Chapter 67 Du Min, that biting dog, is now hers…
"Old Ding, where are you going?" Uncle Du was bragging to his neighbors about his nephew at the door when he saw Old Ding carrying a dusty bundle coming out of his house. He strode after him.
Old Du turned around, still clinging to a sliver of hope, and beckoned to Uncle Du to follow him.
"Where are you going?" Uncle Du reached out and squeezed the bundle, which contained heavy copper coins.
Du Laoding opened his mouth and exhaled a breathy sound. He pointed to his throat and then to the ferry crossing.
"Are you going to the city to get your voice checked?" Uncle Du asked, shaking his head disapprovingly. "It's just a sore throat from a fever. You can rest it for a while. Why waste money?"
Old Ding's eyes widened. He pushed Uncle Du aside and tried to continue walking.
Uncle Du stepped forward to stop him and advised, "You're an old man with your neck buried in the yellow earth. You don't need to study. If you can't speak, you can't speak. Why waste money? Use that money to save for your third son."
Old Du got angry. He shouted silently and gestured while grabbing his own neck.
Uncle Du ignored his movements and pushed him back, saying, "You don't need to go to the ferry. Without Lao San leading you, you won't be able to leave Dujiawan."
Du Laoding stared at him in shock, then looked at the clansmen standing by the roadside nearby and in the distance, all of them watching him intently. He instantly understood: the entire village had sided with Du Min.
"You ruined our third son's chances of passing the provincial exam, leaving him with no motivation to take the provincial exam. You ruined his chances of becoming a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations). Even our ancestors couldn't stand it, which is why you and Daming's mother lost your voices. Our ancestors were merciful; if they weren't worried about hindering our third son, they would have taken your life easily. You better behave yourself and stop causing trouble," Uncle Du threatened gleefully.
Du Laoding stared intently at him.
Uncle Du gave him another push, saying, "If you don't want people to laugh at you, you'd better stay home quietly."
Old Du Ding refused to believe in superstition. He broke free from Uncle Du's hand and insisted on walking towards the village entrance, but he was stopped not far away. The village chief's eldest son, along with several strong young men, blocked his way with apologetic expressions.
Du Min walked out of the house with his hands in his sleeves, watching silently.
"Go back, don't make a fool of yourself." Uncle Du tried to pull Du Laoding away. "You're not going to leave the village, give up. Stop causing trouble, just work hard and eat your food properly. When your third son becomes an official, you'll have a good life."
Du Laoding couldn't voice his anger. He looked at his clansmen who had surrounded him, the same people he had used to suppress Du Min just days before, now turning against him. He cursed silently, even punching and kicking, but no one made way for him, no one was willing to help him, and he fell into despair.
Seeing that he had calmed down, Uncle Du pulled him again, "Come on, let's go back. Third Brother is watching you from outside the door."
Old Ding turned his head and saw Du Min staring at him quietly, as if admiring his incompetence and ugliness. He was furious and struggled to run home.
Du Min went back to the house first. He went into the main hall and led Du Laoding in as well, thus blocking the view of others.
Old Du grabbed a stool and threw it at Du Min. Du Min stared at him without moving. Suddenly, Old Du panicked and his hand slipped, and the stool landed at Du Min's feet.
Du Min kicked a stool, saying, "If this stool hits me, you'll never have a good life again."
Old Du gritted his teeth and glared at him fiercely.
“How do you feel when I use the same tricks you used on me against you? Can you understand my despair?” Du Min asked, leaning closer and whispering, “You used my sister-in-law’s mouth to reveal my secrets, so I used her to poison you and make you mute. You used your clansmen to suppress me, so I used them to monitor you.”
Old Du was so angry that his lips trembled.
"Father, you've lost a move. Do you know where you went wrong? You have no benefit, no value, while I do. If you don't allow others to benefit, why should they help you? You've overestimated your worth, and that worth was bestowed upon you by me. The clansmen value me and that's why they elevate you. You're foolish, trying to use them to suppress me." Du Min smiled faintly, then said "foolish" again, "To control me, to enhance the prestige I've given you, you're trying to control and destroy me. Ridiculous, foolish. Look at my uncle, look at what he does."
