novelraw Chapter 540 - 531: The Stepmother Who Refuses to Be a Stepping Stone 19
Chapter 540 - 531: The Stepmother Who Refuses to Be a Stepping Stone 19
Xiao Yuan actually didn’t want to make a big deal out of the situation.
No matter how Wang Chunliu died, and regardless of the wrongdoings she committed before, now that she’s passed away, the deceased should be respected. He didn’t want to quibble over past issues; all he wanted was to bury her quickly and then live a peaceful life.
The Li family also preferred not to escalate the situation.
At that time, most people held traditional beliefs, valuing the dead above all else. When someone died, they believed it was best to settle matters quickly to allow for the peaceful repose of the deceased.
So, when Xiao Yuan suggested forgiving the Wang family’s debt, the Li brothers didn’t object.
The Wang family brothers gathered to discuss for a while and decided to follow Xiao Yuan’s plan.
They knew their complaints were unreasonable, and even if they did report to the police, the authorities wouldn’t hold Xiao Yuan responsible.
After all, Xiao Yuan wasn’t the one who caused harm to Wang Chunliu.
In the end, Wang Laoda stood up to agree but requested that Wang Chunliu’s funeral be held with more grandeur.
That was a trivial matter; Xiao Yuan quickly agreed.
With a general consensus reached, everyone got busy with the funeral arrangements.
Xiao Yuan took some money and asked the hired steward to arrange for village helpers to purchase items like mourning cloth, vegetables, rice, and so on.
Zhang Fengfeng took this opportunity to lead Anning and several sisters-in-law into the house.
Because of Wang Chunliu’s death and the funeral preparations, the Xiao family had no time to tidy up the house.
The house looked somewhat messy and was also a bit cold.
Seeing this, Zhang Fengfeng said, "This won’t do, later on many people will come over, and it can’t be cold inside the house."
Anning, along with the sisters-in-law, helped tidy up the place; they put away red items and replaced them with plain ones, started a fire in the house, and also began to heat the kang (heated bed).
In no time, the house became warm.
Zhang Fengfeng called over Anning and the others to speak softly.
"Yuanzi doesn’t have any children, and since the Xiao family lives alone in the village without many relatives, there will be no one to wear mourning attire during the funeral."
That was what Zhang Fengfeng was thinking about at the moment.
Anning also said, "In the evening, we still need to burn twilight money, and it won’t look good if there’s no one wearing mourning attire."
Liu Ru looked at Anning, and before Anning could say anything, elder sister-in-law Sun Xiumei spoke up first: "Otherwise, let Zhiyuan bring over our Jingming. Although he’s a bit older and a boy, he should be able to hold up."
Zhang Fengfeng waved her hand: "That’s not possible. On such a cold day, having the child come over and stand for two days might make him sick. If there’s no one, then there’s no one. After all, Wang Chunliu has many family members on her mother’s side. Since her brother cares so much, let her maternal relatives’ nephews and nieces wear the mourning attire."
Zhang Fengfeng was still holding a grudge inside.
She was actually angry with Zhang Erfeng for making Xiao Yuan’s life so miserable, not only ruining Xiao Yuan’s future but also causing him to marry such a wife, resulting in his current state of loneliness and helplessness.
Thinking about how Zhang Erfeng had made Xiao Yuan’s life miserable, she swore not to let Zhang Erfeng harm her grandsons, not even the three grandchildren Anning had brought over.
Anning gave Liu Ru a sign with her eyes, then mentioned going out to take a look, before pulling Sun Xiumei out of the room with her.
The three sisters-in-law found a sheltered spot to talk.
Anning asked Sun Xiumei, "Elder sister-in-law, you’ve been married into the family for the longest time, there are some things that Third Sister-in-law and I don’t know, but you should understand. Do you know what’s really going on with our mother and cousin?"
Liu Ru had also noticed something and wanted to ask about this issue too.
