The first watch, begging for pink.

****

Lady Gu fainted, and the usually quiet Lian Duoduo immediately rushed over, wailing loudly. Lady Chiang also wanted to approach, but was stopped in her tracks by a cold glare from Lady Zhou.

"Let her pretend to be dead!" Lady Zhou said fiercely, "Don’t anyone look at her; the more you look, the more satisfied she’ll get."

Lady Gu just lay there on the ground, motionless. Lian Shouren and Lian Jizu, sitting on stools, began to feel uneasy, wanting to get up to check on Lady Gu, but fearing Lady Zhou.

Lady Gu was only wearing thin clothing. In this weather, there was nothing laid on the floor inside the house—it’s exceptionally cold. Even if Lady Gu hadn’t fainted, lying on the ground for a long time like that would be unbearable for her body.

Lady Zhou wished Lady Gu would just die. Whether Lady Gu was genuinely unconscious or faking it, she didn’t care. If Lady Gu suffered more, Lady Zhou would be pleased.

But as the situation had developed, Lian Shouren, Lian Jizu, and Lady Chiang could no longer remain neutral or uninvolved. Although stepping forward now might provoke Lady Zhou’s anger toward them and might make Lady Zhou suspect them of being complicit in Lady Gu’s escape, if they didn’t care for Lady Gu now, her life might not be preserved.

This was essentially a choice between agreeing or disagreeing to divorce Lady Gu.

"Father, Mother, why don’t we get her up first, and talk things over slowly?" Lian Shouren finally spoke up.

"Who’s stopping her from getting up?" Lady Zhou glared at Lian Shouren and yelled, "I’ve repeated it countless times, telling her to get up, not to dirty this ground in my room. It’s her own stubbornness keeping her down."

"Eldest brother, do you think this woman hasn’t wrecked our family enough? Are you reluctant to let her go? Do you wish to keep her until she kills both me and your father so you’ll be content?!"

"Mother, Father." Lian Shouren hurried to explain, but the explanation was directed at Old Master Lian, not Lady Zhou. "...A life is a life after all, if things keep going like this, she definitely won’t make it."

"You still know what a life is? Just your precious wife counts as a life. Is your own sister not a life, a dog’s life?...Wasn’t Manman considered a life before?" Without waiting for Old Master to speak, Lady Zhou questioned again.

Lian Shouren glanced over at Lian Shouxin and Lian Manman, unable to speak for a moment.

"Grandfather," urged by a nudge from Lady Chiang behind him, Lian Jizu stepped forward to Old Master Lian, "after all...all these years, can’t just watch..."

Lian Jizu paused, lowered his head to look at Lady Gu lying on the ground, showing a trace of compassion.

"Get her up." Old Master Lian sighed and said.

With Old Master Lian’s words, Lian Shouren, Lian Jizu, and Lady Chiang stepped forward together to pull Lady Gu from the ground. Lady Gu lay limp, while several people pinched her and rubbed her back, but she still didn’t seem to wake up.

Lady Chiang glanced at the kang, wanting to move Lady Gu there for warmth, but looking at Lady Zhou, she didn’t dare say so, only giving Lian Jizu a secret look.

"Or...or..." urged by his wife and feeling the pressure from Lady Zhou, Lian Jizu hesitated to speak.

"How about calling a doctor?" Lian Manman’s gaze swept over the faces of everyone in the room and then softly suggested.

It was just a suggestion, not directly instructing Xiao Xi to come in to order.

"Good..." Lady Chiang expressed gratitude, a shout of acceptance escaped.

"Calling a doctor, letting her fake it, and achieving credit for it." Lady Zhou immediately retorted, "We’re tenant farmers, who isn’t practical and modest here? Calling a doctor at any slight whim, thinking she’s some lady of noble family? Does she deserve it!"

"You got that money, what couldn’t you do with it? Spending it on her, you’d be better off spending it on cats and dogs. Spend it on cats and dogs, and they might wag their tails for you. You spend it on her, expecting her to remember your kindness? She’s so heartless, what family matter before hasn’t she meddled with behind the scenes." Lady Zhou turned again to Lian Manman.

"Don’t interfere in this, your kindness isn’t needed for her!"

With Lady Zhou’s words, naturally, Lian Manman couldn’t refute, so she no longer spoke.

At this time, Lady Chiang brought in a bowl of hot water from the outer room to offer to Lady Gu, but Lady Gu’s lips were tightly pressed, and the water trickled down from the corners of her mouth, simply unable to enter.

Lady Chiang began to cry.

"Pretend, keep pretending. You should put her down, let her lie on the ground, see how long she can keep pretending." Lady Zhou pointed at Lian Shouren and the others.

Old Master Lian coughed twice, gesturing at Lian Shouren with a wave.

"First, take her to your room. Watch her carefully." Old Master Lian said.

