Allure of a Country Maiden
Chapter 285 - 283

Chapter 285: 283

"What happened to Mrs. Shen?" asked Xiao’er, foreseeing how unbearable life would be for her uncle’s family without her family’s help against the incessant harassment and insatiable scheming from Mrs. Shen and the main and second family branches.

"Shen Yuzhu unintentionally pushed Aunt Wang’s grandson so hard he fell and hit his head on the edge of a well, knocking him unconscious. Aunt Wang demanded Master Shen pay her 1,000 taels in compensation; if not, she threatened to take the matter to court," Mrs. Liu sighed, wondering why people wouldn’t just live their lives quietly instead of stirring up trouble. Was life more interesting that way?

Upon hearing this, Xiao’er was speechless. It seemed Shen Yuzhu hadn’t learned a thing in jail and was behaving even more recklessly now.

Xiao’er absolutely didn’t believe that Shen Yuzhu’s push was accidental, but rather that she likely pushed the boy too hard and caused him serious injury.

However, for Shen Yuzhu to exert such force, Aunt Wang’s grandson must had done something significant.

Mrs. Liu’s subsequent words confirmed Xiao’er’s suspicion.

"Do you know why Shen Yuzhu pushed him?"

"No idea. Did he steal her dowry?" The one thing Shen Yuzhu valued the most was her dowry.

Ever since Shen Yuzhu’s birth, Mrs. Shen had been ceaselessly gathering a dowry for her through various ways.

"How did you know? Did you hear it?" Mrs. Liu asked Xiao’er in complete surprise.

"How could I have heard it when there’s no news broadcast? Shen Yuzhu is a lazy person; she only gets active when her dowry is involved. That’s why I made that guess." Xiao’er was speechless. She had just returned home. How could she possibly be aware of all the news?

"What on earth is a news broadcast?" asked Mrs. Liu, puzzled by yet another unfamiliar term.

"Oh, a news broadcast is...it’s the process of widely disseminating recent events," Xiao’er lied, giving a somewhat appropriate explanation to pass off the term.

"Do you remember when your grandmother...ahem...Mrs. Shen, took the pearl you gave Shen Yuzhu for her dowry and buried it by the river?" Mrs. Liu abruptly asked, bringing up an old issue that Xiao’er had almost forgotten.

"I remember. There was a lot of drama when we couldn’t find it later on! So it was Aunt Wang’s grandson who took it?" Xiao’er exclaimed, now understanding why Shen Yuzhu was so angry she’d gone to the extreme of laying hands on him.

Having been through jail once, with her reputation already damaged, Shen Yuzhu could only rely on a generous dowry to secure a good marriage and maintain her status in her husband’s family. Without a dowry, and with her bad reputation, who would dare marry her? That pearl was worth a few fertile lands. With those lands as leverage, her future husband’s family would have to treat her well, providing she was willing to marry a man she despised as a peasant in the first place.

"Exactly! Aunt Wang thought that since the old Master was in jail and Mrs. Shen couldn’t return, she decided to sell the pearl and used the money to build a big house and buy some land. Aunt Wang, being a bigmouth, spread the news about her grandson finding a pearl and getting rich all over. Your grandmother eventually found out and, enraged, she and Shen Yuzhu confronted Aunt Wang’s family, nearly causing a major incident. Aunt Wang, if anyone else had the pearl, would never tell a soul but would brag about it instead," explained Mrs. Liu.

"Ahem, ahem..." Xiao’er choked on her own spit.

"Broadcasting news everywhere, my goodness, she’s a quick learner!" Xiao’er thought back.

"How could you be so careless! Even swallowing your saliva can cause you to choke!" Mrs. Liu said, patting Xiao’er on the back.

"It’s you, your learning ability is too strong played a trick!" Said Xiao’er in her mind, after she had regained her breath.

Curious, she then asked: "So, how did it end?"

Mrs. Liu continued after seeing Xiao’er had recovered: "Aunt Wang’s grandson remained unconscious for several days after injuring his head. She claimed her grandson was worth his weight in gold and demanded 1,000 taels of silver from Mrs. Shen! If not, she would report to the authorities and demand Shen Yuzhu’s life as compensation! Hearing the threat of legal action, they quickly agreed to pay. Mrs. Shen might have a backbone at home, but she’s timid outside."

"Did they actually give her the money? Did they get it from my uncle?" So that’s why my aunt ran away from home?

Master Shen didn’t have that much money and Mrs. Shen would never use Shen Yuzhu’s dowry for compensation.

The only option left was to ask Shen Chengzu for the money. They couldn’t rely on the main or second branch families.

"Mrs. Shen wanted to get 1,000 taels of silver from your uncle, even causing a commotion in his store and disrupting his business. But your aunt had control over the finances and wouldn’t give her a single penny. She said they had only the obligation to support the elderly, not to clean up the mess of their younger sister-in-law! They would give money only if the main and second families contributed too! Otherwise, no way!"

"And then what happened?"

That might have been the reality of the situation, but Mrs. Shen and Shen Yuzhu were known to be unreasonable.

Shen Yuzhu owned land, and Mrs. Shen had given her dowry to Shen Yuzhu. Plus, for over a decade Mrs. Shen had been adding two pieces of jewelry to Shen Yuzhu’s dowry every year. All of this combined was a considerable amount. Previously, Mrs. Shen’s family would provide financial assistance to the elders every month, but none of this assistance was ever seen when trouble arrived.

"Why would the people from the main and second families agree to that! The main family directly came to the capital, seeking refuge with Shen Bao’er, and the second family returned to Mrs. Li’s parental home. Mrs. Shen caused a ruckus everytime she visited your uncle’s store, which actually had to be closed because of this. In the end, your uncle gave the old Master medicine left by you to appease him. Your aunt got furious with your uncle for doing that and left for the capital with your uncle’s sister when she found out that she was coming. Aunt Wang, who never received any money, then decided to claim the new house you built for her as compensation! But, the old Master refused, claiming he didn’t have a single tael of silver but he could heal her grandson. However, if her grandson was healed, Aunt Wang had to return the pearl, or they would meet in court and let the county magistrate decide. He said they had already been to jail once, so they wouldn’t care if they went again."

"Did Master Shen really say, ’they’ve been to jail once, so they wouldn’t care if they went again’?"

When did Master Shen start to act so reckless?

"He said that, yes. He had no other choice as he was being constantly harassed. Aunt Wang was also afraid of going to court, but she still didn’t agree to return the pearl, claiming it was being used to help her grandson recover. Mrs. Shen, backed by the old Master, didn’t accept that, of course. Finally, the village chief had to step in. The land bought from the sale of the pearl was given to Mrs. Shen and the house was given as compensation to Aunt Wang’s grandson."

"So, both families benefited in the end. They even used my precious medicine!" thought Xiao’er.

"But now, both the land and the house are gone. Wang Dafu lost them in gambling. When Mrs. Shen found out, she was extremely angry and demanded Wang Da’s wife gives back the land, but she refused. Mrs. Shen wanted to go to the gambling house to redeem the property deeds, but she didn’t dare in the end, so the matter just faded away over time."

"This truly validates the phrase, ’If it’s not my wealth, it won’t go in my pocket!’" Xiao’er commented.