Chapter 52.1: Proposal.

Liu Yu have some hope. But at this moment in Liujiacun, when the medicinal cloth stuffed in Liu Dalang’s mouth was removed, the effects of the medicine gradually faded. There was an insufficient amount of medicine to make him fall into a deep sleep, so he rolled over the bed in pain, clutching his groin. Meanwhile, Wu Shi and Liu Kangsheng were left only with hatred and despair.

It was only at this moment that they realized Liu Dalang didn’t just pass out from the medicine but… his egg was broken.

If his egg was broken, what meaning did he have as a man now?

Wu Shi’s world collapsed. She was still so young, and her life was supposed to be so long. Is she destined to be a widow from now on?

Liu Kangsheng’s beliefs shattered too. His eldest son, who gave birth to his first grandson, the only grandson, cannot carry on the family line?

In the quiet night, a sudden, earth-shattering cry burst open, accompanied by the miserable screams of Liu Dalang, making those in the yard who weren’t allowed into the east room by Liu Kangsheng shudder.

Wen Shi caressed her stomach, took a step back, and Liu Sanlang, worried, couldn’t help but walk to the east room and knock on the door, asking, “Dad, what happened to Big Brother?”

For him, the events of this night were too inexplicable. Suddenly, a group of people rushed into the house, some of them even constables. The whole family was kicked out of the house, and the yard was guarded by the newcomers. They couldn’t get close enough to overhear a word or two. The village head was called, and his stepmother’s face was so swollen it barely retained its original color. Liu Yu left with others, and his big brother, he didn’t know when he was carried down.

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Mbl sdzu pldvldnl vbyv nswze oyjl bkx wr oyp obyv Nkw Zw pyke vs bkp pkpvla-kd-zyo — “Uswzed’v qwzqkzz uswa okpb, ps zlv’p plvvzl qsa lktbvu vylzp sq pkzhla?”

Fs kv oyp vbl Pyzydt nswrzl plzzkdt Nkw Zw. Ebld eke vbl xykd bswpl nsxl wr okvb vbl kely sq plzzkdt Nkw Zw? Tso eke kv lde wr zkjl vbkp dso? Nkw Fydzydt oyp nsxrzlvlzu kd vbl eyaj.

Rdpkel vbl assx, zukdt sd vbl cle, Nkw Pyzydt vokpvle bkp cseu zkjl y nssjle pbakxr yde nakle swv zkjl y elxsd, “Pye, jkzz… Nkw Zw, usw byhl vs jkzz Nkw Zw! Ikzz bla…”

Tl pvyavle naukdt obkzl prlyjkdt.

Ew Fbk yzps oykzle sd vbl pkel, “Pye, alrsav vs vbl ywvbsakvklp, ol xwpv alrsav vs vbl ywvbsakvklp!”

Mbl nswrzl’p fskdv tbspvzu naklp yde bsozp olal eakhkdt Nkw Iydtpbldt kdpydl.

Nkw Zw, alrsav vs vbl ywvbsakvklp, alrsav vs vbl ywvbsakvklp.

Mbaswtbswv vbl dktbv, bl oyp pwrralpple cu vbl osae “sqqknkyz.” Tl zspv xsdlu, zspv vbl zyde kdblakvle qasx bkp ydnlpvsap, yde bkp lzelpv psd oyp vwadle kdvs y ekpyczle rlapsd. Nkw Iydtpbldt oyp kd rykd, vbl rykd vbyv nswzed’v cl lmralpple. Tl czle qasx bkp vbasyv, cwv vbl rykd nswzed’v qkde yd swvzlv clnywpl bl oyp yqayke sq vbl ywvbsakvklp, bl oyp srralpple cu vbyv pkdtzl osae.

Now that Wu Shi mentioned reporting to the authorities, all the anger that Liu Kangsheng had held in for the entire night finally erupted, “Report? Those not afraid of death, go report and put the whole family into prison!”

Wu Shi, who had never heard a harsh word from Liu Kangsheng since giving birth to a son, was shocked by Liu Kangsheng’s sudden outburst. Then, she became even more indignant, “Why? Why do we have to suffer such a big loss for nothing?”

This almost choked Liu Kangsheng on the spot.

As for Wang Shi’s troubles, it was temporarily put aside by the Liu family. If he let it out on his own side, wouldn’t that be sealing their fate? It would be sealed for a lifetime, sealed into the coffin. He would have to swallow such a big loss, and even more, he couldn’t tell his children why.

Unable to answer Wu Shi’s question, he suddenly found his previously affable daughter-in-law, who now seemed aggressive and repugnant. With a dark face, he asked with clenched teeth, “I haven’t asked, where’s your elder brother, Wu Jin? He didn’t go with Dalang. Dalang is in this state, but where is your elder brother?”

Implicitly, he seemed to be shifting the blame onto Wu Jin.

Wu Shi’s face suddenly became unpleasant, but the one who was truly hurt was her own man. Wu Shi felt the pain and turned to ask Liu Dalang, “Dad is asking about my brother. How is he? Where is he?”

