Volume One, Chapter 19: Qiao Xun Refuses, Preserving Jiang Xian's Dignity

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“Miss Jiang, your lifesaving grace is worth more than my life in return, yet it’s not just misfortune that haunts me—I’m afraid I won’t be able to help you with this matter!” Qiao Xun’s eyes darkened as he reluctantly declined.

“Uh…” Jiang Xian blinked, pointing at herself. “I said I’m naturally lucky; I could balance out your bad luck. You still don’t want to? We could just cooperate for now—get through this government order, and after a year or so, we could get a divorce. How about that? I’m an unmarried female hunter with a child; it’s hard to find a suitable man. Besides, I don’t want to be forcibly married off to some unsavory fellows…”

Qiao Xun thought of the people working against him behind the scenes. Although he wanted to help Jiang Xian, he refused without hesitation.

Jiang Xian was a kind-hearted person; he could not drag her into danger.

“I’m sorry, Miss Jiang. Apart from this, I would agree to anything else you ask!”

“But I only need you to pretend to be my husband to evade the government order!” Jiang Xian grew a bit angry at this clueless scholar, who seemed impervious to reason.

Qiao Xun took a few steps back, bowed deeply to Jiang Xian, and then swiftly walked away like the wind.

Jiang Xian was quite upset but understood that people of this time were rigid in thought, believing marriage was a lifelong commitment. She sighed helplessly and carried Tang Tang home.

Tang Tang blinked up at Jiang Xian and asked, “Mother, do you like that divine lord just now?”

Jiang Xian found it baffling. “Divine lord? More like a madman!”

After saying that, she wondered if Tang Tang had noticed something and quickly stared at her. “Sweet girl, why did you call Qiao Xun ‘divine lord’? Is he really a celestial scholar descended to earth?”

Tang Tang shook her head innocently. “I don’t know; he just looks like the divine lord in the stories.”

Jiang Xian was speechless.

Well, she had hoped Tang Tang had seen something deeper.

She cautioned, “Don’t tell Grandpa or Grandma about divine lord, it’s our little secret!”

Tang Tang obediently nodded, covering her mouth with her small hand. “Okay, Tang Tang promises not to say!”

Only then did Jiang Xian feel at ease and head home. The farther down the mountain the less people there were, until none could be seen.

As dusk fell, Jiang Xian and her daughter arrived just in time.

Jiang Shunde was already sitting at the gate, carving a small wooden slingshot. He had carefully smoothed the wood on the ground to avoid splinters and tied red cords around both ends, making it safe to hold.

Jiang Xian once had one too, but hers had long since fallen apart.

Seeing mother and daughter return, Jiang Shunde smiled warmly and called out, “Good granddaughter, come see what Grandpa made for you!”

Jiang Xian set Tang Tang down, and the little girl scampered over, her mouth sweetly agreeing, “Okay!”

“Wow! Such a beautiful slingshot, Grandpa made it for me?” Tang Tang exclaimed with delight.

Jiang Shunde, proud as ever, nodded. “Of course it’s for you; you’re our only child! Try shooting some small wooden pieces and see how it feels!”

Confident in his handiwork, Jiang Shunde watched as Tang Tang immediately pulled back the slingshot with all her might. With a bang, a piece of wood shot out, hitting the courtyard wall. Overjoyed, Tang Tang jumped up and down clapping her hands.

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“Look, Grandpa, I hit it!”

Jiang Shunde laughed, carrying Tang Tang over to the rack where the hunted game hung. He began teaching her how to aim properly. Once she mastered the basics, they would head into the mountains for practice. When Tang Tang grew up, she might even surpass Miss Xian as a skilled huntress.

Hearing the noise, Qian Shi came out of the house, expressionless but seeing her husband and child happy, she said nothing to spoil the mood.

Jiang Xian stepped forward and handed over all the eleven taels of silver she had earned that day to Qian Shi.

“Mother, this is the money from selling the polygonatum and gastrodia!”

Qian Shi weighed it, surprised at the amount. “That little polygonatum and gastrodia worth so much? Isn’t that more than hunting wild game?”

“Yes, but rare medicinal herbs are hard to come by and not something you find every day,” Jiang Xian explained, then asked, “By the way, Mother, how much silver do we have saved now?”

Qian Shi thought carefully, weighing the small silver pieces in her hand. “Including what you gave me today, nearly seventy taels in total!”

Jiang Xian now had a clear idea.

In truth, the Jiang family didn’t eat plain food every day; they had fish and meat regularly. With a bit more frugality in clothing, they could save several dozen more taels.

Since Jiang Xian adopted the philosophy of enjoying life fully and not starving herself so that she wouldn’t suddenly die and leave piles of silver to others, Jiang Shunde and Qian Shi had come to accept the idea of eating well and dressing decently.

Jiang Xian nodded and discussed with Qian Shi, “Mother, recently several families have moved away from the village, selling their children and leaving their fields behind. Those fields naturally revert to the village. Some of the paddy fields are well situated. I’m thinking of buying them. Owning more land can’t be bad.”

“Ah? Buy more fields? We already have thirty acres of good farmland and twenty more acres of other land. Even if we hired people to farm, it’s too much to manage. Do we really need more?” Qian Shi was reluctant to say it openly, but as newcomers—

No matter what happens in the future, fifty acres is certainly enough to live on. These days, droughts make farming difficult.

