It turned out that the empress gave birth to a dragon son two days ago, and the emperor granted a general amnesty to the world. As a result, Liu's three mothers and daughters received grace and were released.
An Qianya was suspected of killing her own siblings and should not have been released, but she was lucky. The edict of amnesty stated that she was not guilty of any crime.
Because An Qianwen later said during the government interrogation that she did not see the murderer's face clearly, and only saw that the man was wearing the same clothes as An Qianya, she felt guilty and thought that the murderer was her sister.
There was insufficient evidence and the government was too lazy to investigate further, so they let her go too.
But when they came back, it was not to keep watch for An Tai, but to divide the family property.
According to the laws of the Daxuan Dynasty, the children of concubines also have the right to inherit inheritance, and unmarried daughters can receive half of the inheritance of a man.
Therefore, An Qianya and An Qianwen together can share as much inheritance as An Zhixuan.
Qianru then put all the family's property on the table, divided it into five parts, and allocated two of them to An Qianya and An Qianwen.
"Where are the land deeds, land deeds, and house deeds from Gongjiang's hometown?"
Qianru had never seen these before. It was only after Mrs. Liu searched An Tai's bedroom that she found out that there was also a land deed in the hole in the wall behind the closet.
"Ten acres of fertile land and a house must be worth more than two hundred taels no matter what. We don't want any of these things. You can give us another eighty taels."
Qianru then gave Liu's mother and daughter another eighty taels.
Three mothers and daughters, the money they got was gone in a flash.
He didn't even bother to offer a stick of incense to An Tai.
An Tai's pension totaled 300 taels, and he gave 200 taels to Liu's mother and daughter, leaving them with 100 taels left.
Qianru calculated and calculated carefully that it should be enough to send An Tai's ashes back to Gongjiang's hometown for burial.
There is a house and land there, and my future life is finally settled.
However, for some reason, she always felt that something was wrong.
It wasn't until I went to hire a carriage and happened to see two people having a lawsuit over the property deed that I suddenly discovered the clues.
The contracts in their hands were all white contracts without official seals.
An Tai is a supervisor and is familiar with the laws. How could he sign a white contract with someone?
According to the laws of the Daxuan Dynasty, white deeds are not protected by law, and even if there is a dispute and the official is sued, it will not be accepted.
Have we been lied to?
She took the contract and looked through An Tai's handwriting to compare it. She was surprised to find that the signature on the contract was forged, and she felt extremely regretful.
"I'm so stupid, so stupid!"
At this time, the mothers of the children injured by Zhixuan came to ask for medical expenses.
In order to show that they were not asking for excessive prices, they brought the prescriptions and receipts prescribed by the doctors and showed them to her one by one.
Seeing how pitiful they were, they wiped out the change and deducted the twenty taels they had given her last time, leaving her with only eighty taels.
Learning from the lessons of Liu's mother and daughter, she looked at the prescriptions carefully and found that they were all made of precious medicinal materials. No wonder they were so expensive. They were all dressed as ladies from rich families, so they probably wouldn't extort money.
But if they were compensated with eighty taels, they would not be able to send An Tai back to Gongjiang for burial.
What should I do?
The leader of them, the lady wearing a blue satin coat and a red gold phoenix hairpin, said arrogantly: "My husband is a fourth-rank official in the court, so I don't care about this compensation, but your brother's attack was too heavy-handed, and my son's nose was broken."
It's a mistake, and there must be an explanation for this matter. If Hu Yong, the imperial censor, had not intervened and asked you to pay whatever amount you were asked to pay, you would have to pay the amount!"
Several others also revealed their status as officials.
They were both masters who couldn't afford to offend them, so Qianru had no choice but to offer money as compensation. Both parties signed a document and canceled it all.
In the evening, the government sent people to collect the house and urged them to move out within two days.
Qianru took out all the money and counted it several times.
The total amount of gifts received in the past few days is about fifty-six taels.
"Zhixuan, let me do the math. If we don't hire a carriage and carry my father's ashes back to Gongjiang for burial on foot, the money should be enough, but it may take several months. Can you bear it?"
"And after that?"
"Then I will naturally find a way to live in Gongjiang."
"Sister, have you forgotten about Mr. Li? Good things don't go out, and bad things spread thousands of miles. We'd better not go back to Gongjiang and live in the capital!"
After all, it was something that happened to the original owner of the body. After leaving Gongjiang, she forgot about it.
Now that I think about it, that place is really not suitable for settling.
In order to facilitate worship, Qianru found a piece of land in the west of the city to bury An Tai.
It's only two miles away from the mass grave.
The land price is very reasonable.
It only cost a few dozen taels to buy the land for the funeral and burial.
