Chapter 14

Chapter 14

The next day, when Jiang Chun went to town to sell meat, he heard some new developments from his aunt Liu Pozi.

Liu Pozi was sitting on the doorstep with a spinning wheel in front of her, spinning hemp thread while humming and laughing. "Your grandmother and aunt have come to their senses. To avoid paying compensation, they insist that the child in Wang Yiner's belly is your second uncle's, and claim that Wang Yiner is your uncle's concubine.

They also say that the concubine, acting out of line, fought with the main wife, accidentally causing the loss of the child in her own womb. Even if it were reported to the county magistrate, he wouldn't find the main wife guilty."

Jiang Chun was somewhat shocked: "My grandmother and aunt have such minds?"

Indeed, this explanation was much stronger than accusing Wang Yiner of stealing the bracelet given as a dowry by Ma Shi, especially since that bracelet was handed over by Jiang Hu himself.

Liu Pozi had long fallen out with her cousin Li Shi and held her in low regard. Hearing this, she first snorted disdainfully.

Then she revealed the truth: "It was your grandmother who took your second aunt to seek advice from your cousin Wang Yiner, who works as a maid in a wealthy household in the county. Wang Yiner came up with this idea."

"Ah," Jiang Chun nodded in understanding. "I thought so. There must be a wise person behind this."

Wang Yiner had worked for two years in a wealthy household, accompanying the master's legitimate daughter in and out, clearly gaining considerable insight.

Liu Pozi gloated, "Unfortunately, the higher the dao, the higher the demon."

"The higher the dao, the higher the demon? Oh, you're quite the scholar!" Jiang Chun teased Liu Pozi first.

Then he urged, "Don't keep me in suspense. Tell me what happened."

Liu Pozi gave her a disdainful look and said leisurely, "Wang Yiner produced the marriage contract written to her by her late husband, a merchant from Shu who came to Hongye County for trade."

Jiang Chun immediately exclaimed, "Oh wow."

Liu Pozi wasn't wrong; this was indeed the higher the dao, the higher the demon.

In theory, a marriage contract needed to be registered at the government office to have legal effect. An unregistered contract was merely a tool used by the Shu merchant to deceive Wang Yiner.

However, not all married couples among the common people had official marriage contracts, and even those who did often didn't register them due to fear of dealing with the authorities.

Thus, Wang Yiner, holding the marriage contract, was effectively the Shu merchant's legal wife.

Forcing someone else's legal wife to become a concubine was a serious crime.

If Li Shi and her daughter-in-law insisted that Wang Yiner was Jiang Hu's concubine, Jiang Hu would face legal action and be thrown into jail.

Li Shi and her daughter-in-law immediately fell silent, no longer daring to claim that Wang Yiner was their family's concubine.

Even throwing tantrums was useless; they could only go home to raise money.

Jiang Chun asked curiously, "What about my uncle?"

With the two women causing chaos, he seemed to have vanished.

Liu Pozi mocked, "He's being filial at Wang Yiner's house, serving tea, water, food, and medicine, more attentive than he is to his own parents."

Jiang Chun: "..."

She was speechless.

Liu Pozi rolled her eyes and kindly warned, "Fifty taels of silver is no small sum. Your grandmother certainly doesn't have that much money, and she's unwilling to sell land. She'll likely come to your family for help."

Jiang Chun chopped a rib into two pieces and chuckled, "Not to mention that we're short on money now. Even if we weren't, we wouldn't lend them a single coin."

Liu Pozi huffed, slightly off-topic: "It's no wonder you're short on money. I heard you just spent three taels of silver on herbal medicine for your sick son-in-law in the county!"

Jiang Chun was speechless. She really admired how quickly news spread among these ancient people, despite the lack of internet or phones!

There was no keeping secrets!

*

Today was the Mid-Autumn Festival, and every household was celebrating, so the pork sold particularly fast, selling out in just half an hour.

Jiang Chun first bought six pounds of mooncakes and two packs of pastries from the bakery. The mooncakes were huge, each weighing a pound.

