Seeing Cuihua being beaten until she wailed loudly, Madam Zhu couldn’t help but feel a twinge of pity.
She turned to Liang Lao’er and Liu-shi and pleaded, “Second Brother, Second Sister-in-law, Cuihua only did such a terrible thing because she wasn’t thinking straight. Qianhua has already taken her medicine—she should be fine by tomorrow. I beg you, please forgive Cuihua. We’re all family, after all. Please ask Mother to stop hitting her.”
Liu-shi didn’t respond. Holding her daughter, she gently patted her back and soothed her softly, “Qianhua, my good girl, don’t be afraid. Don’t be afraid. Mother’s here. It’s all right now, it’s all right…”
Qianhua gradually quieted down.
Watching his wife and daughter, Liang Lao’er felt so distressed that his chest burned with anger, with nowhere to vent it.
And yet Zhu-shi still had the nerve to beg for mercy.
He turned his head away and pretended not to hear a thing.
Old Man Liang felt that this eldest granddaughter’s heart was truly vicious.
Letting his wife discipline her was a good thing—it would prevent her from causing even greater trouble for the family in the future.
With no other choice, Zhu-shi cast a pleading look toward her husband. Receiving her signal, Liang Lao-da hurriedly knelt down and said, “Father, Mother, it’s my fault for failing to teach my daughter properly. If someone must be punished, punish me instead.”
“Second Brother, Second Sister-in-law, I failed as a father and nearly caused Qianhua to lose her life. Whatever anger or resentment you have, take it out on me.”
Seeing her eldest son kneel and admit fault, Old Madam Liang finally stopped beating Cuihua. Cuihua clutched her body and collapsed onto the ground, crying in pain.
Liu-shi was still furious, but when Liang Lao’er saw his elder brother kneeling, he said, “Big Brother, this has nothing to do with you. Please get up.”
Sensing the moment was right to add fuel to the fire, Qianhua opened her eyes, sat up, and called out, “Mother.”
Thinking her daughter had woken up, Liu-shi burst into tears of joy.
But in the next instant, Qianhua saw Cuihua on the ground and screamed in terror, “Mother! She wants to kill Qianhua! I’m so scared! I don’t want to live with her anymore! I want us to split the family…”
Crying as she comforted her frightened daughter, Liu-shi said, “Good child, don’t be afraid. Don’t be afraid—Mother’s here. All right, all right, we won’t live together anymore. We won’t…”
Hearing this, Old Madam Liang exploded. “Liu-shi, what do you mean by that? Qianhua fell into the water and isn’t thinking clearly—are you out of your mind too? What do you mean by not living together? Are you trying to split the family?”
“Mother, Qianhua is terrified and still hasn’t recovered. If she truly wants to split the family, then this daughter-in-law can only beg you to grant her wish,” Liu-shi pleaded through tears.
Old Man Liang’s expression darkened at once.
He asked Liang Lao’er sternly, “Second Son, do you want to split the family too?”
Liang Lao’er looked at his daughter, screaming in fear, then at Liu-shi, whose tears kept falling.
His heart hardened. Supporting himself with his cane, he slowly knelt down. “Father, Mother, your son has failed you. Please allow us to split the family. Seeing Qianhua like this breaks my heart.”
Old Madam Liang jumped up and cursed, “Your father and I aren’t even dead yet, and you’re already talking about splitting the family! You’re rebelling against heaven! This is utter unfilial behavior! Liang Lao’er, you’re actually helping this jinx anger your own parents—do you have any conscience left?!”
Liang Lao’er had never truly considered splitting the family before.
But today, when Qianhua fell into the water and his mother refused to spend money to save her, his heart had already gone cold.
On ordinary days, his mother constantly made things difficult for his wife. Now, knowing that his daughter had been pushed into the river by Cuihua, he felt that continuing to live together would only destroy the family’s harmony—especially since Qianhua became hysterical whenever she saw Cuihua.
After hesitating, he continued, “Mother, for the sake of family harmony, it’s better if we split.”
