Yang Xi sighed deeply; the Hu family had truly committed a terrible sin.

Miao Shi frowned, “The child would have suffered even after birth.”

The Zhao family disliked the Hu family. The Hu family’s case wasn’t closed, and their lives would be difficult after the conviction. The child would also be implicated. Zhao Shi’s actions couldn’t be considered wrong.

The next day, Yang Xi learned that Eldest Miss Zhao had gone to the county to get medicine, saying she truly didn’t want the child.

Yang Xi sighed upon hearing this. One shouldn’t advise others to be kind without experiencing their suffering. The Zhou family stopped discussing the Zhao family. When villagers asked Ye Shi and Miao Shi, neither of them uttered a word about Eldest Miss Zhao. This was the upbringing of the Zhou and Zhong families.

The Zhou family’s silence was appreciated by the Zhao family. The Zhao children at the school, having experienced this, had become calmer, and some of their petty thoughts had disappeared.

Old Man Zhao paid the price for his choice, but unfortunately, the Zhou family still wouldn’t be close to the Zhao family.

The villagers of Shanghe Village frequently went to the county to inquire about news. The Hu family was the busiest, as they were involved with pirates, and no one was willing to help them.

The Zhao family’s divorce proceedings began, and in the following days, members of the Hu family also filed for divorce intermittently.

After much waiting, the Huang family’s case was finally decided. The evidence against the Huang family for raising pirates was irrefutable, and they had also caused deaths through lending money at interest rates—enough to confiscate several houses. Of the more than 800 pirates, over 300 died during General Bai’s encirclement, leaving more than 500. General Bai took them all away, and no one knew what happened to them.

The Huang family’s case was reported to the prefectural city. Gu Zhifu didn’t come personally but sent men to investigate. The evidence was conclusive, and Gu Zhifu agreed to confiscate the property. Gu Zhifu’s men wanted to take the confiscated money back to the prefectural city, but Captain Tian objected, as it was Captain Tian who led the siege of the Huang family.

Zhong Jin looked caught in a dilemma, like a coward who couldn’t afford to offend anyone.

In the end, it was unclear how Gu Zhifu and General Bai negotiated, but they agreed to split the confiscated money in half, and even the Huang family’s house was sold.

As for the Hu family, the Huang family wanted to make them scapegoats. Faced with a life-or-death situation, the Hu family also wanted to live and cooperated fully with the investigation. With the pirates’ confessions and the fact that the pirates hadn’t succeeded in their robbery and the Hu family wasn’t the main culprit, they were sentenced to ten years of forced labor.

Ten years of uninterrupted forced labor was practically a death sentence; very few could survive ten years and return. Given the four men’s advanced age, their chances of returning were even slimmer.

With the Huang family in ruins, everyone turned against them, and all their hidden misdeeds were exposed. Even the village where the Hu family women lived could no longer hide them.

The Hu family not only had to face the imprisonment of their clansmen but also the gossip and judgment of the surrounding villages.

When Yang Xi learned the news, the Hu family women who had just been sent away were being returned to the village. Only one girl returned alive; the others had all hanged themselves.

Wu Fangqing sighed, “Xianshang, the girl who came back was the one who cried so bitterly.”

Wu Qianyi said, “When she was brought back, she was covered in whip marks. The bailiffs said it was because she didn’t want to be beaten. When they arrived at the manor, this girl was locked in the woodshed. The Hu family girls all hanged themselves, but she was the only one they missed. She had a high fever and clung tightly to the bailiffs, trying to stay alive.”

Yang Xi said, “The Hu family’s sins.”

She was furious at the Hu family but even more helpless about the Hu family girls’ lack of willpower. She had specifically mentioned the Hu family girls to Brother Zhong, trying her best to protect them, but they had been brainwashed. When something happened, all they could think about was not bringing shame to the family. They were ready to die without a second thought, devoid of any desire to live!

Yang Xi asked, “What’s the name of this Hu family girl who came back?”

Wu Qianyi knew that the village had been talking about the Hu family lately. “Hu Jiao.”

Wu Fangqing admired Hu Jiao quite a bit; she was the first girl to dare to rebel. “Liu Lizheng was instructed by the yamen runners not to allow the Hu family to punish Hu Jiao according to clan rules.”

As a result, on the third day after Hu Jiao returned to the village, she fled to Lizheng’s house in a sorry state, saying that the Hu family wanted to starve her to death.

The Hu family wanted to take her back, but Hu Jiao refused.

