Allure of a Country Maiden
Chapter 300 - 298

Chapter 300: Chapter 298

Shen Nirui was living like a maid in Ming Mansion — no, a life worse than that of a maid. Normally, new brides are only required to serve dishes at the dining table.

But not so with Mrs. Ming. As long as the Magistrate Ming was not around, nobody stood in her way and she could torment Shen Nirui to her heart’s content, treating her like a lowly maid.

Nirui was required to fetch water for Mrs. Ming’s morning ablutions. This would not be so hard had the latter not been so particular. One moment she would complain the water was too hot and accuse Nirui of trying to scald her; the next moment, she would fuss that the water was too cold, as though Nirui wanted her to catch a cold! Nirui was sent back and forth three or four times before she was finally allowed to stop.

If Magistrate Ming was not home for a meal, Nirui had to prepare the dishes herself. No one was allowed to help her and if the food did not suit Mrs. Ming’s taste, Nirui would have to start over. Any leftovers were to be finished by Nirui, with wastage strictly prohibited! Nirui would often finish her meals feeling so full it was physically hurting, a sensation more unbearable than hunger! She started sneaking out to make herself vomit, just to get a little relief.

That’s not all. Every day, Nirui had to wash the clothes Mrs. Ming had worn, and even her menstrual pads, a task so revolting it made Nirui want to throw up.

At night, Nirui also had to wash Mrs. Ming’s feet. Nine out of ten times, Mrs. Ming would purposely fuss about the water temperature, making her change it over and over. On occasion, Mrs. Ming, in a fit of rage, would even kick the basin of water over, drenching Nirui from head to toe with the dirty water. Only after Nirui had mopped up all the water could she return to her own room.

To rest.

"Had I not visited her after noticing she hadn’t returned home for a very long time, I would have been completely ignorant of her situation! She’s lost so much weight, she hardly looks human anymore! It breaks my heart just looking at her!"

"I saw her hands full of blisters from oil and fire. When I asked how it happened, she could barely speak! There are other maids and servants in the house, why does she, a mistress, need to do chores like cooking and washing clothes?! Even in summer, her little hands were severely chapped! I had to pay five taels of silver to a servant woman to find out about all this! Even when I asked Nirui, that silly girl wouldn’t tell me! Only when she realized I knew a little did she tell me everything." The village chief’s wife couldn’t help but tear up and feel enraged while disclosing all this. She didn’t even care that Xiao’er, a young lass was sitting right there and was on the verge of tears herself.

"Did Sister Nirui come to the Imperial Capital with you this time?" Xiao’er, reminded of how Shen Nirui and Liu Jingshu were married on the same day, was shocked to witness the stark difference in their lives.

It truly goes to show how important the nature of family members is to the fortune and misfortune of a woman’s marriage.

"No." The main purpose of her trip to the Imperial Capital was to seek out Ming Zhijie, explain the situation, and persuade him to take Shen Nirui back with him.

"Why didn’t you bring Sister Nirui with you? She needs to get out of that suffocating Ming Mansion immediately or she won’t survive!"

The maids there live with more dignity than her!

"Don’t speak so carelessly about things you don’t understand! Nirui is now the daughter-in-law of another family! And without Ming Zhijie around, we can’t exactly just take her away!"

"She may be someone else’s daughter-in-law, but she’s still your own daughter! Why can’t you just take her away! Mrs. Ming did not give birth to her, she did not raise her and she’s not Nirui’s biological mother-in-law. Why does she have the right to torment her like this! Why is Nirui obligated to look after her! There are certainly more deserving people for Nirui to care for, it’s not up to her to be at Mrs. Ming’s beck and call! Where’s Mrs. Ming’s biological children or daughter-in-law! Nirui is not even in the list to serve her!"

Mrs. Liu and the village chief’s wife were dumbfounded by Xiao’er’s words. Everything she was saying seemed to make sense. How did they overlook the obvious?

Upon hearing the village chief’s wife’s words, Xiao’er’s emotions were triggered. She chugged down some tea and blurted out, "And let’s not forget how hard our brother-in-law works for the Imperial Court and its people! Wouldn’t his work benefit from having a wife by his side, taking care of him and his home? That way, he can exert his efforts more efficiently!"

Mrs. Liu and the village chief’s wife stood in silent, "But once a girl is married, she is like spilt water, not to be retrieved..."

"Just because she’s married, she is no longer your daughter! It’s all just a matter of a piece of paper. Is a piece of paper really more reliable than blood ties?"

"Of course she will always be our daughter! I also tried talking to Mrs. County Magistrate about having Nirui go to the Imperial Capital to look after Zhijie. However, Mrs. Ming insisted that she had already arranged for someone. I had no say in the matter, it wasn’t my home after all." The village chief’s wife felt helpless at the time.

"No matter who else she had chosen, how could anyone be more devoted than his own wife? Just take Sister Nirui away anyway. Regardless of what reason is given, Mrs. Ming’s own children and daughter-in-law are at the county. There’s nothing that Nirui could be blamed for, it won’t affect Ming!"

"You’re absolutely right, I thought too much and was overly cautious. I failed to realize that simply taking Nirui away was enough!" The village chief’s wife finally understood after hearing Xiao’er’s words.

Your own children are your treasure, and your own daughter is always your own. Why should I worry about keeping appearances for others, fearing my actions might shame the County Lieutenant or my son-in-law? Why should I be worried that if I kicked up a fuss, it could disgrace the Ming family, making my daughter’s life harder?

My daughter is already living a miserable life! Could it get any worse than this?! She hasn’t done anything wrong! If a scandal arises, let it! If anyone should be ashamed, it should be Mrs. Ming! Why should I care about the reputation of a woman hurting my daughter?!

"I must have been a fool! Always worrying about irrelevant matters!" The village chief’s wife gave her head a slap.

"Sister-in-law, why are you hitting yourself?" Mrs. Liu quickly moved to stop her from hurting herself more.

"Nursing the sick is not the same as tormenting them, especially when the county lieutenant is still in office! I should have put aside my pride and caused some commotion. I could have grabbed Mrs. Ming and dragged her to the main street, asking everyone there how many daughter-in-laws are expected to take care of the elders like this. I refuse to believe she can shamelessly stand this! And I refuse to believe this is how filial piety is done! Who among them doesn’t have old people or daughter-in-laws? If everyone looks after the elderly in this way, who would dare to marry or become a daughter-in-law?!"

"Absolutely! The weak fear the strong, the strong fear the reckless, the reckless fear those who have nothing to fear!" Xiao’er nodded in agreement.

There are a lot of simple and honest people in rural areas, but there are also many unreasonable, unruly women. If the village chief’s wife were willing to forget about her pride and stir up a scene as those women do, Mrs. Ming would probably have to pack up Shen Nirui’s possessions and banish her out of Ming Mansion on the spot!

But many are just not able to swallow their pride.

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