Old Du raised his hand to slap him, but Du Min raised his hand to block it. He mocked, "Are you getting carried away with hitting me? Or haven't you seen reality yet? Now you can't speak, you're getting older every day, and you have my unfilial brother under your knees. Whether you can live a peaceful life with enough to eat and drink depends entirely on my word."
Old Du felt a chill run down his spine; he finally knew fear.
Seeing the fear in his eyes, Du Min finally felt a little better. He let out a long sigh and muttered to himself, "Why don't you ever learn? When I said I was going to kill you, you weren't even scared."
Du Laoding stared at him, watching Du Min walk out. When he was the only one left in the room, he collapsed to the ground.
Du Min stood in the courtyard for a while, then sighed and turned to walk towards the west wing. This was the first time he had stepped into the west wing since that night.
Mrs. Du lay on her back on the bed, silently and calmly watching her son, whom she had once been so proud of, slowly walk in and sit down by her bedside as if nothing had happened.
The mother and son looked at each other in silence. Du Min twitched the corner of his mouth and slowly said, "If you had stood up to defend me and refute him that day at the ferry, you wouldn't have gotten a share of that soup."
"It's you! You admitted it!" Du's mother suddenly became agitated and angrily said.
Du Min looked away and said disappointedly, "You listen to him too much. You're his loyal henchman. To prevent you from using filial piety to bind me, I had no choice but to resort to this tactic. I hope this experience will make you have some self-respect and be more sensible. As long as you behave yourself and be honest, I won't let my elder brother and sister-in-law mistreat you. From now on, I will make sure you have enough to eat and wear. Except for being unable to speak, you'll still be one of the luckiest old ladies in the village."
Du's mother swung a bamboo pillow at him, and Du Min took two hits. He snatched the pillow away, stood up, and said, "Calm down and think carefully about what I'm saying. My second brother has lost his heart for you and will no longer care about you. My eldest brother and sister-in-law hate you. Whether you can live a comfortable life in the future depends on me, not on your old man."
Du's mother froze.
“I tried to win you over last year. If you had just sided with me, how could things have come to this? It’s really weird. You have three sons. Let’s not even mention my eldest brother. My second brother is filial, and I am successful. Why don’t you side with your own sons? Why do you only side with that old man? What are you after? How can you be so stupid?” Du Min was exasperated.
Du's mother pointed to the door, telling him to get out.
"It's hopeless." Du Min shook his head. It's not that people are cunning, it's that they're stupid. He was truly afraid of stupid people.
Du Min went out and heard some commotion in the village. He strode out and saw a group of people gathered at the village entrance.
"Du Li, what are you doing?" the village chief asked, pointing to the large boat at the ferry crossing.
"We're moving the dowry that the Meng family sent two years ago," Du Li replied.
The village chief's gaze shifted to Meng Qing and Meng Chun, then he looked at Du Li, "You two got divorced?"
"How could that be!" Du Li exclaimed in surprise. "Eighth Master, have you forgotten? I said I wasn't coming back, and we were moving to the Meng family's place. What's the point of leaving Meng Qing's dowry here? Who's going to benefit from it?"
The village chief was enraged by his attitude. He pointed at Du Li and yelled, "Have you no shame? Do you have no backbone? What's with you, a grown man, living in your in-laws' house? Don't you care about your home or your land?"
"I don't want the house, but I still want the land. This was allocated to me by the imperial court, and no one can take it away from me. If anyone dares to occupy my land, I will report them to the authorities." Du Li glanced around, looking at the villagers as if they were his enemies.
"If you move out of Dujiawan, you won't get any land," the village chief declared.
“There’s no such thing as that,” Du Min’s voice rang out from outside the crowd. “Land doesn’t move according to people’s wishes. The land was allocated to my second brother, so it’s his.”
