of the noble people's means.
If you offend a nobleman, you'll have to shed your skin at the least if you don't die. Isn't the girl in front of her the best example? It's such a pity, she looked so lovely and tender …
Lin Qingwan remained silent, but after thinking a bit, she hesitatingly asked, "Aunt, do you have water? I was unconscious for a long time, and haven't eaten anything, can you give me some food and water?"
Xiao Hua secretly nudged Lin Qingwan with her elbow but didn't dare to say anything in trafficker Qian's presence.
Lin Qingwan wasn't aware as she was in a coma for the past few days, but Xiao Hua knew better. Unable to bear the starvation, girls cried for more food and water, but they were either reprimanded harshly or whipped.
To her surprise, the ever fierce trafficker Qian merely frowned before glancing at Lin Qingwan's bandaged head and agreed.
Trafficker Qian then took a bag of water and two pieces of millet pancake from the footman and threw them at Lin Qingwan.
"Eat quickly. After you are done, get down the carriage and relieve yourself. Once we set off on our journey again, we won't stop in the middle." After saying so, she swung her hips and got down the carriage.
Lin Qingwan strenuously picked up the water bag and pancakes with her bound hands, thought for a bit, and gave one pancake to Xiao Hua.
"Think about it again, don't regret giving it to me, after this meal, you will have to stare every day." Xiao Hua took the pancake in hand and said.
Lin Qingwan glanced at her and whispered, "Just consider it as me paying you back for the pancake you gave me a while ago."
Xiao Hua didn't say anything bowed her head and nibbled on the pancake. Lin Qingwan then handed her water bag; this time she did not refuse, as she was also thirsty. To save trouble, Trafficker Qian rarely gives them water.
Both of them silently ate the pancakes and drank the water, not to mention, this pancake was much better than what they were usually given. Even though it was dry, it was soft and not hard.
Soon they both finished the pancake in their hands and drank water again.
Lin Qingwan felt re-energized, and the pain in her head also lessened. Sure enough, an empty sack cannot stand upright2.
Both of them wiped their mouths and helped each other to get down the carriage. There were many people outside the carriage, it seemed that everyone got down to relieve themselves.
Lin Qingwan followed Xiao Hua to roadside bushes, as a sturdy old woman watched their every move, like a tiger watching his prey3.
On the other side of the road was a group of men who were being watched by footmen. Slow-moving men were cursed and whipped by them.
Lin Qingwan didn't need to relieve herself, but she still squatted in the grass like everyone, and secretly scrutinized her surroundings.
She didn't know where they were; the surroundings were utterly desolate, with only trafficker Qian's fleet in sight.
Few people stood up after they were done relieving themselves. The old woman supervising them checked the time and urged the rest of the squatting ones.
"Are you done? You guys are starving all day, and there's still so much to pull down? It seems you could be given a little less food in the future."
Those who were still squatting stood up, their faces didn't look too good, but no one dared to make a sound. Lin Qing Wan and Xiao Hua also hurriedly stood up and pulled on their skirts.
"Stop dillydallying, and move quickly." The woman on the side waved her stick and drove them as if she was treating dogs.
For the first time in her life, Lin Qingwan understood the meaning of the word 'shame'. Nevertheless, she bowed her head and hastened her pace.
Two girls at the back of the line seemed to be walking slowly and were whipped by the old woman. A burst of crying rang out; few girls were even sacred to cry out loudly and wept as they ran in small steps.
"…Don't even think of escaping from here. Why don't you stay here and wait as we find a master for you? If you ran out alone and met bandits…hehe..only, then you'll know how to spell the word regret…"
Xiao Hua was rather brave and did not cry as she dextrously pulled her to the carriage.
Hastily, Lin Qingwan took a glance around her surroundings.
The fleet was very long, with dozens of carriages. There were many people, both men and women, old and young, most of them were dressed destitutely, while few of them looked as if they have come from rich families- must have offended the nobility.
There were around 10 or so footmen and hired thugs, each and every one of them looked young and strong, as they vigilantly scrutinized the surroundings.
Lin Qingwan got into the carriage and found a place to sit, Xiao Hua sat next to her.
Shortly, the carriage started to move.
Footnotes
also known as "headbands", were worn by women on their foreheads. They were more popular in the Ming Dynasty and used by young and old.
Idiom, A poor or hungry person cannot function properly.
Idiom, to eye covetously
4
Ten days had passed.
All this while they were locked in the carriage around the clock, and the only time they were allowed to go out was to relieve themselves. Trafficker Qian gave them less food and water. On top of that, the carriage was bumpy due to the uneven road. Thus, in just a short span of time, everyone became exhausted.
The few girls who used to cry all day long, also stopped crying, presumably, because of their lack of strength.
Lin Qingwan was also no better, with her spirit weary and strength exhausted, she was thirsty and hungry but would still find time to move her legs and feet in the available small place.
On the way, she had heard bits and pieces of words from a few conversations of other girls. She got to know that they were being transported to the north by Trafficker Qian to sell them off. Most of the girls here were the servants who worked in wealthy families, had offended their master in one or the other way- some of them had made a mistake, some of them had committed a crime, while few girls dared to crawl onto their master's bed offending the concubine in the process, and so on… likewise all the people who couldn't stay in the capital anymore were gathered by Trafficker Qian to sell them in the north.
Every time they were let out of the carriage Lin Qingwan stealthily scrutinized her surroundings. Although she couldn't observe much, she would sill spare no pains or effort. She would also, intentionally or unintentionally, enquire about the outside circumstances.
After all, the original owner grew up in the rear courtyard. The only time she stepped out of the house in her 16 years of life was when her dimei [1]invited her to burn the incense, and this was the time she was deceived. Thus, she had indeed no idea how the real world looks like.
Lin Qingwan would always plan before she acted on anything. She wouldn't act blindly without knowing what was going on outside or being fully confident that she could escape. Since this was different from the world in her previous life, she didn't want to take the wrong step and regret it all her life.
Moreover, she found it difficult to escape in her current circumstances. Every time she went out, she was closely guarded by the old women and was surrounded by footmen and hired thugs. Furthermore, the carriage in which she was locked in was in the middle of the fleet. Thus, escaping during the day was out of the question, and the only possibility to escape was during the night. A large fleet, such as theirs, cannot stop in the middle of the cities, so they can only stop at the desolate areas out of the town to sleep. But she still had to work on planning for her escape…
Lin Qingwan's actions didn't attract much attention from others, but Xiao Hua, who was sitting beside her, took note of her actions.
That night, when others fell asleep, she gently patted Lin Qingwan. She knew that Lin Qingwan was still awake.
"You want to run away." Her voice was low, her tone wasn't that of questioning rather affirmative. Xiao Hua's big black eyes were gleaming slightly in the darkness.
Lin Qingwan was silent for a moment, then she nodded in affirmation, "En." After being together for the past few days, she and Xia Hua gradually became familiar with each other, sometimes, they would even sit together and chat for a while. She knew that Xia Hua was smart. Moreover, the two of them were like kindred spirits, with a similar temperament. So, if she wanted to escape, she wouldn't hide it from her.
"You're not a maid, you are a young miss from some rich family, right?"
Lin Qingwan was startled and did not speak.
"Hehe~~Curious how can I tell?" Looking at the faint moonlight passing through the carriage window, Xiao Hua's big eyes gleamed as she replied without waiting for her to answer, "Intuition and Perception."
Lin Qingwan remained silent and looked at the other person's eyes. She knew that Xiao Hua had something to tell her; otherwise, she wouldn't have waited till midnight when everyone was in a deep sleep.
"Do you know how many times I have been sold like this?"
Again, Xiao Hua did not wait for Lin Qingwan's reply and continued, "5 times."
"When I was six, my hometown was flooded. My father, with his own hands, sold me, this is the fifth time I am being sold…" her voice was full of sarcasm and vicissitudes that didn't belong to her age. "First time, I was sold to a merchant family. At that time, I was small, thin, and of little value, thus I was sold for two taels of silver. My father took those two taels of silver and flurried, leaving me behind. I can still remember…"
Actually, ~" Xiao Hua's voice suddenly became lighter again, "My first master's family was very good. Think about it, what can they even ask a thin, weak 5 -year-old-child to do? Seeing that I was pitiful, they gave me food to eat. I worked in the kitchen, stoking the fire for three years…later, the master's family decided to relocate; thus, I was sold again… and was sent to a broker… "
"…My second master was a xucai[2]… they are said to be a family with a literary reputation, but they very poor, yet they still had to be ostentatious and buy a servant girl to serve them. Why would they buy me? Because I was cheap, only 4 taels of silver. I had to cook, do the laundry, prepare the footbath for xucai to wash and clean his mother's chamber pot… I stayed in their house for a year…"
"…The third owner was also a merchant, later I didn't know what happened, but his business failed…"
"…the fourth master's family was in the capital, a minor official, but he was a miser didn't feed his family's servants every day…later he moved out of the capital…"
"The last lord's family had enough food to eat, furthermore, every month we even use to get silver… but the backyard was filthy, and the servant girls were dragged out and killed at every turn… …I was timid and scared, I wanted to stay alive…so I deliberately made a not-so-small mistake and got punished by the board and sent out."
Although Xiao Hua's tone was brisk and vibrant, her speech was vivid and colorful. But didn't know why it still made Lin Qingwan's nose sour.
In a choked voice, she asked, "Why don't you run away, instead of letting them sell you?"
"Run ~~? Where to?" Xiao Hua said serenely, the kind of serene that nevertheless made one's eyes water and mouth tremble.
" Do you know what kind of world it is outside? You didn't even step out of your house till now, right~" Xiao Hua's voice raised a bit, with a tinge of sarcasm in it. "Do you know? A girl who is alone can't do anything outside. Can you support yourself? To find a living to support yourself, you need either a household registration or a guarantee. My father signed a death deed when he sold me, where is the household registration? "
At her words, the carriage became silent.
