bookcurios Chapter 186: The Businesswoman Who Was Exploited All Her Life
Chapter 186: The Businesswoman Who Was Exploited All Her Life
Zhuang Xinyan is the daughter of a merchant. She inherited the Zhuang family's genes and has a talent for business.
At this time, Lin Sicai, the son of the Lin family, had just passed the imperial examination and was assigned to the county government as a county lieutenant, who was responsible for the public security of the county.
Lin Sicai wanted to climb the career ladder, but he had no money to pave the way. He had already married Xie Wanqing, whose family had fallen on hard times and offered no help to his career.
So he wanted to take another concubine, and thus set his sights on Zhuang Xinyan. Using his position as a county lieutenant, he planned a heroic rescue.
As expected, Zhuang Xinyan burst into tears of gratitude and secretly fell in love with him. However, because she knew he was married and did not want to be his concubine, she hesitated to agree.
In this way, the two of them were entangled for three years. Suddenly, Zhuang Xinyan turned 18. According to the laws of the dynasty, women who did not marry before the age of 20 would be punished.
Zhuang Xinyan then decided to ask her family to introduce her to a partner so that she could at least become his wife.
Lin Sicai and Xie Wanqing were shocked. For the past few years, the Lin family had lived comfortably thanks to Zhuang Xinyan, the gifts she'd given them as a token of gratitude for saving their lives. Fearing their cash cow might disappear, the couple discussed a feigned divorce.
Zhuang Xinyan comes from a simple family and a simple mind. Her mother is a love-sick person, and luckily she met her father, who is also a love-sick person.
So she just wanted to be with one person for the rest of her life. She knew it was difficult in this feudal society. But the bottom line was not to be a concubine.
But she wasn't in a hurry. Until she met Lin Sicai. Once she saw Lin Sicai, she was doomed to failure. She'd been entangled with him for so many years.
When she was about to get engaged to someone else, she heard Lin Sicai's servant come running over and say that his son was dying! He said that since he couldn't be with the one he loved, he might as well die.
It was also at this time that Zhuang Xinyan learned that Lin Sicai had divorced Xie Wanqing.
"Miss Zhuang, our young master has been doing this all for you. He hasn't eaten or drunk anything for three days now. Please go and save him. I will never forget your great kindness!"
Zhuang Xinyan was so overwhelmed with love that she was deeply moved. She didn't even decide whether to marry him, so she went to find Lin Sicai.
Lin Sicai wrote her love letters every day to express his love. This made Zhuang Xinyan feel that she had married the right person, and she worked hard every day to make money to pave the way for Lin Sicai.
Fifty years later, Lin Sicai was very old. When he died, he actually left all his money to Xie Wanqing and his children.
But Zhuang Xinyan and her child had nothing.
Lin Sicai lay on the bed and said to Zhuang Xinyan affectionately, "I left all my money to the mother and son. I gave all my love to you, and my life is complete."
Zhuang Xinyan: ...At this moment, my love-brain problem was finally cured. It turns out her husband had been so insincere towards her all these years! And she was just a tool for him to make money?!
A few years after Lin Sicai's death, Zhuang Xinyan also died of depression.
"I want to start my life over again, leave the Lin family, not seek love, just live my own life, do what I like, and build a business empire."
"As you wish!" After saying that, Sheng Jiang disappeared.
……
This time, Sheng Jiang directly erased the impression of the Zhuang family from the minds of Lin Sicai and his wife. He simply couldn't recall the existence of a wealthy family like the Zhuang family. He had no memory of any other wealthy families, not just the Zhuang family.
But he still wanted to climb up the social ladder, so he needed a lot of money to do so. So he discussed with Xie Wanqing about taking a merchant's daughter as a concubine.
"Don't worry, you are still the one I love most, ma'am."
Xie Wanqing was holding her one-year-old son. She had poor milk supply and her husband's salary was not high. It cost a lot of money to buy goat milk for the child every day.
The child had been ill recently, and it had cost a lot of money, making the already poor family even worse off.
She had been eating eggs for a long time to nourish her body. She also wanted to find a wealthy family to help her solve her practical difficulties.
But she was still worried, "Husband, with our family's conditions, I'm afraid even a better family wouldn't be willing to marry into our family, right?"
"Don't worry, I know my limits. In my dynasty, the classes of scholars, farmers, merchants, and artisans are all lowly. After all, I am a Jinshi (academic scholar) who has passed the imperial examinations twice. If I ask for their hand in marriage, they will surely be grateful."
What a big face!
Xie Wanqing asked, "Which woman does my husband want to marry?"
Lin Sicai thought about it, but couldn't think of anyone who was rich. "Madam, can you help me find out?"
Xie Wanqing went out and asked around, but everyone replied, "Well, our county is in a remote area, where are there any rich people? The richest person is the county magistrate, right?"
Mr. County Magistrate?
