Chapter 43 — Pushing a Filial Son to Rebel
“Brother, do you think I’m doing it well?”
In the backyard, Ling Wen and Ling Wu were busy with their respective tasks. One was practicing calligraphy with a branch on a homemade sand table, while the other was sweating profusely, performing tai chi. The former sat upright, calm and focused, while the latter moved like a nimble rabbit, quick and agile. The two brothers not only looked identical but also showed the same earnestness in whatever they did. Though their activities were different, their dedication remained the same.
“Mm, very good. Come over and have some tea, you’re sweating so much.”
Ling Wen raised his head and quickly poured a cup of cool tea, handing it to Ling Wu. The teapot and cup were freshly bought in the town today. Although he had felt some regret when purchasing them, he now found them quite nice to use.
“Thanks.”
Before Ling Wu could drink, a sudden loud banging on the door interrupted them, accompanied by a woman’s insults and curses. Ling Wu’s hand trembled, and he instinctively leaned closer to his older brother. Ling Wen, in turn, reached out with his thin, small arms and hugged him. His slender frame straightened as he tried to gather courage for both himself and his younger brother.
“Is it that fierce woman from earlier today?”
Hearing the woman’s voice, Ling Wu’s throat tightened. Despite being small, he understood the situation. The woman was their paternal grandmother’s relative, one of their elders, yet she was treating them like this.
“Don’t be afraid. I’ll go take a look.”
Ling Wen patted his younger brother’s back and made a move as if to head out, but Ling Wu quickly grabbed him. “Brother, don’t go. They’re so fierce. Let’s wait for Daddy to come back.”
Ling Wu was worried his brother would get hurt again. While these people were technically their elders, he knew they didn’t like them.
“I’ll just peek through the door. Daddy and Third Uncle should be back soon.”
Ling Wen turned and forced a comforting smile, but Ling Wu couldn’t help feeling nervous. However, he followed his brother outside. The banging and shouting outside had not stopped. The two brothers cautiously peeked through the gap in the door. Outside, several fierce-looking women were shouting, and there were many onlookers gathered behind them. The brothers dared not open the door.
Meanwhile, Yan Shengrui, lying inside, had also heard the commotion. He thought that with Ling Jingxuan not home, the kids might be in trouble, so he couldn’t care less about his injuries. He struggled to sit up, but dizziness overwhelmed him, forcing him to slump back down onto the straw mat.
“You all are up to what again? Mother, why did you come too?” After a while of intense banging on the door, just as the wooden door seemed ready to break, a familiar voice sounded: it was Ling Wang-shi, the mother of Ling Jingxuan.
The brothers, who were huddled together, visibly brightened upon hearing her voice. They quickly moved closer to the door to see what was going on. It wasn’t just Ling Wang-shi who had arrived; Ling Chenglong, her husband, was with her.
It turned out that they had run out of tea while working in the fields, and Ling Chenglong had sent his wife back to get more. On the way back, she had encountered the exhausted Ling Jinghan, who was barely able to walk, and from him, she learned that their mother-in-law and other relatives had come to cause trouble. After quickly sending Ling Jinghan home, she had rushed to the fields and pulled her husband along to come to their aid.
When they saw the crowd and the women violently kicking at the door, both Ling Chenglong and his wife’s faces turned pale. As they approached, their anger grew even more intense. Seeing the Old Madam, however, made their hands tremble. How could their son, Ling Jingxuan, have offended them so badly? Why did they keep pushing and making things difficult for him? It was as if they wanted him dead.
But despite their anger, they could only suppress their feelings and stand in front of the Old Madam, showing the utmost respect.
Ling Chenglong was the most sincere and loyal out of all the Old Madam’s three sons, yet she never favored him.
“Well, what’s going on? Can’t I come? If I don’t show up, you two, who are feeding off the family, will move the whole Ling family here, won’t you?” The Old Madam spoke in an extremely harsh and venomous tone.
Upon hearing the Old Madam’s words, Ling Chenglong and his wife’s faces instantly turned ashen. The trembling of their lips clearly indicated how much they were holding back. Ling Chenglong quietly pulled his wife, trying to keep her calm, and stepped forward to respectfully stand before the Old Madam, forcing a smile. “Mother, how could I do such a thing?”
Among the three sons, Ling Chenglong was the most straightforward, with the fewest schemes and the most filial heart. Unfortunately, this only seemed to make the Old Madam dislike him more.
“You may not be doing it, but others may not be so innocent,” the Old Madam sneered as her poisonous gaze shot toward Ling Wang-shi behind him.
Ling Wang-shi immediately burst into tears, looking at Ling Chenglong in distress. She was starting to lose patience.
“Mother, she wouldn’t…”
Ling Chenglong tried to interject, but it was clear the tension in the air had reached its boiling point.
Ling Chenglong, with his rough, calloused hands, couldn’t help but tighten his fists. After a long while, he finally forced himself to step forward to explain. But the Old Madam didn’t give him the chance to finish. Her sharp, venomous eyes locked onto him, and her voice rose to a shrill pitch.
“What else is it that she can’t do? If it weren’t for her, would our family have become estranged from your second uncle? All these years, hasn’t she secretly been helping those worthless bastards of hers? And now, she has the audacity to send over fish that you and Jingpeng caught and sold? Do you still have me, your mother, in your hearts? Does the Old Ling family still matter to you?”
