Chapter 122 - 109: Borrowing a Knife (Part 2)
All these schemes might even have been orchestrated by Fang Yue himself.
Therefore, if a person like that couldn’t be a friend, he had to be eliminated.
Not to mention that later, when he was prepared to swallow his pride and befriend the man, the other party gave him no face at all and clearly looked down on him.
Naturally, Wei He came to hate Fang Yue.
However, before he had the chance to deal with Fang Yue, misfortune struck and Fang Yue was crippled.
At that point, Wei He naturally gave up any thought of dealing with him.
After all, to make a genius who once had more potential than him watch helplessly as he himself reached greater heights...
...what an incredible sense of accomplishment and satisfaction that would bring.
"I’ll let you off the hook for now. Once this is all over, I’ll deal with you properly."
Wei He gave a cold smile, then turned and began to write a letter to his father.
~~~~~~
Da Liushu Village.
Fang Family Mansion.
"Zhi, go talk to Mom. She’s barely eaten for the past two days. If this keeps up, her body won’t be able to take it!"
Fang Cheng and Fang Lan went to the edge of their family’s fields outside the village, speaking to Fang Yue, who was supervising Shopkeeper Qi and the others as they worked.
From the start, Fang Yue, Father Fang, and Fang Cheng had agreed not to tell Ms. Chen the finer details of the matter.
They couldn’t let Ms. Chen know that it was her own brother and nephew who had ’proactively’ schemed against Father Fang and Fang Cheng. They would just let her believe the two had been forced into it.
They were afraid Ms. Chen wouldn’t be able to bear the blow. After all, anyone would be devastated to be betrayed by their own family.
Ms. Chen was already over forty. In this era, that was considered the beginning of old age, and many with poor health didn’t even live that long.
However, despite Fang Yue doing everything he could, Ms. Chen still found out the truth.
Upon hearing what had happened, Ms. Chen cried for a full day.
Her own brother and nephew had conspired with outsiders to seize her family’s property and even harm her husband and son.
It was a devastating blow, more than anyone could be expected to bear.
"Alright."
Fang Yue had spent most of the past two days keeping an eye on Shopkeeper Qi and the others, preventing them from causing trouble in his absence.
As a result, he was spending less time at home.
Still, whenever he had a moment, he would certainly try to console Ms. Chen.
But every time he was there, Ms. Chen would act fine. As soon as he left, she would fall silent again, refusing to eat or drink.
He arrived at the courtyard where his parents lived.
Father Fang sat in the courtyard, his face etched with worry. In front of him was a tray holding a bowl of congee and three stir-fried dishes.
"Dad, how’s Mom?" Fang Yue asked.
"Still the same. She only eats a little when you’re here," Father Fang sighed.
Ms. Chen was a strong-willed and kind-hearted woman. Even after what happened, Fang Yue and the others hadn’t really blamed the father and son, Chen Kang and Chen Liang.
It was just a given that the two families would have no contact from now on.
A married woman’s loyalty is to her husband’s family. Ms. Chen knew where her priorities lay; she would certainly not be returning to her maiden home anymore.
Ms. Chen had even completely cut ties with her maiden family.
But even though she had done so, only she knew the pressure she was bearing in her heart.
Fang Yue nodded, picked up the tray of food, and went into the room.
The windows were closed and the curtains drawn, leaving the room very dim.
Still, Fang Yue immediately spotted Ms. Chen reclining against the headboard.
"Mom, it’s time to eat. Dad made this himself today. I just had a taste, and it’s delicious."
"Zhi’Er, just put it on the table. I don’t feel like eating right now," Ms. Chen replied, her voice weak. She clearly had no intention of eating.
"Mom, you have to eat no matter what. That’s what you always taught me. Besides, if you don’t eat and get too thin, Little Tie Dan won’t recognize you anymore," Fang Yue continued to coax her.
Little Tie Dan was his nephew’s nickname.
’Tie Dan,’ he thought. ’At least that sounds much better than my name, Zhi’Er.’
"Sigh... after what your uncle and his family did, how can I possibly face you?" Ms. Chen’s voice choked with sobs as she spoke.
’What kind of treachery was this?’
