Chapter 376: Chapter 195 Filial Piety_1
At the second watch, asking for a hint of pink.
****......****
Lian Manman waited until the carriage came to a complete stop before getting off and looking into the courtyard, just in time to see this scene unfold.
Lian Shouren and Lady Gu, who had been so calculating earlier, now had to display their filial piety in front of others, pretending to be so concerned and anxious to see Old Master Lian. Lady Gu even scolded Lian Duoduo for walking too slowly, dragging her along the way.
The one stopping Lian Shouren’s beating was Lian Shouyi, who continued to hit and berate Lian Shouren for his lack of filial piety.
With the cleverness and enthusiasm to show filial piety, even a little bit of genuine concern would have spared Old Master Lian from vomiting blood and collapsing. Lian Manman looked down on this pretense, so she didn’t rush. She settled the fare with the coachman before slowly walking into the courtyard.
Lady Gu, Lian Jizu had already stepped forward to rescue Lian Shouren from the beating.
"I deserved to be beaten, I deserved it," Lian Shouren sobbed loudly, acting the perfect filial son as he stumbled into the house. "Dad, I’m here."
Lian Shouyi stood there, shaking his wrist as if he had hurt himself by exerting too much force, and it seemed as though by beating Lian Shouren, he had absolved himself of any wrongdoing, becoming a truly dutiful son.
Lian Shouren’s family crowded into the house while Lian Shouyi stood at the door, watching Lian Shouxin and Lian Manman approach, his eyes finally landing on the wooden box in Lian Manman’s arms.
"Old Fourth, did you get the money back?" Lian Shouyi asked loudly.
"Second Brother, let’s talk inside. How is Dad, it’s not serious, is it?" Lian Shouxin replied.
"You got the money, right? Oh my." Lian Shouyi walked over, reaching for the wooden box in Lian Manman’s hand.
Lian Manman turned and drew out a dry tobacco pipe, tapping it against the wooden box.
Lian Shouyi’s eyes remained fixed on the box, but his hand retracted.
"Manman, how much silver did you bring back?" The tone and demeanor of the question were somewhat ingratiating.
"Second Brother, let’s go inside first," Lian Shouxin said.
At this moment, Lady Zhang, Lian Zhizhi, Lady Zhao, and Lian Yeye also came out from the West Wing Room.
"My dear husband, Manman, Wu Lang, Xiao Qi, you’re all back." Although it hadn’t been a full day, Lady Zhang truly missed her family members who had gone to the city. Coming over, she looked them up and down, and seeing that Lian Shouxin and the children were unharmed and not having suffered any hardships, she finally relaxed. "Is it cold outside? Did you get cold? Are you hungry? I’ll start the fire and cook right away."
This was the difference between a biological mother, her own family... and others.
"Mom, let’s go see Grandpa first and give him this money," Lian Manman suggested, showing Lady Zhang the wooden box she was holding.
"That’s what we should do," Lady Zhang said. "I heard that Old Master only had a bowl of porridge today. He’s been too worried to eat properly."
Everyone then entered the Upper Room.
On the floor of the Upper Room, Lian Shouren, Lady Gu, Lian Jizu, Lady Chiang, Lian Duo, and Niuniu were arranged in two rows, kneeling at the edge of the bed. Lian Shouren and Lady Gu were crying and pleading their case.
On the bed, Old Master Lian was propped up on stacked pillows, his reddened eyes also brimming with tears. Lady Zhou and Lian Xiuxiu both had red eyes, while Lian Shouli stood on the floor, somewhat at a loss.
"Dad, please don’t take it to heart," Lian Shouren said, looking up at the wooden box in Lian Manman’s arms as he crawled forward on his knees and clung to the edge of the bed. "When Old Second and Old Third went, they truly hadn’t gathered enough money. I told them to bring that money back first, and then I would gather the rest, and in a day or two, I’d have enough and return."
"That’s right, the Old Master was too anxious and didn’t dare to rest despite being sick," Lady Gu chimed in helpfully.
"Today, even if nobody else would have gone, I had planned to bring the money back," Lian Shouren said, "Otherwise, how could Manman have gotten the money so quickly upon going there?"
The couple was adept at making excuses and twisting the truth.
"Big Brother," Lian Shouli said anxiously, his face flushing red, "that wasn’t what you meant at the time. You told Dad to figure out a way to gather the rest of the money."
"That was just something I said," Lian Shouren defended, "How could I not know our family’s situation, how could I possibly push this onto Dad."
Lian Shouli, not good with words, was both anxious and angry, left opening and closing his mouth without being able to speak.
"It’s all my fault. At the time, the Old Master couldn’t get out of bed because he was sick, and I panicked and lost focus. Old Three must have misunderstood. It’s all on me." Lady Gu tried to smooth things over.
They were trying to gloss over the issue.
"You can’t bully my Dad just because he’s honest, all those words were said by my Second Uncle on the way back," Lian Yeye pushed through to the front and stared fiercely.