Jiang Xian smiled, “Mother, with land and fields, once we reach a certain scale, we can become landlords at home and no longer have to toil in the mountains. Fifty acres aren’t enough now; we need at least a hundred acres to live comfortably as landlords.”

“But your father and I have no sons. Once you marry out, who will inherit the land? It will all have to be sold and converted to money for you to take away!”

Jiang Xian retorted, “Then I’ll find a son-in-law to marry in. You just want me married off so you and Father can enjoy your two-person world, right?”

“You child, what nonsense!” Qian Shi muttered. The Qiao family scholar, with his official rank, wouldn’t want to marry into our family!

“Hehe, Mother, just trust me. Tomorrow morning, give me fifty taels to buy land. You won’t regret it!” Jiang Xian grinned mischievously.

Qian Shi had no choice but to acquiesce.

The truth was, with a daughter in charge, life improved steadily. Unlike when the husband ruled, the family was so poor they could only afford meat once every ten or fifteen days. Now, life was comfortable.

“Alright, call me when you leave tomorrow morning!”

After a long day, Jiang Xian was tired. She called out to Jiang Shunde, who had been teaching Tang Tang all day, “Father, I’m hungry!”

“I’ll start cooking right away!” Jiang Shunde agreed, handing Tang Tang to Qian Shi before rushing into the kitchen to prepare dinner.

...

After seeing her aunt home, Madam Wang returned to Huanxi Village.

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Entering the courtyard, she found her two daughters-in-law in a standoff and felt annoyed. She pounded her leg lightly, then went straight to the room where the old couple lived, ignoring everyone.

This left Xiao Wang Shi and Zhao Shi curious enough to pause their quarrel.

“What did Mother go out for so early? Why does she look so dispirited back?”

“No idea. Early this morning she took a piece of red satin and a pound of white sugar and left. Could she be going to propose to Third Brother’s bride’s family?”

Xiao Wang Shi nodded suspiciously, “Maybe. Could be that girl from yesterday.”

Zhao Shi, curious, asked, “Sister-in-law, how much do you think Mother will offer as betrothal gifts to Third Brother’s bride’s family?”

Xiao Wang Shi had given five taels and a silver bracelet as betrothal gifts, plus the Wang family’s dowry of a wedding bed, a cabinet, a dressing table, and six quilts.

Because Zhao Shi was married to Qiao Xi only after he made a fuss at home, Madam Wang had no choice but to increase her dowry to ten taels and a silver bracelet and even bought Zhao Shi a ready-made wedding gown. This infuriated Xiao Wang Shi, who sulked and acted sarcastic every day during that time. Eventually, Madam Wang took Xiao Wang Shi to buy a complete set of clothes and secretly gave her two taels more as pocket money, finally calming her down.

Hearing about the betrothal gifts for Third Brother’s family, Xiao Wang Shi sneered, “Probably only ten taels. Our family just split recently, and that’s all the savings Mother and Father have for dowry.”

Zhao Shi muttered, “But Third Sister-in-law will have a comfortable life—no need to serve a big family’s every need, and she’ll get a big five-room brick house for free. Father and Mother can even earn money to support them!”

“Unlike us, when we married in, we had to endure the mother-in-law’s harsh treatment, set strict rules, wash everyone’s clothes, cook, feed pigs and chickens, and work the fields. Now that the family is split, we still have to build our own house and do all the work ourselves, without even help from in-laws.”

“During festivals, we still have to give gifts to Father and Mother. Since they live with Third Brother, wouldn’t the gift burden naturally fall on the third household? Honestly, Third Sister-in-law is really lucky!”

Xiao Wang Shi agreed and felt unfairness swell inside her. “Why does she get to skip all the duties a new daughter-in-law should do? And that house is for Father and Mother, not just the third couple. How about this…”

Xiao Wang Shi leaned close to Zhao Shi’s ear and whispered.

Zhao Shi’s eyes widened in shock. “Isn’t that wrong?”

“What’s wrong with it? We just do it!” Xiao Wang Shi said firmly.

Mainly, Xiao Wang Shi had no money to build a new brick house. She could build a simple mud and thatch house easily but didn’t want to live in a dusty mud house with a thatched roof, worrying every time the wind blew or rain fell.

“If Father and Mother find out…” Zhao Shi looked frightened.

Xiao Wang Shi didn’t care. “If we ruin this marriage, we can stay here longer. Do you have money now to buy land and build a house?”

Zhao Shi shook her head vigorously.

Xiao Wang Shi sighed, “See? Only by spoiling Third Brother’s marriage can we keep living here. Otherwise, Father and Mother will surely bring up that five-room brick house to force us to build a new home and move out, so Third Sister-in-law won’t realize she’s been tricked.”

Xiao Wang Shi thought she knew her mother-in-law very well—after all, Wang Shi was not only her mother-in-law but also her cousin by marriage.

Zhao Shi looked timid, unwilling to proceed.

Madam Wang, seeing this, snapped, “Zhao Chuntao, I’m telling you, if you don’t stand with me now, when we’re driven out to build a new house, I won’t speak a word in your favor!”