Chapter 2

Chapter 2 Liu Siyue returned from outside with the baby in her arms. The child had fallen asleep peacefully against her chest. As soon as she stepped through the Lu Household’s gate, she saw everyone from the Lu Family standing in the courtyard. Not knowing what had happened, she forced a smile and asked, “Mother, Husband, what’s going on?” Liu Pozi said, “Madam Liu, I’m going to make this clear today. You know perfectly well why you were able to come to our Lu Family in the first place. We spent six taels of silver to buy you. Although we didn’t sign a deed of sale at the time, there were witnesses present. You should still remember that. “With six taels of silver, what kind of wife couldn’t our Zhou’er have married? Zhou’er is a scholar and needs a respectable wife. Considering that you took care of Zhou’er for all these years, and that our family raised you to adulthood, you haven’t lost out. “From beginning to end, Zhou’er has treated you as a servant of the household. He never regarded you as a proper wife. “He has no feelings for you. Marrying you and consummating the marriage were things he was forced to do. He originally planned to send you away three months after the consummation, but who would have thought Zhou’er would be so capable and get you pregnant after just one time? “Now that you’ve given birth, the Lu Family is giving you a divorce letter. Go back to your Birth Family. Take the child with you as well. We won’t ask for the six taels of silver we spent buying you; consider it compensation for the two of you. “Your Birth Family only raised you until you were eight, yet they were able to get six taels of silver for you. Now that you’re going back at the perfect age to marry, you may even find a good match. There’s no need for you to waste any more time here. “Our Lu Family has already done everything we could.” After hearing Liu Pozi’s words, Liu Siyue felt as though she had been struck by lightning. She stared blankly at her husband, Lu Yunzhou. “Husband, you don’t want me and our child anymore?” “Madam Liu, Mother has made it very clear. Our family bought you back because we had no choice. I married you and consummated the marriage because I had no choice. I have no feelings for you. I’ve always treated you as a servant. The child was an accident, and I don’t want her. Take her with you.” Liu Siyue felt as if the sky had collapsed. Her husband didn’t want her or their child anymore. What was she supposed to do? Tears streamed uncontrollably down her face. She had always known that Lu Yunzhou didn’t like her, but she had been bought to serve as his child bride. She had always regarded Lu Yunzhou as her future Husband. Yet now he was saying that he didn’t want her anymore. She sobbed helplessly. Lu Yunzhou walked up to Liu Siyue and placed the divorce letter in her arms. “You can stay here tonight. Take the child and leave tomorrow.” Liu Siyue immediately grabbed his sleeve and knelt down with the baby in her arms, weeping bitterly. “Husband, please, don’t drive me away. My daughter and I will never hinder your future. “I know you don’t like me. I swear I’ll never interfere with you taking concubines. Take as many as you want. I can even give up my position as your principal wife. I only ask that you give me and the child somewhere to live. If we leave this place, how will we survive? “Husband, please take pity on the child. She is your own flesh and blood, after all, and she’s still so young. She needs her father.” Lu Yunzhou said harshly, “Madam Liu, don’t you understand what I’m saying? Then I’ll say it again. You’ve been divorced. Letting you stay in this house for one night is already the limit of my patience. For the child’s sake, I’ll have Mother give you one tael of silver so that the two of you won’t starve to death.” With a forceful jerk, Lu Yunzhou flung the mother and daughter to the ground. Without looking back, he walked away. A moment later, the study door slammed shut with a bang. “Lu Yunzhou, how can you be so heartless? What have I done wrong? Why are you divorcing me? What gives you the right? “Ever since I came to your Lu Family, I’ve taken care of you in every way. I’ve done all the work around the house and in the fields. When have I ever shirked anything? Why are you treating me like this?” Liu Siyue’s shrill cries drew quite a few villagers, who gathered outside the Lu Household’s gate to watch the spectacle. Liu Pozi ordered her eldest son to close the gate. “Madam Liu, let’s not make this uglier than it needs to be. The fact that our family hasn’t sold you off is already an act of mercy. If you keep making a scene, don’t blame me for being ruthless and selling you to a broker, then giving your daughter away. “Look at the state your daughter is in. If she