The village chief couldn't refute it.
“Du Min, stop talking about the land. Tell me about your second brother. Your parents are still alive, and he's gone to live with his in-laws and even wants to take the dowry sent by the Meng family. Is that reasonable? What’s the difference between that and marrying into the family?” said the village chief’s eldest son.
Meng Qing sighed, "If I remember correctly, I should call you uncle. Uncle, are you really confused or are you just pretending? Don't you know why I moved my dowry away? If you don't know, ask your father."
"Ask me?" the village chief asked, puzzled. "What does this have to do with me?"
"What? Are you senile? Have you forgotten what happened at the ferry crossing a few days ago? Eighth Master, you colluded with my father-in-law to force my brother-in-law to smear me, to force him to admit that I lured him into a business to share the profits, trying to force me back to my lowly status. Have you forgotten all of this? You may have forgotten, but I haven't." Meng Qing said angrily, even walking up to the village chief and pointing her finger at his nose, cursing, "Eighth Master, do you have the face to answer when I call you Eighth Master? You are unworthy of being an elder, disregarding human relations. Wasn't I married into your family through a proper matchmaking ceremony? Isn't my 120 strings of cash dowry in the hands of the Du family? What did I get in return for those hundred strings of cash? Don't you know? You took the money and the benefits, and now you've turned your backs on us."
"What have I, Meng Qing, done to offend you? Did I desecrate your ancestral graves or demolish your houses? You bunch of ungrateful scoundrels, a den of despicable traitors who betray their cause after crossing the river, framed me, ruined me, and forced me back to my lowly status—what good will that do you? You elders have no manners whatsoever; your roots are rotten, what good can you possibly produce?" Meng Qing said with resentment and anger. "Eighth Master, have you forgotten that I, Meng Qing, gave birth to a child with your surname, Du? If you were any sensible elder, even if I, Meng Qing, had engaged in illicit business, you would have suppressed it for the sake of future generations. And what have you done? You ruined Du Li's wife and Du Wangzhou's mother."
When had the village chief ever been insulted to his face, especially by a woman? He was so angry that his face turned purple, and he kept cursing her as a vile woman.
“For an uncle to call his grand-nephew’s wife a slut, you really have no manners and no respect for your elders.” Meng Qing spat at him.
"Meng Qing, don't go too far!" the village chief's eldest son shouted. "Du Li! Aren't you going to do anything about your wife?"
“My words have no effect. Just like that day at the ferry, did anyone listen to what I said?” Du Liming blatantly made it clear that he was in cahoots with Meng Qing.
"Alright, you've vented your anger, that's enough. If you're not moving the dowry, then go move the dowry." The village chief's youngest son spoke up. He knew in his heart that his father's actions at the ferry that day were not respectable. Although no one in the village said it openly, there must be people gossiping about it in private.
"Relieving anger? This isn't about relieving anger. You only benefit from me being a daughter-in-law of the Du family. If we were in the same situation, your father and I would be mortal enemies." Meng Qing snorted, pacing back and forth in front of the village chief, sizing him up as she said, "With an elder like you, it's no wonder my father-in-law is such a wicked child. Either the root is rotten, or the social atmosphere is problematic. People aren't necessarily reasonable just because they live long, nor are they worthy of respect just because they are of a high generation. Some people remain confused and vicious until they die."
"Dear uncles, brothers, aunts, and cousins, with the three hundred mu of permanent farmland bestowed by Du Min, the descendants of Dujiawan will never have to worry about their education for generations. Their studies will be excellent. You must pay attention to the character of your children. If you raise a treacherous official, he will bring disaster to nine generations of your family. The atmosphere in the village needs to be rectified. Don't let narrow-minded and short-sighted people become the rotten apples that spoil the whole bunch." Meng Qing's words were extremely provocative.
"What do you mean? When did it become your place to meddle in the affairs of Dujiawan?" The village chief was itching to hit someone.
