Chapter 15: Xiao Changhe in Her Memories

Xiao Ling’er was speechless. This younger brother she had inherited was such a crybaby — he would shed golden tears at the drop of a hat.

She sighed and asked gently, “Haohao, what’s wrong? Why are you crying?”

“Big Sis, I miss Dad. I keep thinking that he never even got to taste such delicious food,” Xiao Yuhao sobbed, his tears falling even more fiercely.

Dad?

A handsome face flashed in Xiao Ling’er’s mind, along with a stream of related memories.

That man’s name was Xiao Changhe — the original host’s father — and he was very good-looking.

According to her memories, the entire Xiao family had decent appearances, but Xiao Changhe was the most strikingly handsome of them all.

Yet despite his looks, he was the least favored member of the family. The reason was that when Grandma Xiao was pregnant with him, Grandpa Xiao had gotten involved with the widowed Lady Tian from next door. Obsessed, he even wanted to bring her into the household as a wife.

Of course, Grandpa Xiao ultimately didn’t go through with it, because the night before the wedding, Widow Tian was found drowned in her own latrine pit.

Many in the village suspected Grandma Xiao had a hand in it. But the village chief of Daoxi Village was a member of the Xiao family and deliberately covered things up, and the matter of the widow’s death was left unresolved.

Even so, Widow Tian’s death didn’t diminish Grandma Xiao’s hatred. She blamed everything on Xiao Changhe and considered him a bringer of misfortune.

As a result, Xiao Changhe lived a hard life in the Xiao household, constantly neglected, hungry, and cold. He never got the good things in the family, and all the hard, tiring work was dumped on him.

He was treated like an invisible man in his own home, developing an inferiority complex. Quiet and withdrawn, he focused every day on completing the tasks assigned by Grandma Xiao, lest he go hungry.

Later, Xiao Changhe’s marriage to the original host’s mother, Mu Xiya, was also part of Grandma Xiao’s scheme. Mu Xiya was the daughter of a scholar from the neighboring Mu Family Village.

Grandma Xiao was originally from Mu Village as well. One time, when she returned to visit, she learned that the highly respected scholar couple from the Mu family had met a tragic end and died together.

They left behind a daughter, Mu Xiya, who was about to come of age — a lonely orphan with no one to rely on.

Seeing an opportunity, Grandma Xiao devised a plan to have Xiao Changhe marry Mu Xiya so she could seize the scholar’s family inheritance.

Unfortunately, Mu Xiya was already engaged. So Grandma Xiao resorted to underhanded tactics, instructing Xiao Changhe to seduce her and force the situation.

But for the first time, Xiao Changhe disobeyed her. He refused to be a vile and despicable man.

As punishment, Grandma Xiao beat him half to death, and he lay in bed for half a month before he could walk again.

When her scheme failed, Grandma Xiao took matters into her own hands. She faked an injury and tricked the kind-hearted Mu Xiya into the Xiao household. Then she locked her in the woodshed and tried to force her and Xiao Changhe to spend the night together.

Of course, Xiao Changhe refused. But Grandma Xiao threatened that if he didn’t go along with it, she would force Mu Xiya to become a concubine to the eldest son, Xiao Laoda. Faced with no choice, Xiao Changhe entered the woodshed.

In the end, nothing actually happened between them. But a man and a woman spending the night alone together was enough to ruin Mu Xiya’s reputation.

Worse, Grandma Xiao deliberately spread rumors that Xiao Changhe and Mu Xiya had been involved for a while and that she was already pregnant.

Mu Xiya’s fiancé’s family was enraged when they heard the gossip and broke off the engagement the very next day.

With her reputation ruined, Mu Xiya had no choice but to bring all of her inheritance to the Xiao household.

She and Xiao Changhe didn’t even have a proper wedding ceremony, and all her dowry was taken straight into Grandma Xiao’s private stash.

