Chapter 59

  "Let them wait outside." Jin Fenghua suddenly stood up in the inner room, and Xianyi quickly went to serve him. She kept her head down, not daring to look at Jin Fenghua's face, for fear of recalling the incident of secretly looking at the small painting just now.

  Both of them handled it properly, if not for Xiānyī's persistence, I'm afraid Jīnfēng Huá would have had to prepare a late breakfast before slowly going to see the old lady. Xiānyī wasn't thinking about the whole family, but rather that everyone was already inside, and if they were really given a harsh warning, it would be easy to leave a bad impression. Even though the old lady was no longer Jīnfēng Huá's grandmother, she was still her elder. After repeated persuasion, Jīnfēng Huá finally led Xiānyī to the front hall, but before leaving, he didn't forget to have someone bring some snacks, and the two of them ate a little something first.

  Because they were once a family, everyone didn't have any reservations, the old lady brought the big madam and the second young master to sit in the hall together. Xianyi was after all a former slave of the Jin family, so she took the initiative to go forward and pay her respects. Looking at the old lady's face, it was pale and old, with almost all white hair. The big madam sat below her, with very few golden decorations on her head, which was even more shabby compared to what she used to have, and not even comparable to what Xianyi was wearing now. Finally, looking at the second young master, he was still okay, but because of his older brother's death and the deprivation of his official position, the former proud and arrogant young man had become introverted and silent.

  "Give greetings to Old Lady Jin." Jin Fenghua's words were laced with no small amount of mockery.

  The old lady's eyes widened instantly, and her nostrils trembled as she said, "You unfilial son!"

  Jin Fenghua calmly cupped his hands and said, "I dare not accept such praise. I have recently lost both parents and my grandfather passed away early, but just a short while ago, I paid respects to my grandfather, so I don't know where this accusation of unfilial behavior from the old lady of the Jin family came from."

  Xian Yi's mouth twitched and she took a step back.

  As expected, the old lady immediately blew up and scolded Jin Fenghua, pointing at his nose: "You actually dare to say that, your father is still alive, you actually cursed him, you rotten heart, it would have been better if you had died back then."

  "If it's about who my biological father is, then please leave. My household registration has been filed at the prefecture, and it's clear who my grandparents and parents are. If you have any doubts, Madam Jin can go check."

  "Oh, heavens! In this day and age, a grandson is driving his grandmother out of her own home!" Old Lady Jin sat back, slapped her thigh and bellowed, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes gathering into a small pouch.

  The madam quickly pulled up the old lady from the ground and said to Jin Fenghua with a pained expression: "Mother knows you're wronged, but you also have to consider our family's situation. Moreover, your father loves you dearly and knows you're material for studying, but he's afraid you'll end up like your second brother and be disqualified by the government, so he endured the pain of giving you away to someone else. You can't be ungrateful!"

  Xian Yi was shocked to discover that this person had no shame, truly having no bottom line. It was clear that the old master had sold Jin Fenghua away for the sake of his family's lives, but in the mouth of the old madam, it seemed that Jin Fenghua was still the one who benefited.

  "Speak up, what do you want?" Jin Fenghua didn't even glance at the madam, but instead looked towards the second young master. The second young master hung his head low, his fists clenched and placed on his knees, even his ears were red, it was unclear if he was embarrassed or not.

  "You took our Jin family's money to buy houses and goods, since you're no longer a child of the Jin family, return all these things!" The old lady's eyes lit up, she quickly got up from the ground and shouted at Jin Fenghua, where was the dignity of the old lady of the Jin family in Beijing? It was as if she had returned to her original form, becoming that loud and boisterous country woman again.

  Although the madam felt embarrassed, she really couldn't stand this impoverished life anymore. Perhaps for others, being a landlord was already considered wealthy and noble, but she was a legitimate daughter from the Chen family, who had grown up in luxury and elegance, playing with girls from aristocratic families in Beijing. Even yawning seemed refined and beautiful. But now, in Linqing, this rural town, their ancestral home was dilapidated, they didn't have money to repair it, nor did they have money to buy furniture or fine things, not even a decent piece of clothing. Her current outfit was still cobbled together from scraps. Standing in front of that dead servant girl Xianyi, she wished she could find a crack in the ground to hide in.

  Furthermore, the men in the household are old and have suffered losses in their official careers, which is also related to her natal family. They are not pleased with her, and if it weren't for the sake of their second son, they would have likely divorced her and remarried already, as he has done before. As for the other women in the household, except for Madame Liu and Madame Zhou who left with their children, that vile woman Madame Cao actually ran away with valuables on the day of the house search. Now it's heard that she was introduced by her brother and married a steward of the imperial princess as his wife, and has become a high-ranking lady. Seeing her haughty appearance, the mistress would have liked to tear her apart. The younger men in the household are depressed every day because their official careers were abolished, and they don't even want to do business anymore. They're not even interested in looking at the few acres of land they own, which makes the mistress so anxious that she has mouth ulcers. If the fourth son grows up and inherits the family's property, then she and her daughter will have to beg for food in the future. Now she guards against Madame Zhou like a thief.

