After Wang Xiaohong repaid the silver she had borrowed from the eldest young lady, she packed her few belongings and left the Feng Residence with a small bundle on her back.
On her second day home, she woke not in her brother and sister-in-law's house, but in the bed of a local wealthy gentleman.
The man was nearly fifty, while Wang Xiaohong had not even turned fifteen.
Only later did she learn from his wife that her brother and sister-in-law had sold her to Qian Yuanwai for a hundred taels of silver, to become his tenth concubine.
Her brother and sister-in-law had not even let her take the things she had brought home from the Feng Residence.
That finally extinguished every last hope Wang Xiaohong had held for her only remaining family.
People spoke of the backbone and integrity of scholars. Even the daughter of a mere licentiate should never have been casually given away as someone's concubine.
And her brother?
Not only had he made her a concubine, he had agreed to it for money!
Qian Yuanwai was old and fond of indulging himself. In Wang Xiaohong's third year at the Qian Residence, he died during intercourse.
Madam Qian was kindhearted. She gave each concubine who had borne no children fifty taels and let them return home.
Wang Xiaohong no longer expected anything from her brother. With those fifty taels, she rented a little courtyard house and continued doing embroidery.
Her needlework was excellent, and her embroidery soon found a market.
Though she could not make a fortune, what she had earned through embroidery over the past two years was enough to keep her fed and clothed for the rest of her life.
Who knew where Wang Zimian had learned her current address? One day, Wang Xiaohong returned from