Once the words "father-in-law" were brought up, the atmosphere in the room shifted. At the very least, Xu Hairen no longer dared to speak recklessly. His eyes turned toward his father, seeking guidance.
Xu Maoshan’s face darkened, but he remained silent. That was the matter he least wanted to mention—like silver falling into a cesspit. No matter how thoroughly it’s fished out and cleaned, it still feels repulsive.
Meanwhile, Granny Zhao seemed to have been poked in a sore spot. She let out a sharp cry and began cursing, "You little beast! Usually, you’re as silent as a gourd—not a peep even after three strikes. Now you’re suddenly spouting nonsense? What have you done wrong by your father-in-law? Didn’t you wear mourning clothes and observe filial piety for him? Didn’t you carry the funeral basin and banner? Or did you not marry his daughter?"
Her voice grew louder with each question, aggressive and self-righteous.
Playing this game with him? Xu Huaiyi wasn’t afraid at all. In the past, his motto was: if you can use your fists, don’t waste time talking. Were there any problems that couldn’t be solved with a few punches? If someone wasn’t behaving, just beat them a couple more times.
But now… he remembered his wife’s instructions as if wearing a tightening headband. Since he couldn’t win with his fists, he had to rely on wit instead. Thanks to his wife, he had watched plenty of palace dramas filled with scheming and bloodshed in his previous life. What tricks hadn’t he seen? Compared to those, the current situation was nothing.
Xu Huaiyi looked at Granny Zhao with a bewildered expression and bluntly retorted, "But weren’t those things just what I should have done? They were only natural and right. Did I do something praiseworthy?"
This response was a perfect counter.
The torrent of curses Granny Zhao was about to unleash got stuck in her throat, choking her until her face turned ashen. No matter how skilled she was at making a scene, she couldn’t bring herself to speak at that moment.
But Xu Huaiyi continued slapping metaphorical faces in the room. "Back then, the conditions agreed upon between our family and my father-in-law were written clearly in black and white on the contract. My father-in-law gave our family fifty taels of silver and a chest of books useful for the imperial examination. I married into the Gu Family, and any children I have in the future will bear the Gu surname, continuing the Gu family line…"
At this point, his mind wandered slightly. He belatedly remembered that he and his wife had previously agreed to name their daughter Xu Zhao. Good heavens, would she have to be renamed Gu Zhao now?
He frowned, lost in thought, looking troubled.
But this expression was misinterpreted by those watching.
Wang Suyun’s heart raced with anxiety. What was Third Brother trying to do?
Xu Hairen also felt inexplicably uneasy. Subconsciously, he picked up his teacup and sipped the long-cold water.
Xu Maoshan sensed that he couldn’t let this continue and spoke gravely, "Third Son, how long has it been since all this happened? What’s the point of digging it up now? Marrying into another family… do you think that’s something to be proud of?"
Finally, he couldn’t hold back. This was the most malicious one in the family, far more ruthless than Granny Zhao. She was merely his weapon.
Xu Huaiyi gave a self-mocking smile, his expression sorrowful. "Father, whether it’s something to be proud of or not… did I even have a choice?"
After these words, the room fell into an eerie silence.
After all, the matter of marrying into another family couldn’t withstand scrutiny. The second branch of the Xu family did have many sons, but they weren’t so poor that they couldn’t put food on the table. Why would they ever send a son to become a live-in son-in-law?
If they had truly received great kindness from the Gu Family and done it under the pretense of repaying a debt, that would be one thing. But the truth was, they coveted the Gu Family’s silver and books. Such behavior was truly unsightly.
Moreover, what made it even more glaring was the five large tiled houses built with the Gu family's silver standing right at the village entrance, along with the books Xu Huaiyu used for his studies—none of these could be concealed.
Yet the Xu family managed to act as if nothing had happened, never mentioning the matter in daily life, each feigning ignorance and deafness. The so-called act of covering one's ears to steal a bell was precisely this.
Now that this veil of shame had been torn away, whose face wouldn't burn with embarrassment?
After a long silence, Granny Zhao was the first to wail, "Heavens, strike me dead with lightning! I, as a mother, am guilty! My son resents me! Who have I done all this for…"
Seeing this, Xu Huaiyi sneered inwardly. He gathered his emotions and suddenly threw himself to his knees before Granny Zhao, wailing even louder than her in the next moment, "Mother, you might as well kill me! How dare I resent you? Filial piety comes first in all matters. Not only did you sell me to my father-in-law to be a live-in son-in-law, but even if you sold me into slavery, I wouldn't dare resent you! I only hate that I have but one life and cannot repay your nurturing kindness. Otherwise, you could sell me again now, and there would be silver to support Fifth Brother's studies…"
His voice completely drowned out Granny Zhao's wails. Granny Zhao gaped, her heart racing frantically, momentarily at a loss for how to respond.
Did they think that was the end of it?
Xu Huaiyi gave no one time to react, continuing his heart-wrenching sobs, "Mother, I regret it! Why didn't I ask my father-in-law for more silver back then? If you had more silver, my wife wouldn't have been forced to sell her dowry for medicine money, shaming our family! What if this spreads to town and affects Fifth Brother's studies and future?"
"You… you…" Granny Zhao clutched her chest, breathing rapidly. Beside her, Xu Honglian quickly patted her back to soothe her, then turned and shouted at Xu Huaiyi, "Third Brother, look how you've angered Mother…"
Xu Huaiyi asked with genuine seriousness, "How have I angered Mother? Was my expression of filial piety not enough just now? I'm even willing to be sold by Mother again! I could be a slave, or even be sold into the palace? I hear they pay more silver there, though I don't know if they'd take someone my age…"
Xu Honglian was dumbfounded.
Xu Hairen stamped his foot, pointing at him in furious shame, "Third Brother, I think you've gone mad! Listen to the nonsense you're spouting! Selling yourself into slavery, selling yourself into the palace… you… you…"
If such words got out, no one in the family would be able to hold their head up.
Xu Huaiyi wore a look of innocent confusion, "Eldest Brother, I'm not mad. I just want to be filial. Didn't Mother say I resent her? I don't. Back when you made me become a live-in son-in-law, did I refuse? Didn't I obediently agree to everything? I just didn't expect Mother to still be unsatisfied. That's why I thought, maybe if I'm sold a few more times and bring more silver home, Mother would be happy. Isn't that right?"
Xu Hairen, "…"
Was his third brother truly foolish or…
At this moment, Xu Maoshan's heart raced as he narrowed his aged eyes to scrutinize this third son he had never valued or even taken seriously. A cloth strip was wrapped around his forehead, faintly stained with blood. His face was gaunt, his frame thin, and his clothes were patched in multiple layers. Compared to his eldest son in a long gown beside him, they hardly looked like brothers—it would be more fitting to call them master and servant…
Yet he suddenly felt as if he were looking at a stranger.
Had he misjudged him before?
Was the silence and honesty all an act? Could this son, whom he had always regarded as a disgraceful weakling, actually be a wolf in sheep's clothing?