Golden Branch

Wangjiazhuangzi.

The day after Cui Zai was imprisoned, Lou Yu personally tore off all the seals.

In less than two months, all the sealed properties were returned to their original owners.

Since the place was not touched, Cui Zai and others did not even enter the courtyard, but Lou Yu still ordered people to clean it again.

Wang Heng herself lived in the Lou family fortress, but she separated some of her slaves, servants, and guards and placed them in places like Zhuangzi.

So, now Wang Heng brought Madam Xie and a group of people to the Wang family farm in a grand manner. The courtyard was clean and surrounded by servants... everything was prepared properly.

Madam Xie and Wang Lin were both unconscious and unable to distinguish between good and evil.

The children, who had been trembling with fear and at a loss, were originally panicked and at a loss, but when they entered a courtyard that was well-equipped, they had hot water, new clothes, and could eat hot and delicious meals as quickly as possible.

Their hearts gradually calmed down.

There were several children, both boys and girls, the oldest of whom was a twelve-year-old boy.

He was the second son of the Wang family and was known as Wang Erlang.

"Second brother, this, this is our home?"

A boy of seven or eight years old, after washing and changing into new clothes, felt like he was alive again.

He ran to Wang Erlang and asked eagerly.

"No! This is my sister's home!"

Wang Erlang is no longer a child. As the actual "eldest son" among Wang Lin's sons, he has experienced ups and downs and the warmth and coldness of human nature at the age of twelve.

His biological mother was a maidservant of Madam Xie.

When Jiang was pregnant, Madam Xie wanted to give her maid to Wang Lin as a concubine so that she could have someone to take care of her son and to make things difficult for her daughter-in-law.

Jiang took the initiative and sent Azhu to Wang Lin.

However, he still couldn't resist Madam Xie's schemes, nor could he guard against Wang Lin.

Wang Lin gladly accepted all the maids sent by his mother and wife.

Where there is one, there are two, and there are three.

During the one or two years that Jiang was pregnant and gave birth, Wang Lin's originally clean backyard quickly became lively.

Concubines came one after another, and illegitimate sons and daughters also came one after another.

Before Wang Erlang, there was a concubine's eldest son, but his biological mother thought she had given birth to Wang Lin's eldest son, so she became a little frivolous.

He doesn't know how to restrain himself, but instead shows off everywhere.

Jiang Shi did not take any action, but the concubines in the backyard rushed forward and used all kinds of means.

The concubine died and the child also died young.

Wang Erlang became Wang Lin's actual eldest son.

Wang Erlang's biological mother learned her lesson and did not dare to be ostentatious or presumptuous even though she had the support of Madam Xie.

He was extremely respectful to the mistress Jiang.

Mrs. Xie was a little angry and felt that she was a hopeless piece of mud.

Some of the favored concubines also felt that this man was ungrateful and unworthy of being in public.

However, subsequent facts proved that only "mud" can last.

Not only did Wang Erlang and his mother make a living safely under the care of the Jiang family, but after Jiang's "divorce", the Wang family had a vicious and intolerant second wife. The mother and son became even more cautious, and barely survived under the tyranny of the Cui family.

So many children died in the backyard, and Wang Erlang, the "eldest son of a concubine", was also affected from time to time, but he eventually grew up.

Of course, this was not only because Wang Erlang and his mother were smart and patient enough, but also because they were protected by Wang Lin and Madam Xie.

Wang Erlang is the "eldest son". He looks like Madam Xie and is also smart and kind.

In the absence of a legitimate son, such an outstanding illegitimate son is the apple of the eyes of Wang Lin and his mother.

Although Wang Erlang was not as doted on and honored as Lou Yu, his life was the best among all the concubines' sons and daughters.

Oh no, to be more precise, after Jiang left the Wang family, Wang Erlang became the most favored and respected of all Wang Lin's children.

After all, at that time, the Wang family's only legitimate bloodline, Wang Heng, the eldest daughter, was "exiled" to the farm.

Cui schemed against Wang Heng, and Lady Xie and Wang Lin turned a blind eye and condoned it.

When it was Wang Erlang's turn, before Cui could take any action, Madam Xie took her grandson to her side.

It was Wang Lin who, although he didn't say anything, asked about Wang Erlang's life, studies, etc. every day.

...It was not until Cui gave birth to Wang Wulang and he safely came out of the confinement period and turned one year old, and he seemed to have "established himself", that Wang Erlang gradually fell out of favor.

Madam Xie sent him out of her main courtyard on the grounds that "the child has grown up" and ordered people to arrange accommodation for him in the outer courtyard.

