Volume One, Chapter Three: The One Being Bullied Is You!

Only then did the village head leisurely step forward, stroking his beard as he cast a displeased glance at the couple known as Chen the Leper and his wife. With a loud, authoritative voice, he declared, “You two have been complaining that the simpleton girl only delays your exemption from taxes. Since Jiang Xian is willing to adopt her, I hereby decide today that the Jiang family shall take her in. You two can go on and live off your golden and silver eggs!”

The surrounding villagers burst into applause.

“The village head is truly mighty!”

“That Chen the Leper couple really live up to their name. As soon as they heard Jiang Xian wanted to adopt the child, they immediately demanded compensation: a wild boar and a wild rabbit. Given this year’s conditions, that’s worth at least twenty taels of silver. How heartless!”

“Exactly! No wonder they call him Leper—he’s been cunning since childhood!”

“I heard that when Leper was young, he even conned his own parents out of money. It infuriated his uncle and aunt to the point that they couldn’t pay their taxes and passed away!”

“Really? Is that true? Heaven really has no eyes. They should have made him pick up fool’s gold!”

Not only did the village head refuse to side with them, but the couple was also mocked by the villagers, nearly driven to madness.

Though they were terrified deep down, Chen the Leper still summoned all his courage and craned his neck to shout at the village head, “If Jiang Xian won’t pay to take the simpleton, then at least she should compensate for kicking down our courtyard wall. That cost me five taels of silver to build!”

“I didn’t see it!” the village head replied indifferently, then glanced at the crowd. “Did any of you see Jiang Xian kicking down the wall?”

“No, no!”

“Wasn’t the wall just collapsing on its own?”

“Yeah, Leper, don’t slander Jiang Xian. She’s willing to adopt the simpleton girl; that’s already sparing your household from creating bad karma!”

“You—you're bullying us too much…” Chen the Leper gasped, nearly choking with anger.

Jiang Xian smiled faintly, pleased with herself, and gently released Chen the Leper’s hand, pushing him aside to avoid being tainted by his foul aura.

Once the simpleton girl was gone, the family would have to face the backlash of their own wicked deeds.

The village head turned to Jiang Xian and said, “There’s no time like the present. Let’s finalize the adoption paperwork today. Qiao Tongsheng from the neighboring village can draft the contract. Jiang Xian, you should go bring him here and take the simpleton girl home to inform her parents.”

“All right, Uncle Village Head!”

Jiang Xian agreed readily, cradling the child as she left.

The couple, Chen the Leper and his wife, regretted deeply that they couldn’t gain any advantage and had even had their courtyard wall knocked down. Their resentment was as green as grass.

As Jiang Xian carried the simpleton girl through the crowd, she spoke softly to her, “Simpleton, from now on you’re a child of the Jiang family. My name is Jiang Xian, so you can call yourself Jiang Tang, with the nickname Tang Tang. I hope your life will be as sweet as honey and that you’ll never suffer abuse or humiliation again, okay?”

“But… but won’t I be a burden to you, Sister Immortal? The village head said you’re still unmarried…”

Jiang Xian chuckled, “Silly Tang Tang, whether I marry or not has nothing to do with taking you in. If anyone refuses to marry me just because I adopted you, then that’s their loss. It’s actually a blessing in disguise to see their true colors. So it won’t affect anything!”

Tears gleaming in her eyes, Tang Tang nodded gratefully, whispering, “Okay~”

Perhaps from the cold and being splashed with dirty water, her emotions suddenly shifted and she fainted.

Jiang Xian hurriedly carried Tang Tang to the only doctor in the village.

Doctor Chen, looking at Tang Tang’s body covered in bruises and battered from head to toe, despite having treated countless patients, couldn’t hold back his anger and cursed loudly.

“That Chen the Leper couple are worse than pigs and dogs! Tang Tang is so sweet and well-behaved, and they treated her like this!”

“Doctor Chen, she has a new name now—Jiang Tang, nickname Tang Tang. Don’t call her by that unlucky old name anymore!”

“Oh, alright!” Doctor Chen was momentarily taken aback but nodded. “Yes, that’s a much better name. From the start, it was clear that Chen the Leper couple never truly cared about adopting Tang Tang!”

Jiang Xian, not knowing the full story, looked worriedly at Tang Tang’s bruised body. “Doctor Chen, please take good care of Tang Tang. I’ll come back to pick her up once I’m done with my errands.”

She took a copper coin from her pouch and placed it on the table. “If it’s not enough, I’ll go home and get more!”

Doctor Chen glanced at Jiang Xian, noticing she showed no hesitation or reluctance. His angry expression softened somewhat.

“This will be enough. Most of these are just bruises, and she fainted from shock and fear. I’ll prescribe some medicine; you just need to get a couple of doses to help her recover. It won’t cost that much. By the way, I still owe you for the last batch of herbs—better keep this coin.”

Jiang Xian smiled and accepted the money without hesitation, then took out several herbs requested by Doctor Chen from her basket.

“It’s winter, so herbs on the mountain are scarce. Use these for now; if they run out, I’ll go deep into the Great Southern Mountain to find more!”

“All right!” Doctor Chen was a solitary physician living at the foot of the Great Southern Mountain. He seldom mingled with villagers and only treated common colds or minor illnesses in exchange for grain or flour. Though reclusive, he was a kind-hearted man.

