The Formidable Lady of the Poor Scholar’s Household

Chapter 1: An Illusion or A Dream?

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Since ancient times, the wildlands had been filled with barbarians. Most of the time, only officials who had been demoted would have no choice but to come here.

Of course, in order to increase the population and solve the problem of bachelors in the border region, the government exiled unmarried young women from criminal families to marry the unmarried youths here.

Scarcely any women were sent here, but this year was an exception. After consecutive years of war, the population had decreased severely. For the sake of the country’s development, all the women who had been exiled this year had been sent to the border.

The weather today was perfect with not a cloud in sight. Here in the border region, May marked the beginning of spring.

A group of servants surrounded the government office in Damiao Town, while women were gathered inside.

All of the women appeared gaunt and ghastly—one of them was even lying on the ground—and gazed blankly into the distance.

“Silence! Silence!” The master shouted from the stage as he struck the gong.

The scene finally quieted down. Seeing that the situation was under control, the master cleared his throat and said, “Thanks to the great kindness of the Imperial Court who has sent these women over to us, our young men will finally have wives. You ought to remember the Imperial Court’s and the Emperor’s kindness!” As he spoke, he raised his hands up into the air, as though he was giving thanks to the heavens.

“Do we just take the woman we fancy? Or how does this work?” An old bachelor among the onlookers glanced around anxiously.

“Two taels of silver for a woman. Pay up and get your the marriage certificate on the spot. We’ll waive the fee!”

Seeing that someone was questions, the master couldn’t be bothered to go through the proper procedures. It was easier to get to the heart of the matter.

To the bachelors present, two taels of silver was neither expensive nor cheap. A family that could afford the sum of two taels of silver lived quite a comfortable life.

The Imperial Court had put in a lot of effort for the sake of people too. When the sluggards heard the cost, they wailed. Were they destined to be single for the rest of their lives?

Yet, for the sake of their sons, they had no choice but to grit their teeth and persevere. Many people had already joined the queue to sign up.

“There are only 15 people assigned to us this year. If you want any one of them, you’d better hurry up. I don’t know what the situation will be like next year.” The people had better make up their minds quickly. There was no turning back once these women were snatched up.

Among the fifteen women, the one lying on the ground still had her eyes closed. The onlookers did not even spare a glance at her.

The women judged the bachelors queuing up based on their clothes. Since there was no other choice, the least they could do was get a man who could provide them with a comfortable life.

There were not many men with two taels of silver to spare. After the others had been chosen, only the unconscious woman was left. The servants and the master looked at the worn-down woman, not knowing what to do.

If they had not used their fingers to feel under her nose and felt her shallow breath, they would have thought that she was dead.

Not a single soul was willing to spend two taels of silver to buy a woman who could die before serving her duty as a wife.

The servant thought for a moment before asking, “Master Hu, what should we do with this woman?” The sun was already setting, but no one had shown any interest in this woman.

The master was also in a dilemma. A woman like that would just be a waste of food in the government office. They did not have that much to spend in year, so they really could not afford to keep her here either.

The master thought for a moment, shook his head, and sighed. “Who wants this woman for a tael of silver?” He looked around, but there was no response.

No one wanted this woman even if she was free of charge, let alone one tael of silver. It would be especially troublesome if she were to die.

Amidst the hullabaloo, the unconscious woman opened her eyes and scanned the surrounding crowd in confusion. Then, without saying a word, she fainted again.

When the onlookers saw that the commotion was over, and that the sun had already set, it seemed more practical for them to hurry home and have their meal instead of sticking around.

Seeing that all the onlookers had left, the master and the servants felt a little embarrassed. Today, the bailiffs of the government office had all gone out, leaving behind only the master and a group of servants. They were not officially trained and had never encountered such a situation.

Just then, a scholar in long robes walked past. His clothes had been washed so often that they had lost their color, and the cloth on his shoulders and sleeves were covered by patches of fabric. It was painfully obvious that he was downright poor.

The master looked pitifully at the woman on the ground. She was around the same age as his daughter and he couldn’t help but feel sorry for her.

