"Young Master, what should we do with these two who have arrived?"
“Take good care of them,” Han Yi said thoughtfully. “Whether they are the newly appointed top scholar or not, they are not ordinary people. There is no reason to offend them. Even if we can’t do anything, it would be good to make a good connection.”
"Yes, I understand."
After the steward left, Han Yun spoke up, "Young Master, there's still some business in the capital. Should we continue waiting for that new top scholar?"
"Wait," Han Yi rubbed his forehead, "It'll only be a few days, we can wait."
"Why must we 'bump into' each other in Ping'an County? It's the same in Beijing. Just seize the opportunity and plan properly."
This is what Han Yun finds most incomprehensible.
There are so many opportunities to meet in the capital, why insist on setting the meeting place in Ping'an County?
“It’s different,” Han Yi shook his head. “You don’t understand.”
The capital city is full of powerful and talented people, making it difficult for him to be highly regarded. Ping'an County is different.
Like a crane standing out among chickens, its specialness is immediately apparent.
Moreover, the capital city is rife with scheming, and everyone is naturally on guard, so the same methods are much less effective.
Han Yun nodded, "I understand."
He felt he had vaguely grasped the difference between a master and a servant.
The master's mind is far superior to that of servants. We servants can only take things one step at a time, while the master can see ten steps ahead for every one step he takes.
"Oh, right," Han Yi suddenly instructed, "prepare some generous gifts, we'll go to Huangjiakou tomorrow."
"Should we keep this from the master?"
"Keep it a secret," Han Yi instructed solemnly, "You absolutely cannot let him know."
"clear!"
The smoke of war outside did not disturb the tranquility of Huangjiakou.
The Huang family home was very quiet; under the dim light, everyone was engrossed in their own activities.
The men picked up pens to practice calligraphy, the women learned to manage the household and do accounting, and the children also diligently followed along to learn characters.
The old house on the other side, however, felt much more oppressive.
After Huang Shan was beaten, his temperament changed significantly. He cooperated with medical treatment and medication, but ate and drank very little, and became much more gloomy.
He lay in bed all day, not saying a word, his eyes staring blankly at the ceiling beams, lost in thought.
The impression he gives to others: like he's lost his soul.
The Huang couple saw this and were very anxious.
"Husband," Sister-in-law Huang said worriedly, "our son has suffered too much trauma and is stuck in a rut. Will he go crazy?"
Seeing her son turn out like this, Sister-in-law Huang felt as if a piece of her heart had been ripped out.
He couldn't help but hate Qin Shi even more.
"It's better if he's stupid," Huang Shi sneered. "Look at the things he's done, he might as well have just become stupid."
"Why are you saying this again?" Sister-in-law Huang said unhappily. "The beating has been done, the punishment has been done, it's all in the past, why bring it up again?"
Huang Da Sao felt guilty about what her son had done and couldn't find the words to defend herself.
But, since he was her own son, she didn't want to hear her husband repeat his son's unsavory stories over and over again.
"A doting mother often spoils her son. You'll regret it sooner or later if you keep protecting him."
After Huang Shi finished speaking, he turned his back and turned his head to the other side.
Seeing this, Sister-in-law Huang slapped him on the back unhappily, "It's not just me who spoiled him, there are your parents and you, who didn't spoil him? Why blame me alone?"
“One thing at a time,” Huang Shi said unhappily. “Even if I spoil you, I won’t be as unable to distinguish right from wrong as you.”
"How am I unable to distinguish right from wrong?" Sister-in-law Huang sat up and stared straight at Huang Shi. "If we don't clear things up today, none of us will sleep!"
She felt she was reasonable enough.
She didn't stop her son from being beaten half to death, no matter how much she felt sorry for him. All she did was not want to listen to her husband's constant nagging, which made her unable to distinguish right from wrong.
What's the logic behind this?
"Is this ever going to end?" Huang Shi said, feeling exhausted. "I'm already exhausted after a long day, and I still have a lot to do tomorrow."
Huang Shi feels like he's having a really tough time because his son is being unreasonable and his wife is being unreasonable.
"It won't end until I explain myself clearly," said Sister Huang, feeling wronged. "Every day, I take care of the elderly and serve the young, cook, wash clothes, feed the pigs and raise the chickens. Have I ever complained? Yet you accuse me of being unable to distinguish right from wrong. Why?"
For the first time, Sister-in-law Huang felt sorry for herself.
Upon hearing this, Huang Shi's tone softened considerably. "Don't be angry. I misspoke just now. I'll help you with something when I have time tomorrow."
He's been so upset about his son lately that he's not as considerate of his wife as he used to be.
Every time I think about that stupid son, my head starts to ache.
Huang Shi's words pleased Sister-in-law Huang, who glared at him fiercely before speaking, "Good to know."
She's not afraid of being tired or suffering. When a family is living together, there's always work to be done. If she does more work, the others can relax a bit.
But she couldn't accept that her hard work wasn't appreciated.
That would make her feel like she wasn't getting her way.
With a soft sigh, Huang Shi pulled her close, "You've had a long day, let's go to sleep, go to sleep first."
"I can't sleep," Sister-in-law Huang said without hiding her thoughts. "With my son like this, I'm always worried that he'll do something stupid, and I can't sleep all night long because of this worry."
“If he keeps causing trouble,” Huang Shi said coldly, his anger flaring up. “I’ll break his legs.”
Suddenly I realized I'd gone too far; otherwise, my son wouldn't have dared to continue.
"All you ever do is beat him," Sister-in-law Huang retorted, dissatisfied. "Even if your son is a bad son, you can't really beat him to death. If he's half-dead, we'll still have to take care of him."
"What should we do? Let him continue?" Huang Shi was very annoyed. "We can't make him go out to work in the fields. I think he's just too idle, that's why he's always thinking about all sorts of nonsense."
When he was young, after a day's work, he was so tired that he didn't want to move a single finger. He could fall asleep lying on the ground. He had no dirty thoughts at all.
"You've beaten your son like this and you still want him to work?" Sister-in-law Huang asked incredulously. "Are you kidding me?"
This is not an attempt to kill someone!
"How badly was it?" Huang Shi pursed his lips. "I don't know what happened to me. It just looks serious. No bones were broken. It just hurts a bit when I move, but there's nothing else seriously wrong."
Working in the fields hurts, but lying in bed is just as painful, and it only makes me overthink things, so I might as well just get to work.
"No, absolutely not!" Sister-in-law Huang became agitated. "That's our own son! Can't you even show him some compassion?"
"What's the use of feeling sorry for him? We feel sorry for him, but does he feel sorry for himself? Books say that our bodies and hair are given to us by our parents. Does he cherish himself at all?"
If he weren't unable to have another child, Huang Shi felt he would have hardened his heart and kicked this son out of the house.
Having such a troublesome son will shorten your lifespan by at least ten years.
Sister-in-law Huang also felt sad. After a long while, she bit her lip and said, "He's still young and doesn't understand things."
"There are so many people younger than him, and I haven't seen anyone else who is so immature."
"Then what do you suggest we do? We can't just let our son continue like this, neither alive nor dead, can we?"
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