Chapter 50
In the end, Jang Un-mo had no choice but to head toward her maiden home.
The villagers who had been watching the commotion followed along in a large group.
Before long, everyone had gathered in front of the Jang household.
Old Madam Jang was startled when she saw so many people arriving at once.
"What is going on?"
Her heart sank.
Had something happened again?
Seeing her granddaughter standing there with a dazed expression, she hurried over.
"What happened?"
Jang Un-mo forced out a smile.
"Grandmother, I want to send Xiaoyang to study, but the shuxiu..."
"My dowry doesn't seem to be quite enough."
"Grandmother, could you lend me some money?"
Rather than directly asking for money, Jang Un-mo deliberately phrased it more gently.
Old Madam Jang was sharp enough to understand immediately.
It seemed the Zhao family had caused trouble over Zhao Yang's schooling.
That wasn't surprising.
Old Madam Jang had already expected the other members of the Zhao family to object.
But she had always planned to provide the silver herself.
What maiden family in the world would normally keep paying money for a daughter after she married?
So the outcome should have been obvious.
Old Madam Jang deliberately raised her voice.
"Didn't we already settle this before?"
"If your silver isn't enough, then Grandmother will give you the rest."
"We're all family."
"Why are you talking about borrowing and repaying?"
Old Madam Jang didn't think too deeply about her angry second son.
She could simply coax him later.
Jang Un-mo finally relaxed.
This time, her smile became genuine.
See?
There was no problem anymore.
She turned toward Old Madam Zhao.
"Mother, you heard that..."
Old Madam Zhao nodded and looked at the other daughters-in-law.
"Fine."
"If any of you can pay the money yourselves, then the family won't stop your children from studying either."
The daughters-in-law had nothing to say.
Inside the Jang house, Gang Gye and the others had also heard the entire commotion.
Gang Gye looked pitifully toward his maternal grandfather.
Old Master Jang's second son immediately stood up and walked outside.
Fang Hong, Jang Un-chu, Jang Un-chu's two older brothers, and their wives all followed.
By now, Jang Un-chu's brothers and sisters-in-law knew the entire situation as well.
Earlier, while Old Master Jang's second son had gone out to argue with his mother, Gang Gye had explained his idea.
Fang Hong and Jang Un-chu agreed with it.
Later, when Jang Un-chu's brothers and their wives arrived, they were also told everything behind Old Master Jang's second son's back.
Old Master Jang's second son walked out and stopped not far from Old Madam Jang.
The spectators immediately perked up when they saw him.
It seemed today's drama still had more twists coming.
Old Master Jang's second son spoke.
"Mother, since Eldest Brother's family is going to support his daughter's son, then I intend to support my daughter's son."
"What nonsense are you talking about?!"
Old Madam Jang shouted angrily.
Old Master Jang's second son didn't waver.
He knew he wasn't good with words.
If he tried to argue logically with his mother, he would definitely get dragged around by her.
Or worse, before he could even finish speaking, she might simply decide everything herself.
So he gave up trying to persuade her.
He would only state his decision.
"What I mean is that my branch and I will support Little Six."
"Little Six has entered White Crane Academy, so he seems like the most suitable child to educate."
"But since Mother is so unwilling to support him, we'll support Little Six separately."
"How dare you!"
Old Madam Jang's eyes widened as she glared at him.
"So you've become capable now, have you?"
"Your mother no longer matters to you?"
"Ha! I'm not dead yet."
"This household hasn't separated."
"The family's silver is still not yours to control!"
Old Master Jang's second son feared his mother deep in his bones.
But even so, he still forced himself to speak.
"I can't do anything about the money we already handed into the common fund."
"But from now on, whatever Little Six's two maternal uncles earn will be used for Little Six's studies."
By Little Six's two maternal uncles, he meant his own two sons.
For someone with Old Master Jang's second son's personality, this was already the furthest he could go.
He didn't even dare demand the money his branch had contributed in the past.
Even if he asked, he probably wouldn't get it back.
Most of it had likely already been spent anyway.
But there was no way Old Madam Jang could agree.