The thought of the past made the Old Madam even angrier. In the Ling family, aside from the patriarch, she controlled everything, including all the family wealth. No son, daughter-in-law, or grandchild dared to defy her. But that incident, the one when she had been defied to help the “bastards” of the family buy land, was still a thorn in her side. All these years, despite oppressing them, her hatred hadn’t waned.
Her every word was like a dagger to Ling Chenglong and his wife’s hearts. Their already pale faces grew colder, and it felt like they had fallen into a pit of ice. After all these years of hard work for the family, had it not been enough to atone for their past disobedience? All they wanted was to give their son a better future. Was that so wrong?
Bang!
“Mother, my dear mother, please stop! It was my fault, I was unfilial. I’ll bow and apologize. Please, Mother, let’s go home.”
In front of everyone, the proud, strong man, the stalwart of the family, suddenly kneeled with a loud thud, pleading for the Old Madam to stop. His filial piety was almost to the point of foolishness. The villagers watched in awe and whispered to each other. Some older women even looked at the Old Madam with envy, thinking that if their sons were this dutiful, they would gladly take back even a son with a ruined reputation or a broken name.
As people aged, what did they fear the most? Without a doubt, it was unfilial children. No matter how good the reputation, it could never replace a truly filial son.
“Go home? Don’t be so naive. If I don’t take back everything you’ve helped those bastards with today, I’m not going anywhere.”
Sadly, despite how the villagers were moved by Ling Chenglong’s filial piety, the Old Madam was as unyielding as iron. Her heart was hardened, and she wouldn’t budge. The three women standing beside her sneered, showing no sign of the compassion and love that should exist between family members.
“Mother, I admit that recently, both Brother Long and Jingpeng have been helping Jingxuan sell fish. But those fish were all caught by Jingxuan himself. We were just helping him sell them. How can you accuse us of being ungrateful? Haven’t we done enough for the family? Jingxuan, no matter his faults, is still your grandchild. How can you call him a bastard? If he’s a bastard, then what are we?”
Ling Chenglong, still kneeling, felt his heart shatter. His body collapsed to the ground. Ling Wang-shi, unable to watch any longer, hurriedly helped him up. Blood was now visible on his head, and she couldn’t hold her frustration any longer. She had endured so much since marrying into the Ling family. The Old Madam had never treated her kindly. When they were about to expel their eldest son, she had silently endured, thinking it was Jingxuan’s fault. But now, she couldn’t stand it any longer. If it meant being driven out of the family, so be it. Jingxuan had just made some money through his own hard work, yet they were here to take it from him. The Old Madam wanted nothing less than to drive them to their deaths.
“You? You ungrateful wretch!” The Old Madam’s fury exploded. She had never been confronted like this. Enraged, she lunged forward, ready to strike.
“Mother, my second sister-in-law didn’t mean it, please calm down.”
“Second Sister-in-law, look at what you’ve done! You’ve made Mother so angry, quickly kneel and apologize!”
“Grandma, please don’t be mad. Auntie was just protecting her son. After all, Jingxuan is her eldest.”
Ling Chenghua, along with Ling Jiang-shi and Ling Xiaoying, feigned concern, trying to stop the chaos. However, every word they spoke was designed to prick at the heart, adding fuel to the fire. They weren’t trying to calm things down—they were deliberately making the situation worse. This only inflamed the Old Madam further. In a blind rage, she shook off her daughters-in-law’s attempts to hold her back, and without hesitation, slapped Ling Wang-shi several times across the face. The sharpness of her nails left bloody streaks across Wangshi’s skin.
“Enough!” Ling Chenglong’s voice boomed, breaking through the rising tension. “If Mother is so unwilling to tolerate us, then I’ll go back and ask Father to arrange for us to live separately from the main house.”
He was finally pushed to the limit, and the image of the once dutiful son crumbled. The sight of his wife’s injuries, her face now bruised and bloodied, broke him. He couldn’t endure it any longer.
“How dare you!” The Old Madam was momentarily stunned, her eyes wide with disbelief. She never imagined her most obedient son would dare to make such a demand in front of so many people.
“Son is just fulfilling your wish,” Ling Chenglong said quietly, his voice carrying a deep sorrow. He embraced his wife, tears welling in his eyes. If it was possible, who would want to appear unfilial? He had always been a man of integrity, but if his wife and son’s survival depended on it, he would go to any lengths—even to separate from the family.
“You, you, you…” The Old Madam could hardly catch her breath. She was shaking with rage, but she couldn’t find the words to argue back.
Ling Chenghua, with a cold look in her eyes, stepped forward to support her mother, feigning concern. “Second Brother, why do you insist on fighting with Mother like this? Look at how upset she is. If something happens to her, you’ll regret it. We are a family; we should settle this together. Please apologize to Mother.”
Seeing her solemn, filial, and virtuous expression, many people began praising her. As expected of a scholar’s daughter—far more sensible than ordinary village girls.
“That’s right, Second Brother, Second Sister-in-law, you can’t act rashly,” added Ling Jiang-shi, who immediately joined in, her voice feigning concern. “Filial piety is the greatest virtue. Your parents are still alive, how can you possibly think of separating from the family?”
You should know that over the years, most of the farm work and household chores had basically been handled entirely by Ling Chenglong and his wife. The moment she heard he wanted to split off and live separately, Madam Ling Jiang immediately panicked. The eldest sister-in-law was the mother-in-law’s own niece—if the second sister-in-law moved out, the unlucky one would become her instead.
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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
