WSMTATMC C117

Chapter 117

 

TW- i dont want to spoil it so please bear with this- WTF this was my reaction

 

Speaking of this, within the family besides Elder Brother Lin Qiu and Mother Chen Rong, the one closest to Lin Sui was none other than Chen Qingyun.

They were of similar age—Lin Sui was only four months older—and the two had lived together for quite some time. Between them were many private little secrets.

Seeing her childhood friend lying weak and lifeless upon the bed, Chen Qingyun was filled with both anger and grief—angry that Lin Sui had been so rash to marry in haste, and hateful of that man who did not cherish him in the least.

“Sui‑er…”

Hearing the voice, Lin Sui opened his eyes. “Qingyun, you have returned.”

“Lie down.” Chen Qingyun sat at his bedside, gripping his hand as tears streamed down uncontrollably.

“Do not cry. I am fine.”

“How could you be so foolish? I heard it was that Huang fellow who kicked you into miscarriage?”

Lin Sui buried his head into his folded arm and gave a muffled hum of acknowledgement.

At the sight of him like this, Chen Qingyun’s heart ached terribly. She clasped his hand tightly. “Do not worry. The whole family has come back—we will certainly seek justice for you!”

Holding her hand, Lin Sui broke down into sobs. “Am I not utterly useless? Even after marrying, I’ve made everyone worry for me.”

“Don’t say that. We are still young. Matters that require confrontation should be handled by our elders. What’s more, it was not you who were wrong, but the Huang family! They must pay the price.”

The two talked for a long while. With Qingyun at his side to soothe him, Lin Sui’s spirits indeed improved somewhat, and at dinner he managed to eat half a bowl more than before.

A mother and child’s hearts are connected—seeing her son’s state improve, Chen Rong herself felt lighter and stronger in spirit.

By dusk, Cao Kun returned. One look at all the carriages parked in the courtyard, and he knew that Uncle’s entire family had arrived. Excited, he rushed into the house.

At the doorway he encountered Chen Qingyan and Chen Qinghuai.

“Cousin Qingyan, Brother Huai—you’re here!”

“Mm, we arrived this morning.”

“Why didn’t you send someone to fetch me?”

“There was nothing urgent. We didn’t want to take your time from work.”

Cao Kun first washed up, then entered the room to check on Chen Rong. He also greeted Madam Li and Fang Ling.

Everyone had a very good impression of Cao Kun. This nephew‑in‑law was both capable in his trade and attentive in caring for Lin Qiu and Chen Rong. All regarded him with much respect.

“Mother, are you any better today?”

Chen Rong nodded. “Much better, do not worry for me.”

“You must recover well to help us decide our course. This matter can never simply be left alone. The Huangs dared act on the first day of the lunar month; they cannot complain when we act on the fifteenth.”¹

“Kuner, you must not do anything foolish.” What Chen Rong feared most was this matter implicating Cao Kun. Should anything befall him, what would become of her son in the future?

“Do not worry, I know my measure.”

Madam Li and Fang Ling also soothed her. “He is not one to lose his head. He will act with sense. Besides, with us all here, we naturally will not let him throw himself in danger.”

Thus Chen Rong set her heart at ease.

When Lin Qiu finished brewing the medicine, both Chen Rong and Lin Sui, weary in spirit, drank their decoctions and a half bowl of rice porridge, then went to rest.

Cao Kun then took the others out to a restaurant in town for supper.

It was the same restaurant Wang Ying recalled—they had come here with Qingyan when they celebrated Xiao Mai’s full‑moon banquet last year.

Upon entering, they saw the shopkeeper had changed, but the interior remained as it had been.

On the second floor, they sat together. Yet there was little joy of reunion upon their faces—everyone’s hearts weighed heavy with Lin Sui’s plight.

Chen Qingyan was the first to speak. “Has that Huang Yong not yet returned?”

“No. I sent one of my workers to keep watch near his house. He won’t be able to return unnoticed.”

“That beast!” Wang Ying could not stop himself from cursing. The more he thought, the hotter his fury burned. What hatred could drive one to beat a person so?

