Chapter 45: The Old Mansion's Malevolence

"Third Brother! Get out here!"

Third Brother Wen jumped in fright as he saw Second Brother Wen and Lady Fang walking over, panting, from across the fence.

Because of the reactions from Lady Lin and the others yesterday, Third Brother Wen had been on tenterhooks for a whole day and night. Furthermore, this incident originated from the old family homestead, so seeing someone from there now filled him with an unreasoning sense of stuffiness and guilt.

Third Brother Wen asked, "What is it?"

Second Brother Wen said, "You—"

"Let's talk nicely if we have something to say." Lady Fang glared at him, then turned to Third Brother Wen. "Third Brother, don't worry. Your wife doesn't know yet that you taught us how to make the cold-dressed dishes. We won't tell her either. We just want to have a few words with you. If you're unwilling, once they come back and catch us arguing here, it will be hard to explain."

Third Brother Wen panicked.

Naturally, he would eventually tell the mother of his children about this, but it could not be revealed by Second Brother's household.

With this thought, he walked out and asked, "What is it?"

Second Brother Wen said, "The cold-dish recipe you gave us isn't authentic at all. The customers all say it doesn't taste good."

Third Brother Wen was stunned. "How is it not authentic? Didn't I tell you to use star anise, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, fennel... and other spices to simmer the soy sauce?"

Lady Fang asked, "How much of each?"

Third Brother Wen mumbled, "I already said, I don't know the exact amounts. Just guess and put them in!"

Lady Fang frowned. "Is there anything else besides that? I heard people say that the food over there makes their tongues go a bit numb, and also that oil is exceptionally fragrant."

Third Brother Wen shook his head. "I really don't know. Usually, it's Wen Ye and the others tinkering with those things."

Lady Fang and Second Brother Wen exchanged glances. It seemed he genuinely had no idea.

Second Brother Wen was exasperated. "Third Brother, what am I supposed to say about you? That's a business that makes a fortune, yet you didn't keep a tight grip on it and handed it all over to them. Are you a fool?"

Third Brother Wen was bewildered. "I didn't tinker with it in the first place, what is there for me to keep a grip on? Anyway... I've taught you everything I know. You guys should just go back now!"

"Wen Duoshi!" An angry shout rang out—it was Lady Lin. "Good grief, so it really was you who leaked the secret recipe to them!"

Third Brother Wen turned around to see Lady Lin walking over fuming.

Wen Ye and Wen Yuan followed closely behind, carrying their backbaskets.

Wen Yuan rushed forward like a young calf. "Dad, the cold-dressed dish is a money-making business that Second Sister worked so hard to figure out! How could you just teach it to them?!"

Lady Lin's voice trembled. "Wen Duoshi, the few of us women worked ourselves to the bone early and late for this family, and yet you stabbed us in the back..."

Hearing the words "stabbed us in the back," Third Brother Wen turned pale and his lips quivered.

"Mother of my children, listen to me... I, I..."

Seeing his spineless demeanor and catching him red-handed, Lady Lin's anger could no longer be contained. She lunged forward and began to scratch and beat Third Brother Wen.

"You scoundrel, why would you do this to us?! Why—"

Knowing he was in the wrong, Third Brother Wen shrank his neck and didn't dare to fight back.

Wen Ye stood to the side without saying a word.

This kind of shouting match was meaningless; it was merely an outlet for emotional release. Having transmigrated here only a little over a month ago, she had never fully trusted everyone completely anyway.

Even being backstabbed was well within her expectations, so she wasn't particularly angry.

Seeing the Third Branch engaging in civil war, Second Brother Wen and his wife felt a surge of excitement.

Just then, it was the time for villagers to return from the fields. Hearing the commotion, they gathered around in twos and threes.

Second Dog's mother bounded over carrying a bowl of rice, forgetting even to pick up any vegetables with her chopsticks. "Why are Duoshi and his wife making such a fuss?"

Lady Fang's eyes flickered slightly, and she hurriedly put on the act of a peacemaker.

"Stop hitting him! Stop hitting him! Third Sister-in-law, let's talk things out! Third Brother was just being filial, why must you resort to beating and scolding him over such a small matter?"

"It's all our fault... If we weren't so desperately poor that we couldn't even keep the pot boiling, Mother wouldn't have gone up the mountain to pick mushrooms to subsidize the household, nor would she have fallen and injured her waist. Third Brother saw we were in trouble and couldn't afford medicine, which is why he taught us how to make the cold-dressed dishes."

