Chapter 23: Chapter 23
Chapter 23
"This granddaughter-in-law... would she turn the children into villains? Sigh. It’s all down to karma. Your children have chosen this path themselves; I, the grandfather, cannot be blamed," the old man spoke as he watched the children go, as if he felt an overwhelming pity for them.
If Yueqian had heard this, she would undoubtedly have made a face without any respect. Chances were, she might even reclaim the rights to the 50 mu of land. Who was he to pity for her family? He should take care of his own family first. At the very least, they should stop their thieving ways.
Ha! Sending the grandchildren to become scholars? They could never manage it, whether in this or the next lifetime. Let’s first see how her children turn out. Whether it’s Xiao Long or Huan’er, she would teach them to be more knowledgeable than a scholar!
It was fortunate for the old man that all 4 went inside the house without hearing his bitter murmuring about fate.
Once all four were inside the house, an unusual silence fell. The children sat around the delicious food, but none picked up the chopsticks. Mu Heng seemed lost in thought as well. They sat quietly, watching things before them as if they could not see.
Only Yueqian was moving about. She used her chopsticks to pick up dumplings and handed them out to each child one by one.
"Don’t let yourselves go hungry. We don’t know when we’ll get the chance to eat well like this again. If we have it today, eat it today. Whatever overthinking thought, sadness, or disappointment, we’ll deal with those later."
When roused by Yueqian, Mu Heng was the first to snap back to reality. He handed over 600 brass coins, a trivial sum for Yueqian but worth a thousand jin of gold to them.
It was a profound disappointment for the Mu family, they had not only broken their promises but knew well this was money earned from selling dowry of a wife from Qin family, yet contemplated stealing it, showing no regard for the law or culture.
This incident deepened Mu Heng’s resentment. The children felt similarly, though their understanding wasn’t as profound as their older brother’s. However, seeing their brother beaten and themselves struck simply for trying to reclaim their money had been a heartbroken situation for them.
At that moment, they had cried out for their Grandfather Mu to help. But in the end, he pretended not to see, until villagers stepped in to separate them and notify the incident to the village leader. That was when they saw the face of Grandfather Mu.
The grandfather they regarded with great respect turned out to be with those who wronged them!
Now, they felt as if they had no family elders left.
Suddenly, the soft hands of the new family member reached out to stroke their hair, swaying them warmly. This gesture made them look up, seeing the gentle, understanding smile, causing them to burst into tears.
Yueqian did not accept the money. Instead, she used her arms to hug around the children’s neck, drawing them closer to her. She was no stranger to such a disappointing situation.
"If anyone secretly thinks they have no one left in this life... This sister-in-law of yours will spank you until your bottom cracks. Do you understand?"
Her voice, clear as a glass bell, threatened them. The children looked at her again, observed around the house, and noticed the exquisite food they had never eaten before her arrival. Ultimately, the tears they had been holding back flowed uncontrollably.
"You... but you should know, I don’t pity you. Do you know how I earned the title of the Villainess Qin? Others see me as cruel and evil, but that’s nothing compared to how my own family views me. Even my own father... looked at me that way."
"Whether it’s my sisters or brothers, anyone really, I was considered an evil to be rid of. But you guys..., there are 3 of you, and now 4, including me. I used to live just fine with just my mother, so why can’t the 4 of us manage?"
"Is everyone in the world cruel to you? So what? Everyone in the capital is cruel to me too, but my mother and I don’t care. They were harsh to me, yet they still rely on my mother and come to shop at her store."
"See... everyone says I’m a monster, but in the end, I still have plenty of money to buy land to make a living. See, I don’t survive because people like me or treat me well, but because we find our own way."
"From now on, let’s try to get by together, the 4 of us," Yueqian consoled.
Even though some of it wasn’t entirely true—after all, did she really care about the Qin family? Not at all! Well... she knew the storyline all too well, knew who she could trust and what the outcome would be.
If it were someone else who found themselves in a novel, as a villain, they might try to change their storyline to improve their situation, become the perfect wife, or slap an ex-lover in the face by getting a better husband.
But Yueqian wasn’t like that. She had no desire to live a life among the nobility. What she wanted was a simple life as someone who finally was able to quit the status of an office worker that had to deal with cutthroat competition. She died once, and that was why she believed those were not a long-lasting happiness.
She just wanted a comfortable ordinary life, to live well, to have delicious food, to eat every meal till full, to comfortably sleep, to be free from living a life with paranoia, and to have a life where she had enough money to take care of herself when sick. That was enough.
