Chapter 81

The funeral of Song Xingren seemed quite lively, after all, his son and grandsons had received some silver, and everything like filial duties and the coffin had been prepared beforehand. It was just when it came to smashing the basin that things got a bit chaotic.

As for the flag raising, it was not a big deal. But smashing the basin required the eldest son of the family to do it. Song Zhishen was the eldest son, and when he went to pick up the ceramic basin at the gravesite, he was unexpectedly stopped by his younger brother, Song Zhiyang.

"Big brother, it's not that I don't want you to smash this basin, but think about it, would father be happy if you smashed it?"

Song Zhiyang was actually a quiet and hardworking man who didn't talk much on normal days. However, during these past few days of vigil, many people had expressed their hope for him to smash the basin. Although he had always thought that if their father passed away, it should be the eldest son to smash the basin, these days he started to wonder, why couldn't it be him?

If he smashed this basin, he would be seen as the dutiful son of his father, and others would also look at him with respect in the future.

After hearing this, Song Zhishen was stunned, "Younger brother, what do you mean?"

Song Zhiyang tightly held onto the ceramic basin and said, "Who caused such a big trouble in our family? It was sister-in-law. And why did she cause this trouble? It's because you didn't teach her well. If it weren't for what happened, father wouldn't have had a stroke."

Song Zhishen's face turned pale, and he trembled all over, "Younger brother, how... how could you say such things? I'm your older brother."

"I'm saying it precisely because you're my older brother. If it were someone else, I wouldn't say it. With father in this state, do you want him to rest in peace?" Song Zhiyang took the ceramic basin from his brother, walked to the grave, lifted his hand with a serious expression, and forcefully smashed the basin into pieces.

With a loud bang, the ceramic basin shattered, and Song Zhishen's body swayed before finally collapsing in the snow.

The sound of crying filled the air after the basin was smashed. Especially Gao hsi, who was lying at the gravesite, crying with a mixture of emotions, "You old coot - you just left me like this - how am I supposed to cope with you gone?"

Song Dingxiang stood on the outskirts, watching Gao shi wail in anguish, unable to conceal a sneer.

During these vigil days, Gao shi hadn't shed a tear. She sat there blankly, occasionally glancing at the offering bearers, or directly staring at the dutiful sons and grandsons kneeling in front of the coffin.

Others said the old lady was just too grief-stricken, but Song Dingxiang saw a hint of deep calculation in her eyes.

Sure enough, when everyone returned home, Gao shi pushed away Zhu shi and her daughter-in-law who were helping her, and said to the village chief and the others, "Don't leave, I have something to say."

Song Xingyi paused, looking irritated, but still stayed behind, telling Li shi to take the family back home to warm up. After standing outside in the freezing cold for two hours, everyone was freezing.

The warm room felt cozy, and Fifth and Sixth Grandaunt followed Li shi back, instructing the younger ones to go home and warm the bed, as they wanted to stay and await news.

After a considerable time passed, Song Xingyi returned with a grim expression.

Li shi asked, "What happened over there?"

Song Xingyi sighed, "What else, just more trouble."

Now that Song Xingren had passed away, Gao shi had become a widowed old woman and was even more overbearing than before. When everyone who could speak up had entered the house, Gao shi sat cross-legged on the heated brick bed, staring at the village chief and saying, "Today, I want to tell you all something important. I am going to the magistrate to report my sons for being unfilial and have the authorities arrest them and throw them in jail."

The room was filled with shock, even Song Zhishen, who had been lost in a daze, was now wide-eyed, looking at his mother in astonishment.

Song Gao shi said coldly, "Why did the old man die? Wasn't it because of his unfilial sons and daughters-in-law? The behavior of the children reflects on their parents. They are unfilial, and so are the grandchildren. I'm sixty years old, but I serve the old man every day, feeding him and attending to his needs until my hands ache. But what about them? After eating, they wipe their mouths and run out, who is helping me? And these grandsons of mine, they are so heartless! They are not at all like our family, they are like they were born to strangers."

As she spoke, she tapped her leg and elongated her tone, without shedding a tear, just looking odd and unsettling.

"I want that magistrate to arrest them all. I don't care anymore. What's the point of living after the old man is gone? I want to follow him! The old man was driven to his death by his sons and daughters-in-law, they want me dead too!"