After a while, Xiao Hua opened her mouth again, "Do you think I haven't tried to run away? After I came out of the third master's home, I secretly ran away from the trafficker….I was alone, I had no place to live, no food to eat, I wanted to find a job to support myself, but no one wanted me. Once I was accidentally spotted and was almost sold to a brothel house by a kidnapper….I lived as a beggar for a while, but then I couldn't bear anymore and returned to the broker and after suffering a round of beatings, I was sold once again.
Xiao Hua took a deep breath and stared at her with bright eyes.
"I know you want to run away. Forget about whether you can run away or not, with a face like yours, even if you run away, you'll be abducted and sold into the brothel house in less than two days, at that time your situation would be even worse than now. I don't know why you're here and where you'll be sold, but Granny Qian doesn't intend to sell you to those filthy places… The girls who are going to be sold to that kind of place are all in that carriage in front of ours. Every day they are being fed with good food and water so that they can negotiate and sell them at higher prices…. …"
Lin Qingwan felt like she was ruthlessly awakened from her stupor, her body couldn't help but shiver.
Yes, where can she go?
She doesn't know where her brother was, so she can't go back home. Even if she ran back to the capital after suffering untold hardships and sought help from the master of Lin's main family, to contact her father, their only dead-end would be waiting for her.
Daughters of prestigious families have reputation and integrity as big as the sky. They would rather have a 'dead' daughter with a great reputation and integrity rather than an alive daughter without any fame. There would only be two endings waiting for her there, one 'dying suddenly' or 'early death due to illness'.
Liu shi would be even happier to watch that happen, when the time comes, she certainly wouldn't mind pushing the wave and adding willows[3].
Don't ask how she knew all these matters, but based on her memory, she could at least have this much of knowledge. This is the saddest thing about the women in this society; starving to death is a small matter, but losing one's chasity is a huge ordeal.
Xiao Hua's words enlightened Lin Qing Wan and made her realize that this wasn't one of those transmigrating novels she had read in her last life to pass the time. She wasn't any female lead either; she didn't possess a powerful golden finger, nor did she have any space, or anything special.
This was not any marvelous society in a novel built by an author. Here the women from honorable families aren't allowed to stroll on the streets; it is unlikely to encounter a male lead while taking a casual stroll. It is even more unlikely for a woman to have a business, become the wealthiest person and become known far and wide or to disguise as a male, passing the imperial examination, becoming a scholar, writing poems, composing music, and whatnot.
This country is very feudal and has a strict social culture, just like the ideology in her previous life's ancient times. There were slaves, chastity monuments, the principle of following one's father, husband and then son, death, humiliation, whips that land like driving away dogs, Xiao Hua who was sold for five times…. and her, Lin Qingwan, a tragic woman who was schemed against and had her reputation destroyed by her dimu[4] and dimei; who was about to be sold to peasants
It was at this moment that Ye Ziman (who called herself Ye Ziman for the last time) was genuinely integrated into Lin Qing Wan's life.
Her plane crashing, dying, transmigrating, and coming back to life. Everything that happened during the past few days gave Lin Qingwan an unrealistic feeling, just like acting and playing a role. She always felt that all this would not last long, and she would return back to being tenacious and solitary Ye Ziman.
She hadn't realized it until this moment.
She can't go back, can't go back… From now on, she is Lin Qing Wan, she had reborn into Lin Qing Wan's body, but has the emotional memories of both Lin Qing Wan and Ye Ziman….
At some point, Xiao Hua fell asleep, but Lin Qingwan was still wide awake with unknown thoughts swirling in her head…
[1] younger sister born from the first wife
[2] a person who has passed the county level imperial exam
[3] to add fuel to the fire
[4] first wife
5
After that night, Lin Qingwan became silent. Most of the time, she would stare at the ceiling, with unknown thoughts swirling in her head.
It took a few days for the situation to improve. Xiao Hua no longer pretended nonchalantly and was anxious, from time to time, her gaze would fall on Lin Qingwan.
Lin Qingwan was aware of Xiao Hua's worries and found it quite amusing but felt touched.
To be able to meet someone like Xiao Hua at the lowest point of her life, she truly felt that it was a gift from Heaven to her.
Xiao Hua truly resembled her former self from the past life.
Tenacious, strong, easily satisfiable, adept at comforting oneself, ability to unearth a little bit of joy in the toughest and most embarrassing situations…and with that little bit of joy, they can make themselves last in the toughest situations…."
Neither abandoning oneself to despair nor having resentment and blaming oneself. Instead, being at home where one was, looking forward, and awaiting as to what fate would bring them….
Good, bad, happiness, sorrow…
Actually, she hadn't been thinking of anything these past few days; she wasn't able to figure about much, as her brain, for the most part, was empty. Most of the time, she would find herself pondering and analyzing her current and future situations.
Excluding the possibility of being sold as a prostitute, the odds were high for her to be either sold as a slave into a rich family or, as Lin Qinglan said, 'to be sold as a wife for some peasant in the mountains'….
In Lin Qingwan's view, the probability of the latter was the greatest.
Neither Lin Qinglan nor Liu shi would allow for her to be sold into that kind of filthy place, fearing that their reputation would be damaged, even if either the fish dies or the net splits[1], her surname was still a Lin.
They tweak humanity very well, they can force you, squeeze you, and even humiliate you, but they will never force you to a dead end.
Humans are submissive and tend to be enslaved. When resistance is not possible, people choose to obey. But even after obeying if one is forced past to their threshold point, most people would choose to let fish die or break the net.
Regardless, even if the 'fish dies' or 'net breaks', they wouldn't choose to take risks, as it wasn't worth it. When they are set up on a high seat[2], why would they allow such a humble one as herself to implicate themselves?
Lin Qingwan once again rejoiced in her heart that Lin Qinglan was still young, and her means weren't ruthless enough to kill her. Thus, the identity of 'Lin Qingwan' became her biggest reliance-
They couldn't afford to gamble, and she was barefoot and not afraid of wearing shoes![3]
"Don't worry; I won't do it." Lin Qingwan said to Xiao Hua with a smile.
Xiao Hua clasped her fingers, and awkwardly turned her head, "I'm not worried about you."
Lin Qingwan smiled happily. This was the first time she had laughed so genuinely after crossing over.
An incident that happened next made Lin Qingwan extinguish the last bit of 'reluctance' in her heart that she couldn't escape.
Long-distance fleets like theirs don't always get a place to rest, and many times, they would sleep in desolate areas outside the towns.
Every time they slept outdoors in desolate areas out of the town, Trafficker Qian and her men would be on guard and would take turns to keep vigil all night.
But not everyone was like Lin Qingwan, observing and analyzing the situation first and 'thinking twice before acting.'
So one night, when everyone was asleep, someone got out of the carriage and tried to run away.
Lin Qingwan was not very clear about the specific situation. In the middle of the night, their carriage door was knocked and were forced to watch 'killing the chickens to warn the monkeys'[4]. It was only then they realized that someone tried to escape.
Trafficker Qian awakened everyone and asked them to look outside through the window of the carriage.
There were a lot of torches burning outside, so anyone inside the carriage could clearly see the situation outside.
Trafficker Qian put the escaped person in the middle of the field and then began to describe that person's wrongdoings, hurled her with all kinds of abuses, and humiliated her…finally, she then punished for her vile act.
The punishment was ten whips, and the reason it was so little because the person who escaped was a woman.
That woman was all skin and bones. She incessantly begged for mercy as she kneeled on the ground in horror. However, Trafficker Qian ignored her pleas and looked meaningfully, immediately the whip in thug's hand went down, whipping her mercilessly.
The woman's screams of pain for mercy, the leaping torches, trafficker Qian's face full of violence, and the expressionless face of the thugs as they executed the girl…made many of the people watching shiver….
'Killing the chickens to warn the monkeys,' the chickens weren't killed, but this series of tactics implemented by Trafficker Qian had scared a lot of 'monkeys,' including Lin Qing Wan.
She wondered in trepidation, had she tried escaping and failed; she would also have been whipped like that in front of everyone by the trafficker Qian….
Perhaps worse than this woman. She remembered Xiao Hua mentioning that this woman was one of the people selected by trafficker Qian to sell for higher prices to big sellers. To be able to punish the 'money tree' like this ruthlessly, it would probably be even worse if she was replaced by one who wasn't a 'money tree'..
After they stopped whipping, the fragile woman was on the verge of death, covered in bloodstains, as she lay on the ground, breathing heavily.
But Trafficker Qian did not give up yet, instead harshly reprimanded everyone as the fat on her face trembled – this ruthless talk was, of course, addressed to these "monkeys"…
The general gist was that even if one person in the carriage tried to run away, everyone in the carriage would be punished without food and water for three days in a row, starting from the woman who tried running away just now…
There was a sudden uproar after listening to this sentence.
This woman's method was indeed ruthless, once this method comes out, who would still think of escaping. There are more than a dozen people in a carriage, each with different thoughts. You want to escape, but others don't want to. In order not to suffer punishment and go hungry, they can only report it, so that they wouldn't get involved. Trafficker Qian found a large group of spies for herself, unearthing all of them at once…
Lin Qingwan couldn't help but marvel at the wisdom of the older generation; it seemed that it was not without reason that Trafficker Qian was able to do such a good business in the Trafficking industry. She was not only smart and cunning but also ruthless enough….
The woman who was beaten was thrown into her carriage by the thug; no one knew what happened to her. Trafficker Qian's thugs, on the other hand, had a fierce attitude and told all the girls to go to sleep without having unnecessary thoughts.
It was late at night, and the surroundings gradually became quiet, but not many people could fall asleep.
