Chapter 49

Chapter 49

Old Master Jang's second son turned and walked outside.

Soon, Old Madam Jang's furious shouting could be heard from beyond the house.

Gang Gye immediately stopped crying.

He pulled out the handkerchief his mother had made for him and neatly wiped his face.

Fang Hong and Jang Un-chu, who had been crying along with him, stared wide-eyed at this sudden change.

Jang Un-chu asked,

"Why did you suddenly stop crying?"

Gang Gye looked back at her as though her question were strange.

"Grandfather already left."

"..."

Jang Un-chu was speechless for a moment before finally managing to ask,

"Then just now... was all of that acting?"

"No one is looking down on you at the academy?"

"And you don't need us to buy more paper?"

Gang Gye shook his head.

"No one looks down on me."

"Everyone in my class treats me very well."

"Father already bought me plenty of paper too."

"And our business is making lots of money now."

"Buying paper won't be a problem anymore."

Fang Hong couldn't help interrupting.

"But you were crying so hard just now!"

"Ah."

Gang Gye blinked, then smiled sweetly.

"I always see Great-Grandmother crying in front of Grandfather, so I wanted to try it too."

"Crying is really easy."

Then, right in front of his mother and grandmother, Gang Gye demonstrated how he could make tears fall almost instantly.

"..."

Jang Un-chu was completely speechless.

She had genuinely believed her son had been mistreated and had cried along with him from the bottom of her heart.

Fang Hong was equally stunned.

She felt as though her horizons had just been broadened.

Then a strange thought suddenly occurred to her.

Perhaps her husband's natural enemy had finally appeared.

Her mother-in-law and Old Master Jang's eldest son's family were all experts at putting on pitiful acts and manipulating her husband.

They had always played him effortlessly.

But it seemed that situation might soon change completely.

The moment Old Madam Jang heard her second son's request, rage shot straight to her head.

Without even thinking, she shouted,

"You want our Jang family's silver to raise a Gang family seed?! Have you lost your mind?"

Old Master Jang's second son replied,

"Mother, you said before that our family's next generation has too few boys, so we should help Zhao Yang instead."

"But Zhao Yang can't even compare with our Little Six."

"Little Six was personally invited to study at White Crane Academy."

"So Mother, let's change who we're supporting."

Old Madam Jang wanted nothing more than to leap up and slap the back of her second son's head.

Did he really think she was doing all this because she simply wanted to support some promising child?

She was doing it entirely for her beloved granddaughter, Jang Un-mo.

Change the recipient?

Absolutely not.

Still, although Old Madam Jang usually treated her second son quite harshly, at important moments she knew how to mix kindness with authority.

In other words, she knew when to soften her approach.

Especially in recent years.

Her second son was already getting older.

She couldn't suppress him as fiercely as before.

If his entire branch finally reached its limit and openly resisted, the person who would lose the most would be Old Madam Jang herself.

After all, filial piety also depended on circumstances.

If Old Master Jang's second son had dared refuse to hand over his earnings to the common household fund when he was young, the entire village would have condemned him for being unfilial.

But now he already had grandchildren and gray hair.

He had spent his entire life being suppressed.

If he asked to divide the household money now, it would be perfectly understandable.

Of course, as long as the parents were alive, children demanding a formal household separation was considered deeply unfilial.

But whether the family separated physically and how household income was managed were not exactly the same issue.

There were customary rules for that too.

Normally, after Old Master Jang's second son had children of his own, he would still hand over all his earnings to the common fund until those children grew up and married.

More generous families might loosen control slightly.

They might allow adult sons to keep some money instead of turning over every last coin.

But now?

Old Master Jang's second son's own son had already had a son.

At this point, frankly speaking, his branch should have been separated already.

There was no need even to mention the common fund.

In wealthy great clans, four generations might still live together without dividing the household.

But for ordinary villagers, this was already more than enough reason to separate.

Why else was there a saying that the eldest son supported the parents?

A family could choose not to separate even after four generations.

But if the parents still insisted on controlling every coin while showing blatant favoritism like this...

That was pure fantasy.

No matter where you took the argument, it wouldn't make sense.

That was why Old Madam Jang had become less direct in recent years.

Rather than simply ordering her second son around, she now spent more effort finding excuses and persuading him.

Reliable workers this obedient were difficult to replace.

Old Madam Jang suppressed her anger and explained,

"How many years does it take to educate a child until he passes the examinations?"

"Haven't I already told you?"

"Supporting Xiaoyang is only an excuse."

"The real reason is Yongchang."

"Yongchang will definitely pass within the next few years."

"We need to hold on to him."

"He won't pass."

Old Master Jang's second son answered immediately.

Gang Gye had thoroughly planted that idea in his head.

The moment he heard Zhao Yongchang's name, those words came out naturally.

Old Madam Jang's mood visibly worsened.

"Why wouldn't he pass?"

"Isn't Yongchang your niece's husband?"

"Can't you wish for him to do well?"

What an unlucky thing to say!

Even though she herself sometimes thought Zhao Yongchang had already taken the examinations for so many years without success and probably didn't have much hope left...

There was always a chance.

And if he did pass, wouldn't that be wonderful?

But because Old Madam Jang had softened her treatment of her second son in recent years, it had unknowingly given him more courage to express his own opinion.

He wasn't particularly clever, so he simply repeated what Gang Gye had told him.

