Feeling that he had not hit anyone, Old Man Chen grew even more furious, bracing himself against the small table as he tried to stand up and continue the beating, "You dare to dodge! Getting cocky, aren’t we!"
Chen Shimei did not want to make the situation too embarrassing and chided impatiently, "Enough, don’t hit anymore! Aren’t you ashamed of yourself?"
It was the first time Old Man Chen had been scolded by his son and he could not save face, but remembering that he would have to rely on his son and Wang Qiaoxin for a comfortable life in the future, Old Man Chen, although unhappy, still did not retort. As he begrudgingly put down his walking stick, he couldn’t help but wave it at Aunt Chen in one last act of defiance.
Wang Qiaoxin watched with cold detachment, finding her weak future mother-in-law and short-tempered future father-in-law rather despicable. She was thankful that she had heeded her mother’s advice to prepare another set of rooms for them elsewhere. Otherwise, if they had to live together, she would have felt utterly suffocated.
Wang Qiaoxin’s hand injury was really not serious, and after a while, it was as if nothing had happened. Calming down, she took a careful look around the courtyard. The dilapidated three-room house had collapsed halfway, the windows and doors were rotten beyond recognition, and the yard clearly hadn’t been cleaned for a long time. Weeds grew sparsely, and in some corners, they had reached a significant height. She worried that a snake might suddenly slither out from them.
"Why is the house , cough cough, why has it collapsed?" Wang Qiaoxin bit her tongue over the word "dilapidated" as it reached her lips, not wanting to embarrass Chen Shimei, and changed it to "collapsed."
Aunt Chen had just been beaten and didn’t dare speak up, shrinking on the stool seated three feet away from the table.
Old Man Chen, hearing her question, immediately answered eagerly, "Oh, didn’t we have a heavy rain recently? I didn’t expect it to flood our house and ruin it that night. It scared the life out of me, I was afraid I would never live to see my son become a scholarly champion and a high official."
Old Man Chen rambled on and on until Wang Qiaoxin grew annoyed and did not respond. However, Lv Liu sitting beside her muttered scornfully, "A rain can collapse a house, but how come the neighbors’ is fine?"
Lv Liu had grown up serving Wang Qiaoxin, almost like her own younger sister, always speaking her mind. But when her words reached Chen Shimei’s ears, they took on a different meaning.
Seeing his own house half-collapsed and then looking at the new house of Lin Yuan’s house with its red bricks and green tiles, Chen Shimei felt discontent. When he had left, Lin Yuan had promised time and time again to take care of his parents. Yet, look at them now, enjoying their nice house and sumptuous meals while his own parents suffered in this crumbling house, hungry and struggling. Was this Lin Yuan’s promise?
The more Chen Shimei thought about it, the more unhappy he became, and his complexion grew sullen.
Wang Qiaoxin did not want to look at Old Chen and his wife or at the dilapidated house. Her eyes constantly focused on Chen Shimei, capturing every little change in his expression.
"Shimei, what’s wrong with you? Did I say something out of line?" Wang Qiaoxin’s delicate hand touched his, speaking softly, "Don’t be , I’m not looking down on your family..."
Chen Shimei dared not get angry with Wang Qiaoxin, but he knew her temperament all too well. Without a reason, he feared she might overthink things and pester him for days on end.
"I’m not mad at you, I’m mad at Lin Yuan."
Chen Shimei opened his mouth and instinctively shifted the blame onto Lin Yuan, perhaps a habitual act, as he showed no signs of guilt whatsoever.
"Yeah, Qiaoxin, you don’t know, but when I left for Yecheng to take the exam, I asked Lin Yuan to take care of my parents. Oh Qiaoxin, don’t take it to heart, I didn’t just ask her for a favor—I gave her two taels of silver. Since we’re neighbors, I thought she was honest. Who would have known, you can’t judge a book by its cover, Lin Yuan took the silver and didn’t do anything, seeing my parents in such a state and not lifting a finger, living her life in comfort and ease."