Chapter 62: Relatives' Faces

After a moment of silence, the voice sounded again, "I do want to die, but I pity my daughter and can't bear to leave a useless old mother like me. In this world, I am her only relative..."

"Mom!" Yun Zhao cried sadly and pushed the door open.

In the snow-covered yard, a pale woman sat in front of a washtub, with a slightly plump woman standing behind her with her arms folded.

When the two heard the voice, they both looked up at Yun Zhao.

There was an abnormal blush on the pale woman's face, and she looked very surprised.

The slightly plump woman was a little embarrassed, and then she strode forward and asked, "Why are you back, niece? Have you sold yourself successfully?"

Yun Zhao was stopped by the slightly plump woman, so he had to stop and answered: "I have already found someone. This time I just came back to see my mother."

The slightly plump woman was overjoyed, rubbing her fingers together and saying, "We knew that with my niece's looks and figure, it would be easy for her to find a husband!"

The slightly plump woman did not ask what kind of family Yun Zhao was sold to. She just said something politely and then asked impatiently, "How much silver did you get? With your beauty, if it's less than 100 taels, you might as well sell yourself to the Jiaofang Bureau and earn more!"

"The Jiaofangsi is there to receive guests," the pale woman stood up, staggered to support her daughter, and said worriedly: "My daughter, I would rather you be a maid for others, at least you don't have to ruin your reputation!"

The slightly plump woman curled her lips and said disdainfully: "This is selling yourself, do you think you are being hired? If you really sell yourself to be a maid, you will suffer. You will have to do rough work and be raped! It is better to sell yourself directly to the Jiaofangsi. Isn't it better than being a maid?"

"Don't worry, mother. I didn't sell myself to the Music Bureau! It's..." When she said this, Yun Zhao suddenly remembered that she didn't know what Wang An bought her for.

I only know that the other party requires me to be able to read and do arithmetic, but they didn't say what specific things I need to do.

Is she a maid or a mistress?
Following their daughter's gaze, the two women saw Wang An and his companion standing at the gate of the courtyard.

I immediately realized that this was the family that bought Yun Zhao.

The plump woman just glanced at the material of Wang An's clothes and curled her lips in disdain.

The pale woman staggered to Wang An and knelt down with a thud.

Wang An thought it would be a scene like an old mother begging a bully to let her daughter go, but he didn't expect the pale woman to burst into tears and say, "My daughter was born in a good family, but she had to sell herself into slavery because of a disaster at home. It's all because of this old man!"

"I dare not ask too much from you, Master. I just hope that if my daughter makes some mistakes after she comes to your house, you can bear with me more and scold me less, just as a favor to me, a dying person!"

Wang An looked at the woman in front of him. She was probably less than 40 years old. Perhaps because the landlord's family had better living conditions, she did not age as quickly as other people of that age. Instead, her skin was fair and her eyes still had a hint of charm.

Wang An was so embarrassed that he picked his feet. In his two lifetimes, no one had ever knelt down and begged him like this.

I could only nod and comfort him: "Don't worry, Yun Zhao will never be treated unfairly in my house."

As he spoke, Wang An reached out to support her, but when he touched Yun's hands, it felt like he was grabbing dry tree bark, rough and cold.

Looking down, he saw a pair of bare hands covered with cuts, many of which were even bleeding. Wang An, who runs his own laundry shop, immediately recognized that these were caused by washing clothes in cold water for a long time.

Thinking of what Yun Zhao said about Madam Yun still having a severe cold, he suddenly became angry, "I heard that Madam is still sick. Why is she washing clothes in such a cold weather?"

Upon hearing this, Yun Zhao immediately hugged his mother with heartache.

Yun's face was filled with sorrow, "This... it's not good to eat and live for free."

"You have a conscience and know you can't live and eat for free." The slightly plump woman snorted coldly and said, "We are just ordinary people. If it weren't for the relationship between relatives, who would care about you?"

Wang An immediately said angrily, "I heard that Yun's food rations were provided by the Eighth Master, so how come they ate yours for free? Moreover, Yun Zhao told me that she would give you half of the money she earned from selling her body as Yun's living expenses. How can it be related to free food and accommodation?"

"Besides, you and I are relatives. Even if I stay at your house for a few days, what's the point? As for you saying that I eat and live for free? I'm sick, but you force me to wash clothes in the snow. There is no relative like you in this world!"

"What do you know? Why are you just talking nonsense here? It's none of your business!" The slightly plump woman suddenly became anxious and pointed at Wang An's nose and cursed: "Don't think that I will give you face just because you bought my niece!"

The slightly plump woman was exposed and became angry and said, "Niece, your master said this to me. I have good intentions but I still have to bear the blame! Think about how many people have frozen to death outside the city. If I hadn't taken you in, your mother would have died in the wild long ago!"

"In that case, you might as well take your mother away. I don't want to do a good deed in vain and then be slandered!"

Yun Zhao was also anxious immediately. He hurriedly took out a silver bag from his pocket, took out a handful of silver and handed it over. "Don't be angry, aunt. I, the master, didn't mean it. I will ask you to take good care of my mother in the future!"

When the plump woman saw the silver, her eyes suddenly lit up and she reached out to take it.

When he was about to grab the silver, a hand reached out and snatched the silver away.

When she looked up and saw that it was Wang An, the slightly plump woman immediately said angrily: "Hey, you want to rob in broad daylight?"

"What a serious charge!" Wang An sneered, "Mrs. Yun has been eating at Mr. Eight's expense these days, and Yun Zhao paid for her medical treatment with the money she earned from selling her body. Even if she stayed with you for a few days, Mrs. Yun has washed your clothes for so many days. Why should she give you more money?"

"Why?" The slightly plump woman said angrily, "Is her mother not going to eat anymore? She's not going to live here anymore?"

Wang An smiled and said, "That's right, I can't eat it anymore!"

When these words were spoken, everyone was stunned, not knowing what Wang An meant.

However, Wang An ignored the slightly plump woman and turned to Yun Zhao and said, "You have seen how your so-called aunt treats your mother. She is sick and has to wash clothes in the ice and snow. If you continue to let her live here, I think the money you have left will be enough to buy a coffin."

"This..." Yun Zhao suddenly fell into pain. In fact, she knew the truth of what Wang An said.

But the mother and daughter had no relatives or friends in the capital, so where else could they go if not to their aunt?
Moreover, I have already sold myself into a slave. How can I take care of my seriously ill mother in the future?

Seeing this, the slightly plump woman said smugly, "A woman is sick. Even if she uses the money from selling her daughter's body to rent a house, how long can she support herself? I'm afraid she will die of illness before the money is spent and no one will know."

(End of this chapter)