After another ten days of travel, the convoy finally stopped in Yangcheng, the capital of Yun province.
Lin Qingwan and the others were taken into a large courtyard and locked up.
Lin Qingyuan guessed that this should be trafficker Qian's final destination in the North, this time around.
Sure enough, they were settled down in small rooms in that large courtyard.
In Lin Qingwan's room, there were long plank beds. There were around 20-30 girls in a room, although it was crowded, they finally had a bed to sleep.
There weren't tied anymore and were allowed to move in the room.
After removing the rope that had been tied around her wrists for about a fortnight, Lin Qingwan found that her wrists were blue and red. As her skin was fair, her wrists appeared even more frightening. If it weren't for her the fact that she could move her wrist, Lin Qingwan would have thought that her wrists were ruined.
These days, some girls will be taken out of this room every day. Some came back, while others didn't return. Presumably, they were bought.
Lin Qing Wan hadn't been taken out even once, but Xiao Hua had been taken out several times, but she would come every time. When she comes back, she would usually wink and wrinkle her little and would say, "I'm too skinny, no one is interested in me–."
Whenever Lin Qingwan heard her, she would always feel that her tone had a feeling of complacency and… taking joy in calamity and delight in disaster?[5]
As the days passed, the number of girls in the room became fewer and fewer, and in the end, there were only a few girls left out. Xiao Hua was still not bought, but Lin Qingwan had a feeling that the time for her departure was nearing.
This day, early in the morning, Lin Qingwan was personally called out by Trafficker Qian…
Before leaving the room, she turned around and silently looked at Xiao Hua with a smile that only both of them could understand. Her heart was on tenterhooks thinking about the destiny that awaited her…
She was taken to a room where a middle-aged married woman was waiting for them. The woman seemed to be in her mid-30s or 40s and was dressed in a caramel-colored long dress with a silver hairpin in her topknot.
The middle-aged woman was a little startled when she saw Lin Qingwan. She looked at her hesitantly, then turned around, and pulled Trafficker Qian aside, before whispering something.
This middle-aged woman, surnamed Dong, was a trafficker in Luoyun Town, in Huaihe County, which is a subordinate of Yangcheng. This day, she came to Trafficker Qian to see if they were any good seedlings to change hands.
Unexpectedly, when trafficker Qian saw her coming, she dragged her aside and requested her to do a favor and help her marry a girl to a mountain man.
Marriage? Trafficker Dong felt her tooth hurt. She was a trafficker, not a matchmaker; how could one seek help from traffickers for a marriage?
"Miss Qian, are you not mistaken? A woman delicate as a flower, refined as a precious jade[6]—find a mountain man to marry her? How can you be willing to give her up?"
Such an exquisite woman would surely be able to be resold in a brothel house for a high price. For this woman, who was usually very stingy and haggled over every cent, to say such things, she wasn't kicked by a donkey in her head, right?
To be honest, there were quite a few 'good seedlings' that had passed through the hands of trafficker Dong over the years, but this was the first time she had seen such a beautiful and lustrous girl.
Trafficker Qian's face twitched with a rather odd smile. "How could I possibly be willing? How could I possibly do that? This is such a large sum of silver." She looked at Lin Qingwan with regret before turning her head and leaning closer to the trafficker Dong.
"No way, this is from a nobleman in the capital" she pointed to the sky, "I was specially asked to do this errand, can only find a mud-legged man in the mountains to marry, the farther she was married, the better. Otherwise, do you think I will be willing? It's not like I've been kicked in my head by a donkey and don't want the silver for nothing!"
Trafficker Dong hesitated, "…this is not easy to do, I am not a matchmaker…"
Trafficker Qian cleared her throat, "I believe, in this matter, you are the reliable one, so I came to you. Aren't you from Luoyun Town, Huaihe County, next to Luoxia Mountain? That's a mountain just not in name only, but also in reality. There are many men in the mountain, right? Most of them are not even married, right? And there are not many young women either, right?!… Look how easy it is. Considering our cooperation for the past few years, just do me this favor."
Trafficker Qian thought for a while and said with a painful voice, "You can rest assured, if you do this, I'll give you a good deal, I will give you ten taels of silver as a treat for tea."
Damned woman! Is this no good? You still don't want this old lady's silver! Trafficker Qian rolled her eyes in her heart.
"However, handle this matter properly for me, don't have any thoughts you shouldn't have. This—it's different from the previous one, if you mess it up, we would have to face the consequences!" Trafficker Qian's tone changed, and warned in a low voice, "This is indeed from the nobleman from the capital if we can do it well we can get some extra refreshments."
Trafficker Dong thought about ten taels of shining white silver, glanced at Lin Qingwan, then clenched her teeth and stomped her feet.
"Okay, I'll take it. I'll do the job, don't worry." She patted her chest.
Isn't it just finding a mountain man to marry? The countryside villages near their town were full of poor men who couldn't get married; maybe she could even fish up some betrothal money or something similar.
Don't know which poor peasant will get such a woman as delicate as a flower, refined as precious jade, for a small price.
[1] Either the fish dies or net splits: (idiom)To the fish, when it is in a fisherman's net, it is a matter of being caught and killed or breaking the net, a choice of fighting to death. At the moment of life and death, between the choice of sinking or swimming, you need the fighting spirit to break the net
[2] Set up on a high: Lofty, a Chinese idiom, pinyin is gāo gāo zài shàng, which originally meant high status.
[3] The bare feet are not afraid to wear shoes: Barefoot is a metaphor for those who live at the bottom of society. Those who wear shoes are those who have money and are worried that if the table turns, they might lose their wealth and power. So the former is not afraid, while the latter is afraid of losing shoes.
[4] Killing the chicken to warn the monkey: (idiom)Making an example out of someone in order to threaten others.
[5] Taking joy in calamity and delight in disaster: Schadenfreude
[6] Delicate as a flower, refined as precious jade: Exquisite woman
6
Luoxia village was a small village located at the foot of Luoxia Mountain, with more than a hundred large and small families.
Luoxia village had a Luoxia mountain at it's back and small Qing river flowing on the west side, mountains on one side and water on the other, making the landscape look quite elegant.
The villagers start working at sunrise and rest at sunset; men plow the fields while women weave; if their destituteness was excluded, their days were said to be spent joyfully and happily.
With Luoxia mountain Mountain at its back, life in Luoxia Village was much better when compared with nearby ten villages in the countryside, after all the mountain dweller lives off the mountain, the shore dweller lives off the sea[1]. Even if every household in the village does not have hunter, it's still possible for several of them to go uphill from time to time to pick some wild fruits, rabbits, pheasants, and so on to have a large and sumptuous meal[2].
However, most of the villagers' activities in Luoxia Mountain were limited to the base of the mountain, and they didn't dare to go further deep in the mountains. For the reason that Luoxia mountain was not only magnificent but because the forests on it were very deep, once lost, it was next to impossible to get out; furthermore, there were also ferocious beasts in the forest.
In the past years, there were often cases of children being eaten by wild animals in the mountains; thus, the villagers no longer dared to go deeper into the mountains.
After all, not everyone is Yang Tiezhu, and if you want silver, you have to see if you have the ability to earn it.
Speaking of Yang Tiezhu, he was a famous figure in Luoxia Village.
With eight feet and four inches of height, he was tall and strong with astonishing uncanny strength. Lifting a few hundred catties was a mere trifling play for him. He was the only man in the village who dared to go to the depths of Luoxia Mountain. However, he was fierce-looking with tall stature, and despite being in his twenties, he hasn't shown any interest in getting a wife for himself.
Early this morning, Yang Tiezhu was carrying the prey he had just shot last night and was on his way to the market to sell it…
Early mornings in the mountain villages were very beautiful. The sun had just risen, the dawn broke, and one could see the wisps of morning mist lingering before their eyes.
On the village trail, villagers in twos or threes could be seen carrying baskets, poles, or driving ox carts intending to sell some of their products in the market every five days.
Many villagers' eyes turned red with envy and admiration as they looked at the big guy on Yang Tiezhu's shoulders.
"Tie Zhu, hit another one of those big animals, ah." Old Zhangtou said with red eyes. Old Zhangtou was a petite built with a crooked back, not yet over fifty, but his back was already bent. He was an honest person, but his son wasn't worthy of respect. His life was destitute.
"Yeah, Tiezhu, you are good at this. You can sell this wild boar for a lot of money, right?" Aunt Tian, one of the villagers, said. Auntie Tian was dressed in dark blue coarse pants. She was a 40 years old woman with a round face, small eyes, and thin lips, a typical northern rural married woman.
"Well, as they say, wild pork is more expensive than domestic pork, and it's more than 20 wen[3]. The pig would likely weigh about three to four hundred jin[4]". Nearby, a woman from the Yang family interjected, "A good few taels[5] of silver!" sighed as if the wild boar belonged to her family.
This person from Yang's family was a married woman who was about 30-years-old. She had a thin, long face and a spirited gaze. Moreover, she spoke like a machine gun. Her words came out in rapid-fire succession.
While she was talking, she turned her head and glanced at Aunt Tian and said, "Aunt Tian, your family's Cuilan indeed has a bad eye, you see how capable Tie Zhu is, hitting one random animal can earn enough money to feed one for about half a year. At that time, as far as I remember, you were the one who ran to Yang family to make a fuss about withdrawing from the marriage, right." The woman curled her lips sarcastically.
This person from Yang family's husband and Yang Tie Zhu's family were considered to be from the same clan with the surname Yang. Although the relationship was a bit distant, they were still from the same clan, in the countryside, people were very particular about one's own clansman, people with the same surname were even more cherished in the group. Moreover, this Yang family's woman and Aunt Tian had never seen eye to eye, so she liked to taunt her whenever she got the chance.