Meng Qing had been waiting for him to say that. She bluntly said, "I think someone as immoral as you is not fit to be the village chief. We should find someone more capable. You should also stop being greedy for power and step down when it's time to do so."
The village chief shouted that he was going to hit her, but Du Li, Meng Chun, and Du Min stepped forward to block her.
"Second sister-in-law, you and my second brother live in the city, so don't worry about what happens in the village. Whatever happens, it won't affect you." Du Min was very pleased with Meng Qing's outburst, but he couldn't afford to break ties with the villagers, so he could only act as a peacemaker.
"How could it not have an impact? It definitely will. My child's surname is Du. I don't want him to work hard to earn a good future, only to lose his official position and his life because of his clansmen." Meng Qing continued to instigate. She didn't believe that the seed she planted would not sprout in the future.
"You should set a good example for your child first. Everyone knows you work at the paper horse shop. People are giving you face and haven't called you out on it, but you're really getting cocky," the old woman at the village entrance interjected.
Meng Qing shook her head. "Let me ask all the mothers-in-law, aunts, and sisters-in-law here: when you go back to your parents' home, do you help with chores? Why are you so narrow-minded? It's right for you to help with rice planting, harvesting, cocoon boiling, and silk weaving when you go back to your parents' home, but it's wrong for me to help with paper offerings? Last year, my brother helped with farm work in Dujiawan for almost a month. You were so righteous, why didn't you chase him away? Why didn't you scold him for being a lowly merchant who shouldn't touch precious things? Or do you mean that if I handle things used for trade, I'm a merchant? By that logic, if you use money to buy things, you're engaged in commerce. Auntie, throw all the copper coins in the house into the latrine. Those are lowly things, terrible things, they'll lower your noble status."
The old woman at the village entrance retreated in defeat, and no one else present dared to respond to her.
Du Min felt extremely relieved; all his previous frustration and depression had vanished, and he couldn't wait to unleash his own rant.
"Go back and move your things," Du Li said. If she kept cursing, she would numb the villagers, and once they were numb, they would lose their sense of shame. Without a sense of shame, they would act like scoundrels, and all her provocations would be for nothing.
Meng Qing followed him, and Meng Chun followed suit. Du Min stayed behind, looking left and right, seemingly unsure what to say. Finally, he sighed cryptically and left as well.
Li Hongguo stood in the crowd, watching Meng Qing stride away like a victorious general. Then she looked at Du Min, who was lagging behind. He seemed to have gained some energy now, even kicking up clods of dirt from the roadside—clearly, he was in a great mood. She suddenly laughed. Was Meng Qing putting on this show to vent Du Min's anger? Or was it just for his benefit?
Clearly, she had achieved her goal; Du Min, that biting dog, was now hers.
"Hongguo, aren't you going back to help?" Sister Yun asked.
"What help do you need? You want to help?" Li Hongguo shook her head. "Stay away, they won't even look at you."
Sister Yun's face fell. "What's with the sarcastic tone? Can't you tell who's close and who's distant? No matter how much Meng Qing argues with the village chief, she's still a wife from our branch of the family. If we embarrass her, our whole branch will be laughed at."
Li Hongguo remained silent.
"With your in-laws like that, why don't you stand up for yourself? After the third son leaves, won't you be in charge of this family?" Sister Yun pulled her away and said bluntly, "Don't you learn from your mother-in-law's character, only daring to fight among yourselves. Sigh, if Meng Qing were home, that would be great. With her personality, with her around, no one in our branch of the clan would dare to look down on us. She dares to make trouble and speak her mind."
Li Hongguo shook off her hand, "I can walk by myself, don't pull me."
Sister-in-law Yun curled her lips in disdain.
When the two returned home, they found that Uncle Du's family was there, and Uncle Du's two sons were helping to carry the bed out of the south room.
"Niece-in-law, come to my house for lunch at noon," Aunt Du said, pulling Meng Qing aside.
