Chapter 15

“Uncle, I remember that on the day I left the Qiao family, you said I would never be allowed to enter the door again. Does this mean that I, Qiaomai, have nothing to do with the Qiao family anymore?”

“Bullsh*t. A married daughter is like spilled water. That’s because you want to devote yourself to your in-laws. Otherwise, do you think your mother and I would come to settle scores with you after you did such a shameless thing? You unfilial thing, calling me uncle.”

Qiao Mai sneered, “So that’s what you mean? I really misunderstood. Other people’s daughters are pampered at their parents’ homes. When they get married, their parents will support them, but what about my parents?”

“Why don’t you take a look at the conditions of our family?”

Madam Qiao Lu wiped her tears and sobbed softly at the side. Qiao Shicheng, a man, argued with Qiao Mai.

“Hmph, what conditions? We’re poor. I’m not afraid of suffering. I’m afraid of my own parents not treating me as a human being. Why would others pity your daughter?”

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“My life in the Tian family is worse than that in yours. I’m treated worse than an animal. I was kicked by my mother-in-law and had a miscarriage. I don’t believe you guys in the neighboring village don’t know.”

“You said I’m embarrassing myself, but tell me what I’m embarrassing myself about? Is it wrong for me to want to live? If I steal and cheat with a man, I won’t blame you even if you beat me to death.”

“But look at what you’ve done! For a hundred catties of wheat, you sold your daughter to such an evil family. The child in my stomach was born prematurely.”

“It was done by the Tian family. My life didn’t stay in the Tian family, but my child’s life did. The murderer will be punished by the heavens sooner or later.”

“I don’t owe the Tian family anything, nor do I owe you anything. You sold me for a hundred catties of wheat, which provided you with a few meals so your grandchildren won’t have to starve anymore.”

“I, Qiaomai, have already used the life of the child in my stomach to repay your kindness. I left the Tian family and did not go back to look for you. The law is clear.”

“I will follow my husband when I get married, follow my son when I don’t have a husband, and follow myself when I don’t have a son. I’m not under the control of the Qiao family now. I can make my own decisions. I don’t need you to lecture me here.”

The Qiao couple was stunned by her words. Was she still their daughter?

“You… How can you say such disgraceful words?”

“What? Is it wrong for me to want to live? Do I deserve to be tortured to death by the Tian family? Even if you are willing, I am not. My life is up to me, not the heavens. Whoever dares to take my life, I will fight to the death with them.”

Madam Qiao Lu looked at Qiao Mai with lingering fear. “You, you’re not my daughter. You’re not.”

“It’s the best if I’m not. Then what are you doing here?”

Old Tian and Madam Tian Li initially wanted to watch the show from the side and let Qiao Mai’s parents deal with her.

They didn’t expect that with these words, Qiao Mai had exposed the Tian family’s evil deeds. The two didn’t dare to get angry. There were too many people watching. They were afraid of being pointed at and affecting their grandson’s career.

“Come home with us!”

Qiao Shicheng still thought that Qiao Mai was easy to manipulate.

“Sure. Do you have the silver to redeem me from Shopkeeper Lu?”

“What is it? You sold yourself to Shopkeeper Lu?”

“What else? Do you think a dying person can appear before you alive?”

The Qiao couple looked at each other when they heard that Qiao Mai had sold herself. Qiao Shicheng gritted his teeth.

“You shameless thing. You actually learned how to sell yourself?”

“Do you mean you want me to wait for my death?”

Qiao Shicheng couldn’t care less about the others pointing at him. “How much did you sell? Give me the money!”

“I’m sorry to disappoint you. The only reason I’m still alive is because Shopkeeper Lu saved me. From start to finish, she spent twenty taels of silver. Now, I’m working at her shop to pay off my debts. Even if I’m fine, how much can I sell a hundred catties of wheat for?”

The couple didn’t hear anything else except Qiao Mai saying she still owed Shopkeeper Lu twenty taels of silver.

