Chapter 49: A Big Fight on One Side

Chapter 49: All Hell Breaks Loose

After Shen Yun left, the Yan family was still mulling over what he had said. He Jin tsk-tsked: "That Zhao Shoutian is a real piece of work, but he's genuinely devoted to Liu Geer. With Liu Jinhua and Lin Xuemei being so formidable, I thought Liu Geer wouldn't hold his own against them. Now it seems that's not necessarily the case."

There was no doubt that Zhao Shoutian genuinely liked Wen Liu.

Ever since Wen Xi could remember, this man had been trailing behind Wen Liu. No matter how much Wen Liu despised him and gave him dirty looks, he would always plaster on a grin and stick to him like glue. As long as Wen Liu gave him even a hint of a smile, he'd get all giddy and lose his head, willing to do anything.

But that was all before he had obtained Wen Liu. Now that he had gotten his wish and married Wen Liu into his home, whether he would remain so devoted in the future was hard to say.

Chen Lanfang frowned, her face full of disdain: "A son who raises a hand to his own mother for the sake of his husband—he's not scared of getting struck by lightning! If I'd raised something like that, I'd have tossed him in the cesspool and drowned him long ago."

She wasn't saying this to defend that miserable old bat Liu Jinhua. It was mainly because she had three sons of her own and naturally saw things from the mother-in-law's side.

People who forget their mothers once they marry—in the eyes of parents, they're the worst kind of people.

Li Wan said considerately, "How could you ever raise a child like that? As the old saying goes, 'A fish rots from the head down.' Zhao Shoutian is detestable, but isn't it all because Liu Jinhua and Zhao Dahe coddled him into a mess? If they'd taught him properly from childhood, he never would have grown into such a shiftless good-for-nothing."

Chen Lanfang agreed with that: "Ain't that the truth."

Knowing what her mother-in-law liked to hear, Li Wan continued, "Last time I visited my folks, they were still talking about it—how they don't know how you and father managed to raise three sons so well. Every one of them is stand-up and successful, unlike others who struggle with even one."

Thinking of her three sons, Chen Lanfang's eyes crinkled into a smile.

He Jin also knew how to butter up his mother-in-law. He chimed in, "Our Yan family's reputation is clear as day. On any given day, which of the three brothers isn't respectful to you and father? Who else would do something like Zhao Shoutian did—hitting his own ma for his wife? And even if, say, all three of them did defend their wives or husbands, none of us would ever lay a finger on you like Liu Geer did."

He pointed at Li Wan and Wen Xi: "In our hearts, you and father are like our own parents. We'd be too busy being filial to ever argue with you."

Wen Xi listened carefully. After He Jin finished, he quietly added, "My in-laws are even better than my own folks."

Knowing that Wen Xi's biological parents had treated him like dirt, He Jin didn't want to bring up those painful memories, so he deliberately said, "Hey, sister-in-law, hear that? Little Xi really knows how to make people happy. With one sentence, he's shamed us both."

"Indeed, it seems the smoothest talker in the family is Little Xi after all."

Chen Lanfang grinned from ear to ear. Seeing Wen Xi's shy and awkward look, she reached out and patted his head, laughing as she said, "You two are the smooth talkers. Next time you tease Little Xi, I'll have to give someone a talking-to."

Li Wan and He Jin both begged for mercy, and the mother-in-law and daughters-in-law burst out laughing, leaving the men who had just come back from work completely confused.

Although word outside was that Zhao Shoutian had married and forgot his ma, striking her for Liu Geer's sake, in reality he had only shoved her once when Liu Jinhua was hitting Wen Liu. With so many people around at the wedding, the story got twisted in the telling until it became that he had beaten his own mother.

The Zhao family had witnessed what happened at the wedding and privately felt that Wen Liu was not someone easy to handle. Now that he'd entered the Zhao household, they couldn't let just a gē'er throw his weight around like that.

Early in the morning, Lin Xuemei was already stirring the pot in front of Liu Jinhua and Zhao Dahe: "Father, mother, isn't it time we showed the new husband who's boss today? We paid thirty taels of silver to marry him—not to let him act like a little lord."

When Zhao Zhangshun had married her, the bride price had only been one tael. But Wen Liu—he thinks his body's made of gold, costing thirty taels to bring home. With thirty taels, what couldn't they have done? Why did they have to marry such a curse?

