Chapter 787 - 405: Bad News (Part 2)

Chapter 787: Chapter 405: Bad News (Part 2)

He tilted her head back. "Isn’t that the truth? They’ve been fighting for days, and she hasn’t changed a bit. Back then, Meizi never argued with her. They only had that one spat about eating cakes, and Gou Dan’s mother stepped in. The two of them got Granny Hua completely under control. It’s just as they say, ’every creature has its tamer.’ You just watch. In the end, Granny Hua and her husband will have to go back to living with their eldest son."

Juhua had long expected this, but hearing it still made her want to laugh. Liu’er’s mother had been enjoying the show, thinking it was easy, but she tried to take a bite herself and ended up chipping a tooth, even dragging Liu’er into her troubles.

’I can’t meddle in other people’s business. Best to talk about our own.’ She turned to He and said, "In that case, it’s best not to mention my third aunt’s niece. Mother, please think about it some more. There’s no rush anyway. Is Laicai fourteen or fifteen this year? We’re just preparing in advance. I’m also worried about Grandmother. She’s worried about my second aunt for so many years; we can’t let her worry about her grandson’s wife too. We should find someone virtuous and let the old lady live a few comfortable years."

He nodded. "I’ll ask your aunts to help look around later."

Huai Zi smiled at Juhua. "I think you’d be better off asking Sister-in-law Guizhi. Her family has plenty of cousins. If we could find someone just like her, it would be Laicai’s great fortune."

Juhua’s face lit up. "Really? Then I’ll go ask Sister-in-law Guizhi one of these days. Laicai was always clever and mischievous as a child. Now that he’s grown, he’s a bit immature, but he’s turned out well. Otherwise, I wouldn’t dare help him find a wife."

He said, "Kids from farming families are all like that. How successful can any of them really become? They stumble through childhood, get married, have kids, and even the unpromising ones shape up. Take Changling, for example. He was a terror when he was little, always fighting. Everyone said that hot-headed fool would never find a wife—who would dare marry their daughter to him? But look at him now that he’s married. He’s doing even better than his older brother and dotes on Liu’er. It’s something no one could have expected."

Juhua nodded. "Sometimes, a simple, honest man isn’t necessarily the best. Someone like Brother Changling, even though he has a bit of a temper, has his own ideas and can take charge of a household more easily."

Zhang Dashuan laughed. "Do you think marriage is just a casual affair? There’s a lot more to it than that. You say Changling is great, but if he hadn’t married Liu’er, if he’d married someone else who wasn’t on the same page as him, he’d dare to beat his wife. Don’t you believe it?"

Huai Zi smiled faintly. "Why wouldn’t I believe it? He even dares to talk back to his own mother! If he married a wife who wasn’t virtuous, he’d definitely beat her."

Juhua swallowed. She tried to imagine Li Changling hitting Liu’er and found it impossible. ’The power of love really is great,’ she thought.

He glanced at her son and daughter-in-law. ’Does that even need to be said?’ she thought. ’I don’t have to worry about my older son anymore. Now there’s just the younger one. I’m afraid I won’t even have a say in his marriage. I just hope he doesn’t bring home a little tyrant to worship.’

The family chatted and laughed as they worked, finishing quickly before heading off to rest.

The next day, Zhang Dashuan and his son led the hired hands to the fields to plant sweet potatoes and water them. In the evening, they continued cutting sweet potato seedlings to plant at dawn. They were intensely busy like this for several days.

One day, as He was in the field planting soybeans with Aunt Liu, Liu Xiaomei’s mother suddenly rushed to the edge of the field. She was in such a hurry that she couldn’t stop in time and stumbled into a furrow. She simply stayed in the furrow and followed it over to He, panting as she said, "Huai Zi’s mother, something’s happened!"

Seeing her arrive, He straightened up, about to greet her, but the words gave her a shock. She asked urgently, "What is it? My family... Whose family is in trouble?"

’She didn’t believe for a second it was her family. Everything had been fine when she came out after lunch. Juhua was watching Banli and Cong sleep, while Huai Zi and his father were in another field with the men, planting sweet potatoes. What could have happened?’

Liu Xiaomei’s mother waved her hand. "It’s Yangzi. No, it’s Yangzi, my Sishun, and Little Shitou! They’re in trouble!"

He’s heart skipped a beat. The bamboo sieve in her hands fell to the ground, and soybean seeds scattered everywhere. She demanded sharply, "What did you say?"

Seeing that something was wrong, Aunt Liu quickly crossed over from another furrow. Without asking what was going on, she quietly knelt and started helping pick up the spilled soybean seeds.

Liu Xiaomei’s mother said with a pained expression, "Don’t panic. This is just something I heard; it’s not confirmed yet. I came to find you right away. I’ve also sent someone to find my Sanshun and his father. We need to discuss this properly and send someone to Huzhou Prefecture to check."

He was about to go mad with anxiety. Annoyed that the woman was being so vague, she grabbed her arm, pulled her over to sit on the grass at the edge of the field, and demanded she explain in detail.

It turned out that someone from the village had gone to Xiatang Market today and heard people there gossiping that the three Scholars from Qingnan Village had been arrested. They quickly asked around and were told that a merchant from Huzhou Prefecture had mentioned it while eating at a tavern. The merchant claimed someone had seen it with their own eyes, so there was no mistake—the three Scholars had really been taken away.

When Liu Xiaomei’s mother heard this, she was panic-stricken. She immediately sent someone to the fields to get her husband and son, while she herself went to inform the Zhang family and the Zhao family.

"Bullshit! They were studying diligently and hadn’t caused any trouble. Why would they be arrested? That merchant must have gotten it wrong," He cursed, her eyes wide. She refused to believe it.

Liu Xiaomei’s mother was both anxious and afraid. She said tremulously, "I don’t believe it either. But, Huai Zi’s mother, we can’t be careless about this. We have to tell the men. You should hurry and get your Dashuan and Huai Zi—they’re more level-headed. And send someone to tell Zhao San’s family. I have to go back now; their father will want to question me when he gets back."

As much as He refused to believe it, she didn’t dare dismiss something concerning her younger son. Suppressing the unease in her heart, her voice trembling slightly, she said, "You go on. I’ll go get Huai Zi and his father right now. And don’t you panic, either. We’ll all figure this out together later."

Liu Xiaomei’s mother gave a distracted reply and ran off in the same frantic state she had arrived in.