Character Count: 3,524
Date: February 9, 2023, 11:45:54
In the past, Father Qiao had been easy to control because he still had things to worry about.
Now his son had been harmed so badly that he might never have children. With his limits crossed, Father Qiao had nothing left to lose, and Grandfather Qiao could do nothing about it.
Grandmother Qiao was unwilling to accept it, but she was no country peasant. As the elderly matriarch of a wealthy merchant family, she valued appearances too much to throw herself on the ground and create a scene like the village women did.
In the end, she could only grit her teeth and accept reality for the moment, while considering how to deal with her stepson's family later.
Still, agreeing to divide the household didn't mean they could do so immediately.
The Qiaos were wealthy merchants with extensive property, and it would take time to settle their accounts. Adoption into another lineage was also involved, requiring a return to the ancestral village to invite the clan elders as witnesses. The procedures were so complicated they would take five or six days at the very least.
With the discussion concluded,
Father and Mother Qiao left with cold faces.
Once the outsiders were gone, Second Uncle Qiao could no longer restrain himself. He slapped Qiao Xu viciously and cursed,
"You idiot! Who told you to steal Qiao Nan's fiancé? We may be merchants, the lowest rank after scholars, farmers, and craftsmen, but our family has money. Finding a scholar for a husband wouldn't be difficult. Why did you have to set your sights on that Scholar Zhao?!"
He wasn't wrong.
Although merchants were looked down upon, plenty of impoverished scholars would gladly marry their daughters or third-gender sons if they came with generous dowries.
Even the proudest scholar still needed money for food, clothing, and daily life, and preparing for the imperial examinations was especially expensive. Very few people truly treated wealth as worthless dirt.
No one understood Qiao Xu's actions.
And Qiao Xu couldn't explain. He could hardly reveal that he had been reborn. Faced with his relatives' accusations, he had no choice but to say stubbornly,
"I love Scholar Zhao. Whatever I have to do, he's the only man I'll marry in this lifetime."
The answer infuriated Second Uncle Qiao. How could the child he had carefully raised have turned into a lovesick fool?
If Qiao Xu's marriage to the Zhao family hadn't already been settled, and if Zhao Lixuan hadn't shown some signs of a promising future, he might truly have shut this disgraceful son away in a convent.
What a humiliation!
"If that's how you feel, you'd better pray that Scholar Zhao rises swiftly in the world. Otherwise, when hardship comes, don't bother coming home!"
Second Uncle Qiao stormed away, sleeves flying.
The others dispersed in equally bad moods. They had more pressing matters to consider than punishing Qiao Xu to vent their anger: namely, how the family property would be divided.
Qiao Xu remained standing there, one hand pressed against his swollen cheek and resentment burning in his eyes.
He had already seen the true faces of these relatives when he was down on his luck in his previous life. Just wait. Once he became powerful, these people would come groveling and flattering him of their own accord.
For now, he couldn't afford a falling-out. He needed a substantial dowry to support Zhao Lixuan's examination studies after their wedding.
Just as his older cousin once had, he would share Zhao Lixuan's hardships, deepen their affection, and become the universally admired husband of the chief minister…
Thinking of his wonderful future made Qiao Xu feel better.
His thoughts revolved entirely around how to win the future chief minister's heart after marriage. It never occurred to him to improve himself. He simply placed all his hopes in another person.
*********
While the second branch argued and fumed,
The atmosphere was far more relaxed and affectionate when the Qiao parents returned to Pine Courtyard.
Perhaps because he had suffered so much under his biased father and scheming stepmother as a child, Father Qiao loved all his children equally. He distinguished right from wrong and never favored one child over another.
As a result, the children were very close, unlike those of the second branch, where children of principal wives and concubines bickered endlessly.
Qiao Nan had two younger brothers. The second, Qiao Wen, was fifteen and also a third-gender male. Although not as strikingly handsome as Qiao Nan, he was pretty and delicate, lively and quick to smile, making him extremely lovable.
