Mother Qi followed behind her son with a cold face, huffing with anger. Her eldest son had completely changed, embarrassing her in front of her in-laws and daughter-in-law. His heart had clearly sided with his wife.
Back in the day, she could hardly bear to eat anything herself, giving it all to him instead, raising him through all the hardships of childhood. Was this how he repaid her?
The more Mother Qi thought about it, the more aggrieved she felt, and her eyes began to redden. Seeing that Qi Taiguo showed no reaction, she burst into tears, "My life is so hard."
Qi Taiguo’s steps halted, he stopped, and turned to look at her.
Mother Qi cried harder, "I raised you with such effort, and I haven’t yet enjoyed the blessings of having grandchildren, but you disdain me so. You really treat me right, sob, sob."
Qi Taiguo remained silent.
After crying for a while and seeing that he did not utter a word, Mother Qi felt a little embarrassed. Noticing his stern face, she gradually lost confidence and her cries slowly subsided.
"Mom, have you cried enough? If you’re done, let’s continue walking," Qi Taiguo finally spoke.
Mother Qi was taken aback and looked at him dumbfounded.
"I told you earlier, Cheng Su can’t be upset right now. I was hoping you wouldn’t say things to make her heart feel blocked and let her recover properly. Mom, how did you act? Did you have to make her uncomfortable?" Qi Taiguo said coldly.
Mother Qi retorted angrily, "How did I make her uncomfortable? Didn’t I speak the truth? She’s grown up but didn’t even know she was pregnant? Where did her cleverness go? And you blame me!"
"Everyone makes mistakes sometimes, we weren’t even planning on having children right now, so how would we have noticed?" Qi Taiguo raised his voice slightly, "Cleverness isn’t always used in these matters."
Mother Qi, feeling guilty, said, "So you’re set on siding with her against me, aren’t you? For your wife’s sake, you don’t even want your own mother anymore, is that it?"
"What you’re doing is unreasonable and overbearing. All I ask is for you to be peaceful and let us have some ease. It’s a challenging time right now; shouldn’t our family be united? You’re not just causing difficulties for Cheng Su, but for me as well!"
"You, you unfilial son! I’ve raised a thankless wretch!" Now Mother Qi truly began to cry.
Qi Taiguo’s head throbbed with pain, but still he steeled his heart and said, "Consider me unfilial then. Since you’ve come all this way, stay in Qing City for a few days before you return home. I’ll have my elder sister accompany you. Cheng Su doesn’t need you to wait on her; I’ve asked my mother-in-law to help out for a few days. Let’s go!"
Mother Qi was shocked, "What, you, you’re sending me away?"
"I’m not sending you away. Mom, if you don’t like Cheng Su, then it’s better to reduce contact and spare everyone the discomfort," Qi Taiguo said dejectedly. He couldn’t change his mother’s mind, so he had no choice but to give up.
Hearing the disappointment in his voice, Mother Qi started to feel panicked. What was going on? In the past, when she cried and made a scene, her eldest son would relent to her will. But now that tactic didn’t work anymore?
It was all the fault of that damned Cheng Su, failing to produce a grandson and instead turning her son against her.
Mother Qi was also indignant, "Fine, now that you’ve spread your wings, you forget your mother once you have a wife. I’ve been raising you for nothing, fine."
Qi Taiguo stopped talking and just walked straight ahead. After a long pause, he finally said, "Mom, Cheng Su and I have already had a tough enough time. If you really care about me, be kinder to her. Think about how you were treated by your own mother-in-law in the past?"
His words carried away with the wind. Mother Qi stared at her son’s retreating back, her mouth slightly open, feeling as if a knife had been thrust into her heart, painful and chaotic. Did her son really no longer need her?