"Never mind, I'll eat at my own home." Meng Qing still considered this place as her own home. She made her stance clear: "I moved my dowry away because I was wronged and wanted to make a statement. Otherwise, the village chief's family will treat us like clay, spineless, and can bully us at will. We will maintain our relationship with the family. If the clan needs us to send gifts in the future, please let me know, Auntie. Du Li and I will come back to give the gifts."
“Your parents-in-law are still alive, and the family hasn’t separated yet, so there’s no need for you two to go through the wedding ceremony. I’ll let you know when to come back for the feast,” said Aunt Du.
“Okay,” Meng Qing replied.
Uncle Du stood beside Du Min and subtly hinted, "Your second sister-in-law is right, it's time to replace the village chief."
"This matter should be discussed after I become an official," Du Min subtly indicated his stance.
Uncle Du was overjoyed, "Good, good, good!"
"Du Li, don't move that box yet. It contains my old clothes from before I got married. I'll pack them up later. I'll leave the ones I can't wear at home and have my sister-in-law alter some clothes for Qiao Mei," Meng Qing said.
Du Li put the wooden box back.
Upon hearing this, Li Hongguo went to the kitchen to start a fire and cook.
“You should eat at home. I’m going back now,” said Aunt Du.
Meng Qing saw her off at the door, and Du Min also saw Uncle Du off.
“Father and Mother have become mute and can no longer speak,” Du Min suddenly said.
Meng Qing was shocked. She subconsciously looked at him, her eyes full of suspicion, but she said insincerely, "Why did you become mute? Did you see a doctor? What did the doctor say?"
Du Min chuckled softly and walked away with his hands behind his back.
Du Li came out of the south room and said, "A bed, two tables, six long benches, eight short stools, and three trunks have all been moved away. Only one trunk is left in the room."
"Let my younger brother go back by boat first, and we'll leave this afternoon," Meng Qing said.
Du Li looked at Du Min, "When do you plan to return to the city? Yesterday, Master Chen sent someone to look for you."
“I’ll stay at home for two more days,” Du Min said.
Du Li didn't want to eat at home. He looked at Meng Qing and said, "If he's not coming back today, we don't need to wait for him. Let's take a boat together and eat when we get back to the city, or we can buy some rice cakes at the canal ferry."
“Your parents are mute,” Meng Qing said.
"Mute?" Du Li was shocked. The next moment, he looked at Du Min. "You did this?"
"So direct?" Du Min raised an eyebrow. "Yes, I did it."
"You actually dare to admit it." Du Li didn't know what to feel. He was dizzy for a few moments and said, "Being mute is a good thing. You can't keep causing trouble even if you're mute."
Meng Qing almost applauded; the way these two brothers spoke was truly chilling.
"Sister, brother-in-law, are you leaving? The furniture is all packed." Meng Chun, Du Ming, and Du Dabo's two sons turned back together. Seeing the three of them talking, he shouted from a distance.
"You go back with the ship first, we'll go back this afternoon," Du Li said loudly.
Upon hearing this, Meng Chun immediately turned and left. He loathed Du Laoding's old face and had no desire to eat at the Du family's house.
Meng Qing went back into the room and said, "Third brother, go and light an oil lamp and bring it in."
"Can't you see clearly inside in broad daylight?" Du Min muttered to himself. He walked into the main hall, ignoring the old man sitting blankly inside, and took the oil lamp to the kitchen to start a fire.
Du Ming had just entered the kitchen when he saw him come in as well, and he instinctively tried to slip away.
Du Min ignored him, and he set the fire and left.
Seeing that Du Ming had come back in like a mouse as soon as the cat left, Li Hongguo said angrily, "Why are you hiding? Are you afraid he'll forget what you did?"
“I’m afraid of hurting his feelings; he’s a terrifying person.” Before he finished speaking, Du Ming saw Du Min walk into the south room, and he added sarcastically, “When a brother-in-law steps into his sister-in-law’s room, he might really have ulterior motives…”
With a "slap," Du Ming covered his face and stared at her in astonishment. Li Hongguo clenched her aching hand and said coldly, "You'd better watch out, or you might wake up one morning mute too."
