CH 3

Chapter 3 – An Abandoned Wife

Her body pushed down involuntarily and a weak cry similar to a kitten’s cry was heard.  Li Jing’er was stunned and a little overwhelmed.

The eldest sister-in-law, Xiao Wu, swept a glance at the cloth-wrapped newborn baby in Li Jing’er’s arms.  After passing a few sarcastic comments, she twisted her waist and strutted out of the delivery room.

It took Li Jing’er 3 days before she could accept the fact that she had become the mother of a child and another 7 days more before she faced the reality that she had indeed transmigrated through the time barrier.

From a model’s height of 178cm, she had shrunk into a small peasant woman’s figure of less than 160cm tall and her attractive tall and slender appearance had disappeared.  She was left with a pitiful figure that was dark and thin, a pair of rough hands, and an unattractive appearance.

The most unbearable thing for a woman is an ugly appearance and she was no exception.  So she ignored her husband’s family that had no intention of letting her recuperate after her delivery and shut herself away for a month.  No matter who came to ask her to work, she refused and made use of this rest period to nourish her body.  Whenever those people were not paying attention, she would secretly prepare confinement meals for herself.

Fortunately, the soul of her body had changed, otherwise, the newborn baby might not have survived.  The family’s heart was too cruel as they did not want to raise the baby daughter and wanted to drown her in a basin of water.

“Aiya!  Mother, don’t be angry.  Getting angry is only hurting yourself.  Second sister-in-law, don’t quarrel with Mother.  It’s considered that we’ve shown you extreme benevolence since we allowed both of you, mother and daughter, to remain here.  Which woman whose husband had died would insist on remaining in the family to rely on her dead husband’s brothers for a living?  Even if you don’t feel shy, I’ll still feel ashamed on your behalf.  Even second brother-in-law who had passed away won’t be able to face his ancestors……..”

The eldest sister-in-law, Xiao Wu who was pretending to be kind was blaming Li Jing’er and making life difficult for her.  Although Xiao Wu seemed to be trying to help settle the matter peacefully, she and her mother-in-law, Mother Wu, were harboring the same intentions.  They were envious and targeted the three houses that belonged to the Second Branch.

“Did you hear that?  Even though your skin is as thick as the tree bark, which man in this family is yours?  Is it appropriate for you as a single woman to walk in and out of the house?  Those who don’t know would think that you want to hook up with one of them.  I only have two sons left and I won’t allow you to ruin their reputation.”

Mother Wu spoke up forcefully and righteously and sounded as if she was doing everything for the good of her two sons.

“If you want me to leave, I can agree but my husband’s compensation must be given to me as the Xiao Family’s compensation.”

That was rightfully hers since the imperial court had given the money as compensation to the family of the victim who perished in the war.

The wife is the first in the line to receive the compensation followed by the children and then the parents and brothers.  If there is no one in the family, then the compensation will be given to the uncles followed by the clan.

“Don’t even think about it!”  Mother Wu hugged the money even tighter and showed a cautious expression.

“That’s right!  That money is our whole family’s lifesaver.  You’re indeed very cruel to let the whole family feed on rice husks.”

Xiao Wu threw down the beans and stood beside her mother-in-law with an expression full of blame.

Li Jing’er’s eyes flickered.

“Who actually is the cruel one?  That is the money that my husband exchanged with his life.  For more than a year, if my husband hadn’t sent back his military pay, how could this residence be built?  Even the rice you’re eating is exchanged with his life.”

She has never seen the Xiao Family’s second son but still sympathized with him.  With a family that is so disgusting, it’s no wonder that he only got married at the age of 22.  He even had to marry an older girl who was past her marriageable age and one who had lost her mother.

“What the hell are you talking about?!  Your husband is my son and it’s only natural for a son to be filial to his parents.  I raised him, cleaned his feces and urine, and spent so much effort on him.  You, the Star of Death, even dare to fight over the benefits with me?  You must have stood in the sun for too long so you’re dizzy!”

