Арriсоt Grоvе Lane wаs nоt in thе сhаotic uprоаr one might imаgine.
In the оutеr соurtуаrd, aside frоm the male servants on dutу аt the mаin gatе, еvеrуonе еlsе hаd vаnished withоut a tracе. Тhe mаids and matrons оn duty in the innеr courtуаrd аll huddlеd in thе соrners, while insidе thе study оf thе innеr cоurtyаrd, Сheng Xu аnd Мadаm Yuan stood fаcing eaсh оthеr. Onе wore an ехрressiоn оf iсу indiffеrеncе, thе othеr’s eуes gleаmed with а соld light, like dаrk сlоuds рressing down, crеating an intensely оppressivе atmosрherе.
Оutside thе courtyard, a breeze swept through, rustling the magnolia trees planted by the gate. Their petals, crystal-clear and translucent, swayed gently in the wind, filling the air with the vibrant essence of spring.
Madam Yuan threw the ruler in her hand with a sharp "crack," tears streaming down her face. "What sin have I committed to deserve this? I carried you for ten months, gave birth to you, and painstakingly raised you into adulthood. You worked your way through the exams, topping the lists as the top scholar and provincial champion, only to falter at the most critical step and bring home nothing but a Jinshi degree. Are you trying to kill me? But you’re my son—what can I do? Fine, I endured it. Instead of staying home to study properly and earn a Junior Scholar Candidate title, you tell me you won’t even participate in the selection? How can you face me? How can you face the Cheng family’s investment in you? How can you face your grandmother’s hopes for you? How can you face your father’s expectations? Even if I raised a cat or a dog, they’d at least come to my bedside and cry when I’m unwell. But you? All these years, what have you done besides opposing me and making me angry? If I’d known it would come to this, why did I bother seeking doctors and medicines? I might as well have strangled you at birth! At least then I wouldn’t be humiliated today, too ashamed to show my face outside!"
Cheng Xu said nothing. Slowly, he knelt before Madam Yuan and whispered, "Mother, I’ve let you down and brought shame upon you. Just pretend you never had a son like me. I’ve already visited Vice Minister Wang at the Ministry of Personnel, and he’s agreed to help me secure an appointment outside the capital once the Junior Scholar Candidate exams are over..."
"Shut your mouth!" Madam Yuan glanced around, picking up the ruler again. But still hoping to change his mind, she refrained from striking him as fiercely as before. "Are you trying to drive me to my grave?"
Cheng Xu seemed not to notice, lowering his eyelids and continuing as if to himself. "Mother, you’re still in good health, and Father is at the peak of his career. With Second Sister staying in the capital these years to accompany her husband in his studies, you and Father will have someone to look after you once I’m posted elsewhere. In a few years, when I’m older and you and Father have aged, I’ll bring you both to live with me. I’ll fulfill my filial duties to you..."
Madam Yuan leaped to her feet.
Neither harshness nor gentleness worked!
What on earth did he want?
"You unfilial son! If you don’t take the Junior Scholar Candidate exam, I’ll report you for disobedience!" Madam Yuan blurted out in a fit of rage, her words growing reckless.
A flicker of sorrow passed through Cheng Xu’s eyes as he whispered, "Mother, you’ve always been like this. Ever since I was little, whenever I didn’t obey you, you’d either threaten to tell Father and have him discipline me, or coax me by buying the brushes, ink, paper, or inkstones I wanted—even kites or board games. Have you ever once thought to listen properly to what I want to do? Or to talk to me sincerely, without threats or coaxing?"
Madam Yuan stared at Cheng Xu in stunned disbelief.Cheng Xu lowered his voice even further. "It was like this when you wanted me to study, like this when you wanted me to take first place in the county and provincial exams, and even when it came to marriage... it was still like this... You are my mother, how could a son not listen to his mother? Couldn't you just talk to me properly? Must you always resort to threats and violence?"
Madam Yuan stared at Cheng Xu in shock, as if seeing him for the first time, murmuring, "You're blaming me! You didn't achieve the top scholar title, and now you're blaming me..."
"Mother!" Cheng Xu sighed helplessly. "I'm not blaming you! Failing to become the top scholar was my own fault, what does it have to do with you? How could I blame you? I just don't want you to always use this or that as an excuse. In the end, it's just about wanting me to achieve the triple honors to bring you glory. That's fine too—a son bringing honor to his mother is a respectable thing..."
Madam Yuan wouldn't listen at all, shouting, "If you're not blaming me, why won't you take the Junior Scholar Candidate exam?" At this point, she grabbed Cheng Xu's hand, pleading meekly, "Jia Xi, just listen to your mother this once, alright? As long as you pass the Junior Scholar Candidate exam, I'll never interfere in your affairs again, alright? I promise..."
Cheng Xu closed his eyes in pain.
Agreeing this time would only lead to the next time.
She said the same thing every time.
In reality, as long as he failed to meet his mother's wishes, there was never any peace.
Only this time, his mother had resorted to physical force.
Was it because she knew words no longer had any effect on him?
Was it just as Fourth Uncle had said—after passing the imperial examination, there were many things one could do?
He no longer wanted to stay in the capital.
Seeing Zhou Shaojin's bright, happy smile from time to time.
So different from the cautious, wary, and guarded demeanor she had when she was with him.
It pierced his heart deeply.
Making him feel the very air of the capital was suffocating.
He wanted to leave this place, to never again think of those loves and hatreds.
To be a proper man, serve as a local official, and work for the welfare of the people.
Perhaps then he could slowly release all the pain in his heart.
And finally find peace.
