Jinguan, that little imp, had bolted into the courtyard and barred the gate behind him.
Wang Yongan pushed at the gate but couldn’t open it; he reluctantly stepped down from the stoop and looked around, hoping to find someone to ask.
He couldn’t find anyone, but he did hear uproar in the courtyard, along with people’s shrill screams.
After a while, the gate opened, and Wang Yongfu, along with his brothers, their wives, and children, charged out looking furious.
Seeing Wang Yongan, their eyes turned red.
Acting as if nothing were amiss, Wang Yongan politely greeted Wang Yongfu, "Big brother, are you feeling better?"
As soon as Lady Lin saw Wang Yongan behaving this way, she became incensed. This shameless bastard nearly killed her man and yet had the audacity to return?
"Wang Laoer, you white-eyed wolf, you have the nerve to come back? And you have the gall to call him big brother?" Seeing the veins on Wang Yongfu’s neck bulging with anger, but he was still holding back from resorting to violence, Lady Lin couldn’t hold herself back any longer.
Wang Yongan’s face darkened: "What are you saying, sister-in-law? Big brother will always be my big brother, I—"
"Shut up! Laoer, why did you come back? To see if your big brother has died yet? Well, sorry to disappoint you, but your big brother is tough; he didn’t fulfill your wish and he’s still alive!" Wang Yongfu growled.
"Don’t call me big brother! I’m not the kind of heartless and cruel person who, just for the sake of advancement and silver, would disregard his parents, brothers, and sisters like you did!" Wang Yongfu glared at Wang Yongan, his eyes bloodshot.
Wang Yonggui joined in eagerly: "Exactly! You are the Wang Family’s traitor; even father and mother said so, that we should act as if we never had such a white-eyed wolf and beast of a son! Wang Laoer, oh Wang Laoer, you’re truly despicable, lower than a beast! How can you still have the face to stand before our Wang Family? How can you have the face to come back?"
Even with all his composure, Wang Yongan couldn’t tolerate being pointed at and called a white-eyed wolf and beast by Wang Yonggui.
Suddenly, his expression changed.
Just as he was about to speak, "smack—" a shoe struck his face, carrying with it the foul odor of feet, nearly making Wang Yongan vomit.
The shoe had hit him squarely on the nose, causing both pain and stench; tears and snot burst forth at once.
Then he heard a familiar voice: "You little beast, you dare to come back? Good, it’s good you’ve returned! Let’s see if I don’t break your legs, you ungrateful wretch—"
Old Granny Zhang appeared through the crowd, wielding a thin bamboo pole, and began to beat Wang Yongan senselessly.
Wang Yongan had just been smacked with a shoe and hadn’t recovered, when Old Granny Zhang’s onslaught began. In no time at all, he was reduced to dodging and leaping, unable to maintain any scholarly dignity or scholarly bearing.
Though he tried to dodge, his lack of experience in being beaten was as bad as a novice’s.
Old Granny Zhang, on the other hand, was experienced in administering beatings, truly a master of her craft.
In this uneven match, no matter how Wang Yongan tried to escape, he couldn’t avoid the relentless bamboo pole and was utterly overpowered.
Wang Yongan had never been beaten before in his life; from childhood, he was educated and held in high regard by his family, who would have gladly lifted him to the heavens.
Old Granny Zhang had disciplined his other brothers before, but she had never laid a finger on him.
With his teachers, he was gifted and diligent, only receiving praise and never once experiencing the sting of the paddle.
Now in his thirties and beaten for the first time, his delicate skin and flesh couldn’t withstand it.
Lady Qian and Jinchai inside the carriage were startled and shivered in fear.
They had seen Old Granny Zhang curse and beat people before, but it had always been others, not their own family, and they had treated it like a spectacle.
Now that it was their own man and father bearing the brunt, fear took hold of them anew.
Wang Yongan, being beaten until doubting his existence, and the Wang Family members standing by, not one of them stepping forward to pull Old Granny Zhang away, all stood aside and watched.
Wang Yonggui deliberately blocked Wang Yongan’s way just as he was trying to dodge.
Finally, a few children, thrilled by the scene, clapped their hands and cheered, even egging Old Granny Zhang on from the sidelines.
The atmosphere was extremely lively.
Wang Yongping, standing next to Wang Yongzhu, watched for a while and whispered, "Mother is hitting Second Brother like that... Is everything okay?" He just couldn’t bring himself to call out "Second Brother."
Wang Yongzhu nodded earnestly, "I think there’s going to be trouble—"
Then she shouted at Old Granny Zhang, "Mother, are you tired? If you need a break, I can take over the beating for you?"
Liu Xiaoqiao couldn’t help but snort with laughter at the side.
Old Granny Zhang had been cooped up at home hibernating through the winter. Now, the family was divided, she had even less to do with no husband to tend to and no children to manage, growing bored out of her mind every day.
Finally having a chance to stretch her muscles, she was far from willing to stop.
"Girl, don’t worry, Mother isn’t tired! I get energized just looking at this little brute. I can keep this up for another half-hour!" she proclaimed with vigor.
Wang Yongzhu was thus reassured.
Song Chongjin, seeing her smile, could tell she was in a good mood and couldn’t help but curl her lips into a slight grin, whispering into Wang Yongzhu’s ear, "You and Auntie have been whispering together these days. Could it be you’ve been anticipating this moment?"
Wang Yongzhu turned and smiled, "Of course! What did you think the thin bamboo stick in Mother’s hand was for?"
Liu Xiaoqiao finally realized when she heard this.
That’s why her mother-in-law’s first reaction wasn’t to put on her shoes but to grab the thin bamboo stick beside her when she went to bring the news.
So there had been preparation in advance?
Had the younger sister-in-law already known that Wang Yongan was coming back, insisting on splitting the family assets clearly before the New Year?
At the time, she had suspected something was up, as the sister-in-law seemed too eager.
Liu Xiaoqiao was wholeheartedly convinced and cast aside any lingering doubts.
Lady Qian and Jinchai, overhearing Wang Yongan’s pitiful screams from the carriage, couldn’t bear it any longer. Trembling, they got down and knelt to the side, begging, "Mother, Mother, please stop beating Official. Just take out your anger on me instead! Official is a Scholar. If his face gets damaged, how will he be able to show his face in public in the future—"
Upon hearing this, Old Granny Zhang looked over and couldn’t help but notice that after being beaten for so long, the little brute had covered every part of his body except his face.
A man, not a woman, what’s the point of protecting his face?
Then, hearing Lady Qian’s whining, she immediately grew incensed.
This little brute of a Second Son was good for nothing, and what was Lady Qian? Ever since she married into the Wang Family, Granny had not received a single day of service from her. She always acted fragile and superior, as if she were some delicate lady.
Was the daughter of some town grocer really fit to think of herself as a young miss?
After marrying, she had instigated Second Son to move to the town. Later, they even ran off to live in the city with her parents.
The family’s silver and food flowed like water into their household, supporting the whole lot of them.
Even upon their return, they were nothing but haughty and picky.
In the past, Granny had let it slide for the sake of that little brute, Second Son.
But now that she was whipping him, and Lady Qian was volunteering for a beating, what more was there to say?