The Wife of a Loyal Servant - Chapter 35

“‘I won’t’? What good does saying ‘I won’t’ do now?! I’ll teach you to run! I’ll teach you to run!” Seeing him still daring to dodge, Ling Yu grew even more incensed and redoubled her efforts to chase him down.

“Sister-in-law… she is truly a heroine among women!” Tang Jinyuan, who had escorted Cheng Shaoan back, was left utterly dumbfounded. It took him a good while before he managed to mumble those words.

Rubbing his temples, Cheng Shaotang finally strode over towards the pair. With one hand, he caught Ling Yu’s fist just as it was about to pummel Cheng Shaoan again; with the other, he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her away from his brother.

Cheng Shaoan scrambled away, but Ling Yu’s fury was far from spent. Even held fast by Cheng Shaotang and unable to move freely, she stubbornly kept trying to kick in his direction: “I’ll teach you to steal money! I’ll teach you to abandon your own mother and forsake your wife!”

Cheng Shaoan narrowly avoided another kick and scurried further away. Hearing her curse him like that, the tall, grown man suddenly let out a loud “Waaah!” and burst into tears. Sobbing, he shouted, “I didn’t steal any money! I didn’t abandon my mother or forsake my wife! It’s my wife who doesn’t want me! It’s her! She’s the one who doesn’t want me!!”

Once the accumulated grief and bitterness in his heart were shouted out, it was as if he had found a release valve. He wept louder and louder: “She doesn’t want me! She thinks I’m useless! She thinks I can’t give her a good life! She doesn’t want me!!”

Ling Yu was momentarily stunned by his sudden, loud crying. Her heart gave another uneasy thud, finally pulling her out of her towering rage.

She looked at Cheng Shaoan, who was wailing as if his heart were being torn out, completely beyond caring about appearances. She then glanced at Tang Jinyuan, standing dumbstruck to the side. Finally, she stole a furtive look at Cheng Shaotang beside her. His face was livid, a vein on his forehead throbbing incessantly. He looked, from every angle, as if he were about to erupt in anger at any moment.

Yet, all she saw was him take a deep breath, release the arm that had been tightly encircling her waist, and stride towards Cheng Shaoan, who was still sobbing messily and crying out, ‘She doesn’t want me!’ His right arm rose. Ling Yu’s heart immediately leaped into her throat, thinking he was going to strike Cheng Shaoan. Even Tang Jinyuan was startled and was about to intervene when they saw that large hand come to rest gently on Cheng Shaoan’s back, patting it once, then again—a silent, clumsy form of comfort.

“Big brother, she doesn’t want me, she doesn’t want me…” Cheng Shaoan wept, his voice muffled with both self-pity and sorrow.

Cheng Shaotang sighed. His brother looked exactly as he had in childhood, coming home in tears after being bullied outside.

So many years had passed; he had grown taller, but his temperament hadn’t changed all that much.

“Ahem, well… Brother Cheng, perhaps any further discussion should continue indoors. Brother Shaoan should also go wash up and change into some clean clothes.” Having watched for a while, Tang Jinyuan cleared his throat and stepped forward to suggest.

“Yes, yes, of course. We should take this conversation inside. What will people think if they see us like this out here?” Ling Yu, seeing the sense in it, hastily chimed in.

Seizing the opportunity while Cheng Shaoan was away washing and changing, Cheng Shaotang thanked Tang Jinyuan and also asked him to convey his gratitude to Song Chao and the others.

Tang Jinyuan waved his hand dismissively. “Why bother with such formalities between brothers? It’s just that Brother Shaoan really did suffer quite a bit this time. When Brother Song and I found him, he had already gone hungry for several days, and his clothes were in tatters. He must have run into some trouble on the road.”

Ling Yu was taken aback. She also recalled that Cheng Shaoan’s appearance just now was indeed much gaunter than before he left home. She had originally assumed it was because he couldn’t take care of himself while traveling alone. Could it be that wasn’t the reason after all?

“So, you’re saying he encountered bandits? All his luggage and money were stolen?” Cheng Shaotang frowned.

“That should be the case, yes. We asked him as well, but he absolutely refused to tell us straight. At first, he even tried to sneak away when we weren’t paying attention. Judging by his demeanor, he seemed afraid to come back and face you all.” As he said this, Tang Jinyuan shot a glance at Ling Yu.

Ling Yu felt a twinge of guilt under his gaze, but upon second thought, she felt perfectly justified.

His fear of returning was simply due to his own guilty conscience.  What did that have to do with her?

