All along, in the face of Lian Shouxin and Lian Shouli, Lady Zhou did as she pleased. No matter how tyrannical or unreasonable she was, these two sons, along with their wives and children, had to show obedience to Lady Zhou. When Lady Zhou erred, these two families would proactively take the bla on their shoulders, to display Lady Zhou as forever flawless, loving, and kind.
Having always made her third and fourth sons the scapegoats, today Lady Zhou had to take the fall for her eldest and second sons, and even for Old Master Lian, and not just within the confines of family, but in front of everyone.
Would Lady Zhou comply?
Lian Manman couldn’t help but shift her gaze from Lady Zhou to Old Master Lian. She sensed that Old Master Lian seed sowhat nervous. It seed that even Old Master Lian didn’t have full confidence, Lian Manman thought.
Just now, while Lady Zhou was causing a suicide scene in the house, Lian Shouli and Lian Shouxin were inside, and Old Master Lian hurried over from the back courtyard. There probably wasn’t enough ti for Old Master Lian and Lady Zhou to communicate in the anti.
Whether Old Master Lian’s strategy of sacrificing the pawn to save the king would succeed depended on whether Lady Zhou would be "sensible," "consider the bigger picture," and whether she would sacrifice her own reputation for the sake of the Lian Family and Old Master Lian, Lian Shouren, and Lian Shouyi.
"Let’s go," Lady Zhou’s lips quivered for a long ti before she said a word to Lian Xiuxiu beside her and then lowered her head and shuffled down from the kang.
Now, Lady Zhou didn’t dare to look up, nor could she hold her head up. In front of her sons, especially Lian Shouxin and Lian Shouli, she could be open and need not worry about anything. But she had not expected Scholar Wang and others to co. She was cornered in the room, unable to flee in ti.
Nobody had inford her to avoid them.
Old Master Lian, Lian Shouren, and Lian Shouyi deliberately left her there, intending to say those words before these people.
Lady Zhou knew very well now. The face of Old Master Lian had to be maintained, as that represented the face of the Lian Family. Even the face of the eldest son, Lian Shouren, had to be preserved; otherwise, if it really got out that Lian Shouren had extorted his own brother to the point of threatening lives before even assuming his post, could Lian Shouren still hold his official position?
She felt defiant, but arguing with Old Master ant she would lose all status in the Lian Family.
Moreover, if the Lian Family lost face and Lian Shouren couldn’t hold his office, what would beco of this family? She and Old Master Lian might not care, but what about Lian Xiuxiu? Her old maid daughter was at a crucial ti for marriage talks, and now, not only high-standing families but perhaps even ordinary farmstead families might not want to engage with them.
Swallowing the blood from a bitten tongue, she could only endure.
But being soone accustod to acting as she pleased, never enduring hardships herself but always making others endure them, Lady Zhou couldn’t find peace in her heart, and her face couldn’t remain calm either.
Pain, resentnt, and frustration were all transparently etched in every line of her face, and her every strand of hair exuded grievances.
Lian Xiuxiu had been with Lady Zhou all along; while others avoided her, she did not. Now, seeing her own mother wronged, Lian Xiuxiu grimaced and couldn’t help but sobber and cry.
"This isn’t my mother’s fault," Lian Xiuxiu, while helping Lady Zhou off the kang, defended her, "My eldest brother’s appointnt, where is there not a need for money? Isn’t the furniture in this yard valuable? And, even if my third brother doesn’t have much money, my fourth brother does. He’s just stingy, not even caring for his own mother and eldest brother!"
As she spoke, Lian Xiuxiu glared fiercely at Lian Shouxin.
A laugh burst out within the room, and no one knew who had laughed. Lian Manman quickly covered her mouth and looked around, realizing everyone’s expressions seed calm. So people even looked toward her.
Lian Manman felt wronged; she was certainly not the one laughing just now. Although she wanted to laugh because Lian Xiuxiu had just inadvertently revealed it was Lian Shouren who needed the money for his appointnt. But this was an open secret that everybody tacitly understood and just didn’t speak of. She couldn’t laugh; she was still concerned for Lian Xiuxiu.
Lady Zhou had taken on all the bla, and this matter would definitely beco known everywhere. Lady Zhou’s reputation was thoroughly tarnished, not even a thin veil left to cover the sha. In the future, even if Lady Zhou criticized Lian Shouxin and Lian Shouli for being unfilial and heartless, who would believe Lady Zhou?
Yet Lian Xiuxiu insisted on standing out to support Lady Zhou, sincerely and wholeheartedly resenting Lian Shouxin.
No one can choose where they’re born; being stuck with a mother like Lady Zhou was inevitable. But who would actively choose a daughter-in-law like Lady Zhou? Such a muddled girl, unable to discern right from wrong, which family could tolerate such a daughter-in-law?
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