Chapter 28

Li shi watched the commotion of the two daughters-in-law, couldn't help but rub her temples, then turned to look at Song Dingxiang and asked, "Dingxiang, what do you think?"

Song Dingxiang said, "Brother-in-law's actions are indeed infuriating now, but after all, sister and brother-in-law have a son now... So it also depends on what sister wants. I think sister doesn't need to worry too much, their family is unscrupulous, but just greedy for profit. As long as they know they can't curry favor with Xu Qiang, they will settle down and live peacefully with sister."

She originally wanted to advise separation, but after all, this was ancient times, whether through marrying or being divorced, women did not have it easy. Even if the natal family supported her, they couldn't stand gossip.

Moreover, the Xu family was currently in a good position, causing trouble would only make Song Yulan miserable.

Pausing for a moment, she continued, "What does sister think?"

Song Yulan also had no idea, after all, she had only been married for three years and was not even twenty years old, where would she have so many thoughts?

Li shi sighed, "Look at these two daughters born of the same mother, your eldest just follows her father and knows how to live single-mindedly. Your second one is more clever, but at least she doesn't follow your mother..."

Fang shi was dissatisfied, "Why doesn't she follow my character? I think my second daughter follows me."

Li shi said, "If your second daughter follows you, I'm afraid things would have been even more chaotic before. Lan'er, what your sister said is right, this matter depends on you. Can you handle it and stand firm before deciding your position in the Xu family? Since you have said those things before, I guess the Xu family will be concerned, and Xu Dashan should be coming to pick you up."

As they were speaking, the children playing in the yard suddenly shouted, "Grandma, my brother-in-law is here!"

"See, things happen as they are spoken, right?" Li shi looked at the somewhat bewildered Song Yulan and said, "Don't worry, if he asks you to go back, say you miss your mother and want to stay a few more days. Fang shi, you also say you miss your grandson and want to keep them for two more days, let him go back. Let's see if he will come back later. If he comes to pick her up continuously these two days, then go back, if not, we don't have to fear. What can the Xu family do with an imperial scholar? Xu Dashan has five sets of siblings, and Xu Qiang can't take care of them all."

Just as she finished speaking, Xu Dashan said from outside the door, "Grandma, I'm here to pick up Yulan." After speaking, he lifted the curtain and walked in.

Fang shi looked him up and down, snorted unhappily, and turned her head aside.

Li shi smiled and said, "Arrived? Sit... Dashan, seems like your family is not happy with our Yulan, are they?"

Xu Dashan didn't dare to sit down, and quickly said, "Grandma, what are you talking about? Our family all likes Yulan."

Fang shi huffed, "Of course they like her, they've spent over twenty taels of silver on her these years... if it were up to me, I'd like her too."

Xu Dashan broke out in a sweat, looked timidly at Song Yulan.

Song Yulan, with red eyes, just bowed her head.

Li shi asked again, "Isn't this also a filial piety of my granddaughter? The silver she brought in as part of her dowry, wasn't it to help her live well with you? But Yulan, you are also at fault, it's reasonable for them to give a gift to Xu Qiang, after all, he is a member of the Xu family. The grains produced from your five acres of land were sold for silver last year, just give it to them."

Song Yulan cried, "But now the harvest from the land... is all held by Mother-in-law, she said she is safeguarding it for her granddaughter..."

Li shi's face changed instantly and she said angrily, "What does that mean?? Isn't that the daughter-in-law's dowry, how can the mother-in-law manage the daughter-in-law's dowry? Xu Dashan, does your family think that my granddaughter should be a slave when she marries into your family? Not to mention the money spent from her savings, now they even want to control the dowry? Your Xu family haven't even divided the property yet, have they? I'll go and ask your grandmother, does she also hold onto your mother's dowry?!"

After speaking, he immediately made a gesture of wanting to leave.

Xu Dashan was terrified, and hurriedly said, "Grandma, it's not like that. It's just that the grains in that field were sold off by my father, and the money is temporarily kept with my mother. My, my mother is afraid that Yulan will spend it recklessly, so she is helping to manage it!"

