AD (QT) Chapter 115

This story begins with the original owner’s mother, Liu Jiahua. Back when she was a young girl, Jiahua was pampered by her parents and siblings. She was the prettiest girl in the village—fair-skinned with red lips and white teeth. Surrounded by a flock of young suitors, she grew up arrogant and willful. But no matter how haughty a girl is, she will eventually have a young man she admires when her heart first begins to stir. The boy Liu Jiahua adored back then was her current husband, Han Xingwang.

Han Xingwang’s mother was a fertile woman. From the moment she married his father, she bore two sons in three years, eventually giving birth to five boys in a row. This made Han Xingwang’s father incredibly proud.

Although their surname was Han, they had no actual relation to Han Village. They were refugees who had fled there. With no kin or connections in the village, they appeared weak and isolated. If Han Xingwang’s father hadn’t studied for a few years in his youth—allowing him to teach at the village school—the family might not have been able to establish a foothold in Han Village at all.

When the sons were small, they were a joy to look at. But as they grew up one after another and reached the age for marriage, the father began to worry.

As refugees, they originally held no land. Even after over a decade of back-breaking labor, they only owned a few mu of land. The harvest barely put food in their mouths, let alone allowed them to save silver. So, aside from having several grown sons, they were truly penniless.

Furthermore, Han Xingwang was the third son. The two eldest brothers were still bachelors; there was no way the family could skip over them to find a wife for the third. Even if the older brothers were willing, the family didn’t have the silver for a dowry anyway.

Under these circumstances, no matter how much Liu Jiahua liked Han Xingwang, it was impossible for her to marry him. Since she couldn’t marry him, she couldn’t stay at home as an “old maid” forever. In the end, she married Han Maode.

Han Xingwang had studied with his father for a few years as a child, giving him the refined, scholarly look that Liu Jiahua preferred. Han Maode, on the other hand, was ugly and built like a brute. When she married him, she did so unwillingly and looked down on him immensely. No matter how well Han Maode treated her, she refused to see it or take it to heart. Their married life was a series of stumbles. Fortunately, there were no parents-in-law around to lecture her.

Han Maode was an honest, simple man. Having married such a beautiful wife, he felt he couldn’t pamper her enough. If she looked down on him, so be it; as long as she was willing to bear him sons, he could endure a little attitude.

A year into the marriage, Liu Jiahua gave birth to the “Original Owner.” With a son in the world, Han Maode was overjoyed and became even more indulgent toward her. Liu Jiahua, however, grew even more disgusted with him and refused to let him touch her. Sensing her revulsion, Han Maode’s expression dimmed, but he did not force her.

Unexpectedly, a few months later, Liu Jiahua was pregnant again.

Since the birth of the first son, Han Maode hadn’t touched her. How could she be pregnant?

Han Maode was honest, but he wasn’t a fool. His wife had clearly made him a “cuckold.” No man could endure such a thing. Despite repeated questioning, he couldn’t squeeze out the identity of the father. His heart turned cold. He did have feelings for her, and she had already given him a son. He told her that if she aborted the child and lived properly with him from then on, he would let bygones be bygones. Yet Liu Jiahua pushed her luck and refused to terminate the pregnancy.

Han Maode hadn’t expected that even when he was willing to be a tortoise (a humiliated husband) and tolerate the green hat she gave him, she would still refuse. His last shred of affection for her vanished. Since she dared to lean over the wall (have an affair) once, she would do it twice. He refused to raise another man’s child. Since her heart was no longer with him, why force her to stay? For the sake of their son, he didn’t make a public scandal or write a formal letter of divorce; instead, they quietly entered a mutual separation agreement.

After the separation, Liu Jiahua married Han Xingwang. As simple as Han Maode was, he realized the child she carried belonged to Han Xingwang. He knew Han Xingwang had recently come into a small windfall of money. With a bitter smile, he became even more disappointed in her. A few years later, he married a widow named Wang Lanhua, who brought two sons from her previous marriage. After marrying Han Maode, she gave birth to two daughters.

Liu Jiahua felt little affection for the Original Owner. When Han Maode married Wang Lanhua, she didn’t care, nor did she worry if her son would be mistreated by a stepmother.

It wasn’t until the original owner was eight years old that Han Maode’s elder brother, Han Maofa, returned with a large fortune. Han Maofa had spent over a decade wandering and earning silver, but his health was ruined and he had no children of his own. He gave a small portion of money to his brother, but the vast majority was used to build a house and buy land for his only nephew. His only requirement was that the boy would care for him in his old age and perform his funeral rites.

The original owner, barely a young boy, suddenly came into over two hundred mu of land and a large courtyard house, becoming a genuine “Little Landlord.” Han Maode didn’t think much of it; the original owner was his only son, and everything he owned would eventually go to the boy anyway. It didn’t matter who his brother gave the land to.

He didn’t care, but that didn’t mean Liu Jiahua didn’t. After marrying Han Xingwang, they lived well for two years on his small windfall, but as more children were born, their lives grew increasingly difficult. Seeing a massive fortune fall into the original owner’s lap—and knowing the original owner was her own flesh and blood—how could she not have designs on it?

Thus, under the guise of “doing what’s best for him,” she did everything possible to drive a wedge between the original owner, Han Maode, and Wang Lanhua.

