Free Web NovelChapter 126: Chapter 126
Chapter 126
“Not everyone has freedom from the start like you, Young Miss.” These words echoed in Huan’er’s ears, leaving her unsure of what to say. The little girl seemed to understand, but at the same time, she seemed didn’t.
Yueqian gently stroked Huan’er’s hair. Seeing the situation, she felt the need to teach her a lesson.
“It is true that selling oneself into servitude means one couldn’t avoid facing difficulties. However, sometimes living with people who hate you can be even harder.” Her tone was calm. This made the girl following her freeze.
But remembering how the other had understood her message through embroidery, it made sense. Her mistress was so intelligent; how could she not know what her evil aunt thought about her?
Speaking of her embroidery, originally, that wicked woman had pressured her to embroider for a competition. Maybe because she knew that her mother possessed this skill, she assumed that the girl should have learned it too.
And it was true. Her mother had taught her about embroidery extensively. Both she and her mother loved embroidery, spending joyful hours on it. Before, her skills had even progressed to the point of being marketable, though not as valuable as her mother’s work. Still, her pieces were far superior to others.
It could be called a talent.
But after her mother passed away, that woman took her in only to exploit her, never allowing her to rest and do what she loved. The idea of that woman letting her bring out a needle to do embroidery for fun was impossible. Even getting a single bowl of rice a day was considered great generous.
Living without a family and being bullied daily made Qu Yi want to die a thousand times. However, she didn’t want to waste her mother’s last words, which seemed to anticipate what would happen. She had to keep living. As long as she could live happily, that was enough.
Thus, Qu Yi could not afford to die. However, living didn’t bring her any happiness either. One day, she overheard that a neighbor had sold their daughter to make ends meet. Selling oneself was a risk, and Qu Yi wasn’t brave enough for that.
Until one day, the drunken husband of that wicked woman came home. No one knew how could that man harbor ill intentions towards the frail girl like herself. She almost faced a living hell. Fortunately, the wicked woman returned just in time, but Qu Yi was heavily beaten that day. The woman thought she was the one seduced her husband.
Did the woman think she wanted to seduce that repulsive husband? How utterly disgusting!
That incident made Qu Yi think every day about selling herself. But to whom? There were many people in the town, and caravans with important people passed by often. Recently, many nobles had also come through. So, Qu Yi devised a plan.
She couldn’t just run off and sell herself. Her aunt would never let her go easily. Besides..., if she ended up with a bad master, Qu Yi wouldn’t be willing to go.
The little girl was wiser than most. She used her embroidery to subtly communicate with those who saw it, hoping that someone of matching fate would see it and take her as a servant, as she intended to convey.
With this method, Qu Yi believed she would at least find a clever master. She believed that living with a smart person would lead to a better future.
The whole idea of the cranes was just a ruse. How could both cranes be female? And what about the chains around them? People might see it as a lotus design, but if you looked closely, what kind of lotus wrap around like a vine? Could they really bind the cranes’ feet? And... why would cranes be in the middle of a lotus pond?
Everything was contradictory, infused with the spirit of someone sorrowful and another fiercely resilient. This way, one could see that she was being bullied and did this to break free. freeweɓnøvel.com
At first, Yueqian tried to understand. When she heard the middle-aged woman say she was the one who did the embroidery, Yueqian realized that if the woman wasn’t telling the truth, then it meant she herself had a problem. So, she followed her until she saw the girl’s abused body.
Usually, her kindness wasn’t meant for fellow humans. In truth, she didn’t even want to help Qu Yi, except that the other party would be highly beneficial in the future.
According to the original storyline, Liu Sun, who had to travel through this place, also encountered this embroidered crane pattern. However, at that time, she was in a deeply sorrowful state and didn’t have the heart to appreciate its beauty or seek answers to the anomaly. Until one day, a few years later, it turned out that she had to present a gift to a concubine who had just gained her reputation because the emperor favored her so much.
Of course, that concubine was the younger sister of the Wang from another kingdom, who was scheduled to arrive around this time. She had a deep love for embroidery. In the capital at that time, everyone sought out embroidered gifts or even reserved embroiderers exclusively to ensure they wouldn’t take other work. This was a competition where everyone strived to please.
At that time, Liu Sun had become the secondary wife of a Young General. As his beloved, she wanted to help him fully. She remembered the embroidery that had once caught her eye. When she thought about the pattern, she understood it for the first time and sent someone to bring Qu Yi to the capital, buying her outright for the steep price of 10 gold taels.
By then, Qu Yi’s relatives knew the girl was a treasure. Firstly, her embroidered items sold for several brass coins. Later, they forced her to embroider day and night to sell the items, eventually earning several silver taels from the girl’s hard work over a few years.
Thus, when Liu Sun sent people to negotiate, they didn’t agree to sell her for silver taels according to her offer. Keeping her, they were sure to eventually gather gold taels. This led to prolonged negotiations. In the end, Qu Yi’s aunt wasn’t foolish; she knew Liu Sun genuinely wanted the girl, so she raised the price to 10 gold taels.
