Chapter 180: Chapter 168: Premonition, Miscarriage (Three Updates)
Song Erlang didn’t stay long on this side, after eating he went back to the courtyard next door.
Entering the room, he saw his wife’s eyes red and swollen, as if she had just cried, so he quickly asked what was wrong.
The Second Lang’s wife had already stopped crying, but as soon as she saw Song Erlang, she immediately felt wronged and started sobbing again.
Song Erlang was confused, "Who upset you again?"
The Second Lang’s wife cried while saying that her mother-in-law threatened to kick her out.
Song Erlang frowned, "What did you do to make my mother want to kick you out?"
He understood his wife, who had a tendency to omit important details, and while his mother was clever and calculating, she wasn’t unreasonable. If his wife hadn’t done something, it wouldn’t have made his mother so angry, much less say such things about kicking someone out.
Crying, the Second Lang’s wife said, "What else could it be? It’s all old stuff. I was wrong all those years, I shouldn’t have been badmouthing Third Son, but haven’t I changed? During Third Son’s exams and provincial exams, when did I not get up early to prepare food and boil eggs for them? It turns out all my kindness was fed to the dogs."
Song Erlang still didn’t quite understand, "Don’t speak in half-truths, clarify the cause and effect. Today is a good day for Third Son’s success and banquet; even if Mom lost her mind, could she really confront you publicly about old issues?"
The Second Lang’s wife looked at the ground and didn’t speak.
Song Erlang didn’t push her, "Fine, if you don’t want to say, I’m going to work in the fields; there’s plenty that needs doing out there!"
Just as Song Erlang was about to step out with his hoe, the Second Lang’s wife said, "Mom says it’s all because of me that the Xie Family lost their fields. Erlang, do you think I’m being wrongly accused? Xie Zheng got criticized; wasn’t it because he couldn’t maintain relationships with the villagers? How can that be my fault?"
Song Erlang paused in silence and then said, "I’ll go ask Mom directly."
The Second Lang’s wife panicked and quickly stopped him, "Don’t go!"
Song Erlang turned his head, "If I don’t go, what if Mom really makes you pack up and leave?"
"I... I..." the Second Lang’s wife started to cry again.
"Come on, are you done or not?" Song Erlang was annoyed, "What’s really going on? Tell me everything clearly. I’m my mother’s own son, do you think I don’t understand her better than you? I’m telling you, on such an occasion, I can believe that if your mouth runs off, she’ll say a few things to scold you, but I don’t believe for a minute she’d just bring up old issues out of nowhere."
Seeing it was becoming impossible to hide any longer, the Second Lang’s wife had no choice but to confess truthfully.
After hearing it, Song Erlang fell silent again.
The Second Lang’s wife, with red-rimmed eyes, looked at him, "Erlang, I can’t give you a son, but all these years I’ve been working in the fields and the kitchen, serving you, and I’ve given you three daughters, haven’t I raised each one with great care? For your Old Song family, don’t I have some merit, if not labor? Mom talks about dismissing me, doesn’t that go against reason?"
Song Erlang understood the story and put down the hoe, sitting beside her to wipe her tears. His tone was much softer than before, "If Mom was unreasonable, you wouldn’t be sitting here complaining to me but packing up to leave far away."
"Even you say so, are you still my husband?" The Second Lang’s wife turned her head away, feeling unjust.
"If you think I’m wrong, go argue with Mom," Song Erlang bluntly replied, "I’ve told you many times before, but you wouldn’t listen and kept opposing her."
"How have I opposed her?" The Second Lang’s wife’s voice rose in a shout.
"Do you really not know if you’ve opposed her? For all these years without giving me a son, has Mom ever blamed you or pointed fingers at you? When we split the family, it was you mentioning it, saying that Third Son curses his relatives, that he had already cursed our eldest brother and sister-in-law to death, and if we kept living together, we’d be next. You even blamed your inability to have a son on Third Son.
What did Mom say back then? She said nothing and directly agreed to the split. So many years apart, yet still no son.
From my point of view, this can’t be blamed on Third Son. Before he got married, his days were tough. While it seemed like he had no lack of money, going outside meant having people pointing at his nose, calling him a reincarnated killer star who should have died with his brother and sister-in-law.
When our brother and sister-in-law had just died, I remember walking with him once and seeing kids jump out to ask why he didn’t just die.
Today, with Third Son’s success, it proves those rumors were nonsense, and you played a part in it.
Mom had a difficult labor and nearly bled out when she gave birth to Third Son. She came back from the gates of death, and you go spoiling the name of her precious child outside. As his mother, wouldn’t she be angry? If it were you, you might have confronted someone face-to-face long ago. Mom having held it in until now to confront you shows she’s already given you enough face."
It was the first time the Second Lang’s wife heard of her mother-in-law’s difficult childbirth when having her younger brother-in-law, and she was stunned for a while, "Well... I didn’t know before!"
