Miss and farmhand

Huang Xingtong seemed to sense her dissatisfaction, so he put his hands behind his back and paced back and forth a couple of times before explaining to her, "Think about it, if you were the county magistrate, what would you do in this situation? It's a matter of private affairs within a respectable family's household. Although Rongniang has been harmed, her life is not truly in danger—"

Huang Chu stared in disbelief. Huang Xingtong waved his hand, "Don't look at me like that. This isn't what I wanted. I mean, what would a magistrate like him, a smooth-talking type, do? You've seen how he treated Master Zhao. Do you think he would stand up for Rongniang? He'd just smooth things over! Our family has had too many problems lately. Even just to save face, he wouldn't force the case to be handled."

Huang Chu raised her voice, "Are we just going to let it go like this! Rongniang almost died!"

She abruptly turned her head, looking at the man who had been playing dead and remaining a background figure throughout the father-daughter argument: "If you find Rongniang's face, tell Father!"

The man glanced back and forth between the father and daughter, finally sighed weakly, and complied with Huang Chu's wishes. He bowed his head to Huang Xingtong and said, "Just put the second daughter in the haystack by the stove, upside down. Even an adult standing by the stove would feel dizzy. In this weather, which is damp, it's really heartless."

Huang Xingtong's face crumpled as he listened. He was truly heartbroken for his daughter and couldn't bear to think about the scene, let alone imagine that if they hadn't discovered her in time, Rongniang would have been lying headfirst in the haystack, like an animal...

How cruel must the person who did this be to harbor such malice towards a little girl?

Huang Xingtong tensed his jaw and closed his eyes to catch his breath.

"...I led some people to speak with my elder brother. We cannot overstep our bounds; only he can manage his own household affairs."

He looked at Huang Chu and said, "Don't worry, Rongniang is the victim, and my elder brother watched her grow up. He won't leave her without an explanation."

Huang Chu was speechless.

She actually understood Huang Xingtong's reasoning. Even if someone was the victim, if they didn't report it to the authorities, no one could interfere with how others handled their household affairs. Even brothers couldn't do that, especially since they had separated their households and were now essentially another family. If they brought people to Huang Xingyu's door to investigate and interrogate her, it would mean they didn't respect Huang Xingyu and lacked manners. Unless they never saw each other again, they wouldn't go to such extremes.

Huang Xingtong's considerations are reasonable.

But Huang Chu was still not satisfied.

She didn't believe Huang Xingyu would handle the matter in a way that would satisfy her family.

She had a feeling that Huang Xingyu would at most find the old woman based on the wet nurse's words, then punish her, either send her to the countryside or sell her, and then have Shen Yurui come over to apologize on behalf of the servants and bring some things to appease her, and that would be the end of it, without making a fuss.

In fact, it would have the same result as if this matter had been reported to the authorities. The county magistrate would have tried to smooth things over, and wouldn't Huang Xingyu have done the same?

People like Huang Xingtong are a minority, willing to personally intervene in such matters. A man's attitude towards his own household is like a county magistrate's attitude towards his own territory. Even if he cannot manage himself well, he must not cause trouble for them, much less demand that they "uphold justice." That would be insubordination. When did it become a woman's place to make demands?

Huang Chu looked at the wet nurse who was lying on the ground, not daring to move or cry, and then looked at the other two men in the room.

She suddenly felt a sense of powerlessness—men are completely unreliable.

At least in this matter, a wet nurse who can talk and cry and knows the tricks of the trade is more useful.

Before Huang Xingtong could notice her disappointment, the man sensed it first, his eyelids twitching slightly—what does this have to do with me? Didn't I say everything you told me to?

Huang Chu didn't look at him, and made up her mind: "Then Father should also know that even if this matter is handed over to Uncle, there's not much he can do. At most, he can find out who it is, deduct money, make them kneel in the ancestral hall, and confine them to their homes. What else can he do? In the end, no one can go through the suffering that Rongniang went through again. We're the ones who suffered this loss."

