After her husband died, her parents came to force her to remarry

Chapter 31: But I can hold my head up high and live as a human being

I saw Jiang Ming and Chen Chunlai kneeling on the ground, trembling and a little scared.

But the hall hasn't opened yet.

It was not until Jiang Xiaohe squeezed in that Zhang Fu immediately saw her.

Pointing at her, he said, "Sir, that is my daughter-in-law Jiang Xiaohe."

The head of the pavilion ordered her to come in.

Seeing everyone kneeling on the ground, Jiang Xiaohe advised herself to adapt to the local customs.

Then she stepped forward and knelt down: "I, Jiang Xiaohe, pay my respects to the Pavilion Master."

Xu Changan nodded slightly, feeling somewhat satisfied with Chang Wei and taking his words to heart.

"Jiang Xiaohe, your father-in-law Zhang Fu sued your parents for selling you secretly. Did you know about this?"

Jiang Xiaohe looked at Zhang Fu and thought to herself that Zhang Fu must have been afraid that he would be beaten if he reported his parents, so he was the one who reported Jiang Ming and Chen Chunlai.

"Your Excellency, I know!"

At this point, Jiang Xiaohe spoke again: "My parents sold me to the landlord in town without my parents-in-law knowing."

Zhang Fu quickly took out his family's household registration from his arms and handed it over.

"Sir, this is my family's household registration. When my son married Jiang Xiaohe, he transferred her household registration to our family tree. I asked the village chief to do this."

A bailiff took the household registration and handed it to Xu Changan.

Zhang Shunchang said casually, "I can testify for Zhang Fu about this matter. The household registration was originally stamped by the government office after I passed through my hands! Since Jiang Xiaohe's household registration is in the Zhang family, the Jiang family has no right to sell Jiang Xiaohe privately."

Xu Changan nodded after looking at the seal on it, then he took out Jiang Xiaohe's indenture contract from his arms, held it up and said to Jiang Ming and his wife, "This indenture contract was just sent by the Chang family. It is said that when the indenture contract was signed, his headmaster did not know that this was not Jiang Xiaohe's will, and he did not know that you sold Jiang Xiaohe to him privately."

The two looked at each other, and Jiang Ming took the initiative to speak: "Sir, this matter is unjust for my family!"

"Then tell me, you sold his wife without permission, how is that wronged?"

Jiang Ming pushed Chen Chunlai, and Chen Chunlai racked his brains and said, "Sir, actually... after all, this matter is the result of the hard work of me and the child's father!" When he said this, tears welled up in his eyes, "My daughter is not lucky! In fact, it was her father and I who chose her carefully to marry into the Zhang family! It was all good, but my son-in-law had a short life and died young, but our daughter is still young! Is she going to live like this for the rest of her life? My husband and I thought about it again and again before we decided to find a good marriage for her." After that, she covered her mouth and cried, looking aggrieved.

Jiang Ming nodded quickly: "Yes, yes, sir, my daughter is only nineteen this year. Is she going to be a widow for the rest of her life?"

The people watching outside were whispering to each other, some agreed and some disagreed.

Listening to these chaotic voices, Jiang Xiaohe spoke up: "Sir! I have something to say."

Xu Changan slammed the table and said, "Silence!" The crowd watching outside immediately quieted down.

He then said to Jiang Xiaohe: "You tell me."

Jiang Xiaohe glanced at Jiang Ming and Chen Chunlai and said, "Your Excellency, I am willing to remain a widow, and I do not want to be sold to others by my parents! If my parents really care about me, they can discuss my marriage with my mother-in-law and father-in-law. There is really no need to sell me to others as a concubine. If I sell myself to others, my whole life, including my children, will be inferior to others. As a concubine, I will be even inferior..."

Xu Changan nodded.

Jiang Xiaohe raised her head and said with her chest held high: "Since my husband passed away, my family's life has been a little difficult, but I can still hold my head up high and live my life! But if I become someone else's concubine, or if I am bought back by someone else to be a concubine, I will never be able to straighten my back for the rest of my life!"

She said the last sentence so loudly that the whole hall could hear her.

As soon as she finished speaking, someone outside the audience clapped their hands: "Well said!"

Once one person agreed, many people followed suit immediately.

Xu Changan also nodded.

"Jiang Ming, Chen Chunlai, did you hear what Jiang Xiaohe said?"

The two men glared at Jiang Xiaohe but did not answer.

Xu Changan said, "First, Jiang Xiaohe is already the daughter-in-law of the Zhang family. You have no right to buy or sell her. Second, you keep saying that you are doing this for her good, but you sell her to someone else as a concubine. I really don't see how you are doing this for her good."

The two immediately retorted: "Sir, although she is a concubine to someone else, she is a concubine to a wealthy family! The food that wealthy family eats in one day is enough for us poor people in a year. It's not good to say it out loud, but I don't know how much better their life is than others!"

Chen Chunlai immediately agreed: "That's right, we found her a wealthy family, many people want to marry into it but can't!"

Jiang Xiaohe bowed, "Master Pavilion Master, they keep saying that they are doing this for my own good, but I don't need to tell you what the Chang family is like in the town, I believe everyone in the town knows it! Rather than letting me go to that rich place to enjoy a good life, it's better to say that they are pushing me into a pit of fire!"

The people standing outside murmured in agreement.

The master of the Chang family is well-known in the town for his cruelty and viciousness.

"I heard that in order to have a son, he locked his concubine in the room all day long to study the pleasures of the boudoir. In the end, the concubine couldn't bear the humiliation and hanged herself at home."

"That's right. He also had a concubine. I heard that he bought her from the village. She couldn't stand him and jumped into the flower pond in the middle of the night."

Everyone shook their heads.

Xu Changan listened and was speechless. What a joke Chang Wei was. The news had spread all over the town, but he himself didn't even come out to clarify.

He slammed the table and said, "Silence, silence!"

Everyone shut up.

Zhang Fu cupped his hands at this time and said, "Sir, I have no other intention in suing Jiang Ming and Chen Chunlai. I just want the indenture in your hand to be invalid! My son died young, but fortunately he left behind a posthumous child. I am not insisting that my wife cannot remarry, but the baby at home is too young. If the child grows up in two years, and my daughter-in-law wants to remarry, or do something else, I and my wife will definitely not stop her!"

Zhang Fu's eyes turned red and his voice was slightly choked.

Jiang Xiaohe looked at him. She didn't expect that at this time, as a person from the old era, he had such a high level of ideological awareness.

The people watching outside felt sympathy for the old man.

Zhang Shunchang sighed.

Xu Changan was deeply moved by what he heard, and slammed the table: "Don't worry, I will take care of this matter for you. This indenture has no validity!"

When Zhang Fu heard this, a hint of joy appeared on his face.

.....

Jiang Xiaohe and Zhang Fu came out of the yamen, with Jiang Xiaohe holding the indenture contract in her hand.

From inside came the sound of Jiang Ming and Chen Chunlai being beaten with a stick.

Zhang Shunchang finally smiled and said, "This matter has finally been resolved. You can live your life well from now on. I still have some things to do in town, so you can go back first."

Jiang Xiaohe bowed to Zhang Shunchang and said, "Thank you for your help today, Village Chief."

Zhang Shunchang waved his hand and turned away.

Jiang Xiaohe supported Zhang Fu: "Dad, let's go home."

Zhang Fu nodded and asked her with concern, "I'm sorry for wronging you."

Jiang Xiaohe shook her head and explained, "I'm not wronged. Don't worry. I wasn't bullied in Chang's Mansion."

"That's fine, that's fine."

The two walked all the way towards home.