Wang Lin was very busy with official duties, and whenever he had some free time, he would pay attention to the growth of his legitimate son.

The eldest son of a concubine?

There is no such thing as a concubine's eldest son in the Wang family. He would be the source of chaos in the family.

Both masters began to ignore Wang Erlang, and the servants followed suit, and began to do the same.

Not to mention, there is also a vicious stepmother who finds Wang Erlang annoying.

One can imagine how hard and difficult Wang Erlang's days in the Wang family were.

Fortunately, Wang Erlang's biological mother and Madam Xie are his supporters.

She was very smart. She took advantage of the conflict between Mrs. Xie and the Cui family to buy a glimmer of hope for herself and her son.

She managed to save Wang Erlang's life, and at most his life became more difficult.

Wang Erlang experienced great ups and downs in his life, and personally experienced the warmth and coldness of human nature and the fickleness of the world. He was in pain and despair, but he also grew up in the shortest time.

Although Madam Xie was no longer his exclusive favorite and Wang Lin no longer paid attention to him, Wang Erlang still took advantage of every opportunity to read and study.

The vast majority of the Wang family's resources are tilted towards Wang Wulang and Wang Chang.

Wang Erlang restrained his edge, concealed his strength, and was willing to be Wang Chang's "foil".

As the legitimate son, Wang Chang does have a noble status, but he has no younger brother from the same mother.

In the future, whether it is academic or career, you will need someone to help you.

At the very least, someone needs to take care of the Wang family's miscellaneous affairs.

Wang Erlang and his mother were extremely humble and respectful to Cui's mother and son. Cui was very happy, but she couldn't help thinking:

My son needs a "dog" like Wang Erlang by his side.

When his son was studying, he helped him spread the paper and grind the ink, and was beaten and punished.

When she grows up, she can help her son with chores and work like a slave.

Wang Erlang and his mother succeeded in convincing Cui that Wang Erlang was well behaved enough to be her son's little follower, and only then did she tolerate him.

If Wang Lin had not been dismissed from office and the Wang family's property had not been confiscated, Wang Erlang would probably have continued to serve his legitimate younger brother until he grew up.

Wang Erlang was once extremely grateful that the Dayu Dynasty had opened up the system of imperial examinations to select officials.

As long as you study hard and take exams diligently, you will have the opportunity to become an official.

Wang Erlang knew that he was not a genius and did not have any extraordinary talent.

But he is not stupid and he is hardworking enough.

There are also the Wang family’s collection of books, teachers and other resources.

Although he could only pick up the residue that leaked out from between Wang Chang's fingers, it was better than nothing.

Even these "remnants" are much better than many poor and common people.

Those people succeeded despite such hardships.

He should be able to do it too!

As soon as he turned fifteen, he took the imperial examination.

As long as he becomes an official, he will have the capital to negotiate with Wang Lin.

Due to the complex living environment and the ups and downs he experienced, Wang Erlang matured very precociously.

He even saw his father's true face clearly——

Selfish, cold-hearted and profit-driven.

He seemed to value the legitimate son and loved Wang Chang, but in fact it was not the case.

What he truly values ​​is only his own interests, and what he truly loves is only himself.

Wang Erlang knew his father's character, and he knew that as long as he could demonstrate enough value, he would be able to get benefits from Wang Lin.

Wang Erlang was not greedy and did not covet the Wang family's property.

He just wanted to take a small part of it and take his biological mother away.

He would not compete with Wang Chang, nor would he ever dare to dream of replacing him and becoming the heir to the Wang family.

He can rely on himself!

However, all the plans were broken overnight——

Wang Lin was dismissed from office, his family property was ransacked, and all his family members were exiled back to their hometown.

Wang Erlang was not too greedy for the Wang family's property, and he didn't care too much about the confiscation of property.

It didn't belong to him in the first place, and it made no difference whether it was inherited by Wang Chang or confiscated by the government.

However, Wang Erlang forgot that his biological mother was a slave of the Wang family and also the "property" of the Wang family.

The biological mother's property was also confiscated by the government, or sold by the government, or made into a government slave.

Wang Erlang once again realized the difference in status, as well as the anger and helplessness under power.

In order to save his biological mother, Wang Erlang went to ask Mrs. Xie for help.

Mrs. Xie’s parents’ home is in the capital.

After the Wang family fell into trouble, the Xie family sent people to visit them and sent some money and food.

The Xie family also helped buy the house of a trusted servant of Madam Xie.

Wang Erlang wanted to ask Madam Xie and the Xie family to save his biological mother.

His biological mother was also a slave girl sent by the Xie family. She served Madam Xie and Wang Lin for many years and also gave birth to a child.

