Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I rushed into the front courtyard. My younger sister was already making a scene.

She was pounding angrily on Erlang (Second Master)’s chest, crying like a wretched dog.

“What did you say when you married me? You said I would be the only one in your life.”

“And now one woman isn’t enough for you. You want another, and of all people, it has to be my elder sister.”

“You’re ripping out my heart, Cen Zhengyan. How can you be so shameless?”

Exactly.

How could they be this shameless?

How could their whole family be this shameless?

Cen Wenqing had only just died.

How could they do this?

But I had no interest in arguing with them over this. There was no point.

I wanted to make sure they never dared mention it again for the rest of their lives.

More importantly, I did not believe the honest, wooden Dalang would have offended anyone. And I believed even less that bandits who wanted money would suddenly change their minds and decide to kill after getting it.

I walked in slowly, stopping before the dejected Erlang (Second Master), and said coldly,

“I haven’t asked you yet. How did your brother die?”

A flicker of panic crossed Erlang (Second Master)’s eyes. His mouth opened and closed.

“The bandits tried to hack me with a knife. Brother took the blow for me.”

I slapped him hard across the face.

His head snapped to the side, and a thread of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

“You’re still lying.”

“Why would the bandits try to hack you? What did you do?”

“Tell me!”

Tears fell one by one from Erlang (Second Master)’s eyes.

“I… I couldn’t bear to part with the money…”

He could not bear to part with the money, so he had thrown a few threats at the bandits.

Then he even tried to snatch the money back and run.

The bandits panicked and swung a knife at him.

Dalang had stepped in without a second thought.

Dalang died. Erlang (Second Master) lived.

The one who should not have died was dead, while the one who should have died was alive and well-and even wanted to carry on both family branches.

What a joke.

I slapped Erlang (Second Master) hard again. And again.

My parents-in-law tried to pull me away, but I shook them off.

My younger sister dodged back in alarm.

The maids and servant women wrapped their arms tightly around me.

I struggled, desolate to the core, grief and rage tearing through me as tears streamed down my face. I questioned him,

“Are you even human?”

“Your brother was honest all his life. He never even dared quarrel with anyone.”

“And you made him take a knife for you.”

“He treated you as his younger brother. Did you ever treat him as your elder brother?”

“He had only just left, and you were already scheming against his wife.”

“Are you people human?”

“Are you still human at all?”

I cried until I fainted. The hatred and pain in my heart went on and on, so relentless that even in sleep, I could not rest peacefully.

Erlang (Second Master) was punished by being made to kneel in the ancestral hall.

My parents-in-law never dared bring up carrying on both family branches again.

Even my younger sister shed her arrogant, domineering ways and became as meek as a quail.

They worked hard to run the shops, trying desperately to hold up that portion of the family business.

But I had changed.

I withdrew a large sum of silver from the household accounts.

My parents-in-law asked what I planned to do with it.

I said coldly, “Repair his grave. Dalang wasn’t worthy of marrying a beautiful wife, and now he isn’t worthy of having a beautiful grave either?”

My parents-in-law were left speechless.

Erlang (Second Master) said hoarsely, “It’s only right. Brother deserves a beautiful grave.”

My younger sister was resentful, but Erlang (Second Master) held her back.

After Dalang’s death, our positions had changed.

I became the unreasonable one.

They became the ones who were furious but dared not speak.

When they finally managed to make up the shortfall, I ran up debts outside again, burning through a fortune in a single day.

When the debt collectors came to the door, Erlang (Second Master) had no choice but to pay the silver, and the accounts sank into a massive deficit once more.

My parents-in-law asked me what on earth I was trying to do.

I said calmly, “I donated it to the temple. Dalang said his wounds hurt day and night, so I hired monks to perform rites for forty-nine days. Father, Mother, have you never dreamed of Dalang?”

In truth, I had not donated anything.

I was simply angry and unwilling to accept it. I did not want them to live comfortably.

My parents-in-law were horrified and said it was all karmic debt, all of it karmic debt.

Erlang (Second Master) lowered his head, his shoulders caving in.

Once, he had been a spirited young man, carefree, charming, and living as he pleased.

But now, he was like the people we used to be. He looked like a dog too.

My younger sister came to find me.

She spoke through gritted teeth.

“Li Xiangzhi, that’s enough. You planned this on purpose, didn’t you? However much we earn, that’s how much you borrow. Have you no shame?”

“Ha!” I let out a string of cold laughs. “Little sister, you can’t take it already? Aren’t I just living the way you and Erlang (Second Master) used to live? You two could live like that, but I can’t? Are you somehow nobler than me?”

My younger sister’s face went pale.

“It’s already in the past, yet you still hold such a grudge.”

“Whether it’s in the past is not for you to decide! You don’t have the right!”

I stared at her, my gaze as sharp as a cold wind.

My younger sister fled in panic and severed our bond.

“I don’t have a sister like you, Li Xiangzhi. From this day on, you and I are done.”

I returned the favor without the slightest politeness.

“Don’t worry. If one day you’re kidnapped by bandits, I definitely won’t take a knife for you. I’ll give you a push instead, so you can die sooner and be reborn sooner.”

Outside the door, the hem of Erlang (Second Master)’s robe appeared.

He had heard. He looked utterly lost.

My younger sister beat angrily at his chest.

“It’s all your fault! All your fault!”

Erlang (Second Master) stood like a soulless puppet and let her hit him.

The two brothers and the two sisters.

We did not respect and love one another the way my parents-in-law and my parents had imagined. Instead, we became enemies who hated each other to the bone.

Truly pitiful.