Jiang Xian had become acquainted with him after selling a rare Lingzhi mushroom to him once. Since then, whenever she found herbs from his herbal notes during hunting trips, she would gather and sell them to Doctor Chen, who then sold them at the county pharmacy. It was a steady income throughout the year.

“Thank you, Doctor Chen. I’ll leave Tang Tang in your care for a while. I’ll be back soon!” Jiang Xian said briskly before rushing out.

Doctor Chen furrowed his brows. He wondered if Jiang Xian was simply abandoning the child here, but recalling her straightforward and sincere nature, he dismissed the thought.

Jiang Xian headed straight to Huanxi Village.

The two villages were separated by a river but close enough to see each other. However, one had to follow the riverbank around to the market entrance and cross a seven-arched bridge to reach the other side.

Fortunately, Jiang Xian was swift on foot and reached Huanxi Village within fifteen minutes.

At the village entrance, a few elderly men sat chatting under a large willow tree. Jiang Xian noticed the eldest among them, whose forehead glowed red—a sign of kindness and good fortune.

She approached and asked politely, “Sir, could you tell me where Qiao Tongsheng’s house is?”

The elder smiled and pointed toward the third house at the village entrance. “The third house is Qiao Tongsheng’s. Are you related to them, young lady?”

Jiang Xian smiled and gave a casual reply, “Yes, thank you, sir!”

Without lingering, she slipped away to avoid further questions.

In this era—not the 21st century she once lived in—even relatives had to observe strict separation between men and women at seven years old. Any hint of romantic connection in a village would spread like wildfire through gossip.

As Jiang Xian approached the Qiao family’s yard, a bamboo winnowing basket suddenly flew out.

Peeking in, she saw an elderly woman clad in a faded gray jacket arguing with two younger daughters-in-law.

A woman in a dark blue jacket looked toward the elderly woman and said, “We’re splitting the family today. We’re not going to keep supporting Third Brother’s studies anymore. Why should we slave away every day while he just stays inside reading books, drinking thick gruel and tea? He’s been trying for three years and hasn’t achieved anything!”

Another daughter-in-law wearing a deep red embroidered jacket chimed in, “Sister-in-law is right, Mother. Don’t mind our harsh words. You should find out for yourself—nowadays, everyone’s rushing to split families to save on taxes and labor. But you and Father insist on keeping us all together to support Third Brother’s studies. Just the taxes alone are seven or eight taels of silver a year. Who’s going to pay that?”

“I’ll pay!” the elderly woman shouted, frustrated by the quarrel.

The woman in dark blue crossed her arms, sneering, “You pay? Father is old now. Our family’s thirty acres rely on my husband and the second brother’s family to work hard. What money do you have to pay that?”

“Are you forcing us to split the family?” the elderly woman grimaced in pain, clutching her chest. Unable to argue further, she gasped, “Fine, the family can split today, but you two have to write a guarantee. Promise that if Third Brother succeeds and rises to fame, neither the first nor second branch will claim any share. Can you commit to that?”

The two daughters-in-law exchanged glances, unable to answer.

Jiang Xian stood hesitating at the gate, thinking how unlucky to have arrived just as the Qiao family was quarrelling over splitting the household.

Though she had never met Qiao Tongsheng, she had heard of him.

He was said to be extraordinarily gifted since childhood, handsome, and at thirteen passed the local imperial examination, becoming a legendary prodigy talked about in neighboring villages.

The Qiao family of Huanxi Village had three branches: the first with one son and one daughter; the second with three sons; and the youngest with two daughters. Qiao Tongsheng was the third son of the second branch.

She guessed the two quarrelsome women must be the first and second daughter-in-laws, and the elderly woman was likely Qiao Tongsheng’s mother, Madam Wang.

The whole dispute stemmed from the recently issued tax exemption policy.

The Great Xia Dynasty valued filial piety greatly, following the principle that as long as parents were alive, the family should not split.

Though not codified into law, it was a widely accepted social norm.

Either families received three years of full tax exemption or a significant reduction, but the new rule exempted labor and taxes for families with fewer than five members. Which household had fewer than five people?

This led to every family arguing over splitting and dividing land, only making life harder.

But Jiang Xian was a simple mountain hunter and didn’t concern herself with policies and regulations.

She stood at the gate, unsure whether to enter now or wait for their quarrel to end.

Suddenly, a clear, melodious voice resonated from within the courtyard, like silk brushing against jade walls—cool and smooth yet warm and stirring.

“Mother, Sister-in-law, don’t argue anymore. We will split the family today!”

Jiang Xian looked toward the yard and saw a tall man emerge from a side room, dressed in a faded coarse linen robe patched with fine stitches. Though the fabric was rough, it was neatly washed and ironed, accentuating his slender, upright figure like a bamboo stalk. A blue cloth headband held back his jet-black hair, with a few strands falling over his brows. His sharp brow bones were like carved knives, and beneath long lashes, his eyes shone like cold stars, calm from years of diligent study. Yet a dark cloud loomed over his forehead, his expression shadowed and heavy.

Jiang Xian was startled.

This was a cursed fate—destined to achieve nothing, doomed to poverty and failure. How could such a destiny produce a prodigy like Qiao Tongsheng? Or was the literary star a tragic figure turned unlucky?