Aunt Tian's face flushed in embarrassment upon hearing this. Her face became awkward, and she didn't know how to respond. After all, at that time, it was their family who demanded to withdraw from the marriage in the first place, and it would be unreasonable to talk about it anywhere.
Yang Tiezhu seemed as if he hadn't sniffed the smoke of gunpowder in the air, as he held the big wild boar one hand and scratched his head with the other hand.
"I've been following this big guy for a few days, and it's not as easy as you guys say, for this type of big catch one must bump into a chance at an opportune time, it's not that easy." Yang Tiezhu smiled, honestly.
It was fine when he didn't laugh, but when he did, his already vicious face became even more fierce.
Fortunately, all the aunts and uncles nearby watched him grow up. They were all well aware that even though he looked fierce, he was not bad at heart. Besides, when a few years ago, the imperial court recruited strong men to serve in the army, Yang Tiezhu was also recruited and was sent into the battlefield. During the war, his face was scarred. He was in his 20s, yet he didn't mention having a wife.
In the past, when Yang Tiezhu was young, his marriage was fixed with, youngest daughter of Aunt Tian's family, Cuilan. However, when Yang Tiezhu was recruited to join in the Military, the Tian family withdrew their proposal as they did not want their daughter to be a widow.
In this matter, no one could be considered right or wrong. After all, working in the military means that people suffer from hardship, and they can come back only once a year. Military service, on the other hand, goes ten to one, and most people don't survive to come back. Aunt Tian's family didn't want their daughter to be a widow, and no one could say that they were unreasonable. At most, they could be regarded as one with devoid of compassion, duty, propriety, and integrity[6].
Therefore, Yang Tiezhu never took the matter of his marriage being withdrawn to heart, in addition, he also didn't pay attention to the quarrel between the two women over there just now. Moreover, a man couldn't intervene when the women were quarreling with each other.
"Anyways, this is another big income…"
Survival is not easy in Luoxia Village, as the winters were unusually cold because of the land. The crops can only be planted for one season every year. After the autumn harvest, the crops cannot be planted, as they freeze even if they were planted and would eventually die. Therefore, the villagers near Luoxia Village would frequently go out looking for income during this period. Some do odd jobs in the town, while others go farther to the county to work hard and send the earnings to their wife and children in the house. So they can eat their fill and wear warm clothes.
But how can these odd jobs be compared to hunting in the mountains? Any casual prey can sell for a few taels of silver. It's no wonder that many villagers were jealous, but they don't have the skills to do it themselves; therefore, the people's feelings were complicated and were envious. But, the villagers in Luoxia Village were honest, at best, they just talked about it, but they didn't harbor any evil thoughts in their hearts.
"Fourth younger brother still needs to pay shuxu[7]; it's not easy, so I was planning to exchange this for some silver and pay for Fourth Brother's shixu." Yang Tiezhu explained, honestly.
Yeah, although the Yang family's circumstances in Luoxia Village was pretty good, but other people's household was also raising money-spending 'Xiucai'[8]. Thinking about it this way, the villagers around him suddenly felt balanced. The seven uncles and eight aunts met exchanged strange gazes…
"Oh my, Tie Zhu is really filial; all day long, he knows how to work hard to make money for the family.
"That's right, his mother too, she doesn't need to worry about getting a daughter-in-law."
"He's in his twenties…"
"Yeah yeah yeah…"
Yang Tiezhu listened to the gossipy women next to him. He smiled bitterly and wiped his face without saying a word. He just strode away silently.
An eagle chirp could be heard faintly from the distant sky, resounding through the sky.
By the time villagers of Luoxia Village arrived at the market, the market was already bustling with people.
Everywhere people could be found selling their vegetables, hand-woven baskets, eggs, pork, tofu, and rice noodles, a few people even bought some coarse cloth from the town to resell….
Once in a five days market like this was organized by villagers from nearby eight villages in ten miles so that they can exchange, buy, or sell their stuff. One can make a profit and earn some silver, making it convenient for everyone.
This kind of market was not the same as the one in the town, not all sorts of things were sold here, but it's convenient for everyone. After all, one needs to walk for a whole one hour to go to town.
People weren't particular; they randomly spread out sackcloth and threw their stuff on it. If there is anything that others need, they would naturally come and ask for the price.
The villagers of Luoxia Village found vacant space in twos and threes and put down their belongings. They spread out their sacks and set their things up.
Yang Tiezhu also took up an empty space by the side, but he didn't have any hope that he could sell this wild boar here. In such a rural area, very few people would buy a whole pig, it was all a one or two catty trade, and also some processed pork.
However, there were exceptions. For instance, if there was any landlord nearby who wants to hold a banquet, or if the town's big restaurant wants to buy some mountain goods, but the town's market doesn't have any, then they would come here to try their luck.
Yang Tiezhu intended to put it here for a while; if no one came to buy it even after a while, he planned to go to the town to find a restaurant to sell it.
But if he were to sell in the restaurant, the selling price would be less when compared with that of the market, after all, it's normal for people to buy in bulk for a lower price.
When the other stall sellers saw the big black pig on Yang Tiezhu's shoulder, they all smacked their lips; it was unknown if they were marveling at the man's strength, or if the wild animal looked scary. Soon it turned lively, and some asked him why he didn't cut it before selling as it was rare for the meat to be sold in bulk. They were also some who were regretful and persuaded him that if he were willing to cut the meat, they would at once buy a catty to take back home and feed their wife and children to satisfy their cravings, after all, wild boar meat was much tastier than domestic pork, the meat was also rather firm…
As Yang Tiezhu responded to the chattering of several people, he asked a familiar villager next to him for a ragged sack to spread out on the ground and put his boar on. After all, no matter how strong he was, it was inevitable for him to feel tired after carrying the boar for so long.
Suddenly at the other end of the market, a commotion ensued, and it became clamorous, don't know what was going on, but there was a huge crowd.
Some villagers who previously intended to buy the goods didn't even bother to ask the prices and rushed towards the crowd.
Yang Tiezhu, who was about to put the wild boar down, was taken aback for a moment and looked up.
Over there, a group of people formed three layers of the crowd, and they seemed to be chattering about something.
A thunderous sound suddenly echoed, resounding throughout the market.
"Selling a young woman, selling a young woman…men who hadn't married yet, hurry up and have a look, this young lady is delicate as a flower and precious as a jade…[9]"
At this moment, even the sellers at the stalls, one after the other, hopped over to the crowd. Yang Tiezhu also didn't bother to put the wild boar down and followed them to take a look.
[1] The mountain dweller lives from the mountain, the shore dweller lives from the sea: (idiom) to make the best use of local resources fig. to exploit one's position to advance
[2] refers to eating a meal with meat dishes at the beginning and middle of the month.
[3] Wen: Late Imperial China maintained both a silver and a copper currency system. The copper system was based on the copper cash (wen)
[4] Jin: The jin is a traditional unit of weight in China, comparable to the English pound. During the European colonial era the jin was identified with the catty, a Malay unit widely used in various forms throughout East and Southeast Asia. Like the catty, the jin was then equal to 1 pound or 604.79 grams.
[5] Tael also known as the tahil and by other names, can refer to any one of several weight measures used in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It usually refers to the Chinese tael, since 1959 standardized to 50 gram and a part of the Chinese system of weights and currency.
[6] compassion, duty, propriety and integrity: All the traditional values
[7] shù xiū: In ancient times, when students and teachers met for the first time, they must first present gifts to show their respect, which was called "shuxiu".
[8] Xucai: a person who has passed the county level imperial exam
[9] delicate as a flower and precious as a jade: Exquisite woman
7
In her two lives combined, it was the first time that Lin Qingwan was surrounded and watched by the three layers of a crowd of people like this as if they were watching a monkey show. Even though she was unperturbed, it was inevitable to turn pale.
She didn't expect this Trafficker with surname Dong to actually go as far as to do this, selling her as if she was livestock. She was taken to a market in a carriage, was hauled over to an open space, and in her unpresentable state, she was directly presented before the hawkers. Soon it became chaotic as more and more country folks starting crowding around them. Then these people started chattering continuously while pointing fingers at her….
At this time, Lin Qingwan wanted to dig her whole self into the ground; all sorts of shame, embarrassment, and anger flooded her mind.
There were many things Lin Qingwan doesn't know.
Doing this kind of work, it wasn't Trafficker Dong's first time. Usually, she would sell some girls who were rejected by the rich families because of their physical defects in the countryside to the poor peasants who could not afford a higher bride price.
Many old widowers and men who couldn't get married in the Luoxia Mountain, would spend a few taels of silver to get a wife for themselves.
But this time, Trafficker Dong's asking price was a bit high, a full twenty taels of silver.
As soon as Trafficker Dong finished the offer, she felt regretful in her heart. Within these ten li and eight villages around Luoxia mountain, each and every person were destitute and were full of troubles, where would they get 20 taels of silver to buy a wife?!
But the words were already spoken, and she can't take back those words now. Trafficker Dong thought that someone would come forward to bargain, and then she can lower the price.
People around smacked their lips, twenty taels of silver!?
"Trafficker Dong, your price is too scary!" A rural man who seemed to know TraffcikerDong very well interjected. Twenty taels of silver?!
Even after working oneself to death by digging up the food in the soil all year round, a household could only get about 2-3 taels of silver in their hand. Twenty teals of silver – that was about ten years of savings, and worth 2 acres of first-rate paddy fields.
Within these ten li and eight villages, even if a family that could be regarded as well off wants to marry a wife, the betrothal price at the most would only add up to about ten taels of silver. Today, even if this girl was delicate as a flower, refined as jade, and looked as if a fairy descended to the world of mortals, a farmer's family can not afford her. Twenty taels of silver, it wasn't like buying a golden doll to take back home.