"Just because you didn’t know, doesn’t mean you can talk recklessly," Song Erlang glared at her in exasperation, "You’ve got to change your ways, or if Mom really tells you to leave one day, I won’t be able to protect you."
The Second Lang’s wife lowered her head.
Initially, she didn’t intend to oppose her mother-in-law, but not being able to have a son made her insecure. She feared her mother-in-law would take advantage of it to bully her, so she tried to be forceful, thinking that by being tough, she could suppress her mother-in-law and prevent future conversations about not having a son.
But she never imagined she’d run into someone she couldn’t handle.
This Song family’s mother-in-law, when you’re firm, she’s firmer; when you’re unreasonable, she’s even more unreasonable. Argue with her?
Sorry, in her entire life, Second Lang’s wife has never seen anyone who can argue better than this mother-in-law, who can scold you without a single swear word until you feel like your whole body is smoking.
Otherwise, how did that person from the Zhou family end up sneaking away with a sprained back, getting carried away feeling dejected?
You should know, the person from the Zhou family is considered a "shrew" comparable to Mother-in-law within a ten-mile radius, and even she couldn’t win an argument—others can just forget about it.
Anyway, with mother-in-law, if you don’t do things her way, neither soft nor hard methods work.
After Second Lang’s wife realized she had such an incredible mother-in-law, she didn’t think of finding a way to fix it, but it was no use—Mother-in-law simply doesn’t buy it.
Mother-in-law is too clever; no matter what you try to do, she can almost see through it at a glance.
All these years she married into the family, never once did she gain any favor from Mother-in-law.
So that day when she saw mute sister-in-law being personally attended to by Mother-in-law, Second Lang’s wife was almost driven crazy with jealousy.
For someone as proud as Mother-in-law to personally serve a daughter-in-law? How much bewitching did the mute sister-in-law do to her!
Back when she herself was pregnant, Mother-in-law just gave her some extra silver to buy supplements; when had she ever personally served her?
Song Erlang said, "Look at the Third Brother’s wife, never says a word all day, doesn’t go out causing trouble—doesn’t Mother treat her well? Even personally attending to her—shows that Mom likes that kind of person. You should learn from her, talk less, work more, and Mom wouldn’t criticize you every time she sees you."
Second Lang’s wife replied, "This is my natural disposition; how can I change it so quickly?"
"If you can’t change it, find a needle and thread to sew your mouth shut!"
"Song Erlang! You’re getting bold, aren’t you?"
"Listen, it’s just one wrong word, and you’re already getting tough. Look at how Third Brother’s wife, would she talk to Third Son like that?"
Second Lang’s wife argued back, "That’s because Third Son spoils her, doesn’t let her work, doesn’t let her suffer. If I had her treatment, I could too put on a happy face for you, be as gentle as I want."
Song Erlang raised his hand to cover half his eye, muttering quietly, "You want to be gentle? Why not take a good look at yourself—do you have her figure or looks?"
Second Lang’s Wife: "!!!"
——
Wen Wan felt that Second Sister-in-law had been acting a bit off lately, constantly coming to their courtyard. When there, she doesn’t talk much, just sits with her, occasionally chatting about trivial family matters, making Mother-in-law so worried, afraid that a moment’s lapse might cause Second Sister-in-law to harm her little grandson.
Wen Wan couldn’t communicate with Second Lang’s wife at all.
Second Lang’s wife couldn’t read or understand sign language; Wen Wan, on several occasions when she felt sleepy and wanted her to leave, Second Lang’s wife didn’t get it and just sat there.
In the end, it was Granny Song who intervened, telling Second Lang’s wife to go back where she came from and not to get in the way, only then did Second Lang’s wife not dare to come over.
Wen Wan thought that Second Sister-in-law must have been frightened by Mother-in-law’s threat of divorcing her, so she wanted to come over to learn how to win over the mother-in-law, only to find herself unable to speak, making Second Sister-in-law’s visit in vain.
——
Having passed the provincial exam, they would have to go to Beijing for the imperial examination next March.
Song Wei and Xie Zheng agreed that they would leave at the beginning of the New Year, in the first month.
Song Wei has a house in the Capital, so there’s no need to worry about food and lodging. When they arrive, Xie Zheng can directly stay in the small courtyard in the alley, saving the time to settle in and allowing for more time to study a couple more books.
Before the New Year, Wen Wan started having a series of different premonitions during the year-end; each time, she foresaw that on the way to Beijing, the baby in her belly would be gone, turning into a shocking pool of blood, making her unable to sleep peacefully at night.
Song Wei sensed something was wrong and asked her what’s the matter?
Wen Wan, her face pale as a sheet, wiped the sweat off her forehead and tremblingly wrote down her premonition.
The implication was that going to the Capital, the baby would be miscarried, with too many uncertain causes for the miscarriage in her premonition, she couldn’t determine exactly which one it was.
In other words, it seemed unavoidable, and if she wanted to protect the child, she could only stay in Ningzhou.