Second Lady Liu was worried about her mother, so she stayed at Wu Wei and Embroider Maiden’s home. Her son Zhuzi was still too young to be separated from his mother, so Zhang Shuisheng carried the swaddled infant over as well, hoping the sight of the child would ease his mother-in-law’s heart.
After all, there was no male head of the household at Embroider Maiden and Wu Wei’s place. Besides, the two young women weren’t overly fussy about such conventions, so the entire Zhang family felt reassured.
With the autumn harvest finished and no more work left in the fields, Eldest Sister Li’s family stopped coming over for meals. Embroider Maiden and Wu Wei were both quiet sorts, leaving the courtyard feeling inevitably a bit empty. Second Lady Liu and Zhuzi’s arrival injected some welcome vitality into the little yard.
Old Lady Liu’s brow was still deeply furrowed, but laying eyes on the plump, rosy-cheeked Zhuzi did brighten her mood considerably.
That night, after Embroider Maiden and Wu Wei had washed up and blown out the lamp before slipping into bed, Embroider Maiden whispered, “Weiwei, you’ve seen through this from the start, haven’t you?”
They had already discussed Old Lady Liu’s troubles with the two Liu sisters earlier that day. But now was just the time for Embroider Maiden and Wu Wei alone—they could speak more frankly.
Wu Wei didn’t answer directly. Instead, she said thoughtfully, “It’s perfectly normal for an elderly person to grow attached to home as they age. I knew it the other day when she trailed after Liu Cuicui step for step on her way out the door. Old Lady Liu misses her home. Don’t let that bother you. These feelings have little to do with Liu Cuicui and her husband.”
“Then you knew all along that Eldest Sister wouldn’t come back for her?”
“Not exactly. Your eldest sister has sacrificed a great deal to hold up the Liu family banner—you and your second sister both acknowledge that. I just thought she was a bit greedy. I never imagined she’d stoop to something like this.”
Embroider Maiden fell silent. She hadn’t expected it either. Ever since Liu Cuicui had brought in a son-in-law, her status and authority in the household had surpassed even that of actual sons in other families. When Liu Cuicui lost her temper, the whole family—including her own parents—had to tread carefully around her.
Yet Liu Cuicui wasn’t an unfilial daughter. When their father had passed, she had wept herself into a faint, grief-stricken and sincere.
Where had it all gone wrong?
Embroider Maiden murmured, “Could it be just because my life has gotten better that Eldest Sister…”
Wu Wei cut her off at once, her tone grave. “You and your eldest sister are two different people—two different families. What she does has nothing to do with you. You’ve done nothing wrong. Don’t start tying yourself up in knots like that. Our good fortune has no causal link to whether your eldest sister honors her own mother.”
Embroider Maiden nodded, banishing the thought. “Weiwei, I’ve given it serious thought. Second Sister’s idea of taking turns caring for Mother won’t work. Second Sister is a married daughter, living with her in-laws’ whole big family—how could that possibly be sustainable? If Eldest Sister doesn’t want Mother, then I’ll take her! But… I truly have no interest in fighting over the Liu family property. If Second Sister wants it, I won’t stand in her way.”
Wu Wei replied, “I’ve always believed that inheriting property and caring for one’s elders aren’t a straight trade-off. But this isn’t the way to handle it.”
“What do you mean?” Embroider Maiden asked, puzzled.
“Tomorrow, I’ll have a proper talk with Old Lady Liu. I’ll lay our cards on the table with her, so she doesn’t get her heart broken and fall ill. But we absolutely can’t let Liu Cuicui and her family off the hook that easily.”
…
The next day, Wu Wei, Embroider Maiden, and Second Lady Liu held a little meeting first. Once Second Lady Liu understood and gave her support, Wu Wei went alone into Old Lady Liu’s west room.
No one knew what the two discussed. When Wu Wei emerged, she sent Embroider Maiden in next. Old Lady Liu sat on the kang, wiping away tears, one hand clutching Embroider Maiden’s tightly.
All these years, she had been a quiet woman, never one to voice her inner thoughts. But this time, Embroider Maiden saw genuine heartache for her in her mother’s eyes.