Whether Gao shi's words were true or false, no one cared, but indeed, Old Third Song had passed away in this freezing weather, and it was Gao shi who had called for help first, not her sons.

Song Zhishen and Song Zhiyang were both frightened, and they knelt down and crawled over to hug Song Gao shi's legs, crying, "Mother, how have we been unfilial! You always said we caused you distress, so we stayed away. Mother, please don't be like this."

Gao shi pretended to cry and said, "I gave birth to two animals, raised them, got them married, and ended up marrying trouble. They never stop causing trouble. Why does heaven have to punish an old man like me? The old man has always done good deeds, he can't even bear to step on a soft ant! He didn't instruct Taohong to flirt with someone else's fiancé, nor did he encourage Jiaoxing to steal and run away, nor did he marry her to a family involved in the dark brothel. Why is everything being punished on the old man?"

These words were too piercing, and the villagers immediately remembered Wu shi, who had been tortured beyond recognition in the ancestral hall, their innocent children who had died, and Taohong in the nunnery.

The village chief's face turned dark, he looked at the silent Song family members and said, "Old Third Song's Wife, stop crying. What do you want?"

Gao shi said, "I'm sixty years old, what more can I want? Just let me die -"

"Mother, mother, we will agree to anything you say, just please don't have any accidents." Song Zhishen and Song Zhiyang cried loudly, whether out of genuine concern for their old mother or in remembrance of their own difficult lives.

"I am so old, if you truly want to be filial, you cannot neglect me." Gao shi finally stopped wailing, her gaze turning fierce as she stared at her two sons, "Both of you move back here. I am old and need someone to take care of me. If no one watches over me, who knows when I'll die. Have you ever thought about my life? If you don't move back to take care of me, I will report you both to the authorities for being unfilial!

"Not only do you have to take care of me, you also have to provide me with a pension every month. My filial attire is only half done, the coffin hasn't been ordered, have you taken care of that yet? I also have bad teeth now, I just want to eat some fine noodles, will you give that to me?" Gao's mouth twitched, revealing a sly smile, "Unless I die, you all owe me!"

Li shi sighed and said, "Is that all?"

Song Xingyi said, "That's it. She wants things, money, daughter-in-laws and granddaughters to take turns serving her in her room, and to eat white rice and flour."

Li shi said, "That's not too much. After all, she's getting old. How many years can she eat white rice and flour?"

Song Xingyi said, "It's precisely because it's not too much that it makes people feel uneasy. Why are her son and daughter-in-law unwilling to serve her? Isn't it because of her own actions? Why doesn't her grandson live with her? Isn't it because of what happened with Song Jiaoxing? What seemed normal to us is now being forced upon her son and grandson... Can you blame them for feeling uneasy?"

Li shi said, "Who can we blame? She herself said that if the upper beam is not straight, the lower beam will be crooked. Isn't she the upper beam? Forget it, forget it. I used to be on edge, thinking she was going to scheme against our family again. Without this happening, it's fine."

Song Dingxiang smiled and said, "She wouldn't dare, grandma. If she doesn't scheme against our family, when something really happens, our family can support her. If she really schemes against our family, I'm afraid there will be no one to support her in the future. She's so cunning, directly controlling her sons and grandsons, making daughters-in-law and granddaughters-in-law take turns serving, it seems there will be more to come in the future."

"Let's just mind our own business," Fifth Grandaunt laughed. "Oh, no matter what, things are calm here, I just want to leave as soon as possible. I can't stay here. These people, none of them are trustworthy."

But before half an hour had passed since she said that, someone came to report that Song Xingzhong was also in critical condition.

Song Xingzhong was the eldest of the six brothers in the Song family, almost seventy years old this year, and was about to become the oldest patriarch in the village. However, after leaving the Third Song family's house, he fell inexplicably.

When he was carried back home, his face was already bruised blue. When the doctor came to see him, he couldn't speak anymore, and eventually he passed away.

The mourning clothes that had just been taken off had to be put back on, mourners were summoned again, and they hadn't even left the village yet when it was unexpected that another member of the Song family had passed away.

Considering Song Xingzhong's age, his passing should have been regarded as a peaceful death. However, his passing was too sudden and strange, and even if it was a peaceful death, everyone's faces were solemn.

"The eldest brother cared for the third brother. Now that the third brother is gone, the eldest brother feels heartbroken and went to take care of his younger brother."

