Dou Shiying felt a headache coming on.
Seeing his father-in-law’s expression, Song Mo understood the situation clearly. He smiled and said, “Why don’t I accompany you?”
Dou Shiying was more than happy to accept.
When Dou Shiheng learned of this, he specifically called Song Mo over and said, “Don’t worry about the Wang family. Just say what needs to be said. If they start complaining, just come back and tell me. We elders won’t stand idly by.” He looked concerned that Song Mo might be taken advantage of.
Song Mo felt a warmth in his heart and suggested, “Why don’t we have Twelfth Brother go with us? He can also pay his respects to Seventh Madam. On the actual day of the ceremony, we won’t need to trouble Seventh Madam.”
He was worried the Wang family might use the excuse of having their adopted son pay respects to Wang Yingxue to send her back to Jing’an Temple Lane.
Dou Shiheng immediately understood.
He also didn’t want his son to have such an adoptive mother looming over him.
Dou Shiheng looked at Song Mo with newfound appreciation and said, “Then let Zhi’er go with you!”
Song Mo smiled and agreed. The next day, he went to Willow Leaf Lane with Dou Shiying and Dou Dechang.
Wang Zhibing had already guessed Dou Shiying’s intentions and politely welcomed the three into the hall.
However, when Dou Shiying explained his purpose, Wang Zhibing’s face turned pale.
He had previously remained silent, determined to send Wang Yingxue back during Dou Shiying’s family’s adoption ceremony. He didn’t want to alert the Dou family to his intentions, but now his plans had fallen through.
His heart filled with bitterness, but he couldn’t help saying, “How can such an important matter as adoption be done without Yingxue? There’s no rush. Since you’ve rarely visited, please stay for a good meal and wine. In the afternoon, I’ll have Yingxue return with you.”
Song Mo was about to say something diplomatic, but Dou Shiying spoke coldly, “I brought Zhi’er here out of respect for the Wang family. It seems the Wang family doesn’t appreciate it. I’ve overstepped!” He then called Song Mo and Dou Dechang, standing up to leave. “Since she’s not available, we needn’t wait until afternoon. We’ll take our leave now.”
Wang Zhibing had never suffered such humiliation, not even during the years he was exiled with his father.
His face turned purple, but remembering his mother’s instructions, he had to swallow his pride and try to keep Dou Shiying from leaving.
Dou Shiying quickly left, pulling Song Mo and Dou Dechang along. Wang Zhishao suddenly appeared from somewhere and grabbed Wang Zhibing, his face grim as he said, “Brother, you can’t keep indulging our sister like this. Father is still mocked by his colleagues because of her. Haven’t we done enough for her? Even if she returns to the Dou family, will they treat her like a person? Do you know that Tan’er’s marriage prospects have been ruined again because of her?”
Wang Zhibing remained silent. Images flashed through his mind: his wife’s troubled face, his sister-in-law cursing at his sister’s courtyard with her hands on her hips as his nephew’s marriage prospects repeatedly fell through, his daughter-in-law’s embarrassed expression as she covered his grandson’s ears. He let out a long sigh.
Wang Zhishao’s anxious heart finally settled. He put his arm around his brother’s shoulder and said, “We can’t keep offending people for her sake. Nan’er and Tan’er still have their lives ahead of them! We should at least see off our brother-in-law. They’ve shown us respect, so we should reciprocate with courtesy.”
Hearing this, Wang Zhibing couldn’t help but smile, “You’ve become much more level-headed!”
In the past, when Wang Yingxue’s situation affected Wang Tan’s marriage prospects, Pang Yulou would often cause a scene at home. Wang Zhishao would take the opportunity to cry to Wang Xu Shi, throwing the household into chaos. This time, however, his words seemed somewhat reasonable.
Wang Zhishao gave a dry laugh, realizing that these were all things his wife had told him to say. He felt increasingly convinced by his wife’s advice.
After seeing off Dou Shiying and the others, he went to Wang Xu Shi’s room.
“Mother!” As usual, his eyes and nose scrunched up as he began to speak, “You must give us some advice on this matter! Tan’er’s marriage prospects have fallen through again! Nan’er has his abilities, but Tan’er needs to rely on his in-laws’ support. They’re both your flesh and blood, please take pity on Tan’er! Others his age already have children running around, but he’s still single. How can we as parents eat or sleep peacefully?”
Wang Zhishao wanted to say, “You can’t sacrifice my son for the sake of your daughter,” but remembering Pang Yulou’s instructions, he swallowed those words.
Wang Xu Shi could only shake her head.
She was getting old. Gao Shi was kind-hearted, Pang Shi was cunning, and Yingxue could only rely on her eldest son in the future.
“What do you want to do?” she had to ask her second son.
Wang Zhishao’s eyes flickered as he said, “I… I want to move out!”
Although she had expected this, Wang Xu Shi still felt a sharp pain in her heart.
She closed her eyes and only opened them after a long while, saying, “I’ll write a letter to your father.”
Wang Zhishao was overjoyed, unable to hide his excitement.
He responded with a “Yes” and left the main room somewhat hastily.
From the back room came Pang Yulou’s scolding voice: “…You shameless wretch! For the sake of a man, you’re willing to harm your own family’s brothers and nephews. In the end, you were still tossed aside like an old shoe by that man. If I were you, I’d have already slit my throat and ended it all! Your husband just came with his adopted son. Do you know what your husband said? They’re afraid you’ll go back and ruin the adopted son’s marriage prospects, so they came specially to warn you not to go and spoil the Dou family’s celebration during the adoption ceremony!”