While doing these things, she unexpectedly learned that there was a white shop in the back alley in the west of the city for rent.
Because it's right next to the store, the price is very cheap.
An independent yard, two bedrooms, and a well cost only two taels of silver a month.
Qianru is a person who has died once and is not afraid of these things at all. Zhixuan is also very brave.
After summing up, they rented the yard, packed their luggage and moved there.
The owner of the house, Mama Hua, is a middle-aged woman with a very kind face. She promised that if they paid half a year's rent at once, she would give them a half-month reduction.
Qianru readily gave it and signed the contract.
Hua's mother was very happy and enthusiastically took her siblings to familiarize themselves with the surrounding environment.
Listening to the conversation between her and the people around her, Qianru regretted it.
It turns out that Hua Mama is the proprietress of the nearby Goulan Courtyard, and behind the yard she rents is the Goulan Courtyard run by Hua Mama.
But I had no choice but to regret it. I paid the money and signed the contract.
With the little money they have left, they cannot rent another yard for a long time and cope with their daily life.
"Zhixuan, sister, I'm sorry for you."
"Sister, it's not your fault. It's all forced by life. Master said that motivated people can be motivated wherever they are. Trust me, I won't let you down."
She found out that there was a cheap private school nearby that only cost two taels of silver a month, so she sent Zhixuan to enroll there.
After paying half a year's tuition and miscellaneous fees, she only had more than five taels of silver left.
What should I do? I have to find a way to make money!
Where can I go to make money?
Mother Hua is a smart person. She noticed her beauty early in the morning and came to see her whenever anything happened, hoping to trick her into going to her Baihua Building.
She flatly refused and would ignore her again.
She saw someone writing letters for a living in Xishikou.
So I followed the same pattern and set up a stall.
She read a lot of poems and books, her handwriting was good, and her appearance was good, so many people lined up to write to her.
I made a net profit of one tael of silver in three days.
Seeing this as a good way to make a living, she set up a stall early every day.
The old Confucian scholar next to her looked down upon her and mocked her, saying that she was not selling words but selling herself as a coward to make a living in public. She would be scolded wherever she went. She was too lazy to argue with him and went about her business silently.
Make a living by your true skills, be honest and upright.
But within a few days, she discovered that some male customers often came to her to write letters. Their sentences were ambiguous, teasing and frivolous, and their eyes were not straight. They would not scold her when they saw her, and even their hands and feet were not straight.
She couldn't bear it anymore and angrily closed the table and never set up a stall to write letters again.
But how can we support our family if we don’t write letters?
Thinking, thinking, I couldn't help wiping away tears.
It was probably because there were some holes in the window paper, and the child was fragile. Not long after, Zhixuan caught a cold again.
In order not to let her know, he endured it until he fainted and was carried back by his wife.
Her little hands were so hot, her little face was so hot, and she felt so uncomfortable that her heart almost broke.
I don't know whether it was because the doctor's medical skills were not good enough, or because Zhixuan's illness was too serious. The high fever showed no sign of going down even after a whole day.
She had no choice but to carry him behind her back to seek medical treatment from the doctor she had seen before.
The doctor's surname was Wen. He used to treat the An family's illnesses. His behavior seemed much more sophisticated than that of the doctor in the west of the city, but his charges were a bit expensive.
No matter what, Zhixuan's life is at stake.
Not caring so much, she put all the money she had in front of Dr. Wen.
Doctor Wen sighed, took only two taels of silver, and asked where they lived.
"Miss, you are confused. That nearby is the famous Yanliu Alley in the capital. If you move there, how can Mr. An rest in peace under the Nine Springs?"
"I, I really have no choice."
Doctor Wen saw that her face was filled with tears. He was so pitiful that he couldn't bear to accept the medical fee. He returned the money to her and left the siblings to spend the night in the inner hall of the medical center until their fever subsided before leaving.
At noon the next day, Zhixuan finally opened her eyes. She cried with joy and hurriedly kowtowed to Dr. Wen to express her gratitude.
"Doctors have the heart of a parent. Besides, Wen was favored by Mr. An in the past."
During the conversation, Doctor Wen accidentally mentioned King Gui.
Only then did Qianru find out that An Tai had an old grudge with King Gui and was banished from the capital for more than ten years because of this.
He had long expected that he would never return, but he said nothing to the siblings, enduring the grievance and saying goodbye to them with a smile.
An Qianru was once again deeply moved by An Tai's fatherly love.
Thinking of the promise she made to him when they parted and how she later shrank when faced with difficulties, she felt extremely ashamed and secretly vowed to find a reliable livelihood to raise Zhixuan and make him successful.