But this girl was really good. Her skin was white and delicate. When the sun rays shined on her skin, it almost looked transparent. She was a natural beauty with a petite stature and looked feeble as if a willow facing the wind. Although she looked embarrassed, which woman would not be embarrassed about being sold as such? Overall she looked like a water spirit, more beautiful than Landlord Bai's sixth concubine.
Rural people weren't cultured and didn't how to describe her, but they felt that she was beautiful, very beautiful. Landlord Bai's sixth concubine, who was well known within these ten li and eight villages as the most beautiful flower, was not even worthy of lifting her shoes.
"Scary? To sell such a young woman delicate as a flower and precious as jade, for twenty taels, you think it's scary? This old lady still feels it's a loss, if such a fairy-like girl were sold to me for twenty tales, this old lady would have bought a pair." Trafficker Dong gritted and put on airs of mockery.
"Aiyo, if you feel that you are at a loss, then don't sell! Then it won't be a big loss." A passerby interjected.
At the passerby's words, the people around immediately become alert.
"It would be unlikely for this girl to have any problems, right…."
"Precisely, Trafficker Dong is notoriously known for her shrewdness and never does a loss-making business…"
"Such a beautiful girl was dragged here to sell. Trafficker Dong hadn't been kicked by the donkey in her brain, right?" said a weak voice in the crowd.
Trafficker Dong couldn't see the person who said that said she was kicked in the head by a donkey. Many people were surrounding them, forming three layers of the crowd. She suddenly became furious, "You have a problem, you were kicked in the head by a donkey…"
The crowd became noisy again.
"Aiya, Trafficker Dong why are you cursing people …"
"Your asking price is scary, and you still curse, can't others even ask you…" Seldomly they would come across such rarity as this day; thus, the men who came to market all gathered around to join the fun.
Trafficker Dong stepped forward angrily to catch these poor guys who only knew how to enjoy watching the fun but don't do any practical things. "If you want to buy, come here if you don't want to buy stand farther away, don't come here to disturb this old lady's business."
Then she explained to everyone, "I'll say once again, there is nothing wrong with this girl, nor does she have any unpleasant disease. But, she had offended her master and was sold out. Her master had punished her; thus, she is being sold to you peasants as a wife. Bah, it's cheap for you bastards…"
Oh~~ it turns out this way.
The people around sighed. This noble master's way of punishing people is really strange.
But even so, no one came forward to buy. After all, twenty taels of silver are not twenty wen. The country folks are poor, haha, where can they have money to buy such an expensive wife.
Thus, some people who had something to do dispersed, but a few people, who had nothing better to do, remained. They wanted to see who could spend so much money to buy a woman.
In fact, these rural people still had a bit of 'water' in their eyes. Even though they are not knowledgable and uncultured, they knew what was suitable and what was not suitable for them.
For instance, this fairy-like girl before their eyes, how can a rural man take care of her, she had fair skin and a good physique; however, she looked delicate and frail like a willow facing the wind, her fragile body seemed to be unfit for to do work.
Which village family wouldn't make her do work when they take a wife back home to marry? After marrying, if she doesn't do any work, you would still have to serve her. After working all day long in the fields, if she still doesn't work, you would have no choice to provide for her, you simply need not live.
Trafficker Dong was also aware of the thoughts of these men; thus, she couldn't help but feel anxious and regretted quoting such a high price, which frightened the people.
Every time during such business transactions, she just had to shout out the price, and immediately a buyer would come to haggle over the price, but now not a single one of them came forward.
After a while, gradually, the people watching the excitement started dispersing, and the remaining few were merely onlookers, not a single one had come forward to buy…
Trafficker Dong became even more anxious and turned her head and glanced at Lin Qingwan. Would this hot potato fall in her hands?
Gritting her teeth, she was about to lower the price. 'Bang' All of sudden, a black object was smashed at her food, stirring up some dust.
Trafficker Dong jumped out of fear; Lin Qingwan, who was standing behind her with half-drooping eyes, was even more startled and raised her eyes.
Trafficker Dong glanced closely; the black thing turned out to be a huge wild boar. The wild boar's tusks were truly high and was already dead.
"Is it enough to replace her with it?" a tall and sturdy man asked, as he pointed his finger at the boar and then at Lin Qingwan.
The man was tall, and had a suntanned skin, from head to toe he was dressed in a pair of cyan colored plain cotton clothing and trousers and had a long knife scar on his angular face. At first glance, he looked very scary.
Lin Qingwan suddenly felt that her face darken, and was unable to deal with the embarrassment…
What's all this about! Being sold to a peasant as a wife, she can accept it! Being dragged to the market and being sold as if she was livestock, she can accept that too! But~ ~But~ ~ a wife in exchange for a pig?
Wu wu wu ~ ~ Heavens, Oh God let a thunder strick on her and split her into two, she doesn't want to live anymore; it's too shameful … she had never been this embarrassed in her both the lives combined…
A shadow covered her, blocking the light in front of her.
"Um~~, ahem~~" The tall man didn't say anything for a long time.
Lin Qingwan's mouth twitched as she raised her head to see a tall and sturdy man standing in front of her.
He was very tall, from the perspective of her last life, at least 1.90 or more.
He was very strong, with shoulders at least twice of hers, thick arms, dark skin. He was wearing a coarse cloth coat, with a bulge underneath, looking very muscular and strong.
His facial features were sharp as a knife, with thick eyebrows, a very sharp nose, and thick lips, physiognomically[1] speaking, people with thick lips tend to be benevolent and righteous…
There was a scar on the left face, seemingly a scar left by a knife cut. It extended from the corner of his left eye to the jaw. Because of this scar, the original thick and honest face at once became a bit vicious and fierce …
From the perspective of her previous life, this man was brave and resolute, full of masculinity. From the perspective of her present life, he was tall, masculine, and a bit ugly.
Oh~~ and also his eyes. They were big, dark, and deep, in his eyes, there also seem to be a hint of surprise, embarrassment, nervousness, and were also full of her reflection….
The man seemed to be even more embarrassed than her, hemming and hawing, unable to speak for half a day, making it even harder.
It took half a day for him to squeeze out a sentence. "I want to marry you as my wife~" he didn't say the word buy, "I'll be good to you." The words were spoken quickly, and these short two sentences seemed to drain all the courage out of this man.
Lin Qingwan seemed to see a suspicious hint of redness on the man's face in a daze, but since his skin itself was dark, she wasn't sure.
She felt her heart beating hard, bang bang bang, but she didn't know whether it was because of being exposed to the sun for a long time or from this man's blunt words. Within a few minutes, her face became hot… Trafficker Dong seemed to be saying something beside her, but she was unable to hear it clearly….
Once again, she looked into the man's eyes; after a long time, Lin Qingwan slowly nodded her head.
In those pair of eyes, she saw seriousness and sincerity…
Perhaps it was because she was pulled into the market and was being sold like livestock, perhaps it was because of the embarrassment of being watched by a large crowd of onlookers, perhaps it was because she wanted to quickly end this embarrassing thing, perhaps it was because of the seriousness and sincerity in the man's eyes…
Perhaps demons and gods were at work[2] as Lin Qingwan unexpectedly nodded her head, and agreed –
"Okay."
[1] Physiognomy is the practice of assessing a person's character or personality from their outer appearance—especially the face.
[2] demons and gods at work (idiom); unexplained event crying out for a supernatural explanation; curious coincidence.
8
Hearing her say yes, his eyes stirred with an inconcealable joy and excitement.
Her cold little hands were suddenly caught up by a big hot palm of a pair of hands. His palms were hot, scalding Ling Qingwan's hands a little, her heart couldn't help but tremble.
Trafficker Dong stomped in and said, "This old woman hasn't agreed yet, how much can this dead pig of yours be worth? This won't do~ ~ ~"
The people around started heckling—
"Aiya, Trafficker Dong, just agree to this. This wild boar can be sold for a few taels of silver!"
"That's right…"
"If you put this offer down, you can't sell this girl. Within these ten li and eight villages which idiot would buy a young woman to take a wife for 20 taels of silver…"
"There is no market after this village…"
The tall man thought for a while, then turned around and took out a few more pieces of broken silver from his sleeve, adding up to about 4 or 5 taels. This was what he had earned by selling some of the skin he had saved some time ago, he hadn't handed them over to his family yet and kept them on him.
"Only this much." He fixedly stared at Trafficker Dong.
Trafficker Dong struggled, feeling at a loss, but she was afraid of this hot potato falling into her hands. She then looked at the sturdy man, who was seriously staring at her, as if he would hit her with his earthenware like fist if she said no…
Thus, Trafficker Dong gritted her teeth and stomped her foot. Let it be, upon adding the ten taels of silver Trafficker Qian had given her, her profit wouldn't be less.
"Okay. You got it cheap." She took the silver and rolled her eyes.
The man let go of apprehension in his heart and turned around to give Lin Qingwan a big smile. The whole body uttered joy.
The man stood on the spot and rubbed his hands happily for a while, didn't know what he was thinking, but unexpectedly, he picked up Lin Qingwan with a flip of his wrists, and then carried her on his shoulders.
Immediately after that, he strode out of the marketplace, walking faster and faster, and finally, he actually started running in large strides.
Suddenly there was a burst of laughter behind him…
"Aiya, look at the kids rush…"
"Had never seen such a woman in the life, if such a woman was given to you, you would also have similarly carried her and ran away…"
… …
Lin Qingwan's scream was pushed back by his thick shoulders even before the sound could come out.
He ran very fast; his steps were quite big but very steady.
She felt that he seemed very happy or overjoyed?
The breeze brushed her long hair, and on his thick shoulders; somehow, Lin Qingwan, to her surprise, felt a trace of peace of mind.
