Yu Jingui was harboring two layers of resentment.
The first was that Bai Erzhuang had shown none of the joy she had imagined when he learned she was carrying a daughter. Instead, he had gone out of his way to curry favor with his own baby sister, handing all his silver over to his mother to buy gifts for the “little brat.”
The second layer was that Xie Chuntao was constantly outshining her by currying favor with the elders.
In the main room, in front of Grandmother Bai and her parents-in-law, she hadn’t dared to let it show. These two layers of anger finally exploded when Xie Chuntao mentioned the goat sent by Qinghe in front of Bai Erzhuang.
Usually, the goats in the pen were fed by Bai Zhaomei along with Dalang and Sanlang. Since Bai Erzhuang and Bai Sanzhuang had returned home, Bai Zhaomei had been so caught up in his childish excitement that he forgot to feed them. After leaving the main room, Bai Dazhuang had taken the boys out to chop wood, leaving the goats untended.
The hungry goats were bleating loudly in their pen. Bai Erzhuang took it upon himself to feed them. Although he was a scholar, he wasn’t pedantic or fragile; every time he returned, he helped with the chores. Knowing the goats were the “treasures” keeping his sister alive, he carefully mixed the fodder, added water, and stroked the goats, casually asking where they had come from.
Xie Chuntao smiled and replied, “One was traded for fish, and the other was sent by Qinghe…”
At the mention of Qinghe, Xie Chuntao immediately bit her tongue. In the Bai family, Qinghe was a wound that no one dared to touch, especially in front of Bai Erzhuang and Yu Jingui. To them, it was a major sore point.
Sure enough, the hand Bai Erzhuang was using to mix the fodder trembled several times. His previously smiling face was instantly masked by an indecipherable expression.
As for Yu Jingui, she went off like a lit firecracker.
“Who are you trying to disgust? Pah! Eldest Sister-in-law, do you feel being my sister-in-law is beneath you? Are you intentionally mentioning Qinghe just to make me sick?” Yu Jingui didn’t give Xie Chuntao an ounce of face, flying into a rage on the spot. Her nameless fire had been smoldering for a long time, and she had finally found a vent.
Xie Chuntao stood there speechless, filled with regret for mentioning Qinghe. How could she have forgotten how the marriage between Yu Jingui and Bai Erzhuang had come about? The person who least wanted to hear Xia Qinghe’s name was Yu Jingui. Anyone who didn’t know the truth would think she was deliberately driving a wedge between the second brother and his wife, or intentionally disgusting Yu Jingui.
Heaven be her witness, she didn’t have a single thought like that. She had merely answered Bai Erzhuang’s question honestly.
“Sister-in-law, I truly didn’t mean anything by it. Don’t overthink it,” the honest Xie Chuntao said, her face flushing red, though she didn’t know how else to defend herself.
“Sister-in-law, this has nothing to do with you,” Bai Erzhuang said to Xie Chuntao, masking his emotions.
“What? Are you still thinking about Xia Qinghe? The moment she’s mentioned, it’s like you’ve lost your soul. I’m telling you, Bai Erzhuang, I was also brought into this family with the three intermediaries and six rites. I’ve also borne you children. You spend all day thinking about Xia Qinghe—have you no shame?”
Yu Jingui turned her spear on Bai Erzhuang. She couldn’t stand the way he had lost himself for a moment when Xie Chuntao mentioned Xia Qinghe; that brief lapse of his had stung her deeply. All these years, their son had grown so large, and Xia Qinghe had long since married someone else. She had thought Bai Erzhuang would no longer have any feelings for her. Looking at it now, that wasn’t necessarily true. They say scholars are fickle and thin-blooded, and it seemed to be true.
“What nonsense are you talking?” Bai Erzhuang was utterly helpless in the face of Yu Jingui’s tantrum.
His history with Xia Qinghe was from years ago. They were childhood sweethearts, but that had long since passed.
“I’m not angry when you take your temper out on me, but why do you keep bringing up Qinghe? And why defame me by saying I’m thinking of her? Am I even worthy? Do you have any idea that you are ruining her reputation?” Bai Erzhuang was very angry. Years ago, he and Yu Jingui had already hurt Xia Qinghe enough. To ruin her reputation now would make him even more ashamed to show his face.