She gave two pounds of mooncakes and two pounds of meat, which she had set aside, to Liu Pozi as a festival gift.

Liu Pozi said it wasn't necessary, but her lips couldn't help but curl upward.

She didn't take Jiang Chun's gifts for nothing, giving Jiang Chun a piece of fine hemp cloth she had woven herself, to make a blouse.

Jiang Chun knew Liu Pozi had a strong sense of self-respect, and if she refused, it would be difficult to give her gifts in the future, so she accepted it happily: "Auntie, your skills are so good, thank you for such a fine gift."

Leaving Liu Pozi's house, Jiang Chun went to the tavern to buy a roasted chicken and two jars of wine, put them in a basket, and pushed it back to Daliushu Village on a wheelbarrow.

At home, Jiang He was cleaning fish. Seeing Jiang Chun return, he waved the fish in his hand and smiled, "Uncle Jiang Wan caught these fish at Mirror Lake and gave us two. Father will cook one for dinner, and we'll keep the other in the water tank."

"Caught fish at Mirror Lake? That's so far away. Uncle Jiang Wan must not mind walking." Jiang Chun raised an eyebrow in surprise.

Mirror Lake was in the neighboring Qingyan Town, and it took two hours to walk there one way.

While untying the ropes of the basket, she smiled, "I bought two pounds of mooncakes and a jar of wine for Grandpa Liu, and left two pounds of meat. Father, after you finish cleaning the fish, please take them to Grandpa Liu."

Jiang He felt gratified, thinking his daughter was good at socializing, and praised her, "Father forgot to remind you, but you remembered. It's worth it that Grandpa Liu and Uncle Jiang Wan care for you so much."

Jiang Chun smiled proudly.

Even without receiving the original host's memories, as a modern person, she knew the custom of buying gifts to visit elders during holidays.

She put the items from the basket in the kitchen, arranged the wheelbarrow, and then entered the west room with her hands in her sleeves.

Seeing Song Shian writing at his desk, she scolded gently, "Don't just focus on copying books. Take breaks and move around; it will help your recovery."

Seeing his silence, Jiang Chun nagged again, "Our household doesn't lack the money you earn from copying books. I can support you no matter what, so there's no need for you to work so hard."

Song Shian: "..."

If you can't speak, it's better to say less.

While it was true that she supported him, her words were so blunt that any man with a shred of dignity would be utterly embarrassed.

However, such words had no effect on him now. His heart remained calm, and he could even write smoothly.

Seeing that he wouldn't listen, Jiang Chun grumbled, "What a stubborn donkey!" and then pulled out a brush from her sleeve, tossing it onto the kang table in front of him.

She pouted, "There's no calligraphy shop in town, so I bought this from a general store. You'll have to make do with it."

Last night, while laying out the bedding, Jiang Chun accidentally noticed that the old brush he was using had frayed bristles.

In her previous life, though she was just a writer, which author hadn't dreamed of publishing a physical book?

To avoid embarrassing herself with ugly handwriting during book signings, she had practiced calligraphy and penmanship for a while.

So she knew how frustrating it was to use a frayed brush.

Remembering this when she passed by the general store today, she went in and bought him a new brush.

It wasn't the best, but at least it didn't fray.

Song Shian paused, his gaze falling on the new brush lying before him, his expression slightly stunned.

He had only discovered the frayed bristles this morning while copying books and had planned to ask her to buy a new one when she returned, feeling somewhat ashamed.

But she had bought it for him without being asked.

This showed that although she teased him about not needing to work so hard, she still respected his wishes and bought him a new brush.

Could such a considerate and understanding person really be Jiang Chun?

After a long silence, he reached out with his left hand, picked up the new brush, and held it tightly in his palm, softly saying, "Thank you."

Jiang Chun felt as if the mountains turned green, the water turned clear, and the flowers bloomed; her cheeks almost split to her ears. "What are you thanking me for, my husband?"

Then, humming a tune, she skipped off to prepare the Mid-Autumn Festival dinner.