Lin Sicai said, "The county magistrate's daughter, and that fat and strong female warrior weighing nearly 300 pounds? That's absolutely not possible! Moreover, she will definitely not be willing to be a concubine. Let's consider this matter later."
But soon, Lin Sicai didn't have to think about it anymore. Because the county magistrate's daughter, Sheng Lingjiao, had taken a fancy to him!
Although Lin Sicai had heard of Sheng Lingjiao, he couldn't help but gasp when he saw her in person.
The woman ran over, and the ground began to shake, swaying up and down like a tumbler.
"County Lieutenant Lin! Wait a moment!"
Sheng Lingjiao ran over panting, her face flushed.
"Ms. Sheng, what can I do for you?" Even if Lin Sicai hated her so much, he had to be polite to her.
Besides, everyone knows that the county magistrate has only this one daughter, whom he dotes on like the apple of his eye.
"Master Lin," Sheng Lingjiao said shyly, "I wrote a poem, but I can't seem to find anything wrong with it. Master Lin is a Jinshi (imperial scholar) and must be quite talented. Could you offer some pointers?"
Lin Sicai breathed a sigh of relief and said modestly, "I don't deserve your advice, but you can take a look."
When I got the poem, I found out that
"Red beans grow in the south. How many branches will bloom in spring? I hope you can pick more of them, as they are the most nostalgic."
"Mr. Lin, I just don't know where the Southern Kingdom is. Could you explain this to me?"
“Oh, Nanguo is the place in the south.”
"Where exactly is it? As you know, we women are never allowed to leave home at will, let alone go to those faraway places. So, Master Lin, I'll book a private room. Can we go to that teahouse to discuss it in detail?"
Lin Sicai got goosebumps when he heard Sheng Lingjiao's pretentious voice, and he just wanted to find an excuse to leave quickly.
He wanted to find a woman who could support his family. But not just any woman would do, at least she had to be a pretty lady, right?
"Miss Sheng, I can't do that now. I have something else to do, so I'll leave first."
"Mr. Lin, where are you going? Don't you have any feelings for me at all?"
Sheng Lingjiao held him back. She was not a delicate woman, she had strength and means. She was not as reserved as other women.
This was the first time she had met someone who was willing to talk to her for such a long time. The key point was that he was also handsome and charming, which was her type. She would not let him go easily.
Lin Sicai tugged at his sleeves, but nothing moved. He was furious. This woman was truly vulgar!
If I had known this, I should have run away like the other colleagues. But I still didn't dare to offend her, because her father was a local tyrant.
"Miss Sheng, what do you mean?"
"Mr. Lin, I am attracted to you. Can't you see it?"
"Miss Sheng, I'm married and have children."
"Is that so?" Sheng Lingjiao touched her chin.
Lin Sicai thought she had given up, but then he heard, "Then why don't you divorce your wife and marry me directly? After all, my father would never allow me to be a concubine!"
"Miss Sheng, my wife has been with me from humble beginnings to the present day. Now that I have passed the imperial examination and hold an official position, how can I abandon my wife who has shared my hardships?"
"Come on, your wife is sharp-tongued and shrewd. How can she be of any help to you? If it were me, I could speak well of you in front of my father, help you gain political achievements, and quickly rise to the top..."
Lin Sicai fell silent.
"My father was the top scholar in the imperial examination, but because he had no connections, he was assigned to this county as the magistrate. Master Lin, if you had other options, you certainly wouldn't have worked for my father, right?
And I heard that your family is so poor that they can’t even afford eggs…”
"Miss Sheng, please allow me to go back and think about it, okay?"
Lin Si had just returned home when Xie Wanqing came over with the child in her arms, "Husband..."
Seeing that Lin Sicai didn't say anything, she knew him very well. She knew that he had some feelings, but he was unwilling to speak up himself and get the reputation of abandoning his wife.
"Husband, why don't we just get divorced."
Lin Sicai acted shocked, "My dear, how could I do this? You've been with me from nothing until now, when I was a Jinshi (imperial scholar) twice. If I divorce you now, what will outsiders say?"
"My dear, I know how you feel about me, just as I do about you. While affection is nice, our monthly income is limited. The county magistrate is a local tyrant, a bottomless pit. How much tribute should we pay him every year?
We can barely survive now, so let’s not even talk about anything else.”
"Madam," Lin Sicai said with a moved expression, "I am sorry for the hardship you have endured."
"It doesn't matter whether it's bitter or not. As long as my husband still remembers me, I'm satisfied."
Xie Wanqing added, "My dear husband, you should be like the rock, and I should be like the reed. The reed is as strong as silk, and the rock is immovable."
Lin Sicai burst into tears of gratitude and hugged Xie Wanqing tightly. "With a wife like this, what else could a husband ask for? If I ever make it big in the future, I will definitely take you back! Then, you will still be the honorable Madam Lin!"
Lin Sicai quickly wrote back to Sheng Lingjiao, but Sheng Lingjiao said, "I don't want to be a stepmother once I marry her. So I have to give my son away too."
