Chapter 73.3

Translated by Aviana

But who would have imagined that she was born under an ill star? Even after several years of marriage, Tian Cuilan failed to conceive even once, and her husband’s family began to become anxious. Nevertheless, their family was kind and honest and didn’t admonish her much. They just let the young couple take some silver and consult a physician in the town to see what the problem was.

The results turned out to be bad and indicated that, unexpectedly, it was a problem on the women’s side.

No matter how kind and honest other people were, they just can’t helplessly look on as their son’s bloodline ceases in the future. In the countryside, people didn’t have the custom of taking a concubine in. Thus, without any better option, they decided to divorce Tian Cuilan.

But, at that time, Tian jia rushed to their house and made a fuss several times. However, no matter how much fuss you make, you would still be the unreasonable one. They just can’t marry a wife who can’t lay eggs and keep them in their houses and let their family’s son’s bloodline be cut off. Tian shen put her face aside and implored them. In the end, that family complied with her. They didn’t divorce Tian Cuilan but married a secondary wife . The former and later shared the same status in the family.

The day the secondary wife married, Tian Cuilan vacated the room she and her husband used to share and moved into her husband’s younger sister’s room. Her mother-in-law’s words also sounded reasonable—there aren’t many rooms in the house, and they still wished to hold their grandson soon. Her intention was plain as day—Anyways, you can’t give birth. Then don’t hold back others and move away, and let the other person give birth.

That secondary wife came from a very poor household. In order to collect silver to marry that secondary wife’s brother, her father heartlessly sold her daughter to get a high bride price. Furthermore, this secondary wife’s belly was also quite good. Not long after carrying, she became pregnant.

This made Tian Cuilan’s in-laws become fond of her, and their favourability towards the secondary wife increased more and more. And Tian Cuilan’s situation became even worse among the two.

In the beginning, that secondary wife was quite timid. After all, it hadn’t been long since she had married into the family. However, ever since she became pregnant, her in-laws and husband were as if they were itching to hold her in the cusp of their palms. Thus, gradually, her courage grew, and the more she looked at Tian Cuilan, the more she began to dislike her.

No one wishes to be just a secondary wife. Even though they were called secondary wives, in actuality, they didn’t have much status. They didn’t have a marriage contract, and their marriage wasn’t registered in official records. Although a wedding banquet was set up in the village, and villagers also regarded her as so-and-so person’s wife, how could one accept someone else snoring by one's own bedside ?

Tian jia’s old couple had erred and merely thought that as long as their daughter didn’t get a divorce, she would be able to continue living on. How could they have foreseen that ever since the second wife stepped in, a live-or-die situation would arise in the house? But of course, though it wasn’t as exaggerated as this, nevertheless, the situation escalated to the point where either the east wind would prevail over the west wind or the west wind prevail over the east wind. And certainly, if the suppressed one could keep on enduring, the days would still go on in that manner.

That secondary wife found Tian Cuilan unpleasant to the eyes. Thus, all day long, she began inciting her man and mother-in-law against her, making it hard for Tian Cuilan at every turn.

To begin with, households in rural areas weren’t quite rich. And to raise a daughter-in-law who can’t lay eggs was not an ordinary matter. One or two days were fine, but as the days passed, Tian Cuilan’s mother-in-law also began to hate her, feeling that the food at home was being wasted on her. After further being instigated by the secondary wife, she began to throw all the house chores on Tian Cuilan.

Tian Cuilan’s true hard days began. On the one hand, she had to hurry to finish all the house chores, on the other hand, she also had to wait upon that pregnant secondary wife. Moreover, she was a petulant one too. She coaxed her husband into favoring her alone and even had Tian Cuilan clean the couple’s foot wash too.

Later, that secondary wife gave birth to a son, solidifying her situation even more in the family. Tian Cuilan’s situation worsened even more. It was as if she had become a free, unpaid female servant of a family.

It would have been fine if it was just physical labor and stress, but Tian Cuilan was even tormented mentally. That secondary wife was all smiles on the surface, but behind everyone’s back, she always ridiculed Tian Cuilan for being a hen that couldn’t lay eggs and also even flaunted how much strength her man had shown the previous night…. As the days passed, Tian Cuilan couldn’t endure any longer. Physically and emotionally exhausted, Tian Cuilan spent the day in, day out, washing her face with tears. Her body also became all skin and bones. After a few years, Tian jia’s members were unable to bear her daughter living such an exhausting life. Their own family’s daughter was tossed till she no longer seemed human. They knocked on their door and requested divorce before taking Tian Cuilan back home.

Tian Cuilan came back last winter. But not after she came, Yang Tiezhu sustained injuries. Dreading that villagers would make thoughtless remarks, Tian shen hid her in the house and didn’t let her out.

It was only in the spring of this year that villagers got wind of Tian Cuilan’s matter and began gossiping over it. Since the jar had already cracked, Tian shen simply broke it and brought Tian Cuilan out.

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