Su Tang nodded and indicated the basket she was carrying, “We just picked some fresh fruits and wanted to bring them to Xiaocao to have a taste. Is she at home?”
“En, she’s at home. Hurry and come inside.” Madam Yang looked at these two bright little girls who had come to find her daughter, and her eyes couldn’t help but redden. Her daughter also used to be bright and beautiful like these two.
Su Tang could tell at a glance that Madam Yang was sad about and sighed in her heart, then entered the house. When she entered the door, she immediately saw a very thin figure, and Su Tang was shocked. In her memories, Zhou Xiaocao was a lively and beautiful little girl, but what had happened to her in only half a year? How could she suddenly become like a lifeless pile of skin and bones?
Zhou Xiaocao heard Su Tang and Su Nuan come inside and tried to squeeze out a little smile, “It’s you two.”
Su Nuan’s eyes reddened, “Sister Xiaocao, how did you become like this?”
Zhou Xiaocao’s state was really distressing to see, and Su Nuan directly began to cry. Su Tang, on the other hand, was calmer. She had already heard Madam Qin say that Zhou Xiaocao wasn’t in a good state, so she had been somewhat prepared for this. However, she really hadn’t expected it to be this bad.
She couldn’t help but furrow her brows. She had once saved Zhou Xiaocao’s life, but now the girl was like this.
Su Tang sat down next to Zhou Xiaocao. Because she was so thin, it was obvious she was malnourished, and her responses were a little slow. But when Su Tang suddenly sat down next to her, a bit of curiosity still shone in her muddy eyes.
“Where did that excitable and lively Zhou Xiaocao from before go? Just because of a scum man ruining your reputation outside, you want to die? Did you ever think about how hard it was for your parents to raise you up to this point? Have you thought of how much of their food and drink you’ve eaten? Don’t you even want to repay them?”
Su Tang continued bluntly, “If you immediately want to die just because of a few rumors, I’m afraid that it won’t be long before the grass on your grave is three feet high. Say, if you had the kind of bad reputation that I have, would you directly crumble to dust?”
If someone else said these words, they probably wouldn’t sound too persuasive, but coming from Su Tang it was different. After all, the news of her “adverse fate” had spread not only throughout Sujia Village, but also to many nearby villages.
As soon as this matter had spread out, Su Yongqiang and the other elders were all pretty much aware that Su Tang would not be able to marry in this life. After all, a person with an ‘adverse fate’ like Su Tang was said to be a death omen for all of her immediate relatives. The only possible way for her to marry would be if she could find a live-in son-in-law to marry into her household, but even live-in son-in-laws wanted to live too so it would probably be impossible to find one.
Maybe the only possible way would be to find a male slave and buy him to be her partner. And it was the same for Su Nuo. By default, everyone assumed that the only way for him would be to earn money and buy a wife. Fortunately, it was much easier to buy a wife than to buy a husband, so no one was too worried.
After all, even if Su Tang couldn’t get married that wouldn’t mean the end of Su Laochuan’s household. Su Nuo could easily take a few wives and have them give birth to babies.
All that was to say, pretty much all the villagers tacitly agreed that Su Tang would probably not get married in the future. Thus, when she talked about her ‘bad reputation’ her words were much more convincing compared to anyone else.
Zhou Xiaocao couldn’t help but look at Su Tang. This girl, who used to always be bullied and scolded at home before, was now dressed in neat clothes made with fine fabrics. She already completely looked like a young miss from a wealthy family.
Su Tang began to speak rapidly, “Those two just want you to die so that you won’t have any chance to pester their precious baby son.”
“But are you reconciled to that? If they want you to die, will you really die for them? If they want to hurt you, will you extend your face for them to slap?”
“If you are not reconciled, then eat well, sleep well, and don’t let your parents worry.”
“If you find it difficult to live here, then when you recover a bit, you can go to my Dessert Cafe in town and find me.”
“If you want to make those people who despised you and humiliated your parents regret, or even humiliate them yourself, it’s not impossible. Buck up and come find me, and I will give you that chance.”
Su Tang looked straight into Zhou Xiaocao’s eyes as she spoke. They were both women living in this ancient era, so Su Tang couldn’t just watch on while Zhou Xiaocao ruined herself like this. After all, this matter was obviously not her fault. So why should she have to pay the price? The person who did wrong should be the one to pay the price, right?
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