383, Speaking of Pain (5 Updates)
Xiaoyuan, clutching the chest, saw how Dong Sheng darted his eyes away and guessed the truth. Then, without hesitation, she slapped Dong Sheng across the face.
“I won’t open the chest because we both have our dignity to consider. But I never thought that you would stoop to stealing from your own trust!”
“I, I…” Dong Sheng was stunned by the slap.
In a hurried explanation, he said, “My mother came to me, said my father was ill, and needed ten taels of silver for treatment. He’s my own father, how could I just watch him suffer without the silver for medicine!”
“Xiaoyuan, you’ve been earning silver for your family, and I never said a word. So why do I get slapped when I give my mother some silver!”
“Slap!” Xiaoyuan, consumed with anger, slapped Dong Sheng again.
This slap was heavier than the one before.
She was furious.
“Your father is sick, and you need silver. Did you ask me? Do you know whose silver this is? This isn’t our silver; this is the master’s silver. Even if I need to use it, anything over one tael requires asking the master for permission. And you, without my consent, without the master’s approval, took the silver from the chest privately. This is not borrowing; this is stealing, Dong Sheng, do you understand that?” she said.
Dong Sheng’s face turned a deathly pale.
“Today you might steal ten taels of silver for your father, but who’s to say you won’t take another ten taels from here another day?”
“The master gave us this silver for emergencies, not for us to commit theft. And is your father really sick?” Xiaoyuan choked up slightly, her eyes reddening with emotion, “I’m very disappointed in you. More disappointed than when your mother and sister joined forces to beat me, to rob and break my bracelet, more disappointed than by your silence. Those were family matters. In your foolish filial piety, I chose to marry you and I accept that. But Dong Sheng, we came to the master’s shop to manage his business, earning wages that many can’t in their lifetimes. We must be worthy of our own conscience in everything we do. Our actions must be clean, we can’t betray this rare trust and kindness shown to us!”
Tears fell uncontrollably.
Clinging to the chest, Xiaoyuan walked towards the door and after a few steps said, “You should go back and see if your father is really sick and what your mother needed the silver for.”
“Dong Sheng, once you go back, don’t bother coming to the county town again. You and I should get a separation!”
Upon hearing these words, Dong Sheng became emotional and stepped forward to embrace Xiaoyuan, “No, no, I won’t agree to a separation, absolutely not!”
“Xiaoyuan, wherever I have faltered, I will change, I will…”
Xiaoyuan shook her head. “Forget it, there’s no need!”
Her tears fell more fiercely. “Dong Sheng, you mentioned the silver I gave to my family, but why didn’t you think about the fact that my parents wanted to postpone the marriage, to keep me at home for a few more years? If so, each year’s earnings would have been theirs. In a few years, they would have accumulated enough. So why did they suddenly agree to let me marry you? Because I promised to pay off all their debts. If we’re being honest, my family’s debt was only about twenty or thirty taels of silver, which could have been repaid in a few months in town. In the end, my parents agreed because they love me and couldn’t bear to see me heartbroken. But no one expected that your mother, that shrew, would cause trouble the day after the wedding, eyeing the little money I had!”
“You only saw the bruises on your mother’s and sister’s faces but refused to see the wounds on my body that to this day have not fully healed. Do you know why I wouldn’t let you touch me these past few days? Because it hurts, my body hurts, and so does my heart!”
“You may not say it out loud, but in your heart, you wonder why I had to hit them so hard. They didn’t do anything to me, right? But Dong Sheng, my family may be poor, but my parents never insulted us from childhood onwards, not even a harsh word, just a grunt when scolding. Yet just after marrying into your family, your mother and sister beat me!”
Chapter 385