“Scholar, how about taking this woman as your wife? 500 copper coins will do.” The master was also anxious and confused. He had not even bothered to ask if the scholar already had a wife.

The scholar suddenly stopped in his tracks and looked at the woman on the ground. He frowned in confusion. Why was someone trying to sell him a wife? He was just trying to get home.

Most importantly, he did not have that much money. “Sir, I’m penniless,” he replied, embarrassed.

However, the master had waited for a long time before seeing a young man pass by. There was no way he would let this young man go just like that! If he were to let this scholar go, the woman would only be a burden to the government office. They didn’t have any surplus food left.

“Alright. How much do you have on you?” The master accepted his fate.

Under the gaze of the master and the servant, the scholar searched his body for a long time before placing copper coin after copper coin into the master’s palm.

The master and servant looked at the scholar in a daze.

The scholar’s face turned bright red. “I… I only have five copper coins.”

That was all he had. The master looked at the scholar, who had taken out his life savings, and began to frown again.

The difference was so stark that he couldn’t possibly accept it. A servant tugged on the master’s sleeve, saying, “Master Hu, just let him have her. We don’t even know if she’ll survive. If she dies while in our care, we’ll be fined. You know the situation in our government office better than us.” They were so poor that only their office was left.

Master Hu thought for a moment. “The difference is too great. Who will make up for it?”

Another servant spoke up, “Master, when the Lord comes back, we’ll testify for you together. There’s also a doctor in the government office who can testify. I’m sure that the Lord won’t blame us. It’ll be troublesome if she stays anyway.”

The scholar looked at the master and the servants discussing amongst themselves. Seeing that the sun had already set, he was in a hurry to go home.

“Sir, if you can’t accept my price, I’ll take my leave.” What he truly meant was: Shouldn’t you return the five copper coins in your hand to me?

The master glanced at the scholar, gritted his teeth, and stomped his foot. “Five coins it is. Follow me to get your marriage certificate.”

The scholar was still in a trance. He couldn’t help but think: This woman is way too cheap! Most importantly, I didn’t even want a wife! Can someone explain to me how my marriage was suddenly decided on the way home?

When the secretary saw the scholar, he happily asked, “Your name?” He could finally get off work!

Before the scholar could recover from the shock of having a wife, he instinctively replied, “Shi Jinhua.”

While Shi Jinhua was still in a daze, a marriage certificate was stuffed into his hands. He stumbled over to the woman lying on the ground.

The master heaved a sigh of relief. “This is your wife. Take her back.”

Shi Jinhua looked at the woman. He was now in a dilemma. How could he bring her back?

The master thought that the scholar had changed his mind, and said, “I’m telling you, you already have the marriage certificate. You can’t go back on your word.”

Only when Shi Jinhua saw the master did he realize that he had indeed decided on a major life event on the way home. “No, Sir. My family is from Shandong Village. It’s too far away. How can I bring her back alone?”

The master thought for a while and sighed again. Forget it, he would just accept his fate.

“Ah Jia, bring the cart from our office over.” As he spoke, he turned around and said to Shi Jinhua, “You have to return it the next time you come. Our office doesn’t have many tools.”

Hence, under the gazes of the master and servants, Shi Jinhua pushed his newly-wed wife in the cart as they walked under the setting sun.

Just as the servant and the master heaved a sigh of relief, the cart flipped and the woman tumbled onto the ground.

Shi Jinhua was flustered and did not pick her up nor help her back onto the cart.

A few servants couldn’t stand it anymore and hurried forward to help him carry the woman back up into the cart.

“Scholar, pull the cart from the front. If you push her, your wife might lose her life.”

Shi Jinhua glanced at his new wife and expressed his agreement.

Hence, under the gaze of the master and the servants, the scholar lumbered down the stone pavement with the cart lurching behind him.

The onlookers were so frightened that they stretched out their hands and let out a shout! That had been close! Thankfully, the woman was still lying safely in the cart.

The master wiped the sweat off his forehead. He was a little worried for this woman. Would she die along the road home tonight just because of the scholar?