My Lady Always Lacks Ambition
Chapter 168 - 167: The Widow and the Childless Man

Chapter 168: Chapter 167: The Widow and the Childless Man

The childless one is you, not your wife!

The young man’s steps halted, and with disbelief, he turned around, looking as though he wanted to rush over and strike someone in anger.

Yu Changkong had somehow made his way over and now stood beside Qin Liuxi; upon seeing the two of them, the young man suppressed his anger once again and gritted his teeth, muttering, "Madman!"

Uncle Qian then said, "Young sir, this is no ordinary person but Master Buqiu, the Daoist from Qingping Temple, a man of great skill. If he says so, there must be a reason. It would be good to listen to him."

The young man thought of his wife’s years of suffering and ground his teeth: "Speak, then. Let me hear what you have to say, what kind of nonsense you can come up with."

"This divination suggests waning family fortune, meaning your family’s lineage is weakening, with heirs hard to come by, a scarcity of family members..."

"You’re talking nonsense!" The young man leapt up, saying, "Although my family are farmers, we also own more than ten acres of farmland, and I have three brothers, how can you say we have a scarcity of family members?"

Qin Liuxi smiled and said, "Three brothers? Are you sure?"

The young man thought about lashing out again, but the woman said in a gentle voice, "Master, my husband indeed has three brothers."

"Blood-related?"

Both were taken aback, their expressions fluctuating.

"What do you mean by that?"

Qin Liuxi glanced at the devotees coming and going, then suggested, "There are many visitors here. Why not move to the back hall for a detailed discussion?"

The young man was reluctant, but pushed along by his wife, he nodded unwillingly and followed Qin Liuxi toward the back hall.

In the back hall, there were tables, chairs, brushes and ink, numerous copied Taoist Scriptures, and two statues of gods. The incense was less intense than in the main hall, but wafts of it still rose gently.

Qin Liuxi sat down, looked at the young man and said, "This divination shows that your repeated prayers to the gods have been unanswered due to the shallowness of your own virtue, failing to move the Heavens. Fortunately, your ancestors have accumulated yin de, blessings that extend to your generation, preventing your family line from extinction."

"Listen, my dear," the young man barked, "he says one moment I have no children, the next that our incense won’t be extinguished. Isn’t this self-contradictory?"

The woman whispered, "Let’s hear what the Master has to say." She looked toward Qin Liuxi and said, "Master, my husband’s family name is Tian, and he is called Tian Er. We have been married for three years but remain childless, which is why we came to pray at your prestigious temple. Please, Master, help us understand."

Qin Liuxi said, "It is true that he is destined to be childless, but that doesn’t mean the family incense cannot continue. Could he not have an adopted son or a stepson to carry on the family line?"

Tian Er’s face darkened.

Nonsense.

First claiming his family lacked members, his brothers not his own, and now talking about an adopted or stepson, was this an attempt to pierce through one’s heart?

"Shall I take your pulse?" Qin Liuxi offered.

Tian Er curled his fingers, but seeing his eager wife, he stretched out his hand.

Qin Liuxi placed two fingers on the wrist, with the other hand performing a mantra, silently reciting the pulse-reading verses of the Taisu Pulse with a solemn expression, causing everyone to dare not even breathe aloud.

After a while, Qin Liuxi withdrew his hand and said, "Both of your parents are deceased, I refer to your biological parents."

Tian Er was stunned, and Lady Tian instinctively grasped his hand.

"You are originally shown to have the destiny of a childless widower, yet you inherit, and your wife’s facial features suggest she is destined to have children. Consider, how could this be?"

"Bullshit!" Tian Er jumped up, enraged: "You’re trying to drive a wedge between my wife and me."

Wasn’t this just short of outright accusing his wife of infidelity?

He was clear about what kind of person his wife was; she would never stoop to such shameless acts, even if childless.

"Childless widower, you don’t understand the meaning of my words." Qin Liuxi faintly smiled and said, "That’s true, the truth is always unpleasant to hear. If you wish to hear it, I can speak. If not, then please leave, and consider my words to be nonsense."

Tian Er wanted to leave, but his hand was firmly grasped.

"Er-lang, I have seen countless doctors, all of whom say there is nothing wrong with my body." Lady Tian pleaded, "I do not find you repulsive, I only seek the truth."

The couple had been married for many years without a child. At her in-laws’, she faced daily scolding like a hen that can’t lay eggs, and Er-lang could not raise his head in dignity; thus, the hard and bitter work at home all fell upon the two of them.

That would have been bearable, but her sisters-in-law disapproved of her, accusing her of being shameless and always posturing. In fact, it was the eldest and youngest uncles who acted improperly.

This thought sent a chill down Lady Tian’s spine, and a flash of spirit light crossed her mind.

"It appears Lady Tian has realized the vulgarity of the situation." Qin Liuxi commented, observing Lady Tian’s face.

Lady Tian’s face flushed with shame, bit her lips, and dared not meet her own husband’s eyes.

Tian Er then asked, "My wife, what do you mean by this?"

Lady Tian lowered her head, and after a long while, stammered out, "When you’re not around, the eldest and youngest uncles, if they catch me alone, they grope me and make suggestive comments."

Tian Er felt as if struck by lightning, angrily saying, "Why didn’t you mention such things earlier?"

"I am a woman, how dare I speak of these things? You know full well, my elder sister-in-law, younger brother’s wife, and even my mother-in-law, they all dictate and scold me. If I were to speak up, they would just accuse me of being indecent."

Watching her cry while speaking, Tian Er suddenly felt helpless, pounding his head with his fists, "It’s my fault, it’s all because I’m a failure."

Lady Tian, grasping his hand and crying, said, "Don’t be like this. I finally understand why they despise us so, why all the dirty, stinking, and exhausting work falls to us. It’s likely because you’re not their biological child, right?"

"How could that be? How is that possible?" Tian Er dared not believe it.

Qin Liuxi said, "The Taisu Pulse can determine good and bad omens, and I’ve only inferred your future fortunes and misfortunes from your pulse. Think about it – if your fate holds no children to pass on to your household, what awaits you? Either someone will be adopted to continue your line, or..."

She glanced somewhat ambiguously at Lady Tian, who had fair skin and a good figure, looking careworn only because she had been childless for years and oppressed by her in-laws.

Lady Tian, thinking of the eldest and youngest uncles back home, spat hatefully, "If they really have no sense of decency and dare do such filthy acts, I would rather be dead."

What else could there be? Family disgrace should not be publicized, and given the parents-in-law’s tyranny, they might openly or covertly have those two men commit such base acts, to beg—offspring!

Is this how the image of a childless widower came to be?

Tian Er felt as though the sky had collapsed.

Coming to offer incense and prayers, how has it only led to deeper despair?

Crying out ’parents’ for over twenty years for those not biologically related, fated himself to be childless, with brothers who misbehave towards his wife, and foreseeing that his wife might even die—what’s left for him in life?

Too tragic.

So-called ancestral blessings are actually fake, aren’t they!

"You, you’re lying to me, right?" Tian Er looked at Qin Liuxi miserably, and holding his wife’s hand, said, "Should we separate? You could remarry."

Without a second thought, Lady Tian slapped him across the face, "I won’t separate. Without children, so be it. Can’t we adopt?"

Tian Er was somewhat in despair.

At this point, Yu Changkong said, "Everything has its own course. If you think carefully about the past years, you will know if you’ve been deceived. If not, just try and you will see."

Tian Er and his wife stared blankly at this stunningly handsome young man who seemed like a Heavenly Person, somewhat stupefied; try, how to try?