Chapter 91 : Retribution

In contrast, the Xiao family was much more comfortable. While others were still fetching water, they had already finished their dinner. If they used the two tanks of water carefully, it could last for several days.

The weather was so hot that people had to wash themselves, or their bodies would become sticky.

Men could take a handkerchief to the river, soak it in water and wipe their bodies with it, but women had to make do with the little water they had. In any case, they just needed to remember to conserve it.

The search for water had to continue. Every day, the village chief still took people to various hills to look for mountain springs, because the pond could dry up one day, and there had to be a backup plan.

But a few days later, something major happened in the village, and Lanlan heard about it when she went out.

Now that the Xiao family was living a better life, the villagers had become more polite to Lanlan and began greeting her on their own initiative. This was also what an aunt told her when she went to the vegetable garden in the morning.

It was said that Jiang Qiaoqiao had an accident the night before. She had bled heavily and fainted in her own yard.

Chen Jinhua was so frightened that she called for help everywhere.

The two families next door couldn’t stand her screaming anymore, so they went to check on her. Having experienced a lot, they understood something when they saw Jiang Qiaoqiao’s condition. They called a barefoot doctor and found out she had indeed had a miscarriage.

This matter couldn’t be hidden. Once it was discovered, it spread throughout the village early in the morning.

This was explosive news and gossip for the villagers. It was said that Jiang Qiaoqiao, an unmarried girl, had a child and had a miscarriage. No one knew who the person she had an affair with was.

Such a woman was considered unfaithful, having an affair before marriage. If she were from a wealthy family, she would be thrown into a pigsty or burned at the stake.

She had fainted from heatstroke before, and her pants had been stained with blood. She thought it was her period, but it turned out to be bleeding. She didn’t take it seriously and didn’t take good care of herself, so she miscarried a few days later.

When everyone heard about this, their worldviews were shattered. People from this era truly couldn’t understand Jiang Qiaoqiao’s behavior of not respecting herself.

But Jiang Sui was fine. She had always known about the affair between Jiang Qiaoqiao and Zhang Xiucai, but she had never expected that the relationship had developed to this point.

She could guarantee that Zhang Xiucai would never admit to this matter. Jiang Qiaoqiao would suffer in the future. This was probably how her life would unfold.

In fact, if she had found someone to marry, she might have been lucky enough to live a stable life. However, the person she was involved with had high ambitions, and she didn’t know how to judge people.

Mother Xiao sighed over this. As the saying goes, “If the upper beam is crooked, the lower beams will be crooked too.” The old woman didn’t know how to behave or educate people, so she raised such a shameless daughter. Now, she feared that Old Jiang’s coffin wouldn’t even be able to cover it.

It was said that when Jiang Sui’s adoptive father was alive, he was a good person, but unfortunately, he died young, which allowed Chen Jinhua to raise her daughter in the wrong way.

Jiang Qiaoqiao had no idea she was pregnant. When she woke up, she only saw her mother’s murderous gaze.

Chen Jinhua was really disappointed with her. Despite her numerous warnings, she had still failed to prevent the girl from having an affair without any matchmaking.

Now, the most important thing for a woman was her innocence. Not to mention becoming the wife of a scholar or a juren, even being a concubine might not be looked down upon by anyone. This child was a waste of money.

“Mom, why are you looking at me like that?” Jiang Qiaoqiao was very frightened by her eyes.

“What’s wrong? You don’t know what you did with that scholar Zhang? Do you know you had a miscarriage? What did I tell you? I told you to keep your innocence, but you wouldn’t listen. Now your greatest asset is gone. You won’t even be qualified to be someone’s concubine in the future. Do you still want to be an official’s wife? Dream on. Now we don’t have to live in Xianhe Village anymore. We’ll be stabbed in the back. Look at what you’ve done. If I had known you’d do this, I might as well have placed my hope on that little bitch Jiang Sui!”

Chen Jinhua was also very angry and only said harsh words, while Jiang Qiaoqiao was scared. She blankly touched her belly. She had thought that once her period started, everything would be fine, but it turned out that she was pregnant and had a miscarriage. That was Zhang’s child.

If the child were still alive, he might recognize it, but the problem was, now the child was gone. What could she say? Still, she refused to accept it.

“Mom, go find Zhang Lang and tell him that he promised to marry me. I’m like this because of him. He can’t just ignore me!” Jiang Qiaoqiao still looked at Chen Jinhua with hope.

Chen Jinhua actually knew deep down that the child was gone and that Zhang Xiucai probably wouldn’t recognize it, but this was the only option she had.

So, the next day, Chen Jinhua went to the neighboring village to find Zhang Xiucai, but the door to his house was closed.

Zhang Xiucai’s parents were both dead, and he lived alone. He wasn’t home. Chen Jinhua went to ask around and found out that he had secretly gone to marry Old Liang’s daughter in the town.

No wonder Jiang Qiaoqiao hadn’t found him when she came looking earlier. It turned out that he had already found a new love.

It was said that the eldest daughter of the Liang family had been drawn to Zhang Xiucai because of his status as a scholar and his handsome appearance. Old Liang had offered to support him financially for his studies if he agreed to marry into their family.

Tempted by these conditions, Zhang Xiucai, thinking of the good food and drink in the Liang household and the fact that Miss Liang was also pretty, immediately abandoned Jiang Qiaoqiao and became their son-in-law. They had been married for several days now.

Chen Jinhua and her daughter’s efforts were in vain. That day, she took her daughter, who had just had a miscarriage, to Old Liang’s mansion to make a scene.

Old Liang was somewhat wealthy and had hired two bodyguards. When Chen Jinhua caused a commotion, Zhang Xiucai denied his relationship with Jiang Qiaoqiao, saying he didn’t know her at all.

He was very good at sweet-talking girls. After just a few days, the girl was already completely obedient to him and believed everything he said. The girl was very aggressive and ordered the guards to drive them out. She also threatened that if they caused trouble again, she would beat them up and make it impossible for the mother and daughter to survive in Baima Town.

Chen Jinhua was the type of person who bullied the weak and feared the strong. After being threatened by Miss Liang, she really didn’t dare to make a scene. She also didn’t dare report this matter to the village head. This was a mutual agreement, and Jiang Qiaoqiao had already lost her innocence. If they made a big fuss, they would really become the target of public criticism in Baima Town.

Of course, their bad news wasn’t over yet.

The villagers of Xianhe Village found the old village chief and demanded that he drive the mother and daughter out of the village, saying that there were still so many unmarried girls in the village. Now that the shameless actions of Jiang Qiaoqiao had spread to other villages, when people heard about the girls from Xianhe Village, they would say that the girls from their village were not decent. Who would be willing to marry them?

So, just after Chen Jinhua and her daughter returned from their failed attempt with Old Liang, they received the bad news that they were going to be kicked out of Xianhe Village!