"Mother!" Cheng Xu stopped her. "Don't say anymore. My mind is made up. I won't participate in the Junior Scholar Candidate selection; I'll take an official post outside the capital. Just listen to me this once..."
"Jiashan, Jiashan!" Madam Yuan begged Cheng Xu desperately. "You can't do this! Don't you know that if you don't pass the Junior Scholar Candidate exam, you can't enter the Hanlin Academy, you can't observe governance in the Six Ministries? No matter how capable or brilliant you are, you'll never become a Grand Secretary. Just like your Fourth Uncle—such a shrewd and capable man, yet in the end, he could only work in the Censorate, topping out as a Left or Right Chief Censor of the second rank. You mustn't make the same foolish mistake!"
But what's so bad about that?
Cheng Xu thought to himself.
To have a gentle and lovely wife, a clever and bright son—what in this world could be better than that?
Cheng Xu remained unmoved.
Seeing his indifferent expression, Madam Yuan flew into a rage. "What do you mean by this?"
Cheng Xu pleaded with her, "I've grown up. Please, don't interfere in my affairs anymore!""Are you saying you resent me for managing you?" Madam Yuan widened her eyes, her expression both sorrowful and shocked as she looked at her son. "But without me, would you have achieved what you have today? As soon as you could speak, I began teaching you to recognize characters. As soon as you could hold chopsticks, I taught you to write. When you took the prefectural exam, I waited outside the gate for you to emerge; when you took the provincial exam, I traveled all the way from the capital to bring you the latest essays. And how do you repay me? Because of some Zhou Shaojin, you give me cold looks, sulk, and distance yourself from me. And what was the result? Not only did you lose your chance at the Triple First honors, but now you even want to take an out-of-town posting? Have you lost your mind? No—are you still thinking about that Zhou Shaojin…"
"Mother! Have you not caused enough trouble?" Cheng Xu’s face flushed with restrained anger. "If you have something to say to me, say it. Why bring others into this? Everyone should just live their own lives peacefully. What’s the point of talking like this? Do you think this family isn’t chaotic enough already?"
His words enraged Madam Yuan.
"Fine! I knew it—you still have her in your heart!" The anger she had suppressed ever since Zhou Shaojin married Cheng Chi erupted like a volcano. She said bitterly, "No wonder you wouldn’t listen to me! No wonder you resent me! It’s all for her! Since we’ve come this far today, I’ll be honest with you. From start to finish, I never intended for Zhou Shaojin to become my daughter-in-law. Back then, I only agreed to help you marry her if you focused on the provincial exam to placate you and ensure you studied properly. That girl, who brings misfortune to her parents—don’t even think about her becoming my daughter-in-law…"
Cheng Xu thought of his childhood, when he had fallen and his mother had gently held him in her arms to comfort him; of his mother smiling as she sat beside him while he practiced calligraphy; of waking in the middle of the night to find her correcting his homework by lamplight… He clutched his chest in agony.
Back then, he hadn’t been without doubts, hadn’t considered confronting his mother. But as his grandmother had said, the matter was already settled. If he continued to make a fuss, it would only turn the Cheng and Min families against each other and make things difficult for Zhou Shaojin. Besides, if he were to examine it seriously, it was all his fault. If he hadn’t been so arrogant, if he hadn’t lacked courage, how could he and Zhou Shaojin have become so irreconcilable?
Yet he hadn’t expected that hearing his mother speak this way would still feel like being stabbed with a knife.
"Mother, stop!" Cheng Xu said, his face pale. "Do you want to ruin the Cheng family’s reputation? Do you want to drive me to my death? Do you want the censors to impeach Father? Do you think it would please you to have this gossip spread all over the streets?"
Madam Yuan hesitated, her words caught in her throat.
Meanwhile, Min Jia, looking terrified, turned and hurriedly pulled her wet nurse out of the main courtyard. She stopped under the pomegranate tree behind the house, her legs giving way as she sank onto the stone bench beneath it.
So… Madam Yuan had deceived Cheng Xu, promising to help him marry Zhou Shaojin if he passed the provincial exam, while secretly sending someone to the Min family in Fujian to propose marriage!
Her face flushed crimson, unsure whether she felt more shame or fury.
How could she be so shameless!
She had not only harmed Min Jia but also Zhou Shaojin and Cheng Xu!If it weren't for the fact that none of Madam Yuan's attendants dared approach her, and they had asked Min Jia to see if she could help mediate and offer a few words of persuasion, she might never have known what had happened in her entire life!
How could she have ended up with such a mother-in-law?
Min Jia was flustered and unsettled, taking quite a while to calm down. Once she regained her composure, she earnestly and repeatedly instructed her wet nurse: "You must not breathe a single word of this matter. Otherwise, the Cheng family will be ruined, the eldest master will be finished, and we'll all be dragged down with them!"
A nephew and his aunt having... an ambiguous relationship... no family could bear the weight of such a scandal!
Her wet nurse was also visibly shaken, hastily swearing: "If I let out even a whisper of this, may I be struck by lightning, and may my entire family meet a terrible end!"
Only then did Min Jia feel somewhat reassured.
Suddenly, she felt a wave of sympathy for Cheng Xu.
With a mother like that, even the brightest future would be utterly ruined!
At first, she had been annoyed at Cheng Xu for being so immature, which was why she had genuinely intended to mediate when the maids and servants came to invite her. But now, it seemed that being sent away from the capital was perhaps for the best—better than being dragged down and destroyed by her unreliable mother-in-law.
※
Dear readers, here is today's update.
O(∩_∩)O~
※ (To be continued ~^~)
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