Chapter 1: Mother Is Remarrying

The 31st Year of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Chang Family Village, Jiaoxian County, Yong’an Prefecture.

At dusk, Meiniang stood watching her son herding chickens into the coop in the backyard, her heart tangled with sorrow and anxiety. She didn’t know how to broach the subject with her son, but this was something she could delay no longer.

She was twenty-five this year. Her son, Chang Shun, was already seven and a half. Six years ago, her husband had gone to the prefectural capital to sit for the civil examination, only to encounter a landslide along the way—he never returned. Several of his fellow scholars perished with him; the others were found, but he alone vanished without a trace. No body, no witness—alive or dead, he was gone.

They had exhausted the family’s silver hiring people to search. The final verdict was grim: he must have fallen into a deep ravine by the roadside. Days had passed by then—any remains would’ve long since been lost.

Soon after, her already frail father-in-law passed away from illness. Her mother-in-law, devastated by grief, was bedridden for two years before she too passed on. The family had borrowed heavily from outsiders during that time, and in the end, even with all they owed, they couldn’t save her.

For the past two years, creditors had come knocking one after another. Everything worth selling had already been sold. Meiniang simply couldn’t go on any longer.

Three days ago, her eldest sister-in-law from her maiden family came to tell her there was a suitor from the nearby WanjiaVillage. The man was said to be decent—having returned from seven years of military service, with both parents deceased and having split households with his elder brother’s family. Now alone, he was considered a fine match—especially since he was willing to accept her child as part of the marriage.

Her eldest sister-in-law had tried to persuade her, saying that men like this were hard to come by. “Miss this chance,” she warned, “and there won’t be another.” A man with no elderly parents to support and no children of his own—such a household wouldn’t make things difficult for her child.

She had wavered.

It wasn’t that she was eager to remarry, but her sister-in-law mentioned that the man was willing to offer a bride price. If she sold off the farmland and repaid the debts, there would still be enough silver left over to send her son to private school.

Her son was exceptionally bright and had reached the age where he should begin his education. Even two or three years of study would be enough for him to one day find work as a bookkeeper in town—far better than scraping a living from the fields. After all, his biological father had been a scholar.

She would never consider marrying into a family that didn’t want the child. Could a seven-year-old survive if left behind? Even if relatives from the clan were willing to take him in, once they got hold of the land, who could guarantee they’d truly care for him? No—mother and son would live or die together.

Her son was sharp beyond his years. From the age of two or three, he had shown a mind of his own, unlike other children who ran wild through the village. He helped her carry water and do chores, and when he had free time, he’d dig up earthworms to feed their chickens.

And it wasn’t for nothing—he had raised ten chickens, and the money earned from selling eggs each month was enough to cover most of their daily expenses. But even so, it wasn’t enough. She wasn’t a capable woman; she didn’t dare go to the market alone to do business, nor did she know what she could even sell to earn a proper living.

The only real skill she had was her cooking—but what good was that? One person couldn’t manage a stall alone, and she had no capital to open a shop. Her embroidery work was mediocre at best, and whatever she could sell in a month earned barely enough to mention. Meanwhile, she owed sixteen taels and five coins in debt. What could such meager income possibly cover?

Her maiden family was poor to begin with, and over the years she had already become a heavy burden on them. She couldn’t bear to keep dragging them down. When the clan came demanding payment, all she could do was lower her head and quietly murmur, again and again, “I’ll repay it soon.”

But how?

Aside from their basic living expenses, she and her son couldn’t even save two taels a year. And if either of them caught a cold or fell ill, there’d be nothing left. How long would it take to pay off such a large sum?

Wait until the child was grown? That would take at least another ten years. How would they survive those ten years? And how would the debt be repaid? The creditors certainly wouldn’t wait that long.

All they had was a few rooms, one acre of paddy, one acre of dry land, and a pile of old, threadbare clothes and blankets.

“Dashun, come here. Mother has something to say to you.”

Chang Shun looked at his mother, sensing something was wrong. Her gaze was evasive, her expression uncertain. “Mother, is there something troubling you?”