“If you don’t have a ghost in your heart, you shouldn’t be afraid of me mentioning her. I suspect the two of you have been in contact all along; otherwise, why would she be so eager to send a goat? Who is she trying to disgust?” Seeing Bai Erzhuang defend Xia Qinghe so strongly, Yu Jingui became consumed by shame and rage.
Yu Jingui’s unreasonable behavior made Bai Erzhuang feel humiliated. His temper rose, and his words became sharp.
“The one with the ghost is you, isn’t it? Yu Jingui, don’t forget how the two of us got married in the first place. If it hadn’t been for your whole family scheming against me…”
Sure enough, a hole was instantly stabbed into Yu Jingui’s heart, and her face turned pale with suppressed rage.
The moment the words left his mouth, Bai Erzhuang regretted bringing up the past. The whole of Shenshu Village knew about his marriage to Yu Jingui—that he was the one who had been schemed against.
Back then, he had just passed the scholar examinations and was returning home from the provincial capital. At the village entrance, he encountered Yu Jingui falling into the water. Without a word, he took off his outer coat and jumped in to save her. Once he had pulled her out, he was surrounded by Yu Jingui’s parents and their followers. They claimed he had seen Yu Jingui’s body and that her reputation was ruined; therefore, he had to marry her.
When Yu Jingui woke up, she threatened to kill herself, bringing a rope to the Bai family’s door to hang herself. When the Bais refused to budge, she took arsenic to the Xia house to force Xia Qinghe to “pity” her. Unable to withstand such humiliation, Xia Qinghe immediately had the village chief’s wife send word to break off her engagement with Bai Erzhuang.
The Yu family caused a scene for nearly a month, and the farce finally ended with Bai Erzhuang marrying Yu Jingui. Bai Erzhuang’s heart had died the moment Xia Qinghe broke off the engagement. He didn’t blame Xia Qinghe, and he didn’t even blame Yu Jingui; he only blamed himself for being so smug after becoming a scholar that he fell for the Yu family’s trap. Everything was his own foolish fault.
After he married Yu Jingui, he never spoke of the scheme again. Although they had occasional friction, Bai Erzhuang would always yield if a conflict started. For the most part, they got along reasonably well. While Yu Jingui had the potential to be a troublemaker, Grandmother Bai always suppressed her whenever she tried to stir up trouble in the family.
Consequently, a heated argument like today’s over Xia Qinghe was a rare occurrence.
“If I had known you were this kind of man, I must have had lard over my heart to marry you. Is being a scholar so great? Why don’t you look in a mirror and see if you even look like a scholar?” Since she was at fault regarding the original scheme, Yu Jingui felt guilty but was unwilling to be rebuked by Bai Erzhuang, so she switched to personal attacks.
“You… you…” Bai Erzhuang was so frustrated by her irrationality that he couldn’t find the words to respond.
Seeing the argument escalate, Xie Chuntao awkwardly stepped in to play peacemaker. She felt that her slip of the tongue had caused the fight, and it would be her fault if the family peace was disturbed.
“Second Brother, say no more.”
“Sister-in-law, you’re pregnant. Go inside and rest; I’ll handle the cooking.” Xie Chuntao tried to pull Yu Jingui toward the side room.
“I don’t need you to play the ‘good person’!” Yu Jingui sneered at Xie Chuntao. “Isn’t it your job to cook anyway? Why don’t you take a look at whose husband’s money is being spent on whose son?”
Yu Jingui shook off Xie Chuntao’s hand and stormed into her room. Xie Chuntao was left feeling angry, ashamed, and wronged. She felt like crying but had to endure it in front of Bai Erzhuang.
Half of the silver Bai Erzhuang earned was spent on Erlang’s leg. She had always been grateful, which was why she took on as many chores as possible to keep Yu Jingui from having to work. Hearing Yu Jingui bluntly state that her son was spending the second uncle’s money made her feel terribly pained.
“Sister-in-law, that’s just how she is. Don’t mind what she says. Erlang is my nephew; it’s only right that I spend money on him,” Bai Erzhuang said, trying to console her.
He felt that Yu Jingui had been excessive today—first dragging Qinghe into it for no reason, and then stinging the eldest sister-in-law. He felt he needed to have a serious talk with Yu Jingui. Throwing down the fodder in his hand, Bai Erzhuang followed Yu Jingui into the room.
Xie Chuntao wiped her tears, gathered the firewood, and went to the kitchen to start the fire for dinner. The sound of Yu Jingui throwing things around in the room reached her ears, and the tears she had just wiped away began to fall once more.