Zhao Dahe didn't say anything, but his mouth set in a hard line. The number thirty was like a knife twisting in their gut. Even though the money hadn't come out of the family's pockets, they hadn't divided the household either—wasn't Zhao Shoutian's money the family's money? Besides, he knew his son's capabilities well enough. Where those thirty taels had come from was anybody's guess. If the boy had gotten into trouble outside, wouldn't the family end up bailing him out?

Liu Jinhua was a born troublemaker. Thinking about how Wen Liu, a mere gē'er, had dared to lay hands on her, his mother-in-law, her anger kept rising.

She snatched up a switch and glanced at her eldest son and daughter-in-law: "Go, wake those two up. It's already this late—why haven't they come out to serve tea and pay respects? Today I'm going to teach that sly vixen what rules mean."

Zhao Zhangshun and his wife were both the type to love watching the drama unfold. Hearing this, they rushed to bang on Zhao Shoutian's door.

"Second brother, second brother's husband, get up and serve tea to father and mother!"

They knocked several times, but there was no response from inside. Lin Xuemei found it strange and pushed harder—only to discover the door wasn't locked. With a creak, it swung open.

Zhao Zhangshun instinctively poked his head in, and suddenly something came flying at him. He yelped, about to curse, when Wen Liu spoke first: "You shameless thing! As the eldest brother-in-law, busting into your brother's husband's room without even knocking at this hour—if word gets out, people might think you've got designs on your younger brother's new husband."

Zhao Zhangshun clutched his forehead, sputtering angrily: "You—you—what nonsense are you talking! I came with your sister-in-law!"

"Just because she's here doesn't make you any less of a man! Zhao Shoutian, your family has no sense of decency at all. I'm tired and want to rest a while longer—get them out of here."

Zhao Shoutian had worked hard to marry him, so of course he went along with everything: "Alright, alright, you sleep a bit more. I'll handle father and mother."

He was gentle and sweet with Wen Liu, but when facing his own brother and sister-in-law, his expression changed completely: "Didn't you hear what Liu Geer said? Get out now!"

Seeing Lin Xuemei's face turn ashen as she stood there frozen, Zhao Shoutian said, "What's the matter, sister-in-law? My brother's not satisfied with just peeking at Liu Geer—you want to peek at your brother-in-law too?"

Lin Xuemei's expression looked like she'd just swallowed a fly—utterly disgusted, unable to get a word out.

After driving his brother and sister-in-law away, Zhao Shoutian coaxed Wen Liu a bit more. Wen Liu responded impatiently, and once the man was gone, his face fell again.

He felt nothing but repulsion and disgust toward marrying Zhao Shoutian. But what was done was done. Now that he'd been abandoned by his natal parents, if he wanted to throw his weight around in this household without being bullied, he had to keep Zhao Shoutian wrapped around his finger, gain control over the Zhao family, and figure out why his father had suddenly become so heartless.

This marriage was far from satisfactory, but at least Zhao Shoutian wasn't completely useless—he was obedient to Wen Liu in every way and easy to manipulate.

He refused to believe that with his skills, he couldn't run circles around this bunch of Zhaos.

The commotion outside started up again. After cursing Wen Liu and Zhao Shoutian up and down, Liu Jinhua jabbed a finger at Zhao Shoutian's nose: "You got thirty taels of silver and don't think about the family at all. Never mind fixing up the house—you could at least have bought your father and me some new clothes. But no, you didn't keep a single coin, threw it all at that fox."

If those thirty taels had been earned through his own hard work, Zhao Shoutian wouldn't have spent them that way. But he still had a trick up his sleeve—if it worked, it would be like getting a husband for free.

"The money is none of your business. And stay out of mine and Liu Geer's affairs. Go do whatever you need to do and stop nagging all day."

He had no good attitude toward his own family either. Zhao Dahe and Zhao Zhangshun were spineless by nature, and Liu Jinhua and Lin Xuemei were just two women who could only run their mouths. No one in this house could control him.

Three days later was the day for the bride to visit his natal family. To save face, Wen Liu coaxed Zhao Shoutian into buying a bunch of gifts to bring back to his parents' home.

Even though this marriage wasn't one he'd chosen willingly, he couldn't let outsiders laugh at him. Whatever his relationship with Liu Jinhua, at least he needed others to see that Zhao Shoutian genuinely doted on him.

