Chapter 274

The carriage stopped in front of the eldest brother’s residence. Wang Xiujin stepped down, carrying his son, and followed the constable into the mansion. There were only a few servants scattered about; they did not stop the constable, but there was a guarded look in their eyes when they glanced at Wang Xiujin and the child he held. Shortly, the steward appeared. The constable introduced Wang Xiujin, and as he observed the steward, Wang Xiujin nodded inwardly, recognizing a loyal man.

The steward led Wang Xiujin into the inner courtyard. Holding his son’s hand, Wang Xiujin walked with measured steps, passed under an arched gate, and approached the house. The steward went inside to announce him, while Wang Xiujin surveyed the courtyard and the servants who occasionally cast wary glances their way. Judging from the air about them, it was clear his brother had already purged the household.

When the steward called for him, Wang Xiujin picked up his son and stepped inside.

Wang Xiubo sat on a soft divan, his face bloodless, pale to the point of fright. All the anger Wang Xiujin had felt on the journey dissipated in that instant. After putting his son down, he strode forward. “Where are you hurt? Who laid a hand on you?”

Wang Xiubo waved him off. “I’m nearly recovered. Just need to change the dressing one more time and it’ll be fine.”

“I asked where you’re hurt, not whether you’re well or not,” Wang Xiujin said, feeling that the wound was not ordinary—or perhaps the one who inflicted it was not. He clenched his fists. “Was it my sister-in-law?”

“It has nothing to do with your sister-in-law. I was careless while dealing with some servants. I’d planned to send Chun-shi back to the capital and then go to the yamen to settle some important matters before heading to the capital myself. But before I could see her off, this happened. Chun-shi wanted to stay and look after me, but at that time, I was so angry I couldn’t bear to see her.” Wang Xiubo forced a bitter smile. “How are the children?”

Wang Xiujin frowned deeply, studying his brother. Even now, his brother hadn’t said where he was wounded. Was there some unspeakable injury? Or was it somewhere he shouldn’t mention?

“The wound’s on my chest,” Wang Xiubo said, noticing his brother’s increasingly strange expression. He thought if he didn’t explain, his brother’s mind would run wild. “She didn’t tell you I was injured? That’s just as well, it would only have worried our parents.” Hearing his brother had come, he’d assumed Chun-shi had told them about the injury after arriving in the capital, and his brother came to spare their parents worry. But now, it seemed things weren’t as he’d thought.

“Father left for Jingu the day before Sister-in-law arrived in the capital. After she arrived, she said nothing.” Wang Xiujin sighed. “Don’t worry. Before Sister-in-law reached the capital, Mother sent some people here. They should have returned to report your injury by now.”

“We’ve troubled our parents again,” Wang Xiubo sighed. “Chun-shi isn’t a bad person by nature. She’s been cooped up in the courtyard for years, with no one close to her, and I’ve been too busy. The last prefect left a mess, and some of the culprits are still at large. I haven’t had time to speak with her about anything personal. At first, she may not have minded what others said, but after so many repetitions, even if she didn’t mean to, she’d start having improper thoughts. I’m not excusing her, but I know I share some of the blame.”

They were husband and wife, but Wang Xiujin didn’t wish to get involved. Now, knowing his brother hadn’t pushed the trouble onto their parents, he left it be. “Yachang, greet your uncle.”

After arriving in Feng’an, Wang Xiujin stayed with his son. In the capital, only Lord Wang remained behind. Chun-shi had been sent back to her natal home on Lord Wang’s orders, with the declaration that the Wang family dared not shelter a woman whose servants had tried to kill her husband. The Chun family was so frightened by this that they nearly collapsed. Lady Wang, meanwhile, was on her way to Feng’an with her three grandsons.

A few days after Wang Xiujin left the capital, the people Lady Wang had sent to Feng’an and Lord Wang returned one after another. They reported everything they had learned, especially that the eldest son had been stabbed in the chest by a servant close to the eldest daughter-in-law. Fortunately, the physician’s skill had saved him; otherwise, he might not have survived.

When Lord Wang returned home, the steward told him the people Lady Wang had sent to Feng’an had just come back and were reporting to her. He caught only the words, “the eldest son might not survive,” and, suppressing his dizziness, clenched his fists and entered the room. “Explain what you mean by ‘might not survive.’”

The servants hastily clarified that the eldest son was recovering at home. They then repeated the details to Lord Wang. After hearing everything, he nodded, finally able to exhale. But once he relaxed, he fainted, frightening Lady Wang terribly. Wang Xiuyun rushed over as soon as she heard the news and stayed with her mother until the physician assured them it was nothing serious. She also had the physician examine her mother and prescribed two more remedies.

When her sister-in-law returned to the capital, Wang Xiuyun had immediately gone to berate her. Now, her anger was such that she felt she could kill; her once peaceful home was in chaos. Furious, she went to where her sister-in-law was being held and scolded her again, but it still didn’t ease her rage.

