But now... before the entire collegial panel, they were each eagerly taking responsibility.
Utterly hypocritical.
Qin Mu watched this scene, equally speechless. He could sowhat understand these lawyers’ actions. After all, respecting the elderly and cherishing the young, upholding filial piety—these were all reasonable, lawful, and sensible principles. No lawyer would dare refuse the responsibility of providing support in a courtroom setting. Even if they were deeply unwilling to bear this responsibility, they had to feign profound filial piety. Otherwise, if they made a poor impression on the Judgnt Chief or other judges on the collegial panel, they would very likely be assigned even greater caregiving duties. Now that the matter had reached the court, the future allocation of support responsibilities hinged entirely on this trial’s verdict. Moreover, if they could secure the lead role in caring for Feng Cuihua, they would gain the authority to direct the other three families. The one in charge could also feign compliance while secretly shouldering less responsibility in the future.
「anwhile, at the nursing ho in Jin City.」
In front of the projection screen, a chorus of curses erupted.
"Tch! Shaless! Too scared to act tough in front of the judges now, are they?"
"Jiang Daping and his brothers are truly cut from the sa cloth—opportunistic, acting so saintly in public, but not even behaving like human beings in private."
"They actually drove Cuihua out to fend for herself on New Year’s Eve! What kind of decent people could they possibly be?"
"Indifferent before, now they’re falling over themselves to provide support. Are they afraid no one knows about their past behavior?!"
"..."
These elderly people were all in their seventies and eighties. They had witnessed the countless changes of the world. Yet, the blatant hypocrisy of Jiang Daping and his three brothers still disgusted them.
Typically, it was one form of abandonnt after another. Once hauled into court, they would first concoct all sorts of excuses about circumstances beyond their control to defend themselves. Now, they were even more desperate to fight for the primary caregiving role.
Anyone who didn’t know better... might actually think they truly had no alternative, and that was why Feng Cuihua was left without care.
Such people... they had always despised them the most.
They didn’t resent the wealthy; that wealth was earned through their own abilities. But people like Jiang Daping were truly detestable. And such individuals were not uncommon in life. At least, in their decades of experience, they had often heard of families who had done wrong, resulting in an unfilial child.
"Luckily, my son is quite filial. Although he rarely visits, he did send to this nursing ho."
"Living in a nursing ho is actually quite good."
"Yes, it’s much better than being stuck with an unfilial child. If I had a son like that, I’d disown him imdiately."
"People these days just don’t approve of corporal punishnt, afraid their children will hold grudges. Back in our day, we were beaten from childhood, and you didn’t see anyone hating their parents for it."
"..."
In the courtyard, these elderly folks who couldn’t attend the trial suddenly began discussing their parenting philosophies.
They believed Feng Cuihua’s biggest problem was her failure to properly educate her four sons. One unfilial son might be understandable. But all four sons being unfilial... that was very likely Feng Cuihua’s fault.
And their approach to parenting was simple:
If a child disobeyed, beat them!
If a child made a mistake, beat them!
If a child dared to talk back, beat them!
If a child dared to fight back, beat them half to death!
While they were young and you could still physically discipline them, you should do it more. As the adage goes, deep love incites strict discipline. If they weren’t disciplined when young, their parents would regret it later when they were no longer able to.
anwhile, in the crowd, Wan Zhongyuan listened to the elderly people’s "parenting wisdom" with a troubled expression.
Others were rely discussing it. But he... he was actually facing this very problem. He was burdened with an extrely rebellious, not particularly filial son who constantly defied him. And his son was already in his twenties. He had beaten him, scolded him, and even verbally disowned him... but nothing worked.
Hearing the old folks’ "alarming words," he suddenly grew anxious. My own future... Am I going to end up like Feng Cuihua?
The thought of being thrown out by his son and daughter-in-law in his seventies or eighties... sent a shiver down his spine.
Wan Zhongyuan swallowed and muttered to himself, "No way! That damn kid is beyond saving. While I’m still young, I need to save more money for myself..."
No matter how reliable a son is, money is more reliable. I must save up a good pension while I can still earn. Also, I’ll make a public declaration of my assets. My son won’t get a single penny of my property!
「Jin City Court. Second Criminal Court.」
BANG—
After the defense lawyers for Jiang Daping and his brothers had spoken one after another, Zhou Quanmin struck the gavel, interrupting those vying for preferential caregiving rights.
"The assignnt of support responsibilities in this case will primarily address two aspects," he stated solemnly, looking at the defendants. "First, Madam Feng Cuihua is elderly and frail, lacks the ability to work, and cannot earn inco through labor. She requires necessary financial assistance from each of her children."
"Second, caring for the elderly is a traditional virtue in our country. Beyond financial support, it also requires providing the elderly with emotional guidance, comfort, and companionship."
He took a deep breath and clarified the distribution of support responsibilities.
Materially, all four Jiang brothers were required to provide financial aid.
Similarly, emotionally, all four were obligated to provide companionship and avoid emotional neglect.
As for how these responsibilities would be divided... that would depend on a combination of various factors, such as their economic conditions, family situations, living standards, and so on.
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