"But come on, the eldest brother can't even take care of the third brother. If anyone treated the third brother well, it was the fourth brother's family, they were living so well."

"Nonsense, the fourth brother has an official title bestowed by the emperor, he has royal connections, it's not his turn to go anywhere."

"Why do you think the eldest brother suddenly passed away? Isn't this just after the seven days... Could it be that when the third brother returned, he forcibly took his brother with him?"

"Why would he take the eldest brother?"

"Don't you know? It's said that the whole incident with Song Jiaoxing was the eldest brother's idea..."

Amidst the rumors spreading throughout the village, Song Xingzhong was laid to rest in the family's ancestral grave. Song Lao Er, Song Xingxiao, fell ill upon returning home. He had to be force-fed several doses of medicine to pull him back from the brink, but his complexion clearly wasn't as good as before, and he often spoke incoherently.

"Perhaps Song Jiaoxing's spirit couldn't rest in peace and took them all away..."

Song Xingyi and the families of the fifth and sixth brothers, after handling the eldest brother's funeral, didn't even want to drink water. They directly got into the carriage and headed back to the county.

When they saw the stone lions at their own doorstep, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"They say Song Jiaoxing has returned, that scared me..." Fifth Grandaunt lay on the bed, clutching her chest, "How can things get so complicated, just in time for the seven-day ritual. Oh, my heart is in such a panic."

Li shi spat and said, "Who said Song Jiaoxing has come back? It's just paranoia. If they hadn't come up with that rotten idea, would there have been one after another? What did that person say? Jiaoxing let her mother sell her off to work in someone else's household... I can see it, they will eventually cause trouble for the Wu shi."

Fifth Grandaunt sighed, "I never want to return to the village in my lifetime. They say 'The fallen leaf returns to its root,' but just thinking about the people in the village, I'm afraid I won't live long enough to return."

Sixth Grandaunt said, "You have bought a house in town, at least you have a place to stay. My husband has been talking about buying a house in town for a few days now, but the prices have gone up a lot since you bought one."

"It's expensive, but it's worth it. It's better than staying in the village and losing years of lifespan due to their troubles. By the way, fourth sister-in-law, I will give some money to Li Sheng from your family every month, let him take some time off to visit my house every few days. Especially on days like these when we need to warm the house down, I feel guilty in my heart. I was planning to discuss this with them, but who knew so many things would happen..."

Li shi said, "Li Sheng was purchased by Dingxiang, you have to ask her, I can't make decisions in the middle of this."

"I'll go ask your granddaughter later," Fifth Grandaunt' struggled for a while, then continued, "No, I have to go back and rest for a while. This half a month has been exhausting, my goodness."

Song Dingxiang was also exhausted, not physically, but mentally. She first went to the nanny to check on the two children. The children had cried several times at night when they couldn't see their mother, but thanks to the understanding of the other children, they could comfort the youngest two, and finally made it through this half a month until their parents returned.

"Madam, burn the clothes you changed out of. After all, they have accumulated negative energy, it's not auspicious to keep them at home," Zhenshu said.

Song Dingxiang touched the soft cheeks of the child, waved her hand and said, "Go talk to my mother and grandmother about burning the clothes, I can't make decisions about that."

Unexpectedly, Li shi agreed right away and not only collected and burned her own clothes but also didn't spare the clothes of Fifth Grandaunt and Sixth Grandaunt.

"Get rid of bad luck, it's not like the old days now, we can afford to replace our clothes," she said.

After watching the children for a while and having a bowl of warm and digestible noodle soup, Song Dingxiang, feeling exhausted, her eyelids were fighting to stay open. Zhou Yinuo was worried and directly carried her out of the nanny's room, walking towards the small courtyard next door.

"People will laugh if they see this," Song Dingxiang said lazily.

Zhou Yinuo carefully put her on the bed, then went to the bed cabinet to fetch blankets and pillows, saying, "You've had two children in recent years, what's there to laugh about? I'm young now and can carry you around more, when I get old and you want me to carry you, I'm afraid I'll drop you."

"You've learned to talk these past few years," Song Dingxiang joked, taking off her thick outer clothes and getting into bed.

Mo Yun added more firewood to the stove at the back, gradually warming up the room. Zhou Yinuo saw Song Dingxiang lying comfortably and decided to take off his clothes too, joining his wife under the blankets.

