[R18] The stars are brilliant, so lucky even (The stars are brilliant, the moon rises over the sea) – Chapter 10 of “The Stars Are Brilliant, How Lucky They Are (The Stars Are Brilliant·The Moon Rising Over the Sea)” [English]

Chapter 10

According to Cheng Shaoshang, this is a family feast of unity, a family feast of river crabs, and a family feast of victory.

After the banquet, everyone was doing whatever they were supposed to do. Cheng’s mother drank a few more glasses of wine, sang and laughed, and almost danced for a while. Hu Hu quickly helped her back to the inner room to rest.The second uncle Cheng Cheng stood up and left. Cheng Shaoshang then realized that he was lame in one foot. Cheng Shi held his hand to prevent him from getting away, saying that he wanted to have a “long talk” between brothers. Second uncle Cheng was dragged away reluctantly.

The fat little Cheng Rui yawned and was led away by Fu’s mother. The big-eyed little girl Cheng Shu lowered her head and followed behind her younger brother. Shao Shang had been eyeing her since they were just eating. He wanted to follow her and “make friends”, but unexpectedly Mrs. Qingyuan pulled her to Mrs. Xiao and said she wanted to “see off the guests”.

The Dong family father and son left dejectedly, while the Dong Lu family left happily. Mrs. Xiao was always very resourceful and sent two nursing homes to her directly. If the Dong family father and son wanted to punish her, they could take action immediately; after a few years, she would hold the Dong family in her hands, and she would no longer be afraid of anything.

Mrs. Xiao was thoughtful and gave two instructions to Mr. Dong and Lu before leaving: “At this point, except for one thing, the Dong family and his son can no longer control you. If one day Brother Dong becomes crazy and goes to the government office to sue his son and threatens you with his children, what will you do?”

“You might as well tell them that if you don’t have children, you will remarry, and the theft and selling of military supplies and the occupation of people’s land will not be solved. If they are unwilling to live an honest life, you can report them at any time to see if they survive.”

Mrs. Qingyuan and Shao Shang, standing on either side of Mrs. Xiao, looked at each other in confusion. Mrs. Qingyuan was not surprised at what Mrs. Xiao said, but was surprised that such words could be heard by the young lady. What Shao Shang was thinking was that it was serious for a father to accuse his son.

Mrs. Xiao turned her head and said with a smile: “My son, what do you think of what your mother just said?”

Shao Shang was caught off guard and was a little dumbfounded. He turned to look at Mrs. Qingyuan, and then looked at the servants and wives beside him, who were kneeling on the porch seven or eight steps away, as if they had not heard these words at all. In fact, Ge’s servants and wives were not allowed to come within a foot of them.Shao Shang looked up again at Mrs. Xiao, who was a head and a half taller than him, and saw the emerald jade beside her ears swaying slightly. Through the snow-colored branches in the distance, there was a chilling brilliance, and her white face became more delicate and flawless.

“It’s true…it’s true…” Shaoshang shook his head, “What my mother said is true.”

“Oh. What’s the point?”

Mrs. Xiao’s eyes were cold and wise, and Shao Shang always felt guilty when meeting her at first. However, if she had known how to write the word “fear”, she would not have messed with the little girl back then.

“Everything my mother said is right. It’s good for the Dong family and good for the Cheng family…” Shaoshang said vaguely.

Mrs. Xiao raised the corners of her graceful mouth slightly with a hint of ridicule. She looked at the young Shang steadily and said for a long time, “Go back to your room first.” Mrs. Qingyuan pushed the standing young Shang, then raised her hand, and all the servants and women who were kneeling respectfully stood up and followed.

In the middle of winter, Shaoshang actually broke out in a thin sweat on his vest. He hurried back to the small room. Lianfang and Qiaoguo had already made the room warm. When they saw Mrs. Xiao and her entourage arriving, they quickly bowed down and paid homage to them.

Mrs. Xiao walked straight to the bed in the middle of the room and sat down. With a wave of her hand, Mrs. Qingyuan had dismissed the servants. Young Shang quickly followed. Lianfang hurriedly brought the mouthwash pulp he had just prepared to Mrs. Qingyuan, and he quickly pulled Qiao Guo out.

