Chapter 180: Chapter 168: Premonition, Miscarriage (Three Updates)
Song Erlang didnât stay long on this side, after eating he went back to the courtyard next door.
Entering the room, he saw his wifeâs eyes red and swollen, as if she had just cried, so he quickly asked what was wrong.
The Second Langâs wife had already stopped crying, but as soon as she saw Song Erlang, she immediately felt wronged and started sobbing again.
Song Erlang was confused, "Who upset you again?"
The Second Langâs wife cried while saying that her mother-in-law threatened to kick her out.
Song Erlang frowned, "What did you do to make my mother want to kick you out?"
He understood his wife, who had a tendency to omit important details, and while his mother was clever and calculating, she wasnât unreasonable. If his wife hadnât done something, it wouldnât have made his mother so angry, much less say such things about kicking someone out.
Crying, the Second Langâs wife said, "What else could it be? Itâs all old stuff. I was wrong all those years, I shouldnât have been badmouthing Third Son, but havenât I changed? During Third Sonâs exams and provincial exams, when did I not get up early to prepare food and boil eggs for them? It turns out all my kindness was fed to the dogs."
Song Erlang still didnât quite understand, "Donât speak in half-truths, clarify the cause and effect. Today is a good day for Third Sonâs success and banquet; even if Mom lost her mind, could she really confront you publicly about old issues?"
The Second Langâs wife looked at the ground and didnât speak.
Song Erlang didnât push her, "Fine, if you donât want to say, Iâm going to work in the fields; thereâs plenty that needs doing out there!"
Just as Song Erlang was about to step out with his hoe, the Second Langâs wife said, "Mom says itâs all because of me that the Xie Family lost their fields. Erlang, do you think Iâm being wrongly accused? Xie Zheng got criticized; wasnât it because he couldnât maintain relationships with the villagers? How can that be my fault?"
Song Erlang paused in silence and then said, "Iâll go ask Mom directly."
The Second Langâs wife panicked and quickly stopped him, "Donât go!"
Song Erlang turned his head, "If I donât go, what if Mom really makes you pack up and leave?"
"I... I..." the Second Langâs wife started to cry again.
"Come on, are you done or not?" Song Erlang was annoyed, "Whatâs really going on? Tell me everything clearly. Iâm my motherâs own son, do you think I donât understand her better than you? Iâm telling you, on such an occasion, I can believe that if your mouth runs off, sheâll say a few things to scold you, but I donât believe for a minute sheâd just bring up old issues out of nowhere."
Seeing it was becoming impossible to hide any longer, the Second Langâs wife had no choice but to confess truthfully.
After hearing it, Song Erlang fell silent again.
The Second Langâs wife, with red-rimmed eyes, looked at him, "Erlang, I canât give you a son, but all these years Iâve been working in the fields and the kitchen, serving you, and Iâve given you three daughters, havenât I raised each one with great care? For your Old Song family, donât I have some merit, if not labor? Mom talks about dismissing me, doesnât that go against reason?"
Song Erlang understood the story and put down the hoe, sitting beside her to wipe her tears. His tone was much softer than before, "If Mom was unreasonable, you wouldnât be sitting here complaining to me but packing up to leave far away."
"Even you say so, are you still my husband?" The Second Langâs wife turned her head away, feeling unjust.
"If you think Iâm wrong, go argue with Mom," Song Erlang bluntly replied, "Iâve told you many times before, but you wouldnât listen and kept opposing her."
"How have I opposed her?" The Second Langâs wifeâs voice rose in a shout.
"Do you really not know if youâve opposed her? For all these years without giving me a son, has Mom ever blamed you or pointed fingers at you? When we split the family, it was you mentioning it, saying that Third Son curses his relatives, that he had already cursed our eldest brother and sister-in-law to death, and if we kept living together, weâd be next. You even blamed your inability to have a son on Third Son.
What did Mom say back then? She said nothing and directly agreed to the split. So many years apart, yet still no son.
From my point of view, this canât be blamed on Third Son. Before he got married, his days were tough. While it seemed like he had no lack of money, going outside meant having people pointing at his nose, calling him a reincarnated killer star who should have died with his brother and sister-in-law.
When our brother and sister-in-law had just died, I remember walking with him once and seeing kids jump out to ask why he didnât just die.
Today, with Third Sonâs success, it proves those rumors were nonsense, and you played a part in it.
Mom had a difficult labor and nearly bled out when she gave birth to Third Son. She came back from the gates of death, and you go spoiling the name of her precious child outside. As his mother, wouldnât she be angry? If it were you, you might have confronted someone face-to-face long ago. Mom having held it in until now to confront you shows sheâs already given you enough face."
It was the first time the Second Langâs wife heard of her mother-in-lawâs difficult childbirth when having her younger brother-in-law, and she was stunned for a while, "Well... I didnât know before!"