The youngest, Qiao Yunwen, was thirteen, an ordinary boy with a clever mind. Unfortunately, he preferred martial arts to studying and was a restless, mischievous child.
Both lively younger brothers adored Qiao Nan and listened to him more than anyone else.
Knowing how badly he had suffered in the river incident, they had been worried sick. The day before, they had gone shopping together and bought all kinds of interesting new things, then hurried over that morning to shower him with gifts and do everything possible to cheer him up.
"Big Brother, the Ink Study got a new batch of storybooks yesterday! Everyone says they're wonderful. Since you're recovering, you can read them to pass the time in the courtyard. I also bought you an ink stick—your favorite pine-soot ink!"
Qiao Wen held up his treasures proudly, his eyes curving into crescents and his dimples sweet as sugar.
Qiao Yunwen stood a step behind him, clutching his own gifts impatiently.
But when he heard what his second brother had brought, his eyes widened as though he had suffered a terrible betrayal.
"Second Brother! Didn't we agree you'd buy storybooks and I'd buy ink? You tricked me again! Hmph, I knew you were sneaky. Luckily, I prepared something else! Big Brother, look! A revolving lantern! Remember how you said you wanted one but couldn't find it? I got one for you…"
Qiao Yunwen puffed out his chest, his face practically shouting, Big Brother, hurry up and praise me!
After giving their presents, one performed a little horseback dance and the other demonstrated a set of martial arts moves. Like dutiful children putting on a colorful show for their parents, they pulled out every trick they knew to entertain him.
Their cheerful laughter filled the courtyard, and the faint smile never left Qiao Nan's face.
For a moment, the painful memories of his past life seemed very distant. All that remained were his brothers' clear, bright voices.
"Here, have some tea and rest."
When the two finally tired themselves out, Qiao Nan wiped the sweat from their foreheads and began preparing tea. He smiled softly, his gestures slow and fluid as a mountain stream.
There was an indescribable grace in even the simplest movements of his hands.
His two little schemers stared, captivated.
Qiao Wen threw himself into Qiao Nan's arms. "Big Brother, you look so beautiful making tea! How did I never notice before? I want to learn! Teach me, Big Brother, please teach me!"
Qiao Yunwen, however, was already a thirteen-year-old young man, and etiquette forbade him from being overly affectionate with his older brother.
So he could only stand beside them watching Qiao Wen cling to their brother, looking utterly pitiful.
He wanted to jump into his brother's arms too!
Qiao Nan's tea-making skills certainly hadn't been this good at eighteen. But although he had endured many hardships in his previous life, those decades hadn't all been wasted.
He smiled at his brothers and said,
"It really is time I taught you a few things. How can you still be so focused on eating and playing at your ages? Starting tomorrow, bring your schoolwork to Pine Courtyard every day. I'll supervise you. If either of you slacks off, I'll spank your bottom. Understood?"
Beside them, Yuzhu covered his mouth to hide a laugh.
"Big Brother!"
The two young troublemakers instantly clapped their hands over their bottoms, their faces turning scarlet.
They were already teenagers! Getting spanked would be humiliating. Big Brother was so wicked!
That was the scene Father and Mother Qiao encountered when they arrived.
The gloom left by their quarrel with the second branch instantly vanished.
Their children were old enough to understand family matters now. After sitting down, the parents didn't send the two youngest away. Instead, they told all three children what had been agreed with the second branch.
"Adoption?"
Qiao Nan was surprised.
He hadn't expected his father to act so decisively. Unlike Qiao Nan, Father Qiao hadn't lived through the later tragedies. His understanding of the elders' and second branch's cruelty was limited, and he still had to consider his reputation. Surely he wouldn't take such drastic measures.
But things had turned out even better than Qiao Nan had anticipated. What an unexpected blessing!
Once they heard the truth, however, Qiao Wen and Qiao Yunwen weren't pleased. They were angry and unwilling to accept that severing ties with the second branch could count as compensation.
Qiao Yunwen demanded indignantly, "So we're just letting Qiao Xu go? He hurt Big Brother this badly, and he doesn't get punished at all? That's far too easy on him! Why is Grandfather so biased?"