Whoever dares to fight with her over the money, she will fight back with all her might!  Once the money reaches her hands, it is hers!

“It is justifiable for a husband to raise his wife and daughter.  I was officially married into the Xiao Family with a dowry as arranged by the matchmaker.  I had worshipped the ancestors, offered tea, and am rightfully a daughter-in-law of the Xiao Family.  Unless I had violated one of the seven rules*, no one has the right to chase me out.”

(In ancient times, a husband can divorce his wife if she violates one of the seven marriage rules.  The rules are – if she is barren, she commits adultery, is unfilial to his parents, is disobedient, unreasonable, jealous, or sick.)

The faces of these people were too ugly and for their own selfishness, they could destroy their conscience.

“You……you don’t have any descendant.”

Mother Wu looked at the little granddaughter in her mother’s arms and thought up a far-fetched and outrageous excuse.  The words were spoken a little guiltily and without confidence.

Li Jing’er did not retort and only replied.  “I’ve decided to let my daughter convert into the Xiao Family.”

“Convert……..convert into the Xiao Family?”  Mother Wu’s eyes widened.

“Entering the Xiao Family is considered as having descendants.  All the children born in the future will carry the surname Xiao and will inherit the duty of the Xiao Family Second Branch to worship and burn incense to the ancestors.”

Let’s see if you dare to make the Second Branch extinct!

(Convert into the family – this happens when a man marries a wife and takes the reverse role of a wife.  After marriage, the man will become a member of the wife’s family similar to a wife marrying into her husband’s family.  His parents-in-law will become his parents and he will treat the siblings of his wife as his own.  All the children from the marriage will carry the surname of the wife and will be regarded as descendants of the wife’s family.  In this story, Li Jing’er is planning to convert her daughter into the Xiao Family meaning that her daughter will carry the surname Xiao even if she marries in the future.  Her husband will have to convert into the family and their children will become descendants of the Xiao Second Branch.  However, if they have many children, there is also a possibility that the wife may concede to having one or two children bear the husband’s name but only the younger ones will be selected.)

“You……”  Mother Wu was so angry that she could not think of anything to refute.  No matter how much she disliked the second son, he was still her son and he could not be left without descendants to worship him.

“What do you want before you’re willing to leave?”  Old Man Xiao walked over while smoking on a long pipe.

The old turtle finally stepped forward to speak up.  He was greedy for benefits but was unwilling to let others talk bad about him and ruin his reputation.

“I want 10 taels from my husband’s compensation.”

As soon as they heard ‘10 taels’, the expressions of Mother Wu and her two daughters-in-law changed greatly and they wanted to rush up to bite Li Jing’er.

“No, that’s too much.  This is a bad year and there’s still the family to support.”

If half of the compensation is given to her then the whole family would not be able to celebrate the New Year.

Old Man Xiao shook his head.

Pretending to be unhappy, Li Jing’er frowned and then put on an expression that showed she was unwilling to compromise either.

“Or else, we can both take a step back.  I’ll take 5 taels of silver but the things in my house will remain my private property and no one can take them from me.”

“5 taels……..”  Old Man Xiao thought for a while and concluded that the things in her house should be worthless so it was useless to take away those things from her.

“Alright!  We’ll do as you say……..”

“Father!”

How can she be allowed to take away ‘their’ things?!

“Old man…….”

Their Second Son should have some money stashed away.

Old Man Xiao glared at both Mother Wu and the eldest daughter-in-law to stop them from speaking.  Although they wanted to save on food rations, they could not be too ruthless to the mother and child.  After all, the child is still an heir of the Xiao Family.

“What I said goes.”

“And…….I want a formal letter of divorce and a formal letter of family separation.”

It was to avoid any future problems, lest this group of blood-sucking leeches comes to look for her again.

“Family separation?”  He was puzzled.

“The child is severing ties with this family and will no longer be a descendant of your Xiao Family in the future.  No matter whether she falls sick or gets married, it has nothing to do with your family.  From now on, we will be strangers.”