…
That afternoon, Wu Wei visited Zhang Shuisheng’s home and shared her plan with the three of them. The Zhang family elders sighed deeply over Old Lady Liu’s plight. Trusting Wu Wei completely, they agreed to her scheme.
Another day passed like this. Then Wu Wei and Embroider Maiden rode their horses, while Zhang Shuisheng drove Wu Wei’s family’s ox cart—with Big Yellow harnessed to it and Second Lady Liu aboard—and the four set off for Little Locust Village.
The cart carried nothing, and the saddlebags on either side of the horses hung empty. But whether it was this ox cart or the ugly Chou Chou that Wu Wei barely tolerated, their arrival immediately drew eyes in Little Locust Village.
This time, however, the four wore grim expressions, nothing like their previous visit when they’d been hit up for handouts on the way back to their parental home. A few busybody old women spread the word, quickly gathering a crowd that trailed at a distance, eager for the show.
Little Locust Village wasn’t far from Zhang Family Village to begin with, and word had already spread. With Liu Cuicui returning alone and no sign of her family fetching Old Lady Liu after all this time, the villagers had long been gossiping.
Second Lady Liu’s temper flared. Still some distance from the Liu family gate, she leapt down from the cart. She could never forget the cold shoulder she’d received last time she’d brought Embroider Maiden home—back when she was still pregnant and had swallowed her anger.
Now her child was born, she’d done her full two months of confinement, and her strength was fully recovered. It was time to have it out with those two black-hearted wretches!
“Bang bang bang!” Second Lady Liu pounded on the Liu family courtyard gate with all her might.
“Who is it?!” Liu Cuicui flung back the door curtain, ready to snap—only to see her own second sister, along with her sister’s husband, Third Sister, and that Wu woman all there. She ducked her head back inside with a “whoosh.” Moments later, Li Tieniu emerged with a forced smile, saying as he approached, “Second Sister’s back! What’s all this about? Don’t break the gate.”
Wu Wei and Zhang Shuisheng tethered Big Yellow and Chou Chou, then hurried to catch up with Embroider Maiden and Second Lady Liu. Second Lady Liu shoved at Li Tieniu but couldn’t budge him. Furious, she snapped, “Out of my way! I won’t waste words on you. I want Liu Cuicui.”
“Liu Dahu’s sick. Your eldest sister is inside tending to the child,” Li Tieniu said. Seeing Zhang Shuisheng glaring at him, he stepped aside and let Second Lady Liu into the yard.
Zhang Shuisheng then cupped his hands politely to Li Tieniu and followed her in. Embroider Maiden came right behind. But when Wu Wei tried to enter, Li Tieniu blocked her, saying coldly, “Second Sister and Third Sister are Liu family. But who are you? What business do you have in our home?”
A mocking smile tugged at Wu Wei’s lips. “If you and your wife know I’m an outsider, then how did you justify dumping Old Lady Liu at my place for months on end?”
“You…”
“Liu Cuicui, quit hiding in there like a turtle with its head in its shell! If you don’t come out, don’t blame me for saying ugly things! I’m counting to three—if you’re not out here, I’ll start cursing you up one side and down the other!”
Second Lady Liu’s powerful voice carried far. The Little Locust villagers clustered in the distance perked up at the prospect of real drama and came swarming closer.
Li Tieniu ignored Wu Wei now and hurried to Second Lady Liu’s side. Half-scolding, half-pleading, he said, “Second Sister, what are you doing? You can’t talk to your eldest sister like that!”
Second Lady Liu shot him a venomous glare and shouted, “Shuisheng! I won’t bandy words with this ungrateful dog. Today, I’m here for Liu Cuicui!”
Zhang Shuisheng unhesitatingly planted himself in front of Li Tieniu with a grin. “Last time with Eldest Brother-in-Law, it was a draw. I don’t mind another round of practice.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Second Sister’s still recovering from childbirth. If you hassle her more, don’t blame me for stepping in!”
Li Tieniu glanced at Second Lady Liu, who had grabbed a stool and was smashing it against the door. He couldn’t see where she looked “recovering.”
Eyeing the gathering villagers, Li Tieniu’s gaze shifted slyly. “This is sisterly business. I’m staying out of it.”
