Xu Zhi nodded and said, "Yes, that's what I think too. If you can't make it work, then don't make it work. Why insist on hanging yourself on this one tree?"
Xu Rao frowned and said to Xu Zhi, "Xiao Jiu, have you forgotten what your father just told you? People can't always live for themselves; sometimes you have to consider others."
Chen Zhaoci sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), and after a while, the anger that had been building up inside him dissipated. He then slowly began to tell the two men about what had happened in the Wu family's courtyard that afternoon.
Chen Zhaoci encountered Zhou Shi on the way. Upon seeing Chen Zhaoci, Zhou Shi pulled her to a corner by the roadside and whispered, "Third Sister-in-law, I don't intend to agree to any outrageous requests Mother may make later. Third Sister-in-law, you must stand on my side."
It seems that everyone in the family already knows why Xu Shao went back to her parents' home. Chen Zhaoci pretended not to know and asked, "Mother, what could possibly be wrong? Or has something happened?"
Zhou sighed and said, "Our eldest sister-in-law is back again. I heard that she came back this time to talk about divorce. We all have daughters. How can our children hold their heads up in their husbands' homes if we have an aunt who wants a divorce?"
Chen Zhaoci said nonchalantly, "How could that be? My sister-in-law's daughter-in-law just married into the family, how could she be threatening to divorce her?"
Seeing that it was getting late, Zhou pulled Chen Zhaoci toward Wu's courtyard, whispering as they walked, "Isn't it that old hag, Lady Yongping, causing trouble again? You didn't go to the flower fair at the Jianning Marquis's house yesterday, so you don't know what's going on. I heard that some distant niece or grandniece of Lady Yongping, who has been raised by Lady Yongping since childhood, is actually going to send this child to Xingge'er's room to be a concubine."
Chen Zhaoci was taken aback and said, "The young couple Xing and his wife have only been married for a short time. They have a good relationship. This grandmother is too inconsiderate, putting her own relatives in her grandson's room. Aren't you afraid people will laugh at you?"
Zhou frowned and said, "Who says otherwise? Back then, that old hag brought her granddaughter there. People saw that her granddaughter was pretty and asked if she was engaged. The old hag pretended to say that her granddaughter and her eldest grandson had grown up together, but who knew that her grandson's family had arranged a marriage for her. After the girl found out about her cousin's marriage, she fell ill and stayed in bed. It was only when she seemed to be getting better that she was brought out."
Chen Zhaoci felt disgusted. No wonder Xu Shao had come to her parents' home to cause trouble this time.
Zhou said disdainfully, "That old hag said it so openly in front of so many people, and then someone said that the two children still have feelings for each other, and it's not good to separate them like this. Look at this girl, she's so thin because of love, she could be blown away by a gust of wind. Why don't you let this girl and your granddaughter-in-law follow the example of Ehuang and Nüying?"
Chen Zhaoci spat and said, "There are shameless people like this everywhere."
Zhou nodded and said, "Yes, at the time, only my fifth sister-in-law and I went. I wanted to go up and argue with her, but she stopped me, saying that since we weren't at home, it would be beneath me to go up there."
Chen Zhaoci regretted it a little and said, "Why didn't I go with you that day? If I had gone with you, we could have torn those shameless people apart and felt so much better. Now, I'm stuck in this feeling, unable to get over it, and it's really uncomfortable."
Upon hearing Chen Zhaoci's words, Zhou took Chen Zhaoci's arm and said, "I love Third Sister-in-law's straightforwardness. There are more gatherings in a few days. I'll inquire about them. If that old hag wants to go again, we'll go. If she says anything nonsensical again, we'll give her a piece of our mind. I don't believe that someone who's an old matriarch has lived all these years in vain."
As they talked, the two arrived at Madam Wu's courtyard. Madam Wu and Xu Shao, who had been talking in the courtyard, had already gone into the room. Madam Wu had specially arranged for someone to fetch ice from the cellar in the mansion and put it in the room. Although it was afternoon, the house and the ground, having been exposed to the scorching sun all day, still carried a bit of summer heat, and the room was even more stuffy.
Chen Zhaoci and Zhou Shi walked to the door, where a maid with her head down helped lift the curtain. After entering, there was an eight-panel screen with double-sided embroidery. Turning past the screen, there was the central hall, with a bedroom on each side. Wu Shi usually rested in the bedroom on the east side and lived in the bedroom on the west side.
In the west bedroom, there was a folding bed placed against the window. In most families, a kang (a heated brick bed) would be built near the window, where one could sleep in the warm kang during the winter. In the summer, if one did not want to sleep on the kang, one could sleep on the bed placed on the north side of the room. The folding bed in the west bedroom of the Wu family was painted dark red and was about the same height as the kang. It had railings on three sides with exquisite carvings. On the folding bed was a small kang table with a teapot and teacups on it.
At this moment, Wu and Xu Shao were sitting on a folding chair, while Ning was sitting on a chair opposite the folding chair. Opposite the folding chair, against the wall, was an eight-immortal table, with a rose-back chair on each side of the table, and a high table in the middle of the rose-back chairs for placing teacups.
Directly opposite the door was a wall, against which stood a long table. A painting of rocks hung on the table, and several kinds of fruits were laid out on it, giving the room a fruity aroma.
This was Chen Zhaoci's first time in Wu's room, so he naturally observed it carefully. Ning and Zhou had been there many times, so they weren't particularly surprised by the furnishings in the room.
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