Mrs. Qingyuan poured the pulp into two small ear cups and gave them to Mrs. Xiao first and then to Shao Shang.

“We haven’t seen each other for ten years, so it’s natural for us to be a little unfamiliar.” Mrs. Xiao took a sip of the fruit juice and said slowly, “I don’t know what your aunt taught you. I only have one instruction for you. Say what you have to say. What’s the point of telling lies?”

Mrs. Qingyuan said nervously: “Nvjun…”

Mrs. Xiao raised her hand to stop her from talking, looked directly at Shao Shang, and said, “I am too busy these days to talk to you properly, but your father comes to see you every day and says you are smart every day, so why should my son pretend to be stupid.”

Shao Shang slowly put down his ear cup, raised his head, and said calmly: “How can I live in front of my aunt without pretending to be stupid? The more stupid my son is, the prouder my aunt will be. If my son has been smart since he was a child, my aunt will not find any other way to deal with me.”

Mrs. Xiao smiled slightly and said, “So, you don’t even recognize the words?”

Shaoshang was also considered a shameless old man, so he couldn’t help but blush when he heard this.

She originally thought that traditional Chinese characters were used here, and she confidently asked Mrs. Qingyuan for some books to read, so that she could understand where she was now.But when Mrs. Qingyuan took out several heavy bamboo slips on a tray, she secretly felt that something was wrong. As expected, she didn’t recognize any of the characters inside.These words sound a bit familiar, as if I have seen them in some TV series or on signboards. They are twisted and twisted in various ways, and they are strangely elegant and simple. They look familiar but I don’t recognize them.

Mrs. Qingyuan observed the words and brought out a few more bamboo slips that seemed to be newer. Thank God, she could recognize three or four of the ten characters this time. She was so moved that she almost shed tears.

Now Mrs. Qingyuan has figured out her cultural background. Now that Mrs. Qingyuan knows it, Cheng Shi and his wife will naturally know it too.Fortunately for Mrs. Xiao, she was mentally prepared for the worst for her daughter who had been raised by Ge for ten years. However, Cheng Shi was very angry and shouted “divorce that Ge” several times.

Shaoshang murmured: “I know a few…”

Mrs. Xiao directly sneered: “Those characters are considered familiar? What’s more, the characters you know were created by petty officials. Although they are simple and easy to understand, they were often used by people at that time…” She frowned, “But the characters in the pre-Qin classics were not written like these.” She knew that people like Ge family didn’t have a few drops of ink, let alone not wanting to teach, even if they wanted to teach, they couldn’t do anything good.

Shaoshang felt like he was back in elementary school and junior high school. He was criticized by teachers every day for his academic performance. He said gloomily: “I told my aunt that I didn’t like studying. My aunt couldn’t be more happy.”

Ge Shi was also unlucky. The day after Cheng Shi learned that his daughter was blind, he took his daughter to see Cheng’s mother. He happened to meet Ge Shi who also came to Cheng’s mother’s place to say hello (and apply eye medicine). He immediately reprimanded her. Ge Shi quickly said that Shao Shang was too tired and was too playful to study.Even so, Cheng Shihao still scolded him.

“Mrs. Zhong is really…” Mrs. Qingyuan said bitterly, “Young lady is so knowledgeable, she actually made your young master become…” illiterate!Cheng Shaoshang secretly made up for her.She can imagine how happy Ge Shi felt every time he saw Cheng Shaoshang’s uneducated appearance.

“It doesn’t matter,” Mrs. Qingyuan said with a forced smile, “there is a long way to go, and I will just make up for it in the future. You don’t know, back then, the scholar’s knowledge was famous not only in the village, but also in the entire county…”

Shao Shang felt something was wrong and quickly said with a smile: “Actually, my aunt is not entirely wrong. I really don’t like reading. I probably follow my father…” That day, in order to comfort his illiterate little daughter, Cheng Shi kept saying that he was actually very illiterate.

Mrs. Qingyuan waited for a while. For the first time in her life, she felt like she was “stumbling even while sitting.” She looked at Mrs. Xiao at a loss.