Second Lady Liu unleashed a tirade: “Liu Cuicui, you unfilial wretch! Mom and Dad raised you like a son, gave your little family of three all the best—the entire Liu property left to you! Now Mother’s old, can’t work anymore, and you shove her out the door? Has a dog eaten your conscience? We’re both mothers now—aren’t you afraid of karmic retribution? You heaven-cursed hag, get out here!”
How could Liu Cuicui stomach such abuse? She whispered quick instructions to Liu Dahu not to come out, then charged forth wielding a rolling pin.
“Have you gone mad?!”
Liu Cuicui burst through like a female Zhang Fei, her momentum forcing Second Lady Liu back a few steps. Wu Wei and Embroider Maiden rushed forward, shielding Second Lady Liu between them.
Though Second Lady Liu was fierce, her eldest sister’s long-held authority still gave her pause. Clutching the wooden stool before her like a shield, she cursed, “You’re the mad one! You dumped Mother at Third Sister’s and washed your hands of her—what kind of daughter does that? Don’t forget, Father built this yard brick by brick!”
Liu Cuicui hefted her rolling pin, jabbing it toward Embroider Maiden. “You little jinx! You’re the one who begged me tearfully to keep Mother with you, swearing you’d fulfill your filial duty. I only agreed reluctantly and even left you five taels of silver for her care. Now you bring Second Sister and her husband here to make a scene—what’s your game?”
Embroider Maiden’s pretty face flushed crimson. Her voice trembled as she demanded, “Eldest Sister, can you say that without pricking your conscience? You were the one who said, after the autumn harvest, you’d take Mother b—”
“I should bash your brains in with this rolling pin!”
Wu Wei sidestepped in front of Embroider Maiden, her eyes fixed on Liu Cuicui. “You and your husband—come with us to the magistrate’s office right now. Do you dare?”
Liu Cuicui swung the rolling pin in her hand and shouted, “The officials have already been bribed by you lot! Don’t think I didn’t see it—you came back in a carriage, decked out in fine lady’s clothes, with all those burly men hauling several big chests for you. That’s more than enough for betrothal gifts! Who the hell serves time in prison like that? Hmph! These days, the magistrate’s office might as well be run by your family. What, you want to frame us? I’m not going!”
Embroider Maiden moved to step forward, but Wu Wei held her back. The villagers from Little Locust Village crowded outside the courtyard, chattering away. Some gossiped about Wu Wei’s looks, while others “praised” her cunning—flattery mingling with barbs in an ear-piercing cacophony that grated like nails on slate.
Wu Wei paid them no mind, not sparing them so much as a sidelong glance. “We’re not here to bicker with you. Since you’re being unreasonable, there’s no point in saying more. Go to the magistrate’s office or don’t—it’s your choice. Today, I’m here on Old Lady Liu’s behalf to accuse you two… of unfilial conduct!”
The moment those three words—”accusing of unfilial conduct”—rang out, the courtyard fell deathly silent. Even the illiterate farmers knew the gravity of that charge.
For cases of unfilial conduct, one didn’t need to trek to the magistrate’s office. The Village Head in every village could handle it, and it required scarcely any evidence. An elder’s mere claim that their descendants had been disobedient was enough to seal the verdict.
Yet unfilial conduct was one of the gravest offenses, whether tried at the magistrate’s office or in the village itself. No one pursued it lightly, for good reason: kill your own kin in the process, and you’d be left destitute in your old age.
The revelation that Old Lady Liu—who had endured a lifetime of bullying—would actually accuse her own of unfilial conduct left everyone staring in disbelief.
Wu Wei drew a folded sheet of Xuan paper from her bosom and waved it before Liu Cuicui’s eyes. “This is Old Lady Liu’s formal complaint accusing you of unfilial conduct. I wrote it for her, and she pressed her handprint on it. Eldest Sister Liu, if you dare speak insolently one more time, I’ll leave right now—no more words wasted on you. I’ll submit this to the Village Head first. Once you’ve taken your punishment, if you’re still breathing, then I’ll head to the magistrate’s office and file the case all over again!”
