Miss and farmhand

She couldn't imagine that she was also a tool used by Huang Xingyu to take revenge on Shen Yurui.

She always thought Huang Xingyu loved her; he was so good to her, even belittling Shen Yurui for her sake. Shen Yurui and Luo Shutao both came from families with many sisters, and they both knew that "good" wasn't necessarily true "good"; the best "good" was the kind that involved comparison and favoritism.

However, Huang Xingyu revoked this favor and privilege far too quickly.

Compared to Zhu Xiaoxu's departure, Huang Xingyu's departure was a more devastating blow to her. Because if even a man who was willing to give you status and power would abandon you and ruthlessly take back everything he gave you, then what can you trust?

By this point, Luo Shutao no longer felt any shame in her defeat when facing Shen Yurui. She couldn't understand why Shen Yurui, whom she had expected to retaliate severely, had instead locked her in the house, preventing her from seeing anyone, while still providing her with food and drink as usual, and even allowing the servants no restrictions on their conversations with her. Some of her former servants had relatives who had been recommended for positions and left, while the rest remained in the Huang family, reassigned to new jobs, and continued their lives as before. Shen Yurui didn't want her to die, but simply wanted her to live. She didn't seem to find pleasure in tormenting her; people didn't seem to be that twisted. Torturing someone was exhausting, so she simply acted as if Shen Yurui didn't exist, and other problems in life continued to arise.

Luo Shutao was initially angry and lamented about this punishment that restricted her personal freedom, feeling sorry that this was how she was destined to live her whole life, locked up in a dark and secluded small house in the back courtyard.

However, the moment Huang Yuguang opened the door and said he was going to take her away, she realized that she didn't want to leave.

First and foremost, she didn't trust Huang Yuguang. If she ever trusted any man again, she'd be a hopeless fool. But a deeper reason was that Luo Shutao realized she was terrified; she was too afraid to go out. She had suffered too many blows and disappointments; she no longer trusted any seemingly reliable guarantees, and she didn't dare take a single step outside.

Who can guarantee that she will be better off than she is now, regardless of whether she leaves with Huang Yuguang or not? She herself cannot.

I've heard that women who go out to work are all of poor character. If they're not working as maids in their own homes, or being sold to a good family like the maids or nannies in their own homes, or running a husband-and-wife business, the conditions are so bad that they can't survive. Everywhere there are men like Zhao Dong who are thinking of taking advantage of the situation.

If you don't work, all you can do is get married. After that, you can only rely on your fate. Most people have bad fates, and they just have to endure it for the rest of their lives.

Luo Shutao is now married. She can't say whether her life is good or bad, and she can't even say that she has been abused by the Huang family. She just doesn't want to be locked up, but even if she isn't locked up, she has no way out.

Looking back now, only the path that Shen Yurui had chosen for her remained: to become a nun and go to a nunnery. It seemed to be the only relatively clean way out.

Once she understood this, she couldn't even bring herself to hate Shen Yurui anymore.

She no longer felt hatred; she felt like an empty shell, as if everything was meaningless and meaningless. She didn't want to do anything anymore, didn't want to struggle, and just wanted to stay put.

At this point, she tricked Huang Yuguang into making a scene and insisting on taking her away.

She wasn't stupid. None of the three men she had been with were good people, and she could see clearly what Huang Yuguang was up to about her.

But she had learned her lesson and would never again feel secretly pleased or happy because of a man's favor. She no longer had any thoughts of romance or physical intimacy; she was only wary and worried about getting into trouble.

She took the initiative to ask her servants to find Shen Yurui and kowtow to her.

"Please, Madam, have mercy. I was blind before, not understanding that you are an experienced woman who only cares about me and would never want to harm a young girl like me. I was arrogant and ignorant of etiquette, judging others by my own petty standards. Please forgive me, Madam. I know I am an eyesore to you, and I don't want to cause you any more trouble at home. Please find a nunnery to send me away. I will transcribe scriptures and chant Buddhist prayers for you, to express my gratitude for your kindness in saving me."

Shen Yurui sneered in surprise, "Did the sun rise in the west? We offered to send you away first, but you refused no matter what, and now you're begging to go? What trick are you up to this time?"

Shen Yurui didn't trust her either. In her eyes, Luo Shutao was just a good-for-nothing girl with high aspirations, but she was incredibly resilient. Even she herself, at her age, had encountered so many things and couldn't pull herself together. She was capable, coming up with one trick after another.

They never really acted like sisters. They were cousins, but the age difference was too great, and they were too distant relatives. They were more like aunt and niece than sisters. Luo Shutao was about the same age as Huang Chu. Later, she married Huang Xingyu, and the two of them were indeed sisters. But they were always bickering and fighting, which led to this situation. Shen Yurui looked down on her for being a little demon, and she looked down on Shen Yurui for being old-fashioned. They still acted like elders and juniors.

Even now, kneeling before Shen Yurui, she still sees her as an elder. Only elders and parents would ask her to take care of someone.

Luo Shutao had no way out; she could no longer stay in the Huang family and had to leave, so she told them everything.

Shen Yurui herself had also given up on Huang Xingyu. Luo Shutao spoke in one breath, and she actually felt a lot of resonance. Huang Xingyu was someone she could never rely on, and even his concubine saw through him.

Finally, she nodded and contacted the nunnery again, sending the girl there. Shen Yurui even asked the two maids who had served her before if they wanted to come with her and continue to take care of her. Luo Shutao refused. The maids had finally found a place to work; if they followed her, they would be adrift and helpless. Why would she cause them such trouble?

Two days after she left, Huang Yuguang also came looking for her. Naturally, they couldn't let him in. He lingered at the door for two days before leaving, and everyone thought he had given up.

However, boys Huang Yuguang's age can sometimes be frighteningly stubborn. He figured Luo Shutao's refusal to go with him, and the fact that they couldn't stay at his house, must be because they didn't have money. He himself wasn't well-off either. Shen Yurui was a strict housekeeper, and although she wasn't harsh on her son, compared to the other students at the academy, he simply couldn't afford much.

Without money to rely on, you're just a child. No woman would want to depend on a child.

Then, as if a pillow had come to his door when he was sleepy, he overheard the nuns talking about speculating on silver at the entrance of the nunnery.

Throughout history, nunneries and temples were exempt from land taxes and could even extract money from their worshippers, thus naturally becoming a form of landlord. The nunnery Luo Shutao visited was no exception; the nun was practically a small-time landlord, well-off and, having no family or descendants, increasingly superstitious about money, almost as superstitious as she was about Buddha and Bodhisattvas. The more silver, the better; upon hearing of a business that made money from money, she clasped her hands together and exclaimed, "This money is cleanly earned!"

Huang Yuguang then had his own ideas.