“Everyone is well aware of the difference in treatment between Third Aunt’s family and our own. Third Aunt is silver-tongued and quick-witted, often bullying my mother until she cannot get a word in edgewise.”
“Even though my mother has endured this for over a decade, she has never received any respect. My grandmother only makes my mother share the cooking duties because Third Aunt either fails to cook the rice properly or smashes bowls on the floor as soon as she enters the kitchen. Third Aunt rarely even steps in to tend the fire twice during a single meal. Yet, despite my mother doing all this work, Third Aunt shows no gratitude, and just now, she even turned around to falsely accuse my mother of stealing food and supplies from the kitchen.”
“Given my mother’s nature, how could she ever do such a thing!” Lin Qu said, his voice choking with sobs.
Wang, hearing her child defend her, wept uncontrollably at his side.
The villagers were actually aware of these situations in the Lin household, though perhaps not in such detail. But after hearing Lin Qu’s words, they all believed it was likely the truth.
“Didn’t this girl Zhao claim she was quite virtuous and capable when she was at her maiden home?”
“She could cook at her maiden home, yet after marrying here, she can’t even steam rice properly.”
People aren’t fools; everyone understood what Zhao was up to. She was merely pretending to be incompetent so that Old Madam Lin would stop asking her to do any chores, thereby avoiding any loss of her own effort.
In particular, the excuses Third Uncle Lin and his wife used to avoid work were something many in the village had witnessed firsthand. Now, the villagers looked at Zhao with nothing but disdain.
In theory, juniors should not be disrespectful to their elders, but in reality, people are human. One cannot be expected to remain respectful for a lifetime to someone who bullies them simply because that person bears the title of an elder. There were plenty of families in the village where brothers and sisters-in-law had fallen out.
When it comes down to it, the village is conservative and stubborn in some aspects, yet unexpectedly open-minded in others.
Everyone had a rough idea of the friction between the second and third branches of the Lin family. Therefore, no one found it inappropriate for Lin Qu to confront Zhao so directly; it was simply the result of being oppressed for too long.
Of course, if he had dared to interrogate Old Madam Lin so aggressively in such a formal setting, the villagers’ opinions would have shifted.
After Lin Qu finished pouring out his grievances and garnered some sympathy, he shifted his focus to the most serious point of the day: “It is precisely because Third Aunt went too far that I lost my temper and spoke of wanting to separate the families. However, I only meant that I did not want to live with Third Aunt’s family; I did not mean to separate from my uncle, aunt, or my grandparents.”
“Furthermore, I only said that out of desperation; I didn’t truly mean to separate.”
Lin Qu had secretly dreamed of moving out since he was a child. Since there were others in the village who had separated their households early on, he knew it wasn’t strictly necessary for them to live under the same roof as his grandmother. However, when he had tentatively suggested it to his mother as a child, Wang had scolded him severely, and he had never brought it up again.
As he grew older, Lin Qu realized his wish would likely never come true. After all, if the second branch left, who would be left to handle the exhausting, tedious chores? And after the separation, his grandmother would likely be unable to earn enough to continue pampering Lin Qiong, the apple of her eye.
But while he understood the reality, he still clung to a sliver of delusion. That was why, during his argument with Zhao, the words had slipped out unintentionally.
Now, with the clan leader, the elders, and so many villagers present, he naturally had to walk back his statement. If a well-reasoned argument could have successfully resulted in a split, he would not have retreated, regardless of his reputation. But it was clear that no one would support him. If he insisted on his path, the consequences would surely be dire.
Difficult as life was, Lin Qu still wanted to live well. Thus, he chose to downplay his words.
Zhao, however, would not let it go. Third Uncle Lin and his wife were sharp-witted, otherwise, they wouldn’t have lived so comfortably despite their laziness and deceit. She was well-versed in the art of manipulation and immediately understood what Lin Qu was trying to do. She raised her voice, drawing all attention to herself: “Do you expect anyone to believe what you just said?”
“You claim you only want to separate from our third branch? Who in the entire village doesn’t know you? You’ve been jealous of our Qiong’er since you were a child. You are competitive and want to snatch everything. Let’s not even talk about the past, just in this recent period, haven’t you argued with your grandmother several times? And yet, you have the nerve to say you don’t want to separate from your grandparents and only want to split us off?”
“Don’t treat everyone like fools. We can all see what you’re thinking. Your eyes are so red with jealousy they’re practically dripping blood, yet you stand there pretending to be righteous.”
Lin Qu was indeed jealous of Lin Qiong. What child in the village wasn’t? But Lin Qu felt it even more deeply!
He lived in the same house as Lin Qiong, and they were only months apart in age, yet their treatment was as different as heaven and earth. Stubborn since childhood, he would try to fight for himself whenever he saw inequality. Later, as he gradually realized the reality, he could only bury those feelings, which only made the jealousy grow stronger.
At his age, his self-control wasn’t fully developed. Even with effort, he couldn’t completely hide his jealousy, which was something the villagers observed and which Lin Qu could not deny. Even now, he still harbored resentment toward Lin Qiong.
