Free Web NovelChapter 415: Chapter 161: Stalemate (2)
Sure enough, on Xiaoao Mountain, he saw Li’an carrying a shoulder pole and watering the huangqi seedlings.
No new land had been cleared at the old family estate, so no huangqi was planted there. Chunyue and her mother, however, had cleared five mu of wasteland and planted it all with huangqi.
So, the huangqi field Li’an was now watering naturally belonged to Chunyue’s family.
Chen Bai shouted from the foot of the mountain, "Li’an! Li’an! Come on down!"
Chunyue recognized the man below as Mr. Chen, and her face immediately soured. "That must be Mr. Chen. Your grandmother must have sent him as reinforcements."
Li’an thought the same, but he puffed out his chest and slapped it a few times. "Don’t worry. My second uncle and my grandmother don’t see eye to eye. Besides, he married into his wife’s family himself. He definitely won’t oppose us."
Before heading down the mountain, Li’an reminded Chunyue, "You should sit and rest for a bit. We’re not in a rush today. We’ll definitely finish watering these fields before dark."
Though Li’an sounded confident, his heart was filled with unease.
He ambled slowly down the mountain. Only when he was right in front of Chen Bai did he speak. "Uncle, you were looking for me? Have you... have you been to the old family home?"
Before he could finish, Chen Bai clapped him hard on the shoulder.
Chen Bai said, "I just came from the old family home. You know what your grandmother is like. When she summons me back, it’s never for anything good. But I’ve been through this before, and I see things more clearly than she does. A man has to survive first and foremost. Only then does he have the luxury of worrying about all that other nonsense. If just staying alive is a challenge, what’s the point of worrying about etiquette and tradition? Survival comes first. As long as you can make a life for yourself, what’s so wrong with marrying into another man’s family?"
"But I have to warn you—think this through carefully. Since you’re set on marrying into her family, you have to consider the circumstances you’ll face. You have to be prepared to accept it all, or you shouldn’t even entertain the idea. You’re a man. You can be a coward, you can be incompetent, but you cannot be impulsive and act on every whim."
Li’an quickly tried to defend himself. "Uncle, I’m not like that! I..."
"I don’t care if you are or not. I’m laying it out for you. Our family’s reputation is in the gutter right now; people curse us on sight. Li’an, I’m not asking you to achieve great things. But you’re a grown man, and you need to have a basic sense of responsibility. You can’t bring any more shame to our family. We can’t have people cursing the third branch from top to bottom every time it’s mentioned..."
Chen Bai continued to ramble, telling Li’an what it was like after he had married into his own wife’s family—how he had faced the rumors and gossip, the pointing fingers from the crowd, what he had felt, and how he had overcome it all step by step.
Arranging to marry into a family seems easy. A few words are exchanged, and just like that, it’s settled.
But it’s never that simple. It doesn’t mean that once you’re a live-in son-in-law, you can push the women of the family out front to face disaster for you while you openly hide in the back and laze around...
As Chen Bai was leaving, he passed by Zhao Jing’s house on his way to the shrine to pay his respects.
Just then, Chen Wanqing and Zhao Jing were in their courtyard, airing out books in the sun.
When they saw Chen Bai passing their gate, they quickly called out to him. "Second Uncle! What brings you to the village? Quick, come in and rest for a while."
Chen Bai followed them inside.
It wasn’t until he was seated inside, sipping tea, that Chen Bai finally let out a long sigh, his face etched with weary emotion.
He had come to the village early in the morning and had been busy ever since, without even a sip of water. No wonder his mouth was so dry and he felt lightheaded.
With a weary expression that suggested a long story, Chen Bai recounted why the old matriarch had summoned him and how he had just given Li’an a stern talking-to.
In the end, Chen Bai said, "Honestly, I understand your grandmother’s stubbornness. Anyone in her shoes would find it impossible to simply give in."
After all, Li’an is the eldest grandson of the third branch. In your grandmother’s eyes, he’s the eldest grandson of the direct line.
Your grandmother completely ignores everyone from the first branch; all she ever thinks about are her own children and grandchildren.
She had such high hopes for him, spending a fortune in Silver Coins to fund his education. But just as all that effort was about to pay off, Li’an quit his studies. And now he wants to marry into another family.
Anyone would fall apart if they were in her situation.
Chen Bai sighed again, and as he continued to speak, his tone turned to one of anger.
"But isn’t this all her fault for spoiling them! If she’d only been stricter with the third branch, would Mrs. Li have dared to cause so much trouble? Would Wanyue have grown up so ill-mannered? A couple of bad apples spoiled the whole bunch, and now the entire Chen family is suffering for it. Li’an is their son and brother, so he’s the one who bears the brunt of everyone’s anger—the blame, the scorn, the humiliation—and he’s powerless to fight back. I really do understand where he’s coming from..."
Zhao Jing refilled his cup, and Chen Bai drained it in one go. After catching his breath, he continued, "Li’an isn’t a bad kid at heart. He’s just been spoiled rotten and can’t handle any real responsibility. But when you get right down to it, isn’t that still the old matriarch’s fault...?"
