In the cellar, Hui-niang faintly heard Old Lady Wei’s voice, and her heart gave a sudden jolt.
The main gate was shut, so she wasn’t worried someone could barge in. But A’Lang still called her nai [grandmother], wouldn’t it feel awful in his heart after hearing it?
She didn’t care too much, hugged a few heads of vegetables and chased out.
What she saw was the calm Wei Zhao, the silent Yu Tingwan, and the medicine pot rolling on the ground.
Her ears were filled with Old Lady Wei’s crazed and far filthier-than-usual cursing from outside.
“You little beast born of a dog-mother, you’re going to suffer divine retribution!”
“If you’ve got the guts, come out!”
“Back then when your mother gave birth to you, I should’ve strangled you to death. A thing that disrespects elders, I’ll strike you out of the family genealogy!”
Hui-niang’s face darkened.
She put down the vegetables and walked out quickly.
Old Lady Wei was full of rage, the fire stuffed in her chest swelling without limit.
All over her head, face, and clothes was medicinal soup and dregs, drip drip dripping down, so disheveled it was beyond recognition.
It was cold, and very soon it froze into ice.
The door was opened by Hui-niang.
She paused in surprise at Old Lady Wei’s appearance.
This…
She turned her head to glance at the motionless Wei Zhao.
Thinking of how A’Lang now recognizes neither kin nor relative, even stabbing his own, it would be justifiable to give Old Lady Wei a lesson.
She just felt a bit guilty.
Especially when seeing Old Lady Wei’s face scalded red.
Just as she was in a daze, Old Lady Wei rushed over, grabbed her hair in one go, and yanked it down hard.
“Say it—was it you who taught him!”
Hui-niang cried out in pain and struggled, her hair bun caught and messed up, and quite a few strands were ripped out. She couldn’t care about the pain, holding down her anger: “Back then how mother favored Wei Qintian, I won’t care. Anyway, in your eyes there’s only the main branch, never once did you put A’Lang and Xiao-niang in your eyes.”
“Now that A’Lang is back, if mother doesn’t feel at ease seeing our mother and son, then just stop coming here often. Your heart will be calm, and so will mine.”
“But what has mother done? Coming every day to scold, every day wishing A’Lang would just be gone. Is this something an Ah Nai should do?”
Yu Tingwan didn’t move, her gaze swept past the two toward the back.
She saw Wei Shouzhong.
Wei Shouzhong had invited quite a few people over—there was the lizheng, and some elders from the Wei family.
He heard the commotion, his pupils suddenly shrank, and he tossed aside the others, hurriedly running over to grab Old Lady Wei’s arm to make her let go: “Mother! What are you doing again.”
“I already said, if you have any dissatisfaction, come at me. If you want to hit or scold, I absolutely won’t fight back.”
He shouted sternly: “What are you taking it out on Hui-niang for!”
His strength was great, Old Lady Wei was forced to let go, and could only vent her anger on Wei Shouzhong.
“In your eyes, there’s only your wife!”
Her voice was sharp and piercing: “This old woman’s been splashed like this! Are you blind or what!”
Wei Shouzhong: …
Yes, in his eyes there was only wife and son, he really didn’t notice that something was wrong with Old Lady Wei.
Old Lady Wei also saw the lizheng and the others.
“You all came just in time, hurry and uphold justice for me.”
“Look, all of you look, the second branch’s people are rebelling!”
These people were the ones Wei Shouzhong went to invite early in the morning. Some lived far, some were in neighboring villages, so it had taken quite a bit of time to bring them over.
The lizheng and the various elders of the Wei family looked at each other. Except for the lizheng who had some guesses in his heart, the others weren’t quite clear on why Wei Shouzhong had invited them over.
“What’s going on here?”
The Wei family’s shugong [叔公, great-uncle; father’s uncle] furrowed his brows: “Shouzhong, your mother gave birth to you and raised you…”
Wei Shouzhong gently interrupted: “Shugong, didn’t you say you wanted to see A’Lang? Come inside the house and sit.”
“Hui-niang, pour tea for the elders.”
Hui-niang responded and personally went to help the elderly shugong into the courtyard, then went to move benches and invite everyone to sit.
Yu Tingwan staying any longer would be inappropriate.
She set the medicine pot upright, casually placed the money in her hand down, then went to pick up the vegetables Hui-niang had forgotten.
