Tang Laotai’s plump, fierce face trembled with rage as she pointed at Li Qiushuang and began cursing.
“You wretched disaster! Jinx! You little bitch! Dayong is far too soft-hearted! If it were up to me, he’d have divorced you long ago and thrown you out to beg! You worthless trash who can’t recognize kindness when it’s offered! How dare you act so high and mighty!
“The Princess saved Dayong’s life! Him marrying her as his rightful wife is justified anywhere! But you? The daughter of a lowly merchant, ugly as a sow—keeping you as a concubine is an act of pity! And you still don’t know your place, daring to put on airs in front of me! If you keep causing trouble, I’ll beat you to death!
“Get up right now! Take those three little brats and go into the city to kowtow and apologize to the Princess! If she doesn’t forgive you, you’ll kowtow until you die!”
As she spoke, she ordered Tang Laoer and Tang Laosan to drag Li Qiushuang and the children away.
Tang Tian wanted to resist, but a sudden idea flashed in her mind. She burst into loud sobs and secretly pinched her second brother.
Tang Hai, unaware of what was happening, yelped in pain, crying even louder than his sister.
“Mom! Hai’er hurts! Hai’er hurts!”
Sure enough, Li Qiushuang could no longer wallow in despair. Like a tigress, she lunged forward, clawing and scratching wildly, driving back her two brothers-in-law.
All her disappointment and despair had transformed into hatred!
She had been blind to choose Tang Dayong, enslaved for half a lifetime, despised and abandoned—she accepted that!
But what wrong had her children committed?!
Since the Tang family was so heartless, she would no longer hold back any sentiment!
“Don’t pull us! We’ll go on our own! So what if it’s into the city? We’ll go, right now!”
With that, she pulled the children to their feet, opened the door, and strode out.
The Tang family was somewhat taken aback but overjoyed.
Before Dayong left, he had sent word: he and the Princess were staying at an inn in the county seat. As long as Li Qiushuang brought the children to apologize and pleased the Princess, the matter would be resolved.
As for the future, once Li Qiushuang became a concubine and the children were reduced to the offspring of a lesser wife, they would be entirely at the Tang family’s mercy!
Tangjia Fort was only about eighty li in a straight line from the capital to the south, but commoners couldn’t just go to the capital for every minor issue. Instead, they were under the jurisdiction of nearby Xinan Town. Of course, if Xinan Town couldn’t handle a matter, they had to go to Tailai County, twenty li away.
Tailai County was small, with only one main street where inns, shops, taverns, and even the county magistrate’s office were located.
In the past, the main street had been bustling, but after four consecutive years of famine, the common people were entirely focused on filling their bellies. Who had the energy to come to the city for trade? Some refugees tried to beg at the doors of wealthy households but were stopped by soldiers at the city gates.
Thus, the county seat was severely depressed. The few pedestrians on the street mostly wore sorrowful expressions and hurried along.
When the Tang family arrived at the city gates, the soldiers inspected them, and each person paid two coins as a gate tax.
Li Qiushuang and her three children naturally had no money. Grumbling and cursing, Tang Laotai reluctantly paid for them.
But once inside the city, as they reached the inn’s entrance, Tang Tian pulled Tang Hai along, while Li Qiushuang half-carried Tang Chuan, and they abruptly headed straight for the magistrate’s office across the street.
“You little bitch! Where are you going? Get in here and kneel—” Tang Laotai shrieked, but she could only watch as Li Qiushuang grabbed the drumstick in front of the magistrate’s office and began frantically beating the grievance drum!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The heavy drumbeats shattered the silence of the county seat, quickly drawing a crowd of onlookers.
Even the yamen bailiffs came out and asked, “Who is beating the drum? Do you have a case to bring?”
Li Qiushuang instinctively glanced at her daughter, and seeing her nod, suddenly found courage.
She shouted loudly, “I beg the honorable magistrate to uphold justice! Tang Dayong of Tangjia Fort, in his pursuit of wealth and status, has abandoned his wife to remarry and seeks to harm me and my three children! I beg the honorable magistrate to save us!”
With that, she burst into loud, heart-wrenching sobs of despair that moved all who heard them with both pity and curiosity.