Old Master Jang's second son was already old.
The family's main income now depended on his two sons.
And suddenly he wanted to cut off that source of money?
How could she allow that?
Old Madam Jang realized his mind probably wouldn't change.
So she stopped cursing him.
Instead, she slapped her thigh and dropped straight to the ground.
Then she threw her head back and began wailing toward the heavens.
"Oh, husband! Come take me away!"
"What's the point of me living like this?"
"I should have followed you back then!"
"Now that I'm old, even my own children look down on me."
"They think I waste money however I please."
"I'm already over sixty."
"How am I supposed to live like this?"
Old Madam Jang wiped her tears and continued.
"I suffered every hardship imaginable to raise two sons with all my heart."
"Yet even in my old age, I still have to worry myself sick over my children and grandchildren."
"Do you think I'm sending Xiaoyang to study for my own sake?"
"It's for the entire family!"
"How difficult are the Imperial Examinations?"
"It's common for people to take them for decades."
"But my grandson-in-law's teacher said it himself."
"Yongchang only lacks an opportunity."
"If luck turns in his favor, he'll definitely pass."
"And look at how bad relations between our families have become these past few days."
"We need to smooth things over."
"But I don't know who has been whispering into someone's ear..."
At that point, Old Madam Jang glared toward Fang Hong and Jang Un-chu.
"There are always people in this world who care only about their own selfish interests."
"The family had already agreed on this."
"My second son was always so obedient."
"So why would he suddenly change his mind and oppose his own mother?"
"Ha..."
"Little Six is still so young."
"No matter how clever he is, wouldn't it take him decades to become a xiucai?"
"Even if it only took ten years, could our family really afford that?"
"And don't think this old woman is saying something cruel."
"Didn't that child just become so sick he couldn't even get out of bed?"
"He's been weak and sickly since childhood."
"Can a body like that really endure the hardships of studying?"
Word by word, Old Madam Jang's argument actually sounded fairly reasonable.
She had suddenly transformed the issue of funding her married granddaughter's son into an attempt to apologize to the Zhao family.
After all, what Jang Un-mo had done really had been a serious matter.
Yet Zhao Yongchang had generously chosen not to divorce her.
And wasn't he a future xiucai?
From the Jang family's perspective, they couldn't afford to offend him.
If their relationship with a future xiucai became terrible, the Jang family wouldn't benefit either.
At the same time, Old Madam Jang subtly tried to pin another accusation on Jang Un-chu.
A married woman deliberately returning to stir trouble in her maiden family.
In this era, that was absolutely something people could criticize.
Old Madam Jang had changed strategies in an instant.
She looked toward her second son.
"Second Son, you think I was wrong to choose Xiaoyang between the two children, don't you?"
"Then let's ask everyone in the village to judge."
"Let's see who we should actually choose."
"Let's see whether my choice was right or wrong!"
Old Master Jang's second son hadn't even figured out how to respond to what she had just said before another problem was thrown at him.
"I..."
Old Madam Jang turned toward the gathered villagers.
In truth, most of the villagers were thinking the same thing.
Why not support neither of them and simply use the money for the household?
Why did the Jang family insist on spending silver on the sons of married granddaughters at all?
But the spectacle was far too entertaining.
Someone immediately encouraged her.
"Fine! Let's hear it!"
"We'll judge for you."
"Right, let everyone listen."
Old Master Jang's second son had never been good with words.
He couldn't bring himself to object.
Old Madam Jang immediately began performing.
"You all heard what I said just now."
"Are the Imperial Examinations easy?"
"Yes, our family needs to make amends to the Zhao family, but let's set that aside for now."
"Educating a child is no small matter."
"Even if we don't count my grandson-in-law Yongchang at all and only compare these two children, we should still support Zhao Yang."
The villagers all looked bewildered.
Until now, everyone had treated the whole argument like an amusing play.
They had assumed Old Madam Jang was simply showing off once again just how much she favored her granddaughter.
Many had also been quietly betting on whether Old Master Jang's second son would manage to stand up to his mother this time.
