Chapter 4: The First Signs of Conspiracy and Deceit

The midnight knocking sounded like a death knell, each strike hammering heavily against Shen Guilan’s heart.

The sound was urgent and loud, carrying an overbearing force that brooked no refusal, causing her already anxious heart to sink to rock bottom.

In her arms, young Xiuwei, startled awake, rubbed her sleepy eyes. Her small, milky voice was filled with deep reliance and unease: "Mother, who is that outside?"

"It’s nothing, Weiwei, be a good girl and go back to sleep. Mother is here," Shen Guilan whispered, her voice barely audible.

She patted her daughter’s frail back gently, using her own body heat to soothe her, even as her own back was already soaked in cold sweat.

"In the middle of the night, what kind of cursed wretch is pounding at the door! Don't they let people sleep?" Madam Zhang’s grumbling voice drifted from the next room, accompanied by the rustle of clothing.

She waited for a long while, but when Shen Guilan didn't move, her irritation flared. She shuffled in her slippers toward the courtyard gate. "Are you dead? Can't you even open the door? What use is there in keeping a lazy wretch like you!"

The wooden door creaked open. Standing outside was a woman with a face full of oily smiles—none other than Matchmaker Wang, known in the village for her trade in human flesh.

"Oh, my dear sister, you finally opened the door!" As soon as Matchmaker Wang saw Madam Zhang, she affectionately linked arms with her, her voice shrill and cloying. "I apologize for disturbing you so late, but your household has such wonderful news that I couldn't hold it back—I had to come and tell you immediately!"

Upon hearing the words "wonderful news," Madam Zhang’s impatience vanished, replaced instantly by a look of greed. "What news? Out with it, let me hear."

Matchmaker Wang leaned into her ear and lowered her voice, though it carried clearly into the inner room to Shen Guilan’s ears: "Landlord Zhang from the neighboring Apricot Blossom Village, you know him, right? Hundreds of acres of fertile land, stables full of horses and mules, but his lineage is thin. He wants to take another concubine. I thought and thought, and the first person who came to mind was your Xiuwei! That child is sharp, a real beauty in the making. Even if she’s a bit young, that’s exactly what Landlord Zhang likes. Wealthy families enjoy them fresh; raise her by his side, and since she’s someone he knows the roots of, she’s sure to be favored!"

Madam Zhang’s cloudy old eyes widened instantly at the mention of "Landlord Zhang."

Almost instinctively, she whipped her head around, her gaze locking onto the closed door of the inner room. A strange, twisted smirk spread across her face, her wrinkles bunching up like a decaying chrysanthemum.

"Oh, you truly have our family in your thoughts, sister!"

Madam Zhang’s voice was filled with irrepressible ecstasy. "You’ve gone to such trouble! This is a grand stroke of fortune! If my Xiuwei really has the luck to live a good life at the landlord’s estate, our whole family will never forget your great kindness!"

Every word of the conversation outside reached Shen Guilan’s ears.

Each syllable felt like a red-hot iron brand searing her heart.

Fury, like a burst dam, flooded her chest, making her limbs tremble to their core. She bit her lip until it bled, her fingernails digging deep into her palms. She could barely stop herself from rushing out to tear the faces of those two wicked women to shreds.

Just as her sanity was about to shatter, a pair of small, cold hands wrapped gently around her neck.

Xiuwei was fully awake now. She buried her small face into her mother’s neck, begging in a voice as thin as a mosquito’s, trembling with tears: "Mother... don’t send me away... I’ll work harder in the future. I... I eat very, very little... please, don’t let Grandmother sell me..."

Her daughter’s humble plea was like a bucket of ice water poured over her, instantly dousing the fire in Shen Guilan’s chest.

The raging anger receded, leaving behind only a boundless, knife-like pain.

She wrapped her arms tightly around her daughter’s small, shivering frame, her voice hoarse but unshakably firm: "Weiwei, don't be afraid. Mother is here. I will not let anyone take you away. No one!"

Xiuwei said nothing more; she simply used all her strength to cling tighter to her mother’s neck, as if she were the only piece of driftwood in this cold, heartless world.

That night, the mother and daughter held each other tightly, neither falling back to sleep.

The next morning, at the first light of dawn, Shen Guilan washed up briefly and took Xiuwei by the hand, preparing to leave.

She had to find a way—a path to survival—before Madam Zhang could make her move.

Just as they reached the courtyard, they were blocked by Madam Zhang, who had been waiting for them.

"Stop right there!" Madam Zhang stood with her hands on her hips, her expression one of utter entitlement. "Did you hear what Matchmaker Wang said last night? This is Xiuwei’s good fortune! You jinx, don't be ungrateful and ruin my granddaughter’s future! You are to stay right here in the house today and wait for Matchmaker Wang to come and collect her!"

Hearing this, the volcano that had been suppressed within Shen Guilan all night finally erupted.

With bloodshot eyes, she didn't say a word. She spun around and bolted back into the house.

Madam Zhang, thinking she was going to grab something, smirked in triumph, preparing to continue her lecture—only to see Shen Guilan rush back out carrying a chamber pot filled to the brim!

"Splash—!" A loud, resounding crash echoed through the air.