"Just because you didnât know, doesnât mean you can talk recklessly," Song Erlang glared at her in exasperation, "Youâve got to change your ways, or if Mom really tells you to leave one day, I wonât be able to protect you."
The Second Langâs wife lowered her head.
Initially, she didnât intend to oppose her mother-in-law, but not being able to have a son made her insecure. She feared her mother-in-law would take advantage of it to bully her, so she tried to be forceful, thinking that by being tough, she could suppress her mother-in-law and prevent future conversations about not having a son.
But she never imagined sheâd run into someone she couldnât handle.
This Song familyâs mother-in-law, when youâre firm, sheâs firmer; when youâre unreasonable, sheâs even more unreasonable. Argue with her?
Sorry, in her entire life, Second Langâs wife has never seen anyone who can argue better than this mother-in-law, who can scold you without a single swear word until you feel like your whole body is smoking.
Otherwise, how did that person from the Zhou family end up sneaking away with a sprained back, getting carried away feeling dejected?
You should know, the person from the Zhou family is considered a "shrew" comparable to Mother-in-law within a ten-mile radius, and even she couldnât win an argumentâothers can just forget about it.
Anyway, with mother-in-law, if you donât do things her way, neither soft nor hard methods work.
After Second Langâs wife realized she had such an incredible mother-in-law, she didnât think of finding a way to fix it, but it was no useâMother-in-law simply doesnât buy it.
Mother-in-law is too clever; no matter what you try to do, she can almost see through it at a glance.
All these years she married into the family, never once did she gain any favor from Mother-in-law.
So that day when she saw mute sister-in-law being personally attended to by Mother-in-law, Second Langâs wife was almost driven crazy with jealousy.
For someone as proud as Mother-in-law to personally serve a daughter-in-law? How much bewitching did the mute sister-in-law do to her!
Back when she herself was pregnant, Mother-in-law just gave her some extra silver to buy supplements; when had she ever personally served her?
Song Erlang said, "Look at the Third Brotherâs wife, never says a word all day, doesnât go out causing troubleâdoesnât Mother treat her well? Even personally attending to herâshows that Mom likes that kind of person. You should learn from her, talk less, work more, and Mom wouldnât criticize you every time she sees you."
Second Langâs wife replied, "This is my natural disposition; how can I change it so quickly?"
"If you canât change it, find a needle and thread to sew your mouth shut!"
"Song Erlang! Youâre getting bold, arenât you?"
"Listen, itâs just one wrong word, and youâre already getting tough. Look at how Third Brotherâs wife, would she talk to Third Son like that?"
Second Langâs wife argued back, "Thatâs because Third Son spoils her, doesnât let her work, doesnât let her suffer. If I had her treatment, I could too put on a happy face for you, be as gentle as I want."
Song Erlang raised his hand to cover half his eye, muttering quietly, "You want to be gentle? Why not take a good look at yourselfâdo you have her figure or looks?"
Second Langâs Wife: "!!!"
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Wen Wan felt that Second Sister-in-law had been acting a bit off lately, constantly coming to their courtyard. When there, she doesnât talk much, just sits with her, occasionally chatting about trivial family matters, making Mother-in-law so worried, afraid that a momentâs lapse might cause Second Sister-in-law to harm her little grandson.
Wen Wan couldnât communicate with Second Langâs wife at all.
Second Langâs wife couldnât read or understand sign language; Wen Wan, on several occasions when she felt sleepy and wanted her to leave, Second Langâs wife didnât get it and just sat there.
In the end, it was Granny Song who intervened, telling Second Langâs wife to go back where she came from and not to get in the way, only then did Second Langâs wife not dare to come over.
Wen Wan thought that Second Sister-in-law must have been frightened by Mother-in-lawâs threat of divorcing her, so she wanted to come over to learn how to win over the mother-in-law, only to find herself unable to speak, making Second Sister-in-lawâs visit in vain.
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Having passed the provincial exam, they would have to go to Beijing for the imperial examination next March.
Song Wei and Xie Zheng agreed that they would leave at the beginning of the New Year, in the first month.
Song Wei has a house in the Capital, so thereâs no need to worry about food and lodging. When they arrive, Xie Zheng can directly stay in the small courtyard in the alley, saving the time to settle in and allowing for more time to study a couple more books.
Before the New Year, Wen Wan started having a series of different premonitions during the year-end; each time, she foresaw that on the way to Beijing, the baby in her belly would be gone, turning into a shocking pool of blood, making her unable to sleep peacefully at night.
Song Wei sensed something was wrong and asked her whatâs the matter?
Wen Wan, her face pale as a sheet, wiped the sweat off her forehead and tremblingly wrote down her premonition.
The implication was that going to the Capital, the baby would be miscarried, with too many uncertain causes for the miscarriage in her premonition, she couldnât determine exactly which one it was.
In other words, it seemed unavoidable, and if she wanted to protect the child, she could only stay in Ningzhou.