Many commoners couldn’t help but draw closer to the yamen entrance!
Tang Tian pulled her two brothers down to kneel with her, joining in the loud weeping.
Tang Chuan, resentful of his father’s heartless betrayal, cried so violently that he gradually grew short of breath, his face turning bluish-purple as if he might die at any moment.
Tang Hai wept with snot and tears covering his face, making no attempt to wipe them away, his wide-open mouth revealing his simple-minded nature.
Tang Tian was as thin and small as a kitten, her sallow face and stick-like limbs clad in heavily patched clothing making her an utterly pitiful sight.
Li Qiushuang appeared terribly aged, her hands cracked from years of labor. Though her face was streaked with tears, she steadfastly protected her three children behind her – tending to her breathless sick son while comforting her sobbing simple-minded son and daughter – even as the furious and shocked Tang family members pulled, hit, and cursed at her.
“You wretched woman! How dare you cause trouble! Get back home now!”
Tang Laotai, realizing they’d made a grave mistake, was so frantic she wished she could strangle her daughter-in-law with her belt.
By now, the gathered onlookers could no longer stand by. Though unaware of the details, they found the mother and her three children too pitiful to ignore.
Human hearts naturally side with the vulnerable!
“Stop it, stop it immediately! This is the yamen! Let the County Magistrate handle matters – how dare you assault people here!”
“Exactly! This isn’t your countryside village where you can ignore the law!”
“What’s wrong with this family? That child can barely breathe and you still attack them!”
But the Tang family refused to cease, continuing to pull and grab.
At that moment, a middle-aged man in a long gown with a goatee emerged and shouted sternly, “What is going on here? Who dares to cause disturbance at the county yamen? Do you not fear being caned?”
The Tang family grew fearful and reluctantly withdrew their hands.
Remembering her son’s status, Tang Laotai quickly called out to bolster her position.
“Your Honor, my son… my son is a general who’s about to marry the Princess. They’re taking me to the capital to enjoy luxury! Our family holds official rank – you must help us! My son will surely reward you handsomely!”
Tang Laoer, being somewhat clever, slipped away to fetch his elder brother from the inn across the street.
Though the goatee-adorned advisor found Tang Laotai’s words offensive, he sensed this was no simple matter and sent bailiffs to summon the County Magistrate from his chambers.
By the time the young County Magistrate in his twenties had donned his official robes and ascended the bench, a livid Tang Dayong had arrived. Perhaps fearing further complications, he had left the Princess at the inn.
He glared viciously at Li Qiushuang and her children before exchanging pleasantries with the County Magistrate.
Though he had been appointed Zhaowu General, he had yet to collect his seal and credentials from the Ministry of War, though he fortunately carried the official documents.
The County Magistrate, a jinshi from the previous imperial examination posted to this district, had only been governing this area for a few years as its seventh-rank official. While he didn’t need to grovel before a fourth-rank military officer, he still maintained due courtesy.
Seeing the situation turning against them, Tang Tian steeled herself and threw herself at Tang Dayong, clutching his lapel while wailing loudly.
“Waaah, Father, you’re a bad person! Mother served Grandmother for you all these years, getting beaten and scolded every day. We never had enough to eat and were starving to death, yet you never cared! Waaah, if you want to marry the Princess as your official wife, then just divorce Mother! Why force her to become a concubine? We don’t want to be raised as concubine’s children! Waaah, we don’t want to be treated like little bastards!”
The child’s voice was thin and reedy, yet it pierced everyone’s hearts like needles. Thus, all the looks directed at Tang Dayong were filled with contempt.
Li Qiushuang, for once, didn’t hold back. Her years of grievances found an outlet in this moment.
From defying her elderly father’s objections to resolutely bringing her dowry to the Tang family, building their courtyard, serving her in-laws, caring for her brothers and sisters-in-law, bearing and raising children, and supporting the family—she recounted everything up to the bitterness and perseverance after Tang Dayong was reported dead in battle. She cried until she was drenched in tears, and everyone present sighed and shook their heads, secretly spitting in disgust toward the Tang family.
“Ungrateful white-eyed wolf”—these seven words were truly tailor-made for the Tang family!