The Wang family’s residence wasn’t large, and with Wang Nan married and Wang Tan grew up, Wang Yingxue had moved into her mother’s back room when she returned to her maiden home, thinking she would soon return to the Dou family. However, there was never a “free” room to accommodate her, so she had to settle in the back room.
Over the past two years, Pang Yulou’s language had become increasingly vulgar, no different from market women cursing in the streets. As a result, the maids and servants in the Wang household had also begun to look down on Wang Yingxue.
Wang Yingxue, bitter that the daughter she had carried for ten months now despised her, had become increasingly irritable. She couldn’t tolerate Pang Yulou’s provocation and pushed open the door to trade insults: “Who do you think you are? You’re nothing but someone your father pawned off to our Wang family when we were down on our luck. You don’t respect your elders, nor do you teach your children properly. It’s only because our Wang family is kind that we haven’t divorced you…”
Listening from inside the room, Wang Xu Shi couldn’t catch her breath and fainted.
The main room immediately fell into chaos.
Wang Zhishao, fearing his wife might disrupt the plans to separate the household, hurriedly went to the back courtyard. He pulled Pang Yulou, who was shouting from the covered corridor, aside and said in a low voice, “What are you doing? Mother has already agreed to let us move out. Why are you still arguing? Aren’t you afraid the maids and servants will laugh at us?”
“I just can’t stand Wang Yingxue’s condescending attitude,” Pang Yulou thought to herself. Looking up, she saw a young maid from Gao Mingzhu’s room peeking through the back door. Knowing that either Gao Mingzhu or Gao Shi had sent someone to observe the situation, she had an idea. She called out to the young maid, “Go tell your mistress that even though we’re moving out, Nan’er and Tan’er are still brothers, and I’m still Nan’er’s aunt. Nan’er failed the exam this year because of that wretched woman’s disturbances. Let Nan’er come with us to study. We can’t let her ruin everyone in this house!”
The little maid didn’t dare respond and ran away in fright.
Upon receiving the news, Gao Shi sighed deeply and said to her daughter-in-law, “If your Second Aunt moves out, you should go with her to study. With the house in such chaos, it’s no wonder Nan’er failed this exam. Although she’s opportunistic, there are benefits to that – Nan’er is a young Juren, and if he passes the imperial examination, it will be good for her and Tan’er. Without your aunt around, your Second Aunt is quite skilled at keeping up appearances.”
Gao Mingzhu was stunned.
Her mother-in-law had always been virtuous, but now she was saying such things. It was clear she had reached her limit.
“What about you?” She didn’t want to stay in this house either. Apart from everything else, just hearing Wang Yingxue and Pang Yulou’s arguments made her uncomfortable, especially with her young son who was just learning to speak.
“Me?” Gao Shi replied helplessly, “I’ll just endure it like this!”
It was better than sacrificing her son and daughter-in-law.
At this moment, she deeply regretted ever standing up for Wang Yingxue.
Was this karma?
Gao Mingzhu hesitated and said, “Why don’t I take the child to serve my husband at the Gao family’s house for his studies? It’s quieter there.”
She disliked Pang Yulou.
Gao Shi shook her head and said, “Your father-in-law won’t agree to that.”
Then the only option was to settle for second best and move out with Pang Yulou and the others.
But that was still better than the current situation.
She nodded slightly.
Wang Zhibing, who had always protected Wang Yingxue, surprisingly didn’t object this time. Instead, he gently patted his wife’s shoulder and said softly, “You should go with them too. Our grandson is young, Nan’er needs to study, and the house needs someone to manage it! I’ll stay here. We can’t leave Mother without someone to take care of her.”
Gao Shi was surprised.
Wang Zhibing smiled at his wife and said, “I’m not entirely selfless either.”
Gao Shi tightly gripped her husband’s hand.
Wang Xu Shi, however, seemed to have aged ten years in an instant. She fixed her piercing gaze on her eldest son and said sternly, “Is this your idea or Gao Shi’s?”
Wang Zhibing’s heart trembled, but he gritted his teeth and said, “This is my idea!”
Wang Xu Shi’s gaze suddenly lost its focus, and she collapsed onto the large pillow.
This family was falling apart!
Did she have to drive away her son, daughter-in-law, and grandson for the sake of that unfilial daughter?
As this thought crossed her mind, she heard her son murmur, “I’m doing this for Yingxue’s good. The way she is now, the Dou family certainly won’t take care of her, and that child Dou Ming doesn’t know any better, so he can’t be relied upon either. In the future, she’ll have to live with her nephews and their wives. If we let the children harbor resentment towards her, how will she be able to live?”
Wang Zhibing’s words moved Wang Xu Shi.
She fingered her prayer beads for a long time before sighing to her eldest son, “There’s no need to argue about dividing the family. I’ll decide to send Yingxue to the country estate!”
Wang Zhibing kowtowed deeply to his mother several times.
When Wang Yingxue heard the news, she was beside herself in her room.
This time, Wang Xu Shi was determined. She had her trusted old servant woman take Wang Yingxue to the country estate.
Gao Shi also joined forces with Pang Shi for once. They took this opportunity to deal with the maids and servants in the house – releasing some, selling others, and arranging marriages for the rest. They replaced everyone. Then, they quietly sent capable older women to the country estate with instructions: “Keep her under watch and don’t let her interact with outsiders to prevent any wild talk from spreading. If the master or mistress inquire, I’ll take responsibility.”
The old woman accepted the mission and left.
Pang Yulou also secretly sent an old woman to “serve” Wang Yingxue. The first part of her instructions was similar to Gao Shi’s, but she added, “Who doesn’t have a few aches and pains? Besides the old mistress, who else remembers her? Just make sure you don’t torture her to death.”
The old woman smiled and accepted the task.