Liu Sun was willing to pay, and the outcome of using Qu Yi’s work was invaluable. Not only did it please the concubine, but in terms of wealth, Qu Yi truly became a goldmine for Liu Sun.
How could the daughter of a secondary wife have her own business from her original home? This was, in fact, Liu Sun’s business after receiving a reward from the concubine. Even though the concubine had given it to Qu Yi, Qu Yi’s mistress was Liu Sun, so the money went to Liu Sun.
The heroine of the story did not plan to keep Qu Yi by her side. She assigned her to manage the shop that was established with this money. Eventually, this shop became very famous. Liu Sun’s embroidery skills were good. It was excellent, so much so that even when the concubine was overthrown by another woman, Liu Sun’s shop continued to earn substantial profits, and they only increased.
Not to mention the 10 gold taels spent, which yielded enormous profits. Spending 20 silver taels was a small matter compared to Qu Yi’s capabilities.
Initially, Yueqian didn’t intend to draw Liu Sun’s surrounding aura into her service, fearing it might cause future trouble for herself. But now, she had abandoned those fears because, even if she did nothing, others would still want to cause her trouble eventually.
Since the Young General did not follow his role, Yueqian decided not to keep staying hidden either. Since she would be moving to the Bai Kingdom as the wife of the mayor, even though he would start as a mayor of the small city, her husband had promised to strive to become a significant figure in the kingdom.
Therefore, as his wife, she should support him with her abilities and strengths.
She wasn’t overly concerned about money, but how could she let a money-making asset slip through her fingers? The more money she could accumulate, the better. She already earned a lot of money, so what could be the problem if she earned more?
“Hate?” Huan’er listened to her sister-in-law’s words and frowned deeply.
It was clear how much the middle-aged woman cared for Qu Yi, so who could hate her?
“Huan’er, you need to observe more carefully, for example, people’s words, because sometimes they can’t be trusted. Starting with the woman’s words, she claimed to have taken good care of her niece. But why is she so fat while her niece is so thin? Moreover, Qu Yi’s clothes are mended many times, and it even seemed like she had to manage them herself.”
"Look at the marks on her face again. Do you see the bruises? Look at how Qu Yi’s hands are. Even your big brother, who has to farm and garden, doesn’t have hands that are cracked and marked like this. These certainly aren’t the marks of hard work but from being smacked on the hands."
Yueqian pointed out various spots on the girl’s body. There was no need for a thorough examination; the marks were clearly visible if one didn’t just take a glance.
"S... Smacked on the hands?" Huan’er exclaimed. She and her older siblings didn’t come from a household that was kind toward them, and they had been chased and smacked before. But did it called a smack when you smacked someone until their hands were cracked like this? Calling it a beating was an understatement.
"This doesn’t even include other injuries we haven’t seen yet. Now does Huan’er understand why someone would consider selling themselves?"
“.........” The two children fell silent upon hearing this question.
Although the Mu family had been harsh to them, it wasn’t severe enough to drive them to become someone else’s slave in order to escape. Perhaps the Mu family’s cruelty wasn’t as extreme as what Qu Yi had experienced, right?
"Qu Yi..." Huan’er looked at the girl with pity, feeling an urge to hug and comfort her, but Qu Yi stepped back.
"Don’t worry about Qu Yi. Focus on your own duties. Study hard, gain knowledge, and don’t let others deceive you," Yueqian stopped Huan’er upon seeing her demeanor.
Qu Yi had decided to sell herself as a slave. She didn’t want anyone to pity her. Just like her embroidered cloth, it didn’t contain any plea for mercy. Combined with Qu Yi’s straightforward nature in the novel, once she said she would sell herself to the person, she did just that. Whoever could rescue her from the hell would be her master. However, Qu Yi wouldn’t act like a beggar or fawn over her master. She would simply do what she did best to prove her worth and repay the person.
"As for Qu Yi, although your embroidery is passable, it’s not yet acceptable. Use your time with me to improve your skills. Prepare all your tools yourself. Here’s your money, and... strive to become proficient as quickly as possible. In a few months, we’ll need someone to generate significant income," Yueqian stated her purpose directly.
Additionally, she easily handed over 5 silver taels to Qu Yi. Qu Yi, who had long been devoid of any tender feelings, now could only look up at her mistress, Yueqian, once more. She memorized her mistress’s indifferent face. This mistress allowed Qu Yi to do what she and her mother loved, without forbidding or even ordering her to do anything else.
Not only did she rescue her from that vile woman, but she also restored her life. Therefore, Qu Yi vowed to remain loyal to her mistress forever. The mistress’s goal for Qu Yi to earn a lot of money was engraved deeply in her heart!
“Yes, Mistress, I will do my best.” Qu Yi didn’t refuse the money, taking it from Yueqian’s hand and gripping it so tightly that her hand turned red. Then, she immediately ran out, her destination naturally being the shop for equipment and fabric for practice.
