In two days, it will be New Year’s Eve.
Mr. Shi has closed his shop and plans to prepare for the New Year in advance.
It was a clear day and the sky was filled with thick clouds, the cold wind was howling, and occasionally two or three snowflakes fell.
There was a cold air on the windows, but there was a lot of charcoal fire burning in the house, and Shen Dingzhu was cutting the window grilles.
She was wearing a brocade coat with orange auspicious clouds, her palm-sized face was extremely bright, and the beaded hairpin on her black bun was dazzling.
The beauty's swollen belly was covered by a loose jacket, and only a hint of the charm of pregnancy could be seen from her plump and pink complexion.
Mr. Shi patted the white snow on the corner of his robe and stamped his feet at the door.
Shen Dingzhu immediately put down the scissors and looked out the window.
"Hey! I didn't buy any medicine." He sighed as soon as he came in.
Shen Dingzhu was about to finish her anti-fetal medicine. The last time she went to get it, she had agreed with the doctor that she would go get it again two days before New Year's Eve.
Originally, she was supposed to go by herself today, but Mr. Shi was considerate of her age and was afraid that she would fall, so he took his servants and went for her.
But he came back empty-handed.
"What's the matter, isn't the old man here?" Shen Dingzhu handed him a cup of hot tea.
Sitting on the chair, Mr. Shi drank hot tea and warmed his hands before saying, "I don't know what happened to the Yang family's father and son. I heard from the neighbor that they closed the door yesterday."
Shen Dingzhu had dark eyebrows and dark eyes. Hearing this, she smiled tenderly: "I'm afraid she's going home to celebrate the New Year too."
"No, I have been dealing with them for so many years, and I know that the Yang family and his son are the most diligent. Even on New Year's Eve, they have to stay open for half a day."
Mr. Shi finished the hot tea and said, "I'll go to his house again in the afternoon. I wouldn't trust anyone else to prescribe your anti-fetal medicine."
Shen Dingzhu was moved.
Mr. Shi really took care of her as his daughter.
"Thank you, Uncle Ren."
"You kid, why are you being polite to Uncle? You are half of Uncle's daughter. You can't be so polite in the future, and you're still angry."
The two looked at each other and smiled.
At this moment, there was a "bang bang" sound on the door from the outer courtyard.
Mr. Shi's house is not big. When entering and exiting the outer courtyard and the inner courtyard, Shen Dingzhu can hear the knocking on the door so loudly in the greenhouse in the backyard.
The boy A Liang has already gone.
Mr. Shi stood up quickly: "Did Master Xu come to see you again? Let me take a look."
Shen Dingzhu picked up the window grill again, his white face a little confused.
Xu Huaisong said that he had something to do today and might not come, so Shen Dingzhu was so leisurely.
Could it be that he finished his work and came back early?
She lowered her head and continued to cut the window grilles. Suddenly, there was a noise of yelling and cursing from the outer courtyard. Shen Dingzhu's expression changed, and he hurriedly put down the scissors and rushed away.
In the yard, there were several tall and thick men standing. A Liang was knocked down and was curled up on the ground, holding his stomach, with a look of pain on his face.
The man at the head was rough-looking and was grabbing Mr. Shi's collar: "Your daughter can't give birth to a child. You can think of a way. Give my cousin money to divorce her, or should we marry her? If it's a wedding, you You have to go and watch!”
When Shen Dingzhu heard this, his brows jumped suddenly.
The so-called happy shooting is a bad custom in folk customs, and this habit is still retained in some places.
When a woman gets married and fails to give birth to a child within five years, she will be "beaten". The so-called "beating" means that all the relatives of the husband's family will hit the woman with visible objects.
Until she is beaten to death, she will find an excuse to say that the woman cannot bear the wedding ceremony, so she naturally remarries the man.
It is precisely because the shooting is bloody and brutal, and people are often beaten to death, so the woman's family must watch it to prove that the woman's family also agrees, so that it will not cause trouble with the government.
Mr. Shi obviously recognized this group of people. The corner of his mouth was broken and his gray beard was stained with blood.
His hands were trembling with anxiety: "You, how could you do this!"
The leading man looked fierce: "You still have the nerve to say it? How long has your daughter Fangyan been married to my cousin? It's been almost ten years, right? She can't give birth to a child, it's really useless!"
"Anyway, stop talking nonsense. Either give me five hundred taels of silver to buy your daughter's divorce letter, or you can follow us today and watch the wedding with your own eyes!"
Five hundred taels!
Mr. Shi has sold all his family property, but it may not be enough.
These people are asking for so much silver, and they are obviously here to cause trouble.
What's more, Mr. Shi himself said that all the money he sent to his daughter was returned, and his daughter refused to contact him after so many years.