Lian Shouren, Lian Jizu, Lady Chiang, and Lian Duoduo then awkwardly carried and moved Lady Gu out of the east room, heading directly to the west room. During the entire process, Lady Gu never opened her eyes.

"This woman is sly," Lady Zhou glared at the doorway and cursed, "Thinking this way she can deceive us and stay with our Old Lian Family. She’s dreaming. If she’s capable, she should just never wake up."

Whether Lady Gu was pretending or genuine, Lady Zhou showed no sign of softening her heart.

Lady Zhou had always been a person with a hardened heart.

Old Master Lian sat at the edge of the kang, his face wooden, silent.

Lady Zhou glanced at Old Master Lian.

"What, you still want to keep that woman? We all know what kind of person she is. Keeping her is nothing but a misfortune."

Old Master Lian sighed.

Lian Manman also looked at Old Master Lian at that moment. Lady Zhou was determined to divorce Lady Gu, even abandoning the plan to keep her around to torment her more. So, as for Old Master Lian, what was his thinking? Would Lady Gu be divorced or not?

Judging by Old Master Lian’s demeanor, the answer seemed uncertain?

"We’ll talk about this later," said Old Master Lian while pushing over the package of silver given by the Song Family to Lian Shouxin, "Old Fourth, we can’t accept this package of silver from the Song Family. Earlier, we had no choice; they spoke like that, so I temporarily accepted it. Now, I give this money to you."

"Dad, how can this be?" Lian Shouxin hurriedly declined, simultaneously glancing at Lian Shouyi and Lady He, who were still in the room.

"Old Fourth, don’t rush to refuse. There’s a reason for giving you this money," said Old Master Lian, "We can’t take this silver from the Old Song Family. Take the money, and since you communicate with the Old Song Family, figure out a way to return this money to them, so it resolves my worry."

Upon hearing Old Master Lian say this, Lian Shouxin was momentarily speechless.

"Dad," Lian Shouyi, seeing Old Master Lian wanted to give the silver to Lian Shouxin and then return it to the Song Family, became anxious, "The silver was sent by the Old Song Family themselves... not to mention just to you two elders. The Old Song Family is wealthy beyond measure, and this silver means nothing to them. Returning it directly makes it seem... how?"

"It’s almost New Year. When the time comes, we also give gifts to their family, isn’t that reciprocation? They’ve more money, so they give more; we, living poorly, our goodwill is just as good as theirs. Once our lives improve, we’ll repay them double."

"Dad, you must think of the family’s welfare as well. New Year is approaching, and we lack necessities. This money, we should use it! They sent it as goodwill; we can’t let it go to waste."

"Old Fourth has dealings with the Old Song Family; he gifts to them himself. Didn’t Old Fourth choose not to send all gifts from the Old Song Family to us?"

"Second Brother," Lian Shouxin chuckled at his words, "Are you worried I’ll steal this twenty taels of silver?"

"No, not at all." Lian Shouyi quickly grinned, "Old Fourth, how could I think that of you? Everyone knows you’re a big financier now. Be it twenty taels, two hundred, or even two thousand, all are minor sums to you. Why would you accept this money? Not only won’t you take it, but you surely plan to contribute even more..."

"Second, what are you saying?" Old Master Lian interrupted Lian Shouyi.

"Old Fourth, look, Dad’s too embarrassed to let me speak. Old Fourth, you understand what I’m implying even if I don’t say it, right?" Lian Shouyi chuckled twice and said.

"Shut up, there’s no place for you to speak here," Old Master Lian barked harshly.

Lian Shouyi chuckled twice again and then remained silent.

"Old Fourth, you see, I definitely can’t keep this money," Old Master Lian sighed again, turned his head to Lian Shouxin, "This money is a misfortune."

"Ever since this silver dropped on the kang, you see, they’ve all been calculating. Calculating how to spend this money, not thinking about where it came from, whether spending it makes them feel at ease."

"If I keep and spend this money, later, when the family runs out, this bunch will think of more ways. And the ways they think up? It’s either putting their dignity under their feet, begging from Old Song Family in the county, or asking other relatives. I can’t bear such shame!"

"Old Fourth, I’ve realized. For our Old Lian Family to straighten our backs, we must rely on ourselves. How much capability we have determines how big a bowl we hold. This lazy and greedy attitude hoping for others can’t be indulged anymore."

"Take the money, Old Fourth, find a way to return it to the Song Family."

The room instantly fell silent; only the sound of chair legs scraping the floor could be heard. It was Lian Shouyi and Lady He restless yet afraid to speak.

Old Master Lian could see the silver was dishonorable and a misfortune, insisting on returning it to the Song Family, not wanting to fuel the family’s lazy habits. He understood.

However, was entrusting the silver to Lian Shouxin really appropriate?

********

Here’s the first update; there will be a second update later.

Seeking more pink tickets. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you’re welcome to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation votes, monthly votes; your support is my greatest motivation.)