"But my mom, she monopolized it all.
"My dad did the same, never even considered us brothers.
"If I had that money, I wouldnât have had such a rough time after graduation. It took years for life to get better.
"But now, when she sees Iâm doing well, my mom suddenly shows up, expecting us to take on the responsibility of caring for her.
"Iâm not saying I wonât do it, but surely I canât be the only one responsible, right?
"As long as the other brothers speak up, Iâll definitely contribute.
"Of course, I wonât be the one to take care of her..."
Jiang Sipingâs face was full of grievance as he vented all the emotions suppressed in his heart. Over these years, his wife didnât understand him. Every time they discussed family matters, she would take his motherâs side. She had no idea what he had been through.
As the saying goes, donât preach goodness to others if you havenât tasted their bitterness. Had all his grievances been suffered in vain?
"Lawyer Zhang, tell me... where is the justice in this world?" Jiang Siping let out a long sigh. Looking at Zhang Wei, he sought affirmation. "If it were you, youâd probably be driven mad, wouldnât you?"
But across from him, Zhang Weiâs face darkened as he listened, and he began to tremble with anger.
That statement... If he hadnât known the whole story, Jiang Siping might have actually managed to deceive him. Those who didnât know the situation would think Jiang Sipingâs mother had committed some unforgivable act.
But, having heard accounts from Jiang Daping and the others, he had a general understanding of this familyâs situation. Since childhood, their mother had always doted on the youngest, always giving priority to the little one. This kind of thing is common in many families; the youngest is always the most favored. But no matter what, their mother did raise all four of them. She never abandoned any of them. Except for the inheritance issue... It was that issue that had caused the family divide to erupt violently, falling apart. It was somewhat understandable that Jiang Daping, Jiang Erping, and Jiang Sanping felt their mother was biased. What astonished him was that Jiang Siping thought the same! He believed his mother was selfish and that her kindness to him in the past was all pretense. He talked about providing for her but never once did his duty as a filial son.
"Zhang... Lawyer Zhang, calm down. My mom may have gone a bit too far, but donât get too worked up, you might make yourself sick..."
Jiang Siping, seeing Zhang Wei twitching slightly and seeming emotionally disturbed, was also taken aback. He quickly advised, fearing Zhang Wei might become ill from anger.
"Gone a bit too far?" Zhang Wei took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. He scoffed coldly, "Thatâs an understatement! Heâs a downright ungrateful wretch!"
Jiang Siping paused for a few seconds. He couldnât help but remind, "Lawyer Zhang, âungrateful wretchâ isnât quite used that way. It typically describes the actions of elders towards the young, or superiors towards subordinates, or benefactors towards beneficiaries..."
He was a language teacher, highly proficient in matters of language and vocabulary, and was now enthusiastically pointing out Zhang Weiâs error in word choice.
Zhang Wei burst into laughter at his solemn correction. It took him a few seconds to compose himself before he said coldly, "Please leave. I cannot address your legal consultation... The consultation fee will be returned to you the way it came."
As for Jiang Siping... he had run out of patience. If it werenât for professional ethics holding him back, he would have liked to punch Jiang Siping. Jiang Siping wore glasses and looked very scholarly, but deep down, his moral compass was distorted; he was spoiled and arrogant. He took it for granted when his mother was kind to him. Once she wasnât as good to him as before, he would see her as selfish and utterly hypocritical. This kind of attitude truly disgusted him.
"This... Lawyer Zhang, is this case really that complicated? You canât answer it?" Jiang Siping, still unaware of the problem, asked with confusion.
Zhang Wei rolled his eyes. Without responding, he directly had the law firm staff come in and escort Jiang Siping out.
Having another word with this kind of person... he felt it was an insult to himself.
ă...ă
ăAt the same time.ă
In the nursing home, evening had fallen. Zhang Qingyuan and Feng Cuihua had finished dinner and were taking a walk in the courtyard. During their walk, the two of them started chatting idly.
"Zhang... Brother Zhang, is what Iâm doing right?" Feng Cuihuaâs face was full of conflict, and she couldnât help but ask again. In six days, the case was going to be heard in court. The more she thought about it, the more tormented she felt. After all, these were her sons.
"Donât worry. Didnât Xiao Qin say? As long as the verdict isnât handed down, you can choose to withdraw the lawsuit." Zhang Qingyuan waved his hand and said, "If you really donât want them to go to jail, just request to withdraw the case when the judge is about to deliver the sentence. We are just scaring these ingrates to let them understand what a stepfatherâs authority means!"
When mentioning the term âstepfather,â he stood tall and proud, with an attitude that implied,
Your uncle will always be your uncle.
This incident... he had taken the initiative to contact Qin Mu, asking for Qinâs help. On one hand, he felt indignant about Feng Cuihuaâs plight. On the other, he also worried that after he remarried Feng Cuihua, these ingrates would start targeting him too. He was not like Feng Cuihua; he couldnât tolerate such grievances. He had to teach these rascals a lesson!
"Besides, even if they were sentenced, they would most likely get a suspended sentence, and they wouldnât have to go to jail."