I Am A Husband Curser, And You Are A Wife Curser. - Chapter 37

Chapter 37: A Total Mess

When Little Auntie saw that the two Yang brothers wouldn’t follow her lead, she plopped right back down on the ground. She resumed her performance, and as her emotions peaked, she even started slapping her own face. Slap! Slap! She used considerable force; she was being truly ruthless to herself. The commotion was likely loud enough for all the neighbors to hear.

Just as the Yang household was being turned upside down, there was another knock at the gate. It was a young maidservant who served Tong Shanshan. She panted that something had happened at Shanshan’s place—a group of people had burst into the house. Without a word, they had started seizing everything in sight. Tong’s father and Tong Shenghu couldn’t control the situation and wanted Little Auntie to come back immediately.

“Sister! Oh, Sister! We’ve run into bandits! What do we do? What do we do?” Little Auntie broke into a cold sweat from fear.

“Don’t talk nonsense yet. I’ll have Er-lang and his brother go back with you to take a look,” Mother Yang finally softened her heart.

Yang Tongchuan, wearing an expression of pure exasperation, followed the group to Tong Shanshan’s private residence alongside his elder brother. The place was located on the edge of the eastern part of the city, near the outer wall—a prime spot that offered quiet amidst the bustle. Usually, the Tong family lived here together. If the tea merchant came to visit, the parents and Shenghu would retreat to their old house temporarily to leave the space for their daughter and the old man.

By the time they arrived, the large furniture in Shanshan’s rooms had been almost entirely cleared out. Wardrobes, the large bed, tables—even the iron pot from the kitchen stove had been dismantled. Two strings of red chili peppers drying by the warehouse door had even been snatched by an old nanny. Chef Tong and Tong Shenghu were being held off to the side by several men, unable to move. Shanshan herself seemed to be hiding in her room.

As soon as Little Auntie saw this, she lunged forward to pick a fight, only to be shoved to the ground by a managing nanny. Yang Tongchuan went to help her up, but she refused to budge, lying on the ground to make a scene. Yang Tongshan stood to the side, shaking his head helplessly.

Tongshan’s eyes were sharp; he quickly identified the leader of the group. Knowing that “one does not strike a smiling face,” he stepped forward proactively to ask what was happening. Seeing a rational person finally appear, the manager was willing to talk.

The situation was exactly as the Yang brothers had suspected. The person in charge now was the tea merchant’s legitimate eldest son. The old merchant had fallen ill this past summer and had been bedridden ever since. The family had always known about his mistress; in large clans, such things were common. Keeping a “clean” woman on the side was considered better than sleeping with “dirty” ones outside and catching a disease.

However, Tong Shenghu’s recent outburst at the main estate had thoroughly disgusted the merchant’s primary wife. Even a legally concubine wouldn’t dare be so arrogant. For a mere plaything kept outside to warm a master’s bed to show up at the door shouting and screaming was too much. The primary wife, nearly sixty years old, felt more aggrieved the more she thought about it. She decided to settle the accounts with all the women the merchant kept outside.

Those with children were allowed to keep their houses for the children’s sake, though the children would stay outside and take the mother’s surname. Those without children had their houses reclaimed and were sent away with a small sum of money. Anyone who dared to cause trouble was punished severely. Today, it was Tong Shanshan’s turn.

“My master said that according to the current laws, a mistress without a matchmaker or a formal betrothal is committing adultery. A woman guilty of adultery is to be flogged sixty times and then serve two years in prison…”

Before the manager could finish, Little Auntie lost her temper. “Bullshit! Why wasn’t it adultery when he was sleeping with my daughter? If it’s adultery, drag your master out and give him sixty lashes too! My nephew is a constable; we’ll have your master locked up right now!”

As she screamed, the neighbors who had gathered to watch the drama perked up—this was some high-quality gossip.

“Little Auntie, stop talking. Tongchuan, take her inside,” Yang Tongshan muttered. He knew today’s situation would be hard to resolve. These people had come fully prepared to settle old scores. “Manager, may we have a word in private?”

Tongshan led the man to a side room to find out exactly how far the family intended to go. Meanwhile, Yang Tongchuan dragged Little Auntie toward the inner rooms. “Go check on Shanshan first, make sure nothing has happened.”

“Right, right! My daughter!” Little Auntie rushed in. As soon as she opened the door, she saw Tong Shanshan hanging from a roof beam.

“Ah—!” Little Auntie screamed in terror.

Yang Tongchuan moved swiftly, rushing forward to cut her down. The scream naturally drew the people outside; Chef Tong and Shenghu rushed in as well. Fortunately, they had found her just in time; Shanshan hadn’t died.

For a moment, the wailing and shouting in the room made Yang Tongchuan’s head feel like it was going to explode. He desperately wanted to go home.

“What’s the situation?” Yang Tongshan asked as his younger brother walked out looking like he was suffering from severe constipation.

“Crying, making a scene, and hanging herself. Brother, my head hurts. When can we leave?” Yang Tongchuan didn’t want to deal with this anymore. This family was completely muddled; getting involved would only bring trouble upon himself.

“The manager said the house is in their master’s name, so it must be reclaimed. However, they won’t pursue the wealth and jewelry Shanshan has received over the years,” Tongshan said. He knew the Tong family had no leverage left. If Shanshan had been truly clever, she would have coaxed the merchant into making her a formal concubine long ago, and things wouldn’t be this ugly.

“What if Little Auntie and the others refuse to move?” Yang Tongchuan guessed why Shanshan had tried to hang herself. Over the past six months, she had spent most of her money. If the house was gone, she’d have to move back with her parents and brother. Having been pampered for years, how could she go back to serving others?

“The manager said their old man only has a few days left to live. They don’t mind waiting until after the funeral to hire a lawyer and take the matter to the yamen for a lawsuit,” Tongshan explained. He had dealt with these types of managers often and understood that the manager’s words were the master’s intent.

“Can you convince Little Auntie to leave?” Yang Tongchuan asked back.

“I can’t.” Tongshan also wanted to go home.

“Then what do we do?” The two brothers looked at each other in silence.

The men the manager brought were experts at their work. They had likely done this several times recently and were very efficient. Soon, the house was stripped bare. Even the maids and nannies were taken away, as their labor contracts were held by the merchant.

“I’ll tell you one more time,” the manager said harshly. “If you’re willing to move, leave now. If not, we’ll see you at the yamen. But given how delicate Miss Tong’s skin is, I wonder if she’ll still fetch a good price after sixty lashes and two years in a cell.” It was cruel, but it was the truth.

“We won’t move! We’d rather die here! Our whole family will hang ourselves here before we move!” Little Auntie was still being stubborn.

“Then hang yourselves slowly. We’ll report back and bring a lawyer tomorrow to help collect your corpses.” The manager didn’t believe for a second that people like this were actually willing to die. He left with the goods and his men.

The house was left in a shambles. “There’s no justice! This world won’t let people live! My daughter was ruined, and there’s nowhere to turn!”

“Sister! Sister, what’s wrong with you?” Amidst Little Auntie’s wailing, Tong Shenghu discovered that Tong Shanshan had fainted.