"Say it again, what’s wrong with that?" Yang Baifu shouted with his neck stiff, "Are you trying to hit me or what?"
"If you dare to sling mud, I dare to hit you," Baixiang’s face was flushed with anger, yet for the first time he stood up against his elder brother’s contempt in defiance. In the past, he would have bowed his head in silence.
"Getting cocky now..." Yang Baifu stood up, "Now you dare to backtalk your fourth brother, huh..."
"Heh," Baixiang also stood, his naturally tall figure bolstered by years of physical labor, giving him considerable strength. Though he was lame, he was still half a head taller than Yang Baifu, "When have you ever shown respect to your elders?"
"You..." Yang Baifu, enraged, raised his hand to strike.
Baixiang, not to be outdone, grabbed his brother’s arm and stared him down with furious eyes.
All of a sudden, Yang Baifu felt somewhat guilty; he knew he couldn’t really win in a fight against his brother.
"Shut up! Stop it!" Yang Peili suddenly slammed the table, "Look at this family, what has it come to?"
Everyone fell silent, but Yang Baifu still shot Baixiang a resentful glance before he finally lowered his arm and sat back down.
At this moment, Yang Rusong sat inside the room, listening to the quarrel outside, deeply regretting his return. Even if not staying at the academy, it would’ve been better to stay at his maternal grandfather’s. He didn’t understand—wasn’t the family fine before? Why had things changed so suddenly? Previously, on his return home, the entire family would revolve around him, happily talking and eating together—water at the ready when thirsty, food when hungry. But why had it changed?
As he thought this, he suddenly remembered what his cousin had said when he saw her in town—that all the work was being done by the main house, and everyone else just needed to enjoy eating and drinking. Was it really so?
For the first time, aside from his studies, Yang Rusong also began to reflect about life.
Of course, what the results of his reflections might be for now remained unknown.
The quarrels in the old house were eavesdropped on by Gu Yao who did not miss a single word, and then he relayed everything to Yang Ruxin before turning back. As for what to do next, that was the elder sister-in-law’s concern.
"What exactly happened?" Xun Hui had a subconscious feeling that something was hidden from her, so as soon as she saw Yang Ruxin come in, she quickly asked.
Because there were many people, the men went to sleep at the Gu Family’s house that night, while the women stayed at the Yang Family’s. By this time, the Feng Family had already taken Sini and Zhou Ying to sleep in the opposite room, leaving only Yang Ruxin and her mother.
"Do you really want to know?" Yang Ruxin slightly arched an eyebrow.
"Better not tell Mother," Erni said with some concern, "After all..."
"I am your mother. I’m awake now, and can’t always let your eldest sister carry the burden of this family, can I?" Xun Hui spoke without much confidence, but she knew she couldn’t retreat, "You must tell me if anything’s going on."
"I’m not carrying it; do you think you really can bear it?" Yang Ruxin laughed lightly.
"I..." Xun Hui was at a loss for words, feeling insecure. Yes, as a mother, she had indeed not taken good care of her children, but she quickly lifted her head again, "Ruxin, Mother knows she’s weak, but I will learn to become stronger."
"Since you say so, I’ll tell you now," Yang Ruxin recounted how Yang Baifu had drilled a hole in the wall and had been spying on her, "That hole in the wall is still there..."