"…Oh…oh…I have a wife…" The man seemed very happy as he laughed heartily, just like a child, and said, "…I will be good to you in the future, definitely…"
…
Yang Tiezhu didn't know what made him do such an impulsive thing, but he didn't regret it, he truly didn't regret it.
From the first glance, when he saw her in the crowd, he couldn't help but feel it.
She looked quite delicate, he could grab her slender waist with a mere single hand, her beautiful jet black hair was draped over her shoulders behind her, her clothes were disheveled, her face was white, her pair of big eyes were full of embarrassment, humiliation, and vulnerability, but she didn't cry, as if she had resigned to her fate, yet there also seemed to be a trace of spark mixed in her eyes…
Just like a fox, he had once come across when he was hunting. The fox had fallen into a trap, it obviously had been in the trap for 2 or 3 days, it's lower abdomen was stabbed by the bamboo tip of the trap, from head to the foot it was covered in the blood, yet it did not accept the misfortune as decreed by fate, crawling bit by bit upwards…
When he went to see the trap, he was met with such a scene. At that time, the fox had merely a single breath leftover, after he had brought it up, it didn't even have the strength to bite him. but there was a spark in its eyes; ultimately, the fox nevertheless died, however, it made Yang Tiezhu understand something…
It was only later that Yang Tiezhu realized what it was- It was the will to live, being Unyielding, not admitting defeat, even if no matter how harsh the fate was, she still carried a thread of hope for the forthcoming future…
He didn't know what was wrong, but all of a sudden his heartache…
He was unable to move his eyes, unable to move his legs, as if he was possessed….
By the time he came back to his senses, he had already rushed forward and put down the wild boar that he was about to sell to give shuxiu[1] to his fourth younger brother's tutor. He was afraid she wouldn't want to go with him, so he said a few words that he felt could show his sincerity and resolution. Even after Trafficker Dong agreed to sell her to him, he was afraid of being robbed, so he carried her on his shoulder and ran away…
But when he put Lin Qingwan on his shoulders and was running wildly along the countryside, his heart was full of satisfaction and indescribable ecstasy. At this time, he forgot about his embarrassment from a few moments ago, forgot all kinds of considerations, he forgot that other people were staring at him, he forgot that at this moment he actually looked like an idiot, he forgot everything. Just Like a child, who had obtained the most precious treasure, he couldn't wait to share his joy with the whole world….
His steps were fast but steady, and Lin Qingwan didn't feel any bumps at all. But-
But, is this really proper?
Even though there were usually few people on the country roads, however, this day people within the ten miles and eight villages would go to the five-day market, so every now and then, they ran into few villagers across the road, and others looked at them like they were crazy…
Lin Qingwan hung her head in shame, as she cudgeled him on the back.
"Everyone is watching us, put me down."
Yang Tiezhu finally stopped running wildly, and only then did he react, blushing, "…Oh."
Overwhelmed with embarrassment, he placed her gently on the ground, not even knowing where to put his arms and legs.
Lin Qingwan didn't know if it was right or wrong for her to promise him a few minutes ago, impulsively.
They had never met each other, and were utterly unfamiliar with each other, just because of other person's sincere eyes and clumsy question, did she sell herself just like that?
But judging from the current situation, it seems to be good. Such a sincere man, in the future, he ought to love his wife dearly—
What else can she ask for in such an embarrassing situation? At least, he seemed to be good, and a very honest man, also he wasn't bad looking. Moreover, he didn't have a wife. If Lin Qingwan were asked to marry someone as a concubine or something, she would rather die.
"You…Where are you going to take me?" she asked in a small voice.
Yang Tiezhu scratched his head; he hadn't really thought about it.
After a moment's thought, he spoke up, "I will first arrange a place for you in my paternal aunt's place, would that be alright? After I go back and explain this to my parents, I will take you back to marry?"
Lin Qing Wan thought for a while and nodded her head. In fact, She didn't really have any clue; after all, with regards to the matters concerning to him, she didn't know anything.
They had no choice but to do this way.
At least he still knew to ask her opinion; this was adding another strong point in his favour?
"So ~~ shall we go?"
"Okay."
Yang Tiezhu walked in front, and Lin Qingwan followed behind.
After taking two steps, he looked back, after taking another two steps, he looked back again. Finally, as if he had figured it out, he slowed down his pace and walked side by side with Lin Qing Wan.
He even made a special effort to slow down his pace, fearing that she would not be able to keep up, he looked as if he wanted to say something, yet it was awkward, and he didn't dare.
Lin Qingyuan, who saw all this from the corner of her eyes, particularly, wanted to laugh. Heh~~~ This man was really cute~~~~~
"What's your name?" After thinking about it, she said, "My surname is Lin, and my maiden name is Qing Wan. What about you?" The voice of this body was inherently neither too fast nor too slow, gentle, and soft, so he shouldn't think she was too impetuous, right?
He seemed to be extremely nervous, not knowing where to put his hands and feet. "My name is Tie Zhu, Yang Tie Zhu." He stood there motionless and looked at her who was still walking forward, he then took two steps and hurriedly followed.
Qing Wan ~ Wan'er ~~ it was truly pleasant to hear. Yang Tiezhu smiled stupidly.
Tie Zhu? Indeed, not in name only but also in reality, just like a pillar. Lin Qing Wan secretly tittered in her heart.
The two of them didn't speak along the way, and after walking for a while, they arrived at the entrance of Luoxia Village.
Yang Tie Zhu was afraid of running into people from the same village and made fun of. So, he took a detour and led Lin Qingwan around instead of going straight road and entered from the end of the village. After walking for a while, they arrived at the door of a small peasant's courtyard.
The courtyard walls were made of bamboo fences, and one could vaguely see the interiors of the courtyard from outside.
Three large tiled-roof houses can be seen from the front. To the left and right side of the large tiled houses, an adobe thatched-roofed house was attached, which seemed to be a storehouse for sundries and a kitchen.
To the left of the yard was a well, and to the right was a chicken coop. There was a jujube tree in the yard, and in the middle of the yard was a row of stands with wicker baskets on them, they seemed to be drying something.
Yang Tiezhu pushed open the courtyard door and walked in. "Aunt, are you home?"
A middle-aged married woman in coarse plain cotton blue trousers came out of the kitchen.
The middle-aged woman was about forty years old, with an oval face, and looked very clean and tidy. Although she was not well dressed, she seemed to be a person efficient at work.
"Tie Zhu, you're here. Come in quickly." Seeing Lin Qing Wan behind Yang Tie Zhu, she was a little surprised but didn't say anything, just smiled warmly, and lifted the curtain to welcome the two into the main room. "Come on, come come, come in and sit down."
In the front room, there was a large four-legged square table directly facing the door. Next to the wall was a tukang[2], with wickerwork woven mat on top of it, there was also a small four-legged Kang table[3] and a row of kang cabinets at the head and the corner of the Kang bed.
Yang Tiezhu blushed and glanced at Lin Qingwan, "Aunt, I have something I want to tell you, let's go outside and talk."
Yang Tiezhu's aunt, Yang shi glanced at her nephew, and smiled at Lin Qingwan, "Girl, sit down for a while, I'll see what this stinky brat has to say to me… stay at home for a meal ah…"
Aunt Yang turned around with Yang Tiezhu and left the room and went to the kitchen.
In a while, both of them came back with food in their hands. Yang Teizhu's face was still red and seemed to be reserved.
T/L Notes:
[1] Shuxiu: In ancient times, when students and teachers m et for the first time, they must first present gifts to show their respect, which was called "shuxiu"
[2] a kang / tukang = heatable brick bed / heatable brick common bed
9
Yang shi set the food on the table and stuffed a pair of chopsticks to Lin Qing Wan.
"This brat didn't say anything ahead of time, so aunt didn't prepare anything good. Girl, just put up with for now" Looking at Yang shi's attitude, this man seemed to have told everything to his aunt.
"Thank you, aunt. I'm not picky." Lin Qing Wan lowered her eyelids, bashfully. Although she had never been a shy person, the situation in front of her was too embarrassing.
Her glossy white face tinged with a hint of red, Yang Tiezhu, who was peeking at her from the side, couldn't help but be infatuated again.
There was a stir-fried white cabbage and scrambled eggs with fragrant Chinese toon[1], homemade pickled vegetables, rice, millet congee, and corn cakes.
This was the first time Lin Qingyuan had eaten an authentic meal after crossing over, so it felt particularly appetizing. Still, she ate with restraint, not wanting to give the impression to the man that she had been reincarnated as a starving ghost.
After drinking a bowl of congee and eating two corn cakes, Lin Qing Wan was full. She put down her chopsticks and sat with her head hanging down.
Yang Tiezhu was also very reserved while eating, not knowing where to put his hands and feet.
Yang shi glanced at her nephew amusedly, and said to Lin Qing Wan, "This being the case, you can stay nicely at your aunt's house, Tie Zhu had already told me about the matter, wait for him to go back and tell his family, then we'll discuss the marriage between two of you."
At once, Lin Qingwan's small face turned red as she nodded her head bashfully.
After the meal, Yang shi cleaned up the bowls and chopsticks and sent flustered Yang Tiezhu, who was more of a hindrance than a help, to the yard carry the water.
After a while, Yang shi looked at Yang Teizhu, who gestured at her, saying that the water was ready; thus, she pulled Lin Qingwan out of the main room to the kitchen.
"Aunt has already boiled the water for you; you can wash first, have a nice birth, and get rid of the bad luck. There's a pig soap[2] next to the bathtub, and the clothes for changing are hanging on the string, it's my daughter-in-law's, don't mind it." As she said that, she walked out and closed the door.
Lin Qingwan blushed even more; the number of times she blushed today was more than she had ever blushed in her two lifetimes combined.
She knew she looked like a mess, having not taken a bath for over a month, she didn't smell good, don't know how they could ignore it and still eat together.