After pondering for a while, Sun Xiumei sighed, "There’s really nothing that can’t be said. Actually, Xiao Yuan should have been our Eldest Son’s Wife, and Zhifang should have been the Fifth’s. Years after the second aunt got married, she couldn’t conceive. A doctor diagnosed that the problem lay with her husband’s health. Back then, divorce wasn’t common, but the couple couldn’t go their whole lives without children. Initially, the second uncle had wanted to adopt a child, but the second aunt worried about the lack of blood relation. What if the child grew up and wasn’t close to them? She thought it over and over and finally pleaded with our mother, hoping to adopt one of our family’s many sons."
Liu Ru didn’t expect this kind of situation and was incredibly surprised.
Anning had already guessed as much, but she wanted to hear the exact answer from Sun Xiumei.
"Later, our mother got pregnant. The second aunt told everyone she was expecting too. When our mother was about to give birth, the second aunt said she missed her and brought our mother over to stay with her. Not long after, our mother gave birth. At that time, the second aunt pretended to give birth on the same day, saying that the baby mother gave birth to had died while her own had survived. In reality, she never gave birth. She immediately took the newborn Yuanzi and claimed him as her own."
Sun Xiumei also felt sorry for Zhang Fengfeng when recounting this story: "Our mother didn’t really want to agree, but the second aunt knelt down with the baby and begged, and also promised to treat the child well. Our mother pitied the second aunt and thought that since she was the child’s blood-related aunt, she wouldn’t treat him poorly, so she consented. Zhiyuan was old enough to remember at that time. He told me that after our mother came back, she cried for several days. He overheard her regretting her decision to our father at night, and our father also had a particularly hard time during that period."
Anning nodded, "No wonder I heard our mother say that had she known it would come to this, she would have never allowed the child to be raised by the second aunt."
Thinking about how Zhang Fengfeng had shown special protection toward Xiao Yuan earlier that day, Liu Ru had found it strange, but now she thought it was quite normal. He was her biological son; what mother wouldn’t want to see her son at a disadvantage?
The three sisters-in-law clarified the situation and felt the cold outside, so they quickly returned to the house.
As soon as they entered, they heard Zhang Fengfeng arguing with someone. Only then did they realize that Zhang Fengfeng was quarreling with Zhang Erfeng.
Anning sat on the kang (a traditional Chinese heated bed) and asked her second sister-in-law An Jinling, "What’s going on?"
An Jinling gestured with her lips towards Zhang Erfeng, "Just listen for yourself."
Seeing the anger on the faces of An Jinling, as well as the wives of Fifth and Lao Liu, Anning knew for sure it was something unpleasant.
She listened carefully and heard Zhang Erfeng pleading with a hint of threat in her tone: "Sister, I really have no choice. Wang Chunliu’s family doesn’t want the child to come over, saying if someone dies in our house, it’s our family’s responsibility to hold the funeral rites. But as you know, our side really has nobody. Yuanzi’s father was an only child, and Yuanzi was his only son. He doesn’t have children either; we can’t lack a younger generation to wear mourning apparel, right? If that were the case, what would the villagers say about us? Please do me a favor, not asking for all the children to come, but some of the older ones can, right?"
Zhang Fengfeng’s face was stern: "No, not a single one. Your family is holding a funeral tomorrow, but my grandchildren have exams, do you expect them not to attend and come to your place just to save face for a shameless dead person? How dare you ask me."
"Sister, I’m begging you."
Zhang Erfeng’s tears kept falling, making her look particularly sad as she cried and complained: "You’re my own sister. You can’t ignore me. You can’t ignore Yuanzi either. Don’t think you can wash your hands of this matter. Otherwise, I’ll disown you as my sister, and I won’t let Yuanzi acknowledge you either..."
Zhang Fengfeng was furious, her face turning ashen, and her breathing became short and rapid.
Anning quickly patted Zhang Fengfeng’s back to soothe her, whispering comfort, "Mom, don’t be upset, getting angry is bad for your health, take a deep breath, yes, take a breath and then slowly exhale."
Zhou Ping, Lao Liu’s wife, who sat next to Zhang Fengfeng, was also very afraid when she saw the change in Zhang Fengfeng’s complexion. She quickly jumped off the kang to get some hot water, holding it out to Zhang Fengfeng’s lips, "Mom, have some water to calm down."