Hearing this, Zhu-shi was secretly delighted.
She had long wanted to split the family, and now that they brought it up themselves, it couldn’t be better.
Liang Lao’er used to earn money through hunting, but ever since he was injured, he hadn’t earned a single coin. Even though he could now walk with a cane, he was still incapable of working.
Whether his leg would ever fully recover was uncertain—he might be crippled for life.
Meanwhile, her own household had Liang Lao-da and her eldest son as laborers, and Wen Zhi was a scholar.
Once he passed the county exam, then the provincial one, and eventually earned an official title, she would be the mother of an official.
If the family didn’t split, she would have to support Liang Lao’er’s family of three even after Wen Zhi became an official. The more Zhu-shi thought about it, the better splitting the family sounded.
So she chimed in, “Father, Mother, please agree to Second Brother’s request. Cuihua committed such a disgraceful act—her father and I have no face left to meet Second Brother and Second Sister-in-law. We might as well fulfill their wish and let them split.”
“Zhu-shi, what nonsense are you spouting?” Old Madam Liang snapped angrily. “Are you hoping to see this family fall apart?”
Liang Lao-da also shot Zhu-shi a glare and said to Liang Lao’er with shame, “Second Brother, this is all my fault. I failed to discipline Cuihua properly. When we get back, I’ll deal with that unfilial girl myself. Please calm down—we’re family no matter what. Why split the family? Besides, your leg hasn’t healed yet. How would you survive on your own?”
Seeing his eldest son protect his younger brother warmed Old Man Liang’s heart. As the saying went, harmony brings prosperity, and he naturally hoped the whole family would remain united.
He assumed Liang Lao’er was only speaking in anger and advised, “Second Son, your brother is right. Your leg hasn’t recovered yet. If you split the family, life will be extremely difficult for the three of you. Don’t act out of impulse.”
Hearing his father and brother’s words, Liang Lao’er hesitated again.
Indeed—his leg was injured.
He couldn’t hunt or farm.
How would he support his family?
He could endure hardship himself, but he couldn’t let his wife and daughter go hungry.
Liu-shi also understood how difficult life would be after splitting the family, and she too began to waver.
Qianhua had deliberately brought up splitting the family only to test everyone’s attitude.
Now she could clearly see that the people least willing to split were Old Man Liang and Old Madam Liang, while the one most eager to split was Zhu-shi.
As for her parents, they would support the original owner unconditionally.
Her main goal this time wasn’t to split the family—it was to punish Cuihua.
So she pretended to be in pain and spoke incoherently, “Mother, Qianhua hurts so much… Father, you must avenge me. You must severely punish that bad person—punish her…”
Seeing his daughter in such pain, repeatedly asking him to punish the culprit, Liang Lao’er understood that she wanted him to seek justice for her.
He turned to Old Man Liang and said, “Father, we don’t have to split the family. But Cuihua caused Qianhua to suffer like this—I’m heartbroken. This time, I can no longer put family ties first. I beg you to uphold justice and punish Cuihua.”
Old Man Liang knew that Cuihua had committed such a heartless act that Liang Lao’er was driven to talk about splitting the family. If he didn’t punish her now, the family might truly fall apart.
He quickly nodded. “All right. I promise you—I will punish Cuihua and give you an explanation. It’s too late tonight. Everyone go back and rest first. Once Qianhua is out of danger and fully conscious, we’ll ask her how she wants Cuihua punished.”
Hearing this, Cuihua was terrified.
“Grandfather, I was wrong! I was momentarily blinded by greed. Please spare me just this once!” She no longer dared to argue and hurriedly kowtowed in repentance.
“Now you know fear? What were you doing earlier? You were ruthless even toward your own family. If I don’t punish you, who knows what kind of monster you’ll become in the future. Get back to your room and sleep!” Old Man Liang roared angrily.
Liang Lao-da and his wife quickly dragged Cuihua back to their room.
Chen-shi also took Wenjie back to sleep.
Old Madam Liang and Old Man Liang supported each other and returned to their own room.