Madam Li asked, “If he returns, what do you plan to do?”

Cao Kun said, “First beat him soundly, then force a divorce.”²

Chen Qingyun added, “Beating him alone is too cheap! His wretched mother must also take a thrashing!” After speaking with Lin Sui today, she learned the truth—that ever since his marriage into the Huang household, he had never known a full night’s sleep.

Each day he rose before the roosters, and rested later than the dogs. All the housework fell upon him alone, yet still his mother‑in‑law was dissatisfied, finding fault in every matter and slandering him to her son.

And that son was a brute. Hearing his mother’s words, he vented his temper on Lin Sui—at first only scolding, but later laying on blows until Lin Sui’s face was often black and blue.

Wang Ying said, “A beating alone won’t do. Too light, and it will not sate our anger; too heavy, and if something truly happens, we’ll be dragged into a lawsuit.”

Madam Li asked, “Then what does A‑Ying think should be done?”

“We must devise a way—not only to give Huang Yong a bitter lesson but also to shame the entire Huang family so they can never hold their heads high again in this county.” – Bbg is a slytherin

After supper, Cao Kun led them to an inn nearby. The Cao home could not accommodate so many, and besides Chen Rong and Lin Sui needed quiet for their recovery, so it was better to all reside at the inn.

Wang Ying also intended to find a short‑term residence in the county. The examination was soon upon them, and proper rest was crucial. One could also spend the days revising intensively—as the saying went, “Sharpen the spear at the last moment, and though not sharp, it still glints.”

Lying on the bed that night, Chen Qingyan asked, “Just now, did you have thoughts?”

“I do,” Wang Ying answered. “But it’s not something we alone can do.” With that, he pulled his husband close.

“A beating is certain, but remember—that was a human life, snuffed before it ever saw the world. Though the child perished before birth, it was still a life…”

Wang Ying planned not only to confront Huang Yong physically but also to frighten him so thoroughly that he would never again dare raise his hand.

If one has done no evil, there is no fear of ghosts knocking at the door. Scaring a man—this was something Wang Ying had done before. Last time, a scholar he frightened ended up driven clear mad. Thus, this method could surely terrify Huang Yong too.

“Moreover, I suspect there must be more to this. There is no love without reason, and no hatred without cause. For him to treat Lin Sui so cruelly after only a few months of marriage, there must be other secrets hidden. Perhaps we could even unearth some scandal.”

Chen Qingyan nodded repeatedly. “You are right. It will depend on whether we can catch him in the coming days!”

Unexpectedly, Wang Ying’s wild guess was soon proven accurate.

In Majiacun, a village on the outskirts, there stood an old house at the head of the hamlet. Huang Yong’s family had already been hiding there for seven days.

This house had belonged to Huang Yong’s maternal grandfather. After his death, it lay empty, unused. In view of recent events, his mother had led the family there to stay low for a while.

“Mother, when can we go back?” Before dawn, Huang Yong crawled from Madam Ma’s bedding.

“Why, in such a hurry?” Madam Ma combed her hair, leaning lazily against the pillow.

“It’s stifling here. I must constantly be on edge. These mud walls do not block sound—I fear my elder brother and the others will discover…”

“What’s there to fear? You are my son. For a son to serve his mother—is that not natural law?”

She reached a hand toward him. Huang Yong grumbled in embarrassment, but soon crawled back under her quilt. Not long after came breathes and moans unbearably filthy to hear.

Truth be told, this illicitness between mother and son had not been a short affair. Huang Yong was now eighteen. From as early as thirteen, he had already been entangled in dark relations with his mother.

Back then, his father still lived, so they restrained themselves to only furtive petting. But once his father fell ill and passed away years ago, mother and son broke the last taboo—before the mourning period had even ended, they were lying upon the same bed.

She, a half‑aged widow, starved of desire; he, in the first flush of lust, entranced by pleasure. One thing led to another, and soon they lost all sense of heaven or earth.

Both knew such an affair was contrary to morality and humanity. Thus they remained ever cautious, fearful of discovery—after all, Huang Yong was supposed to be preparing for the imperial examinations. Exposure would ruin him utterly.