"Sigh... Although the family has split up and things ended on a somewhat unhappy note, Third Brother is still broad-minded and generous, saying that the past is the past. He was simply being filial, what did he do wrong?"

"Right now... if you, Third Sister-in-law, don't want Third Brother to show filial piety to his own mother... we are placed in a very difficult position too..."

As soon as these words were spoken, Lady Lin, the victim, instantly transformed into the unreasonable party.

No matter what, filial piety could never be wrong! To prevent someone else from being filial was simply unjustifiable!

The villagers all wore deep expressions of contemplation, and their gazes toward Lady Lin carried a hint of disapproval.

Lady Lin's body shuddered, and she stopped moving altogether, her face turning ashen.

Third Brother Wen had originally felt thoroughly in the wrong, but upon hearing Lady Fang's words and receiving the villagers' glances, a towering wave of grievance surged within him.

With reddened eyes, he said, "Mother of my children... It's all my fault. I'm no good... But, but Mother got hurt. I didn't do anything wrong... I just thought that our business was already too busy to handle."

"Many customers want to buy it and can't. That's such a waste, such a terrible waste! Just like the melons and vegetables in the field—if you can't eat them all yourself, rather than letting them rot in the dirt, it's better to give them to those in need! Besides... she, she is still my mother..."

Lady Lin's heart suffered a direct dousing of ice-cold water with a resounding crash. She wanted to retort, yet she couldn't find a single counter-argument.

What he said actually made sense...

It turned out she really was too narrow-minded! Too unfilial!

Even so, Lady Lin still couldn't muster a shred of guilt; instead, she felt even more aggrieved and stifled.

This feeling was indescribable and vague, yet it made her increasingly miserable, dizzy to the point of a near-urge to vomit blood.

Lady Fang and Second Brother Wen exchanged a glance, triumph flashing in their eyes.

Lady Fang wiped away non-existent tears. "The family is so poor we have no other choice, we just wanted to pick up whatever you left behind... and use the things you throw away to show filial piety to Mother... yet Third Sister-in-law would rather throw them away than bestow them upon Mother... Wuwuwu..."

The villagers drew in a sharp breath. Once again trapped by the narrative, they simply thought Lady Lin was petty and small-minded.

Not only was she unfilial herself, but she wouldn't even let her own husband be filial—how could such a shrew exist!

"Cut the crap!" Wen Yuan rushed over, spreading his arms to block in front of Lady Lin. "What do you mean by picking up leftovers? You were clearly snatching them!"

"Today when we arrived in town, you guys were selling cold-dressed dishes under our family's banner. After we arrived, you lowered your prices just to cut off our business!"

"Today we haven't even finished selling our vegetables yet!"

With that, he dropped his backbasket onto the ground with a loud thud, revealing dozens of catties of raw vegetables inside.

Third Brother Wen's expression changed drastically. They hadn't sold out?

The villagers exchanged bewildered looks as well.

Just as Lady Fang was about to sophistically argue, Wen Ye had already spoken up:

"Last time, you wanted to sell me and my older sister into a brothel. Now, you're having the old woman fake an illness to trick us out of our secret recipe! After tricking us, you even wanted to cut off our business and ruin our livelihood. Second Uncle, Second Aunt, how can you be so vicious?"

"What? Faking an illness?" The villagers looked at one another in dismay.

Third Brother Wen was dumbfounded. It was fake?

Lady Fang's face darkened. *That wretched girl, does she really think she can claim the old woman is faking an illness with just a few empty words?*

Just as Lady Fang wanted to use her glib tongue to sophistry, "Yeya, don't talk non..."

Wen Ye ignored her and continued, "Why are you people so vicious? Your family lives in a bright, spacious brick-tile house, while my family lives in a thatched cottage, which we even had to borrow from Yu'er's family!"

"Your family has six or seven mu of land, while my family doesn't even own a single plot—it's all rented tenant land! Why is your family poor? Because you have to support two scholars! What about my family? My family can't even afford to send Yuanbao to school! Dad, tell me, isn't that true?"

"The first time, you wanted to sell my sister as a concubine. The second time, you wanted to sell us into a brothel. The third time, you had the old woman fake an illness to ruin our livelihood. Why is the old homestead so vicious?"

You call us unfilial? No, you are the vicious ones!

No matter what, brand them first! Define their character! Cut them off and give them no room to speak!

Besides, she was in the right to begin with.