Now that she is old and ugly, she would not be worth much even if she were sold.

Wang Erlang knew that if someone was willing to help, it was a favor; if they were unwilling, it was their duty.

But, but, this is the truth. Wang Erlang still hopes that Madam Xie and the Xie family can take their feelings into consideration.

He knelt at Mrs. Xie's feet, begged bitterly, and solemnly promised: he borrowed the money.

One day, he will repay you double, tenfold, or a hundredfold.

Mrs. Xie refused.

She had so many confidants and useful people, but she could only buy back one.

The Xie family already needs the support of the Wang family. If the Wang family collapses, they will be unable to protect themselves.

The Xie family still had to stay in the capital and seek a future for their sons. How could they have any money left to redeem an old slave who was not very important?

Wang Erlang was desperate. He never saw his aunt again, and he didn't know where she was sold to!

Wang Erlang became numb, and resentment arose in his heart.

So, that night at the post station, I heard the noise and ran over to watch.

Seeing Wang Lin’s head smashed and unconscious, and Madam Xie suffering a stroke on the spot due to the shock, Wang Erlang did not feel sad at all, but was instead filled with joy.

Of course, after the pleasure, Wang Erlang also realized the reality of the problem -

Wang Lin fell into a coma, Madam Xie suffered a stroke, and Cui also took Wang Chang back to Beijing.

What should he and his many brothers and sisters do?

They haven't grown up yet.

The Wang family still has some sacrificial fields in their hometown of Yizhou.

But, their entire family, the old, the sick, the young, the slaves, the guards, the followers, the farmers, etc., are all gone.

Do we have to let him, a half-grown child, go to plow the fields with several other children?

Wang Erlang is not a child after all. In addition to these questions, he also thought of the realities of "people leave and tea gets cold", "monkeys scatter when the tree falls" and so on.

The Wang family fell into decline, and with no one to support the family, not only would they be oppressed by the government, but even those idle people in the city and thugs in the countryside would come and rob them.

Several hundred acres of sacrificial land is also a big piece of fat meat.

They can't protect these children at all, and it might even bring disaster upon themselves.

On the carriage from the post station to the county town, Wang Erlang thought a lot.

He thought about how hard and difficult the days ahead might be, and also thought about—

"And my sister! My sister, she—"

Wang Erlang was not familiar with his half-sister Wang Heng.

Wang Erlang's biological mother was Mrs. Xie's man, and the existence of mother and son was itself the product of the battle between Mrs. Xie and Jiang, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.

Jiang did not bear any grudge against Wang Erlang and his mother, but she also did not treat them with kindness.

In the words of Wang Erlang's biological mother, "The lady never took us seriously, never targeted us, and never showed any favor to us." She only treated us as insignificant people.

It was not until Mrs. Jiang left and Mrs. Cui came that Wang Erlang and his mother deeply realized the benefits of being ignored.

It's true that people won't treat you well, but they won't treat you harshly or even abuse you either.

There is no harm without comparison.

Cui's viciousness and harshness made Jiang look like a beautiful and kind-hearted mistress (legitimate mother).

After Jiang left, Wang Heng was sent to Zhuangzi.

Wang Erlang had fewer and fewer opportunities to interact with Wang Heng.

A few years passed, and Wang Erlang didn't even know what Wang Heng looked like.

But when I heard Madam Xie, Cui and others chatting, I found that they disliked Wang Heng for being greedy and fat.

The young girl, who should have been slim and graceful, became a fat and ugly person who was laughed at by everyone.

Even Wang Lin was "ashamed" to talk about it.

Wang Erlang couldn't help but be curious about what this sister looked like. Why was she looked down upon by her relatives?

After seeing him today, Wang Erlang finally realized the truth that “rumors can mislead people”.

What is obesity?

What ugly?

My sister is just a little plump, but she is still beautiful and lovely.

Although not as stunningly beautiful as Jiang, she is still prettier than ordinary women.

Moreover, the most important thing for a woman is not only her appearance, but also her temperament, character, talent and so on.

My sister has a noble and graceful temperament.

She smiles before she speaks, and her eyes and eyebrows are full of innocence, kindness and beauty.

She seemed to be very close to Madam Xie, Wang Lin and others, and did not feel any resentment towards her elders for their poor treatment.

Repaying kindness with kindness?

The purest and most filial piety?

Of course, someone like Wang Erlang who has experienced the ups and downs of life would not be stupid or innocent.

He also thought of the possibility that "sister is pretending".

"...Ajie is still willing to act, which shows that she still cares about her reputation and face!"

Such a person should be willing to take care of his half-brothers and half-sisters for the sake of reputation and respect.

That's enough!