Mrs. Xiao, who was well-informed, smiled in her heart and said: The rumors about this girl outside are completely wrong; but it’s okay, she has had enough of idiots like Guerrero. You can’t understand idiots no matter what you say, and you have to tear your face and see blood to know how to be afraid. Being smart is better than being stupid.

“Then learn slowly.” Mrs. Xiao said, “Your father has been busy with farming since he was a child, and then he went on wars. He only started to study essays when he was 3 years old. Now he can read the imperial memorials and reports all over the country without any problem.”

Shaoshang complained in his heart and had no choice but to say “Hey.”

Mrs. Xiao added: “You have seen all the family affairs these days. Do you think your father and I are too aggressive?”

“Why do you think so?” After talking about it, Shao Shang dared to answer, “The Dong family relied on the protection of their eldest mother to cling to my father like a blood-sucking leech. Helping him is a trivial matter. I heard my father say that they are still bullying the people out there. What if they cause big trouble in the future?”

If it were any other mistress of the family, even if she wanted to teach her daughter, she would not expose the elders’ ugly behavior to the public so straightforwardly, and be honest about their private matters. However, Mrs. Xiao encountered a disaster when she was young, and she hated raising her children unaware of the dangers of the world.Cheng Shaoshang had almost never had a mother in his previous life, and he was a Xibei in this life. He didn’t know how to properly get along with mother and daughter, so they discussed it frankly.In fact, the correct answer at this time should be “How can a junior talk nonsense about the elders’ matters?”

However, Mrs. Xiao has obviously settled all the blame on Ge’s “ignorance and indulgence”.

“But…” Shao Shang hesitated a little and glanced at Mrs. Xiao.In fact, she always felt that Mrs. Xiao had already seen through her nature, and pretending to be stupid would only annoy her. She also felt that she had a bad character; she might as well explain it.

Mrs. Xiao said, “It doesn’t hurt to just say it.”

Shao Shang said: “Since you have made a mistake and asked my father to catch it, why don’t you just ask the government to deal with it? After all, it is your own flesh and blood, and beheading is not possible, but I heard that my father said that you can be sentenced to exile. Why not send it to another place, wouldn’t it be cleaner?”

Mrs. Xiao frowned and said, “You little kid knows what exile is. How can we, father and son, live in exile with their bodies of eating, drinking and having fun? It’s really against humanity. But…” She suddenly smiled sarcastically, “I have thought about this method. Do you know why I don’t use it?”

“Why… why?” Isn’t it because it’s against harmony? You said it yourself and you still ask me.

Mrs. Xiao lowered her body and whispered to Shao Shang who was kneeling on the ground, “Think about it for yourself.”

After saying this, Mrs. Xiao stood up and left, leaving Shaoshang alone to think slowly.

Lianfang and Qiaoguo came in quickly, helped Young Shang change into new dark clothes, wiped his face, washed his hands and rinsed his mouth, then got into the hot bed, closed the thick curtain and whispered “please” her to take a nap.

Shao Shang wanted to laugh. She was put in this position. What else could she do if she didn’t take a nap?Lying on the bed, she suddenly remembered a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law in the town in her previous life. The mother-in-law called her daughter-in-law a thief. She had subsidized her parents’ family for so many years. Now she even stole her grandson’s school district rent money to her parents’ family to buy a wedding room for her younger siblings. She insisted on getting her son divorced.I don’t know whether she was divorced in the end, but the man in that family went out to work angrily and refused to pay his wife any more. The son also followed his grandmother and refused to care about his mother, so the daughter-in-law was replaced by her daughter-in-law who spent the whole day yelling at the man for having no conscience.

In essence, the old woman from the Cheng family is not a completely pure brother-in-law. She is not like the daughter-in-law who would rather eat rice bran for herself and her husband and children in order to let her family live a well-off life. Otherwise…well, Mrs. Xiao will probably only hurt people.In fact, the Dong family should thank Mrs. Cheng, otherwise Mrs. Xiao would not know what means she would use to deal with them.