Shen Dingzhu calmed down and walked over and said coldly: "You have violated the law by forcing yourself into people's homes in broad daylight. Besides, our court's laws have already stated that men and women should be divorced after marriage. Burning, killing, looting, etc. must be avoided. All must be done voluntarily." .”
"If you want a divorce, give me a reason. How can you come directly to ask for money and force us to buy a divorce certificate? Uncle Ren, I think there is a problem with this matter. Why don't we report it to the official directly."
The fierce man immediately pointed at Shen Dingzhu: "Who the hell are you? Do you have the right to speak here?"
But when he looked up and saw her appearance, he and the people he brought with him froze on the spot and took a breath.
Beautiful, so beautiful.
The woman in front of her stood in the cold wind, surrounded by a lonely winter scenery, with black tiles, white snow, and a gloomy sky.
But she was the only one with a bit of color on her body, like a stunning cloud of clouds breaking into the ink, and the expression on her delicate face was even more frosty, like an orchid in an empty valley.
Mr. Shi waved hurriedly to Shen Dingzhu: "Azhu, go back first. He is my daughter's brother-in-law. Don't worry about this matter. Go back to the house quickly."
This person is nicknamed "Three Bastards", and that's not for nothing. He does all sorts of things, and he's not a good guy.
Shen Dingzhu frowned. She didn't give in even a step, and her whole body was filled with aura that was beyond words.
The three gangsters pushed Mr. Shi to his subordinates and walked towards Shen Dingzhu.
Seeing his careless look, Shen Dingzhu subconsciously protected his abdomen and frowned tightly.
"Tsk tsk, you're not that old guy's concubine, are you? I don't think he can bear it. So, who are you? His adopted daughter? His niece?"
Shen Dingzhu pursed her red lips and ignored it.
The third bastard turned around and asked Mr. Shi: "Speaking of Mr. Shi, how much do you plan to sell this girl for this time? Since we are relatives, you might as well sell it to me to save face and let me Enjoy and enjoy.”
Mr. Shi seemed to have been exposed to the scars in his heart, his old face turned red with anger, and he cursed on the spot: "You bastard! Get out of my house!"
The servant who grabbed Mr. Shi punched the old man in the stomach. Mr. Shi suddenly coughed continuously, and his voice was like broken leaves in the wind.
Shen Dingzhu saw the situation clearly. He saw that the other party had a large number of people and did not seem to be a reasonable person. Looking at the clothes of the three gangsters, wearing a fur coat, he must have a better family background than Mr. Shi.
It would definitely be useless to force yourself. Shen Dingzhu's beautiful eyes were calm and calm.
"We gave you money, but you asked for too much, five hundred taels. You have to give us some time. You can collect it on the first day of the new year."
The three bastards turned back in surprise, looking at Shen Dingzhu with his triangular eyes full of surprise.
"It's better to talk to such a beautiful lady. If only it had been like this earlier, I would say that this old guy Shi Boren is confused and he got punched by us twice for nothing." He smiled with yellow teeth.
Stretching out her hand to touch Shen Dingzhu's fair and tender face, she immediately took a step back and looked at him with vigilant eyes.
The three bastards laughed: "Ouch! This is the first time I see someone look so good when they are angry, but don't worry, maybe one day, I will marry you home, and you will greet me with a smile every day!"
Mr. Shi rushed with his neck red: "Get out! Get out of my house!"
The three bastards snorted and waved, and then they let him go: "Let's go. If you can't pay in the first year of junior high school, just wait for me."
They left in a big way, and before leaving, they also took away the thousand-ring hanging whip that Mr. Shi bought.
Aliang staggered to his feet and quickly bolted the door.
Shen Dingzhu supported Mr. Shi: "Uncle Ren, are you okay?"
Mr. Shi shook his head, his gray hair was messy, and his eyes were red: "Azhu, I'm in trouble for you. You should leave quickly, or you can go to Xu Dadong's house to avoid these bastards. If they don't get money, they will leave. They Don’t dare to cause trouble and kill people.”
At worst, he, an old man, will fight to the death with them!
Shen Dingzhu sighed: "Uncle Ren, have you seen it too? This is an expedient measure. However, I don't want to buy us time, but we must report to the official."
"They dare to come and make such a fuss. You can imagine what kind of situation your daughter, Uncle Ren, is in their home now. We can hide, but what will happen to your daughter? We have to find a way to get her out of this mud pit."
Mr. Shi cried and beat his chest: "It's all my fault. I shouldn't have done it in the first place... ugh!"
Seeing that he was agitated, Shen Dingzhu was afraid that something might happen to him due to his old age, so he quickly asked A Liang to come over, and together they helped Mr. Shi back to the main house.
They didn't know that before the three gangsters could even walk out of the alley, they were suddenly escorted by several brocade-clad guards who descended from the sky and covered their heads with sacks. They were taken away without even calling out for help.
