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Chapter 388: Chapter 388: Instigation
Lin Fengying felt wronged, but considering that Liu Qing is a close neighbor to Tong Yao, she wasn’t sure about their relationship, and she dared not express her grievances for fear Liu Qing might tell Tong Yao.
Now that she heard Liu Qing bad-mouthing Tong Yao behind her back, she knew they must not have been getting along well. With nothing holding her back, she began to pour out her woes, sobbing along the way.
"If it hadn’t been for her father, my husband wouldn’t have died. I spent so much effort raising three children on my own. Now that the children are grown up, I thought the hard times were finally over. Yet, every daughter-in-law I got was more dominating than the previous. They say one has a wife and forgets one’s mother, but in my family, they’ve downright forsaken me."
As she spoke, Lin Fengying felt even more aggrieved, "When they first got married, Tong Yao did nothing at home. She ate her fill and then complained about the food. Which day did I not cook a special pot of rice just for her? Even when she went out shopping with other men, I never dared to tell Xiaochen, for fear of damaging their marriage. Anything that I could have done to help, I did. What more could they have wanted that I still didn’t fulfill, for them to treat me like this now?"
"She has been married for two years and hasn’t shown any signs of being pregnant. As parents, how can we not be worried? She wouldn’t even eat the folk remedies that I asked around for. I brought my grandchild hoping to bring her some luck so that she can have a chubby boy, but the couple instead conspired against me. Xiaochen wasn’t like this before he got married. Before he was very respectful, always listening to what I said. Now he would prefer me to shut up and not say anything."
Lin Fengying’s heart sank in bitterness and irritation. She voiced out everything that came to her mind, without considering whether or not Liu Qing could comprehend. Regardless, speaking up made her feel much better.
No matter whose fault it was in the past, she single-handedly managed to raise three children, surely that had to make up for it, right?
She never had huge expectations from her children, but she’d appreciate it if her eldest son could have more children and agree to let her live in Kyoto and take care of Si Weimin, wouldn’t she?
She’s not oblivious as to why her two sons were trying to find a companion for her. They claim they want her to have a partner, but in reality, they just want to prevent her from coming to Kyoto and looking for Si Weimin. They’re all living comfortably as a family now, without genuinely considering her widowhood at all.
What’s the issue if she wants to stay in Kyoto and take care of Si Weimin, or even live with him? How would that affect them?
If everyone remained silent about it, who in the village could know?
She had lived a bitter life for half of her life and had gone through a number of years in a daze. Being close to entering her grave, why couldn’t she live for herself for once?
She wasn’t afraid of her younger son, but she did fear her elder son. She knew that once the elder son agrees, the youngest one wouldn’t even dare to fart.
Ever since her eldest son got married, he has completely changed: always standing up for Tong Yao. This led Lin Fengying to think that the root of these problems lay in Tong Yao. After working hard to raise a son, when it was time for her to enjoy the fruits of her labor, Lin Fengying naturally didn’t want to fall out with her eldest son. But the issue now was that her eldest son wasn’t paying any heed to her at all.
Look at her, she had been out for half a day and her eldest son hadn’t even shown up, as if he didn’t even care whether she was dead or alive.
After listening to Lin Fengying, Liu Qing immediately stoked the fire: "I saw your daughter-in-law hanging out with a few men while she was out shopping. Her employees are all young men about her age. As time goes by, if anyone were to claim that there’s nothing going on, no one would believe it. However, without any evidence we can’t just make baseless assumptions. As for the matter of her not getting pregnant, I believe the issue lies with Tong Yao. Dr. Si seems quite healthy, while Tong Yao looks so thin and unhealthy. If you ask me, you’re too nice. If it were some tougher mother-in-law, Tong Yao would have been disciplined long ago."
"Based on the fact that she isn’t having kids, she has no right to defy you. Dr. Si is so extraordinary, he could find any kind of daughter-in-law! I heard that a nurse named Lin Man at the hospital also likes Dr. Si. She is as pretty as Tong Yao, is from Kyoto, and has a pleasant personality. It’s such a pity that Dr. Si is already married, otherwise, they would make a perfect match. For a man as outstanding as Dr. Si, even if he gets divorced, there would still be a lot of people longing to have him."
Despite her eldest son’s disobedience, upon hearing someone praising her son so highly, Lin Fengying felt satisfied. She took pride in him.
No matter how excellent her eldest son is, he is still the son that she gave birth to and nurtured properly.
As Lin Fengying felt comfortable, her disdain for Tong Yao grew. Even though she had many complaints against Tong Yao and thought Tong Yao had been brainwashing her eldest son to distance him from her, she had never considered a divorce.
But now, as Liu Qing spoke, an idea began to grow in Lin Fengying’s mind; if her eldest son really divorced Tong Yao, wouldn’t he become obedient again, just like before?
Even though she was indecisive, her words were always given heed by her eldest son and he never openly argued with her.
Having harbored that thought, Lin Fengying didn’t dare to admit it aloud.
After complaining a bit, her mood stabilized a little. Wiping her tears, she said, "A divorce might impact Xiaochen’s career, right? I wouldn’t wish for a divorce if they could have a child. After all, divorce is not a good thing. But if they can’t have children, that won’t work either! Xiaochen is the only one in our family with superior genes because of his education. If he doesn’t have children, I won’t be able to face his father even in death."
"That’s so true." Liu Qing patted Lin Fengying’s shoulder, agreeing. "If they don’t have a child, then the family line would be broken, right? Our ancestors also said that, of the three major offenses against filial piety, having no descendants is the worst. You can find another wife, but your mother and children are your actual blood relatives. If they don’t have children now, who will take care of them when they get old?"
It would be great if Xiaochen could understand this. Unfortunately, her eldest son seemed to be under the spell of Tong Yao. Whatever Tong Yao said was taken as the gospel truth. He wouldn’t listen to anyone else.
Liu Qing gave a wry smile. "Mother, there are things that I’m not sure whether I should mention, but your daughter-in-law does not have a great reputation at the hospital. Many people have issues with her behind her back, even the hospital leaders dislike her. Having your daughter-in-law around has limited your son’s opportunities for advancement."
Checking to make sure no one was around, she leaned over and quietly said to Lin Fengying: "Some time ago, the hospital was allocating housing. Your son Dr. Si was supposed to get one, but since Tong Yao has been doing business outside, his quota was cancelled. Imagine, how much money can Tong Yao earn from her business? The unit was actually distributing real estate in Kyoto. Besides, even if Tong Yao’s shop makes money, isn’t it held in her hands? The house that Dr. Si gets from his unit belongs to his property. Only when a man has money and a house can he stand tall. Now look, he didn’t get anything."
