Chapter 385 Punishing the Fourth Brother
Xue Xingyuan witnessed Song Chunxue's formidable abilities.
He found that he couldn't gain the upper hand either physically or verbally.
Yao Man walked over, her previous feelings of loss and fear now overshadowed by anger.
She had been a widow for many years and hated it most when people called her a widow.
"Xue Xingyuan, so the reason you came to see me was only because I'm a widow, and not because we still have feelings for each other?"
She sneered, "I misjudged you. At first, I felt guilty towards you, but after learning that you had taken a second and third wife, I was so sad that I couldn't sleep all night. So you only saw me as a pastime?"
She was completely disoriented, yet her laughter became maniacal.
"Haha, I'm so stupid. I even thought your anger was because you cared about me and had feelings for me."
Yao Man, who never dared to make a move, grabbed the wine jug beside her and threw it. The jug hit Xue Xingyuan in the waist and spilled wine on his clothes.
“You’re a complete liar. You hit me because you think I should be loyal to you like a dog. But these past few days I’ve actually felt guilty and ashamed of myself.”
“Manman, what’s wrong with you? She’s trying to sow discord. I’ve said it before, as long as you come to Jincheng with me, I will treat you well. After my father passes away, I can marry whoever I want, and no one can stop me.”
Enraged, Yao Man picked up a plate from the table and threw it at him.
"Get out, get far away from me. We don't owe each other anything. I don't want to be your lowly concubine. I'm the mistress here. If I go to your place, I'll just be a lowly mistress. Do you think I'm stupid?"
Xue Xingyuan dodged back a little, getting eggplant from the plate all over himself, and pointed at her, yelling:
"Yao Man, don't push your luck. If it weren't for me, you would have had to marry your child's sixth uncle..."
"Throw them out! Throw them out with dirty water! If they dare to come again, throw them with oil!"
Yao Man's voice cracked with anger, "I'm not afraid of you. If you dare to harm my child, I'll go to Jincheng and kill your whole family. Anyway, these days bandits only care about money, not people."
"Xue Xingyuan, let's see who's more willing to go all out." Yao Man took a deep breath and wiped away her tears. "Don't push me to do something reckless. If I really go crazy, you're no match for me."
Xue Xingyuan was so angry that he trembled all over and raised his hand to slap Yao Man's face.
"Xue Xingyuan, have some decency. Go back and see your children. Although you have more money these past few years, troubles at home keep piling up. You must have had a lot of headaches."
Song Chunxue couldn't be bothered to watch them go crazy; she was just an observer and would stop short of making a scene.
Her tone was cold. "I'm not lying to you. If you don't believe me, go home and have someone check it out. Don't delay too long."
Thinking of everything that had happened in the past two years, Xue Xingyuan gritted his teeth and shoved Yao Man hard.
"Let's go." He turned and led his men out of the tavern.
Yao Man collapsed to the ground, exhausted.
The cook and waiter stood by, at a loss.
"Did they really have a son? How did Sister Song figure that out?"
“You can tell from his children’s palace that it’s glowing red. I’m guessing and guessing, but he’s learned so much that he can fool people.” Song Chunxue took two steps outside. “You can wait a bit. I’ll come back tomorrow.”
Yao Man nodded slowly, "Okay, I'll wait for you."
In the evening, the fourth brother returned from outside, just in time for dinner.
Today's meal is simple: potato dumplings. I haven't had them in a long time, and they smell delicious.
"Where did the fourth brother go? He seems to be in a good mood. Could he have run into some girl?"
Song Chunxue stirred the pickled vegetables in the bowl, picked up the bowl and took a sip of the thick soup. The fragrance of the glutinous rice and bean flour was irreplaceable.
The fourth brother chuckled, "We did meet a pretty girl, and we also had some other gains."
Song Chunxue laughed, "You went to see Mei Yang, didn't you? Did you bring anything with you? Did he try to set you up with someone?"
“I bought two catties of meat, two boxes of pastries, and a pot of wine. It’s not stingy. I just didn’t expect him to know so much. I underestimated him before.” The fourth brother tilted his head shyly. “He didn’t try to find a matchmaker, but he has quite a few young women among his relatives, three of whom are very beautiful.”
Sanwa ate quietly, peeled two cloves of garlic for himself, and had a faint smile on his lips.
"Three?" Song Chunxue teased him, "You really are a womanizer, you wouldn't have fallen for all three of them, would you?"
"No, it's just pretty. Everyone loves beauty, right? I like it, is that so wrong?"
The fourth brother chuckled foolishly, "I suddenly saw things clearly. Before, I always thought about relying on myself, but Mei Yang said that Mom is my real benefactor, so why bother with all this nonsense? Suddenly, I understood."
As he spoke, he made a sincere promise, "From now on, I will definitely take good care of my mother and be a good helper to her."
"..." Song Chunxue looked at him with disdain. "You're filial to me? Ha! Sanwa is right. I'd be grateful if you didn't cause me any trouble. If I were to expect you to be filial to me, wouldn't I have wasted my life in the past?"
The fourth son wasn't upset. "I'll prove it to Mother later. Just you wait and see."
Sanwa couldn't help but say, "I'm scared just hearing that. You're not planning something bad to scare us, are you?"
"Hmph, I knew you wouldn't believe me. I won't argue with you. We'll see the truth in a few months." With that, the fourth brother got up and lit a fire. "I'll boil some water for Mother to wash her feet."
"Burn more, I want to take a bath." Song Chunxue suddenly remembered something, "Oh right, we need to buy a big bathtub for Sanwa's wedding, the kind that can fit two people."
"..."
"..."
The third brother and the fourth brother seemed to be frozen in place, blinking their eyes and staring at each other.
In an instant, Sanwa's cheeks turned bright red, and he lowered his head to shovel rice into his mouth.
The fourth son also blushed, "Mother, they're not even married yet. If you say that, the third son won't even be able to wait until the wedding day."
Sanwa blushed and scolded him, "Stop talking nonsense. I'm not like you. Have you been working in shady places these past two years?"
"I...don't talk nonsense, where did I go to the secret gate?"
Sanwa glanced at Song Chunxue, who remained as steady as a mountain, and said, "I have a classmate who knows you. He said his third brother saw you in a brothel with two women on either side of you."
"..." The fourth brother's face turned red, both angry and annoyed.
"The one at the south end of the street, he also said..."
"You still dare to say that? Even food can't shut you up," the fourth brother said defiantly. "I'm a man, what's wrong with going to the brothel..."
His voice trailed off, and he glanced at Song Chunxue out of the corner of his eye, unable to speak any further.
Song Chunxue picked up a piece of pickled radish, her voice unusually clear, and asked casually:
"What's wrong? I'm your mother. If you still go to the brothel, you'll have to pay for your own wedding and buy your own house. I won't care if you become a live-in son-in-law."
The fourth brother shrank back, "I won't go anymore."
“If you ever call me ‘Mother,’ then stay away from those filthy places. If I find out next time, I’ll beat you so badly your own father wouldn’t recognize you.” Song Chunxue slammed her chopsticks on the table and looked at him coldly. “I mean what I say.”
The fourth brother was so frightened that he didn't utter a sound.
"I won't punish you by making you kneel. Just write 'A gentleman is not a vessel' a hundred times tonight, and I'll check it tomorrow morning. Also, return the rest of the silver. I'll keep it for you. My silver isn't for you to find women. If you make money in the future, I won't care if you go to the gates of hell."
Song Chunxue looked disappointed. "Fourth brother, it seems I haven't been strict enough with you."
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