At breakfast the next day, Tian Jing received another bowl of steamed egg custard, and Tian Ping also had one in front of her.
Tian Jing couldn't figure out Old Man Tian's intentions. Was this to compensate Tian Ping for marrying her off to someone else?
She then took Tian Lixiang to gather grass. Tian Jing no longer expected to shake him off. Anyway, she was leaving the Tian family tomorrow, so it was better to avoid trouble. She would just endure one more day and quietly get through it.
When she returned to the Tian house with her basket, it was mealtime again. There was one more person at the kang table: Lu Jianjun.
The atmosphere between Old Man Tian and Lu Jianjun was no longer as tense as yesterday. It seemed Lu Jianjun had met Old Man Tian's demands.
After the meal, Lu Jianjun picked up his bundle and left. However, Tian Ping grabbed his bundle, her eyes brimming with tears.
Lu Jianjun looked at her with a blank expression. It was this woman who had tempted him, leading him to a complete failure and a loss of 350 yuan.
Old Woman Tian winked at her eldest and third daughters-in-law. Ding Aihua and Zhang Mei each took one of Tian Ping's arms, and Lu Jianjun walked out of the Tian family courtyard without looking back.
Tian Ping wept silently and mournfully.
The rest of the Tian family acted as if this was all expected.
Tian Jing's heart skipped a beat. Since she returned from gathering grass the previous afternoon, she hadn't heard Tian Ping speak. This meant Tian Ping had lost her voice sometime yesterday morning.
Besides losing her voice, Tian Ping appeared normal physically. This could only mean she had been given a drug that permanently silenced her.
She recalled that during breakfast yesterday, Tian Yongyi, Tian Lifu, and Tian Ligui entered the room late. Tian Ping hadn't eaten breakfast at all. Could it have been then?
Tian Jing's heart sank again. They were too ruthless. Tian Yongyi was cruel, but Old Man Tian was even more so.
The decision to drug Tian Ping must have come from Old Man Tian, and the execution was by Tian Yongyi. This was a way to make his second son take the blame! How ruthless! More so than herself, who came from the apocalypse.
Unable to break free from the grip of those holding her, Tian Ping collapsed to the ground in despair. Brother Lu had left, just like that, without a backward glance. Who was she going to marry tomorrow?
Why had they drugged her and still not let her marry Brother Lu?
Why?
An unspeakable mix of anger and sorrow caused Ding Aihua and Zhang Mei to release their grip, simultaneously feeling guilty and afraid to look at their niece on the ground.
Seizing this opportunity, Tian Ping scrambled to her feet and rushed out of the courtyard.
"Quick, stop her!"
Old Woman Tian cried out in alarm, and three figures, Tian Yongyi and his two sons, chased after her.
Before long, Tian Ping was brought back, her hands tied behind her back. Her face was a mask of grief and hatred. She scanned everyone in the Tian family, as if to engrave their faces in her memory.
Old Man Tian flicked his hand and went inside, saying, "Parents discipline their own children."
Tian Ping was then escorted to the west room, which was the bedroom of the second son.
Tian Jing returned to the west side room and lay on the kang, unable to sleep. Old Man Tian's ruthlessness left her feeling uneasy. It also served as a reminder to be extremely cautious in her future actions. If it weren't for the era's opposition to superstition and her own strength, she might have been quietly eliminated by Old Man Tian when she first threatened him, given her martial prowess.
With no sleep in sight, she decided to start organizing her clothes. Although they were all tattered rags, they were better than nothing. Kucun was even farther from the town and county, and its transportation was inconvenient. It was a poorer and more dilapidated place.
The original owner's memories were also dominated by the words "torn" and "poor." Her tattered clothes might be useful, at least for making shoe soles.
Tian Ping returned to her bedroom, her slender eyes swollen into slits. Seeing Tian Jing organizing her clothes, she hesitated for a moment and then also began to pack.
When she saw Tian Jing's bundle of worn-out items, even the outer wrapping cloth being a sheet patched multiple times, her expression became unpredictable.
Tian Jing didn't bother to guess her inner thoughts. She tossed aside her small packed bundle and left the room to find Old Man Tian. She hadn't gotten her things yet.
Old Man Tian feigned a sigh and retrieved an object from under the kang mat, handing it to Tian Jing.
Tian Jing took it, her eyes full of adoration and joy. "Is this the key I've had since I was little?"
In her heart, however, she scorned Old Man Tian and Old Woman Tian. The newly crafted gold and the old, darkened red string were too obviously mismatched. Did they think she was an idiot?
Still, this might be a test or a way to play coy. When the jar hadn't been lost, Old Man Tian wouldn't admit the golden key was fake. After all, no one had memories from infancy. With the jar gone, it was as if there was no evidence.
Old Man Tian couldn't discern whether Tian Jing's joy was genuine or not. "Yes, otherwise, where would I get a golden key for you? I've also had someone draft the document severing our relationship. Are you sure you want to sever ties? A woman without a paternal family is most bullied in her husband's home."
Tian Jing casually slipped the golden key around her neck. "Old man, you know that someone in an arranged marriage exchange is in the same position as having no paternal family. Furthermore, if I am truly wronged, can I rely on the Tian family?"
Old Man Tian was silenced. He lost the mood to bicker with Tian Jing. In the past few days, the family had been plagued by one incident after another. It seemed that ever since Tian Jing was locked in the woodshed, various things had been happening in the house.
Old Man Tian couldn't help but shiver. He couldn't dwell on it. "Then let's go to the captain's house."
Old Man Tian walked ahead with his hands behind his back, while Tian Jing followed him empty-handed.
The captain's house was at the edge of the village, a stone and mud-brick compound. The yard was vast, twice the size of the Tian family's, with a majestic three-room red brick and blue tile house and two side rooms on each side.
The captain was by the table in the main hall, calculating and writing. Seeing Old Man Tian enter, he quickly stood up. "Uncle, you're here?"
This Captain Tian was a distant nephew of Old Man Tian, as most people in Zhangshan Production Team were surnamed Tian.
"Mm," Old Man Tian said, sitting down at Captain Tian's invitation.
Seeing no one attending to her, Tian Jing directly sat on another stool.
Captain Tian eyed her up and down suspiciously. "Is this Jing Yatou?"
Tian Jing frowned. What was with that appraising gaze, like she was merchandise?
Seeing Tian Jing's displeased expression, Old Man Tian didn't answer the captain's question. He interjected to smooth things over, "Yes, please bring out the document severing our relationship, so we can settle this matter and have peace of mind."
He emphasized the last three words.
Captain Tian nodded. More than ten years ago, he had not approved of Old Man Tian raising this child, but Old Man Tian had been willing, and he couldn't persuade him. Now that they were severing ties, it was for the best.
With that thought, he went to the east room and quickly returned with several papers in his hand.
Tian Jing naturally reached out to take them, but seeing the surprised looks from Captain Tian and Old Man Tian, she coughed and said, "Shouldn't I have a copy?"
Old Man Tian breathed a sigh of relief. Good, she was illiterate.
Captain Tian felt a little guilty. He spread two sheets of paper flat on the square table. "Press your fingerprints."
"Huh?" Tian Jing exclaimed in surprise. "Shouldn't it be read aloud to the parties involved first? Signing something isn't something to be done casually."
Captain Tian raised his eyebrows in astonishment. Was this still the same Tian Jing who used to be afraid to look people in the eye and was timid and withdrawn?