He spoke with difficulty, a desolate smile on his face: "Hui Niang and I only have these two children, and at that ti only Lady Xiao was left. But we are old and incompetent, destined to pass away before her, afraid that without a brother to help her, she would be bullied when married off, with no support from her family."
Pitiful are the hearts of parents all over the world.
In the countryside, if a married woman doesn’t fare well, her family would definitely co demanding an explanation.
He worried that Lady Xiao was isolated and without help.
It was clearly a sunny day, but the chill seeped in everywhere, making his bones shiver.
Wei Shouzhong’s voice was choked with emotion.
"I could only watch helplessly as Wei Qintian married. The big house celebrated joyously with drums and gongs, using Lang’s pension silver. How could I not hate it?"
"But I still couldn’t protect Lady Xiao."
"Yet Heaven returned Lang to us."
Wei Shouzhong paused: "Hui Niang married , but never had a good day. Lang suffered so much; isn’t that enough? Should we continue to slave away filling the pit for the big house?"
"I’ve had enough of this disgrace."
The elders of the Wei Family were all silent.
They knew all too well that Mrs. Wei had gone too far.
Looking at Lang now, all these injuries even made them feel uncomfortable.
Being parents themselves, who could be so selfless and not care, abandoning one’s own child to raise the bones of a brother?
Hui Niang turned away to wipe the tears from her eyes, but no matter how she wiped, they wouldn’t go away.
"Second son!"
Mrs. Wei harshly jabbed Wei Shouzhong’s back with her cane: "Don’t be foolish!"
She pointed at Wei Zhao: "How long can he, sickly as he is, live?"
"If you insist on this and upset and Shoucai, don’t expect the heirs of the big house to take care of you in old age or bury you when you die."
In the countryside, being without heirs is a sha! It ans you can never lift your head up high.
But Wei Shouzhong only laughed bitterly: "Does Mother really think I’m attached to that?"
"Don’t ntion transferring Wei Qintian to my na again. It’s disgusting."
Uncle Wei feared that Wei Shen wouldn’t survive this harsh winter and his face changed: "Shouzhong, you can’t say things carelessly."
"No one can persuade today. In front of all the elders, I leave my words here."
"Even if we have to beg on the streets, we must treat Lang’s illness. If he really... we’ll accept it."
"What’s wrong with having no heirs? Do I care?"
"My Lang has fought battles and killed enemies with General Wei on the border; he is more accomplished than anyone!"
Everyone looked at each other, finally turning to the Village Chief.
"This... what do you think?"
The Village Chief looked at Shouzhong: "Are you really decided?"
"Absolutely decided."
"No regrets?"
Wei Shouzhong: "Absolutely not."
Hui Niang knelt beside him, tears in her eyes: "Please, Uncle and Elder, grant us this."
The Village Chief sighed: "Shouzhong, call your brother over."
This was consent given.
After all, to divide the family, the people from the big house had to be present.
Mrs. Wei: "Do not allow it!"
She trembled with anger: "I do not agree!"
But Wei Shouzhong didn’t glance at her and walked decisively out of the courtyard.
Mrs. Wei wanted to chase after him but was stopped by the Village Chief.
The Village Chief: "If you keep this up, the bond between mother and son will be exhausted, leaving only resentnt. How will you end it then?"
Without the second branch, with a bunch of useless and lazy people in the big house, can Mrs. Wei have good days?
After dividing what should be given to Wei Shouzhong, according to the rules, the second branch should give Mrs. Wei a fixed amount for her old age.
If truly driven desperate, even if this money isn’t given in the future, the Village Chief wouldn’t intervene.
Mrs. Wei: "Go! All of you, go! It’s my family’s matter, as long as I don’t approve, no one can interfere!"
This is reasonable because, after all, if the family opinion is not unified, whoever steps up is also ineffective.
But her attitude completely angered Uncle Wei.
He pointed shakily at Mrs. Wei.
"When your husband was seriously ill, he ntioned how during the conscription he allowed you to abandon Lang for the sake of the eldest grandson and felt sorry towards the second branch. He knew full well of the cunning of you and the eldest, said that the second, Shouzhong, though honest, also had ideas, and the matter of Lang had distanced his heart. He asked us to step in for help if anything happened. If Shouzhong wanted to separate, let him be. He only agreed to close his eyes after seeing our approval."
"Do you really think Shouzhong invited us to bear witness! At that ti Shouzhong was also there; he was giving you face!"
The division of the family went quite smoothly, and even when the disagreeable Wei Shoucai and Zhuang i ca over wanting to make a scene, they were scolded by the elders of the Wei Family.
Realizing she couldn’t stop it, Mrs. Wei wanted to give the poor land to the second branch, leaving the fertile land to Wei Shoucai.
But how could the Village Chief agree? He did not let Wei Shouzhong suffer.
A docunt was drawn up in two copies, with Wei Shoucai and Wei Shouzhong both placing their handprints on it.
Wei Shoucai never expected things to turn out this way. He sneered: "You will regret it."
"You don’t need to worry about that."
Uncle Wei sighed: "What’s there to argue about? Even if you have conflicts and the family is divided, as brothers, the bones are still connected with tendons."
With the important matters finished, they didn’t linger.
Uncle Wei didn’t forget to say to Wei Shoucai: "The Governnt Office has records of how much Lang’s pension silver was. Your mother spent a lot over the years, but it was all on you. As the elder brother, it wouldn’t do to keep that money hidden. Rember to return it. After all, they are still waiting for it to save a life."
When all these people left, the Wei family’s courtyard felt less cramped.
After all that happened, Hui Niang felt a sense of relief. She went to prepare the dicine but found coins placed beside the dicine pot.
Hui Niang was stunned, realizing sothing, she looked next door.
That child...
The couple tacitly did not ntion the incident about Wei Zhao hurting Mrs. Wei.
After watching the drama unfold, Wei Zhao felt exhausted.
He looked up at the sky with lancholy eyes.
To lead troops and fight, one must be able to observe the weather conditions.
He stood up slowly.
Hui Niang: !!!
Who allowed you to get down?!
Can you get down?!
She cried out: "Lang."
Wei Zhao stopped and weakly said: "Are you asking to move the chair?"
Yes, the chair he had just been lying on.
In your current state, can you move a chair?
Hui Niang hurriedly shook her head: "No, no, no..."
Wei Zhao’s dark eyes seed covered in a thick fog, and he murmured: "It’s going to rain."
Wei Shouzhong: ...
How can he be so mysterious?
Wei Shouzhong felt sad realizing his son’s ntal state was not normal.
He coaxed him: "In the future, besides going to the old house to deliver the pension money during festivals, we won’t socialize with those who hurt you."
Wei Zhao had no impression of Wei Shen.
The Wei Family Army had many people; how could he rember each one? But Wei Shen had followed him, and he was a soldier who had died in battle.
Wei Zhao: "Need help?"
Wei Shouzhong: "What?"
Wei Zhao: "Want those people dead, just tell ."
After saying that, he thought of sothing.
Now that he’s weak, it’s indeed challenging to twist soone’s neck with bare hands.
"But."
He looked at Wei Shouzhong: "You have to give a knife."
Wei Shouzhong was shocked by Wei Zhao’s alarming words, but when he heard him asking for a knife, he panicked.
"Don’t even think about it!"
Thinking of stabbing himself again, is it?!
If you won’t give, then don’t. Why shout?
The last person who yelled at him now had weeds taller than Wei Shouzhong growing on his grave.
But now, Wei Zhao had no temper.
His tone was also casual.
"Ah, that’s truly unfortunate."
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