Chapter 13

After dinner, Sun Xiu and Sun Yi washed the dishes.

Han Qiao saw that Sun Yiming was dawdling around, refusing to go to the study. She said suddenly, “Sun Yiming, you’ve been studying books all these years, yet do you even understand anything at all?”

“…”

Sun Yiming stared at Han Qiao.

“They say that reading makes you wise, but I find that the more you read, the more muddle-headed you get. The more you read, the dumber you Get. Have you ever thought about what you really want in life? What kind of person do you want to be? Every day, you’re dawdling around, drinking and making a fool of yourself, and then you come home and beat your family. You thought we were the ones holding you back, but look at who’s been thanklessly supporting you all these years.”

“The first time I saw you, I felt a deep connection with you. You brought the matchmaker straight to the door with your proposal. We were happy for a long time.”

“It’s a pity that what we thought was a happy marriage turned out to be a fire pit. Having stayed with you so long, I realized everyone has responsibilities and makes mistakes.”

“We need to think carefully about what to do from here on out.”

“I’ve already thought about it. What about you? Have you thought about it?”

Have you thought about it?

Have you thought about it?

Sun Yiming entered the study and sat on the chair. His mind was flooded with echoes of Han Qiao’s question.

Have you thought it through?

Do you understand yet?

Sun Yiming thought back to the day he first met Han Qiao. She had followed her parents into town to run errands. She was gentle and beautiful, and when she looked at him, her eyes were glossy, hiding just a hint of bashfulness.

Really, it was love at first sight.

Now they were beating each other up and hurling insults at each other, wishing they could kill each other.

Sun Yiming didn’t know how it had come to this. He didn’t want to think about it.

Han Qiao didn’t care what he thought at all. She was just trying to butter him up so that he would finish the rest of the copies.

With the escape route prepared, who cared if he lived or not.

That day, Heng Yi once again went back to the mountains to hunt. However, he didn’t bring back any prey. He sent it directly into town.

When he returned home empty-handed, Old Woman Heng’s mood turned foul. She restrained her anger and said to Heng Yi, “Fifth Brother, I want to find you a wife. How about finding someone with good looks and a docile personality?”

“I’ll go look myself. Don’t worry about it.” After Heng Yi said that, he went off to fetch water and take a shower.

Then, he washed his clothes.

Sister-in-law Heng went forward. “Fifth Brother, let me help you.”

“No need.”

Heng Yi rejected her with a cold face.

His standards for washing clothes weren’t very high. He only gave them a light rinse to wash away the stench of sweat and blood. He didn’t care about anything else.

At any rate, a rough fellow like him could live any way he wanted.

Stubborn as a mule, he was unshakable when dealing with his family.

The whole Heng household made him on edge.

Han Qiao realized that Sun Yiming was really good at writing. Writing thirty thousand words a day was no problem for him. He would stay up late at night and, like that, 35 books were done.

She was very satisfied.

The next morning, Sun Xiu went out to buy buns. Sun Yi cooked porridge, and Han Qiao began packing her things. After breakfast, the four of them went out.

Before leaving, Han Qiao locked the front door without saying a word to Sun Yiming. She left him three meat buns and a bowl of porridge for lunch.

Whether he ate or not was up to him. If he tried to escape, she would definitely break his legs when she came back.

Han Qiao went to the pastry shop and weighed out two catties of mung bean cake, one catty of caramel, and one catty of brown sugar. Then, she went with her daughters towards the front of the town.

When they got there, they passed by the grocery store run by Sun Yixi, Sun Yiming’s older brother.

As they passed by, they saw Sun Yixi cleaning the wooden door. When he saw Han Qiao, he smiled politely and said, “Hello Sister-in-law.”

“Hello, Big Brother.”

“Hi, Uncle.” The three children shouted in unison.

Sun Yixi noticed the huge bundle of things Han Qiao was carrying. It was quite big, so she must have done a lot of packing. “Sister-in-law, are you going out?”

“Yes, I’m going back to my mother’s house. Since the autumn harvest is on its way, I’m going to go talk with my parents and ask them if they would help us harvest the grain. By the way, Big Brother, are the house and land deeds with your mother?”

Han Qiao asked.

Sun Yixi gasped.

“Mother should have them, but…” Sun Yixi wanted to say something more, but hesitated. A couple moments passed, and he said, “Sister-in-law, I have to get going. When you come back from Xishan Village, I’ll tell you in detail.”