Even if he were stupid, he wouldn't dare to say that his own mother was managing the dowry money of his daughter-in-law, as saying that would invite severe criticism.

Li shi uttered an 'oh' and retracted her feet, saying, "Is that so?"

Xu Dashan nodded repeatedly.

Li shi snorted and said, "Actually, I don't want to meddle in the affairs of you young people, but I can't allow you to go too far. I think my eldest granddaughter didn't do anything wrong today. Xu Qiang was betrothed to my second granddaughter when he was busy playing my grandniece, Song Taohong, during my second daughter's illness. You know about this, right?"

Xu Dashan honestly replied, "I know."

Li shi continued, "Since you know, our family won't take a single cent for the gifts. It's reasonable for my eldest granddaughter to feel sorry for her sister and not give money. What you did to want to divorce her because of this..."

"No, no, Grandma, Mother, I really don't have that intention. I just got carried away for a moment and wanted to scare her, it was my fault..." Xu Dashan almost knelt down.

He had heard that this grandmother was not simple, but he didn't expect her to be so astute with her words, truly remarkable.

"Can you divorce someone just because you wanted to scared them? What kind of family values is this?" Fang shi was full of anger, but was held back by Song Dingxiang's arm from completely losing her temper.

She only said coldly, "My daughter suffered grievances and feels upset, as a mother, I want her to stay a few more days. It's been a long time since I saw my grandson, and I'm happy to see him, so let the two of them stay with me for a few more days. Go back and tell your parents not to worry."

"This..." Xu Dashan glanced at Song Yulan again, but she just kept her head down and didn't look at him.

Song Dingxiang secretly nudged Song Yulan, and only then did Song Yulan say, "Now that the busy farming season is over, I want to stay with my mother for a couple of days. You should go back first."

Xu Dashan looked embarrassed, but had no other choice, so he left with a dejected expression.

After he left, Song Yulan remembered something and hurriedly said, "Grandma, now that Xu Qiang and his family are instigating my in-laws to mistreat people, if they intervene in this matter..."

Li shi interrupted, "Don't worry, now that Xu Qiang has succeeded in the imperial exam, he doesn't have time for such matters. The trivial issues with his wife are already causing him headaches. If he gets involved in such family disputes, he may not even be able to hold any official positions in the future. These scholars are very concerned about their reputation. Just wait and see, they will only try to reconcile matters now, they won't want to get involved unnecessarily."

*

As Xu Dashan conveyed Li shi's words back home, Wang shi began to panic and kept pestering her husband, "What should we do? If this spreads, I won't be able to show my face anymore!"

Her husband frowned and said, "I warned you that dealing with that grandmother of theirs would not be easy, and told you not to be so fixated on the little money your daughter-in-law had. But you didn't listen, you saw Song Yulan as an easy target, and now everyone in their family knows. Can they still give you a good face? Tomorrow, no, today... well, tomorrow, you must take the silver over to the Song family and apologize in front of your daughter-in-law's grandmother. Just say you were holding it for her and hadn't spent it."

Wang shi was shocked and exclaimed, "But that's ten taels of silver! We only have about ten taels of silver right now..."

Xu Lao raised his eyebrows and asked, "What about the money from selling the grains last year? Even if most of it went to your parents, you should still have some leftover, right?"

Wang shi hesitated for a while before saying, "I-I took some back to my maternal family because my brother was getting married..."

Xu Lao got furious, "So you used our family's money to support your maternal family, and now you're spending your daughter-in-law's money? Well, you, with the surname Wang, aren't you trying to take advantage of the situation? Your daughter-in-law became a part of the Xu family when she married into it, not to be a laborer for your Wang family!"

Wang shi burst into tears and muttered, "So can I just ignore my brother? I didn't realize I still had the money, but..."

"Didn't you consider the Song family would retaliate?" Xu Lao boomed. "If they come knocking about this, it'll disgrace the entire Xu family! How could I have married such a foolish woman?"

