The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 545 - 543: News from Afar

Chapter 545: Chapter 543: News from Afar

"Now! Get out immediately—" he said, as he dragged Wang Yongzhen towards the outside.

With Wang Laozhu making this move, the Wang family members immediately came to their senses, each of them grabbing and dragging members of the Sun family out.

Old Lady Sun was dumbfounded; she had not expected Wang Laozhu to erupt in such fury and turn against them outright!

If it had been Old Granny Zhang who turned against her, she wouldn’t have been afraid—after all, she was a stepmother. Hadn’t they had a falling out before, and after her eldest daughter-in-law went back to her mother’s home and pleaded with Wang Laozhu, things got better, right?

But now that Wang Laozhu, the head of the household and the biological father of the eldest daughter-in-law, had turned against them, it really meant a fallout.

Why had her family managed to take advantage of the Wang family time and time again? Wasn’t it because Wang Laozhu cared about his reputation and doted on his eldest daughter?

How could Wang Laozhu have changed his nature today?

By the time Old Lady Sun came to her senses, her entire family had been thrown out at the gate of the Wang Family Courtyard, which was now tightly closed.

From inside, the voice of Lady Lin could faintly be heard: "Jinguan, hurry up and fetch some water. Today, the Sun family has dirtied our ground; I’m going to wash it thoroughly and cleanse away the bad luck!"

Old Lady Sun looked around; Shitou’s face was fine, but he was groaning while holding his stomach.

The two grandsons from her second son’s family had swollen faces and snot-streaked cheeks, biting their hands and crying.

Her two sons were still in a daze: "Drink... good wine..."

The eldest grandson’s wife could only cling to Shitou and cry, while the second daughter-in-law covered her face and hurled curses towards the interior of the Wang Family Courtyard.

There was also the first son’s wife, Wang Yongzhen, who sat on the ground, completely dazed, staring blankly with eyes that no longer knew how to speak.

Old Lady Sun looked at the tightly shut gate of the Wang Family, and after a long while, she turned around and slapped Wang Yongzhen across the face: "It’s all because of you, you disaster! What good are you? Can’t do anything right? Even your own family doesn’t want you! What’s the point of you living? Let me tell you, if you don’t coax your family well today and borrow some silver, don’t you dare come back to the Sun family!"

Fuming, she helped her eldest son up, told the second daughter-in-law to support the second son, and, with their grandsons, stumbled away.

They left behind a lonely Wang Yongzhen who stared at the Wang family’s courtyard and gate, which seemed so close and yet unreachable.

She wanted to cry, but her eyes were dry, unable to squeeze out a single tear.

With such commotion in the front courtyard, faint sounds could also be heard from the back courtyard, but everyone there, being people of status, pretended not to hear and continued to drink and talk.

Wang Yongzhu made an excuse and got up to walk to the entrance between the second and first courtyards, witnessing everything that had happened.

Especially seeing Wang Laozhu losing his temper—it took Wang Yongzhu by surprise. Watching Wang Laozhu drag Wang Yongzhen out, those inside the house suddenly seemed to age several years.

Wang Yongzhu cast down her eyes, thought for a moment, then retreated back to the entrance of the third courtyard, and pretending to have just rushed over, she happened upon Wang Laozhu.

Not waiting for Wang Laozhu to speak, she said, "Eh? Have all the guests left already? We heard something in the back just now, and it sounded like it was about time. Dad, the guests in the back are still drinking, and as today’s host, you should join them for a couple of drinks."

Without letting Wang Laozhu react, she took him towards the back, talking as they walked, "Brother Song has been the only one entertaining the guests, which isn’t quite right. I figured it was about time for me to come fetch you! Today Lizheng and Shopkeeper Wu were here, paying respect to our Wang family. Dad, in the matter of entertaining guests with drinks, I don’t think Brother Song is as capable as you. He simply holds up his cup and says ’drink’; that’s not persuading, that’s practically forcing..."

With just a few words, Wang Laozhu didn’t know how, but his weary heart lightened.

He even carried a smile on his face, "Well, that’s for sure. Your father back in the day..." Suddenly, his spirit was revived, and he entered the third courtyard laughing and joking with Wang Yongzhu.

Shopkeeper Wu and the others, all shrewd individuals, upon seeing Wang Laozhu come in, promptly drew him aside. They offered several auspicious phrases, praising the construction of the Wang Family’s house as magnificent and grand, with favorable feng shui, predicting a future of prosperous descendants and a flourishing family.

These flatteries brought Wang Laozhu great joy, and he felt as if he had regained the face he had lost.

The place once again bustled with activity.

Old Granny Zhang and Lady Jiang, seeing that the feast would not end anytime soon, hurried back to the kitchen to busy themselves with preparing another spread of dishes and warming up the wine. The three Wang brothers also straightened their clothes to join in offering toasts.

They drank on until the afternoon, and one by one, full with food and drink, they took their leave.

Wang Laozhu drank a bit too much and was already leaning to one side; Jindou and Jinhu carried him to the back yard to rest.

Lady Jiang whispered something in Old Granny Zhang’s ear; despite protocol dictating they should leave through the main entrance, Old Granny Zhang signaled for the three Wang brothers to escort the Lizheng, Clan Leader, and several elders out through the side gate.

Song Chongjin remained very sober and, together with Wang Yongzhu, saw Shopkeeper Wu and his group off to their horse-drawn carriages.

The carriages were parked in the small courtyard by the last warehouse; Jindou, with keen awareness, had already driven the carriages out and stationed them outside the side gate of the fourth courtyard.

Wu Zhongbao had greatly appreciated the home-style dishes served later and had been coaxed into a few drinks, clinging to the wolf-tooth mace given by Wang Yongzhu without letting go.

Though Shopkeeper Wu was a hero among drinkers, today he drank a bit much and groggily slumped to one side as he got on the carriage.

Only Steward Lu had barely drunk anything, maintaining his sobriety; after getting the two men onto the carriage, he watched as only Wang Yongzhu and Song Chongjin remained in the Wang Family Courtyard.

He then spoke in a low voice, "I have news from the Escort Agency in the county town. Wang Yongan has offended Shangguan and has been dismissed."

Wang Yongzhu’s eyes lit up and he immediately understood, "Thank you, Big Brother Lu, for bringing this good news!"

Steward Lu smiled, bid his farewell with cupped hands, and slowly drove the carriage away.

As they watched Steward Lu’s carriage disappear into the distance, Song Chongjin finally spoke up, "Was it the Sun Family who came to cause trouble?"

As someone trained in martial arts, he had keen hearing; others might only have heard the commotion, but he could roughly make out what had happened earlier in the courtyard.

Wang Yongzhu nodded, "Today, my father was truly heartbroken. He said with his own mouth that he disowns my elder sister, that he doesn’t recognize the Sun Family as our in-laws, and he drove them all out."

Song Chongjin, however, said, "If Uncle had made such a decision earlier, things wouldn’t have escalated to this point! It was all his indulgence that led to this mess. If he doesn’t clean it up, who else will? Are you supposed to do it again? Then it would be your fault once more!"

In Song Chongjin’s opinion, it was fine for Old Wang to dote on his eldest daughter back when he was in charge, his word was law, and he could provide for her as much as he wished.

But now that almost all of the Wang Family’s fortune had been earned by Wang Yongzhu, what right did he have to expect Yongzhu to support Wang Yongzhen?

Due to his own vanity, he kept making concessions, allowing the Sun Family to step on Wang Yongzhen’s dignity. Now, after losing so much face, he begins to regret?