Chapter 02: Maternal Love

After all the commotion caused by Cheng An, no one could focus on eating anymore.

Old Madam Han stood up with her cane, trembling as she hurried forward two steps, afraid that Cheng Dashan might not hear her, and called out, "Third, go quickly and come back quickly, and don’t forget you have to work the fields tomorrow!"

"Don’t worry, Mother, I—"

The honest Cheng Dashan had just turned to reply when Cheng An, cradled in his arms, suddenly convulsed.

"It hurts, it hurts so much, Father! Quick, help me!"

Cheng Dashan was so startled he couldn’t care about anything else and immediately quickened his pace.

"Don’t be scared, little Six, Daddy’s taking you to see the doctor right now."

"This wretched child, always causing trouble since he was little! Of all times to be in pain, he just had to choose now!" Old Madam Han cursed bitterly.

She was just about to vent her anger on her second son’s family when she turned to see that the plate of mountain mushrooms and meat was nearly finished by Cheng Dahe, who was shoveling it into his mouth while protecting his son’s portion with his other hand.

Yao Chunhua pressed her son’s head down and urged, "Eat quickly, or your grandmother will give the whole plate to your uncle’s family!"

Old Madam Han happened to overhear, and nearly fainted on the spot.

That shameless second household! How could she say such a thing? If word got out, people would think she was horribly biased! Old Madam Han, who prized her reputation above all, would never allow others to laugh at her expense.

She immediately raised her cane, ready to strike the second couple.

Cheng Dahe, knowing what was coming, slipped out the door in a flash.

"Useless wretch! If you’ve got the guts to leave, don’t bother coming back!"

"Really?"

Struck by Old Madam Han’s cane, Yao stood her ground, hands on hips, and shouted, "Then let’s just split the family! Don’t worry, Mother, from now on our branch won’t be in your way!"

"I’ll beat you to death, you unfilial thing!" Old Madam Han, shaking with rage, brandished her cane and cursed, "Split, is it? Everything in this house was bought by me and your father, you’re not taking a single thing!"

Yao, emboldened, retorted, "Why not? We’re all Chengs, our branch deserves a share!"

Old Madam Han nearly choked with anger, her voice quavering, "Rebellious, the lot of you! You really want to drive this old woman to her grave, don’t you? Unfilial wretches, get out—get out now!"

"Well, the whole family can’t just go to the eldest branch!" Yao muttered resentfully as she slipped out. In these times, nothing was more important than filial piety, and she feared truly driving Old Madam Han to an early grave. The infamy of causing one’s mother-in-law’s death was more than she could bear.

...

Old Madam Han had borne three sons in her lifetime.

The eldest had two sons and a daughter. The daughter married young into another village; the eldest son apprenticed in town and rarely returned home; the younger son was studying in town.

The second son’s family had only one child—a single shoot—who now idled at home.

As for the third branch, besides nearly nine-year-old Cheng An, there was a fifteen-year-old daughter, but she had married last year. In these times, girls married young. Liu, the mother, had been reluctant to let her daughter marry so early, but seeing how biased the family was, she thought it better for her daughter to escape sooner rather than later.

They were all her own flesh and blood. Even if Old Madam Han couldn’t treat them perfectly equally, shouldn’t she at least try? But the eldest son’s family excelled at currying favor, and so received the greatest share of affection.

While Old Master Cheng was alive, this was already the case; after his death, Old Madam Han’s favoritism became even more blatant.

When the eldest needed to study, Old Master Cheng agreed without hesitation. They spent all their savings and borrowed five taels at high interest from the neighboring village, forcing the whole family to tighten their belts to repay the debt.

When Cheng Dahai miraculously passed the preliminary scholar’s exam, things only escalated. For two consecutive provincial exams, the family was drained each time, and even had to borrow more money to support him during his studies away from home. Even the tuition for his youngest, Cheng Xiaoyuan, came from the family scraping and saving.

As for “finding connections”—everyone knew what that really meant. The eldest branch, favored for years, had the best food and clothing, and managed to amass quite a bit on the side. Where did all that money come from?

He always left when it was time to work the fields—clearly to avoid labor.

Though the second branch wasn’t blameless, Cheng An admired Yao Chunhua’s efforts to fight for her family’s interests.

His parents were simply too kind-hearted, always ending up the ones taken advantage of.

...

Meanwhile, the anxious Cheng Dashan carried Cheng An out of the village, heading for the town to find a physician. His wife Liu Cuiyun followed, frequently feeling their son’s forehead and soothing him, "Don’t worry, little Six, we’ll be in town soon, everything’s going to be alright."

"Mother, Father," Cheng An suddenly piped up, voice full of strength, "I don’t feel any pain anymore—really, not at all! We don’t need to go to town."

"No pain?" Cheng Dashan looked down doubtfully at his son.

"Really, it doesn’t hurt! If you don’t believe me, put me down."

Cheng An wriggled out of his father’s arms, jumped up and down a few times, then ran back and forth.

"See, Father, I’m really fine."

"Perhaps we should still get you checked, just in case…" A mother’s love is always overflowing.

Cheng An’s heart warmed, and he smiled, "I’m fine, why waste that money? Besides, all our money is with Grandmother. Even if we went, we wouldn’t have enough to see a doctor."

Ah! Only then did his parents remember—without money, who would treat them?

Cheng Dashan looked at his sensible son, feeling a deep sense of guilt. It was all his fault for being so useless! He couldn’t even afford to get his child treated.

And just now at the table… Other people’s sons could eat meat, while his own could only watch from the sidelines.

As a father, he truly felt like a failure.

"Maybe…" Liu, distressed for her son and worried he’d fall ill again, suggested, "Why don’t you go to the fields a bit later tomorrow? At least wait until little Six is completely fine."

Cheng Dashan was about to agree, but then remembered Old Madam Han’s earlier warning and hesitated, "I… I’ll go talk to Mother about it."

"Cheng Dashan!" At last, Liu couldn’t hold back any longer. No matter how mild-tempered or submissive she usually was, when it came to her son, even the meekest woman could erupt!

Protecting her son, she glared at her husband and demanded, "Are you a man or not? He’s your son—your own flesh and blood!"

"Why are you shouting? I didn’t say I wouldn’t do it," Cheng Dashan muttered, knowing he was in the wrong.

But Liu knew her husband too well. She snapped, "As if you have a say! All these years, when have you ever gone against Mother? If she doesn’t agree, would you dare to defy her?"

Cheng An listened from the side, sighing inwardly. A mama’s boy is no good!

He’d often heard people talk of “blind loyalty” or “blind filial piety” and always found it hard to understand—weren’t loyalty and filial piety virtues, how could they be foolish? But looking at his father now, he finally understood what those words truly meant.

No matter what Old Madam Han said, Cheng Dashan only ever replied with two words—"As you wish!"

For years, their branch had been bullied by the first and second branches, always doing the most work and getting the least in return, all because Cheng Dashan was too spineless!

"I don’t care!" This time, Liu was especially resolute. She hugged her son tightly, staring down Cheng Dashan. "If you dare step out tomorrow, I’ll take little Six and go back to my family! Just try me!"

Hearing she would return to her mother’s house, Cheng Dashan didn’t dare argue any further.