Shen Yuning was raised under the knee of the grandmother of the Xue family. So before she was sent back to Shenjiapo, the grandmother secretly stuffed a packet of broken silver into her hand, and there was also a banknote worth a hundred taels inside. However, she dared not let others notice. She found a safe place to put away the broken silver, and sewed the banknote into the hem of her close - fitting undergarment.
At first, the relatives in Shenjiapo were quite kind. But after a few days, when they found that the young girl only had a little over a hundred copper coins, they showed their true colors one by one and ignored her.
When Shen Yuning first came, the family was completely destitute. The two hundred copper coins she had prepared were almost all spent on buying rice and noodles. Now, half a month had passed. If she couldn't find a way to earn money, she might have to take out some of the silver given by the grandmother of the Xue family to make ends meet.
But if she did so, the people in the Shen family would surely know that she still had money. By then, they might do harm to her and her niece.
Shen Yuning was in a bad mood and walked home dejectedly. It was already the end of summer. There wasn't much food left at home, and there weren't even thick quilts or clothes. When it got cold, wouldn't they freeze to death?
Just as she reached a small bridge in front of Shenjiapo, she heard noisy sounds by the stream. Shen Yuning looked up and saw a group of children of different ages gathered there, about a dozen in total, cheering.
She didn't know most of them, but the child on the outermost side, about the same age as Yuanbao, she recognized. It was the youngest son of her fourth uncle from a collateral branch.
The youngest son couldn't squeeze in. He just wiped his snot and clapped his hands, cheering, "Beat him to death, beat him to death, beat him hard..."
Shen Yuning's heart skipped a beat. In Shenjiapo, all the children were left to fend for themselves. They were all bullies who feared the strong and bullied the weak. And the weakest one now was none other than Yuanbao from her family.
It was true that she didn't like Yuanbao, but after all, Yuanbao was her niece. And now Yuanbao only had her as a relative. If she didn't protect her, Yuanbao wouldn't even have a way out.
She started running forward and shouted sternly, "What are you doing?"
These half - grown children were at a naughty age. At first, when they heard the voice of an adult, they were startled and wanted to run away. But when they saw it was Shen Yuning, they all stopped. Some made faces at her, and some gave her the middle finger.
The adults at home had all said that this new and pretty aunt was a bad person, so they didn't need to be afraid of her.
A bigger child shouted, "She's from the lazy and wealthy family at the village entrance. My mother said there's not a single good person in her family."
Another one echoed, "That's right. There are no male members in her family. Even if Yuanbao gets beaten, no one will care. It's the same for her. We have many people. Let's go together!"
Shen Yuning gave them a cold look and said, "Oh, really? If someone injures others and is sent to the government, they will be punished with a certain number of strokes according to the situation of the injured. From what you just said, it means you often beat Yuanbao?"
After all, these children were just kids. Which one of them hadn't beaten Yuanbao? They were immediately intimidated by Shen Yuning and turned pale, taking steps back.
Although the bigger child felt guilty inside, he thought Shen Yuning was just scaring them. So he stuck out his neck and shouted, "What are you talking nonsense about... Yuanbao... Isn't Yuanbao fine? There are no injuries at all!"
Shen Yuning glanced at the ground. The person on the ground wasn't Yuanbao, but a boy in his early teens, covered in dirt. His tattered clothes hung on his body, and there were bloodstains and bruises on his exposed arms from being beaten by those children. His hair was messy, with spit sticking to it. He looked extremely dirty.
"The injuries on Yuanbao might not be enough to get you many strokes of punishment. But what about him? Just now, I saw you beating him. Tsk tsk, he's so badly injured. I'm afraid a couple of strokes of punishment won't be enough."
Immediately, a few timid children burst into tears with a "wow". Even two smart ones turned around and disappeared behind the haystack in a flash.
The bigger child was standing in the front. He wanted to run, but was blocked by the smaller children behind him. So he had to continue shouting bravely, "He... he's just a beggar... What does a beggar matter?"
Shen Yuning smiled faintly and said, "Everyone is equal in front of the law. Haven't you ever heard the saying that if the Son of Heaven breaks the law, he shall be punished just like the common people? Even the Son of Heaven can't hurt others casually, let alone you."
Looking at the trembling children, Shen Yuning's depressed mood improved a little. As she was talking, she rolled up her sleeves and walked forward, as if she was going to arrest them and send them to the yamen right away.
After being scared like this, the children's previous ferocity had long disappeared. When they saw her coming to arrest them, they just pushed each other and all ran away.
The boy on the ground had been covering his head and closing his eyes. When he heard the noise around him getting smaller, he opened his eyes. Looking at the woman who had saved him, he didn't even know to say thank you. He just stared at her blankly.
Shen Yuning let out a sigh of relief. Fortunately, it wasn't Yuanbao. Yuanbao was only five years old and a girl. She probably couldn't withstand such a beating from those children.
However, seeing that the boy was really pitiful, Shen Yuning couldn't bear to just leave him there. She put down the package in her arms, helped the boy to the stream, and washed him with the water. Since she didn't have a handkerchief, she took out the embroidered handkerchief that couldn't be sold and gave it to him. Then she took out a steamed bun and gave it to him.
After tidying up the boy, Shen Yuning decided to go back. When she turned around, she saw Yuanbao standing behind her, staring at the steamed bun in the boy's hand without blinking.
Shen Yuning knew that Yuanbao was protective of food. Afraid that she would snatch the boy's steamed bun, she quickly took out another steamed bun from the package and gave it to Yuanbao.
After Yuanbao took the steamed bun, she no longer looked at the boy. She followed Shen Yuning and went home together.
The next day, Shen Yuning spent another whole day embroidering and made a lucky - looking money - bag with a pattern of a cloud - riding dragon. Such a money - bag had a good meaning and could hold some small change. It was suitable for young men. If a young woman wore it, it would also make her look heroic.
