It's all ruined, who cares about the chastity arch

I thought I had given up hope, but when I saw the big red boxes being sent to the Princess's Mansion, my heart ached.

His mind was filled with all kinds of "ifs". If he had been better to Wanyu, even just a little bit, could he have avoided the pain he is experiencing now?

As the afterglow of the setting sun gradually faded, Zheng Chengyan staggered back as if he had lost his soul.

Halfway through the journey, his eighth sister's urgent call woke him up from his deep thoughts: "Second brother!"

Zheng Chengyan's body suddenly stiffened, a trace of disbelief flashed in his eyes, and he responded in a low voice: "What's wrong?"

There was a barely perceptible tremor in his voice.

The eighth daughter of the Zheng family, a young girl with a somewhat childish yet strong look in her eyes, quickly wiped away the tears that kept rolling down her cheeks and said with a sob, "Old lady, she...she has...left us."

As she spoke, her eyes seemed to penetrate time and space and land on a place that was out of reach.

"gone?"

Zheng Chengyan's heart suddenly tightened when he heard this, and he could not hide his shock in his tone, "When did it happen?"

The Eighth Miss sobbed and spoke intermittently as she recounted the heartbreaking experience: "Just half an hour ago, the incident happened in Ziyan Pavilion. At that time, the old lady was busy cleaning the toilet in the backyard. Suddenly, news came that the eldest daughter of the Tan family had sent a full fifty boxes of betrothal gifts to the Princess's Mansion. When the old lady heard this, she was shocked and hurriedly got up to see it with her own eyes. Unexpectedly, she stumbled and accidentally fell to the ground, and fell directly into the cesspool next to her."

“By the time people found her and rescued her, the old lady’s breath was already… gone.”

At this point, Miss Eight's voice almost broke, and her grief was evident.

When Zheng Chengyan heard this, he felt a chill rushing to his head, as if he was struck by lightning.

The noble old lady of the Marquis of Changping's mansion actually died unexpectedly in such a filthy place?! This news was too shocking for him to accept for a while.

"Where are the old lady's... remains now?"

Zheng Chengyan asked anxiously, with a hint of instability in his voice.

The eighth young lady's crying became more and more uncontrollable, and her tears poured out like a broken dam: "The people at Ziyan Pavilion said that the old lady had signed a contract to sell herself there. Even after her death, she still belonged to them. I heard that she was simply wrapped in a straw mat and thrown into a mass grave at random..."

Hearing this, Zheng Chengyan's heart felt like it was hit by a heavy hammer and the pain was unbearable.

The mass grave is a corner forgotten by the world and the territory of wild beasts and crows.

Placing a person's final destination in such a place means that he or she will soon be swallowed up by the ruthless laws of nature. If you look for it at this moment, perhaps not even a trace will be left.

The eighth young lady's eyes were blurred with tears, and she said sadly, "Madam, in the end, I couldn't even keep an intact body..." After she finished speaking, her tears flowed even more violently, like a river bursting its dam.

Zheng Chengyan leaned against the wall, his legs suddenly felt weak, as if the whole world had lost its color at that moment.

His thoughts drifted away, and an ominous premonition quietly crept into his heart. Would his future be like this, ending in an unclear outcome?

He leaned against the wall, his body shaking slightly uncontrollably, the fear and despair in his heart surging like a tide.

At this time, the eighth youngest daughter of the Zheng family said with tears in her eyes and a trembling voice: "Brother, the food in our house is almost gone. If this continues, I'm afraid we will starve."

Zheng Chengyan's mind moved, a gleam of light flashed in his eyes, and then he held her hand tightly: "You and Seventh Sister are about to reach the age of marriage, right?"

He tried to find a solution to the problem.

Miss Zheng Ba hurriedly shook her head, with anxiety and panic in her eyes: "No, no, it's still a long time before the age of 15."

Zheng Chengyan looked her up and down, and an idea came to his mind: "How about, second brother help you find a good family? For example, the scholar in West Lane has a relatively well-off family. If you marry him, the betrothal gift will definitely not be small."

However, the scholar was already old and his family already had numerous concubines. Such a proposal undoubtedly made Miss Zheng Ba feel resistant.

She shook her head to refuse, her movements were as loud as a rattle: "Second brother, I really don't want to get married. I would rather go to work and earn money to support the family!"

Zheng Chengyan leaned against the wall, looking through the broken roof and towards the gray sky, her eyes full of despair and helplessness: "Where can you, a little girl, go to work and make money?"

Miss Zheng Ba, with tears in her eyes, answered firmly, "I can go to the Tan family's dyeing workshop, where they hire female workers, and men and women are paid the same for the same work."

Ever since Su Wanyu announced that shops could recruit female managers, even the Tan family's own dyeing workshop and rice shop began to open their doors to employment for women, in order to give women like Mei Luo a chance to survive.

In the Tan family's workshop, not only are women not forced to sign a contract of selling themselves, they are also provided with food and lodging, and paid monthly wages. Although they cannot become rich, at least they can support themselves and do not have to become concubines.

After hearing this, Zheng Chengyan's face suddenly darkened. He raised his hand and slapped Miss Zheng Ba hard on the face.

"Get married! How can we, a member of the Marquisate, become slaves for a merchant family? Even if you want to be my concubine, you are not allowed to work for the Tan family!"

This slap made Miss Zheng Ba completely stunned. She covered her cheek with her hands, tears streaming down her face. Her figure ran away in panic and disappeared from sight.

The warm little home of the past was supported by several sisters-in-law, but now they have all been taken away by their respective families, leaving only two younger sisters to depend on each other.

When Zheng Chengyan came to his senses, he found that his eighth and seventh sisters were nowhere to be found, and only the disabled Zheng Chengyuan was left by his side.

The cold and damp hut was filled with a foul stench and the air was almost frozen.

There was nothing but indifference and sadness on Zheng Chengyan's haggard face, and he looked like a body without a soul.

In contrast, the Princess's Mansion was filled with joy and excitement.

The eldest princess felt excited and happy as she watched the child she had raised personally about to enter the marriage hall.

She took Gu Linjun and walked into the depths of the magnificent palace.

"Guess what these are?"

She pointed to the huge wooden boxes piled up in the mansion, her tone filled with mystery and anticipation.

Gu Linjun took a few steps forward and opened a box at random. A dress lay quietly in the box. It had a unique style, completely different from the common Chinese clothes, and revealed a strong northern style.

"This is..." He looked at the eldest princess puzzledly, waiting for an answer.

The princess wiped the tears from her eyes with a handkerchief and said with a nostalgic tone: "This is exactly the clothes your mother was wearing when your father took her away."

Gu Linjun's heart tightened, and he gently stroked the soft fur on his clothes, his heart filled with waves.

"My mother once told Her Royal Highness the Princess and Mr. Song that she was looking for her lost relatives before this, but unfortunately she was kidnapped by my father during her journey to the north, and she has never been able to meet her biological parents again since then."