Early that morning, Li Qiaozhen was already craning her neck at the door. Seeing them arrive with so many nice things, she beamed from ear to ear: "You didn't need to bring all this—just coming is enough!"

After ushering them inside, she showed off to the neighbors watching from outside: "Our eldest son-in-law—he may not be a scholar or a degree holder, but he's a man of ability. Not only is he capable, he's filial too, and he treats Liu Geer well. He's far better than those heartless bookworms. Some people look all impressive on the surface, but behind the scenes they do nothing but shameful things."

...

"Hey, that Wen Shishan couple aren't much as people, but they sure are lucky. Both their gē'ers fetched such high bride prices—sixty taels combined, right? Scrimp and save, and that's enough to feed a country family for a lifetime."

February brought gradually warming weather. After watering the vegetable seedlings in the fields, Wen Xi took advantage of the pleasant afternoon sun to follow Li Wan and the others down to the river to wash the bedding they'd changed out.

It was the season of grass growing and orioles singing. Willows along the riverbank were sprouting new buds, tender grass in the fields was shooting up wildly, and the hills of Peach Tree Gully were dotted with wildflowers of every color.

Under the warm sunlight, Wen Xi found himself wondering whether his husband could see such scenery at the academy. A man who appreciated elegance—seeing a sight like this, he'd probably be moved to compose a few lines of poetry.

Wen Xi's thoughts drifted far away, but his hands never stopped working. Noticing that their usual washing spot was already taken, the three of them moved further downstream. After soaking the quilt covers and scrubbing them with soapberry, they heard voices from upstream.

"Good thing that couple only had two children. If they'd had more, they could really get rich off marrying off their kids."

"That Scholar Yan being successful is one thing, but how did a piece of trash like Zhao Shoutian get so lucky too? Do those two gē'ers from the Wen family both have some kind of husband-blessing fortune?"

One woman snorted: "Fortune, my foot! Li Qiaozhen can brag all she wants about how capable and accomplished her eldest son-in-law is—does she think everyone just met Zhao Shoutian yesterday? With that much silver, who knows where Zhao Shoutian got it from. She and her husband are happy now, but they'll be crying later."

Wen Xi also had his doubts. Where did Zhao Shoutian, a man who never did an honest day's work, get so much money for a bride price? And Wen Shishan and Li Qiaozhen had doted on Wen Liu since he was little—they treated him as their only hope, counting on him to marry up and become a phoenix one day. Why would they suddenly marry Wen Liu off to someone like Zhao Shoutian?

They cherished Wen Liu like the apple of their eye. No matter how money-grubbing they were, they shouldn't have done something like this.

Unless...

Wen Xi's heart gave a few nervous thumps, but he thought it unlikely and shook off those jumbled thoughts.

Zhao Shoutian's lavish gift-giving on the return visit gave Li Qiaozhen a real chance to show off to the neighbors. She had been extremely dissatisfied with this marriage, but now seeing how considerate Zhao Shoutian was to Liu Geer and how generous he was to their family, she felt a whole lot better about it.

But she hadn't counted on things going south pretty quick—another big mess would blow up at home.

Around noon that day, as the villagers were heading home from the fields and passing by the Wen family's door, they suddenly heard a ruckus coming from inside.

"Where's the silver? Where did the silver go?"

"I... I don't know! The silver was always kept with you. I never touched it."

"If you didn't touch it, did it sprout legs and walk off?" Wen Shishan was frantic, his voice getting louder and louder. "There's only the two of us in this house. Did you take it to hand over to some man on the side?"

Li Qiaozhen was furious at his baseless accusation and shot back, "I could say the same about you—maybe you gave it to some floozy on the side! Don't think I don't know what you've been pulling behind my back. You married Liu Geer off, and now you're trying to find an excuse to kick me out too? Let me tell you, I'm not gonna let you get away with it!"

"You thieving hag, still lying through your teeth!" Wen Shishan, half furious and half guilty, started shoving her. Li Qiaozhen, caught off balance, stumbled back a couple steps and cracked her head on the doorframe.

She let out a yelp, and once she caught her breath, she lunged at Wen Shishan, and the two began brawling.

The folks outside immediately rushed in to break it up, all too eager for a show. The two of them were going at it tooth and nail, and it took a real effort from everyone to pry them apart.