In the inner corner of the kitchen, a large cask was placed, it was already filled with hot water, the smoke was rising in spirals from inside.
Lin Qingyuan tested the temperature of the water; it was just right. She stripped naked and tiptoed into the bathtub.
It was so comfortable that she shrunk her whole body into the water, after soaking for a while, she picked up the soap and started scrubbing her body.
Pig soap, which was the original version of modern soap that 'Lin Qingwan' also used in the capital city, but the young ladies in the capital used the white-colored one, with a floral scent. It's called scented soap. This one was black gray with a smell of saponin/honey locust. She didn't know what it was made of, but it washed dirt cleanly.
She remembered reading a few crossover books in her previous life that had written about a woman making a fortune over scented soaps, but she couldn't recall the 'formula' written in it.
It seemed that golden finger in the crossover books, wouldn't quite work for her here.
Lin Qingwan scrubbed her body as she leisurely thought about it.
Within a short bath time, the water in a large tub turned dark; Lin Qingwan looked down at the dirty water with disgust. It was hard to imagine that it was she who washed it out. When she stood up and looked around, she saw a small hole in the corner of the tub to discharge water. She reached out and groped around the small hole near the bottom of the tub.
Sure enough, there was a plug-like bulge underneath that one. She tried to pull it out, and indeed it could be pulled out. When she pulled it out, she felt the water in the tub drain out.
The wisdom of the ancients was indeed not to be underestimated! It was a simple styled modern version of the bathtub!
Lin Qing Wan sighed as she waited for all the water in the bathtub to drain out, then she used the ladle in the bucket to scoop up the water and rinsed the bathtub. Then she closed the cork and poured all the remaining hot water from the two nearby casks into the bathtub.
After washing her body and hair thoroughly, she stepped out of the bathtub, picked up the cloth next to her clothes, and began to wipe her body and hair.
There was no sound of water in the bath, and the entire kitchen was quiet. The voices from the yard outside could be vaguely heard from inside, Yang shi and Yang Tie Zhu seemed to be talking about something….
As Lin Qing Wan wiped her hair, she pricked up her ears….
….
In the courtyard, Yang shi was sitting under the jujube tree picking beans, with Yang Tie Zhu was sitting beside her.
"Auntie can see that you are quite fond of this girl…" Yang shi unhurriedly said. She wasn't blind; she could tell from Yang Tiezhu's behavior; she had never seen her nephew treat a girl like this before.
She sighed in her heart; after all, the child had grown up and has a girl he admires.
When Yang Tiezhu was born that year, his mother, He shi, had no milk. Even after trying to stimulate lactation several times, she failed to do so. Yang shi also delivered a baby girl at the same time, but unfortunately, she didn't live long, she died prematurely within two months. At that time, Yang Laozi [3]invited her to their house, then Yang shi took over the baby Yang Tiezhu and breastfed him for more than a year.
After breastfeeding him for a period of time, the feelings between them deepened. Even though Yang Tie Zhu was later sent back to the Yang family, two of them were very class. In his childhood, every time the little Yang Tiezhu ran out to play, most of the time, he ran to Yang shi, making his mother, He shi's teeth itch.
[1] Chinese toon (Toona sinensis), deciduous tree whose young leaves are used as a vegetable
[2] In ancient china, pig pancreas were used in the preparation of soap.
[3] Laozi: Old father
Yang Tiezhu blushed and hung his head without making a sound.
Yang sighed in his heart for a while, looked up at his nephew, and asked, "Have you thought it through, how do you intend to settle Lin girl?"
Yang Tie Zhu scratched his head, thought for a bit, and replied, "I intend to go back and tell my parents about this matter, then I'll clean up the house in the next two days, and come pick her up."
"That's it?" Yang shi raised her eyebrows.
Did this boy didn't get enlightened, or does he not take girls seriously? Judging from his expression, the former one being the case is more likely.
Yang Tiezhu looked at Yang shi's face, perplexed.
"Aunt, then you tell me, what should be done?" He had watched other people's families buying the wife and bringing them back in a similar manner.
Yang shi sighed again, "Are you saying so after watching the broken families from the surrounding villages buying the wives, they all just bring them home like this and leave it at that. Are you planning to do that way too?"
Yang Tiezhu was stunned, as he pondered about it in his heart, he especially did not want to treat that person he held at the tip of his heart in such a manner, but he couldn't really think profoundly at the moment, and felt foolish.
Yang shi found that she had sighed numerous times today. Since her nephew was unable to understand, she could only point it out for him.
"What do you think of those young women who were bought in our village?"
Yang Tiezhu was still in a daze, not understanding why his aunt was talking about this.
Yang shi gradually progressed step by step, pointing out a little by little. "What do they usually call those young women who were bought?"
Yang Tie Zhu thought about it again… in his impression, it seemed to be all the young brides bought back by so-and-so's family… so-and-so's family spent a few taels of silver on buying the lost goods and so on….
"Were they even called by their names?" Yang shi pointed out, "How did their mother-in-law treat such a daughter-in-law?"
Yang Tiezhu tried to think of the gossips that were spread in the village…all of them were about either beating or abusing, women were used as a cow, upon committing any sort of mistake, often they were starved without giving any food by their mothers-in-law. Although he never gossiped, these few idle gossips in the nearby villages, nevertheless he had heard to a certain extent.
"Is it alright to beat and abuse, as if another person's family's daughter wasn't a human just because she was bought?"
Hearing Yang shi's words, Yang Tiezhu became a little anxious; he simply couldn't dare to imagine those things happening to his Wan Wan, just a mere thought of it was difficult for him to endure as if someone was clutching his heart.
Wives are meant to be loved dearly, how can they be trampled upon!
"Naturally, there are also families who are nice to the young ladies they bought for themselves, but they are unusually rare, right?" Yang shi sat on a small stool as she guided him. "I know some of those who buy young women whose health is 'not good', but that's not even the main reason." There were also a few families, who married stupid and disabled young women, so why weren't others treated that way?
"Do you know why this happens?"
"Why?" If it weren't for Yang shi pointing these out, Yang Tiezhu would never have thought about these things particularly.
Thinking about it this way, the young women bought in the nearby villages he knew didn't seem to be having a good life, he always heard that the bought daughters-in-law were beaten, that a so-and-so family's mother-in-law wouldn't feed her daughters-in-law and so on. Then every time he saw those young women, who were bought, were all yellow and skinny. Even if the life in the Luoxia village wasn't rich, it was unlikely to be as miserable as that, right!
"Because – they were bought." Yang shi dropped the beans in her hand and looked at her nephew meaningfully.
That was the crucial point!
Lin Qingyuan leaned behind the door of the kitchen as she eavesdropped on their conversation; she felt chills all over her body.
Yang Tiezhu was unable to understand those words, but it doesn't mean that she couldn't understand the meaning behind Yang shi's words either.
Being bought means that you have no human rights.
Being bought means that you are the buyer's possession.
Although inherently, women were of low status here, and their status in the society was affiliated to men, but those who were bought and sold were even inferior. To put it bluntly, they were worse than a pig!
Lin Qingwan bit her lower lip; she stopped wiping her hair. Her hand clenched into a fist.
Still won't do? Even if she had resigned to her fate, it still wasn't enough! Firmly speaking, the ancient times were not for humans to live in, especially for women, it seemed to be even more difficult.
The slightest error might lead to the loss of one's reputation and integrity and would be either sent to be a Buddhist nun at a temple accompanied by blue light, or would be locked in a pig cage and drowned in a river[1], or perhaps end up 'dying form illness' in the boudoir[2].
A woman having a bad family background, with a bad father and brother, like Xiao Hua, like those women in trafficker Qian's fleet, would be sold again and again, without any dignity to speak of. A bit better ones were sold into rich families as slaves, while the bad ones were sold directly into brothels, to live their lives worse than death….
It would have been fine if the family was richer… No, even if the family circumstances were well-off, it won't work, like her, Lin Qingwan, the eldest miss of the Lin family, didn't she also from a miserable past and ended up being sold here?
Lin Qing Wan felt that even in her last life, she had never admitted defeat, but now, she had a feeling of being less capable than desirable[3]….
She felt very distressed….
Being a man is hard; being a woman is even harder, and being a woman in ancient times is even more difficult….
10
In the courtyard, Yang shi was still guiding her nephew systematically-
"…Our Daxi Dynasty's ancient ritual of marriage encompasses three matchmakers, six betrothal gifts, sedan chairs at the door of the bride's family, and a big wedding banquet. You say, if a woman is casually taken to the home, what respect would she get from her family and outsiders?" Yang shi explained to her nephew one by one, "As the old saying goes, marrying a woman makes her wife, while eloping without permission makes her a concubine. Women who are married without going through the regular protocol, are not even protected by the law in our Daxi Dynasty, so how can one expect others to respect her?" Although Aunt Yang was illiterate, as a woman, she can understand this point.
"Then, Aunt, what should I do?" Yang Tiezhu looked at Yang shi for help.
Regarding these matters, he was truly clueless, his elder brother married long back, at that he was still young, when his third younger brother got married, he was on the battlefield, and his fourth brother hadn't married yet. Usually, he paid very little attention to the marriages and what not happening in the village; if someone asked him for help, he would go out and use his strength to finish it, that was it.
"This, it depends on what you want to do?" Yang shi looked at her nephew, meaningfully.
"I want…" Yang Tiezhu stuttered as he spoke, "I don't want anything else, I just want to… just want to treat her well, love her, so that she won't suffer anymore…"
Lin Qingwan leaned her back against the kitchen door and burst into tears; the cotton cloth in her hand fell on the floor.