He raised his hand as if to strike Wang shi, but Xu Dashan intervened quickly. "Dad, please calm down. This isn't my mother's fault. If it weren't for Yulan..."

Xu Lao cut him off angrily. "Don't listen to your mother's nonsense! If she hadn't had such a harebrained scheme, would your wife be running back to her parents and spilling the beans? It's humiliating! I can't bear the shame! If her parents find out, her father will be furious. Tomorrow, no, make that now... well, tomorrow, you must take the money and apologize to the Song family. If this blows up, there'll be a divorce, mark my words!" He stormed out after angrily putting on his shoes.

Wang shi immediately burst into tears and mumbled, "Am I really causing trouble? Other people's daughters-in-law are all obedient and accommodating to their mothers-in-law, why did our family get such a stubborn one? I finally endured becoming a mother-in-law, why can't I enjoy it?"

At this moment, Xu Xiujuan slipped in, and upon seeing her mother crying again, she climbed onto the kang bed and comforted her, "Mom, what's so great about this? It's better to be rid of this sister-in-law who eats from us and gives to others. If you divorce her, so be it. Now that our Xu family has produced an imperial scholar, isn't it simple for brother to marry another? But is it not allowed for Song Yulan to seek a better match?"

"Mom, I don't want to divorce Yulan," Xu Dashan mumbled. He and Song Yulan had been a couple since they were young, and Song Yulan, who was good-looking and spoke softly, the two had been married for three years with almost no arguments.

"You are spineless!" Wang shi poked Xu Dashan's forehead tearfully. "You can't bear to part with just a woman. Now I have to go and make amends for you, how can you make me lose face? How did I become so blind as to let you marry into such a family!"

Xu Dashan muttered, "You said back then that Song Yulan was beautiful and her family was good, marrying her would help our family, remember? In the past two years, she has also bought things for my parents, siblings..."

Xu Xiujuan snorted, "What's the big deal about those things? I went to Uncle Liu's house and saw a yard full of good stuff. That Song Taohong had a head full of hairpins, and don't mention how beautiful she looked. Why do you think that was? Isn't it because Brother Xu Qiang is ambitious? In the future, Brother Xu Qiang is going to be an official, can he cut our family out of the benefits? Song Yulan is just from a butcher's family, what's so good about her? How about let Uncle Liu find you a good wife in the future?"

After contemplating for a moment, Xu Dashan said, "Mom, why don't I go to Uncle Liu's house and ask... After all, it was Xu Qiang who gave me the idea for the business in the beginning."

Wang shi wiped her face and said, "Fine, go ask... But we don't have anything valuable to offer at the moment. Oh, right, your wife bought two fabrics for Xiujuan before, I haven't touched them yet. They are both good materials, I was planning to make her a nice outfit when she wanted to see someone else, so you take them over first."

"Mom..." Xu Xiujuan was not happy at the mention of using her fabrics.

Wang shi continued, "But it's only two fabrics, and when Xu Qiang becomes an official, you can have whatever you want. Hurry up, go."

Xu Dashan took the two fabrics to Xu Qiang's house, entered the door, bowed to Uncle Liu, Aunt Liu, and then called out to Xu Qiang, Mister Xu. Since Song Taohong was still in confinement and he usually only saw some female relatives, he wouldn't be able to see her.

"We are poor and don't have much good stuff. These two fabrics are the only present we can offer, Uncle and Aunt, please don't look down on them." Xu Dashan wore a smile on his face and respectfully handed over the measures.

Their families had been in a relationship of five generations for a long time, but it was only a superficial connection. However, now that Xu Qiang had succeeded, Xu Dashan addressed Uncle Liu and Aunt Liu more intimately than his own relatives.

Xu Qiang's mother took the fabrics and found them to be good materials, smiling, she said, "Where did the words come from? Your gesture is heartfelt indeed."

Xu Dashan smiled and nodded, his eyes looking straight at Xu Qiang.

Lately, Xu Qiang had been feeling irritated. The matter of his unconventional marriage with Song Taohong could be serious in terms of morality, and it could impact his official career.