On the way to the town in the evening, Shen Yuning thought that when she was in the Xue family before, she didn't dare to make money - bags for men casually, for fear of ruining her reputation and bringing shame to the family. Now that she was a freelance embroideress, there were no such restrictions at all.
For poor common families, money was more important than reputation.
She originally thought that there would be no problem with today's money - bag. But unexpectedly, when the shopkeeper saw Shen Yuning coming, he immediately turned around and went into the inner room. The shop assistant at the door stopped Shen Yuning and said that they didn't accept the work of outside embroideresses recently and asked her to find another place.
Shen Yuning had come here yesterday, and the shopkeeper clearly didn't say so at that time. Of course, she didn't agree when she heard this. She impatiently pushed the shop assistant aside and stepped forward, saying, "Shopkeeper, please take a look at my embroidery work before making a decision. I just want to make a living. I'm not the kind of person who asks for an exorbitant price. Why do you turn me away?"
The shopkeeper couldn't avoid her and was grabbed by her. There was also a money - bag in his hand.
The fabric of the money - bag was ordinary, but the girl's embroidery skills were excellent. If it was sold in the shop, it would surely be very popular.
He reluctantly stuffed the money - bag back into the girl's hand, looked around, then sighed and whispered, "Girl, don't waste your effort. No matter how good your embroidery work is, I won't accept it."
Shen Yuning asked blankly, "Why is that?"
The shopkeeper said, "When something happened in your Shenjiapo at the beginning of the year, a noble person said that all the people in your Shenjiapo were unscrupulous. Since the noble people have said so, how dare we use people from the Shen family? Not only you, but also several people from Shenjiapo who were working in the town have been dismissed."
Shen Yuning was completely stunned. By the time she came to her senses, she had been pushed out of the door by the shopkeeper.
No wonder the children in Shenjiapo treated Yuanbao the way they did, and no wonder those uncles, aunts, and cousins always looked at her coldly. After all, her family's affairs had caused everyone to lose their jobs.
Shen Yuning didn't know how she got home. Yuanbao was squatting by the bridge, licking her lips longingly. Probably because she had brought back steamed buns yesterday, Yuanbao thought she would also bring something back today.
But she didn't buy anything. When she entered the kitchen and took a look, there was also very little brown rice left in the rice jar.
Shen Yuning couldn't hold back any longer. She squatted down, covered her face and cried loudly. She cried for the days of luxurious living and infinite glory that would never come back, and also cried for not knowing where to go in the future.
When she was driven out of the Xue family, she secretly gritted her teeth and thought that as long as she was strong enough, it didn't matter where she lived.
But after coming to Shenjiapo for less than twenty days, she found that living was so difficult.
Since there was no hope, Shen Yuning didn't get up until late in the morning the next day. She didn't even make breakfast. She didn't know what Yuanbao had eaten, but anyway, Yuanbao was nowhere to be seen.
After she finished washing and dressing and entered the kitchen to prepare lunch for today, she heard someone shouting outside, "Ning girl, come out quickly!"
Shen Yuning was taken aback. When she poked her head out, she saw a woman holding a child stepping in through the collapsed courtyard wall. She vaguely remembered that when she first came here, she had met this person. This was the wife of a cousin from a collateral branch. She should call her Sister - in - law Xi.
Sister - in - law Xi stepped forward and pulled Shen Yuning, saying, "Your Second Aunt has brought a human - trafficker. She wants to sell you!"
This Second Aunt wasn't the Second Aunt from the collateral branch who had brought her children to beat Yuanbao a few days ago. This Second Aunt was Tian, Shen Yuning's real second aunt.
When Shen Yuning first came, it was Tian who had thrown Yuanbao back. At that time, Yuanbao was as thin as a monkey, dirty all over her face and body, and her hands were full of calluses and scars. Just looking at Yuanbao's appearance at that time, one could tell that Tian wasn't a good person.
Sister - in - law Xi didn't know if she was warm - hearted or just happy to watch the show. She chattered on, "Originally, they wanted to sell Yuanbao, but I don't know who said that such a young child couldn't be sold, so they set their sights on you. Tsk tsk tsk..."
She looked Shen Yuning up and down and then down and up again, smacking her lips playfully. Sure enough, she was a girl raised in a marquis's mansion. An ordinary girl didn't have such long black hair or such tender skin. She had been a bit neglected these days. When she first came, she was so beautiful that she didn't look real.
Seeing that Shen Yuning didn't react, Sister - in - law Xi thought she didn't know what a human - trafficker did. She quickly pulled her again and said, "You should think of a way quickly. Your Second Aunt is much more vicious than your elder brother and sister - in - law. When your elder brother sold Xiaorou, at least he sent her to a rich family to be a maid. The human - trafficker your Second Aunt brought isn't a good person. They want to sell you to that kind of place!"
As she was speaking, they heard a few shouts from outside, "Shen Yuning, Shen Yuning, open the door for me!"
It was Tian's voice.
The Fat Aunt next to her shouted loudly, "Oh, Second Sister, you don't know. That girl is very sharp - tongued. Last time, she even used the laws of the Great Qi to stop me from talking. Later, she will surely use those to argue and say that you don't have the right to sell her!"
Tian gave a fake laugh and snorted twice, "Her parents and elder brother did evil things and implicated our whole clan. Does she still have the face to bring up the things from the marquis's mansion? Whether she can be sold or not isn't up to a little girl like her. Her parents are dead, and her elder brother is gone. Naturally, it's up to me, her real aunt, to decide."
Shen Yuning turned around, and Sister - in - law Xi had already slipped away through the collapsed courtyard wall. And the people outside were also coming in one after another through this opening.