The cousin's family is extremely wealthy; she deserves to be a concubine.

antecedent

Lantern Festival night, Xishan, Hua family's main house, old house.

"Oh, my dear Rong-jie."

"Tell me about you, you've been taking ten taels of silver worth of medicine a day, without missing a single dose even on New Year's Day, yet you still look like a half-dead ghost?"

"The county magistrate's mansion is coming to carry someone away tomorrow, and you're going to get on the bridal sedan chair looking like this?"

"Pah! I find it unlucky to even look at."

The speaker was the second wife of the Hua family, a plump woman.

On the tray she was holding was a light, transparent, water-red gauze dress.

The woman called Rong-jie, dragging her ailing body against the headboard, suppressed the metallic taste of blood in her throat, her pretty face deathly pale, and asked:

"Is my aunt trying to force me to die?"

Madam Hua's thick, bright red lips emitted bursts of mocking laughter through the gold-embroidered handkerchief she held aloft.

"Now that your parents are dead, you have no brothers to support your family."

"If you really want to die, I suggest you just do it."

"If you ask me, if you had set off earlier, you and your daughter might have been able to keep each other company on the road to the underworld."

After saying that, she chuckled again, "Don't worry, Rong-jie, when you die, I'll give you a grand funeral."

"At that time, our second branch can take over your first branch's property sooner. Otherwise, all the men in the clan, young and old, will want to jump out and get a share of the pie."

At that moment, the second master of the Hua family also entered the room, his chubby face revealing a sinister look. "Why are you arguing with her so much?"

"If they don't obey, tell the old woman to hold them down, force-feed them sleeping pills, tie them up tightly with a rope, and when the bridal sedan chair arrives tomorrow, just stuff them in."

Hua Sirong could no longer hold back and spat out a mouthful of blood.

This is her wonderful second uncle!

Madam Hua was so frightened that she jumped up, pointed at the dying Hua Sirong by the bedside, and stammered:

"She, she, she, is she going to die?"

Master Hua said impatiently, "If you're going to die, you'd better die in the county magistrate's bed."

“What value is there in dying in our house! Tell the kitchen not to skimp on the medicine he needs; one last bowl won't make a difference.”

"It would be truly unlucky to die in the bridal sedan chair."

When Hua Sirong was being forced to take medicine, her rescuers arrived late.

The head of the Hua family pulled out a big stick from somewhere and started whipping the Second Master Hua with it.

"Your elder brother's body is barely cold, and you've already started bullying his orphans?"

"Coveting his family fortune?"

"Are you even human?!"

Caught off guard, Master Hua was struck twice by the stick.

With a 'woof,' it hid behind Madam Hua, saying, 'The family business was left by my own father. Now that the eldest branch has no male heir, it is only right and proper for the second branch to take over.'

"As for Rong'er, she can get married while she's still in mourning, which will be just in time for her to bloom. Besides, she'll be a concubine in an official's household. As her uncle, I've done more than enough!"

The Hua family patriarch's hand, holding the stick, trembled with anger. "If you want to take a share of your elder brother's property, the clan won't be able to handle it."

“Ke Rong’s marriage should wait until she has completed her three-year mourning period. You should prepare a dowry and send her off properly. This is what an uncle should do.”

Madam Hua the Second objected, "Three years from now, Rong'er will be an old maid, where will she find a good family to marry into?"

"It would be better to go directly to the county magistrate's house as a concubine, so that our Hua family in Xishan can establish a relationship with the newly arrived county magistrate."

"Will we, the second wife's family, be the only ones to benefit in the end?"

The Hua family patriarch's eyes flickered, but he spoke fairly, "I think you want to sell your daughter for personal gain and save on a dowry."

"Second Brother Hua, aren't you afraid that your eldest brother will die with his eyes wide open and turn into a vengeful ghost in the middle of the night to settle scores with you?"

Master Hua the Second was a reckless brat since he was a child. "Pah! When he was alive, I was afraid of him."

"Now that he's dead, his bones are feeding the wolves in the mountains, why would I be afraid of him!"

Seeing his stubbornness, the Hua family patriarch deliberately feigned weakness, saying, "Then we should wait until Nie Rong's health has improved before discussing this further!"

The second wife of the Hua family was of one mind. She sneered, "Don't use the excuse of doing what's best for Rong'er. Let alone the second brother, who in this clan isn't eyeing the family property left by my eldest brother?"

"Tell me, clan leader, are you willing to just look and not take anything?"

"However, I'm making this clear today: as long as our second branch of the family isn't completely wiped out, if the clan really wants to adopt a child to continue my brother-in-law's family line, they can only choose from among my children."

"As for the family property left by my elder brother-in-law, we, the second branch of the family, should not let the clan go hungry. Rest assured, my husband and I will never be stingy with what is due to the clan."

"However, as uncles and aunts, it's not our place in the clan to interfere in our niece's marriage."