“Since it’s rare for you to visit, I’ll go prepare a few dishes and warm up a pot of wine. You two brothers should have a good, proper reunion today.” She stood up as if nothing were amiss.

Tang Jinyuan wanted to decline, but suddenly remembering the scene from earlier, he swallowed the words that had reached his lips and managed to force out just four: “Thank you, sister-in-law.”

Ling Yu knew that she had probably cemented a fierce and formidable image in his mind. She felt rather disheartened, but there was nothing to be done.

Well, who could have guessed that her rare, all-out outburst would be witnessed in its full glory!

“How have the brothers been lately? Is everything going smoothly at the prince’s mansion?” After wine had been served three rounds, Cheng Shaotang inquired about the brothers working at the Prince of Qi’s mansion in Changluo City.

“Good, everyone’s doing quite well. Although Prince Qi is royalty, he is benevolent and magnanimous by nature. Working under him is truly considered quite favorable.”

“Brother Cheng, why don’t you come with me to serve by His Highness’s side? With your courage, capability, and martial prowess, you would certainly gain his appreciation very quickly.”

Cheng Shaotang smiled and shook his head. “I appreciate your kind offer, but I’m doing quite well as I am now.”

Tang Jinyuan knew his temperament and did not press the matter further. After seeing Tang Jinyuan off, Cheng Shaotang was met by Madam Wang, who had received the news. The moment she saw Cheng Shaoan sitting on a chair with his head bowed, she rushed over, hugging him while crying, scolding, and hitting him all at once. Unfortunately, she accidentally struck one of his wounds, causing him to suck in a sharp, pained breath.

Madam Wang finally noticed his injuries. She forcibly rolled up his sleeve for a look and, seeing the mottled bruises of blue and red, was immediately heartbroken, launching into another bout of weeping and cursing: “My poor child! Which damned scoundrel did this to you? Who beat you into such a state!”

Ling Yu, holding the medicine, had just reached the doorway when she heard the curse ‘that damned scoundrel’. Her footsteps instantly faltered, and she shrank back. Then she heard Madam Wang continue, dabbing her tears, “Just who could have a heart so cruel to strike such a vicious blow? Don’t they fear being struck by lightning!”

“Mother, no one hit me. I… I just tripped and fell.” Cheng Shaoan, sharp-eyed, spotted the hem of a skirt peeking out from the doorway. He gave an involuntary shiver and explained in a hushed, defensive tone.

Upon hearing this, Madam Wang burst into another fit of loud weeping, crying, and cursing simultaneously: “She was nothing but an ungrateful, unprincipled woman who couldn’t tell good from bad! She’s gone, so let her be gone! Could it be that in your heart, she’s the only one that matters? Have you no room left even for the mother who gave you birth and raised you?”

“I do, I do want you, Mother! I know I was wrong. I won’t dare do it again in the future, never again…” Cheng Shaoan alternated between consoling her and making fervent vows, finally managing, with great difficulty, to calm her weeping.

“Give me the medicine.” Ling Yu was still hesitating about whether to enter when Cheng Shaotang, who had appeared at her side unnoticed, gestured for her to hand the medicine over to him.

She hastily thrust the medicine into his hands, tossed out a hurried “I’ll go check if Xiao Shitou is awake,” and made her escape.

Cheng Shaotang watched her retreating figure, which bore all the hallmarks of a hasty retreat, and the corner of his mouth twitched upward slightly.

She was beating him with such gusto earlier, but now she’s turned into a turtle shrinking into its shell.

He cleared his throat, entered the room with the medicinal ointment, and applied it to Cheng Shaoan himself despite his brother’s protests. Only after finishing did he ask, his expression stern, “Do you admit your fault?”

“I know I was wrong, Elder Brother, I truly know I was wrong,” Cheng Shaoan answered, his head hanging low.

Madam Wang’s heart had already ached terribly upon seeing his wounds earlier. Now, observing that her eldest son seemed intent on holding him accountable, she hastened to say, “Yes, yes, yes, he already knows he was wrong and won’t dare to do it again. Given how seriously he’s injured now, let’s save any more talk for another day!”

“It is precisely because he is wounded now that I should take this opportunity to properly instruct him. Only when the lesson is as painful as a bone-deep ache will he not repeat the mistake in the future.” Cheng Shaotang, however, refused to let it slide.

Madam Wang sighed and sat to the side, not daring to intervene further.

Her eldest son had never tolerated opposition in matters he was determined to address. Moreover, Shaoan’s mistake this time was indeed truly outrageous.

“And how exactly do you understand where you went wrong?” Cheng Shaotang fixed his gaze on his younger brother and asked again, his voice cold.