Han Maode had only one biological son and had pampered him since birth. The original owner grew up arrogant, selfish, and unfortunately, not very bright. He couldn’t tell good from bad and was prone to self-righteousness.

After Han Maode married Wang Lanhua, the original owner—having heard countless stories from village elders about stepmothers abusing stepchildren—already disliked her. With Liu Jiahua’s manipulation and her hints that her other son, Han Chengming, was actually Han Maode’s son and the original owner’s “true” younger brother and that Han Maode only refused to acknowledge him because of Wang Lanhua, the original owner became convinced the stepmother had ulterior motives. He believed she had driven away his mother and brother, leaving him motherless. He constantly picked fights with her. From then on, whenever the family bought good food or items, he would take a portion to give to Liu Jiahua.

Han Maode tried to lecture and discipline him, but the original owner would argue that since he was living a life of luxury, he couldn’t bear to see his mother suffer. What could Han Maode say? He could only agree helplessly.

The original owner had been raised by Han Maode. Since the separation, Liu Jiahua had never cared for him. How much affection could he really have for her? The reason he gave her things was mostly a sense of spite: My mother and brother were pushed out and are starving with Han Xingwang, while this stepmother and her cheap sons eat their fill every day. Why? Even if I can’t finish this meat, I won’t let Wang Lanhua have it. I’ll give it to my mother and brother. They are my blood kin; even if they aren’t grateful, they won’t harm me. I can’t say the same for a stepmother.

The original owner’s build followed Han Maode’s—large and sturdy—but his face favored Liu Jiahua, making him handsomer than his father. Having suffered enough at Jiahua’s hands, Han Maode only wanted to find a capable, hardworking daughter-in-law for his son. But the original owner set his sights on Ge Hongbu from a neighboring village.

Ge Hongbu was even prettier than Liu Jiahua had been in her youth. Because her family was poor and she often went hungry, she was quite frail. Han Maode did not like this choice.

But he couldn’t win against his son and eventually sent a matchmaker to bring her home, hoping only that her personality wouldn’t be like Jiahua’s. Though Ge Hongbu was beautiful, her temperament was worlds apart from Liu Jiahua’s. Seeing this, Han Maode let out a long sigh of relief, privately thanking luck that his son was more fortunate than he had been.

However, as Ge Hongbu gave birth to one daughter after another—five in total—without a single grandson, Han Maode’s relief vanished.

Even the original owner began to resent Ge Hongbu. Fortunately, after the fifth girl, a boy finally arrived. Only then did the original owner show Ge Hongbu a smiling face. But by the time the boy turned six, he still couldn’t speak. He would only giggle foolishly at people. The original owner’s heart turned cold again.

The original owner had inherited Liu Jiahua’s selfishness. He never thought the problem was his; if he had a “silly” son, it must be Ge Hongbu’s fault. Thus, following Wang Lanhua and her two sons, Ge Hongbu became the next person in the house to be despised by the original owner.

Ge Hongbu was naturally weak-willed. Having birthed five girls and a “foolish” son, and with no support from her impoverished natal family, she lived in constant fear of being divorced. She had no confidence and became even more submissive and timid toward the original owner.

Liu Jiahua had originally worried that her son would “marry a wife and forget his mother,” but seeing the string of daughters and the “little fool,” she had a new idea. She told the original owner that Han Chengming was his true brother, and thus Chengming’s sons were no different from his own. In the future, when your nephews succeed, won’t they look after their uncle and cousins? They are closer than Wang Lanhua’s grandsons.

The original owner thought about it and decided she was right. His own uncle had wandered for years childless, yet had the original owner to care for him and burn incense at his grave. Wasn’t that the same as having a son?

He figured he couldn’t count on his silly son for his old age anyway. Besides, even if the boy was a fool, he was still his son. With the nephews’ help and the family’s vast land, the boy wouldn’t have to do much and could live a stable life. Maybe he could even father a grandson later.

Thinking he had figured it all out, the original owner began treating Han Chengming’s two sons incredibly well, intending to rely on them for his twilight years. He granted their every request, reasonable or not, and even paid for their education and Imperial Examinations.

When Han Maode tried to stop him, the original owner accused him of being a “stepfather” who favored the stepmother and didn’t care about his own son’s future. After a massive argument, the original owner forced a family separation. Heartbroken, Han Maode shook his head and stopped trying to manage him.

Later, the original owner spent a fortune on his nephews’ exams. The eldest, Han Jiwen, finally passed and became a juren. The younger, Han Jixue, was a poor student. He couldn’t even pass the xiucai exam, let alone the juren. Unwilling to give up a life of ease, he became a lowly tongsheng and taught at the village school. Coveting the original owner’s land, he conspired with Han Jiwen to murder the original owner’s silly son and the five daughters. They seized his silver and land. The original owner was driven to a mental breakdown by their cruelty, becoming a wandering madman. He eventually died alone in his room, unnoticed. In the end, it was the two cheap sons of his stepmother who buried him.

Han Ze asked the System: “What are the requirements for the mission from the Original owner?”

[The System replied with some hesitation: The mission requester’s mind was already broken; he couldn’t state specific requirements.]

Han Ze frowned. “If he couldn’t state them, how did he issue the mission?”

[System: The subconscious cry for help from the depths of his heart was so strong that I intercepted it.]

Han Ze waved a hand dismissively. “Then I’ll just repay kindness with kindness and grudges with revenge. As for that son… let’s see if he can be cured.”