"What are you talking about, it’s all nonsense, stop talking about it." Lady Zhang said, her tone much gentler, no longer crying. In fact, she does believe that Lian Shouxin would not be indecent, she was just scared, scared of Lady Zhou.
Lady Gu may be formidable, but Lady Zhou still arranged a concubine for Lian Shouren. Her sches and ans are far inferior to those of Lady Gu. If Lady Zhou set her mind to it, and really inserted another woman into the family, this family would be ruined, would fall apart.
Seeing Lady Zhang’s softened deanor, Lian Shouxin finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Wife, where did you hear such things? Let’s not jump to conclusions." Lian Shouxin asked Lady Zhang.
"It was just now that Lady Wu Wang told ." Lady Zhang recounted what Lady Wu Wang had said to Lian Shouxin, "These details were leaked from her second aunt-in-law. I reckon it’s not nonsense, there must be sothing to it. Lady Jiaxing has well-inford sources, she wouldn’t have told if it wasn’t credible."
Lian Shouxin’s expression beca puzzled; as an honest farr, he needed so ti to digest this news.
"It’s not that I don’t trust you, I just don’t trust those people from Taicang. Who can you outsmart there, your older brother, or your second brother? Old Master, Old Lady speak, can you not listen? Do Old Master, Old Lady care about you or care about Xiuxiu? Would Xiuxiu willingly marry an old man? Old Master, Old Lady willing for Xiuxiu to marry an old man? Yet she still got married. You don’t want it, you can’t withstand the Old Lady’s wishes, withstand your brothers setting you up, can you manage then? I’m genuinely scared..."
"Wasn’t it hard for us to have these few days of comfort...?"
Saying this, Lady Zhang started to wipe her tears again.
"That’s why I said I won’t go to Taicang anymore. I won’t go, none of the kids can go either, I’m just afraid of being tricked again. Now the Old Lady has learned this trick; if you go, you really won’t need to co back."
"I won’t go, you can relax," Lian Shouxin said after a mont of silence.
The children outside the house heard the quarrel inside quiet down, and Lian Manman went to the stove to fetch the freshly boiled water.
"Dad, Mom, the water’s boiled, do you want to change to hot tea?" Lian Manman asked from outside the door.
"Oh, the water boiled? I’ll co, Manman, don’t touch the kettle, you might burn yourself." Lady Zhang quickly wiped away the tears on her face, got off the kang and pushed the door to co out.
Lian Manman then brought the kettle, along with Wu Lang, Lian Zhizhi, and Xiao Qi, followed Lady Zhang back into the house.
Lady Zhang and Lian Shouxin exchanged glances, the couple understood that probably the children had overheard their argunt, each feeling a bit embarrassed, especially Lian Shouxin.
"The kids know everything," Lady Zhang said, "these matters can’t be hidden, everyone outside has a mouth."
Lian Shouxin sighed deeply.
"Dad, Mom, Grandpa has been sending us letters quite frequently, ntioning quite a bit.... About my uncle and Yingzi, Brother Sanlang moving in, my second uncle taking one hundred taels of silver from soone, and the Old Zhao family finding a Grand Master and arrest officer for my uncle, why doesn’t Grandpa give us any news about these? We still have to hear it from others." Lian Manman asked, puzzled.
"Those two issues with your uncle and Brother Sanlang are not good news. Grandpa would be embarrassed to ntion them in his letters," Lian Shouxin said, "and regarding the Grand Master, that’s your uncle’s public affairs, why should Grandpa tell us about that?"
"Grandpa sorts things out very clearly internally and externally," Lian Manman glanced at Lian Shouxin and smiled.
"Ah..." Lian Shouxin uttered, thoughtfully.
"Dad, these things I don’t understand, you do. In fact, you sort them out very clearly too," Lian Manman said again.
Lian Shouxin sat there, stunned, Lian Manman’s words like a bolt of lightning illuminating so originally murky thoughts in his mind, clarifying things. So things, he subconsciously understood long ago but had always been reluctant to face, preferring to remain confused.
Now he could no longer afford to remain confused.
"Dad, the issue between my uncle and Yingzi definitely can’t be hidden. By now, probably people in our village already know. This matter was also orchestrated by Grandma. My uncle doesn’t consider anything in Taicang, should we still go on behaving or not?" Wu Lang frowned.
"Old Master always teaches us in his letters how to be this or that, when have our actions ever been criticized? Rather, it’s those from Taicang, I can’t bother talking about it anymore." Lady Zhang said, feeling low.
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