"What?" Li Rusong was taken aback. "When did I ever say such a thing?"
He simply couldn't understand his mother's train of thought.
But his mother ignored him. She rolled up her sleeves, spread her arms, and lunged at him.
"You unfilial son! Heartless fool! I raised you with so much hardship, and now that you've grown up, you don't care about your own mother's well - being! I'll beat you to death, you good - for - nothing bastard..."
Li Rusong couldn't dodge in time. After a few moments, his face was bruised.
On both sides of his face, there were three bloodstains about half a finger long, very symmetrical.
"Blood... Blood!"
Li Rusong looked at the blood on his palm in disbelief and let out a scream. "Mother, what are you doing? Trying to kill me?"
"Kill you?" His mother's hair was in disarray, and she showed a ferocious smile. "I'll beat you to death, you useless and unfilial son!"
Li Wanming watched the chaos in front of her and helplessly shook her head. She said to Wanxin and Liu Yiyi, "Let's go. Let's go to the Snow - listening Pavilion. It'll probably take them a while here."
As she walked out, she remembered what a guest had said just now: I said we should come to the Li family, right? There's always a big show at the Li family...
Li Wanming thought silently: You're wrong! The real show hadn't even started when you left just now.
Perhaps having seen too much and become numb, even the usually gentle Wanxin didn't step forward to persuade when she saw her grandmother and father in such a state. She just told Qiuying to take a few maids and women to watch over them to prevent anything really bad from happening.
"In the two days since you got married, father and mother have been at home, and grandmother has been making a fuss every day. There's always the sound of smashing bowls and dishes in the house. I'm used to it..." Wanxin explained as she followed them out.
Li Wanming said, "No wonder. Father said mother has been ignoring him these two days, and he was quite puzzled..."
Wanxin said indifferently, "Father may still think he's done a good job all along."
"This won't do!" Liu Yiyi suddenly stopped in her tracks.
"What won't do...?" Li Wanming was taken aback. Just as she was about to ask, she saw Liu Yiyi lift her skirt and rush back like a gust of wind.
"Uncle Li, do you know why Aunt Li has been ignoring you?"
In the chaotic main room, Liu Yiyi's voice flew in like a swift breaking through the dark clouds. It was clear and cold, falling into Li Rusong's ears like a heavenly sound.
"You... What did you say?"
Li Rusong had just grabbed his mother's wrist with one big hand to restrain his struggling mother. Hearing her voice, he couldn't help but turn his head and look over, but with a blank look on his face.
"Because of disappointment," Liu Yiyi stood in the courtyard and said clearly. "Because she's accumulated enough disappointment and has become completely disheartened."
"Uncle Li, you may think you've done a good job. You don't take concubines, you're not stingy, you don't scold your wife for your mother's sake, and you love your three daughters very much. I always thought so too, but..."
She paused, clenched her fingers in her sleeve, and let out a breath. "But, after my parents' fight, I finally understand that for Aunt Li, who followed you all the way from Fujian to here, all she wants is a husband who truly puts her in his heart! However, you've never really stood by Aunt Li's side."
"Over the years, you're not unaware of how Grandma Li has treated Aunt Li and Wanming. But you've never said a single word like: Mother, you're wrong. Stop bullying my wife and daughters!"
"You always smile and act like a nice guy, trying to smooth things over, never caring about right or wrong."
"Grandma Li married Sister Wanxin and Sister Wanmo into high - ranking families, making them suffer every day. You accepted it; she forced Aunt Li to live in the military camp all year round, making her unable to return home. You accepted it again; she indulged Madam He and Sun Miaoqing to cheat the Li family's money and bully Wanming. You still accepted it!"
"Have you ever thought about what kind of life your wife and daughters have been living at home? It's clearly their own home, but they're like outsiders. They clearly have parents, but they have to rely on themselves for everything, just like orphan girls!"
"All of this is because you can't tell right from wrong, you don't reward or punish fairly, and you just keep pretending to be stupid! Aunt Li wanted to divorce you before. Haven't you woken up yet?"
"Because of Wanming's marriage, she was afraid that Wanming would be laughed at by the noble ladies in the capital, so she gritted her teeth and didn't divorce. But if you keep being so stupid, you'll really lose her!"
Liu Yiyi's words were like a sharp dagger, brutally tearing open Li Rusong's self - deception of twenty years.
He stood there in a daze, as if his soul had been taken away. Even the spring breeze in the hallway carried a bone - chilling coldness.
So... He had never really stood by Jinqiu's side?
So... His precious daughters had been living like orphan girls?
So... Jinqiu suddenly stopped mentioning divorce all for Wanming's marriage?
...
This series of "so" was like thunderclaps exploding in his mind, making his eardrums buzz. He subconsciously wiped his face and felt a cold sweat. Even his fingertips were trembling slightly.
"A harmonious family leads to prosperity" and "There are no unrighteous parents under the sky" - the words of the sages that he had regarded as the highest principles were now like a resounding slap in the face.
He looked up at Li Wanming for help, but all he saw in his youngest daughter's eyes was full of guard and alienation...
Li Rusong's heart sank into an ice cellar all of a sudden.
Bitterness and desolation filled his chest, almost drowning him.
He didn't understand how things could suddenly turn out like this.
Where on earth had he gone wrong?
Hadn't he done enough over the years?
Jinqiu didn't want to live with his mother, so he accompanied her in the military camp; Wanming didn't want to marry into a high - ranking family, so he cooperated with her to choose a husband from among the newly - passed scholars; Wanxin wanted a divorce and Wanmo wanted to run away from home, and he had agreed to both, braving countless gossips... What else did they want from him?!
Yes, his mother was a bit overbearing and a bit mean, and she wasn't nice to Jinqiu and the three children...
But what could he do?
She was his own mother!!
Did he really have to confront his mother with the words "Mother, you're wrong" to be a good husband and a good father?
Shocked, Li Rusong's grip on his mother's arm loosened involuntarily. His mother struggled free and rushed in front of Liu Yiyi, scolding with an open mouth, "Where did you come from, you cheap girl? How dare you interfere in our Li family's business!"
Saying that, she raised her hand. The gold - threaded cuff drew a sharp arc in the air. It seemed about to land on Liu Yiyi's face -
A slender but strong hand intercepted the slap in mid - air.
"Grandma," Li Wanming's voice was as cold as ice in December. "You don't need to worry about disciplining other people's daughters."