At the same time, Wei Zhao was surrounded by the crowd.
“A’Lang’s back, that’s good, that’s good. You must take good care of your body. Shouzhong, if there’s not enough money at home, I still have some. Let’s cure A’Lang well, that’s more important than anything.”
Wei Zhao gave no reaction.
Wei Shouzhong: “A’Lang, say something.”
Wei Zhao, for once, was willing to give some face, weakly: “No need.”
Let him die.
“A’Lang must’ve suffered a lot these past years outside? Don’t even know how you got through. A kid like you, how could you be killing enemies with a blade?”
Wei Zhao didn’t respond.
Wei Shouzhong: “A’Lang, talk.”
Wei Zhao: “I rarely use a blade.”
His tone was very flat, but he spoke earth-shattering words: “The Wei Family Army guards the border. Rarely are there barbarian enemies who come throwing their lives away.”
“But when I’m bored, I’ll go to the enemy’s stationed camps, cut off a few of their officers’ heads, split them in half, blood-soaked and sticky, and send them as a gift to their emperor.”
It was a gift, and also a provocation.
Wei Zhao had the capital to be arrogant.
“So, that barbarian emperor and I can be considered quite close.”
How could they not be close? They hated him to the bone.
Yu Tingwan: ???
This Wei Shen was really good at bluffing for the sake of face.
She wasn’t the only one who thought that—everyone present thought the same.
Seeing that no one believed him, Wei Zhao didn’t mind at all.
Shugong Wei smiled with squinting eyes: “A’Lang, I’m your paternal great-uncle.”
Wei Shouzhong: “Hurry and greet him.”
Wei Zhao looked at the elderly man: “Pretty good at staying alive.”
Yu Tingwan: ?!?
He really only said what he wanted to say.
As for what others said—he had ears, but didn’t have to listen.
Yu Tingwan hugged the vegetables and silently slipped away.
Old Lady Wei wasn’t about to sit through this scene.
She slapped the table heavily.
“I’ve been bullied like this, and you people pretend not to see it?!”
Shugong Wei finally reacted: “Right, what happened to you?”
His eyes turned suspiciously toward Hui-niang.
Hui-niang was an honest person and was just about to take responsibility for what Wei Zhao had done. Then she heard Wei Shouzhong speak with a heavy tone.
“Shugong, don’t you know what kind of temperament my mother has? There’s no shortage of times she’s slandered Hui-niang. Hui-niang is gentle and obedient—how could she lay a hand on her?”
Those words made everyone nod in agreement.
“It wasn’t her!”
Old Lady Wei pointed at Wei Zhao: “It was this beast!”
The crowd fell silent.
Wei Shouzhong also went quiet.
Hui-niang wouldn’t lay a hand on her—but A’Lang, now that’s not so certain.
The lizheng laughed out of sheer exasperation: “Shouzhong’s mother, if you’re going to make something up, at least make it convincing. A’Lang is so badly injured, how could he splash you?”
Old Lady Wei: “He stood up and splashed it!”
The elders all shook their heads one after another.
“You’re the ah nai, you’ve gone too far.”
“A’Lang’s already like this, and you’re still thinking of ruining his name.”
“Look at him—he can barely talk. Now look at you—just one shout and your voice can reach the village entrance.”
“And you’re saying he laid a hand on you?”
“Even if he really stood up and did it, you wouldn’t be able to dodge it?”
Old Lady Wei widened her eyes.
“Why don’t you all believe me! You think I’d splash myself for fun when I’m sick?!”
“Look, my face is all scalded and swollen!”
Those words did make some sense. Everyone looked at the weak, indifferent Wei Zhao, then looked at the furious, foot-stomping Old Lady Wei.
Old Lady Wei, seething with rage, swept her gaze around and yanked back Yu Tingwan, who had one foot already out of the Wei family’s gate.
“You were in the courtyard at the time too! You must’ve seen it.”
“You say—was it him!”
Yu Tingwan: …
Across the long distance, she met Wei Zhao’s calm gaze.
He didn’t seem the least bit flustered, nor did he care whether Yu Tingwan would expose him or not.
Old Lady Wei urged anxiously: “Say it! Quickly testify for me!”
Yu Tingwan didn’t want to get involved in this mess, nor did she want to get herself dirty.
But Old Lady Wei pinched her painfully.
The young girl with an innocent face: “You old lady, how can you still try to blackmail someone like this?”