"Let’s wait until we’re settled in the county seat. Then we can get a feel for what these families are like and decide if we want to get close to them."

De’an asked if the county magistrate had given any other tangible rewards besides his father’s promotion, like some silver.

Yao’an, on the other hand, was full of complaints. His big sister was getting engaged—such a huge deal—and no one had even told him!

’Do I have no rights just because I’m little? How could they not bring me back to preside over this!’

The family entered their home in a lively hubbub, chattering all the while.

Only after they had closed the door and the sound of their voices had faded did Chen Wanyue emerge from behind the woodpile.

’It’s no wonder she was so bitter. Her cousin had everything she envied—how could she not hate her, resent her, be furious!’

Unfortunately, that was all there was to it.

’A woman relies on her parents at home and her husband after marriage. As long as her husband failed to rise in the world, her cousin’s good luck would come to an end.’

Counting the days until the twentieth of the twelfth lunar month, she realized there were just over twenty days left. Chen Wanyue let out a slow breath and strolled back home.

’She had missed her chance with the treasure chest. She could only blame herself for moving too slowly, for not finding and hiding it in time.’

’Seething in secret was useless, and there was no way to remedy the situation. What she needed to do now was convince her parents and grandparents to let her have the small courtyard house in the county seat!’ 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

We won’t dwell on how Mrs. Li, in the county seat, brought her family to find the young widow, stripped the mother and child naked and threw them out, leaving them with no choice but to enter a brothel, an act that would cause trouble later on.

Nor on how Chen Lin broke his shin, which provoked the old matriarch into a tirade that even dragged Chen Song’s deceased mother through the mud, as onlookers Dahe and DaHe frowned, cursing themselves for being too absorbed in the drama to flee and thus getting roped into service.

Nor on the main branch of the Chen family’s happy reunion, where all was currently joy and harmony.

We turn, instead, to Zhao Jing’s home.

Mrs. Zhao had never been one for excitement.

Back when her husband was alive, she was the wife of the only Scholar in all the surrounding villages, and she felt a need to carry herself with a certain dignity. That, combined with her frail health, meant she usually stayed by her husband’s side doing needlework and rarely left the house.

After Mr. Zhao passed away, what with the mourning period and the devastating blow of his death, her health deteriorated. Mrs. Zhao became a recluse, never setting foot outside. It was no exaggeration to say that during the three years Zhao Jing observed his mourning period, his mother never once left the house.

When she finally emerged three years later, it was to arrange her son’s marriage.

Though it was exhausting, Mrs. Zhao was delighted to have settled on a daughter-in-law she was so fond of.

Wails could be heard from the village, and while Mrs. Zhao heard them, she paid them no mind.

Small villages were full of rowdy children. Every evening, the air was filled with parents shouting for their kids to come home, or roaring threats of a beating after some mischief.

However, just after she’d finished dinner, her two sisters-in-law came calling.

Mrs. Zhao liked her peace and quiet. Visitors were rare, especially at night.

But a visitor was a visitor, so Mrs. Zhao quickly placed the pastries Zhao Jing had brought last time on the table.

Xu Su Ying had pressed them on Zhao Jing the last time they met, and he’d brought them home to his mother. Upon hearing that the cloud-flake cakes were a gift from Chen Wanqing, Mrs. Zhao treasured them so much she couldn’t bear to eat a single piece, preferring to leave them out for display.

Seeing her two sisters-in-law sit at the table, Mrs. Zhao said eagerly, "Try some of these pastries. See if you like them. Wanqing bought them for me."

The two sisters-in-law expressed their surprise and praised Chen Wanqing as a fine young woman. But seeing how much Mrs. Zhao treasured the pastries, and happening to be full from their own dinners, neither of them touched a single one.

The sisters-in-law were blunt and quick to speak, and they wasted no time telling her about Chen Lin borrowing money from loan sharks.

Finally, one of them grabbed Mrs. Zhao’s hand, her voice full of relief. "It’s a good thing our Jing broke off his engagement with that family’s girl. If not, can you imagine being stuck with in-laws like them? How dreadful would that be!"

"That old matriarch is a complete rogue. If they can’t pay the money back, she’ll definitely show up at your door to borrow it. Lending her money is like throwing a meat bun at a dog—you’ll never see it again. But if you refuse to lend it, you’ll be put in an impossible position."

"Thank goodness the engagement was broken. It’s painful just to imagine what a miserable life that would have been."

Only then did Mrs. Zhao realize this was the cause of the earlier commotion.

She, too, was overcome with belated fear.

’Loan sharks... Borrow ten taels of silver, and the daily interest could practically be five taels. Get involved with them, and a whole family is ruined.’

’It was a good thing Chen Song had been promoted. Those people must have had some reservations and dropped the matter. If Chen Song hadn’t gotten that promotion, what would have happened? The thought alone was terrifying.’

Seeing how frightened she was, the two sisters-in-law were filled with regret.

’She was so timid and unworldly. They had both been foolish—why did they have to say such things and scare her?’