spoiled brat

Chapter 8.8. The Opportunity (Part Four)

Seeing her displeasure, Zhao Zhao laughed and said, "Sister, don't take it to heart. He listens to too many stories at the stalls, and he's always thinking about chivalrous heroes who fight injustice with swords. He's full of impractical grand principles."

Azhuo was too lazy to look at Xiaoduo anymore, and only spoke to Zhaozhao:
"How is Yun'er, the one who was deceived by Zhao Si, doing?"

Zhao Zhao honestly explained Yun'er's situation, and A Zhuo sighed after hearing it:
"Fool."

She got up, walked to the corner, opened the chest of drawers, took out a piece of cloth, and spread it out on the table.

Even in the dimly lit room, Zhao Zhao was still startled by the stack of gold bracelets, earrings, and hairpins.

“Actually, I’ve always known that the money Zhao Sihua spent on me was swindled from others,” Azhuo said calmly. “Take these things back and share them with the girls in your building who were scammed… Although it’s insignificant, given my situation, this is all I can give back.”

For a moment, all was silent. Xiao Duo stared at her blankly, opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a word.

Azhuo gave him a disdainful smile: "Little scoundrel, I'm returning the money for no reason, not for your so-called conscience, nor to show how kind I am. I just feel that it's not easy for people like us to live. If we don't feel any kindness after suffering misfortune, we really can't go on living."

Since she was so open and honest, Zhao Zhao didn't bother with any pretense. She accepted the bag of gold jewelry and said gratefully:
"The people of our area will remember your kindness and will definitely repay you in the future."

Azhu scoffed, "No need, I don't expect anything in return."

Zhao Zhao was speechless, then asked, "May I ask, sister, do you know which street and alley his house in the south of the city is on?"

"Why are you asking this?" Azhuo's tone turned somber.

“Every wrong has its perpetrator, and every debt has its debtor. We’ll have to find Zhao Si to resolve this.” Zhao Zhao laughed. “He’s a cunning rabbit with three burrows and no fixed abode. If our mother wants to use her connections to deal with him, she’ll need to know where to stake out his territory.”

Azhuo lowered her eyes, pondered for a moment, and when she looked up again, her gaze was icy:
“Young lady, the south side of the city is close to the government office, a good area where high-ranking officials and nobles live. Aren’t you curious why Zhao Si is in that place? Even if he has the money to buy a courtyard, would those officials have the nerve to be neighbors with local thugs?”

There is a deeper meaning in your words, but it is not obvious. Please enlighten me:

"I am not knowledgeable enough, please enlighten me, elder sister."

Azhuo beckoned with her finger, and Zhaozhao leaned close to her ear.

She parted her lips slightly, smiling as she uttered a strange statement:
"Because no one dares to live in that house—there's a man who died many years ago, and he's been trapped there ever since."

The hot, crisp air brushed against Zhao Zhao's ear, sending a chill down her spine.

Zhao Zhao was confused and wanted to ask more, but she saw that A Zhuo had an expression that said she had revealed a secret and could not say any more:
"His house is right next to the magistrate's, and you can hear ghostly cries every rainy night. Young lady, if your madam wants to bring people over to put pressure on you, she'd better bring a lot of people."

"Thank you."

After returning home, Zhao Zhao distributed the gold items to the girls who had been cheated the most, and then went to tell Mama Yu about the matter and asked about the strange stories about Zhao Si's house.

“He used to be a minor official, now he’s a local ruffian. Why is he allowed to live right next to the county magistrate?” Zhao Zhao gently pounded Yu’s mother’s leg.

Today, Yu's mother is smoking a water pipe. The water pipe is gurgling, and the smell is milder than that of dry tobacco.

"Right next to it? That's probably the county magistrate's old residence."

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"A few years ago, the county magistrate built a new mansion. That old house was left vacant and abandoned for a long time. I never heard of anyone living there. I never expected it to be Zhao Si's house. Perhaps the county magistrate was short of money and sold his old house to him."

Zhao Zhao remembered what A Zhuo had said about a person who had died long ago being trapped in that house, so she asked again:
"I heard that house is haunted?"

"Who told you that?" Mrs. Yu chuckled twice. "How come I don't know?"

