Out of the village, past the Ku River, Tian Jing stopped and said to Li Zhengguo, "Zhengguo, you and eldest cousin walk slowly, I'll go back and get something."
"Alright, be careful."
"I know."
Li Rongguo scratched his head. Did his cousin care too much about his cousin-in-law, needing to be careful just to get something? Moreover, "Zhengguo, are we really going to sue?"
"A delay tactic."
Li Rongguo scratched his head even more.
After Tian Jing and the other two left, Aunt Li, as if nothing had happened, returned to her room, rummaged through it, and then went up the mountain with her basket on her back.
At the edge of the deep mountains, Aunt Li stopped by a large tree. Beneath the tree stood a half-meter-high stone.
She squatted down, opened the lid of her basket, took out a sickle, and began to dig behind the stone.
"Do you need my help?"
A voice made Aunt Li fall to the ground with a thud. As she looked up, she saw Tian Jing sitting in the tree canopy.
"You, didn't you leave the village?"
"Don't you know I have martial arts?"
Aunt Li got up, brushed the dust off her clothes, and said, "Come down."
Tian Jing leaped down lightly and landed beside Aunt Li.
Aunt Li kicked the sickle on the ground, "You wanted to help, didn't you? Dig."
Tian Jing bent down and picked up the sickle. "How deep?"
"Not deep, just a jar."
"What's inside?"
"Baby clothes."
"Not remains?"
"No."
Not remains? Tian Jing looked at Aunt Li in surprise. "Your eldest son is still alive?"
"He is, he was with you just now."
"Aunt Li, stop pretending. I know Li Rongguo is Li Yaoguo. As for you, since there are no remains, is Li Rongguo still alive?"
"You know quite a lot."
Aunt Li glanced at her sarcastically, then sat down on the ground. "What else do you know?"
"What I know may not be the same as yours. I want to hear you talk, talk about your mother-in-law."
Tian Jing quickly dug up a jar. Inside, there were indeed baby clothes.
"Her?" Mentioning her mother-in-law again, Aunt Li's emotions were no longer agitated. She spoke calmly, as if talking about someone else's affairs.
"She is the most vicious woman in the world. She says one thing and does another, and can kill people without batting an eye. My life was ruined by her..."
Aunt Li had a beautiful name, Luo Yuqing. Her real name was Luo Dahong. The name Luo Yuqing was given to her by a man.
It was the Republic of China period, when feudal monarchy was overthrown. Everywhere, students called on aspiring youths to stand up. She met that man in a group and only then realized that their families were neighbors.
His family owned a street, and her family owned one of the houses behind that street.
The vast difference in their status made her feel inferior, yet the man always approached her, gave her a name, and told her amusing stories from school.
Gradually, her heart fell for him.
The times changed too quickly, and the man's family planned to move abroad.
Before leaving, the man asked her out and left her some money.
Moved by his affection, she threw herself into his arms without hesitation, but the man pushed her away, saying he only saw her as a sister, and the money he gave her was a dowry from a brother to his sister.
The man left, but she was cornered by a woman.
The woman threatened to tell her neighbors about her actions.
She was terrified and begged the woman to let her go.
The woman agreed, and she quickly turned to go home.
As soon as she entered the door, the woman grabbed her hair from behind, accusing her of stealing her money and threatening to report her to the authorities.
Her honest and upright parents did not doubt the woman's words because they had long been disappointed with their rebellious eldest daughter.
Later, she was taken to Kushan mountain, with the money and all.
"Hahaha."
Aunt Li laughed tearfully, "Do you know? Your father-in-law and his two brothers were only a year apart. I, in my final resistance, wanted to marry your father-in-law, but my mother-in-law, for the money I had and for her most beloved eldest son, forced me to marry Li Dazuo."
"I was the eldest daughter-in-law and the eldest sister-in-law. I should have managed things for the two younger brothers below me. Everything, how to do it and how not to do it, was decided by her."
"It wasn't until your mother-in-law entered the family that I realized my mother-in-law's most beloved was her youngest son, not her eldest son."
Tian Jing was truly surprised that Aunt Li had been tricked into coming here with her and her money by her mother-in-law.
"Then why did Li Yaoguo become Li Rongguo? Why would your mother-in-law agree?"
"Why wouldn't she agree? Because everything was her design."
Aunt Li's emotions finally broke down. "It was her design, everything was her design. She smothered my son, and when I was about to smother Yaoguo, who was sleeping on the same kang as her, she proposed to use Yaoguo to replace my son."
"I disagreed, and she used my past actions to blackmail me, calling me cheap and saying I was lacking a man."
Tian Jing frowned. "That's not right. Your mother-in-law didn't dote on her youngest son. If she did, she wouldn't have the heart to separate her youngest son from his father."
"Why not?" Aunt Li raised her voice. "If Yaoguo became my eldest son, he would be the eldest son and grandson. Everything in the family would be his."
Tian Jing still didn't believe it. "What do you have? What exactly did that man leave you that was worth your mother-in-law scheming against her son and grandson like this?"
"Money." Aunt Li showed disdain on her face.
Tian Jing pretended not to see it. "How much could it be? Hasn't it been spent? If it hasn't been spent, it should be obsolete by now, right?"
Aunt Li raised her hand and wiped away her tears. "Fifty silver dollars, a windfall. There are still over thirty left. My mother-in-law schemed against me for so long, but she still left before me. Of course, the silver dollars are still in my hands."
No wonder this Aunt Li was schemed against by her mother-in-law to become her daughter-in-law. At that time, the monthly salary was basically one silver dollar.
It was indeed a windfall, and if properly preserved, it would be an even greater windfall in the future.
"Is it under the jar in the ground?"
Aunt Li looked up in surprise. "Tian Jing, you're very smart. That's right, not only are the silver dollars under the jar, but Rongguo's remains are also there."
"Then what's this jar for?" Tian Jing pointed to the jar containing the baby clothes.
"This is for Yaoguo. If Yaoguo's mother wanted to find the remains, I could sow discord between her and my mother-in-law. Who knew, she was so weak, she didn't even want to look at her own son's remains, wasting all my efforts."
Why do women always make things difficult for other women?
Looking at Aunt Li, who considered herself to be in a victorious position, Tian Jing couldn't help but sigh.
She still had a lingering doubt.
"I heard you have a good relationship with Second Aunt Li. Isn't Second Aunt Li your mother-in-law's niece? You three were pregnant around the same time, and only Second Aunt Li gave birth to a daughter, and she did so before you."
"Would your mother-in-law really kill her own son and grandson for the position of eldest son and grandson?"
Tian Jing didn't believe it. A woman who schemed to bring an innocent woman into the family with her money to marry off her three sons, how could she kill another grandson for the sake of the so-called eldest son and grandson?
There must be someone else.
For example: "Did Second Aunt Li know about the silver dollars? Did she know you came here often? Did she know this place?"
"You? What do you mean?" Aunt Li's expression changed.
"Your mother-in-law could scheme against you for money. Couldn't her niece scheme against everyone for money? Do you still have your silver dollars?"
"Dig!"
Aunt Li suddenly stood up. "Dig quickly! She was the one who reminded me to bury it here so no one would find it."
Tian Jing looked at her with pity. "I think it's gone. You, from beginning to end, are still a loser, a loser who easily believes others."
"No! If you don't dig, I will. I must see it with my own eyes."