“My mistake was leaving without saying goodbye… But I truly didn’t mean to abandon my mother. I just… I just kept thinking about how she looked down on me, held me in such contempt. I was determined to make a name for myself, to achieve something so that in the future I could make her regret it!” Cheng Shaoan answered in a low voice, his eyes reddening.

Cheng Shaotang had guessed as much and sneered, “So this is the ‘success’ you’ve achieved? Where is your money and luggage? I recall you took every last bit of your savings with you when you left. How then did you end up in rags, unable to even secure a decent meal?”

Cheng Shaoan knew instantly, upon hearing this, that his brother had learned of his ordeal from Tang Jinyuan. His head sank even lower. Madam Wang, however, was startled by his words: “What? You suffered like that? No wonder you look so much thinner, child! Come, let Mother have another good look at you, my poor boy…”

Cheng Shaotang looked on helplessly as his mother, once again clutching Cheng Shaoan’s hand and wiping her tears, carried on. After a good while, he feigned a cough to get her attention. “Mother!”

Madam Wang’s tears stopped instantly. With a mixture of heartache and reluctance, she released Cheng Shaoan’s hand and sat back down in her chair.

“You lost your money and your luggage; your grand plans for success have come to nothing. Yet, because you feared your family’s punishment, you didn’t dare return home. Worse still, even when Brother Song and Brother Tang found you and were bringing you back, you still thought of running away to evade the consequences awaiting you at home.”

“To do wrong yet not dare bear the consequences—this is the behavior of a coward! Cheng Shaoan, you are no longer that ignorant child of years past. You have grown into a man and should be capable of shouldering the responsibility of heading a household.”

He paused, his gaze deep upon Cheng Shaoan, whose lips were trembling slightly. Finally, steeling his heart, he said, “If you remain this cowardly, knowing only how to run away, utterly devoid of responsibility, then I am beginning to understand why Jin Qiaorong left.”

It was as if a heavy mallet had struck him right in the chest. Cheng Shaoan swayed on his feet, and the color drained from his face in an instant.

“Shaotang! How… how could you say such a thing! You know perfectly well he…” Madam Wang was both furious and frantic, unable to believe her eldest son was rubbing salt into his younger brother’s wounds.

Cheng Shaotang watched calmly as his mother both coaxed and admonished his younger brother, his gaze sharp.

It was impossible to tell how much time passed before Cheng Shaoan, face pale and lips trembling, finally met his elder brother’s gaze. “B-big brother… have I let you down terribly?”

“……Yes.”

“Shaotang!” Madam Wang cried out, unable to believe her ears.

“I… I see. Even you, big brother, are so disappointed in me… No wonder Qiaorong didn’t want me…” A wave of bitter pain washed over Cheng Shaoan’s heart.

Cheng Shaotang spoke again, slowly and deliberately. “My disappointment in you and her choice to leave are two matters that cannot be compared. Shaoan, I am disappointed in your cowardly escapism, reckless selfishness, and your complete lack of responsibility. Her departure, however, was merely due to a craving for wealth and status and a fading sense of gratitude and loyalty.”

“Take your time to think carefully about what your elder brother has said to you.” Having said this, he gave him one last deep look before turning and walking away.

Cheng Shaoan kept his head bowed, lost in unknown thoughts, oblivious to Madam Wang’s attempts to comfort him.

Meanwhile, Ling Yu had run back to her room in one breath and plopped down onto the bed with a thump, covering her face in vexation.

She had been wrong. She should not have let rage blind her, causing her to mix up the events of two lifetimes and beat Cheng Shaoan senseless in a blind fury. Beating him was bad enough, but she shouldn’t have done it in front of Cheng Shaotang and Tang Jinyuan. Now, not only had she cemented a fierce and shrewish image, but if Cheng Shaotang were to become displeased with her because of this, that would be even worse.

“Didn’t you say you were going to check if Xiao Shitou was awake? Why did you come back to the room alone? Where is Xiao Shitou?” Cheng Shaotang’s puzzled voice sounded in the room, interrupting her train of thought.

“Ah? I-I’ll go right now! Right now!” Remembering the flimsy excuse she had hastily concocted, she tried to dash out the door to see her son. But the moment she took a step, Cheng Shaotang caught her by the arm in one swift motion.

“Wait. I have something to ask you.”

His grip was neither too tight nor too loose, yet firm enough that she couldn’t easily break free. Left with no choice, she turned around helplessly. “What do you want to ask?”