That's the truth. Huang Xingtong knows that.

He hesitated, then said, "They'll always remember how they mistreated Rongniang..."

Huang Chu sneered, "If they had the intention, they wouldn't have done such a thing."

Huang Xingtong could no longer continue.

Huang Chu said, "I know it's impossible to get anywhere over there, but we can't just let it go like this. It's not that easy to just have them go through the motions!"

"What's your plan?"

Huang Chu said, "I promised Father I wouldn't interfere or cause trouble. Give me the wet nurse. We're going to meet her tomorrow anyway, so I'll talk to them."

Huang Xingtong asked in surprise, "What idea do you have now?"

Perhaps because Huang Chu's suggestions had been mostly correct in the past, he had gained her trust. In addition, he trusted his daughter's abilities and did not think that Huang Chu was the kind of person who was naive and would leave everything to others. Huang Xingtong secretly breathed a sigh of relief when Huang Chu said this.

Huang Chu and his wet nurse took their leave.

Huang Xingtong stood in the study for a while, reflecting on the events of the past few days. Those around him knew he spoiled his daughter without restraint, sometimes even feeling it was a bit ostentatious, but he didn't regret it. That was his own way of life, and he was pleased that his daughter resembled him. What surprised him most was that, besides her temperament, his daughter had also begun to act with a certain air of competence, not just a reckless shell—that only brought danger. Huang Chu could now handle things around her quite well. If a situation arose, she could make decisions, withstand pressure, and not run away—this already made her stronger than most men.

Huang Xingtong, as a father, was naturally proud. But he also knew that Huang Chu's talent would not be recognized by others.

Huang Chu is seventeen this year, and there are almost no unmarried women her age in the county. People can't see her good qualities; they only use this one thing to ridicule her, making her increasingly vulnerable.

When it comes to marriage, Huang Xingtong's arrogance extended to his daughter. He didn't think any of the eligible men he considered were worthy of Huang Chu.

He wasn't unaware of the ins and outs of marriage; he was absolutely unwilling for Huang Chu to marry into a family he looked down upon.

This presents a dilemma: to marry is to settle; not to marry is to be slandered.

Huang Xingtong was lost in thought for a moment.

He only snapped out of his daze when he heard a cough behind him.

"Sir, if there's nothing else, I'll take my leave now..."

"Alright, go and rest. You've had a really tough day," Huang Xingtong sighed. "If it weren't for you, I don't know what terrible things might have happened. Don't worry, I, Huang Zhirong, will never forget this kindness... I will do my best to repay you properly another day when you've had a good rest."

The two men looked at each other for a moment, a tacit understanding, a consensus, silently flowing between them.

The man said nothing, bowed, and left.

the next day.

The rain hadn't stopped, it had just lessened considerably, a fine, persistent drizzle, more like early spring rain than summer rain.

Of course, when marrying a concubine, there is no requirement for relatives to come and pay their respects. However, it seemed that Master Huang was determined to humiliate Shen Yurui. He did everything as if he were marrying a wife, using the excuse that since they were all cousins ​​and so close, there was no reason to refuse and that they should come and pay their respects.

However, due to the major incident yesterday, neither Huang Song nor Shen Xuying could come; only Huang Chu came alone.

The mistress was alone, followed by two maids and Han Mama. Han Mama was followed by her wet nurse. After a night, she looked like a jujube that had dried out and shriveled overnight, and she was almost invisible hiding behind Han Mama.

Unless it's someone you've already met, someone who makes you feel guilty at first glance.

Huang Chu observed that Huang Xingyu and Shen Yurui in the hall did not react much. Luo Shutao saw her smiling. Behind her was an old woman with a grasshopper-like face. She seemed unaware that her face was big. Her narrow eyes opened into a deep groove, and her eyeballs looked like they were about to crawl out of them. She flew behind Huang Chu and then lowered her head in time. She put on a big show all by herself.

Huang Chu felt reassured.