But sharing her backstory, her purpose was to comfort the three. She knew that her husband and his two younger siblings, all held a virtue of filial piety, they had kind heart and couldn’t imagine such evil in the world, especially... from those whom their parents had taught them to respect before they passed away.
With those principles shattered, they felt adrift.
"Sister-in-law, uh, sob, you’re the best."
"I think so too. The 4 of us together, that’s enough happiness."
The children cried while telling her that they trusted her with all their heart, embracing her while sobbing. Yueqian hugged them back. Everything that needed to be said had been said. Now, it was just a matter of them finding their own strength after realizing what they should do.
As she was comforting the two young children, a man’s thick hand gently stroked her hair. Yueqian couldn’t help but become lost in thought as she looked up.
Her husband, Mu Heng, might not be the most handsome man she had ever seen—after all, the celebrities from her era were strikingly good-looking—but a man with a handsome face, manly demeanor, and a warm presence made her heart beat uncontrollably.
The warmth within the family permeated their hearts. This was what happiness felt like...
After having the morning meal, Mu Heng was ready to travel to various villages with a letter from the governor. Yueqian asked him to return for lunch, as she had already prepared a stewed chicken. If he did not come back to share the meal, the chicken and dumplings might not be finished, and if left for dinner, they might tire of it.
Mu Heng left early in the Mao period. After the children finished washing dishes, they gathered inside the house, hearing that their sister-in-law had tasks for them today.
Yueqian was already prepared. As the children were cleaning, she brought out four Japanese-style tables, made of wood, not as big as the one using for eating, but big enough for writing.
She set up two tables and one for herself, leaving another in anticipation of Mu Heng’s return. If he found some free time during the cold season when it was difficult to go out, she could teach him to read and write too.
Once the children entered the room, they were stunned to see the stationery boxes.
"Sit down, you can choose any, but from now on, you must take care of your own things. I won’t look after them for you."
"Sister-in-law, are... are these stationery sets?" Xiao Long had seen others use these items, but at most, they had only one brush, let alone the papers and books. These must be quality items, likely cost several taels.
Huan’er didn’t wait for her sister-in-law’s response, accustomed as she was to her personality. If she said they could have them, then they were theirs, even if they felt somewhat obliged. In the end, they would accept them anyway.
"I’ll take this set, sister-in-law," Huan’er chose and sat down on the right of her sister-in-law.
She was mimicking Yueqian’s posture, sitting cross-legged with her legs under the table, her hands positioned properly on the table.
Though she was smaller than Yueqian, the Japanese table could be adjusted for height, perfectly set up for the children by Yueqian, hence, Huan’er could sit comfortably.
"Huan’er," Xiao Long, still somewhat reserved, hesitated as his sister joyfully accepted her set.
"Sit down, so I can teach you how to do the task," Yueqian told the little boy who was hesitated. He wanted to have it, yet he really did not want to trouble her.
Seeing his sister-in-law reiterate her words, he quickly took his place at the remaining table.
"Let’s continue then. These brushes come in three sizes, but we’ll mostly use the medium size. These papers are for you to practice on first. They have grids to help control the size of the characters. Initially, you’ll need to use these papers."
Yueqian brought out several books of eye-friendly paper from interdimensional space, having removed them from their original spiral bindings to keep the children from knowing their otherworldly origins. Since the covers were originally leather-bound, she had to disguise it by removing them, leaving stacks of paper.
"After you’ve practiced well, you will copy onto these papers to be bound into a textbook. Once we complete one book, we can sell it and earn some money."
The beautiful woman showed the children the paper purchased from the city. Although the paper used in this era was of inferior quality compared to what she had given the children to practice on, the children didn’t know this. They assumed that the practice paper in front of them was cheaper, as the textbooks they had seen were often made from the other kind of paper.
"Sister-in-law, are we really going to practice copying texts?" Xiao Long’s hands trembled, hardly daring to believe he would have such an opportunity.
"Yes, try your best. If it’s beautifully copied, it can be sold for a good price," Yueqian said as if the task she set them was meant to build a future income.
"But will it really pay off? Even scholars spend a lot of money learning the characters, and we’re just sitting here copying...”
Xiao Long, who knew this from rich friends who could afford education, the expenses were many taels, however, when sold, a book only fetched a few brass coins. How could it be worthwhile? He couldn’t see how such a task could significantly help his sister-in-law.
The young boy’s face was filled with an uneasy expression. Part of him desperately wanted to learn, but another part was the thought that he did not deserve it. He knew he already troubled his sister-in-law. He had been troubling her, and this time, was he going to trouble her more?