’Her own family, scheming against her husband’s family. And their scheme was meant to lead to ruin and death.’
’If Zhi’Er hadn’t recovered and captured all those people, forcing them to toil in the fields day and night...’
’Then, what would have been the alternative?’
’If Zhi’Er hadn’t recovered, how would those people have treated them?’
’She didn’t dare to even imagine it.’
"Mom, Uncle and my cousin just had a lapse in judgment. They were deceived. You mustn’t let something like this ruin your health."
’What Chen Kang and Chen Liang did was detestable, hateful, even deserving of death.’
But in front of Ms. Chen, Fang Yue had to be more considerate.
"I don’t want to think about anything right now. From now on, you are to have nothing more to do with Chen Kang and his family. Just pretend we don’t have those relatives."
Ms. Chen lamented, continuing, "My only regret is that I won’t get to see Zhi’Er get married and have children. Ah..."
"Mom, if you eat properly now, you’ll definitely live to be a hundred. Ahem. As for marriage, that depends on fate. When the time is right, it’ll happen naturally. Not only will you see it, you’ll have to help me look after Zhi’Er’s children," Fang Yue said.
’Marriage and children... He didn’t have the slightest inclination for that right now.’
’After all, how old was he? Not even twenty-five yet.’
’In his past life, no one would even think about getting married before thirty.’
"Are you really going to wait until I’m a hundred to get married and have children? Ah, what an unfilial boy."
Perhaps because the conversation had turned to Fang Yue getting married and having children, Ms. Chen’s mood improved slightly.
She turned her head to gaze at Fang Yue and said:
"But, if you want me to eat, that’s fine. Someone has arranged a match for you. You have to go meet the young lady this time. No more excuses."
"I know, Mom. Don’t worry," Fang Yue replied, left with no choice but to agree.
At this, Ms. Chen’s mood did indeed improve considerably.
Her appetite returned, and she began to eat.
Fang Yue, however, watching Ms. Chen now eating with a hearty appetite, felt a flicker of suspicion.
’Could his mother have been putting on this whole act just to get him to agree to a marriage meeting?’
~~~~~~
After successfully consoling his mother, Fang Yue returned to his own small courtyard.
He went into his study, spread out a sheet of paper, and began to write a letter.
It was a letter to Chubby.
He was writing to tell him about the current situation with the Tea Garden, and more importantly, about the thousand-mu tea garden outside Xiahe County Town.
Because the tea plants were all mature, they had fully recovered over the past few days, and new leaves had already begun to sprout.
Clearly, it wouldn’t be two months before they could expect a harvest of new tea.
This tea was bound to become the first major product of their joint venture, so he needed to discuss a plan with Chubby.
It was best to sort certain things out beforehand to avoid trouble down the line.
~~~~~~
Shanyang Prefecture City, within the Government Office.
"Liu, how did you offend the Eldest Young Master Bai? He’s put the word out now; no one dares to handle your affairs." The middle-aged official eyed the silver banknote in the man’s hand greedily, but ultimately restrained himself.
’Some money can be taken, but some money is too hot to handle. He knew how to weigh his priorities.’
’This Liu Chuanzhi had offended the Bai Family’s eldest young master, and offended him badly at that.’
’Now, in all of Shanyang Prefecture, no one wanted to—or dared to—do Liu Chuanzhi any favors.’
’He certainly wasn’t about to be the first.’
’Otherwise, if word got back to the Eldest Young Master Bai, his own life would become very difficult.’
"Qiu, another five hundred taels? What do you say?" Liu Chuanzhi forced a friendly expression, his voice low and pleading.
His family had already sacrificed so much just to come to Shanyang Prefecture City.
They had sold their farmland back in the village for a pittance, suffering a huge loss.
Now, living in the Prefecture City, money was draining away like water. If he couldn’t resolve his father’s matter, how could his family possibly survive?
"Heh. You’re the one who messed up. Of all the people to offend, you had to pick the Eldest Young Master Bai. Now I’m getting dragged into it. Don’t come looking for me again. Just seeing you is bad luck."
The middle-aged official waved his hand, shooing Liu Chuanzhi away as if he were a fly.