Yang shi nodded her head. Sure enough, it was just as she expected, then it's good. "In that case, you can spend money to find a matchmaker and let her drop by to propose marriage, a simple betrothal gift, and following our village tradition would suffice, however, nothing should be lacking." Aunt Yang stood up and patted the dust on her body.
"For marriages in our village, the rich families would invite a bridal sedan chair, and find a musical troupe to play and liven things up, if the family is not well off, they find cattle carts and tie a big red flower. Regardless of what, this can still be considered as official marriage officiated by a matchmaker."
Actually, Yang shi's reminder was not entirely for the sake of Lin Qingyuan, but more for Yang Tie Zhu's. She didn't want her nephew just casually to take a woman home and get married. Even if Lin Qingwan was married in such a manner, she would be jabbed and laughed at her back here for being incapable.
Yang Tiezhu felt reasonable after hearing Yang's words and quickly nodded his head.
"Okay, all right."
He also felt that it was better for his wife to marry into the family as his aunt had said, officially marrying her was better, a woman such as her, he really couldn't bear the mere thought of people pointing fingers behind her back. He originally felt that to marry him, she was being wronged.
"Will your mother agree?" Speaking of this, Yang shi frowned.
She doesn't want to talk about her sister-in-law, He shi. All-day long, she does nothing good; her thoughts are always prejudiced. He was such a good child and was already in his twenties, yet she was not worried about his marriage. All-day long, she squeezed this child Tie Zhu to work hard for them. The money he earned was given to the eldest son, who was all happy to partake but not prepared to do any work[i], or it was for the fourth child to take the exam to be a xucai[ii]. After taking the exam for several years, there was not even a shadow of xucai, but the money spent on his was not any less.
Sometimes she felt anxious as she watched Yang Tiezhu being delayed year after year like this. But she could not say anything. After all, she was just an aunt, not his biological parent. If she took the initiative to mention this, He shi would hate her to death. The two of them didn't treat each other well in the first place, and for that reason, she didn't even set foot in the doors of the Yang family….
This time Yang Tie Zhu was able to get a wife back by himself, Yang shi was truly quite happy.
If one counted on He shi, it could be reckoned that this child would be a bachelor for a lifetime. What kind of terrible idea the whole family had, she could see over the years; if the upper beam was not straight, the lower beam would be crooked[iii]. Except for the child Tie Zhu, also the third son and his wife, the rest of them, not a single one was worry-free.
And as for her younger brother, i.e., Yang Tiezhu's father, he was a weakling and afraid of his wife, unable to speak at home, and wasn't worth mentioning.
Yang Tie Zhu's face suddenly darkened when she mentioned his mother, He shi.
The prey he had intended to sell to get the silver for fourth brother's shuxiu was no more, going back later, he could imagine what it would be like at home… furthermore, there was also his intention to marry Wan'er… Needless to say, he could imagine what his mother's attitude would be like….
"Auntie has some private houses here. How about you use them for now?"
Yang shi knew that Yang Tiezhu didn't have any money in his hands, and the money he earned was always handed over to the family. He had never saved for his own private houses and what not; he probably didn't have anything on him. Moreover, he had already spent a lot of silver to buy Lin Qingwan.
"No, Aunt, the matter regarding silver, I'll go back and talk to my family, and see what my mother says—" Yang Tiezhu thought about it as he wiped his face. "I'll think of a way by myself."
Thinking about it this way, Yang Tiezhu felt that he really had quite a lot to do; there was also the big mess at home that he had yet to resolve.
"Auntie, I'm going back first. When Wan'er comes out…Wan'er comes out, just tell her that she can be rest assured, I will definitely marry according to etiquette and won't let her suffer any grievances." After saying that, he turned around and left the courtyard.
Chapter 10 part 2 preview
Thus, from the perspective of many people, she was indeed wronged, but for Lin Qingwan who had crossed over, it was nothing.
As long as she can live–
As long as she can live with dignity–
Even if it was arduous, even if it was destitute, even if she was married in the mountains–
Besides, this honest guy had spent all his money to buy her and was still racking his brains trying to give her a so-called 'official marriage'….
Thinking about it, Lin Qingwan couldn't help but a little embarrassed...
[i] happy to partake but not prepared to do any work (idiom) / all take and no give
[ii] a person who has passed the county-level imperial exam
[iii] Younger ones follow their elders
"Once you get confirmation, come over and tell your aunt." Yang shi craned her neck and shouted at Yang Tiezhu's back.
She really didn't hold out any hope for that person He shi, just with her stinginess, how could this honest child, Tie Zhu, pull out money from her hands, not to mention Tie Zhu just spent so much silver to buy someone back, although the silver was this child's.
Alas, probably it would be noisy again upon returning….
"Okay~~" Yang Tiezhu replied from afar.
"This child, anxiously panicking over…" Yang shi turned around with a smile.
She saw Lin Qingyuan standing by the kitchen doorway with wet hair, as she held the door and looked at her–
"This child Tie Zhu ran off hurriedly, without greeting you. He rushed back to arrange the marriage for both of you; he said that he would come to see you when it's done." Yang shi hastened to explain on behalf of her nephew.
Actually, Yang shi knew that Lin Qingwan was listening from behind the door, she had pulled her to take a bath, not only because Lin Qingwan was in a mess, but also because she wanted Lin Qingwan to hear their conversation and to understand this child Tiezhu's heart.
This girl was too good looking; Yang shi wasn't really at ease, worrying that she would be unable to live with her nephew sincerely. Fearing that as she was very beautiful, her heart would be big, and when the time comes, she will end up hurting Yang Tie Zhu….
But looking at this girl right now, she seemed to know ways of the world….
It's good that she knows the ways of the world; if she knows the ways of the world, we don't have to worry about her being cold-hearted.
Lin Qingwan's face reddened; her eyes were damp as she stammered. "Auntie, I… I know…"
Yang shi smiled. As if she hadn't seen Lin Qingwan's strange appearance, she pulled her into the main room.
"Come, come, come; I'll wipe your hair, don't get caught up in the wind, and get a headache later."
They both entered the main room and sat on top of the kang.
Lin Qingwan imitated Yang shi and removed her shoes, and sat on the kang with her back to Yang shi.
Yang shi took out a piece of cotton cloth from the kang cabinet and carefully wiped Lin QingWan's hair on her back.
"Auntie, thank you…" after a long while, Lin Qingwan whispered.
Thank you for your cordiality and generosity, and letting my uneasiness fade away upon coming to a strange place, thank you for your thoughtfulness and considerations from a moment ago….
Really thank you, all these made her feel grateful.
"Thank you for what?" Yang shi smiled and teased, "Calling me auntie is still courteous, in a little while, you can call me Aunt[1]."
Yang shi changed the cloth and squeezed water from her hair.
"Since you came here, stay at ease, and let Tie Zhu do the rest." Yang shi wiped the water from the ends of her hair up behind Lin Qing Wan, "Tie Zhu is a responsible and honest child; you will not regret marrying him. It's just that you were wronged…such a delicate flower, fell into our remote and desolate small place…"
"Auntie, I… I am not wronged…"
In fact, thinking about it, she was really not wronged, it was not a misstatement.
Perhaps from the present society's point of view, for a well-bred young lady from the prestigious family to be reduced to marry a countryside farmer was definitely being wronged, but after all, she wasn't a native-born and bred and a 'rich family's daughter' thus she didn't feel anything.
In her previous life in modern times, there was no difference between urban people and rural people. The only difference was the disparity between poor and rich. She was just a small white-collar worker in the modern world, and her income might not even be comparable to that of the farmers from the countryside.
Thus, from the perspective of many people, she was indeed wronged, but for Lin Qingwan who had transmigrated, it was nothing.
As long as she can live–
As long as she can live with dignity–
Even if it was arduous, even if it was destitute, even if she was married in the mountains–
Besides, this honest guy had spent all his money to buy her and was still racking his brains trying to give her a so-called 'official marriage'….
Thinking about it, Lin Qingwan couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed…
"It's good if you don't feel wronged, Auntie doesn't want anything else, just both of you get married and have a good life in the, and you also treat Tie Zhu well. That child, Tie Zhu has been miserable since he was a child…"
"Auntie, you said earlier… Is it difficult for Tie Zhu to handle it?" she overheard Yang shi words about lending money to Yang Tie Zhu, Yang shi also mentioned that Yang Tie Zhu's mother might disagree.
"Difficult? It might be difficult, however, no matter how difficult it is, we have to deal with it. It's different from other things, a woman marries only once in her lifetime, auntie doesn't want you to follow Tie Zhu without a name, nor do I want Tiezhu to take a woman home casually and count it as a marriage." Yang shi slowly opened her mouth and explained, telling Lin Qingwan some of her thoughts. "Auntie doesn't want you to be looked down upon in the future, auntie is also a woman, auntie understands the difficulties of women…"
Lin Qingwan's eyes once again became wet from Yang shi's words. Such a down-to-earth and cordial countrywoman, she might be poor and perhaps uneducated, but she had a simple and kind heart….
"It's just that Tiezhu's family, my younger brother's family, that wife of his, Tie Zhu's mother, is somewhat…"
Yang shi slowly began to tell Lin Qing Wan some things about the Yang family. She wasn't going to hide these from Lin Qingwan. After all, in the future, after marrying, she would live with them for a long time, then she would become aware of what that family was like and what kind of person He shi was.
Moreover, this child Wan'er looked shy and gentle; if she didn't know the situation, she would definitely suffer a lot of losses.
Yang shi, however, didn't know that Lin Qing Wan might look delicate and gentle on the outside, but she definitely wasn't a 'soft persimmon' that could be pinched[2]….
[1] Till now, Lin Qingwan was calling Yang shi as auntie as in when we call unrelated elder women. Now Yang shi was telling her that in the future Lin Qingwan would have to call her aunt (Father's sister).
[2] A soft persimmon that could be pinched: a pushover