Is there really something in this county that Mother Yu doesn't know?
Could it be that only Azhuo knows about the haunting of Zhao Si's house?
Zhao Zhao remained calm and asked with a smile, "Mother, did anyone in the county magistrate's family die before he moved to the new mansion?"

Yu's mother shook her head.

That's strange. Who was the person who died in that house before?
At night, the spring rain fell heavily and the rumble of thunder echoed.

Zhao Zhao brewed medicine for Yao Niang and helped her to sleep. After putting on her straw hat and raincoat, Zhao Zhao was about to open the door and go out when she heard Yao Niang's voice behind her:

"Zhao Zhao'er, where are you going?" Zhao Zhao replied, "Just going for a walk."

There were no lights in the room. A clap of thunder fell, and a pale light fell on the bed curtains, illuminating Yao Niang's worried face and her pregnant belly.

"What are you doing out so late at night, you little girl?"

Zhao Zhao didn't say anything, but simply pushed open the door, letting the wind and rain rush into the small house, making the objects and ornaments tinkle.

Yao Niang said sadly, "Zhao Zhao'er, I won't ask what you're planning. I'll just say one thing—you're just a little girl, don't have so many thoughts. Just live peacefully and find a gentleman to marry in the future, that's the most important thing."

Zhao Zhao turned her head, her eyes, as black as lacquer, filled with icy coldness:
"Mother, whether you can make a name for yourself or not depends not on your gender or age, but on your courage and methods."

Before Yao Niang could say anything more, Zhao Zhao had already closed the door. She stood outside for a while, and only left after she heard Yao Niang get out of bed.

Outside the courtyard, Xiao Duo was already dressed in a straw hat and raincoat. He saw Zhao...

Zhao Lai then went to greet him:
"...Are we really going to go ghost hunting...?"

A series of muffled thunderclaps fell, and the surroundings alternated between pitch black and deathly white. Thinking about what he was about to do, Xiao Duo couldn't help but shudder.
"Does it have to be tonight...?"

Zhao Zhao nodded: "A Zhuo was subtly pointing at me in her words. If I don't understand the deeper meaning behind her words, then I would truly be incredibly foolish."

Before he could finish speaking, another clap of thunder sounded overhead.

With the sound of thunder, Xiao Duo saw a woman in white behind Zhao Zhao.

He was startled and was about to say there was a ghost, but after taking a closer look, he froze.

This is Yaoniang.

She was heavily pregnant, standing in the rain, soaked to the bone, her voice trembling slightly from the cold:

"Zhao Zhao'er, come back with your mother..."

Zhao Zhao froze for a moment, then turned around very slowly and with great difficulty. She took off her bamboo hat and put it on Yao Niang's head.

He coaxed her in an extremely gentle tone:

"Mom, we're out of money. I have to find a way to make money, lots and lots of money."

Yao Niang sobbed softly, "There was a safer way, why did you have to take the risk..."

Zhao Zhao smiled and shook her head, then asked in return, "Is there a safer way? Selling smiles, sleeping with someone, becoming a concubine? Is there anything more risky in the world than living off someone else? Over the years, has any woman around us had a good ending?"

"That's because the men everyone encounters aren't kind enough..."

"Mother, you should go back."

Zhao Zhao was too lazy to explain anymore. She pulled Xiao Duo out and said without turning her head:
“I will not follow your old path. If you think I am unfilial because of this, then consider yourself to have given birth to an ungrateful beast.”

Let me say a few words. I'd like to explain the last part:
First of all, I agree with being filial to one's parents.

But I don't approve of blind filial piety.

Whether it's a father or a mother, using the name of filial piety or the banner of "for your own good," they force their children to obey them in a way that evokes self-pity and increases their children's guilt. This is essentially a form of domestication.

I don't want to elevate my third-rate novel to a high level, but the main theme of the whole story is indeed against feudal ethics and the oppression of the hierarchy, which naturally involves the opposition to monarchical and patriarchal power.

In my opinion, the mother's behavior is completely unacceptable and is a variant of patriarchy, so I don't think the female protagonist's reaction is problematic.

But I hope everyone will not talk to their mothers like that in real life, as it will upset them.