Both were asking about Wu Jin’s whereabouts, but their focus was completely different.

Liu Dalang was in immense pain. His heart was full of fear and couldn’t comprehend anything. He couldn’t take it all in, just crying with tears and mucus streaming down, “Dad, you have to take me to get treatment, you must take me and make me better.”

This was the beloved child that Liu Kangsheng had cherished his entire life. But what could he use to get him treated? It was shattered, and who could fix it?

In an instant, Liu Kangsheng was filled with old tears.

Liu Sanlang’s knock on the door resounded again. Liu Dalang, in his miserable state, heard it clearly, tightly holding Liu Kangsheng’s hand, shaking his head incessantly. Despite the pain, Liu Dalang was unusually clear-headed at this moment. Such a disgraceful situation could not be known to others, not even to their brothers at home.

Liu Kangsheng knew better than him. This situation could only be endured, and if they poked it out, their family would never be able to live as human beings. Wherever they went, they would be pointed at. He turned to Wu Shi and said, “Listen, everyone. Today, Dalang only suffered minor injuries, and there is nothing else to worry about.” After a pause, he added, “After Liu Yu went to the town today, she never returned home. We couldn’t find her, and it’s likely she has been abducted and sold by someone.”

Despite Wei Shi’s (Aunt Liu) request for him to claim externally that Liu Yu was sold by them, Liu Kangsheng considered it carefully. He couldn’t bear to sever the future possibilities for his grandchild. He insisted that Liu Yu was abducted and sold while she was out on her own. As long as they didn’t provoke the other side, the other side wouldn’t know what they were saying to the outside world.

Abducted and sold? Liu Dalang, who had been unconscious all along, was confused. He believed that Liu Yu had indeed been sold. A twisted sense of satisfaction flashed across his face, but then he expressed resentment, “So our eighty taels are gone?”

The fleeting satisfaction vanished instantly.

There’s no more eighty taels.

However, at this moment, no one wanted to provoke Liu Dalang further, and no one had the mood to continue that topic.

Wu Shi knew that what her father-in-law said was false, but she couldn’t figure out what was true. Liu Kangsheng didn’t need them to figure it out; he just wanted to make clear how to handle the situation in the future.

“Don’t even think about seeking revenge or reporting to the authorities. I’m not afraid to tell you this privately. Our family is being held by something that could break the sky. Reporting to the authorities might be easy, but getting out of the county office won’t be. At that time, our whole family will be in trouble. From now on, don’t think about Liu Yu. Our family will no longer have her. If you see her, just stay away.”

This statement shocked both Wu Shi and Liu Dalang. The idea of the whole family being in trouble scared Wu Shi. Even though she didn’t know the details of the situation, she dared not mention reporting to the authorities.

“Take good care of Dalang.” With this remark, Liu Kangsheng left the east room.

As Liu Kangsheng left, he delivered similar words to Liu Sanlang, Wen Shi, and Liu Yan. Liu Yan had seen her father and elder brother, along with her sister-in-law’s family, tying up Liu Yu earlier. Seeing Liu Yu now, she thought she had been rescued by the constables. Now, how could it be said that she was abducted and sold? However, thinking about the reputation of selling a daughter, she figured it out. So, was Liu Yu really sold?

Who was the person who bought her? Were they the people who came tonight? How could the buyer be so audacious?

Liu Yan couldn’t figure it out, but the fear of this family, of Liu Kangsheng, Wu Shi, Liu Dalang, and Wang Shi, was deeply ingrained in her bones.

However, Wen Shi knew that the situation was not that simple. She didn’t let Liu Sanlang ask any more questions. She pulled him back into the room, calming the frightened little girl on this side. Meanwhile, they could hear the sounds of a quarrel coming from the main room between Liu Kangsheng and Wang Shi.

Indeed, they were fighting. Whenever Liu Kangsheng thought about his money, his land, and the bloodied crotch of his eldest son, and remembered the poisonous oath that Wang Shi had forced him to take at noon, he couldn’t help but think of beating her to death. He wouldn’t feel that his own greed led to today’s situation. Greedy ten years ago, and still greedy now, he only blamed everything on Wang Shi. It was Wang Shi who brought this disaster upon them.

Wang Shi, on the other hand, no longer had the fear of Liu Kangsheng that she used to. Like a mother beast, she wanted to fight for her life against Liu Kangsheng. Wei Shi already found her, Liu Kangsheng had nothing to use against her. Today, after experiencing such stimulation, all these troubles in Wang Shi’s eyes were caused by the greed of Liu Kangsheng and the Dalang couple. It caused her to be caught by Wei Shi and made her lose the heart of her eldest daughter completely.

Wang Shi seemed to see Liu Huaiyu again, standing in the void, looking at her with the same disgust as ten years ago.

She went mad.

In her own room, separated by the main room and the two tightly locked doors, Wen Shi could hear Wang Shi’s madness.

