Jiang Mengzhen's biological father, Lin, was born in a noble family, but unfortunately he was simple-minded. He married Jiang Mengzhen's mother, Jiang Min, because the Jiang family structure was simple. Although they also had a clan, because of their high seniority and the direct lineage, they did not need to look at anyone's face.
Not long after Lin got married, her parents-in-law died one after another. Jiang Min inherited her ancestors' title, but it was a nominal position. Although her status was high, she would not get involved in any mess.
At the time, Jiang Mengzhen's grandmother held real power and was deeply favored by the emperor. After much selection, she chose Jiang Min, the daughter of the Duke of Rui, because of this reason. The Jiang family was noble, but not at the center of power. The emperor valued their Lin family, but he was not necessarily willing to let two powerful people get together.
Jiang Mengzhen heard from the servants that his mother Jiang Min did not even take a maid in her room, and she and his father were very loving for a while. Unfortunately, his mother was short-lived and his father was in poor health, so he passed away a few years after giving birth to him.
At that time, he was still young, and Jiang Min married Zhang Yin, the son of the Minister of Revenue, as his concubine within a year, on the pretext that he needed care. His memory of his father, Lin, was actually very vague, but he always remembered that he was an extremely gentle man who was always concerned about him.
Zhang is the complete opposite of his father. If Lin is water, Zhang is fire. He is quick and decisive in doing things and has a hot-tempered personality. As soon as he entered the Jiang family, he started to manage everything in an orderly manner.
Originally, when Zhang first got married, she was quite nice to him. Even when he was not very warm to her, she was still polite and would pick out some children's toys to please him.
Zhang got pregnant less than half a year after she got married, but she lost the baby. Tai still remembers that he was standing on the steps when Zhang twisted her foot and suddenly fell towards him. Her heavy body could have crushed him to death, so he subconsciously dodged, and a pool of blood flowed from Zhang's body, and the baby was gone.
At that time, his mother, who always loved him, was extremely angry and made him kneel in the ancestral hall all night, almost breaking his knees. At that time, he felt very guilty, thinking that if he had not avoided it, maybe his brothers and sisters would be fine. Even if his knees were a little sore, it didn't matter. He should be punished for doing something wrong.
But after the confinement, Zhang became a different person. On the surface, she treated him very well, to the point that everyone praised him as a virtuous and loving father, but in fact, he was one thing in front of his mother and another in private.
Zhang often lost her temper because he didn't serve her well. She didn't beat him with a stick, but she would prick him with an embroidery needle. Thinking of the younger brother and sister who were not born, he endured it all.
It was only later, when her grandmother saw the needle holes on his body and hugged him and cried, that she told him that Zhang had taken medicine during her pregnancy and the doctor said that the fetus in her belly was deformed, and she had deliberately aborted the baby.
At that time, he was standing on the stairs, which were so high that if he had not dodged, Zhang would have either killed him or injured him. And Jiang Min was a soft-hearted person, and seeing that both of them were injured and Zhang's child was lost, she would only attribute it to an accident.
Jiang Mengzhen couldn't remember what he was thinking at the time. He only remembered that it was as if there was a big hole in his heart, and the cold wind was rushing in.
At that time, he did not understand why Zhang hated him so much. Later he found out that it was because the woman Zhang liked used to like his father, but the woman was of poor status and he thought it was impossible to propose marriage to the Lin family, so he went to join the army. He then heard the news that his father was getting married, but because he was suppressing bandits at the time, he was so distracted that he lost his life.
Zhang hated his father from then on, but his father didn't even know the woman. Jiang Min went to the Minister of Revenue to ask for her hand in marriage, and as the son of Zhang's enemy, the other party naturally tortured him as much as possible.
After the father finished crying, he began to teach him how to calculate everything. He told him to learn more: "Young Master, don't listen to those nonsense that say that one is virtuous if he has no talent. As a man, you need to learn more. Only if you perform well can you win your mother's love and have a position in this mansion."
The nanny was specially chosen for him by the Lin family. He was originally a man of the underworld, but later he hid in the Lin Mansion for some reason. Although he was not good at martial arts, he was good at poison and medicine. If it weren't for this nanny, his father would not have lived that long.
Because he no longer felt guilty, if Zhang punished him, Jiang Mengzhen would go to his mother Jiang Min to complain. After being scolded, Zhang became more restrained in private. She didn't prick him with a needle, but only made him kneel or stand as punishment.
Jiang Mengzhen did not get angry on the spot, but his legs were bruised from kneeling. Jiang Mengzhen went to cry again, showing his bruised knees. Naturally, his mother got angry again, but it was just a temper tantrum.