Zhao continued, looking smug, “Do people usually blurt out separate the family by accident? It’s obvious you’ve been mulling it over for a long time. Everyone can judge for themselves whether what you said to your grandmother was true or false.”
After Zhao’s intervention, the tide of village opinion shifted once again. Everyone whispered to their neighbors, and by and large, they seemed to agree with Zhao. In that moment, they forgot just how outrageous Third Uncle Lin’s couple had been for over a decade, and how much oppression the second branch had endured.
Everything returned to the status quo: Lin Qu, a grandson and a young ge’er, had dared to scream at his grandmother about separating the family.
“Enough.” The clan leader, having gathered a general understanding of what had happened, spoke up. People with strong inner resolve and high positions rarely concern themselves with minor rebellions. To the clan leader, Lin Qu’s desire to separate the family was just that.
It was clearly an impossible request that would have no significant impact on the village, making it trivial whether it was voiced or not. Voicing it only brought disaster upon himself; it was hardly a wise move. The leader was old, and such trifles couldn’t provoke his anger.
As the clan leader spoke, all surrounding chatter ceased. He looked first at Zhao: “Show us your wound.”
The smug expression on Third Uncle Lin’s wife vanished instantly. She said awkwardly, “Aren’t we here to discuss a grandson wanting to separate the family? My injury isn’t a big deal.”
The clan leader remained unmoved, his gaze stern.
Everyone’s eyes were fixed on her hands. They hadn’t forgotten that this farce had started solely because Zhao wanted to avoid washing dishes. Realizing the situation was past the point of turning back, Zhao pulled off the cloth wrapped around her finger.
Sure enough, it was exactly as expected: her hand was completely uninjured.
Under the scrutiny of the crowd and in such a formal setting, even someone as thick-skinned as Zhao couldn’t keep up the act.
Lin Qiong felt helpless, but there was nothing he could say.
The clan leader mused, “In that case, the matter is quite clear. While it was certainly wrong of Lin Qu to speak of separating the family, everyone has witnessed for themselves how your household has treated their branch over these years.”
“You have pushed them to such a point that it is understandable he would feel that way in his heart.”
“Leader, that’s not…” Zhao cried out in dissatisfaction. It sounded as though the leader was leaning toward Lin Qu’s side. But before she could finish, the leader’s icy stare forced her to shrink back, and she didn’t dare make another sound.
The clan leader continued: “Lin Qu is a young ge’er and will be betrothed soon. Even if the family were to separate, it would serve no real purpose for him.” It was impossible for him to take property from his maiden home to his spouse’s home in this village. The Lin family had nothing, and even if they split, there were two younger brothers to support; there was nothing left to give him.
“Upon closer thought, his mentioning this was entirely for the sake of his parents. Why else would he do such a thing?”
Everyone realized this was true. Most of the conflicts between Lin Qu and the third branch occurred because his parents had been wronged.
The clan leader scanned the villagers’ expressions, then suddenly called out Lin Guangfu’s name with a serious tone: “I ask you.”
“Yes, yes.” Lin Guangfu looked at the leader nervously.
“Do you want to separate the family?”
“No, I don’t,” Lin Guangfu said quickly.
This was the truth. Lin Guangfu had lacked conviction his entire life; if they really separated, he wouldn’t know how to live his future. Instinctively, he was terrified of leaving the Lin household. Staying at home meant he only had to work every day, and everything was decided by his parents. Though life was bitter, it was manageable.
His wife, Wang, felt much the same. Though she had wondered if separating might be better under Lin Qu’s past persuasion, she lacked the courage to take that first step herself.
“I see.” The clan leader nodded. “Since that is the case, let this matter pass.”
“However, though there were reasons for it, Lin Qu, as a grandson, you were in the wrong to utter such words. I will punish you by kneeling in the ancestral hall for three days. Are you willing?”
Lin Qu hung his head, never expecting the matter to be resolved so easily. “I am willing.”
The clan leader turned to Old Madam Lin: “Madam Zhao, what do you think of this?” Old Madam Lin shared the same surname as Zhao, which was why she was addressed as Madam Zhao.
Upon hearing the question, she nodded. “As the clan leader sees fit.”
In truth, Old Madam Lin had been uncharacteristically quiet throughout the ordeal. It didn’t fit her usual overbearing, unreasonable persona, but while she found it easy to shout about summoning the clan leader and elders, she was actually quite fearful of them. She had only dared to summon them this time because she truly felt she had the upper hand.
In these regions, the clan leader held immense power. Everyone shunned the official government; once someone resorted to it, they would be hated by the entire village and even the whole of Beiyue, and such a person might not even survive.
Crucially, Old Madam Lin was not originally from Beiyue. The local people were exclusionary and extremely united. Her family had been relocated by the imperial court years ago, and she had only managed to integrate by marrying a local man. Thus, she did not dare to truly defy the clan leader. She hadn’t expected the outcome to result in anything serious for Lin Qu anyway; being able to cause a stir was enough, and the current result was quite satisfactory.