The clan chief and the others who had come with him looked at each other, and in a few glances, they began to back down and decided to wait and see.

Hua Sirong leaned against the old servant, Wang Mama, the hopeful light in her eyes gradually fading away.

Seeing that the two sides were about to reach an agreement, her will to survive became even stronger.

She coughed twice, forcing herself to stand up straight, and said, "My father passed away suddenly, leaving behind the family business, which is difficult for me, a woman, to manage."

These past few days, I've troubled the elders of the clan to take care of things for me. I will certainly not refuse to pay my uncles and brothers the due fees they owe me.

After saying that, he gestured for Wang Mama to go to the bottom of the jewelry box, took out two contracts, and personally handed them to the clan chief.

Then, she looked at her uncle and aunt who used to fawn over her, and said, "My father is gone. You are my closest elders and you want to officiate my wedding. As your juniors, I dare not object."

“But my mother comes from the Shen family in the capital, and I heard that my eldest uncle has been promoted in recent years. My aunt even married into the Marquis of Muqing’s mansion and is the mistress of the mansion.”

“When I came of age, my father told me that my mother and my aunt had always had a good relationship when they were young. The two sisters once joked that if they had children in the future, they would become in-laws.”

Ignoring everyone's surprise and doubt, Hua Sirong continued, "As far as I know, the current heir of the Muqing Marquis's mansion is my aunt's son."

Master Hua suddenly jumped out from behind Madam Hua, "You're lying! Your father was even thinking of finding you a husband."

"You're saying all this just because you don't want to marry into the county magistrate's household."

Hua Sirong gave a bitter smile of utter helplessness, "My father dotes on me and feels that the gap between the two families is too great. If I try to climb up the social ladder, the best I can do is become a concubine for my cousin, the young master."

“But my father couldn’t bear to do that. He thought I was his only daughter, so he decided to find a husband for me. When my aunt and uncle found out, they couldn’t say anything about breaking the contract.”

Madam Hua the Second spoke again, "Since your father broke the agreement first, this marriage is naturally invalid. You still have to obediently get into the magistrate's sedan chair tomorrow!"

Hua Sirong patted her chest and breathed a sigh of relief. "My second aunt is right. But my father died suddenly before the New Year, and I knew that the path of finding a son-in-law was not feasible."

"So, I asked the merchant to go to the Marquis of Xin's residence to ask my aunt if what she said to my mother back then still counted!"

"I imagine my aunt, the Lady of the Marquis, has already seen my handwritten letter."

Master Hua's plan backfired, and he looked at Hua Sirong with such hatred that he wanted to devour her.

Madam Hua, however, disagreed, saying, "So what? A distant source of water can't quench an immediate thirst."

"By the time the Lady of the Marquis sends someone, you'll already be in the Magistrate's backyard. I refuse to believe that the Lady of the Marquis, a woman of such high standing, would stand up for a concubine who has lost her chastity."

Hua Sirong clenched her fist, her sharp nails digging into her flesh, but she felt no pain. "I don't know if my aunt will stand up for me."

"But you are nothing but small merchants, yet you dare to snatch someone from the Marquis's mansion. You must have a death wish. And that newly appointed county magistrate, I wonder if he has the guts to snatch a woman from the young master?"

The people do not fight with the officials!

This temporarily intimidated the people present.

Having just received favors from Hua Sirong, the head of the Hua family wanted to curry favor with the Marquis's family in the capital, so he was happy to play the good guy again.

"If what Rong-jie said is true, news will surely come from the capital. We can just wait a few more days."

"Rong-jie, you should stay in the house and take good care of yourself during this time."

"As for you two, you are not allowed to set foot in this house for the time being. If you disobey my advice and dare to cause trouble, I will remove your entire second branch from the family genealogy!"

After issuing a stern warning, the clan chief left with his men, leaving the two members of the second branch of the Hua family with nowhere to vent their anger.

Master Hua, not wanting to be expelled from the clan, stormed off in a huff, still needing to find a way to appease the county magistrate.

Madam Hua spat at Hua Sirong in anger, "Pah, you little bastard, let's see if you can marry into a high-ranking family and become a concubine!"

Thinking of the two contracts held in the clan chief's hand, his heart ached terribly.

Ever since the news of her brother-in-law's death arrived, the second branch of the family has considered everything belonging to the first branch as their own...

Once the threats inside the house were gone, Hua Sirong's stubbornness completely dissipated.

She collapsed into Wang's mother's arms, but she dared not let herself faint.

She gestured for Granny Wang to come closer, "Granny, I'm afraid we can't trust the maids in this courtyard. Go find Manager Ning... We need to go to the capital to seek refuge with relatives..."

Chunyan? Okay, that girl's a big, silly girl, we owe her a lot for what happened today. Let's take her with us... let's the three of us sneak away..."