"You two are married—talk it out. Fighting like this ain't gonna solve anything."

"Yeah, what's the deal here?"

Wen Shishan's face was covered in bloody scratches. Panting hard, he pointed at his money jar and said, "The dozens of taels of silver in this house are all gone, and she still swears she didn't take 'em."

"Why the hell would I steal from my own house?" Li Qiaozhen had clumps of hair yanked out by Wen Shishan, her eyes bloodshot as she wailed.

Lin Dafa looked back and forth between the two of them. "You two, hold on. Think hard—besides the two of you, who else knew where the money was kept? Seen any suspicious folks hanging around the place lately? Who's been by?"

Wen Shishan frowned and said, "Besides that Zhao Shoutian punk, no one else has been by..."

He stopped mid-sentence, then all of a sudden shouted, "That bastard! No wonder he's been plying me with wine every single day lately, and every time after a drink he'd say he had to pee and then go snooping all over the house. So that was his game all along!"

The neighbors traded looks and said, "Well, when you put it that way, he does look the most guilty. But he's your son-in-law—this could get messy."

"What's so hard about it? I'm going to the authorities! I'll report him! That thieving bastard dared to rob me—I'll make damn sure he ends up in jail!"

Thinking of Wen Liu still living with the Zhao family, Li Qiaozhen went pale. She grabbed his arm, panicking, and said, "You can't report him! You can't! If you do, what will happen to Liu Geer?"

Wen Shishan shoved her off with a backhand. "I don't give a damn what happens to him! Worst case, the Zhaos can send him back!"

Money was his lifeline, and that cold-hearted Zhao Shoutian hadn't left him a single copper. Not reporting him would just eat him alive.

With so many people there, word spread through the village in no time flat. Folks had already thought Zhao Shoutian slugging his own mother at the wedding was bad enough, but now, right after getting married, he'd gone and robbed his in-laws blind. They wondered how their village could have produced such a piece of work.

"I told you Zhao Shoutian would stir up trouble. See? Called it, didn't I?"

"He's always been a petty thief around the village. He even got caught swiping eggs from my place once."

"Like they say, 'Steal a needle as a kid, steal gold as a grown-up.' Ain't that the truth."

"So what ended up happening? Did the Wens go to the authorities?"

"I heard the Zhao family stopped them halfway. The two families are hashing it out now."

...

At first, the Yan family got a kick out of these stories and would chew the fat over them whenever they sat around. But as one mess after another piled up, it got too exhausting and headache-inducing, and they all got sick of hearing about it.

With all that mess going on in her birth family, most folks would've been mortified, but Wen Xi didn't let it bother him one bit.

His only comfort was that he'd gotten out of that house early and cut ties with them—otherwise, all this drama would've landed on his doorstep too.

"Brother Jin, how's this butterfly I embroidered look?"

He Jin took his embroidery hoop, gave it a look, and his eyes lit up. The two butterflies on it looked so lifelike they seemed to be dancing, the thread colors shading from deep blue at the base of the wings to light blue—just like the ones they'd seen in the fields the other day.

The color combo was clever, sure, but Wen Xi's stitching technique was something else too. The threads layered one over the other, catching even the tiniest details of the wings with amazing realism. From a distance, it looked like real butterflies had landed on the hoop.

He Jin exclaimed, thrilled, "If you hadn't told me it was embroidery, I'd have sworn they were real butterflies! What stitch did you use?"

Wen Xi ran his fingers over the two butterflies and said honestly, "I don't know. I just used a long-and-short stitch."

It wasn't that he was holding back—he'd only just gotten the hang of it himself. Lately, he'd been racking his brain over how to improve his craft, asking not just He Jin and Li Wan at home, but also Granny Wang and Aunt Li next door.

Everyone had been happy to give him plenty of pointers. Whenever he had spare time, he'd tinker on his own, mixing a few stitching techniques together. After ruining a few pieces of cloth, he finally got this effect down.

He Jin patted his shoulder. "Keep at it, then. Once you've got it down, teach me."

Wen Xi nodded, picked the hoop back up, and kept embroidering. Once he got good at this stitch, he wanted to swap out all of Yan Fengan's pouches and handkerchiefs for silk ones.

Mother-in-law had said the academy was full of rich young gentlemen, and while they couldn't match them when it came to food and clothes, at least these little trinkets wouldn't let his husband get shown up.