Song Dingxiang habitually leaned into Zhou Yinuo's arms. In her past life, she never thought she would come to rely on a man like this. Even in recent years, she had prepared herself to remain a widow for the rest of her life.

But Zhou Yinuo came back, not only did he return, but he also transformed into a responsible and capable man.

He gave her a sense of security that made her reliance on him nearly habitual.

Zhou Yinuo tucked in the blankets for Song Dingxiang and instructed Zhenshu standing outside, "Wake me up in an hour."

Zhenshu agreed, and only then did he embrace his wife, sleeping in broad daylight for the first time.

Back in their own home, the village's troubles were immediately forgotten. Song Dingxiang slept deeply until the lights were on, and she groggily woke up.

"Awake?" Zhou Yinuo sat on a chair nearby reading a book, hearing the movement, he put down the book and walked over, "Don't get out of bed, eat something and then continue sleeping. I can see you've been exhausted these past few days."

"My parents?" Song Dingxiang had just woken up, her voice soft and gentle.

Zhou Yinuo adored her in this state, couldn't resist kissing her warm cheek, saying, "Your parents are up, but they are exhausted. I was afraid they would fall ill from exhaustion, so I called a doctor to check on them. Luckily, they are strong, a few days' rest will do. Fifth Grandaunt has a slight fever, she has taken medicine, with some attention, it shouldn't be a big issue."

"All this trouble, half a month of hardship in this cold weather, who can bear it? And the children?"

Zhou Yinuo said, "The parents are taking care of them, an hour ago, they came to show you but you were deeply asleep and didn't wake up, so they left. Are you hungry?"

Supporting herself up, Song Dingxiang's shiny black hair cascaded down her shoulders, making her look delicate and tender.

"Zhou ge, I want to eat delicacies from mountains and seas."

Zhou Yinuo responded seriously, "What a coincidence? The kitchen just prepared mountain delicacies and seafood for dinner, mushroom stewed chicken, and dried scallop congee."

Song Dingxiang burst out laughing, holding Zhou Yinuo's arm and laughing heartily.

After eating, feeling warm all over, she quickly freshened up and crawled back into bed, drifting off to sleep in a daze.

In her dream, she found herself back in the world of her past life. Her younger siblings' great-grandchildren had all grown up, some had gone abroad, some inherited the sauce factory, while others became teachers or lawyers.

The youngest great-grandson even became a gaming streamer, muttering words she couldn't understand while playing games and receiving rewards.

Feeling light and floating, she drifted into her sister's room. Her sister, almost ninety years old, was chatting with their brother via video call. The two elderly siblings were laughing heartily in front of a large TV.

"I remembered our sister..." her sister suddenly said, "I had a dream a while back, where I saw our sister become younger, marry a great man, start a small workshop, and live a wonderful life."

Her brother paused, tears glistening in his clouded eyes, saying, "I dreamt of our sister too. She not only found someone she loved but also had several adorable children. She told me she was doing well and asked us not to worry."

"I also..." her sister wiped her tears, "If it wasn't for our sister back then, maybe neither of us could've survived. If there were another life, I wish to be our sister's sister again."

Her brother chuckled, "I wish to be our sister's brother, to take care of her."

Listening beside them, Song Dingxiang smiled through tears, "I am doing well, both of you, don't worry. I have my parents, my grandparents, a loving and respectful husband, and two lovely children. They won't be able to call you uncle or aunt, but seeing you all doing well, I am at peace."

Zhou Yinuo suddenly woke up, looking towards Song Dingxiang beside him, only to hear her say, "I am doing well, my husband treats me well... you all, rest assured..."

"Was it a dream?" Zhou Yinuo smiled and gently kissed Song Dingxiang's soft red lips, leaving a fragrant touch, "Who did you dream of?"

Song Dingxiang flipped over and snuggled into his arms.

Zhou Yinuo extended his arm, embracing her and softly saying, "Whoever you dreamt of, reassure them, I will take good care of you."

Song Dingxiang let out a sleepy 'mmh' and drifted back to sleep peacefully.

——— Author's Note:

The main story was coming to an end, followed by various side stories.

There were stories of Dingxiang and her Zhou Ge, stories of the children, and stories of Song Yulan.

Which side story would you like to read?