At midnight, she pleaded for rcy in a soft voice.
**...***
"What’s going to happen?" Lian Manman saw Lady Zhou beating Lian Shouyi viciously and couldn’t help but whisper to Lady Zhang.
Their household, along with Lian Shouli’s household, all stayed in the West Wing Room; in such a situation, even if they went over, they wouldn’t know what to say.
"What can happen!" Lady Zhang sighed. After all, they are parent and child, and the old saying goes ’when the bones are broken, the tendons are still connected.’ Lian Shouyi misbehaved and caused trouble, but could Old Master Lian and Lady Zhou really harden their hearts to drive his family away? If they could be so ruthless, they wouldn’t have been so eager to find people when Lian Shouyi hid. Instead, they would have thought of ways to compensate the Xu Family first.
Lady Zhou took the broom fiercely and lashed out at Lian Shouyi. Lian Shouyi didn’t dare to run or to dodge too much; he just raised his arms to cover his head and face, all the while begging for rcy. He knew he had caused too much trouble this ti. Letting Lady Zhou hit him a few tis to vent her anger was the only way to start resolving this matter.
"Dad, Mom, spare my life!"
Lian Shouyi still entered the room, knelt down with a plop by the edge of the bed, followed by Lady He, Erlang, Sanlang, Si Lang, and also Liulang who knelt down.
Lady Zhou, tired from beating, threw away the broom, sat on the edge of the bed, and started crying while wiping her tears.
"What sin did I commit, why doesn’t Heaven take already, so I wouldn’t have to be angered to death by these beasts..."
Lian Shouyi stepped forward, hugged Lady Zhou’s thigh, and also cried out, "Mom..."
"Weren’t you gone? Why have you co back?" Old Master Lian’s voice shook, "Do you lant not having dragged us down with you, and that’s why you returned?"
Lian Shouyi knocked his head on the ground several tis in loud thuds.
"Dad... Dad..." Lian Shouyi cried out, "I didn’t dare to co back. If I did, could the matter be easily settled? We would still have to compensate with money, and they would not let off, they would beat to death... Dad, we have no power, no influence, who can we turn to for justice? They could kill as easily as crushing an ant..."
Lian Shouyi didn’t admit his initial mistake in secretly learning how to brew wine for profit from the Fourth Household, nor did he ntion that after he sold the wine, he pocketed the lion’s share, only handing over thirty taels of silver to Lady Zhou. Instead, he played the victim card with Old Master Lian, attributing all the problems to the Lian Family’s lack of power and influence.
Lian Shouyi was smart; he knew exactly what Old Master Lian was sensitive to. Why was Old Master Lian so keen on supporting Lian Shouren’s pursuit of official recognition and success? Was it not because he had seen too much of the world and knew that the common people’s lives were difficult? When the Xu Family brought the governnt officer and demanded compensation, they could only oblige without any argunt or protest. Wasn’t it because of their family’s lack of power and influence?
Old Master Lian was indeed frustrated with the situation, but he had not beco so senile as to be swayed by Lian Shouyi’s manipulations.
"You useless thing, why don’t you put your cleverness to good use!" Old Master Lian scolded, disappointed. "You still have the audacity to make excuses. Without power and influence, we live honestly by tilling the land, and even the fiercest governnt officer can’t harm us. Isn’t it because you ssed up first that they ca knocking on our door?"
Although Old Master Lian was not persuaded by Lian Shouyi, his words had nonetheless touched a chord, and sadness outweighed his anger in his heart.
"You were afraid of being beaten to death, so what were you doing earlier? Couldn’t you have avoided this day if you had behaved properly? When trouble arose, you ran away. Were you planning to let this old man take the fall for you? You’re worse than a beast. Do you think of anyone else but yourself?"
As Old Master Lian reprimanded him, his eyes reddened.
"Dad, I was wrong!" Lian Shouyi started to wail. "I know I was wrong, Dad, please beat to death."
"Don’t call Dad, I have no son like you," Old Master Lian hardened his heart and said.
"Dad, Mom, I really know I was wrong. Dad, Mom, please spare this once..." Lian Shouyi first clung to Lady Zhou’s thigh, crying and kowtowing, then he went to grab Old Master Lian’s hand, continuing to knock his head against the bed’s edge.
Lady He, Erlang, Sanlang, Si Lang, along with Liulang and Lian Yaya who followed them in, also started crying.
The commotion was indeed not small, and gradually, familiar neighbors ca by, and eventually, even Lizheng arrived. Naturally, they all scolded Lian Shouyi and at the sa ti tried to reason with Old Master Lian and Lady Zhou.
Their words of persuasion invariably revolved around the fact that they were after all a family; Lian Shouyi had made a grave mistake, but if they were to throw them out without care, having no house or land, how would they survive? If the children made mistakes, then they should be properly disciplined. After being disciplined, they would still be a family.
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