“Why did you say that Shaoan stole money, abandoned his mother, and didn’t want his wife?” Cheng Shaotang fixed her with a deep, penetrating gaze, voicing the question he couldn’t make sense of no matter how much he thought about it.

If he remembered correctly, Shaoan had left home with money he himself had saved. One could scold him for abandoning his mother, but where did this accusation of forsaking his wife come from? Clearly, it was that Jin… that person who had chosen to abandon him for the sake of wealth and status.

Ling Yu had long anticipated that he would inevitably ask about this. Without a trace of blush or a change in breath, she said, “Oh, that? I was just saying it offhand to add some rhetorical punch. Don’t you think it sounds more resonant and forceful that way, more satisfying, more balanced? Doesn’t it make the whole scolding more impactful?”

Cheng Shaotang: “……”

His irritation finally got the better of him. He suddenly reached out and gave her cheek a hard pinch. The pain brought instant tears to Ling Yu’s eyes, and she angrily swatted his hand away. “What are you doing?! That hurts!!”

“Serves you right! Who told you to keep lying through your teeth? Do you take me for an easy mark?!” Cheng Shaotang glared at her, his expression fierce.

Ling Yu pouted, feeling wronged.

Fool him? If she told the truth, would he even believe her?

“Out with it! Why did you curse him like that? I have eyes; I can naturally see that when you said those things, you truly believed them in your heart. But you and I both know that, aside from the point about ‘abandoning his mother,’ the other two accusations simply don’t hold water.” Cheng Shaotang spoke slowly and deliberately.

Ling Yu rubbed the spot on her cheek where he had pinched her and said bluntly, “I’ll tell you, but you won’t believe me anyway. Because in his previous life, he really did steal my money, abandon his mother, and forsake his wife.”

Cheng Shaotang: “……”

Seeing his expression, Ling Yu knew he definitely didn’t believe her. Pouting, she added, “See? See? I knew you wouldn’t believe me!”

“In your ‘previous life,’ didn’t you remarry, taking my son and all our family’s assets with you, and live a life of worry-free wealth and happiness ever after? So how could Shaoan have stolen your money?” Cheng Shaotang said, caught between amusement and exasperation, his face stern.

Ling Yu was momentarily stumped but quickly recalled that these were her own words from a previous fit of pique. Pressing her lips together, she gave a defiant snort. “Exactly! If that bastard hadn’t stolen my money, my dowry would have been even more substantial!”

For the first time, Cheng Shaotang felt his own self-restraint was truly remarkable. He had actually managed to stop himself from pinning this infuriating woman to the bed and giving her a sound lesson.

But on second thought, he still felt his irritation boiling over. He lunged forward, wrapped his arms around her, and, amidst her startled shriek, carefully bit her cheek with controlled force. Surveying the tooth mark he left with satisfaction, he nodded, then put on a stern, serious face. “This is to teach you a lesson. See if you dare to spout such nonsense again in the future.”

“You—you utter scoundrel!” Ling Yu looked at the tooth mark reflected in the bronze mirror and, upon hearing his words, stamped her foot hard in fury.

Cheng Shaotang watched her flustered, furious appearance and allowed himself a slight smile, though he quickly suppressed it. “I’ll ask you one more time: why did you say Shaoan stole money, abandoned his mother, and forsook his wife? Is there something you’re hiding from me?”

In her fury, Ling Yu let out a sharp, humorless laugh. “I told you clearly, but you refuse to believe me. Now you’re still clinging to this and won’t let it go? In his past life, he did steal money, and he did abandon his mother and forsake his wife!”

“You…” Cheng Shaotang, seeing she was still spouting nonsense, glared at her, his cheeks puffed with annoyance.

Ling Yu glared back at him with even greater ferocity.

Husband and wife locked in a staring contest. After a moment, it was Cheng Shaotang who first conceded defeat.

“Enough, enough. If you don’t wish to speak of it, I won’t force you. But you must stop this talk of ‘past lives’ and ‘this life’! As Confucius said, ‘I do not speak of extraordinary things, feats of strength, disorder, or spiritual beings.’ When a person dies, it is like a lamp being extinguished. What ‘previous life’ or ‘present life’ could there be? Even if such things existed, could one possibly retrace their steps? It’s utterly preposterous!”

His words left Ling Yu utterly speechless. She desperately wanted to refute him at the top of her lungs, yet not a single word came out. After all, before she had experienced these things herself, she had thought exactly the same way.

Watching Cheng Shaotang turn and stride out, she slumped onto the stool in front of her dressing table, feeling aggrieved. A sudden, lonely desolation washed over her, the feeling of ‘being the only sober person in a world of drunkards.’ But immediately after, she caught sight of the teeth marks on her face reflected in the mirror. As Cheng Shaotang passed by the window, she yelled out angrily, “Childish oaf! Blockhead! Old fossil!”

