Chapter 101 – The Widow’s Adopted Daughter (part 1)

Li Su opened her eyes again. The scene she saw made her close her eyes in despair. It was the ancient times again and her family was still impoverished. It was terrible!

Li Su died when she was 80 years old in her last life. Yuan Wei Xiu, Jiang Rong, Jiang Qiao, and even Ou Yang Yi died before her. Li Su sighed a little when she saw the crying and heartbroken Yuan Lang. Fortunately, her family was already at their 5th generation. With so many children and grandchildren, Lang’er wouldn’t be alone.

Li Su no longer thought about her previous life. She now had to think of what to do in this life!

While Li Su was thinking, the door suddenly opened. “Are you awake? Didn’t you say that you sold the second girl1 today? The broker has come and you still can’t get up!”

Li Su rolled her eyes impatiently. She heard sobbing next to her. It was the original owner’s only daughter. Because she was a daughter, she didn’t have a name, even at 5 years old!

Li Su sighed. “Don’t worry. Mother won’t sell you!”

The second girl was a little surprised, but didn’t take her words seriously. Because she didn’t give birth to a son for the Wang family, the mother always felt inferior. In addition, her father died in battle last year. After his death, there was nobody to send him off. Grandfather and grandmother cursed at the door of the house for 3 days and 3 nights. Mother cried, but didn’t dare to make a sound. In the end, it was uncle’s eldest son who dressed in mourning clothes and carried out the filial duties. He held the funeral for dad.

From then on, mother felt sorry for grandfather and grandmother even more. She was submissive to them and uncle. All the money given to her by the court after dad’s death was taken by grandmother and grandfather.

This was far from enough. Uncle’s eldest son wanted to get married, but didn’t have enough money. So, grandma said that she would sell her to a broker and collect a bride price for her uncle’s eldest son. The second girl knew that her uncle’s family had money, but they didn’t want to use it. After selling her, they wanted to use her mother as a workhorse for them!

Mother was reluctant at first, but she still wasn’t convinced by grandmother. In order to get more money, grandmother planned to sell her as a prostitute. After mother knew, she only hugged and cried, saying that her life was hard. Why did she have a daughter?

In the dark, the second girl’s tears flowed freely. She hated it! Why did she have such a family?

Li Su heard that the second girl was still crying. She knew that the child didn’t take her words seriously. Children in ancient times matured early. At 5 years old, they already knew a lot. The second girl knew the position she and her mother had in the family. She was desperate and sad!

Li Su sighed. This was her mission in this world: Wang Si Qin, whose current name was ‘the second girl’.

Li Su opened the door. Before her mother-in-law and aunt could speak, she closed the door.

Mrs. Wang Fang2 immediately raised her eyebrows when she saw that the second daughter-in-law, who had always been blindly subservient, was now acting a bit abnormally. “What are you doing? Do you want to regret it? Da Ge Er is our Wang family’s only man. How can a single silly girl compare to him?! Hurry up! Don’t make me do it!”

The eldest daughter-in-law was next to her, Mrs. Xiao Fang, Mrs. Wang Fang’s niece. Because she was Mrs. Wang Fang’s maternal niece, her mother-in-law was her aunt, and she was backed by her maternal family. The most important thing was that Da Ge Er was going to marry her daughter. They would pay 5 silver taels for her dowry. When the time came, her niece would bring back 10 silver taels. Whatever the amount was, she wouldn’t suffer! Naturally, she was happy. Mrs. Wang Fang was just concerned with who should pay those 5 silver taels for her troubles.

The family could pay this sum, but Mrs. Wang Fang didn’t want to take it out. So, she thought about it and remembered that there was a girl from her second uncle’s house. She encouraged her mother-in-law to sell the girl. The girl looked like her mother, so she should be able to sell for a good price! She still remembered that when the second daughter-in-law washed her face, she looked like a water spirit.

Mother-in-law agreed, and the second daughter-in-law did not dare to disagree. If she did, then she would have the reputation of being rebellious and unfilial and would only be able to hang herself!

“Mother, Da Ge Er needs to be paid the dowry. This is something that eldest brother and aunt should worry about. Even if you want to sell the child, doesn’t your sister-in-law have two daughters? Sell them! Why do you want to sell my girl? What’s more, our head of family is dead. The court gave me his pension money. I didn’t even see that money since it was taken by your mother. If the family really doesn’t have the money to pay the dowry to Da Ge Er, then use the money our head of family got in exchange for his life! It is time to return the friendship Da Ge Er gave to our head of house!” Li Su said as she looked directly at Mrs. Wang Fang.

Mrs. Wang Fang’s eyes widened. “What are you talking about?! You didn’t even give birth to a son, so what kind of qualifications do you have to talk to me?! Open the door and hand over the second girl!”

Mrs. Xiao Fang was also angry. Her eldest daughter and third girl were going to marry into good families in the future so they could help Da Ge Er. Why would she be willing to sell them?! When she heard this, she rolled up her sleeves and went forward to open the door to grab someone.

Li Su snorted coldly. She passed by and pushed Mrs. Xiao Fang to the ground.

Mrs. Wang Fang and the others who were watching the excitement were stunned. Mrs. Li was a Jiang Nan woman. She was charming and timid. Her hometown suffered through a flood and she ended up here. She was fancied by the second child of the Wang family, Wang Er Lang, and married him. She was treated like a treasure by him. Mrs. Xiao Fang’s family were pig killers. He was rich, as well as tall and strapping, so it was a surprise to Mrs. Xiao Fang’s family that Mrs. Li managed to nab him. What a surprise!

“You dare to do something to your sister-in-law?!” Mrs. Wang Fang said angrily.

