The journey of the only child of a peasant family to take the imperial examination

Wu Ya sobbed for a long time before she calmed down. She slowly explained the situation clearly, saying aggrievedly, "You know how Mother always disliked me when we were at home, and my sisters-in-law always bullied me. Ever since you came to Ci County, Mother and my sisters-in-law have become even more unscrupulous. Not only did they let the kitchen deduct my food, but they also always come to me in a weird and domineering manner to show off their power. When we went shopping together, they tried to steal my dowry money. I couldn't deal with them alone, and this miscarriage is related to them!"

Fang Ziqi didn't take it seriously at first, but when he heard the last sentence, he frowned and said, "What's going on? Even if mother and sisters-in-law are going too far, they wouldn't deliberately torture you and cause you to have a miscarriage, right?!"

Wu Ya couldn't help but raise her voice excitedly after hearing this: "Of course it's not that serious, it's them who did it!"

"Then you should tell me what happened clearly. What's the use of shouting? If it is really their fault, I will definitely take care of it for you. After all, this is my child," Fang Ziqi said angrily.

Apart from anything else, if it involves children, it would be too much. As the saying goes, when beating a dog, you should look at the owner!

Fang Ziqi himself knows that his family relationships are not so harmonious. Everyone in his family likes to compare with others and care about face, making it complicated to get along with them.

He would turn a blind eye to the troubles Wu Ya suffered, but the child was his bottom line!

Wu Ya was speechless and didn't know what to say. She felt very depressed!

After a long while, he said sullenly, "Ever since the kitchen withheld my food, I haven't been eating well, and sometimes I can't even eat enough. But my sister-in-law eats big fish and meat every day, as well as bird's nest and fish maw. I get angry, and she can't finish it anyway, so sometimes when no one in the main room is paying attention, I go to the kitchen and take out some food and eat it myself.

Who knew that my sister-in-law had the servants add peach kernel powder to the bird's nest? I didn't realize it, and I started bleeding after eating it, and I lost the baby!

At this point, Wu Ya began to speak with confidence and coldly accused, "I didn't react at the time. Thinking about it later, my sister-in-law must have discovered that I was cheating on her, so she deliberately asked the servants to add peach kernel powder to the bird's nest. She doesn't usually eat peach kernels! That's how she set a trap for me to fall into. I can't say anything about it!"

"Isn't this an obvious setup?" Fang Ziqi said after listening, then asked, "Didn't you tell your parents? There's no way your parents would ignore something like this."

Wu Ya felt very aggrieved and replied, "I did tell you, but my parents didn't believe me. My sister-in-law insisted that she ate peach kernels all the time and just didn't tell us. She even blamed me for stealing her food. It was so infuriating!"

Fang Ziqi once again deeply felt that Wu Ya was really not smart. They were born to the same parents, so why was she so different from her elder sister and younger brother!

"So you came to Ci County?" Fang Ziqi asked after taking a deep breath to calm himself down.

Wu Ya nodded: "Yes, I told my mother about it, and she didn't object."

Fang Ziqi asked, "Have you ever considered that if you don't come clean with your sister-in-law right now, not only will you not get justice for her causing your miscarriage, but you'll also be branded a thief, a lifelong stigma. Even if your brother is a Jinshi or a county magistrate, it's useless! Your escape has sealed the deal. When we return to Lin'an, it will be too late to say anything. Forget about overturning the verdict. How will others view me and us? Even if you could write me a letter in advance and ask me!"

Wu Ya originally thought she was right, but when she saw Fang Ziqi's bad complexion, she realized what was happening and asked, "What should we do then? I didn't think so much back then. You don't know, they didn't even make me chicken soup during my confinement, and my sister-in-law bullied me all the time. She was so angry that I had two hemorrhages. The doctor said it was very dangerous!"

Fang Ziqi waved his hand and said, "Forget it. There's no point in saying anything to you now. Just stay here and relax. I'll write home. The court has designated Ci County as a naval base. I'm very busy and don't have time to accompany you back. You should stay here with your father-in-law and mother-in-law and show your filial piety."

"Okay, that's what I planned too," Wu Ya nodded in response. She was very tired from the journey and didn't want to ask any more questions.

At present, there is no one in the back court except Qian Youyi. Zhang and Old Man Zhang went out fishing, while Zhang Laoer went to the teahouse to listen to storytelling. Ever since he listened to the storyteller telling the story of Lord Zhou several times, Zhang Laoer fell in love with this entertainment activity.

Xu accompanied Yingniang to learn from the midwife.

This apprenticeship was not a formal one, it was just a courtesy of bringing some gifts as a tribute.

In ancient times, the status between master and apprentice was very important, and ordinary people would not easily accept apprentices or become apprentices.

The most important thing is that the Zhang family divided the family but not the households. Ever since Zhang Ping'an passed the imperial examination and became a county magistrate, the Zhang family has been considered a family of officials.

Midwives are one of the gossip girls and are not considered to be in the upper class. Their social status is far lower than that of officials.

As the eldest grandson's wife, Yingniang certainly couldn't possibly go and formally become a disciple.

She just wanted to learn a skill to make a living. After all, midwives are still very important among ordinary people and have a certain social status and reputation.

Qian Youyi knew that Wu Ya had arrived, so he came out to greet her, arranged for her to stay, and then went back to his room.

However, when Aunt Rong saw the large and small bags that Wu Ya had packed, including winter clothes, she knew at a glance that she wasn't staying temporarily and was planning to stay for a long time. So she said in a somewhat indignant tone, "Miss, in my opinion, this Fifth Aunt came from Lin'an and she doesn't plan to leave for a while. She even brought her winter clothes, and it's only the end of May!"

"Anyway, the back office is big, she can live wherever she wants. Eating is just a matter of using an extra pair of chopsticks. Why bother so much!" Qian Youyi said lightly. She didn't care, as long as she was not provoked.

Rong Mama was a little anxious: "Miss, that's not what I said. First, the old man and the old lady came over. We won't say anything about supporting the elders. They also brought a pregnant granddaughter-in-law over to eat for free. We just regard it as a good deed and won't say anything. After all, we are still one family on the surface. When the baby is born, the old lady will definitely make arrangements.

But now the fifth aunt has also come here, and she's not staying temporarily, she's staying permanently! If this trend isn't stopped, what will happen if the first, second, and sixth aunts all come to live here with their families?!"

"They are different. They live well in Lin'an. Why do they come to Ci County? It's not a popular place. Ma'am, you worry too much," Qian Youyi laughed.

Rong Ma Ma twisted her handkerchief and said, "That's what I say, but I just have this feeling. I always feel that sooner or later, my uncle's sisters will move in with us! That would be so noisy!"

"Let's talk about it when that day really comes!" Qian Youyi didn't care.

When it was almost time for dinner in the evening, the others came back and were surprised to see Wu Ya.