24
The Fear of Public Opinion
Liu Quan learned from his mother that his aunt had pushed Grandma Liu, yet Grandpa Liu still prioritized comforting Liu Yao Zong first.
These minor matters must not disturb Liu Yao Zong.
Though Liu Yao Zong had only knelt briefly, he was already told to rise.
Even though Liu Yao Zong was the son of the criminal who injured Grandma Liu, he was still forgiven. Grandpa Liu truly showed mercy to the talented. If Liu Yao Zong passed the Children’s Examination, how much more would Grandpa Liu favor him?
He had been suppressed enough.
And now they wanted his mother to invite the attempted murderer back home? Were they planning to forgive everything?
The sages mentioned in books must be referring to his grandfather.
He looked forward to Grandma Liu waking up—she would surely make his aunt pay.
It infuriated him.
Liu Yao Zong found everything irritating and wanted to smash the teacup in his hand. But he didn’t dare. His parents couldn’t offer him any support.
Instead, they dragged him down, constantly distracting him. He could only cling tightly to Grandpa Liu, relying on him for silver.
Sigh.
Just half a month left. Liu Yao Zong, you must not be disturbed by external matters, nor should you lecture your mother now.
The Children’s Examination was the most important.
He knew that as long as he hadn’t taken the Children’s Examination, his mother wouldn’t be punished by Grandpa Liu—Grandpa didn’t want him distracted. And he would live up to Grandpa’s expectations.
In the morning, Song Xiao Lan woke up and cautiously went to the living room. Grandma Liu still hadn’t regained consciousness.
Everyone ate silently, ignoring Song Xiao Lan. Then, Grandpa Liu spoke: “Zhi’er, you’re already a marriageable young lady. Stop going out to play whenever you feel like it—you should take care of the family.”
Always running off to find Wang Wen-Bin—what would outsiders think of Liu Yan? They’d say his granddaughter was throwing herself at a man.
Where would that leave his dignity?
The moment Grandpa Liu spoke, Song Xiao Lan trembled involuntarily.
Liu Yao Zong looked at his mother like this, unable to understand why she had to be someone so lazy, gluttonous, and troublesome.
“Yes, Grandfather.”
After the meal, those who needed to farm went to the fields, and everyone attended to their duties.
Tomorrow, Grandpa Liu planned to go to the market to sell firewood. This month, the household had been spending money recklessly, like a fool throwing silver into a flowing river.
Even a mosquito’s flesh is still meat.
After they left, Liu Shuhuai went to each room to collect dirty clothes to wash by the river.
When he entered his uncle’s room, the smell was even stronger. If not dealt with soon, the odor would spread outside. Liu Shuhuai held his breath, quickly gathered the clothes, and left.
He gently knocked on Liu Yao Zong’s door and called out, “Cousin, do you have clothes to wash?”
Liu Yao Zong responded from inside. Soon, he brought out his clothes for Liu Shuhuai, adding, “Thank you for your hard work, cousin.”
“It’s what Shuhuai should do. No trouble at all.” You say it’s hard work, so why don’t you wash your own clothes? So good at empty pleasantries.
Liu Yao Zong watched Liu Shuhuai leave with satisfaction. He deserved to have servants attending to him.
When Liu Shuhuai carried the large pile of clothes to the riverbank, there weren’t many people there—only a few Ge’er and girls around his age.
Hearing someone approach, they merely glanced back before returning to washing clothes. No one spoke.
Liu Shuhuai silently washed his clothes about a meter away from them.
For a while, only the sound of beating clothes could be heard—”Splash… splash… splash.”
Liu Shuhuai happened to glance over and noticed a girl with whip marks from willow branches covering her arms. Several wounds were still bleeding.
Yet the girl seemed not to feel any pain, still vigorously beating the clothes.
She is Liu Yaya, the daughter of Liu Da Niang, and also his next-door neighbor.
He had also heard a rumor that Liu Da Niang planned to marry Liu Yaya off to be someone’s stepmother, and when Liu Yaya refused, she beat her.
Their situations were quite similar, except he was fortunate enough to have met Brother He.
He wondered why Liu Yaya didn’t separate from the family—perhaps she still had reservations.