Twenty taels of silver! His family only had one or two taels of silver to chew on in a year. This amount of silver could feed them for more than ten years without a problem.

The husband and wife were heartbroken, and Qiao Shicheng was so angry that his body trembled.

“You money-losing thing. You spent twenty taels of silver!? Are you worth that money? You prodigal thing, I, I’ll beat you to death.”

Shopkeeper Lu was beside Qiao Mai at this time. Looking at the faces of the Qiao family, she could not help but be angry.

“Bah, try hitting her. If I didn’t save her, she would have died long ago. Do you still have the chance to cause trouble here? Motherf*cker, I’ve never seen people like you who don’t treat your daughter as a human being. It’s fine if you push her into the fire pit, but when your daughter escaped from the fire pit, you did not care about her. But rather, you insulted her. In your eyes, there was only that bit of silver. Madam Qiao really had eight lifetimes of bad luck to be born in your family.”

“Shopkeeper Lu, this is our family matter. Please don’t interfere.”

“Bullsh*t. She sold herself to me now. She’s my family. That’s a slave contract, understand? Don’t even think about asking for her salary in the future. She’s a person with a slave contract. It’s already good enough for me to give her warmth and food. What salary do you need?”

“I, I don’t believe it. Master Lu, please let us take her home?”

“Are you two stupid? She’s already divorced. She can go anywhere she wants. She’s no longer under your control. Also, she’s now a servant of my family, understand? If you want to bring her back, sure. Twenty taels of silver for saving her life, five taels of silver for needlework, clothes, jewelry, and food. I have to calculate all of them. She owes me thirty taels of silver. Pay up!”

Qiao Shicheng’s face turned red from embarrassment. “Shopkeeper Lu, you’re making fun of me. How can a family like ours have so much silver?”

“If you don’t have that much silver, why are you b*llshitting? Why did you come to my shop? You and the Tian family can’t leave today. We have to argue with the mayor.”

After saying that, a heavy cough sounded. “Lu Sanniang, I’ve been watching the show for a long time.”

The surrounding commoners hurriedly took a step back to let the mayor appear.

The mayor’s surname was Qian, and he looked to be in his fifties. He had a beard, was of medium height, and was well-dressed. There were two guards behind him.

Lu Sanniang covered her mouth and giggled. She took Qiao Mai’s hand and walked to the mayor.

“Greetings to the mayor.”

The two bowed at him. He had seen Qiao Mai’s anger at the Qiao couple and the Tian couple just now.

He was neither unhappy nor happy. There was no joy or worry on his face.

In front of so many commoners, the mayor first glanced at the Tian family.

“The law clearly states that a daughter-in-law is also raised by her parents. She can’t be abused or killed. You didn’t handle this well, and this matter has spread like wildfire.”

“Not only was the reputation of Peach Blossom Village damaged, but Tianshui Town was also dragged down. This was the first reason. Secondly, she was pregnant and should have been treated well at home.”

“However, you kicked a seven-month-pregnant woman just to make her work. You’re really vicious. It’s fine if you’re an ignorant village woman, but you even have a scholar at home. It’s too shameless.”

The Tian couple regretted coming here. They had lost all their honor. They lowered their heads and listened to the mayor’s lecture.

“I heard you even used the excuse that your daughter-in-law was cheating to torture her. The Tian family is really a good example of a farming and scholar family.”

The Tian couple’s heads were almost lowered to the bottom of their shoes as they sighed deeply.

“Everyone is here today, so I have to say something. Farmers should be honest. You must not learn from the Tian family and bring shame to your village and our town. If such a thing happens again, leave your village and Tianshui Town with your family. We don’t welcome such vicious families here.”

“The mayor is right. They have embarrassed us. What animals! After doing such evil deeds, they still have the face to come to the town and cause trouble. Shameless animals, get out of Tianshui Town!”

Old Tian wanted to close his eyes and faint. He had lost a lot of pride today. In the future, when he came to the town, he would probably have to cover his face.