The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 617 - 615: Think We’re Fools to Be Tricked?

Chapter 617: Chapter 615: Think We’re Fools to Be Tricked?

Wang Yongan’s face flushed with rage, and he slapped Lady Qian to one side, spitting out angrily, "Great! Every day I have to go out and invite doctors, and I also have to wait at the docks for mother and my little sister to come. I left you in charge of the household affairs, repeatedly emphasizing and entrusting you to take good care of father, and this is how you look after him?"

"If it weren’t for my early return today, wouldn’t I have been deceived by you again? Ask yourself, how have I, Wang Yongan, treated your parents? You always say that you are the only daughter of your parents, and if we don’t look after them, your parents would hardly be able to make ends meet. Because I feel sorry for you, I haven’t even taken care of my own parents, and wherever I go, I bring your parents along! My father has lived with us for so many years, yet he has only stayed for a few days, and this is how you treat him? Huh? How can you do this and still be worthy of me?"

"..." Lady Qian was at a loss for words and couldn’t speak.

On the other side, Father and Mother Qian’s faces were flushed with shame, wishing they could burrow into the ground.

After scolding Lady Qian, Wang Yongan turned to Father and Mother Qian, "Father-in-law, mother-in-law, you saw what happened today! My own father, after so many years, has come to our house for the first time, and in less than a month, he was treated like this. In the dead of winter, he wasn’t even given a heated bed! Is this your family’s way, the Qian family’s rules?"

Father Qian, too ashamed to lift his head, pleaded in a low voice, "My good son-in-law, Ruyue was just confused for a moment. For nothing else but for Jinchai’s sake, could you forgive her this one time? I, on her behalf, apologize to you and our in-laws! It’s our fault for not teaching our daughter well—it’s our fault—"

While begging, he tugged at Mother Qian’s sleeve, giving her meaningful glances.

Mother Qian saw her daughter covering her face as she cried and looked at her with pleading eyes. Looking at the Wang family members, especially her son-in-law’s furious face, she suddenly felt a pang of guilt and shortness of breath.

Now that they, as an old couple, were relying on their daughter and son-in-law to get by, what would they do if their daughter were really sent away?

With this thought, she steeled her heart and blurted out, "If blame must be assigned, then blame me—it was I who kept it from my daughter and didn’t let her heat the bed for our in-law. But I had no choice, as our in-law fell ill as soon as he arrived, and was visited by three or four doctors a day, spending silver like it was being burned."

"Now, my son-in-law, because of our in-law, hasn’t gone to the Yamen to work, and there’s no income at home. How could ordinary people like us afford such expenses? Besides, with my son-in-law out all the time, the whole household depends solely on my daughter. She has to prepare medicine, cook, and wash and change clothes for our in-law; doing it three times a day is simply unmanageable."

"My daughter has been delicately raised from childhood; how could she endure such hardship? The firewood we stored last year is not enough, and the smell in our in-law’s room is indeed unpleasant. To heat the bed would only make it impossible to enter the room. So I told her that I would go heat the bed for her, but in fact, I didn’t!"

"Son-in-law, please be considerate of your wife. Look at her hands; in this cold December, washing bedclothes and clothing for our in-law, her hands are cracked from the cold! If you don’t feel pity, I do!" With that, she ran over to Lady Qian, embracing her and bursting into tears.

Wang Yongan stomped his foot, making a helpless gesture, "Mother-in-law, you... what is this... "

Wang Yongzhu watched their whole family’s performance coldly, and when they seemed to find their situation excusable, she finally spoke up, "In-law Madam claims she has raised her daughter delicately and relies on her daughter and son-in-law for living, but why don’t you lift a finger to help when your daughter has to wash clothes, cook, and prepare medicine? Just watch with your eyes wide open? Is this how you spoil and care for her?"

"Besides, even if my father’s illness has indeed incurred great expenses, it’s only right and proper! He raised a son, who even became a Scholar, isn’t the silver spent on him over the years more than enough for even a few days’ medicine? When has it been the turn of the Qian family to decide on matters of the Wang family’s money?"

"And this matter of washing and changing our in-law’s bedclothes and clothes three times a day—are we so ignorant? The stains on the bedclothes and the odor in the room suggest that you probably never washed them, did you? Are you treating us all as fools to be deceived, or as blind people who cannot see?"

This barrage of words left Lady Qian and Mother Qian with their cries stuck in their throats, the mother and daughter frozen in their embrace, uncertain whether to get up or to continue holding on.

Jinhoo had been watching over Old Wang Laozhu the whole time and noticed his eyelids twitching with signs of waking up. She hurriedly called out, "Nurse, Auntie, Grandfather seems to be waking up—"

This interruption made everyone drop their quarrel and rush toward the room where Old Wang Laozhu was staying.

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Upon entering, Wang Laozhu indeed slowly opened his eyes under everyone’s gaze, blinked bewilderedly, and then saw Old Granny Zhang and Wang Yongzhu sitting by the bed. He struggled to muster a smile, "You—you’ve come—" No sooner had he said this than he closed his eyes and fainted once more.

"Dad—"

"Grandpa—"

The room immediately descended into chaos, with only Wang Yongzhu maintaining her composure and clarity.

She signaled with her eyes to Wang Yongan, who drew back.

Wang Yongan caught on quickly and also hurried out, his face showing an appropriately balanced mix of urgency and panic: "Little sister, what did you call me out for?"

"Which doctor was consulted for Dad’s illness? How did it come to this?" Wang Yongzhu asked directly.

"We sought the most famous doctor from Shou’an Hall in the county. He said it was acclimatization issues, prescribed some medicine, but drinking it has had no effect—"

Wang Yongzhu cut him off: "Go find another doctor."

"But even the doctor from Shou’an Hall is at a loss; he’s the most renowned in the county, even the County Magistrate’s Yamen seeks his services. Other doctors, hearing that Shou’an Hall’s doctor couldn’t cure the ailment, are all too afraid to come!" Wang Yongan looked extremely distressed.

Wang Yongzhu gazed at him, then called into the house: "Third Brother, come out."

Wang Yonggui quickly scrambled out.

"Third Brother, go find a doctor immediately to examine Dad." Wang Yongzhu commanded.

Wang Yonggui nodded at once: "I’m on it!" and turned to leave the courtyard.

Wang Yongzhu entered the side room: "Fourth Brother, first move Dad to the main room so he can warm up a bit, don’t let him catch a chill!"

"No way! The main room is where my parents and I stay! Why should a sick person be allowed in, when he’s so—" Jinchai’s remaining words were muffled by Lady Qian’s hand.

Jinchai glared at Lady Qian with furious eyes, unable to believe her own mother wouldn’t support her. How could they allow such a filthy sick person into the main room?

Lady Qian pinched Jinchai hard and whispered fiercely, "Shut up! Do you care about your reputation at all?"

If word got out that a granddaughter detested her own grandfather for being dirty and refused to let him inside, Jinchai’s reputation would be ruined forever.

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