were separated from you, who knows whether she could even survive? You’d better think carefully. “Even if you won’t think of yourself, you should think of your child. She came from your own body. Go back to your room for now. I’ll have your Elder Sister-in-law take the silver over to you. “Our Lu Family is kindhearted. If this had happened to an ordinary family, they would have taken you away to exchange you for money the moment they decided they didn’t want you anymore. You should be satisfied!” The people of the Lu Family each returned to their rooms, leaving Liu Siyue alone on the ground. What was she supposed to do? If she left the Lu Family, would her Birth Family accept her and her daughter? Tears flowed like beads from a broken string, and she struggled weakly. Looking at the divorce letter in her hand, Liu Siyue walked step by step toward her room on her heavy legs. She placed the child on the bed, then collapsed onto it and began to sob. Her tears soaked a large patch of the bedding. Her eyes were empty and lifeless, her whole body as rigid as a wooden carving or clay statue. She didn’t even hear the child begin to cry. She remembered the events of the past, each scene appearing with painful clarity. When she was eight, she had been sold to the Lu Family. She remembered the day she left home as clearly as if it had happened yesterday. Her Father and Mother’s words still echoed in her ears: “Once you walk out of the Liu Family’s gate today, you will no longer be a member of the Liu Family.” From that moment on, she knew that place was no longer her home. She remembered how, when she was little in the Liu Family, the three sisters, along with the daughters of Second Uncle’s and Third Uncle’s families, had all been despised by their grandparents. They had been cursed as money-losing burdens who did nothing but waste the family’s grain. “The grain they eat would be better used to feed a few chickens. Once the chickens lay eggs, they can be sold for money. Raising two pigs until they’re fat could earn two taels of silver.” The girls had endless work to do at home and suffered endless abuse. If anything displeased the family, they simply wouldn’t give the girls food. Going hungry was an everyday occurrence. It would have been bad enough if only their grandparents had despised them, but even their own Father and Mother looked down on the sisters. Second Aunt and Third Aunt loved their own daughters, so their lives were far better than those of the three sisters. When the Lu Family came to the Liu Family to buy a child, her parents had agreed the moment they heard the amount of silver offered. They hadn’t even needed to think about it. After she arrived at the Lu Family, she never returned to the Liu Family. Her family never came to see her, either. Only her Elder Sister and Second Uncle’s two daughters had secretly visited her, and they never came again afterward. Perhaps their family had discovered what they’d done and punished them, leaving them too afraid to return. The village where the Lu Family lived was called Baini Bay. It wasn’t very far from Liu Family Village—only about half an hour by foot. People often traveled between the two villages and exchanged all sorts of village gossip. That was how Liu Siyue learned that her Elder Sister had married into the mountains. At the time, she had not yet come of age, and Liu Siyue had been very worried about her. Second Uncle’s family continued having daughters one after another. Their grandparents said that the family couldn’t carry on the Liu Family line, so they separated Second Uncle’s household from the rest and made them live on their own. Because Second Uncle was the only male descendant in the family, their grandparents allotted them only one mu of dry farmland. Afraid that the family would return to sponge off them, they even drew up a severance-of-kinship document with Second Uncle’s family. After that, Liu Siyue never paid attention to anything concerning the Liu Family again. For the sake of having enough to eat, and to win Lu Yunzhou’s favor, she worked hard to do everything well. Liu Siyue remembered that when she had first arrived at the Lu Household, Liu Pozi had given her a thorough scolding that left her trembling all over. Seeing her reaction, Liu Pozi had been very pleased. Then she pointed at the boy lying on the bed and said to her, “Siyue, our Lu Family bought you to be a child bride. This is your Husband, Lu Yunzhou. His health isn’t good, so you must take good care of him.” Seeing the boy coughing without end on the bed, Liu Siyue quickly poured him a cup of water and fed it to him a little at a time. Only then did Liu Pozi turn to Lu Yunzhou with satisfaction and say, “Zhou’er, Siyue will be the one attending to you from now on.”