…

Mrs. Xiao, who was lucky enough not to hurt anyone, returned to her temporary room and saw Cheng Shi already half-lying on the bed, smelling of alcohol, and his face that was not covered by his beard was very red.

Mrs. Xiao was not surprised at all. She slowly took off her hairpin and ring, then asked Qingyuan to tie up her arms. She skillfully loosened Cheng Shi’s collar, revealing her sweaty and hot chest. She waited for the maid to bring a large basin of hot water and wiped and applied it to her husband herself.Cheng Shi woke up leisurely, took the sobering soup and drank it all in one gulp, chuckling at his wife: “Yuan Yi.”

Qingyuan and several of the usual servants were hiding their faces and snickering. Mrs. Xiao glared at Cheng Shi, took off her clothes, dismissed everyone, and sat down next to her husband, “I asked you to have a good talk with my second brother. It’s better for you to drink like this!”

Cheng Shi wiped his face with a hot cloth and said, “My second brother has been reticent for so many years, and I don’t know how to open my mouth to him. In the past few days, I told him about moving, but he always kept silent. When I said he was in a hurry, he said that he didn’t need to move and would just stay here to study. I was so angry that, well… I just have some inconvenience in my legs. How can I get him to express his true feelings if I don’t drink him a few more drinks while my second brother is already a little drunk?”

Mrs. Xiao leaned closer to write and asked, “So, are you willing to say it this time?”

Cheng Shi put the hot cloth on his face and said dullly: “He just said to me over and over again, ‘Brother, you are not sorry for me, it’s because I am worthless’. My sleeves are covered with his tears.”

Mrs. Xiao was also stunned. Thinking of the past, she sighed: “In our family, the most aggrieved person is the second brother.”

Cheng Shi pulled off the cloth and whispered: “When I was young, my family was poor and we had no money for him to study. Later, when the war broke out, we got to know a few Confucian scholars. Someone recommended us to go to Bailu Mountain to study with Mr. Sang, but…” he said with tears in his eyes, “We are fighting outside, and someone has to take care of the family. He asked me to stay, so I let the third child go.”

Mrs. Xiao shed tears and said: “Later, the third brother became successful in studying and was commended by His Majesty and appointed an official. The second brother was happier than anyone else. It’s just…it’s a pity for him…”

Cheng Shi wiped away tears and said: “He is different from his third brother. He studies and does not become an official to make a fortune, just because he likes to study classics. This time, I will definitely fulfill his wish!”

Mrs. Xiao said happily: “Second brother, did you agree?”

“Finally, I nodded!” Cheng Shi breathed a sigh of relief, thought for a while, and then said narrowly, “It would have been better to ask my third brother to study in Bailu Mountain. This son is the most like my father, and he has become the apple of Duke Sang’s eye. Now our family has one foot on the threshold. If someone recommends it, he can go to any great scholar’s residence.”

Mrs. Xiao patted the bed decisively and said, “Okay, I will send my second brother out after the first day of the new year. I just want to show off that bitch!”

Mentioning the Ge family, Cheng Shi also got angry: “What are you waiting for? I just want to retire. With such a woman around me every day, criticizing me for being a worthless wimp, my second brother is so depressed! This bitch, if he only wants to stir up trouble in the inner house, he actually decides to sell A Ding’s family while we are not around! If it weren’t for the war ahead, I would have wanted to come back and smoke her right away!”A whip!Hey, Grandpa Ge loves her so much.Since she doesn’t like her second brother, it would be great if she remarried earlier, so why would the Ge family be so disgusted with her?”

Mrs. Xiao sarcastically said: “Do you think she has never thought of remarrying?” She did so more than ten years ago!

“Then why doesn’t she remarry?” Cheng Shi felt regretful.

Mrs. Xiao rolled her eyes and said, “Don’t worry about this.” As she said that, she arranged her clothes and looked like she was about to go out.

Cheng Shiqi asked: “Where are you going?”

Mrs. Xiao turned around and said coldly: “That bitch just suffered a beating from us at the table. Just now you were at the second brother’s place. She couldn’t get over it. Now that you are back, why doesn’t she go and cry with the second brother? We are all back, how can we still watch the second brother being bullied by that bitch?!”