Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

To everyone's surprise, he slept until the morning of the next day, only waking up when the two maids gently called to him.

“Madam, the steward just came to report that the master of your household is going back and wants to see you before he leaves.”

"Oh, then you two help me change." Madam Wang naturally opened her arms, waiting for the two maids to serve her. She adapted to this role very quickly.

Wearing brocade she had never seen before, and adorned with gleaming gold hairpins and ornaments, with several jade rings on her hands and two jade pendants hanging from her clothes, Wang Shi, supported by two maids, went to see her son after she had put on all her finery.

"Mother, you look just like a lady from a wealthy family, so beautiful." The second son was good with words, and seeing his mother dressed so elegantly, he flattered her as if he had honey on his lips.

"I heard you're going back?" Although Wang was happy to hear her son's words, she remained reserved in front of the maid and did not show it. Instead, she looked at her eldest son.

"Yes, I'm relieved to see that Mother is alright. I'm still worried about the children at home. I'll go back with Matchmaker Jia in a bit. My second brother said he wants to stay here a few more days."

"I'm perfectly fine, you can go back now. Be careful on your journey." She couldn't even give one of her gold hairpins to her son in front of the two maids, though her second son was still there. She planned to find a way to get some silver so her second son could take it with him when he left.

After seeing his elder brother off, the second brother sneakily approached Wang Shi.

"Mother, that little girl in the pink dress you brought today is quite lovely. Give her to me as my concubine."

"What's the rush? I'm already married into this family, what's there to be afraid of? Just wait a few more days, and I'll take control of the household." Madam Wang said smugly.

But she never had another chance. That very night, as Wang was wondering why she hadn't seen her husband for two days, several burly men suddenly burst in. They grabbed Wang from the bed and dragged her to the ground.

"How dare you! Who are you people, and how dare you be so disrespectful to me?"

But then the newcomer laughed at the men behind her and said, "Ha, she's really gotten into pretending to be a rich lady. Brothers, get to work."

A few minutes later, no matter how much Wang struggled, her fine clothes were stripped off. An old woman came in from outside, took a coarse cloth coat, and roughly put it on her. Then she took a piece of rag that she had found somewhere and stuffed it under her tongue, and Wang could no longer make a sound.

When she was taken to the hold of a cargo ship, she saw her second son, who was tied up just like her. His brocade clothes had been stripped off, and his mouth was gagged with cloth, so he could only make "hmm, hmm" sounds.

By this time, what didn't she understand? Her marriage was a complete scam. But it was all too late. She spent several days in a daze in the cabin. Then, her second son was taken away and never returned. A few days later, just when she thought she was going to starve to death, she was suddenly taken from the bottom of the cabin, stuffed into a small blue sedan chair, and carried away.

No one knew where she went. Suddenly, an old woman appeared in a brothel in the southern province, taking in all sorts of customers. Anyone with a little money wouldn't bother with her. But some impoverished men, even beggars on the street, were willing to spend a few coins to patronize her. Later, she went mad, babbling incoherently all day, claiming to be the mistress of a wealthy family. Her life didn't change even after her madness; the madam, even with her hands and feet bound, would still pack her up and send her to a customer's bed.

As for Wang's eldest son, when he returned home that day, he noticed something was off about his wife and sister-in-law. Upon questioning them, he learned that the dozen or so boxes of betrothal gifts, aside from a thin, attractive layer on top, were actually filled with stones. The same went for the boxes of fabric; besides a layer of silk on the outside, the inside was just tattered hemp cloth. The two wives assumed the Zhao family looked down on them and were deliberately trying to deceive them. However, Wang's eldest son, being a man, thought more deeply. He immediately slapped his thigh and said…

"Oh no, I've been scammed." Then he took some silver and went to Yunzhong County.

However, since he had been transported by the Zhao family's sedan chair both when he disembarked and returned that day, he couldn't find the Zhao family's residence on his next visit. He spent several days in the county town, searching street by street, and finally found the house where the wedding had been held.

I knocked on the door, and after a long time, an old man finally opened it.

"Who are you looking for?"

"I'm looking for the lady of this mansion. She's my mother."

"What nonsense are you spouting? Our lady is only in her early twenties. Where would she get a son as big as you? Besides, our lady has already gone out with the master and is not in the mansion." After saying that, she was about to close the door.

"Hey, old man, old man, don't close the door yet, don't close the door yet! May I ask if this is the Zhao residence, and if the master's name is Zhao Hu?"

"No, this isn't the Zhao residence, and I don't know any Zhao Hu." He then tried to close the door again.

"Sir, please don't close the gate. I just want to ask if there was a wedding in this courtyard a couple of days ago?"

"You mean that? That's the courtyard next door where they're having a wedding. They couldn't fit all the guests, so they borrowed our courtyard for two days." After saying that, she closed the door despite Wang's eldest son's desperate pleas.

Wang's eldest son went to knock on the door of the neighboring courtyard again. As expected, the person who opened the door did not recognize Zhao Hu, much less his mother, Wang.

Left with no other choice, he wandered around Yunzhong County for several more days, knocking on several doors that looked somewhat familiar, but without exception, no one recognized his mother. He dared not report her to the authorities, as his mother's actions couldn't withstand scrutiny. Finally, after spending all the money he had left except for the boat fare, he still hadn't found his mother and younger brother.

Back home, he learned from his wife that the fifty taels of silver ingots were also fake. Disheartened, he went to find Matchmaker Jia, telling her that his mother and brother had disappeared. Matchmaker Jia immediately declared that it had nothing to do with her; the marriage was Wang's own decision, the betrothal gifts and presents had been accepted, and her two sons had been present during the courtship. Then, her eyes darted around, and she added, "Perhaps they went out for a trip with Master Zhao. In short, it had nothing to do with me, Matchmaker Jia."

Not long after Wang and the second son disappeared, the second son's wife returned to her parents' home with some money from the family. Fortunately, the second son had left the money at home before his long journey. Otherwise, with only the small amount of money in her possession, she wouldn't have been well received by her brother and sister-in-law upon her return. With over forty taels of silver, she returned to her parents' home, stayed only one night, then bought a house from the village head, registered as a female household, and began living independently.

Afterwards, Wang's eldest son went to Yunzhong County several more times to search for them, but to no avail. Thus, Wang and her second son disappeared without a trace, neither alive nor dead, until the eldest son passed away at the age of eighty, never hearing any further news of his mother or brother.