Mu Xiya, being the daughter of a scholar, was gentle and unassertive by nature. Even when her dowry was seized, she didn’t resist much.

Fortunately, after the marriage, Xiao Changhe treated her well. Whenever his mother hit or scolded Mu Xiya, Xiao Changhe would quietly step in and take the punishment for her.

Whenever he found something tasty on the mountain, he would secretly bring it home for her. Though the couple lived a hard life in the Xiao family, they still found moments of sweetness amidst the bitterness.

In their spare time, Mu Xiya would teach Xiao Changhe to read and write, and their bond gradually deepened.

In the second year of their marriage, Xiao Ling’er was born. But Grandma Xiao tormented Mu Xiya with various excuses, saying she had given birth to a useless girl, and didn’t even allow her to rest during her postpartum confinement, forcing her to work in the fields.

As a result, Mu Xiya’s health suffered greatly, and it wasn’t until the fourth year that she was finally able to conceive again — with great difficulty.

Just when Mu Xiya was about to give birth, the wicked old hag Grandma Xiao tried to sell Xiao Ling’er. In the struggle to protect her daughter, Mu Xiya fell and began bleeding heavily.

Fortunately, a traveling doctor happened to pass through Daoxi Village, and thanks to him, both mother and child survived.

However, Mu Xiya hit her head on a stone during the fall, and became mentally impaired.

That incident drove Xiao Changhe into madness. With bloodshot eyes, he roared at Grandma Xiao, demanding to know why she would do such things to his wife and child.

Everyone in the Xiao family was frightened by his outburst. But that moment of fury brought peace — three years of relative calm for the family of four.

When Xiao Yuhao turned four, the county government issued a notice: in families with two or more sons, one male must be conscripted for military service.

Of course, the Xiao family pushed the responsibility onto Xiao Changhe. Grandma Xiao threw herself on the ground, wailed, and threatened to hang herself until Xiao Changhe finally gave in.

He had no choice but to agree, though he made a demand and issued a warning. His condition: the family must split.

They signed a formal separation agreement. If anyone from the Xiao family mistreated his wife or children afterward, he vowed to take revenge upon his return — and he wouldn’t spare anyone, especially Grandma Xiao’s most beloved youngest son, Xiao Aihe.

The Xiao family, cowards who bullied the weak and feared the strong, were truly intimidated by Xiao Changhe. That very day, they agreed to the separation.

Before he left, Xiao Changhe asked his childhood friend, Wang Daniu, to look after his wife and kids. As payment, he gave him 200 copper coins he had saved up over the years.

No one expected that he would be gone for four years without a single word. To this day, they didn’t even know whether he was alive or dead.

Xiao Ling’er thought her “cheap father” had been quite farsighted. If he hadn’t insisted on separating from the Xiao family, the original host and her family might’ve been consumed by them long ago — not even bones left.

The decision to split off had been wise. Although Mu Xiya was mentally impaired, she could still work. And by that time, the original host was already ten years old — capable of caring for her little brother and managing some household tasks.

Judging from her memories, Xiao Ling’er believed that Xiao Changhe had his merits. He was smart and brave — though overly filial, he wasn’t entirely hopeless.

He knew how to protect his wife and children and tried his best to arrange a better life for them.

Compared to most men of the ancient world, he could be considered affectionate, loyal, responsible, and dependable.

It was just unfortunate that he had been born at the wrong time — into a feudal society that regarded “filial piety” as the ultimate virtue.

Xiao Ling’er could understand the helplessness Xiao Changhe faced as a son bound by duty, but that didn’t mean she agreed with his actions.

He had fulfilled his duty as a son, but failed as a husband and father — he had let his wife and children down.

As for whether this father of hers was still alive, Xiao Ling’er didn’t feel much.

She couldn’t resonate with the original host’s emotions. In her heart, this father felt distant — almost unreal.

Still, she hoped he was alive. At the very least, that might be what the original host and Xiao Yuhao were hoping for.