I just want to be a princess, no, you want to be a queen

Late autumn, the seventh year of Yuanshun

The courtyard of a farmhouse in Shangyang Village was filled with villagers, each carrying buckets of water. In the center of the courtyard sat a water vat, inside which sat a girl, about fourteen or fifteen years old.

The icy water from the well flooded the little girl's neck, making her shiver. Her face turned pale and purple, as if she had been dead for a long time.

"woke up!"

Someone shouted, and everyone looked at the little girl in the tank. The girl's frosted eyelashes trembled slightly, and she opened her big watery eyes, looking confused and at a loss.

A middle-aged man raised his chin proudly.

"I'm telling you, if you have a fever, just soak in well water and you'll be fine. Why bother seeing a doctor? It's a waste of money."

The crowd, who were originally calm, began to praise his clever move.

The little girl's father happily saw everyone off. After closing the gate, he counted the silver in his hand with emotion.

"Fortunately, the second girl is fine, otherwise all these years of raising her would have been in vain."

The cold wind was blowing, and the little girl's mother hurriedly helped her wet daughter into the room.

It was almost dusk. Father Yang looked at the wet yard and said impatiently, "Now that you're awake, why don't you hurry up and cook? Are you trying to starve my son to death?"

"I'm coming."

Mother Yang told her second daughter who had a high fever, "Have a good rest, you don't have to work today," and then went to cook.

Yang Xier dragged her heavy body into the room.

The bare house consisted of three dilapidated earthen rooms, a main room, and two bedrooms on the east and west sides. In the west bedroom there was a dilapidated earthen kang with a thin reed quilt on top.

Yang Xier wrapped herself in a strange yet familiar quilt, looked out the window, and tears flowed unconsciously.

I was clearly on my way to class at the university, so how did I end up back in this disgusting place?

"Second sister!"

A crisp voice was heard, Yang Xier turned her head and saw her third sister Yang Nian'er coming in with a black bowl of medicine.

Maybe it's because I held it in my arms for too long, my hands were burned red.

"Second sister, drink it quickly. You will be fine after drinking the medicine. I worked so hard to get it."

The face in her memory was already a little blurry. The person whom Yang Xier thought she would never see again in her life now appeared clearly before her eyes.

She sighed, feeling a little distressed: "Did it get stolen?"

In this world, only my third sister cares about me.

Yang Nian'er had two pigtails and her face was a little red from running. She scratched her head embarrassedly and sat down to talk to her second sister, but her mother urged her to go back to work.

In the evening, the family sat around the square table in the yard to eat.

The meal was simple, with the usual corn porridge, pickled radish, and sweet potatoes. But today it was a little richer, with a stir-fried pork and cabbage dish and two heated white steamed buns.

Is it because you are sick that you made some delicious food?

Yang Xier was imagining that she saw her father and brother each taking a white steamed bun and eating it in big mouthfuls.

Yang Nian'er licked her lips and picked up the pork from the stir-fried pork and cabbage.

With a "bang", Yang's mother knocked away Yang Nian'er's chopsticks, and gave three of the five pieces of pork in the dish to her husband and two to her son.

Father Yang chewed some pork and reminded, "It's not winter yet, so be frugal."

"I was calculating, so I just put in a few pieces of meat and added some oil."

Mother Yang picked up the plate of fried pork and cabbage and poured the soup into Yang Xier's corn porridge, and also poured in two pieces of fat pork.

"Eat it!"

Yang Xier looked at the minced meat, then looked at her pitiful third sister, and exchanged bowls with Yang Nian'er.

"Why are you so greedy? Don't you know your sister is sick?"

My mother is always like this, with a hint of care in her heart that is hard to blame.

"Mom, I feel uncomfortable and can't eat." Yang Xier blocked the bowl.

Yang Jiabao finished his two pieces of pork and smacked his lips for more. Yang's mother scooped out the two pieces of pork and put them in her son's bowl.

Yang Nian'er was so angry that she wanted to lose her temper, but Yang Xier held her hand. They were already used to this, and she would be the one who would suffer if they quarreled.

The dull sound of a wooden door rang, and a fat and greasy man with his upper body naked stood at the door, knocked twice, and walked in carrying a bundle of pig offal.

"Son-in-law, why are you here at this time? Have you eaten? Let's eat together." Father Yang invited Butcher Zheng to sit down.

Yang Xier remembered that her father had betrothed her to Zheng the Butcher, a widower who sold pork in the next village.

"I won't sit down."

Butcher Zheng heard that his future wife had a high fever and was dying. He was worried that she had gone crazy, so he rushed over to check on her. Seeing Yang Xier sitting quietly eating, he felt relieved.

"I just happened to be passing by and came to see my father-in-law. The pig was just slaughtered and it's still warm. I came to honor my father-in-law."

Butcher Zheng placed the pig's offal on the table and got down to business: "I plan to get married early next month."

It’s just about ten days from the beginning of next month.

Yang's father was somewhat reluctant, as he wanted his daughter to stay for a while longer to help with household chores. However, since the betrothal gifts had already been paid, there was no reason to stop her from marrying him, so he could only nod and agree.

The two exchanged a few more pleasantries, and then Yang's father asked Yang Xier to see Butcher Zheng off.

Yang Tiezhu's home was on the edge of the village, and within a few steps lay the endless cornfields. The tall corn stalks swayed in the wind, tempting people to commit crimes.

Butcher Zheng smelled the fragrant girl beside him and dragged her directly into the cornfield.

"Baby, let me kiss you."

He puffed out his fat belly, grinned with his big yellow teeth and pushed towards Yang Xier's mouth. Yang Xier subconsciously reached out to push him away.

"Second sister!"

With a quick shout, Yang Nian'er stood on the ridge of the field, looking at Zheng the Butcher who bullied her sister, her legs trembling: "Mom, Mom asked you to wash the dishes."

"I, I should go back."

Yang Xier timidly looked at the man who was a head taller and stronger than her, not daring to pull her hand out of his.

Butcher Zheng was very angry that his good thing was interrupted, but when he looked down at the little girl's humble and submissive look, he felt relieved.

She will be his wife sooner or later, so it doesn't matter if he takes a moment now.

He took Yang Xier's hand, rubbed it between his legs, lowered his head and whispered: "Come to me tomorrow night, I will give you something delicious."

After saying this, he shook off the corn cobs from his head and whistled away. The cold moonlight illuminated his naked upper body, making it shiny and glossy.

Yang Xier looked at her hands, which still stank of pig intestines. She felt nauseous and wanted to vomit. She lay down in the ditch and washed the stench off her hands.

Yang Nian'er sat on the yellow earth, wanting to comfort her second sister, but when the words came to her lips, she couldn't say them.

"How could you do this, Dad? Butcher Zheng's two sons are almost as old as you."

"It's better to be older, so that you can care for others."

Yang Xier was still lying there washing her hands, her words were cold as if she was talking about someone else's business.

Yang Nian'er was so disappointed with her friend that she felt angry and anxious. "Second sister, it's spread all over Zhengjia Village that he beat his wife to death. Do you want to be beaten to death by him too?"