When Lord Wang awoke, he ordered Chun-shi sent back to her family. Such a vicious woman could not remain in the Wang household. Once she delivered her child, he would petition the emperor for permission to divorce her. “In a few days, Xiujin will arrive in Feng’an. With him to care for the eldest, nothing should go wrong,” he said, drinking his medicine and comforting his wife.

Lady Wang, unable to rest easy, waited until her husband recovered, then set out for Feng’an with her three grandsons under the escort of Song Hongyi’s men. Nothing that had happened at home had been kept from the children; now, they were all as wilted as frostbitten eggplants. Zhiyuan and Zizhuo huddled together; Zize was the most fearful. Lady Wang’s thoughts were wholly with her eldest son; even seeing her grandsons so dispirited, she had no mind to comfort them.

Ever since he saw his injured brother, Wang Xiujin had not planned to return to the capital immediately. He sent word to the general’s residence in the capital that he would stay with his son in Feng’an until the new year. He also sent letters to the shop and the workshop, asking Manager Wang to be extra attentive, then devoted himself to caring for his brother. Compared to his brother’s condition, the troubles caused by his sister-in-law seemed insignificant.

Yachang adjusted easily to the new environment, playing quietly with his toys every day, listening to his father read the lessons prepared by his grandfather, and running and jumping in the courtyard.

Half a month after Wang Xiujin’s arrival, Lady Wang and her three grandsons reached Feng’an. By then, Wang Xiubo was mostly recovered and could handle some official business at the yamen. Lady Wang, seeing her eldest son still looking so sickly, was heartbroken and wished she could kill Chun-shi herself.

When Wang Xiubo saw his mother had come all this way to see him, he dropped to his knees. “Your unfilial son has made you worry.”

“As long as you’re safe, that’s all that matters,” Lady Wang repeated, her hands never leaving her son’s face, as if afraid he would vanish if she let go.

Zhiyuan and Zizhuo pulled their younger brother forward to greet their father. The two older boys were filled with conflicting emotions, while Zize wanted to run to his father and cry, asking for his mother, but his brothers held him back, pinching his hand so that he dared not speak his mind.

Wang Xiubo did not ask his mother how Chun-shi was dealt with, but Lady Wang did not intend to hide it. “Your father sent your wife back to her family. Once she delivers the child, he’ll petition for a divorce. Don’t have any second thoughts, my son. Your father and I have few hopes, only that the family stays in harmony. Look at what your wife has done! Let me be blunt: Xiuyun is married out, and Xiujin has entered the Li family. In the end, everything in the Wang family will fall to you. What Xiujin has is his own, earned himself—even if he borrowed influence, it was Li’s, not your father’s, and you know this better than anyone. I made things clear when Chun-shi married in. Now she’s harbored such thoughts—if she managed to suppress them this time, what about next time? You’re already a prefect, and she acts this way—what if you rise higher? An unvirtuous wife brings disaster to her husband.”

Wang Xiubo listened earnestly. Whatever feelings he once had for Chun-shi had been severed the moment her servant raised a knife against him. What he’d said to his brother before was never meant as a plea for her, only pity for the children. Now, considering things from a different perspective, the children were his sons, but he was his mother’s son as well. If he felt sorrow for his children, didn’t his parents feel the same for him?

Wang Xiujin, hands resting on his son’s shoulders, stood quietly to the side, sighing inwardly. Yachang looked up at his father, then at his uncle and grandmother, and then, imitating his father, heaved a silent sigh as well.

The three boys stood there, dazed. They didn’t fully grasp the meaning of “divorce,” but a sense of foreboding filled their hearts.

“Mother, for the children’s sake, I don’t intend to remarry,” Wang Xiubo said, having thought it through. Any new wife might not truly care for the children.

“As if you ever raised them yourself,” Lady Wang replied. “We’ll discuss this later.” She didn’t intend to argue with her son now. His agreement to the divorce had put her mind at ease; she’d feared he’d stubbornly refuse.

“Mother, you must be tired from the journey. Why don’t you rest first?” Wang Xiujin interjected at the right moment. “Feng’an has excellent cuisine. Once you’ve recovered, I’ll show you around.”

Seeing that her two sons hadn’t grown estranged over this, Lady Wang felt much relieved. She was indeed exhausted from the journey and allowed herself to be led away to rest. Yachang sat on a bench with his three cousins, lost in thought.

Looking at his sons, Wang Xiubo’s face was tinged with sorrow. Reflecting on the past, he felt a pang of guilt towards Chun-shi—if only he’d noticed sooner, things might not have come to this.

“Brother Zizhuo, have you recovered?” Yachang suddenly spoke, breaking Wang Xiubo’s train of thought. What had happened to his second son?

“I’ve been fine for a while,” Zizhuo replied, then glanced at his father’s worried look and sneakily at Yachang. Was that question deliberate?

“I’m glad you’re well. Now you can play with me!” Yachang beamed at him as he finished.