“Liu Kangsheng, come here. If you touch me today, we’ll break the net together. I’ll drag your entire Liu family to death with me!”

“I don’t care about a worthless life. It’s worth it to drag your descendants down with me!”

The sound from the main room abruptly stopped, but these two short sentences had Wen Shi’s heart pounding.

Liu Sanlang had always known that Wen Shi was smarter than himself. Now he looked at Wen Shi and whispered, “Tell me, what’s really going on here?”

Wen Shi glanced at him, “Haven’t you figured it out yet? Your good brother and sister-in-law wants to make a fortune by selling our eldest sister. Eighty taels, do you think that’s going to a good place? Dad and they planned to send us and the people in the second room away, favoring one side. This is enough with their biased intentions.”

What she didn’t say was the word “vicious.” After all, Liu Kangsheng was Liu Sanlang’s biological father and also her father-in-law. Some things could be thought but not spoken. If spoken, it would be disrespectful and unfilial.

After Wen Shi reminded him, Liu Sanlang finally understood. He thought about Wang Shi and Liu Yan, who were persuaded to go out with them, and suddenly shivered.

Unlike Liu Dalang, Liu Sanlang lost his mother shortly after birth and was mostly raised by Wang Shi. He was even breastfed by Wang Shi’s milk as a child.

Even though Wang Shi wasn’t particularly good to him, she wasn’t bad either. Now, thinking about his dad trying to secretly make a fortune for the main family, and also trying to deceive them all by sending them away, he felt a chill in his heart. Later, he reacted, “So your stomach ache earlier…”

Wen Shi admitted frankly, “Faked it. Eldest sister has treated me well. She has been diligent and hardworking every day. She taught me embroidery without holding back. I don’t have such a malicious heart. If I found out and turned a blind eye, I would feel guilty for the rest of my life. I thought that mom would always protect her, but I didn’t expect…”

I didn’t expect Wang Shi to be so heartless. She was willing to sell her own flesh and blood, and she could still be controlled.

This was Liu Sanlang’s thought. Wen Shi saw it, shook her head, and explained, “It’s not that simple. I think the group of people tonight came for mom. That woman seemed quite close to Eldest Sister, not like a buyer. Maybe there’s some connection.”

However, she didn’t know what kind of leverage the in-laws had in their hands. Even when being mistreated like this, they didn’t dare to make a sound. Thinking about Wang Shi’s words just now, a vague sense of unease crept into her heart.

Liu Sanlang didn’t notice this detail; he simply thought that Wang Shi, having been beaten severely, was just uttering harsh words as usual. What he focused on was the peculiar behavior of Liu Dalang. He asked Wen Shi, “What do you think is happening on Big Brother’s side? Just now, I heard Big Sister-in-law yelling about reporting to the authorities.”

Wen Shi scoffed. The person who sold someone else actually had the audacity to talk about reporting to the authorities. It seemed she was allowed to be ruthless, but others were not allowed to fight back. She shook her head and said, “Who knows what kind of retribution they’ll face. It’s none of our concern. Don’t bother about it.”

Liu Sanlang had been obedient to Wen Shi after marriage. He nodded in agreement and prepared to rest.

On the other hand, Wen Shi was lying in bed but couldn’t sleep. She carefully examined what kind of family she had married into for the first time. Enduring the hardships of pregnancy for who knows how long, with Liu Sanlang snoring thunderously beside her, Wen Shi finally made a decision. She got up, reached out, and gently woke Liu Sanlang, who was peacefully asleep.

Liu Sanlang, still half-asleep, rubbed his eyes and asked Wen Shi, “What’s wrong?”

Wen Shi placed her hand on her belly and whispered, “I’ve thought it over. If this child is a son, that’s good. But if it’s a daughter, I think we should find a way to separate the family.”

Liu Sanlang, completely awakened by her sudden statement, responded, “Separate the family?”

He propped himself up and looked at Wen Shi. “Don’t talk nonsense.”

Wen Shi shook her head, lowering her voice, “I’ve thought it through. Father is too biased towards the main branch, and they’re vicious. Just look at what happened to Big Sister today; if we have a son, it’s good. But if the second child is also a daughter, don’t you understand the fate of a girl in this family? If Liu Tianbao turns out to be unscrupulous, our daughter may not escape the fate of Big Sister. By then, she could fall into the same trap, or worse, be abducted. Who will you turn to if she goes missing? The flesh and blood I bear, won’t you feel sorry for it?”

Liu Sanlang’s heart sank a little, but in the end, he defended his father and brother, “It won’t happen. After all, they are close relatives.”

In other words, Liu Yu is not a biological child, which is why she was treated that way.

Wen Shi was unimpressed. “A person with a dark heart knows nothing about close relatives. Think about it yourself. In any case, if this child is a son, I won’t say anything. If it’s a daughter, I insist on splitting from the family.”

With that, she lay back down, leaving Liu Sanlang restless for the rest of the night.

Sansukini: There’s a second part.

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