He was so furious he refused even to call Qiao Xu his cousin. Soon enough, they wouldn't be cousins anyway.
Qiao Wen gripped the edge of his robe tightly. As another third-gender man, he understood even better how bleak his older brother's present circumstances and future seemed.
Wasn't this letting Qiao Xu off cheaply? He was about to marry out, so the division of the family would hardly affect him. Instead, he'd gain a scholar husband with a bright future. It was terribly unfair!
Father Qiao wasn't satisfied either, but it was the best solution available.
In a society that valued the clan system so highly, one person's wrongdoing could ruin an entire family. Exposing Qiao Xu would certainly damage his reputation, but a scandal involving cousins fighting over a husband would also harm every other Qiao daughter and third-gender son, married or unmarried.
Outsiders wouldn't simply call Qiao Xu shameless. They would wonder whether the other Qiao children were just as terrible. They were blood relatives who had grown up together, after all. Surely their characters couldn't be so different!
In the worst case, even those already married might be divorced and sent home.
This was no exaggeration. It was entirely likely to happen.
Why else did people say that family scandals should never be aired in public?
That was precisely the reason.
Father Qiao's expression darkened. "We certainly won't let this end here. But we'll settle the accounts after the household has been divided and the adoption completed."
Once kinship no longer constrained them, many things would be easier to do. They could settle both old and new grievances then.
"It's so unfair…" Qiao Wen and Qiao Yunwen remained indignant and dissatisfied.
Mother Qiao sighed. Didn't she feel the same? Her poor child.
Qiao Nan himself, however, wasn't particularly concerned.
He stroked his younger brothers' heads soothingly.
"You can't rush everything. If you're angry on my behalf, then study hard and work to better yourselves. Once you've accomplished something, you can help me seek justice. Your big brother can't find a good husband now, so I'll have to rely on you in the future. Will you stand up for me?"
The two boys' blood immediately stirred with excitement, their sense of responsibility swelling.
They pounded their chests and promised solemnly.
Teenagers were always so open and wholehearted with their feelings.
Warmth filled Qiao Nan's heart. He poured tea for his parents as well, hoping to soothe their frustration, and smiled.
"Father, Mother, let's not talk about it anymore. Try the tea I made today. I've had time to practice lately, and I think I'm getting better. Tell me what you think."
"Yes, yes, wonderful! It smells even better than usual…"
How could they dislike tea made by their beloved son? Both parents beamed and eagerly lifted their cups to savor it.
In an instant, all their worries were forgotten.
Qiao Nan smiled broadly.
He truly wasn't angry.
Anger was merely punishing yourself for someone else's mistakes. It damaged one's health, and this time he intended to live to a ripe old age and enjoy everything the world had to offer. Besides, he no longer cared much about finding a partner.
And was it really true that dividing the Qiao household wouldn't affect Qiao Xu?
No. It would affect him enormously.
In his previous life, Qiao Xu hadn't become the glorious chief minister's husband because he was exceptionally clever or capable.
He'd achieved that status because Qiao Nan's entire family had served as his stepping stones. Hoping that the second branch's distinguished son-in-law might make Qiao Nan's widowhood in the county magistrate's household more bearable, Father Qiao had worked himself to exhaustion earning money to fund Zhao Lixuan's examinations and official career. Only because of those efforts had Qiao Xu established himself in the Zhao household…
Without the eldest branch's sacrifices this time, who knew what Qiao Xu's marriage would become?
The finest hunters always possessed the greatest patience.
They would just have to wait and see.
Still smiling, Qiao Nan drained his cup of warm tea.
* * *
Author's Note:
–
A few titles of upcoming novels. If you're interested, please bookmark my author page!
I'm the Male and Female Leads' Stepping Stone [Quick Transmigration] — a boys' love, quick-transmigration story about getting revenge on scum.
The Gossiping Concubine-Born Daughter — a female-led transmigration and household-intrigue revenge story.