Cheng Shaotang’s footsteps faltered slightly. Then, as if he hadn’t heard a thing, he continued on his way. But inwardly, he thought:

My wife’s temper really is getting worse and worse. She’s even cursing her own husband now. It seems I’ll need to find an opportunity to properly assert my authority as the head of the household.

With such a conspicuous tooth mark on her face, Ling Yu naturally didn’t dare to go out and be seen. To make matters worse, her skin was so delicate that the mark stubbornly refused to fade even after a long while. But with her mother-in-law visiting, she couldn’t very well hide in her room forever. Her only recourse was to take out the rouge and face powder Yang Suwen had given her last time and start applying it. As she dabbed on the powder, she cursed the childish, infuriating old fossil responsible for it!

However, when dinnertime came and she saw Cheng Shaoan emerging from his room with difficulty, moving stiffly, her guilt immediately resurfaced. She wanted to step forward and say a few kind words, hoping he would at least keep his mother from finding out that she was the one who had inflicted his injuries. But the moment Cheng Shaoan saw her, he shrank fearfully behind Cheng Shaotang.

Ling Yu: “……”

“What are you hiding for? Aren’t you going to greet her?” Cheng Shaotang almost failed to suppress a laugh, especially seeing his wife unusually adorned with rouge and powder. He naturally knew the reason behind it, and the corner of his mouth curled upward.

“B-b-big sister-in-law,” Cheng Shaoan stammered out.

Ling Yu first shot a fierce glare at Cheng Shaotang. Then, hearing Cheng Shaoan address her like that and catching sight of Madam Wang leading Xiao Shitou into view, she inwardly groaned.

If her mother-in-law saw him being as afraid of her, she would surely deduce that his injuries were her doing. At this thought, she forced her face into the gentlest, most amiable smile she could muster. “It’s good that you’re back. Your sister-in-law made many of your favorite dishes. You must nourish yourself properly and recover.”

“Yes, your sister-in-law is right. Get plenty of nourishment and just put all those unpleasant past matters behind you. The money’s gone, so let it be gone; you can always earn more later.” Madam Wang carried Xiao Shitou to his special chair, quite in agreement with Ling Yu’s words.

“I-I-I know,” Cheng Shaoan stammered, shooting a fleeting glance at Ling Yu before hurriedly turning his face away, terrified she might notice.

Ling Yu: “……”

At the dinner table, Cheng Shaoan kept his head down, shoveling rice without daring to reach for any dishes. Madam Wang, thinking he was simply ravenous, was heartbroken. She kept piling his usual favorites into his bowl.

“Eat slowly, eat slowly, there’s plenty more! My poor child…”

Ling Yu feigned ignorance as she fed her son.

Thus, Cheng Shaoan stayed behind temporarily to recuperate. In truth, he would have preferred to return to Cheng Family Village, but Madam Wang was worried he would be reminded of his lost wife by familiar surroundings. Furthermore, she thought it more convenient for him to see a doctor if they stayed. Therefore, she heeded Cheng Shaotang’s suggestion and remained with him.

Driven by guilt and a touch of remorse towards Cheng Shaoan, Ling Yu ran around trying to please him.

However, Cheng Shaoan could not forget her ferocious side from that day and had developed a genuine fear of her. The moment he saw her, he wished he could vanish into thin air. How could he possibly accept her kindness? This only served to deepen Ling Yu’s frustration.

Cheng Shaotang, however, found her repeated failures quite amusing. He didn’t step in to play the peacemaker, letting her clumsily express her apologies to Cheng Shaoan.

The joyful news that Ling Bi had been diagnosed with a pregnancy arrived just as Ling Yu was feeling dejected over Cheng Shaoan’s tiger-like fear of her. Madam Wang was no fool. Even if she hadn’t immediately connected her son’s injuries to Ling Yu, observing the subtle undercurrents between the two still aroused her suspicion.

Fortunately, neither Cheng Shaotang nor Cheng Shaoan intended to tell her the truth, and the other person in the know, Tang Jinyuan, was far away in Changluo City. Thus, she remained merely suspicious.

“That’s a relief. I just hope she really gives birth to a son this time,” Ling Yu said, letting out a sigh of relief.

The next moment, she fell into deep thought again. With her sister now pregnant, the news of the Crown Prince’s death probably isn’t far off either. When that happens, when the heavens change… I fear the world will become an even more difficult place!