Jiang Mengzhen became more and more disappointed with his mother, who was easily influenced and even more soft-hearted.
But it was still good to mention his dead father in front of Jiang Min. At least Jiang Min's words were still effective in the mansion. Although Zhang was not kind to him, his life as the eldest son of the family was better. He was not treated harshly in terms of food, clothing and daily expenses. However, Zhang used his young age as an excuse and still kept the dowry that his father had brought in.
There was no need to think about things like caring for each other. If Jiang Meng really wanted to live a good life, he had to fight for food, clothing and other expenses. But one day, Zhang took the initiative to find a teacher for him to learn calligraphy and painting.
All the young masters in the capital city wanted to learn this. Jiang Mengzhen thought it was strange, but he had no reason to refuse. Jiang Min also tested the female teacher and found that she was indeed a capable person.
It was just that the lady was young and well-looking, but her eyes revealed a vulgar air that made him instinctively dislike her.
He was less than ten years old at that time, but he already had the concept of the difference between men and women. He originally thought of setting up a curtain to separate the teacher from him. But the teacher taught him calligraphy and painting, and they couldn't be separated. The other party also liked to teach him hand in hand. The woman's calloused hand holding his hand did not make him feel warm at all, but rather disgusting and sticky, as if he was being stared at by a cold and poisonous snake.
Jiang Mengzhen learned all the skills of his father, and he also worked hard to learn calligraphy and painting from the master, and soon the master lost the ability to teach him. The master was probably worried that he would ask his mother to fire her, so he couldn't help but take action. His stepfather had a good plan. Although the lady of the Juren was talented, she had a dirty and dark habit. She liked young boys. She had been a teacher for several families before. People watched her closely, so she took advantage of her and almost succeeded a few times.
Zhang originally intended to let this man destroy him, so she naturally created every opportunity. The wife of the scholar was very bold because of Zhang's indulgence, so she found an opportunity to go out for sketching and tried to do something improper to him.
The time he went out to sketch happened to be when his father was not feeling well, and it was carefully arranged by Zhang, the servants who came with him. He was so focused when he was painting that before he knew it, he and the female teacher were the only two people left by the lake.
That was the first time he experienced the difference in strength between men and women, and the other party was an adult, while he was only ten years old, and had no ability to struggle. At first, because he was caught off guard, he was protected by the lady, and his hands were caught, so he couldn't move at all.
He shouted loudly, but no one came. When the lady tore his clothes off, he had one hand free, so he used the ink he used for painting to smear the lady's eyes.
Finally, under his deliberate inducement, the female teacher fell into the water and struggled up and down in the lake. He tidied his clothes and stood by the pond watching her struggle. The maids had already run far away and could not hear the female teacher's cries for help at all.
When the maids thought the matter was over and ran out, the mistress had been drowned, her face swollen from blisters, and she looked extremely horrible.
He had a high fever when he returned home that day. People around him thought he was frightened by the death of the lady. But he knew that he was disgusted by the woman. Although the woman did not succeed in doing anything and could not even take off his coat, he was still disgusted by the greasy smile and ferocious expression.
Later, he used this as an excuse to ask for a personal selection, and Jiang Min agreed. He was a very thoughtful person, and he could think ten steps ahead of others when they were one step ahead. But there was no room for him to display his talents in the mansion. It was not until his foolish mother did something wrong and offended someone she shouldn't have offended that he had room to display his talents.
Jiang Mengzhen didn't mention the matter of the female teacher. When he talked to Hao Cheng about the dirty things at home, he just brushed them off in a few words: "My father passed away early. Zhang had a personal grudge against my father and was not very kind to me. She also thought that I caused him to lose his child, so she targeted me everywhere. But at the beginning, when I made a mistake, she made me kneel in the ancestral hall as punishment."
He paused, and continued, "When I was young, he hired a teacher for me, but the teacher later died. To compensate me, my mother allowed me to choose my own teacher. I successively studied under several teachers including Dan Hongzi. Later, when I was old enough, my mother married me off for the sake of my younger sister."
Just one word "not good" overshadowed thousands of words. It is really not easy to have a stepfather. Hao Cheng lifted his hand, placed it in her palm, and patted him soothingly: "It's all over." She had never participated in Jiang Mengzhen's childhood, and could not empathize with the loneliness and grievances he suffered. It seemed that there was nothing she could do except comfort him.
He shook his head: "Nothing, let me tell you about my marriage." The dead lady was okay, but the thought of that marriage made him feel even more disgusted.