There were many onlookers at the time. The people were ignorant, and even though the yamen runners said Hu Jiao was a good girl, not many people believed them. Some villagers sympathized with Hu Jiao, while others agreed with the Hu family, saying that Hu Jiao should commit suicide for the sake of her sisters.

In the end, Hu Jiao stayed at the Lizheng’s house. Hu Jiao was determined and said she would report it to the authorities. The Hu family was now most afraid of the yamen runners, so they had no choice but to let Hu Jiao stay.

Yang Xi had a good impression of the girl who dared to rebel. Ye Shi and Miao Shi even went to Lizheng’s house themselves, bringing the young girl some nourishing brown sugar and other things.

When Ye returned, she secretly told Yang Xi, “Foot binding is truly a sin. Your aunt and I saw Hu Jiao’s feet, and her toes were all broken.”

Yang Xi asked with concern, “How is Hu Jiao?”

Ye Shi smiled more. “The little girl is quite strong, and she’s also very clever. When Zhong Jin closed the case, the little girl was injured and was considered a victim. Zhong Yi gave the little girl ten taels of silver, which she had been keeping hidden. She asked Lizheng to find her a doctor because she wanted to have her feet unbound.”

Yang Xi felt pain just hearing about it. Unbound feet meant breaking dead toes one by one, and there was no guarantee they would heal. “What does Mother think?”

Her mother-in-law wouldn’t talk about these things without a reason.

Madam Ye felt sorry for the young girl and was moved by her unwavering belief in her fate. “I… I want to help her. She doesn’t have enough money to treat her foot.”

Yang Xi smiled. “Mother, do whatever you want. My husband and I will support you.”

Madam Ye smiled. “I know what I’m doing and won’t cause you any trouble.”

Yang Xi said, “Mother, even if you hadn’t said anything, I wanted to go see Hu Jiao.”

Madam Ye smiled. “You’re both so busy. It breaks my heart to see you like this. Your aunt and I will go. If we intervene, the Hu family won’t dare to cause trouble.”

Yang Xi said, “We’re not tired.”

Madam Ye didn’t believe her daughter-in-law’s words. “There are few teachers at the school. You’re doing the work of several people. How can you not be tired? You’ve been busy setting exam questions lately, plus taking care of Zilu. You’ve lost weight.”

Yang Xi’s eyes lit up. “I’ve really lost weight?”

Madam Ye said helplessly, “Is losing weight a good thing?”

Yang Xi said, “I’ll only be happy when I’m back to how I was before I was pregnant.”

Madam Ye disagreed. “It’s better to be a little plumper.”

Her daughter-in-law, who had gone south, had become terribly thin, and her heart ached for her. She had raised her like a daughter and hoped that her daughter-in-law would be healthy for the rest of her life.

Yang Xi said, “Mother, I’ll bring you some silver later.”

Madam Ye shook her head. “I have quite a bit of silver. Xi Xuan secretly gave me a five-tael gold ingot, telling me not to be stingy with it and not to tell you.”

Yang Xi truly didn’t know what Third Yang had done, her eyes softening. “He’s so thoughtful.”

Madam Ye smiled. “That child has a kind heart.”

She wouldn’t have given her such a small gift if she didn’t truly consider her an elder.

There are no secrets in the village. Even though Madam Ye and Madam Miao didn’t publicize their help in finding a doctor, the news still spread.

Hu Jiao’s unbinding of her feet had the biggest impact on the families with bound feet in Shanghe Village. Kind-hearted women all went to visit Hu Jiao. Hu Jiao hated foot binding. She told everyone she met that bound feet were looked down upon, that only wealthy families in the county wouldn’t marry women with bound feet, and that women with bound feet represented prostitutes, etc.

Hu Jiao knew that some wealthy families had concubines with bound feet, but she deliberately didn’t say anything.

For a time, the families with bound feet in Shanghe Village all stayed indoors, and occasionally, the sounds of weeping could be heard from these families.

The Hu family’s reputation was further tarnished because of Hu Jiao. While time might fade the memory of the Hu family’s sordid deeds after Hu Jiao’s death, her life was like a mirror, revealing the true nature of the family; they could never recover.

One day, two carriages arrived outside the school. Mo Lu, the gatekeeper, saw them and hurried forward to inquire. Four people alighted from the carriages; two were elderly and arrogantly held their chins up. “We’ve come from Quanzhou.”

(End of Chapter)

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