Almost no one thought he would.
Everyone knew how much he had endured over the years.
Besides, he had never liked fighting over family matters.
He was the kind of man who always thought, We're all family. What's wrong with suffering a little loss?
But no one had expected Old Madam Jang to claim that even if every other reason was removed, she would still choose Zhao Yang over Gang Gye.
Recently, the entire village had been buzzing with the news that the headmaster of White Crane Academy had personally come to invite Gang Gye to study.
So why would she go this far?
Was it because Gang Gye's body was weak?
Under everyone's gaze, Old Madam Jang continued.
"I'm not saying this because I favor my eldest son's branch."
"You all know that in the youngest generation of our Jang family, Eldest Son's branch and Second Son's branch each only have one boy."
"One is already too old, and the other is still too young."
"Neither is at a suitable age to begin studying."
"I don't intend to send them to school either."
"Our family can't afford to support them endlessly."
"If they fail the examinations, then decades of study would all be wasted."
"But Xiaoyang and Little Six both already want to study."
"They're both clever children."
"If our family contributes some silver and one of them passes the examinations later, wouldn't that also benefit the Jang family?"
Old Madam Jang looked around again.
The spectators found that somewhat reasonable.
Supporting the son of a married granddaughter sounded strange.
But Zhao Yongchang did seem like someone who might someday become a xiucai.
And Gang Gye had personally been invited by the headmaster of White Crane Academy.
Both children appeared to have promising futures.
In that case, contributing some silver might not necessarily be a bad investment.
If they became successful later, they could hardly pretend the Jang family had nothing to do with them.
If they forgot such kindness, people would criticize them for being ungrateful.
Old Madam Jang continued.
"If our Jang family is going to give away silver, naturally we hope for a good result."
"Only then can I close my eyes someday without worrying about the family."
"But when you compare the two children, the difference is obvious."
"That girl Un-mo has always remained close to her maiden family."
"She treats her own parents well, and she's also affectionate toward her uncle's household."
"Whenever she sees us, she greets everyone happily."
"If anything happens in Second Son's household, Un-mo comes over to help."
"And Xiaoyang is the same."
"He doesn't keep his distance from anyone."
The moment Old Madam Jang began saying this, Jang Un-chu understood where she was going.
Her expression gradually turned cold.
Fang Hong also became tense.
Whenever her mother-in-law started circling around the issue and pretending to speak reasonably, Fang Hong knew her branch would somehow end up suffering.
Sure enough, Old Madam Jang continued.
"But Un-chu is different."
"That girl has loved competing with others since she was young."
"She has never once shown me a pleasant face."
"She's the same toward her eldest uncle's family."
"And ever since she remarried these past few years, she barely comes home."
"She's cold toward everyone."
"Un-chu resents us."
"So naturally, Little Six isn't close to us either."
"He doesn't even greet us first when he sees us."
"This time too, Un-chu probably heard some rumors outside and came back to incite Second Son into causing this mess."
Old Madam Jang actually began shedding tears again.
"Come on, everyone. Tell me."
"With things like this, how could I possibly support Little Six?"
"My eldest son's family is useless and has no ability."
"I'm their mother."
"How could I not worry about them?"
"Second Son is my child too."
"Naturally, I care about him as well."
"I'm only trying my best to look after both my eldest and second son's families."
"I only want all of them to live comfortably in the end."
Old Madam Jang's words were surprisingly persuasive.
Especially because, on the surface, the current situation seemed to support what she was saying.
Before Jang Un-mo's scandal had been exposed, she had always worn a gentle smile and greeted everyone warmly.
Zhao Yang was also lively and clever.
Jang Un-chu, by contrast, had never been good at winning people's affection.
And Gang Gye had always been frail and young, so he hadn't mixed much with the villagers either.
The spectators gradually became drawn into Old Madam Jang's reasoning.
If every other matter was ignored and they truly had to choose only one of the two children...
Choosing Zhao Yang almost seemed like the more reasonable option.
Gang Gye let out a faint sigh.
He began wondering whether he should step forward and speak.