Meiniang nodded slightly, but the words caught in her throat. How could she say it? How could she tell her son she was thinking of remarrying—and that she wanted to take him with her?

She just couldn’t say it aloud. She wasn’t the only widow in the village, and those with sons almost never remarried. They simply lived on with their boys. Because for most who remarried, they couldn’t take their children with them. And even if they could, the child would be seen as a burden—a drag on the new family—and life would be hard.

“It’s nothing. Come wash up for dinner.”

The young woman hurried to the kitchen. No matter how hard life got, there were still three meals a day. It was now early spring, and wild vegetables had begun to sprout. Tonight’s supper would be wild greens porridge.

On the table was only a bowl of pickled vegetables and a few pieces of steamed cured meat. With these simple dishes, Chang Shun quietly drank his porridge. His mother’s cooking was always good—no matter how plain the ingredients, the food never tasted bad.

Meiniang watched her son eat, one small bite at a time, his refined, gentle manner reminding her so much of his father. That was exactly how his father had been—no matter if it was wild greens or rare delicacies, he always ate with the same composed grace.

She had once loved that man deeply.

But now he had been gone for six years. No matter how much longing or sorrow remained, it had all been worn away by the hardships of daily life. If she wanted to go on living, if she wanted her son to grow up safe and well, and if she wanted to repay the debts—they had only one path left: she had to remarry.

Otherwise, she would have gladly spent her whole life raising her son alone. In ten years, she could have become a proper mother-in-law, enjoying time with grandchildren. But that was just not possible.

Once her son set down his bowl, she bit her lip and finally spoke. “Dashun, Mother has decided to remarry.”

Chang Shun’s mind went blank. Was this truly the path they had to take?

As far as he knew, widows rarely brought their sons into a remarriage. And even if they did, a stepchild was always seen as a burden. Besides, the clan elders cared about their reputation. A male child of the Chang family being raised under another man’s name would bring them shame.

But he was only seven and a half—far too young to survive alone. His father’s line had passed down only one son per generation for three generations. Grandfather was gone. Father was gone. The nearest relative was a first cousin once removed—already separated by three generations. For the sake of the farmland, that man would probably take him in, but raising him properly? That was far from certain.

In the countryside, children of seven or eight could already shoulder quite a bit. If things really came to that, he’d become just another pitiful little boy everyone could bully—a helpless, rootless child with no one to rely on.

Meiniang saw her son staring at her, mouth slightly open, fear written plainly across his young face.

“Dashun,” she began gently, “Mother wishes she could stay by your side forever. But we used up all our silver trying to treat your grandfather and grandmother. We even sold off part of the land. Now we’re left with just one acre of paddy and one acre of dry field—but we still owe sixteen and a half taels. Since last year, people have started coming to collect.”

“They have every right to ask. It’s already been years. And these years, whenever we got hold of anything decent, we sent it to them—just to repay a little goodwill. But if we keep delaying, even that goodwill won’t last.”

“There’s a man in the village across from your grandmother’s place—he’s just returned from military service. He’s split from his elder brother’s household, has no elderly to care for, and he’s willing to accept you. If he weren’t, I swear to you, even if I died, I would never leave your side.”

“Your eldest aunt said he’s offering a bride price. If we take that money, sell off the remaining land and house, we can repay the debt completely. We might even have some silver left over. I want to use that to send you to private school. Even if you don’t end up taking the civil exams, just a few years of study would be enough to become a bookkeeper in town. That would already be a fine future.”

Chang Shun felt a faint sense of relief. It might not be the worst outcome.

There had once been five people in this household. Now only he and his mother remained. Life as a widow and her son was bitterly hard—not only did they work endlessly to make ends meet, they also had to guard their reputation and avoid gossip.

“Mother, have you met this man yet?”

Meiniang’s face turned red. “I haven’t even told you properly yet—how could I have gone to meet him?”

Chang Shun believed her. His mother was the very image of a virtuous woman—obedient to her husband when married, loyal to her son after widowhood. She would never do such a thing behind his back.

“Mother, I’m willing to go with you, but I must meet this man first.”