Her younger sister and Ge’er.
Sometimes, he could even hear the sounds of Liu Yaya and the others being beaten, but there was nothing he could do.
Life is one’s own affair; every decision you make, you must bear the consequences yourself.
If you can’t save others, then don’t interfere.
So, he would become Brother He’s husband.
Like clutching at a life-saving straw.
Liu Yaya sensed Liu Shuhuai watching her. Let him look—it wouldn’t cost her a piece of flesh.
She knew about Liu Shuhuai—they shared similar hardships. Who was really any better off than whom?
Liu Yaya gazed at the river. Life was so bitter that death might be preferable—at least there would be no more beatings, hunger, or cold. But if she were gone, what would become of her younger sister and Ge’er?
They would surely be controlled even more strictly by their mother, beaten more harshly, forced to live in fear and never dare to defy her.
She envied her younger brother, who got whatever he wanted, while she had to make do with leftovers even for a bite to eat. She also wanted to escape this place, but without a household registration, she could go nowhere.
She could only be sold by her mother to become someone’s stepmother, and she had already found out that the man had beaten his own wife to death in a drunken rage.
That was why he was looking for a stepmother for his children.
Her mother clearly wanted to send her to her death.
That man’s wife had died, and no one intervened; he continued to live carefree and happy.
His wife had borne him a daughter and a son. He was still a drunkard and a gambler. She could already foresee what would happen if she married him.
It would be no different from life at home.
Hah!
Why was she even born? Why couldn’t she have been born a man?
Liu Yaya watched the qi swimming freely in the water, feeling envious.
As she thought, her hands kept slapping the clothes without pause. After washing the clothes, she left—there was still a pile of chores waiting at home.
She knew her mother hadn’t agreed to the man yet only because the bride price wasn’t enough.
Liu Shuhuai saw her troubled and heavy-hearted expression but had no good solution. So, he put it out of his mind.
Liu Shuhuai looked at the qi in the river and thought of chopped pepper fish head, pickled cabbage fish, sweet and sour carp, braised fish…
Brother He said qi were just fish. Fine, then.
He’d call them fish too.
Brother He had cooked him all sorts of dishes made from fish and even helped him remove the bones. He found them incredibly delicious.
When he got back, he must tell Brother He he wanted to eat them.
He wanted to make a sachet for Brother He, one he would sew with his own hands.
But he hadn’t decided on the design yet, and he didn’t have any fragrance for inside.
He wanted it to be the kind that, whenever Brother He smelled it, he would think of him.
Maybe embroider a pair of mandarin ducks playing in the water?
Hehe (￣y▽￣)~* covering his mouth to stifle a giggle.
Before Liu Shuhuai could sort out his thoughts, he heard a “splash.”
A sound came from behind him.
“Oh heavens, someone’s fallen into the water!” an elderly woman passing by immediately shouted upon seeing someone in the river.
Men not far away heard and rushed over, while others came to watch the commotion.
“Hurry, hurry, go down and save them!”
One man hesitated for a moment and whispered, “That’s a woman… I… I…”
Someone nearby shouted loudly, “What does it matter? Woman? Man? Saving a life is more meritorious than building a seven-story pagoda.” With that, they pushed the man into the water.
The man thought to himself, “Fine, I’ll save her then.”
The man grabbed the girl, but when she felt someone pulling her, she panicked and clung tightly to him with both arms and legs, making it impossible for him to swim back to the surface.
He had no choice but to knock the girl unconscious and drag her back to shore.
Then he heard the crowd chattering and discussing.
“Oh dear, she’s been touched all over. How will this girl ever marry now?” a woman said with a look of disdain.
A sharp-faced, mean-spirited woman chimed in, “Isn’t that right? Look how tightly she clung to that man. Could it be… hahaha.”
Others joined in the laughter.
Just then, someone recognized that the drowning girl was none other than Lan Qiao’er.
“Isn’t this Lan Qiao’er from the Lan family? How did she end up in the water?”
“I heard she was jilted by the Huang family and couldn’t bear the shame.”
Everyone found this explanation reasonable, and such a desperate act of drowning indeed made her seem like a woman of fierce integrity.