Helpless, he had to send his one-year-old son to Xie Wanqing to raise and give her living expenses every month.
For the sake of her future, a good and respectable wife voluntarily became a concubine. Unless Lin Sicai has a conscience and takes them home, no one will even recognize their identities.
Xie Wanqing also felt hatred in her heart. In her previous life, she could vent all her resentment on Zhuang Xinyan because she was easy to bully.
In this life, even if he had grievances, he dared not vent them to Sheng Lingjiao, and could only hold them in. But she really had a background.
On the day Sheng Lingjiao got married, on their wedding night, even though Lin Sicai had prepared himself mentally for a long time, he still couldn't bring himself to eat at the crucial moment.
Finally, Sheng Lingjiao became annoyed and said in disgust, "You are so useless! I'll do it!"
She was already married to him, so why was she still pretending to be a reserved lady? She just turned over and sang like a serf, and then she turned over and pressed Lin Sicai down.
With the 300-pound fat man pressing down on him, Lin Sicai felt like he was almost suffocating. He wanted to push away but couldn't, and he almost wanted to die.
Two hours later, Sheng Lingjiao finally fell asleep from exhaustion. Lin Sicai finally had a chance to catch his breath. He glanced at the person next to him with disgust, and really wanted to kill her with a knife!
But dare not.
I am afraid that if I get married today and someone gets killed tonight, I will be killed by the county magistrate the next day.
Fortunately, the dowry that Sheng Lingjiao brought was indeed rich, and he thought of secretly taking some out one day to give to his son as flowers.
Who would have thought that Sheng Lingjiao was rich but also stingy. Every penny spent in the family had to be recorded.
If Lin Sicai wanted to meet up with colleagues, he had to pay her for it; if he wanted to buy some books, he had to pay her for it; and every month, Lin Sicai had to hand over every penny of his salary...
These days, he didn't even think about saving some money for Xie Wanqing and her son.
Xie Wanqing rented a house outside, but she waited and waited but could not get any money. She finally managed to get through to Lin Sicai.
Lin Sicai looked around fearfully, then hurriedly whispered to her, "I'll secretly come find you tonight, and we'll talk then."
In the evening, Xie Wanqing was skeptical when she heard Lin Sicai say that he had no money either.
The clothes he wore, the silk and satin, and the jade pendant around his waist were priceless, something I had never dared to look at before.
"Husband, have you forgotten the oath we made?"
"How could that be? Wanqing, you should understand my feelings for you. But I really don't have any money. The county magistrate is very rich and gave me a lot of dowry. But you don't know that Sheng Lingjiao is a tigress.
Every time I go out, she has to send a servant to accompany me. Every day's expenses have to be recorded, not a single cent can be wrong. Even if a penny is missing, it will cause panic, and all the maids and servants in the house have to reconcile the accounts until midnight.
I was able to sneak out tonight because everyone was busy checking accounts and didn't pay attention to me."
"Really?" Xie Wanqing was desperate. "Then how are we, an orphan and a widow, going to survive in the future?"
Lin Sicai was also very distressed. "Why don't you find a job washing clothes for others?"
Xie Wanqing was unwilling, but she also knew that Lin Sicai would not give her any money.
When Lin Sicai returned home, she saw Sheng Lingjiao sitting on a stool in the yard, with a maidservant beside her massaging her legs. "Husband, where have you been?"
"No, I didn't go anywhere. I just went out for some fresh air."
"Oh, my dear, are you still wearing the jade pendant I gave you?"
Lin Sicai touched his waist. Where was the jade pendant?
"What? Lost it? My dear, that jade pendant was given to me by a distant cousin when I was a child. She is now the emperor's favorite concubine. If it were taken by someone with ulterior motives, the consequences would be..."
Lin Sicai was so scared that cold sweats ran down his face. Damn Xie Wanqing. I told you I would find a way to help them and their child, so how dare you steal my things?
So Sheng Lingjiao sent people to search Xie Wanqing's place overnight. Before Sheng Lingjiao could make any move, she was caught red-handed.
Anyone who dares to steal the concubine's things will be punished with death!
The reason why County Magistrate Sheng is still the county magistrate is because he is the only one in power and no one dares to offend him.
Xie Wanqing was sentenced to 30 years in prison, but she died before even a year had passed. Her son was sent to an orphanage.
The next year, Sheng Lingjiao gave birth to a son. He inherited some of his smart father's genes. He could recite the Three Character Classic at the age of three and write poems at the age of five.
Sheng Lingjiao was very satisfied and believed that her son would definitely become the top scholar in the future.
In this case, Lin Sicai was of no use. When his son passed the imperial examination at the age of 18, the frail and sickly Lin Sicai suddenly died.
Only when he was dying did he realize why the promise of helping him get promoted had not been fulfilled and had been delayed. It turned out that he was just a tool for Sheng Lingjiao to give birth to a good child.
In this life, away from the scheming couple, the banker's business became better and better, and eventually, he became a royal merchant.