“So what? My man died on the battlefield. He died for the country. The court was righteous and exempted my family from taxation and forced labour. We also received the pension. Your family is enjoying an easy life in exchange for my man’s life. Now you are about to sell my man’s only blood to get a bride price for your eldest grandson! I have already said that you can use my man’s money for your precious grandson so he can marry. You are too much that you still want to sell my second girl! Why?! Second girl is the only flesh and blood of my family. You want to sell her to a prostitute. Is there any grandmother like you in the world? I am in charge!” Li Su said angrily.

The people around only knew that the Wang family was going to sell their granddaughter. Although they were a little surprised, the Wang family had a good life in Shang Lin Village. These days, there weren’t many families willing to sell children. Unless the family really couldn’t afford it, who would be willing to sell their own flesh and blood? And, even if they wanted to sell the child, they would find a good place for their child. The Wang family wanted to sell their granddaughter, which caused others to sigh. Since it was not their business, they couldn’t speak and could only murmur secretly. But, they had no idea that the Wang family wanted to sell their granddaughter to a prostitute! This was too much! This was sacrificing a child to be rich!

“Auntie, you are too much! Even if you want to sell your granddaughter, you should find a good place for her. It’s better to sell her as a maid to a kind and generous family than to a prostitute!”

“That’s right. What your second daughter-in-law said is right. If his son wants to get married and wants more money, then he should sell his daughter. How can he sell the second daughter’s daughter?! Even though she is a daughter, she is also a daughter of your Wang family. When your second son was at home, he was very loving. Aren’t you afraid that Wang Er Lang will haunt you in your dreams?”

Mrs. Wang Fang stared. “He was my son, so he should listen to me! He dares?!”

Li Su was also not polite. “Even if the head of my family is willing, I am not! Who dares to sell my daughter today?! Over my dead body!”

Mrs. Wang Fang’s face was red with anger. She suddenly slapped her thigh, sat on the ground, and began to cry. “Er Lang, what kind of daughter-in-law did you marry? She is not filial! She is rebelling against her mother-in-law! My life is so bitter! Er Lang, why did you leave so early?! You are killing me!”

Li Su coldly watched Mrs. Wang Fang’s performance. The original owner had read a few books and knew a few words. She clung a bit to old-fashioned ideas and also loved face. Every time Mrs. Wang Shi did this, she immediately surrendered and obeyed unconditionally. Now, Li Su had taken over and she didn’t care about this.

“Why did the head of my family go so early? Don’t you know, mother? It was supposed to be your eldest son who went to war. Didn’t mother cry and let the head of my family go instead of his older brother? How did your second son die? It was you who sent him to his death!” Li Su said coldly.

The villagers didn’t know that this had happened. Although they wondered how did the Wang family send their second son, who had no son, to be a soldier while the eldest son, who had a son, stayed behind. But, this was a family matter, so they didn’t pay too much attention to it. Who knew that it was actually like this!

The gazes of the villagers towards Mrs. Wang Fang turned cold.

The head of the Wang family, Wang Da Shan, had been hiding. Now that the situation was getting worse, he gave his son, Wang Da Lang, a wink. Wang Da Lang understood. He changed his face and ran over to help Mrs. Wang Fang up. He gave her a look. “Mother, what are you doing? Da Ge Er’s side will find a way. What she said is right. After all, second girl is the only blood of second younger brother. How can she be sold?! Dad has already driven away the broker. Get up quickly! Dad is angry!”

Then, he glared at Mrs. Xiao Fang, who was sitting on the ground. “Why are you still sitting there, stunned? What are you doing? Hurry and help your mother go back. Stop being an embarrassment here.”

Mrs. Xiao Fang was confused now! She couldn’t believe that Mrs. Li, who was weak enough to be blown away by a gust of wind, actually pushed her to the ground. This was incredible!

However, Mrs. Xiao Fang quickly got up and helped her mother-in-law back home. Her butt hurt so much. Mrs. Li, this bitch. She would let Ming’er clean her up! Ouch! It hurt so much! When she got back to her family, she wanted to order pork spare ribs and stewed soup to make up for it.

Wang Da Lang smiled again and stepped forward. “Younger siblings, these were all misunderstandings. Don’t worry. Second younger brother’s pension is for his parents, so I won’t use it. I will find a way to get Da Ge Er’s money. I promise I won’t sell second girl.” Wang Da Lang looked at Li Su with a little fire in his eyes. Mrs. Li’s figure was slim and she was good-looking. She was better than Mrs. Fang. He originally thought that if he sold second girl, he could manipulate Mrs. Li. He didn’t expect that she would make a fuss.

Li Su noticed Wang Da Lang’s wicked eyes and stepped back. “Uncle, many things have happened in front of this widow’s door today. Uncle should not drop by easily in the future. Since mum and dad have no plans to sell my second girl, then I can rest assured. I will go back first.”

She turned to enter the door, then closed it with a bang!

Wang Da Lang touched his nose and laughed twice. He was thinking of a way to get rid of the ugly and waste-of-space second girl so he could achieve his goal smoothly!

When the people saw that there was nothing else exciting to watch, they dispersed.

In the room, Li Su looked at second girl with gleaming eyes. “How was it? I said I wouldn’t sell you! Now, do you believe mother?”

1.(二丫) literally translates to Second Girl. She’s the second oldest girl in the paternal family.

2.(氏) Mrs. (shi): a title used after a married woman’s maiden name. Women don’t change their last names when they get married, so this title is here to indicate that they are married. This doesn’t really have a good translation in English. I’ve put it in as ‘Mrs.’ to make it easier for readers to understand. Family titles are complicated in Chinese and most don’t have good English equivalents.