Chapter 15: They Actually Wanted to Sell Yan Ziyue
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Yan Ziyue knew Zhang Juhua all too well—she was the epitome of someone who would not stir without personal gain.
Now, Zhang Juhua inviting her to help at the Yan household was hardly out of kindness; it was undoubtedly a scheme.
“My home is here. The Yan family... it’s your family, not mine. These are your own words, Zhang Juhua,” Yan Ziyue said, her voice neither too loud nor too soft—just enough for the neighbors to overhear.
Zhang Juhua was furious that Yan Ziyue refused to show her respect, yet fearful of Xiao Heshou, she dared not reveal any displeasure.
“Ziyue, you’re misunderstanding me,” she wiped her tears with her sleeve, crying pitifully as if she had been wronged. “I know you don’t like me as your stepmother...”
“Zhang Juhua, do you realize how ugly and frightening you look when you cry?” Yan Ziyue clicked her tongue disdainfully, scrutinizing her. “Look at that face, all scarred—I truly don’t understand how my father can stand to look at you.”
“Even I, a woman, find you repulsive.”
She knew Zhang Juhua was very sensitive about her appearance, always putting on whitening cream and other skincare products to maintain herself.
In her past life, Yan Ziyue envied Zhang Juhua for being able to spend lavishly on her looks.
This time around, she only felt disgust.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Juhua could no longer pretend to be pitiful and weak; she hurriedly touched her face. “My face...”
“Have you not looked in a mirror?” Yan Ziyue jabbed at her most sensitive spot. “You’re already at an age where you should protect your face carefully. If you let those scars stay, who knows if my father will still want you.”
Zhang Juhua’s heart panicked.
She had no time to scheme against Yan Ziyue and quickly ran home to check her face.
Her face could not afford to have any problems.
Yan Ziyue crossed her arms, casting a cold glance at Zhang Juhua’s retreating figure, a mocking smile curving her lips.
In her past life, Zhang Juhua had been so smug.
This life, Yan Ziyue intended for her to suffer miserably.
“Darling, let’s go back to eat,” she said, pulling Xiao Heshou back to the main room to continue their meal.
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After rushing home, Zhang Juhua held a mirror up to her face.
Having avoided the mirror until now, she suddenly realized just how hideous her face had become.
Her face was covered with scars, and the blood on her forehead made her look both ugly and terrifying.
“This is not my face!” she suddenly threw the mirror to the ground.
With a loud crash, the mirror shattered into pieces.
Yan’s father appeared, furious. “Juhua, what are you doing?”
“Isn’t it enough that so much has happened at home these past few days?”
Hearing this, Zhang Juhua quickly turned her back to him. “Child’s father, it’s Ziyue... it’s my fault. I did something wrong, and Ziyue misunderstood you.”
“I originally wanted to ask her to come back and help with the banquet, but who knew...” She covered her face and burst into tears. “I’m a bad stepmother.”
In the past, Zhang Juhua’s tears would have melted Yan’s father’s heart.
But now, with so many problems at home and his own reputation in tatters, her crying only irritated him.
“What’s there to cry about?” he barked. “Look at the daughter you raised!”
“Behind my back, she secretly married Xu Lecheng and didn’t bring back a single cent as a bride price. Now she’s causing such a disgrace.”
Just thinking of Qingqing’s actions, which had brought him so much shame, made him dislike his daughter even more.
Zhang Juhua dared not cry anymore. “Child’s father, don’t you think Ziyue has changed?”
“Before, Ziyue wouldn’t talk to us like this or do such things.”
Still with her back turned, she sighed deeply. “I suspect someone has corrupted Ziyue and is using her against us.”
Compared to that, Yan’s father loathed Yan Ziyue even more, as if she were not his own daughter. “That wicked Ziyue!”
“Back then, I should have drowned her at birth!”
Zhang Juhua’s eyes darted, full of venom. “Child’s father, Ziyue has grown up now—she should start earning money for the family.”
“I heard some families pay a lot to buy a bride.”
“They spend hundreds of yuan.”
Her words were always wrapped in concern for Yan’s father. “With that money, we could move to the city.”
“Then no one would know what happened, and we could become city dwellers.”
Yan Ziyue had caused her beloved daughter so much suffering; she wished Yan Ziyue a miserable end.
The word “city dweller” caught Yan’s father’s attention.
One of his biggest dreams in life was to become a city dweller, to enjoy all the city’s luxuries and make the villagers envy him.
“How much can we sell her for?”
Zhang Juhua was not surprised. She knew how much Yan’s father hated Yan Ziyue, which was why she dared to scheme against her after marrying into the family.
“I’m not sure exactly, but I heard at least two or three hundred yuan. If she’s good-looking, the price is even higher.”
Yan’s father’s face lit up with joy and greed. “Juhua, find someone to negotiate.”
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“Yan Ziyue is pretty and skilled both inside and outside the household; we must get as much money as possible.”
With that sum, he could move to the city and become a city dweller.
That was exactly what Zhang Juhua wanted to hear. “Child’s father, once the deal is made, how do we get Ziyue to agree?”
Yan’s father snorted heavily. “I’m her father—how dare she refuse?”
He regretted consenting to Yan Ziyue’s marriage to Xiao Heshou; he should have sold her to make a profit.
...
At the Xiao household.
In the main room.
Yan Ziyue placed her first-grade Chinese and math books on the table, smiling brightly as she waved to Xiao Heshou. “Darling, come teach me.”
Xiao Heshou poured two glasses of water, placing one in front of her before sitting beside her.
“How far have you studied?” he asked.
Yan Ziyue carefully flipped through her Chinese book. “I’ve learned the first lesson, ‘Spring,’ and the second lesson about peach blossoms, apple blossoms, and crabapple flowers.”
“The third lesson on plowing, sowing, and fertilizing, I haven’t studied yet.”
“My Chinese isn’t too difficult, but math is the main problem.”
She slowly opened her math book. “I’m fine with addition and subtraction, but multiplication...”
“I find multiplication really hard.”
Xiao Heshou was not surprised. He patiently asked, “Have you memorized the multiplication table?”
Many people get stuck at multiplication—addition and subtraction are used often in daily life, but multiplication is rarely applied.
Yan Ziyue nodded. “I’m trying to memorize it but can’t recite it all yet.”
Xiao Heshou told her to wait a moment.
He returned to his room and brought back a pencil and a math workbook.
“Let’s first do the exercises in the math book, then I’ll give you some extra problems.” He handed her the pencil. “If you don’t understand anything, just ask me.”
Yan Ziyue answered, “Okay.”
One studied diligently, the other taught patiently.
The atmosphere was warm and tender.
Yet, someone was about to shatter this peaceful moment.