Chapter 68: Leaving Home 3/3

At this moment, Fang Jinniang looked at her mother again and said, “Mother, you know what kind of person Mr. Wang is. By asking me to marry him as a concubine, aren’t you just trying to end my life? You don’t want me to live anymore. If I die, it’ll be on you, right?”

The room was quite dark, but Fang Jinniang’s voice was eerie, inexplicably frightening.

Fang’s mother trembled all over.

Fang Jinniang smiled again, “Mother, I find life quite boring. I really want to die. If you don’t believe me, go ahead and force me.”

Fang’s mother continued to curse, forgetting to control her volume, “You little animal, why did I give birth to such a heartless wolf like you…”

Fang Jinniang let her mother curse. At this moment, she even had the mood to squeeze the hand of the man beside her.

This man’s hand was large and rough.

She didn’t know if she had scared him.

Hopefully not.

If it weren’t for this man, Fang Jinniang wouldn’t dare to come back like this and scare her own mother, because she might be locked up.

She couldn’t see clearly, couldn’t move freely, and couldn’t beat her mother.

Moreover, that was her mother… People always thought that children should listen to their parents.

But now that she had a man by her side, the situation was different. No matter how her mother struggled, she couldn’t hit her, right?

And after doing this, what should she do next… Fang Jinniang planned to follow this man and live in his house.

This might make people look down on her, but in scholarly families or ordinary families…

Five years ago, many people fled to Chongcheng County from other places, such as Jin Xiaoye’s husband, or Mr. Wang’s former concubines.

In addition, some of the men who fled worked as laborers at the docks, and some women directly followed men from the county or nearby villages who didn’t have wives back home.

She had heard a lot from Jin Jie and others, so she knew that the outside world was different from what was described in books.

The main thing was that she had no choice. She didn’t want to marry Mr. Wang, and there was nowhere else for her to go.

If she rented a house in the county town, what if Mr. Wang or her mother sent someone to kidnap her?

Once she entered Mr. Wang’s house, she might never be able to leave.

Her mother might even sell her to someone else…

She needed someone to protect her.

As for this man, he might not treat her well… but she had already faced the fact that her mother wanted to sell her, so what else was there to fear?

There would be a solution when the time came; in the worst-case scenario, they could both end it together.

With this thought, Fang Jinniang suddenly felt relieved. Amidst her mother’s insults, she smiled at the man beside her.

Jin Xiaoshu became even more excited.

Outside the Fang household, the neighbors were discussing in a flurry:

“Mrs. Fang has been scolding Jinniang all along.”

“She’s scolding her too harshly.”

“Who scolds their daughter like this?”

“She’s always been harsh on her daughter.”

…

Fang Jinniang had been speaking in a low voice all along, so the people outside only heard her mother scolding, and they all thought there was something wrong with Mrs. Fang.

Even though it wasn’t quite appropriate for Fang Jinniang to bring a man home before marriage, there was no need for such harsh words!

In their neighborhood, young couples making private arrangements for marriage were quite common!

Moreover, Fang Jinniang was already of marriageable age.

“Who is the man Fang Jinniang brought back?”

“I’ve seen him before; he’s a boatman.”

“A boatman? Does he row his own boat or someone else’s?”

“There is no emblem of a boating company.”

“If he has his own boat, that’s good. Although Jinniang is pretty, she’s getting old, and her eyesight isn’t good…”

“Yeah, marrying this man is better than being a concubine. Boatmen usually have no worries about food and drink, while in the Wang household… have you ever seen any of Mr. Wang’s concubines living in luxury?”

“Speaking of which, the Fang family is really excessive. They not only oppress their daughter and force her to work, but also want to sell her.”

…

They were all neighbors; who didn’t know each other! Mrs. Fang wasn’t good to her daughter, and everyone could see it.

There were quite a few families in the county who weren’t good to their daughters, but it was rare to see someone like Mrs. Fang, who was willing to send her good daughter to an old man as a concubine.

The Fang family wasn’t exactly struggling to get by!

After Mrs. Fang scolded her daughter for a while, Fang Jinniang said again, “Mother, I want to marry him.”

Mrs. Fang wanted to refuse, but when she saw Fang Jinniang’s expression, she felt a bit scared.

She was afraid that Fang Jinniang would really go out and speak recklessly.

“If you marry him, then I won’t recognize you,” Mrs. Fang gritted her teeth.