She thought to herself that she should have kept a dose of the mute medicine to make him mute too; what an idiot.
"Where did you buy your mute medicine? Won't someone find out about it?" Meng Qing looked up at him.
"No." Du Min didn't elaborate, and he placed the oil lamp on the wooden box.
"Why did you tell us about this? Doesn't this give us another handle to use against you?" Meng Qing continued to untie the threads on the red embroidered shoes as Du Li came in.
"A lot of lice don't itch, a lot of debts don't worry," Du Min said casually.
"You didn't do something wrong in secret and are feeling bad about it, so you want to brag to someone about it," Du Li glanced at him.
Du Min was startled. This was incredible. Was Du Li's ability to judge people so remarkable?
“It’s nothing to be proud of, why would I brag about it?” He denied that he had this secret pleasure.
Meng Qing opened the seam of the shoe lining, took out a small square from inside and threw it at Du Min, then opened the other shoe.
"What is it?" Du Li asked as she approached him.
Du Min unfolded the paper, and familiar handwriting came into view. He looked up in astonishment, "You're really bold, you actually dared to hide this in your house, aren't you afraid I'll search it?"
“The most dangerous place is the safest place. You’re a smart person, and so am I. Judging by your own experience, you don’t believe I would leave this thing at home. Even if I told you, you wouldn’t believe me.” Meng Qing smiled smugly.
"What is this? What does it say?" Du Li asked again. "What are you two talking about? I don't understand."
Du Min was even more astonished, "You don't know?"
“I didn’t tell him, and I was wary of him too. The night I gave birth, the letter you handed me, I said I wanted to keep it, and your second brother burned it immediately, afraid that if he was a step too late I would harm you.” Meng Qing gritted her teeth and glared at Du Li, she said irritably, “Back then you were his precious darling, his heart and soul, and I, his wife who gave birth to his son, was not as important as you.”
Du Li and Du Min were disgusted by her words, which gave them goosebumps.
Du Li couldn't refute it, so he lowered his head and remained silent.
Du Min recalled the past, and he was so heartbroken that he couldn't speak.
Meng Qing pulled out a second receipt. "Here, take a look. It's your handwriting. I didn't forge it."
Du Min looked at her in confusion, and the next moment, his eyes widened as he saw the document, wreathed in flames, quickly turn to ashes.
"What are you doing? You just burned it? You're throwing away such a good handle?" he asked in shock.
“When I asked you for the written agreement, I said that I only kept this for my own protection, not to harm anyone. I have achieved my goal of self-protection, and you have not disappointed me. This thing should disappear now.” Meng Qing snatched the piece of paper from his hand and deftly hung it on the oil lamp.
Du Min snatched it away quickly, extinguished the fire on the paper, and stared at the remaining writing without saying a word.
Meng Qing stared at him in surprise, then joked, "You're still reluctant to destroy this leverage?"
"You dare to harm my own parents? Aren't you afraid of me? Don't you plan to keep a backup plan?" Du Min handed her the paper with burn marks and said, "Keep it. Use it to keep me in check. I'm even afraid of myself."
Meng Qing took a step back, then turned and set the paper on fire.
“If you believe me, I should believe you too.” Meng Qing blew a breath to wipe the black ash from her hands, and looked up at him seriously, saying, “From today onwards, we are no longer uncle and sister-in-law who are wary of each other, but partners who move forward side by side. I am your second sister-in-law, and I can also be your eldest sister. If I want to restrain you, I will advise and scold you as I did with Meng Chun, but I will not do anything behind your back.”
Du Min was emotional. He turned his face away and looked to the side. After holding back for a while, he let out a long sigh and said in a hoarse voice, "Thank you, elder sister, for treating me sincerely. And thank you, second brother, for forgiving my selfishness and malice."
"Let's still call her Second Sister-in-law," Du Li said quietly. "After all, she's my wife first."
Du Min instantly lost his temper. He punched Du Li, saying, "Knowing she's your wife, no one's going to fight you for her."
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