"Mother, Yongchang has been taking the examinations for years."

"He's almost thirty."

"He doesn't look like someone who's going to pass."

Old Master Jang's second son remembered all the village gossip about Zhao Yongchang.

Then he asked,

"Mother, do you really think Zhao Yongchang will pass?"

Of course Old Madam Jang didn't truly believe that.

The only reason she was doing this was because after the love letters between Jang Un-mo and Yang Ze were exposed, something had to be offered to the Zhao household.

But she couldn't say that in front of her second son.

His own daughter had been pushed into that marriage because of Jang Un-mo.

He had always held resentment toward Jang Un-mo deep inside.

If Old Madam Jang hadn't known how to manipulate him...

If she hadn't cried bitterly in front of him once...

And if she hadn't used the possibility of Zhao Yongchang becoming a future xiucai as support...

Then this arrangement probably would never have succeeded.

Meanwhile, Old Master Jang's second son remembered Gang Gye crying his heart out.

His face darkened.

"Anyway, I don't believe Yongchang will pass the examinations."

"If we're going to spend silver, then we should support our Little Six."

"Little Six studies at White Crane Academy."

"He'll definitely become successful."

"Do you know what kind of place White Crane Academy is?"

"Little Six will absolutely pass."

At that moment, Old Madam Jang exploded.

"With that sickly little body of his? Who knows when he'll die!"

"Pass the examinations? What nonsense!"

The instant the words left her mouth, Old Madam Jang regretted them.

She shouldn't have said that.

Old Master Jang's second son's face turned ashen.

His eyes slowly reddened as he stared at his mother.

"Mother..."

"Is that how you've always thought of our Little Six?"

A child who would die soon.

A child who wouldn't live long.

For the first time in his life, Old Master Jang's second son firmly opposed his mother.

"From now on, all the silver earned by our branch will be used for Little Six's studies."

After saying that, he turned and left.

It wasn't as though Old Master Jang's second son had forgotten what Jang Un-mo had done to his daughter.

He simply wasn't quick-witted.

His reactions were slow.

Back then, when Old Madam Jang cried in front of him, he had panicked and didn't know what to do.

By the time he regained his senses, the decision to support Zhao Yang had already been made.

He had originally wanted to object.

He had merely missed the right moment.

Now, things had finally returned to what he had wanted.

Old Madam Jang was stunned to experience rebellion from this obedient son for the first time.

Then she immediately began jumping with fury.

But honestly speaking...

Wasn't that Gang Gye clearly weak and unlikely to live long?

Meanwhile, at the Zhao household, Jang Un-mo and the other daughters-in-law were still confronting one another.

Old Madam Zhao had briefly felt uneasy after hearing that her grandson might not be her youngest son's biological child.

But she soon remembered that the twins resembled Zhao Yongchang quite strongly.

Jang Un-mo also couldn't tolerate having her son's parentage questioned.

So she brought both children out and displayed them openly in front of everyone.

Look.

Anyone could see these were Zhao family children.

Right?

If Jang Un-mo didn't settle this clearly today, then by tomorrow the whole village would probably be doubting it.

After a few days, Zhao Yongchang would permanently be branded as a cuckold.

Once everyone seemed convinced that the children truly were Zhao Yongchang's, Jang Un-mo tried to return to the issue of sending her son to study.

At that moment, someone said,

"Before that, it seems your grandmother's side has decided not to give you the silver anymore."

"Maybe you should go talk to your grandmother first."

"That's impossible!"

Jang Un-mo shouted reflexively.

That reaction immediately confirmed one thing.

Her claim that she was paying for her son's education with her own dowry had been a complete lie.

She had indeed been planning to take money from the Jang family.

"Oh my, why would I lie about something like that?"

The woman who had spoken earlier continued.

Her expression was full of satisfaction.

And there was a reason for that.

She was Second Sister-in-law Zhao's mother.

"I just came from that side."

"Your grandmother was arguing with someone."

"Something about refusing to hand over silver."

Old Madam Zhao also looked at Jang Un-mo suspiciously.

If that was true, then Old Madam Zhao certainly had no intention of paying for Zhao Yang's studies herself.

The person Old Madam Zhao cared about most was her youngest son, Zhao Yongchang.

She loved Zhao Yang because Zhao Yang was Zhao Yongchang's son.

Love someone, and even the crow perched on their roof becomes lovable.

But Zhao Yongchang himself still hadn't passed the examinations.

How could Old Madam Zhao afford to pay for her grandson too?

Old Madam Zhao said,

"Then settle the money issue first before we discuss this again."

"If the silver isn't there, there's no point in the family fighting like this."

Jang Un-mo bit her lip in embarrassment.

How was she supposed to discuss money with her grandmother in front of everyone?

A married woman's maiden family paying for her son's education sounded bad enough.

It wasn't exactly reasonable either.

If it happened secretly, that was one thing.

But this was hardly something that could be openly discussed in front of the entire village.

Unfortunately, Old Madam Zhao had no intention of protecting Jang Un-mo's dignity.

She already disliked her.

And her affection for Zhao Yang had cooled considerably too.

Whether Zhao Yang studied or not no longer mattered much to her.

It was perfectly fine if he didn't.

In truth, Old Madam Zhao had already made plans in her heart.

Once Zhao Yongchang passed the Imperial Examinations, she would find a clever, sensible new daughter-in-law for him somehow.

As for children?

They could simply have more later.