Chapter 39 — I’m Your Own Third Aunt!
“You dare?! I am your blood-related Third Aunt!”
Mad with anger, Ling Jiang-shi still dared not force her way in. What did ordinary folk fear most? Officials. A powerless villager, stepping into a government office, might not die but would certainly be stripped to the bone. Ling Jiang-shi was, after all, just a village woman. Apart from her scholar husband and her Second Uncle, she had seen little of the world. The moment she heard he intended to report them to the authorities, her short, plump body trembled—whether from fear or rage, even she could not tell.
“Ling Jingxuan, of the Ling Clan, was born with a monstrous and unnatural body. Yet he has not kept himself pure, causing a hidden pregnancy and bringing shame upon the scholar’s code of propriety, honor, and decency. He is unworthy to bear the Ling family name. From this day forth, he is cast out of the Ling household. Henceforth, his life, death, wealth, and poverty shall have no connection with the Ling Clan! Five years ago, at the Ling ancestral hall before the entire village, my Third Aunt spoke the words of Old Master Ling—do you not remember? I am not of the Ling family, and therefore, what claim do you have as my ‘blood-related Third Aunt’?
“Today, if you and your daughter try to bully an orphan and widower and force your way in, I will no longer stop you—but know this: your actions constitute trespassing. I can report you to the county office at any time. If you are not afraid, I am willing to go all the way; we can meet in court.”
With that, Ling Jingxuan swept aside his robes, stepping aside. His handsome face was shrouded in frost, terrifying to behold, silently warning the mother and daughter before him that he spoke with utmost seriousness.
“You… Ling Jingxuan! Even if you are cast out of the Ling family, you deserve it! How could Father have been mistaken? Were it not that you were born a monster, shamelessly consorting with a wild man and bringing shame upon the family, would Father and Mother ever drive you from the clan? In the end, all this is your own doing. And yet you have the audacity to speak before me. Are you not afraid that Father and Mother will drag you to the pig cage?”
Those accustomed to superiority do not easily bow to a despised creature. Ling Jiang-shi planted her hands on her hips, gaining confidence with each word. Her daughter, beside her, lifted her chin arrogantly, glaring at him almost with the whites of her eyes. Ling Jingxuan was the disgrace of their family; they believed they had every right to scorn him.
“Hmph! As if I care so much for your Ling family. Third Aunt, allow me to remind you one last time: it is you who have disregarded your ‘noble’ status to barge into my home. From start to finish, I never intended to curry favor with you, nor waste my breath in endless quarrels with women like you. If you wish to continue forcing your way in, or turn back and leave, the choice is yours.”
Ling Jingxuan was nearly driven to anger-induced humiliation. Did she truly think he valued the old Ling household so dearly?
“Ling Jingxuan, you—”
“Silence! You have no right to speak here.”
He cut off Ling Xiaoying’s furious retort, her hand raised to point at him. His patience snapped, eyes cold and piercing, turning sharply on Ling Jiang: “One sentence—either leave, or we meet in court. No more endless shouting. I have no time to indulge your chaos!”
“You… you remember this!”
The moment Ling Jiang-shi saw that he was steadfast in reporting them to the authorities, she could no longer maintain her dominance. She seized the enraged Ling Xiaoying and slunk away in defeat, yet not without leaving behind a parting threat.
Ling Jingxuan sneered with disdain. Only after closing the door did he return to the kitchen, where Ling Jingpeng, having seen the troublesome mother and daughter finally leave, entered with the two little buns in tow. The three of them wore faces that could hardly be called proud, especially Ling Jingpeng. In all his dreams, he had never imagined that his blood-related Third Aunt could be so revolting. His elder brother had yet to achieve fortune, and already they were scheming. Should he truly prosper in the future, they would surely bring calamity upon them.
At that moment, Ling Jingpeng felt a deep shame for being a member of the Ling family, even unable to lift his eyes before his elder brother.
“It’s none of your concern. Don’t carry the burden of others’ deeds on yourself. They are who they are; you are who you are. Now, eat your meal. Later, we still have to go up the mountain.”
With his shrewdness, Ling Jingxuan could clearly read his brother’s thoughts.
“But they—”
Looking up, Ling Jingpeng clenched his fists, his eyes reddening, his trembling voice betraying his emotion. Ling Jingxuan shook his head in helplessness, then took the two equally unsettled little buns to the new table in the kitchen.
“The reason they dared act so brazenly,” he said as he divided the scallion pancakes among the children and gently patted their heads to calm them, “is first, they thought me weak, believing that I, branded a monster, would not speak out. Second, no matter what occurs, if it involves Ling Jingxuan, no one in Lingjia Village will aid me. The truth will be left to them to twist. Finally, because the old Ling family has never formally split, if Father and Mother were here today, would Ling Jiang-shi dare to act so insolently?”
“Jingpeng, rather than feeling guilty over the deeds of others, help me persuade Father and Mother to propose a family division early. If our household lives separately in the future, who would dare barge in and cause trouble?”
As he spoke, Ling Jingxuan continued dividing the pancakes, soothing the children. If he could, he truly did not want them to witness such a scene. Yet… the thought only deepened his resolve to amass wealth. Money brings power, power brings influence, and influence begets more influence—an eternal truth, as immutable as villagers fearing officials, officials fearing higher authorities, and all fearing the Emperor on high. With money, who would dare harass him at his own doorstep? At least, he had never heard of any village family bold enough to disturb a city household.
“Yes… this household must be divided. Even if we lose everything,” Ling Jingpeng said through clenched fists and tears, “what happened today must never happen again.”
“Hehe… very well. Now, eat quickly, or tonight we’ll be up late making jam.”
In an era where filial piety outweighed all, dividing the family while the parents lived was no simple matter. Ling Jingxuan had only intended to distract his younger brother, yet Jingpeng had taken it seriously. No matter; the family would eventually be split. Once he earned more money, and his younger brother’s illness was cured, he would find a way to persuade the old Ling master to agree to the separation.
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Translator: LazyHermitGal
Author: LazyHermitGal
A Lazy Hermit Gal. A little support goes a long way! If you’d like to help me keep creating, you can do so at https://ko-fi.com/lazyhermitgal
