Chapter 226: Chapter 222: Taking a Concubine_1

Translator: 549690339

On the third day of the Lunar New Year, the Jiang family traveled with two horse carts to Zhang Village.

As expected, Zhang Jia was not there, even Yukan who was visiting Uncle Zhang did not know where his father had gone.

The older brother of the Jiang family immediately took everyone to the county town, to Jiang Yunniang’s place.

As they rushed into the house, they found Zhang Jia holding a little over one-year-old toddler, sitting at the table having a meal with his young mistress, as if they were a picture-perfect family.

Seeing the members of the Jiang family bursting in, the woman screamed and flung herself into Zhang Jia’s arms.

Zhang Jia also looked flustered, hugging his beloved woman and the child tightly, shouting, “What are you doing?”

Jiang Sanlang sneered and pointed at Zhang Jia for Jiang Yunniang to see, “Elder sister, are you seeing this? This is the honorable son-in-law of yours.”

Jiang Yunniang looked at the couple clinging to each other, her tears streaming down.

Hearing about it was one thing, but seeing them all cozy was a completely different matter.

Jiang Yunniang wanted to ask Zhang Jia why he deceived her so much, but the words choked up in her throat, and she could not speak a word.

Her husband was always telling her that he had been lured into a trap and was unable to escape, hence he had to spend money to buy peace.

But what about this scene? It was not about being seduced, it was clear that they were both deeply smitten with each other.

Jiang Sanlang asked, “Elder sister, do you want to continue living with him or get a divorce?”

Not waiting for Jiang Yunniang to answer, he continued, “You can continue to live with Zhang Jia, but don’t expect us brothers to help you anymore. If you choose to divorce, you can come back with us, you can even bring your children along. We will take care of your and the children’s lives from now on.”

Jiang Dalang also said, “Yunniang, this kind of man is not worth it. He not only deceives you, but also abandons his own children. If he had any conscience, he wouldn’t have sold the family shop to strangers.”

After being silent for a while, Jiang Yunniang said, “I’m not getting a divorce.”

She’s not willing.

Why should she give place to others just when she had been his wife for more than ten years, served him half her life, and even bore him children?

Even if he has a new love, there are plenty of men outside with concubines.

She’s the main wife, and as long as she doesn’t leave, she’s the mistress of this house. No one, including this vile woman and her two biased children, can overstep her.

If he’s unkind, then she won’t be righteous.

Jiang Sanlang knew early that his elder sister would make this choice, and he was not surprised. Instead, Jiang Erlang and Jiang Dalang were furious.

“Yunniang! Are you possessed!” Jiang Dalang wished he could smack his sister to wake her up.

Jiang Yunniang only hung her head in silence.

Jiang Sanlang’s glare at Zhang Jia was ice-cold, “Zhang Jia, who is this woman? And who are these two children?”

Zhang Jia, seeing that Jiang Yunniang didn’t want a divorce, instantly cheered up. He let go of the delicate woman, stood up, adjusted his clothes arrogantly, and said, “Who she is, is none of your business.”

Jiang Yunniang suddenly spoke, “She is the new concubine taken by my husband. As for those two children, they are burdens brought with her.”

The woman, upon hearing this, again threw herself into Zhang Jia’s arms, whimpering, “My lord…”

Zhang Jia, while holding the delicate woman, pointed at Jiang Yunniang and yelled, “Jiang Yunniang! What nonsense are you talking about?”

Jiang Yunniang wiped her tears, calmly saying, “My lord, how am I rambling? Isn’t she the lowly concubine I bought for over two hundred coins?”

“Nonsense!” Zhang Jia’s face turned red as he swore at Jiang Yunniang, “When did you spend two hundred coins to buy her?”

Jiang Yunniang responded coldly, “My lord, you surely forgot. Last year, the over two hundred coins I handed you intermittently, didn’t you use them to buy this person?”

Zhang Jia: …

“I didn’t buy her.” Zhang Jia roared, “The money was spent on her.”

Jiang Yunniang tidied up her disheveled hair bun, took a cold glance at the woman and said, “Oh, so she’s a prostitute. My lord, why did you bring a prostitute home? Bringing such an ominous thing during the New Year, be careful not to ruin the fortunes of the Zhang family.”

Zhang Jia and the woman were stunned for a moment.

The delicate woman started wailing loudly, holding one child and set about to strike Zhang Jia with her free hand.

Zhang Jia was not fast enough to evade and got several claw scratches on his face.

“She is not a prostitute! She… she is my concubine.” Zhang Jia hurried to justify.

Jiang Yunniang said, “If she is a concubine, where is the paper of agreement? My lord, you wouldn’t have missed out the formal contract, would you? Which decent girl would just follow a man home without any explanation?”

Zhang Jia: …

He didn’t understand why his wife suddenly became so harsh, not only aggressive but also foul-mouthed.

Zhang Jia felt his teeth itch with rage, he wished he could rush up and beat her. But clearly, he could not do that now, so he had to placate her, “I will write you the contract for the concubine later.”

Jiang Yunniang said, “My Lord, why not write it now? It will be convenient when we submit it to the government office after the New Year.”

She had to get this done while her brothers were still around, who knows, she might not have anyone to help her later.

Zhang Jia looked at the delicate lady in his arms and then at his brothers-in-law who were staring at him like tigers. He had no choice but to nod.

After writing the contract for the concubine and making the delicate woman press her fingerprints on it, Jiang Yunniang handed the document to her eldest brother, Jiang Dalang, to keep for her.

Coming out from Zhang Jia’s place, the faces of the three Jiang brothers were all unpleasant.

They had given Zhang Jia a stern warning before they left, but they were still worrying about Jiang Yunniang.

“Let it go, let her be.”

It was pointless for the brothers to worry about her. If she chose to go down this dead end, no one could stop her.

In the blink of an eye, it was already February.

Jiang Sanlang told Sun Licheng that the Chuanhe River would flood in May or June this year.

Sun Licheng didn’t believe it at first but when Jiang Sanlang insisted that this was true, he was forced to consider it.

In case of a flood, if he as the Lizheng did nothing, it would ruin his career.

So, he took a few villagers and traveled along the river, only to find that there were indeed many dangerous signs.

Many farmlands were not only low-lying but also very close to Chuanhe. In case of a flood, a complete loss of the crop yield was likely.

Sun Licheng felt very conflicted.

One of his duties was to encourage farming, but this was the first time he had to persuade people not to plant crops.

How could he say this?

What if there was no flood? Then what?

He gave up, deciding to tell them the truth, whether to plant or not was their own choice.

So, Sun Licheng summoned the village leaders of more than a dozen villages under his administration and told them about the possible risk of flood this year.

However, when the village leaders learned that the news of the flood came from Jiang Sanlang, they had no objections and promised to take it seriously.

Chen Changsheng, the village leader of Xichen Village, was particularly anxious. He went back to the village and held a meeting with the villagers.

Not only was their farmland close to Chuanhe, but the village was also built not far from Chuanhe.

In case of a flood, losing farmland would be of less concern; the loss of life would be the most critical issue.

“Jiang Sanlang from Dongchen Village said that there might be a major flood in May or June. If anyone has farmland near the Chuanhe, be careful. If you can avoid planting, don’t plant. It will save you the trouble of losing even the seeds…”

Before Chen Changsheng could finish his sentence, Old Chen interrupted, “Can Jiang Sanlang forecast the future? I say, Changsheng, don’t jump at shadows. If we don’t plant for one season, what will we pay our taxes with?”

“Yes, we can choose not to plant, but how will we pay the summer tax?”