She deliberately said it in such a way just to show them that she needed the money desperately.  It was to prevent the Xiao Family from seeking them out and claiming to be their relatives in the future.

As to the baby granddaughter that was born thin and frail, it was doubtful whether she could even be raised successfully.   After thinking for a while Old Man Xiao agreed.

***☆☆☆***

“Mother, why did you allow her to take the baby away?  If you feed the baby with rice gruel, she will still grow up.”

As soon as the third son, Xiao Jingrong heard that the baby niece was taken away, he showed an annoyed expression.

“Do you intend to raise her if she is left behind?”  Mother Wu said angrily.

“I am a man, how will I raise her?…….”

It was just feeding her some gruel and water which did not take much effort and anyway, she might not last long.

In fact, Li Jing’er had long seen through the third son, Xiao Jingrong’s thoughts.  As soon as the news of the second son, Xiao Jingfeng’s death arrived and even before they could think of how to deal with his funeral, Xiao Jingrong who was short of money had already made plans to make some money out of the second sister-in-law and the baby girl.

He planned to force the second sister-in-law to remarry and in return get some silver taels as dowry while the baby girl would be raised for a few years to see if she would turn out to be pretty.  He could still make a tidy sum after selling the girl to that kind of place.

Alternatively, she could be sold to a wealthy family in the town and the defenseless girl would not be able to resist.  He will then ask her for money every month and make her support him, this uncle.  Then he can live his days happily without worrying about food and would even have money to spend.

It was a pity that as soon as this thought came to his mind, it was squashed by Li Jing’er in an instant.

She had initially intended to leave the Xiao Family and make a living on her own but her child was a descendant of the Xiao Family.  For sure they would not agree to the child being taken away by her, so she was waiting for a suitable time.

Xiao Jingfeng’s sudden death presented her with the opportunity to leave.

The instant she caught hold of the opportunity, she turned and left without hesitation.

Li Jing’er’s personal belongings were not much.  They consisted of a few pieces of clothes, a pair of silver lilac flowers that was her dowry from her maiden family when she got married, and a silver bracelet given to her by her mother-in-law when she married into the family.  When all her belongings were put into the tall basket that was half her height, it was only half full and after putting her baby daughter inside, it was just right.  Then she added a quilt that was rolled into a tube and finally all her belongings were inside the basket.

She had already made preparations to leave a long time ago but what she did not expect was that the original Li Jing’er was skilled at embroidery.  She made this discovery while in confinement, so she started to do embroidery while recuperating and it was during that time she embroidered around a dozen handkerchiefs.  It turned out that the original Li Jing’er had relied on this craft to make some money for herself.

After her confinement, it seemed the Xiao Family wanted to get back their money’s worth from her and constantly ordered her around to do various work.  It was only when she was breastfeeding her child that she could have time to embroider a flower and a few leaves.

Even so, the embroidered handkerchiefs could be sold for 15 coins per piece and during the past 5 to 6 months, she managed to save a tael of silver which boosted her confidence.

In fact, she understood the Xiao Family’s behavior and their way of doing things very well.  She knew that she would never get her hands on Xiao Jingfeng’s compensation of 20 silver taels and with the Xiao Family’s greed, she was afraid she would not even be able to see the shadow of those silver taels.

The moment she opened her mouth to speak, she had asked for the twenty taels of silver and it was just to give them a scare.  Compared to the large sum of 20 taels, 5 taels of silver did not seem significant and it was easier to get them.

For the Xiao Family, it was very cost-effective to use 5 taels of silver to get rid of the pair of mother and daughter who were only capable of eating.

After three years of drought, the rain finally came and as long as they work hard, they will have food for the autumn harvest.

To put it bluntly, as soon as the son is dead, the daughter-in-law and granddaughter will become redundant.  Anyway, the child is not a grandson who can carry on the family line by having children and grandchildren and the family will even have to pay a dowry when she marries in the future.