Yet with time, walls sprout cracks. Madam Ma suspected their eldest daughter‑in‑law had noticed something by her glances. To cover it, she arranged for Huang Yong’s marriage earlier, so that bringing home a spouse might divert suspicion.

As it happened, Lin Sui had been infatuated from the very first meeting—love at first sight. For this, Madam Ma had once even quarreled with her son. Huang Yong had soothed her only with great difficulty, which made her dislike Lin Sui from the start.

The wedding had merely been to satisfy his mother’s plan. He had no real intention of sharing a life with Lin Sui.

But men—how could they restrain their lower urges? After marriage, he did sleep with Lin Sui once.

This proved disastrous. Madam Ma grew jealous to madness. On the surface she faulted and belittled Lin Sui; in private she wept, threatened suicide, manipulated until Huang Yong swore never again to share a bed with Lin Sui.

Huang Yong obeyed his mother’s words. With her repeated instigations, his regard for Lin Sui withered into nothing. At first it was only scolding, but as Madam Ma’s resentment brewed, she urged him to deliver beatings.

Beaten once and seeing no resistance, he beat him a second time, a third—until this last time, when the kicks caused miscarriage.

After another bout, the bed steadied. Madam Ma, cheeks glowing with afterglow, climbed off to wash. Soon dressed decently again, she stood beside her son in intimate domesticity—more like husband and wife than mother and child, enough to disgust to the core.

“Do not fret. Wait a few more days. Right now Lin Sui’s elder brother surely cannot swallow this grievance. His husband is master of the transport guild, commanding many men. If they truly seek vengeance and beat you, I cannot bear to lose you.”

Huang Yong squeezed his mother’s waist. “Mother cares for me best…”

“Hmph. If you truly cherished me, you would not have touched that slut. Were it not for your kicks forcing his miscarriage, I wouldn’t even have known he carried a child.”

“I only lay with him once after the wedding.”

“Once is enough to conceive?”

“Who knows? That child may not even have been mine. The way Cao Kun shields him—perhaps the two have something improper.”

At this, Madam Ma’s eyes gleamed. “That is indeed a reasonable suspicion. Perhaps their relation is truly unclean! If so, we should return to the county. Should Lin Qiu come to question, we will strip his family of all face!”

At the thought of returning, Huang Yong was overjoyed. He lifted his mother in his arms. “Excellent. Once back, I’ll write a repudiation. From then on, I only need you by my side!”³

The next day, the Huang family loaded their carriage and streamed back to the county seat.

Madam Ma’s scheme was simple: if the Lin family kept quiet, they would pretend nothing had happened. At most, they’d apologize lightly to Lin Qiu, then have Lin Sui nurse his body and continue the life.

If the Lin family pursued matters, they would accuse Lin Sui of carrying another man’s child. Then not only would they repudiate him, but also drag the rest of his family’s reputation into mud.

Alas, they had miscalculated. Were it only Lin Qiu and Chen Rong, they might indeed have been trapped. But with the Chen clan arriving in strength, how could such bullying be tolerated?

Barely had Huang Yong set foot home, not even warmed his seat, when during a quick trip to the latrine he was suddenly seized and spirited away.

The Huang household did not realize until noon, when mealtime came and he was nowhere to be found. Searching fruitlessly, Madam Ma turned pale with fright. She hurriedly dragged her elder son to the yamen to report to the magistrate.

Footnotes:

1. “Dare act on the first day, then don’t blame us on the fifteenth” (敢做初一，别怪做十五) – A Chinese idiom meaning “if you do wrong, expect retaliation; if you start something, others will finish it.” 
2. He‑li (和离) – “Peaceful divorce” in classical Chinese, usually initiated by the wife/Ge‑er or mutually agreed, distinct from “xiu (休)” which meant repudiation by the husband. For a ge‑er, divorce was rare and societally stigmatized. 
3. Xiu‑shu (休书/休) – A letter of repudiation whereby a husband dismissed his wife (or ge‑er spouse). Often humiliating for the dismissed party, leaving them with stigma in traditional society.