In the past, hearing such words would have made Fang Jinniang scared, but now…

“Well, that’s great then,” Fang Jinniang smiled, “Mother, if I go with him, I won’t come back. And in the future… if you disturb my life, I’ll go to Zijian’s school and cause trouble.”

Mrs. Fang glared at Fang Jinniang.

But since Fang Jinniang couldn’t see, she didn’t care. She turned to the man beside her and said, “I’ll go pack my things. Please watch over my mother.”

Jin Xiaoshu hurriedly said, “Don’t worry, I’ll definitely watch over her!” He had been holding onto Mrs. Fang’s arm the whole time. To be honest, he felt like breaking her arm, but it wouldn’t be appropriate to hit his mother-in-law.

Fang Jinniang smiled at him again before climbing up to the attic.

Fang Xiuniang was waiting in the attic. When she saw Fang Jinniang come up, she helped her pack her things.

Fang Xiuniang didn’t talk much, but she had a good relationship with Fang Jinniang.

He touched Fang Xiuniang’s head, and Fang Jinniang whispered softly, “Xiuniang, once I’ve settled down, I’ll come to fetch you.”

Fang Xiuniang didn’t say anything, but when Fang Jinniang touched her face, she felt tears all over her hand.

Fang Jinniang didn’t have many belongings. She packed a bundle and descended from the attic, saying to Jin Xiaoshu, “Let’s go.”

“Okay, okay,” Jin Xiaoshu nodded and released Fang’s mother.

Fang’s mother’s arms were already bruised, so she didn’t dare rush to stop them and could only let Fang Jinniang leave with Jin Xiaoshu.

When they reached the outside, Fang Jinniang and Jin Xiaoshu were surrounded by a crowd. “Jinniang, who is this man?”

Fang Jinniang said, “I’m getting married. This is my future husband.”

There were too many people, and Fang Jinniang couldn’t distinguish who was who. After smiling at them, she said to Jin Xiaoshu, “Let’s go.”

“Okay, let’s go,” Jin Xiaoshu led Fang Jinniang away from Fang’s house.

Fang Jinniang had often fantasized about what she would be like when she got married. She always thought she would have a grand wedding, but in the end… she just left with a bundle in hand.

It was actually quite embarrassing.

But if she were to become a concubine for Mr. Wang, it would be the same, leaving her with just a bundle.

Now… the man beside her at least liked her.

But after walking for a while, Fang Jinniang became anxious. She thought for a moment and said, “Take me to where I work.”

She wanted to find Shopkeeper Jin and Sister Wang to ask them what to do next.

Most likely, she would marry the man beside her, but how to marry was a personal issue.

She still wanted to wear a wedding dress and have a proper wedding.

“Okay!” Jin Xiaoshu immediately agreed. He also wanted to tell his sister. He was getting married!

He was getting married! Fang Jinniang was going to marry him!

It felt like a dream!

Jin Xiaoshu felt like jumping up again.

At this moment, Fang Jinniang asked Jin Xiaoshu, “By the way, what’s your name?”

Her mind had been in such a mess earlier that she had forgotten to ask the man’s name.

Jin Xiaoshu was puzzled, “My name is Jin Xiaoshu!” His sister was always with Fang Jinniang, so she must have mentioned his name, right?

He had even gone to Sister Wang’s house to work yesterday!

Fang Jinniang was dumbfounded, “Your name is Jin Xiaoshu? Are you Jin Xiaoye’s younger brother?”

Jin Xiaoshu nodded, “Yes! Jinniang, I liked you the first time I saw you…”

Fang Jinniang froze, “How old are you?”

Jin Xiaoye was a year younger than her. Jin Xiaoye’s younger brother… she remembered Sister Wang mentioning, was almost the same age as her daughter…

Jin Xiaoshu said, “I just turned nineteen this year!” They counted age in lunar years here, so he was currently eighteen.

Speaking of age… he will be seventeen in a month!

“What about actual age?” Fang Jinniang asked.

Jin Xiaoshu said, “I was born at the end of the year. In another month, I’ll be seventeen… I’m not young anymore!”

Fang Jinniang had originally wanted to go find Jin Xiaoye, but now she was a bit afraid to.

On the other side, Jin Xiaoye and Sister Wang were wondering, “Didn’t Jinniang say she was coming for breakfast? Why hasn’t she arrived yet?”