Upon receiving the news that the Fu family father and son had resigned from their official posts, Cheng Mu was first taken aback, then walked bitterly toward Old Madam Cheng's room.
Fu Ting was still serving her the medicine, and Madam Cheng was enjoying her son-in-law's service without a care in the world.
Cheng Mu stood at the door for a while, pursed his lips, and said with a bitter tone, "Ting'er, why are you doing this to yourself!"
Fu Ting turned around in surprise, then immediately stood up and went to greet him.
"I thought you went fishing!"
Cheng Mu looked at the old lady Cheng, who was lying on the bed pretending to be asleep, and said in a hoarse voice, "Is it worth it to give up your promising future to deal with such an ignorant and foolish woman?"
Madam Cheng's eyelids twitched, but she remained silent with her eyes closed.
Fu Ting smiled and said dismissively, "I've lived a rather dull life for most of my life, but I still have the court and can enjoy my grandchildren. My life is much better than yours, Father-in-law!"
“What about Yuan’er? You and your son resigned at the same time, isn’t it because…it’s my fault! It’s all my fault for being incompetent! How am I supposed to face my second brother?” Cheng Mu cried out in anguish.
With a crash, the medicine bowl by Madam Cheng's bedside shattered.
"What did you say? Who resigned from their post?" Old Madam Cheng could no longer keep up the act. She sat up, her body weak and limp, and asked in a panic.
Cheng Mu looked at her expressionlessly and said, word by word, "As you wished, your son-in-law and nephew resigned from their official posts to serve you and your daughter! Cheng Pei, you have failed to educate your daughter properly and allowed her to harm others. What is your punishment?"
Cheng Mu shouted out the last four words.
Madam Cheng's face turned pale at a visible speed. She opened her mouth weakly, as if to say something, but then her vision went black and she fainted.
When Fu Ting returned home, the mother and son were still being filial, one feeding the other medicine, and the atmosphere was quite warm.
That brat!
Fu Ting ground his back teeth, clenched his fist and then relaxed it.
If it weren't for the fact that he'd worked so hard all these days, I would have given him that punch.
He walked to the bedside expressionlessly, snatched the medicine bowl from his son's hand, and said, "Go back to your room and rest, I'll take care of it."
Mrs. Cheng was so shocked she almost jumped out of bed.
Did the sun rise in the west?
Fu Qiyuan rubbed his temples, sighed silently, and quietly stepped aside.
Cheng didn't dare to open her mouth to drink the medicine, watching Fu Ting warily. Her husband's expression was simply too ferocious.
Fu Ting remained motionless, holding a spoonful of medicine, his words chillingly cold: "Why didn't you discuss it with your father!"
Fu Qiyuan said calmly, "Didn't you discuss this with your son? I've thought about it. I want to spend more time with my wife and son, and I want to do business with Shan'er."
Fu Ting slammed the medicine bowl in his hand to the ground with a bang and shouted angrily, "I'm tired of being an official. If I can take Huai'er back to Qingcheng Mountain in this lifetime, I can die with a smile on my face! How old are you! Your son and daughter-in-law will have to rely on you to protect them in the future. If you can't climb to the position of Grand Secretary, how will you protect them!"
Fu Qiyuan lowered his eyes, pouted, and said aggrievedly, "I can protect them just as well as I can do business! Anyway, I've already resigned from my official post, so please stop nagging!"
Madam Cheng, her eyes wide with shock and her body trembling with cold, asked, "Yuan'er, what are you saying? What resignation?"
Fu Ting glanced coldly at Cheng Shi and said with utter sarcasm, "Congratulations, your precious son has finally been forced to resign from his post! He has more guts than I, his father. I've endured until now before daring to resign, but he can resign so easily. He's probably the only one in the world who can do that!"
Madam Cheng nearly fainted. Ignoring Fu Ting's reaction, she grabbed his sleeve and blurted out in a panic, "How could you resign? Mother just wanted you to stay by my side and keep me company. How could you resign! Master, you're joking, aren't you? Yuan'er, Mother doesn't need you to take care of me anymore. You should go back to the Imperial Academy. I'm all better now. Go back, go back quickly!"
Fu Qiyuan glanced at Fu Ting with his head bowed and said, "Father, I need to go check on Shan'er and the child first. I'll leave Mother to you in your care."
"Get lost! Don't come back, you're an eyesore!"
Fu Qiyuan quickly left.
Madam Cheng's face was ashen, her lips trembling as she looked at Fu Ting and pleaded, "Master, Yuan'er's career can't be ruined like this, please think of a way..."
Fu Ting snorted coldly, "Why are you begging me? You should beg your mother! She's so powerful that she forced my son and me to resign from our official posts just to serve you and your mother at your bedside. Isn't that what you wanted? Why aren't you satisfied?"
"No, no, I didn't!" Mrs. Cheng shook her head desperately, tears streaming down her face.
"Do you know what this is called? You reap what you sow!"
Fu Ting coldly uttered a sentence and left with unusual decisiveness.
...
Jiang Huai and Master Fu rode horses on the back mountain of Huangshan Garden.
He gently stroked Xiaobai's head and asked wistfully, "Great-Grandpa, are Grandpa and Dad really not going to be high-ranking officials anymore?"
The old patriarch of the Fu family grinned so wide his eyes disappeared, showing no intention of comforting his great-grandson.
"What's so great about being a lowly official? Why don't you all go back to Qingcheng Mountain with your great-grandfather? The green hills and clear waters, the freedom of riding horses across the rivers and lakes, how carefree and unrestrained!"
Jiang Huai thought for a moment and said seriously, "That's the only way! Grandpa and Dad won't have any more salary in the future, so Mom and I need to earn more money. We need to spend a lot of money when we go out!"
The old patriarch, supporting the little fellow on horseback, said with great delight, "I heard your mother gave you a bonus?"
Jiang Huai nodded his little head, "Yes! Mother said I closed a lot of big deals and gave me a commission of one, two... five hundred taels of silver. I asked Lili to help me keep it."
Patriarch Fu was even more delighted, "Huai'er is so amazing! Much more promising than your grandfather and your father!"
Jiang Huai puffed out his chubby cheeks and shook his head. "It's still not enough! I still have to support Grandpa and Daddy, that little bit of money isn't enough!"
"Great-grandfather can help you. I'll help you raise your father, and you help me raise my son!"
Jiang Huai's two big, dark eyes darted around, looking even more dejected. "I almost forgot, I still have to take care of my great-grandfather!"
The old master of the Fu family was almost melted with tenderness. He pulled Jiang Huai into his arms and laughed heartily, "Huai'er is so filial! With such a great-grandson, how can I worry about the prosperity of the Fu family? Hahahaha!"
Before the buzz surrounding the resignation of the Fu family father and son had died down, the emperor's edict arrived at the Cheng residence.
The Emperor's edict was very direct. It stated that a woman's virtues included being a good wife and mother. Cheng Pei was first so good to her husband that he resigned from his official post, and then she forced her son-in-law to resign because of her filial piety. She was unworthy of being a wife and mother. The Emperor ordered Cheng Pei to be removed from the Cheng family genealogy and sent to Longshan to rebuild her virtues. She was not allowed to return to the capital without being summoned!
Longshan was a temple specially built by the royal family for the convicted women of officials in the capital. In an instant, Madam Cheng felt as if the sky had collapsed and the earth had split open.
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