“Alright,” Han Qiao said.

In fact, she already had a plan in mind.

Sun Yiming’s habit of merry-making meant that he was always asking for money. The money she and her daughters worked hard to earn just wasn’t enough for him.

The Sun family’s main house was the only place willing to lend him any. They were always willing to, and Sun Yiming’s sister-in-law never grumbled. Nine times out of ten, Sun Yiming would come asking for money and would write an IOU. If he failed to pay them back, they would come for the house and land.

The Sun family’s main house can’t take out more than twenty taels of silver for a house all at once. Instead they would lend him a hundred cash coins whenever he asked. It slowly accumulated over time, and soon was more than enough for a house.

A clever scheme, but a vicious one.

If Sun Yiming were to drink himself to death one day, the Suns would the come and hold Han Qiao and her daughters accountable.

The Suns were slowly turning them into slaves. If Han Qiao’s mother didn’t come to her rescue, no one would stop the Suns from selling the four of them into slavery.

“Phew.”

These thoughts raced through Han Qiao’s mind as she sat in the carriage. The more she thought about it, the angrier it made her.

Thankfully she had already registered with the local government.

It was a good thing that she transmigrated here when she did. Otherwise, the three children would be doomed.

Her face darkening, she caressed Sun Ke in her arms.

“Mother, what’s gotten into you?” Sun Ke asked.

“Nothing, I will always protect you,” Han Qiao said, pinching Sun Ke’s little face.

Sun Ke was still young and ignorant.

But Sun Xiu and Sun Yi understood things much better. They could easily imagine what kind of thoughts were going through their troubled Mother’s head.

“Mother…” the sisters called in unison.

“I’ll tell you later. When we get back.”

They were surrounded by outsiders at that time. It would be hard to speak discreetly.

Moreover, this was all just a hunch. There was no evidence.

Xishan Village was wedged between the mountains and rivers, so it perfectly encapsulated the ideal of a little mountain hamlet. It boasted a few hometown heroes, too. In earlier times, the Han family had a son who became a high official. He left the provincial mountains and never looked back.

The carriage wouldn’t take them all the way to the Han house. Once it crossed into the village and was spotted by the locals, it was time to turn around.

“Look, Old Man Han’s daughter has returned.”

No matter how bad her marriage with Sun Yiming had turned out, at least she had married from the countryside to the town. Her husband was a scholar. In the eyes of the villagers, that was an upward marriage. She was no longer a country bumpkin.

When they reached the door, Han Qiao looked around at the dilapidated house. She pushed open the door and called “Father, Mother?”

A child dashed out towards her. He was a bit shocked at first, but then he recognized her. “Auntie, Auntie.”

He ran back to the kitchen. “Grandma, Grandma, Auntie is back. Auntie is back.”

His voice rang joyously. It was enough to raise your spirits.

Han Yuan came out of the kitchen.

Her hair was white, but her eyes still looked very good. When she saw Han Qiao, she smiled and said, “Qiao, what brings you back here? Come in and have a seat.”

She then instructed her grandson, “Little Hu, go outside and call your grandpa, father and uncle back up here.”

Little Hu ran off quickly.

First, Han Yuan scanned her eyes up and down Han Qiao. She saw that she was carrying a bundle of her things, then saw the three children beside her. A bit flustered, she said, “Let’s talk inside first.”

“Okay.”

After entering the center room, Han Yuan asked anxiously, “How did you get here?”

“I hired a carriage.”

“It’s only a two to four hour walk. Why hire a carriage? It costs so much money. It would be no good if your husband found out, would it?” Han Yuan said, stuttering.

She then turned to her three granddaughters, “The oranges in the courtyard are ripe. Go pick some to eat. I’ll be in here talking to you mother.”

“Okay, Grandma.” Sun Xiu took Sun Yi and Sun Ke out into the courtyard.

When they were gone, Han Yuan asked, “How has your husband been treating you these days?”

Han Qiao knew what was going on.

The Hans were aware that Sun Yiming beat his wife and children. Yet they never came into town to help them.

They certainly had a few evil intentions, but Han Qiao was determined to tell them the truth. “That one day he beat me half to death. So I waited until he came back at night, then together with my daughters I tied him up and beat him back. I beat him within an inch of his life, then I sold all his books.”

Hearing this, Han Yuan’s eyes widened in shock.

Staring at Han Qiao, she failed to find any words. It was obvious she was scared out of her wits.

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