Chapter 197 Wrong Words

Xie Boyu held Xie Chengzhi down, wanting to force him to kneel before Xie San Niang in front of the mourning hall.

Xie Chengzhi struggled violently, knocking over the offering bowls in the mourning hall.

This loud noise completely enraged Xie Boyu, and even Xie Jingyuan had to come out and pull Xie Chengzhi back.

The two brothers worked together, but Xie Chengzhi was furious.

"You unfilial son, kneel down and apologize to your mother."

Xie Boyu pressed down on Xie Chengzhi's neck, and Xie Chengzhi cursed, "What did I do wrong? Mother has always been biased, and your eldest son's family has everything."

“I’ll give you the farming and weaving chart, I’ll give you the family business, I’ll leave you the family’s weaving and dyeing garden and the master craftsmen’s skills. What do my husband and I have left?”

"You think you can just settle things with two acres of meager land and give us a little money each month so that our second branch won't starve? Yet you expect me to work hard for the first branch generation after generation. What makes you think you can do that?"

"You all live a life of luxury while we, the second branch of the family, are left to starve? Where in the world is this logic?"

Xie Chengzhi was kicked in the back of the knee by Xie Boyu. Zheng Shu tried to help, but was kicked away by Xie Boyu.

"Are you speaking human language?"

Xie Boyu said, "That day you clearly saw Mother repeatedly tell you before she left that the family should not be divided. What is left in the family now?"

"Only a few dye vats remain in the textile and dyeing workshop. Most of the warehouse and machine room have been burned down. If we divide it up now, the Xie family will never be able to recover in this lifetime. Are you so jealous of the Xie family's success? Are you only happy when everyone's families are torn apart?"

"right!"

With bloodshot eyes, Xie Chengzhi shouted, "I just can't stand to see the Xie family doing well!"

He struggled to his feet, causing Xie Boyu to stumble.

In the mourning hall, Xie Chengzhi's pent-up grievances, which he had suppressed for many years, finally erupted.

He walked up to Xie San Niang's coffin and slammed his palm on it.

“Mother! You left us, leaving behind a mess of things at home. You said you wouldn’t let us divide the family property, but you didn’t leave my second branch even the slightest place to stand.”

"The eldest son inherited the family business, but you favor your youngest son. Over the years, you've been sending all sorts of fine incense and perfumes to Jingyuan's house. You..."

Xie Chengzhi wiped his nose and tears: "Have you ever thought about the fact that you have a second son?"

"Have I not been filial enough all these years? Have I not been good enough to you? Have I not lived a miserable life all these years?"

He pounded the coffin loudly, saying, "Say something fair, old man, and let your son hear it!"

Over the years, he stole money and goods from his family; wasn't he forced to do all of that?

If she cared about him at all, he wouldn't be so frustrated.

She wanted the second wife to serve the first wife for life, yet she didn't leave her a single grain of rice. What was she thinking?

Xie Chengzhi's tears fell onto the black coffin, running down the smooth edge and landing on the ground.

“I am the second wife, and I gave birth to a grandson and a granddaughter for the Xie family, but I only receive a small allowance each month. I wanted to hire a private tutor for Yingshou, but you said Yingshou is too young. I wanted to secure my own future, but you said I was full of crooked thoughts and that the higher I climb, the faster I will die.”

"Yes, the Xie family has not shortchanged my second branch in terms of food, clothing, and daily necessities, but my second branch only has food and clothing to live on!"

Xie Chengzhi lay prone on the coffin, pouring out all the grievances he had accumulated over the years.

"They are both sons of the Xie family, but the eldest son was born destined to have everything, while the third brother was your son born late in life, and you doted on him like the apple of your eye."

"You invited him to the best academy and the best private tutor in Suzhou Prefecture, round after round."

"You said that your third brother could pursue a career in government in the future, and you poured a lot of money into him, just to pave a smooth road for him. When have you ever been stingy with a penny?"

"Only me! Only me, this mediocre second son, you look down on and can't even see me!"

Was it his insistence on separating the family?

The old lady's actions were too disheartening for him!

Upon hearing this, Zheng Shu also burst into tears.

It's not that the second wife is just being unreasonable; it's that if they weren't like this, if they were both soft-hearted, they would have been driven to their deaths in the Xie family long ago.

Xie Jingyuan listened quietly to Xie Chengzhi's sobbing, his eyelids half-closed, remaining motionless.

Over the years, he has never participated in any of the affairs of the first and second wives because he has no standing.

He couldn't say the old lady was biased, nor could he accuse his second brother of acting absurdly.

This was the first time Xie Boyu had seen Xie Chengzhi like this, and he couldn't bear it, so his tone softened.

“Second brother, your words are biased. The rule of not dividing the family is not aimed at your second branch. It is because if the family is scattered generation after generation, the ancestral family business will be broken into pieces and will inevitably collapse within three generations.”

Xie Boyu pointed at Xie Jingyuan and said earnestly, "You're jealous of your third brother, but how old is he?"

"Back then, my mother's pregnancy was not good, and she also went through... my father's affairs, so the third child was born looking almost like a rat."

"It's only natural for a mother to feel sorry for him, having gone to great lengths to raise him to be so healthy."

"Didn't our third son grow up in your arms when he was little?"

Which of their families hasn't taken Xie Jingyuan under their wing?

Xie Jingyuan was only two years older than Xie Xuchuan, and in their eyes he was still a child, let alone his mother.

"You say your mother didn't give you a chance, didn't let you take over the family business, but ask yourself honestly, did your mother really never give you a chance?"

In this family, the only one who never gave Xie Qi a chance was...

Xie Boyu was heartbroken: "Didn't Mother ever let you manage the family accounts? Didn't she ever let you take stock of the shop's storeroom? And what did you do?"

"You stole Mother's private seal to embezzle funds from the accounts, and then emptied the warehouse under the pretext of losses. You lied to Mother, and you lied to me and your sister-in-law. Ask yourself honestly, has the Xie family truly wronged you?"

"Don't say that useless thing."

Xie Chengzhi said, "The work my mother assigned me was all done by servants. If she really wanted to promote me, she should at least give me two shops to manage."

"you……"

Upon hearing this, Xie Boyu was so angry that his vision blurred.

"You've got quite the nerve. Who's born to be a business owner? You can't even do simple things right. You're just full of unrealistic ambitions, asking for two shops right off the bat. You keep saying that not separating the family business is tying your hands and feet..."

"But how could you possibly take over the family business, or even a shop?"

Xie Boyu said with great distress: "Someone like you, with ambitions so high but feet so low, even if I gave you the family fortune, you would squander it all."

Xie Chengzhi spat and said, "Bullshit."

While crying, he said to Xie Boyu, "If you're so capable, hand over the family business to me and let me try to make the Xie family great and prosperous."

“I, Xie Chengzhi, will definitely do a better and stronger job than you.”

Driven to madness by his words, Xie Boyu roared, "Fine, fine, I'd like to see what kind of state the Xie family will be in your hands."

After saying that, Xie Boyu was stunned for a moment.

Xie Chengzhi's eyes lit up upon hearing this: "Xie Boyu, you keep your word. Let me try handling the Xie family first!"