Zhu Family.
Old Man Zhu escorted his nearly forty-year-old obese daughter home under immense pressure, without once giving her a friendly face.
In his eyes.
A woman who has been divorced by her husband might as well not live; she should just die.
Lady Zhu suffered a heavy blow and initially was also seeking death as a way out.
Being mocked and cursed several times by Old Man Zhu, she indeed sought death.
However, at the most critical moment, Old Man Zhu saved her.
Old Man Zhu thought about how he had only one daughter, her mother had died early, and he himself was at such an old age.
After all, she was his flesh and blood; if she really died, everything would be over.
So, in the end, he spared her life and stopped scolding her.
Lady Zhu was utterly devastated.
"You were so eager for me to die, why did you save me then?"
"You might as well let me die, I could join my mother, and we could rely on each other in the afterlife; wouldn’t that suit your wish?"
Old Man Zhu’s beard quivered with anger.
"Fine, fine, fine!"
"Since you won’t take the good offer, then I won’t care about you anymore!"
"From now on, whether you live or die has nothing to do with me!"
With that, he flung his sleeve and stormed out of the room.
Lady Zhu watched her father’s tottering, unsteady figure, and overwhelming regret flooded her heart.
Does she really want to die? No, she didn’t; she had three daughters who had yet to marry.
Does she have anywhere else to go? No, the Tang Family had already divorced her, and given how the master fawned over the Prefectural Governor, he would definitely not allow her to return.
So...no matter how cruel reality was, it was true; she had no choice but to face it.
Thus...
Lady Zhu, after much consideration, chased after him.
"Father! Your daughter knows she’s wrong!"
...
Old Scholar Zhu did not make things difficult for her.
He even let her stay in the best blue-brick room in the house.
Of course, it wasn’t for free; he also found her a job, having her responsible for washing clothes, making beds, and doing miscellaneous chores for the children in the private school.
Originally, there were enough hands, but Old Scholar Zhu specially dismissed a cleaning woman to make room for her.
"Look here!"
Old Scholar Zhu pointed to the back yard of the private school where there were several big tubs of children’s clothes, as a matter of course.
"I don’t keep idle people here; if you want to eat, you have to work!"
"From now on, all these chores are yours!"
"Work well; if the clothes aren’t clean, no food for you!"
Lady Zhu was very disappointed and angry, standing up abruptly.
"Father! Are you using me as a laborer? How could I do these tasks?"
Old Scholar Zhu raised an eyebrow.
"What? What’s wrong with these tasks? Others can do them, but you can’t? Who do you think you are? A wealthy young lady? Or a rich lady?"
Lady Zhu was speechless for a moment but was still trembling with anger.
"I’ve never done such work at home, and even less at the Tang Family; I don’t know how!"
"Father! Can’t you assign me something a bit easier?"
Old Scholar Zhu glanced at her.
"Something easier? Sure!"
"Just go back to being a rich lady; that’s easy, right? Go on then!"
"Look at all that fat; for you, aside from being a rich lady, there’s really nothing easier!"
Implying what else could she do besides eating and drinking?
Lady Zhu was trembling with rage, her face pale.
"Father! You!"
"What?"
"I don’t keep idle people here; if you can’t stand it, you’re welcome to find someone else!" Old Scholar Zhu continued sarcastically.
Seeing him repeatedly suggesting she leave and mocking her at every turn, Lady Zhu was infuriated and indeed threw what she had in her hands to the ground and stormed out.
Old Man Zhu was also too angry to chase after her and even spat vehemently towards the door.
"Ha! Who do you think you are? Still a wealthy young lady, expecting me to support you!"
"I didn’t kick you out and still gave you food; that’s already good enough, yet you’re still picky!"
"Go ahead, starve to death; you should’ve been strangled in the first place!"
He muttered curses as he headed towards the front yard with a ruler in hand.
There were his students, his bread and butter.
In life, you can’t stay idle; idleness leads to ruin.
...
Lady Zhu fled from the Zhu Family all the way, avoiding familiar faces and sneaking to the Tang Family.
Daring not to take the front entrance, she wound her way to the back door.
From her bosom, she took out the last remaining ounce of silver and handed it to a servant boy about to go out.
"I want to meet one of the Sisters by the young lady, please make an exception!"
The servant boy weighed the silver several times in his hand, soon showing a mocking expression.