  "Fenghua, you're going to climb high branches, but don't forget about us, your flesh and blood relatives."

  The old lady and the others had been thinking of this idea, they actually thought that Jin Fenghua would empty his family's assets to support them. Not only did they live in a mansion now, but also Jin Fenghua's property was not spared either.

  Jin Fenghua ignored Old Lady Jin and Madame Jin, staring at Second Young Master Jin Muxun: "You think so too?"

  Jin Muxun could no longer bear it, stood up and walked out, as if he was about to be burned. The madam saw the situation, hastily shouted a few times, but couldn't stop Jin Muxun's quick footsteps.

  "Don't think that just because our family's Second Brother has returned, you can all get away without giving us money!" The old lady shouted loudly as she sat on the ground, her head of white hair disheveled and scattered everywhere, looking like a madwoman.

  Jinfeng Hua still didn't respond, instead turning her head to ask Xianyi: "Do you like this house?"

  Xian Yi nodded subconsciously and said: "I like it."

  "Look at the chess! Tomorrow, I'll transfer this house to Madame's name, and it will be her dowry from now on." Jin Fenghua said, pulling Xian Yi's hand and walking out. Now that people have seen each other, they can also consider the last bit of emotional debt repaid. Originally, he thought that Old Lady had been good to him in his past life, and this life, after his mother passed away, she had indirectly helped him, so he wanted to give her some personal pension, but he didn't expect people's hearts to be insatiable, like a snake swallowing an elephant, and now it was all over.

  "Halt! Don't let her go!" The old lady suddenly became anxious, took a few steps forward and shouted: "Xian Yi is my Chen family's slave girl, once she was given to Xian Yi, she belongs to me!"

  The old lady's eyes rolled over and she nodded immediately, saying: "That's right! Otherwise, she would be a runaway slave! Her sales contract is in our hands!"

  Xian Yi was really anxious about the IQ of the madam this time. Since she could marry Jin Fenghua, exchange their marriage certificates and register their household, it means she had already been a commoner for a long time. At this point, talking about being a slave or a sales contract is also subject to recognition by the government.

  The lady couldn't care less about these things, she only remembered that Chen's family was her own flesh and blood, and Xian Yi was just a slave girl. Although their family had fallen and the slaves were sold off, the deed of sale was still in her hands. If she didn't acknowledge it, she would report Xian Yi, and by then, it would be best to tell Xian Yi's fate after being sold. Would Jin Fenghua still want her? In the lady's heart, Xian Yi had already betrayed the Chen family because of Chen's affair, and on top of that, Xian Yi and her mother didn't want Xian Yi to become a concubine for the eldest daughter. How could this grudge be easily resolved? Moreover, she, as the mistress, had fallen from grace: not only were her parents dead, but also her siblings, even her younger uncle and her own son were dragged away and beheaded. Why should she serve that stinky little girl who had turned against her? Now, she was about to become the legitimate daughter-in-law of the wealthy Jin family. How hateful! It's really hard to swallow!

  "You want to sue, go ahead and sue." Jinfenghua knew that the master and servant were in the same boat, and whatever Xianyi said was not right. So he took over and said: "However, I'm telling you, if the matter of selling one's body is fabricated, then you are innocent, but I have a reputation to uphold. If we can't settle this out of court, I'll sue you for slander. Who knows, you might even get a beating, don't say I didn't warn you."

  The madam was stunned, looking at Jin Fenghua in disbelief, but seeing Jin Fenghua's determined face, her heart suddenly became flustered. Thinking about Jin Fenghua's relationship with the Hengcheng Jin family, even if Xianyi was a slave before, waiting for the Chen family to fall, it's possible that this sale contract would be invalid. This...this time she wants to go again, isn't it just asking for a beating?

  "I don't care, you're my grandson, you have to show filial piety to me!" After going through such a long period of fear and anxiety, as well as the pain of losing her grandson, and then returning to her hometown, looking at the poor old house and the gloating aunt, the old lady's spirit was not quite normal. She wanted wealth and luxury, she wanted to suppress her aunt, she wanted the dead old man under the ground to take a look, only her son was the most promising one, even if he couldn't be an official, he had to become a rich man.

  "Send it out." Jinfenghua didn't say anything else and left the hall with his immortal clothes.

  Xian Yi didn't turn back, but she could hear the old lady and Madame's angry scolding voices. Perhaps after a while, they would never be seen again. Thinking of this, Xian Yi suddenly wanted to write a letter to her mother, telling her all about Madame's actions, otherwise she was afraid that her mother would sympathize with Madame and get entangled with her again.

  Then, Xian Yi paused for a moment and smiled helplessly: "The great madam is no longer a madam."

  "It's just Chen Shi after all." Jin Fenghua grasped the hem of Xian Yi's robe and said, "No one will ever be able to force you into being someone's concubine again."

  Xian Yi smiled lightly and nodded, the worry that had been hidden in her heart all along finally dissipated. But what awaited them was yet another world altogether.