However, he was also concerned about the family dispute that had arisen; although Song Taohong had given birth to his son, he felt some dissatisfaction towards her family. Regardless, since Song Taohong had borne his son, he would endure it for now and deal with it once he had secured an official position.

Finally having some free time, he was about to rest when Xu Dashan showed up at his door, looking like he had something to discuss.

Thinking for a moment, he stood up and said, "Mom, Dad, I'm going to take him to see my son."

Xu Qiang's mother smiled and said, "Sure, you are practically relatives now, even closer than regular relatives. Dashan, you should go see your nephew since your mother was there during his birth but you haven’t seen him yet."

With a simple smile, Xu Dashan bowed respectfully, followed by Xu Qiang as he left the house.

Finding a secluded spot, Xu Qiang asked, "What do you need me for?"

Xu Dashan replied, "You mentioned helping me find a way to make a living back then, but my wife's family didn't provide any money, and I also didn't have any. The matter didn't work out. Now that you have become an imperial scholar and are likely to take up an official position soon, my parents want to send a good gift to congratulate you. However, when my wife heard about this, she got angry and went back to her mother's house."

Annoyed, Xu Qiang responded, "If she went back to her mother's house, why are you coming to me? Do you want me to coax her back for you?"

"No, no, that's not what I meant, it's just... Things were unpleasant when we tried to do business together in the past, and now she's upset at the close relationship between our families. It's uncomfortable for me. But I'm not very bright and don't know what to do, so I wanted to ask you. After all, you are literate, can you help me figure out a solution?" Xu Dashan didn't want to mention the money issue with his wife's family, nor did he want to jeopardize his relationship with Xu Qiang, so he made Song Yulan seem insignificant.

Annoyed, Xu Qiang huffed, "The Song family probably hates me now, how could they possibly send me a gift? And now that you have our surname, I doubt Song Yulan wants to have a good life with you anymore."

"But we have a son..." Xu Dashan was getting a little anxious at the mention of their son, "After three years of marriage, when we are both relatives and brothers, and she is the mother of my son, it's uncomfortable for me to be in the middle, you know?"

Xu Qiang was about to say that having a son meant they could have any child they wanted in the future, as long as they married someone, but he didn't dare to say it, fearing gossip.

Looking at Xu Dashan, he felt like he was dealing with trouble, and he said firmly, "You've come to ask me, but who am I supposed to ask? Can a scholar like me be in charge of your family affairs? While we are both sons-in-law of the Song family, I married the third daughter of Old Song, and you married the fourth. Our families have a five-generation relationship, but the Song family has also split, we are just distant relatives. I helped you because we are sons-in-law of the Song family, but without money, what could I do? Now that your wife is like this, I can't help you anymore."

"This, this..." Xu Dashan gritted his teeth, "But Song Yulan went back to her mother's house, and she still wants my mother to go and invite her back, what should we do?"

Xu Qiang rolled his eyes, "This is simple, she's being unfilial, just go and report her to the authorities, see if she still dares to act up!"

Shocked, Xu Dashan stepped back, stammering, "Report to the authorities? We can't do that, we are just commoners, how can we involve government officials in this matter?"

Thinking to himself that he was not a commoner like Xu Dashan, Xu Qiang rolled his eyes and said, "Then what can we do? I give you advice, but you are unwilling to listen, what can I do? And who told you to go directly to the authorities? Just deceive her, say if she doesn't return home, you will report her for being unfilial, will she not be afraid?"

After scratching his head for a while, Xu Dashan finally said, "But, but my mother spent her dowry money, can the officials handle that?"

Almost laughing, Xu Qiang said, "So it turns out that your mother spent her money, then wants her to pay for a gift for me, and when she refuses, she has to make your mother apologize before she comes back? Why are you coming to me with this kind of thing? Huh? Should I return her money? Did I marry her or did you? Xu Dashan, we don't have such a deep connection, your mother made a mess of things and now wants to involve me, I find it embarrassing! Leave, just leave, take your gift and get out! If I knew it was this kind of thing, I wouldn't have let you in!"

——— Song Dingxiang: What an eye-opener!