I Am A Husband Curser, And You Are A Wife Curser. - Chapter 42

Chapter 42: The Mess is Over

With nothing to do at the moment, Yang Tongchuan told Xiangxi to go lie down.

“No, I’m tired of just lying there. My back aches from it,” Xiangxi replied. At this time last year, he was working harder than a dog; this year, he was so idle he felt like he was growing mushrooms.

“You need to learn how to enjoy yourself. Look at Father—every day after he eats his fill, he goes out for a stroll. He plays chess at one house, has tea at another, and doesn’t come home until it’s time to eat again.”

“Stop talking nonsense. How can I compare myself to Father-in-law?” Xiangxi ignored him.

Just then, Yanzi returned with a freshly roasted duck she had bought. After setting the duck down, she hurried off to start the winter melon soup.

At noon, the two ate in the west wing, while Yanzi ate in the kitchen.

“Don’t you think it’s exceptionally peaceful when there are fewer people at home?” Yang Tongchuan tore off a roast duck leg and placed it in Xiangxi’s bowl.

“Of course it’s peaceful with fewer people. Why do you ask?”

“From the time I was small, home was always chaotic. When I was a kid, Father worked as an accountant. He left before I woke up and came back after I was asleep. I’d go a long time without seeing him once. Then, on the rare occasion he was home, he’d drag his ‘fair-weather friends’ over to eat and drink until the room was a hazy mess. Then Mother would get angry and they’d start fighting.”

This was why Yang Tongchuan had been terrified of noise since childhood; the moment he heard a loud commotion, he felt like losing his temper.

“Big Brother takes after Father; he’s loved fiddling with an abacus since he was little. He’s more clever than I am and never caused trouble for the family. He’s better than me.”

Yang Tongshan had been the “good child” in the neighbors’ eyes since childhood, while Yang Tongchuan was the cautionary tale. If a neighbor planted an osmanthus tree at their gate, he’d be the one with itchy hands peeling the bark off. Back then, if anyone’s chicken died or dog went missing, they’d ask Yang Tongchuan first. Usually, they weren’t wrong. That was his reputation.

“How were you so mischievous as a child?” Xiangxi laughed so hard his stomach twitched.

“Sigh, the family always wanted to control me, and I just didn’t want to let them.” Yang Tongchuan actually had a lingering thought of moving out with Xiangxi to live separately and run their own small household. He felt it would be more free.

However, he had a good relationship with his brother, and since both parents were still healthy, splitting the household could easily lead to unnecessary misunderstandings.

“Do you not like living with everyone?” Xiangxi, on the contrary, quite liked the feeling of a big family; it felt grounding.

Xiangxi’s memories of his own childhood were very blurred. He could barely remember his parents’ faces, and even the home he grew up in was just a hazy frame in his mind. Often, he would wake up crying after dreaming of walking through those strange yet familiar rooms, touching the desks, chairs, and clothes that once belonged to him. It was a regret for a past he could never revisit.

“It’s not that I don’t like it. It’s just… how should I put it? Once you start a family, you should have your own nest.” Yang Tongchuan’s deep-seated machismo made him want his own private courtyard.

“That takes a lot of money. Our current silver is barely enough to buy a house, and if we move out, your parents will surely be sad.” Xiangxi was practical; he understood all too well that “one cannot cook a meal without rice.”

“Yeah, the main issue is money.” Yang Tongchuan knew the idea wasn’t mature yet. A county town wasn’t like the countryside; every bit of food and clothing had to be bought. Moreover, they lived in the east of the city now; even if they settled down later, it would have to be here. They couldn’t move to the west.

“Actually, once the baby is born, if the family can help watch them, I could go out and earn money. I’m just idle at home anyway.” Xiangxi used to help his brother and sister-in-law run a stall; he didn’t see anything wrong with a ger going out to work.

“Don’t even think about it. The joints of your fingers are already thickened from hard labor; who knows how long it’ll take to nurse them back. You shouldn’t worry about money. Just manage the house and take care of the child.” Yang Tongchuan’s pride was at play; he felt it was his duty to provide for Xiangxi, and only families who couldn’t put food on the table would let their spouses out to work.

“Fine, I’ll listen to you. Whatever you say.” Xiangxi agreed verbally, but in his heart, he was already pondering what he could do later to earn some silver.

In the afternoon, someone from the yamen arrived to call Yang Tongchuan away. It seemed Dong Shanshan’s “husband”—the tea merchant—had finally failed to pull through and died. The circumstances of the case had changed, and Head Constable Wang wanted him back.

“No matter what, don’t make it hard on yourself. Help if you can, but if you can’t, don’t blame yourself.”

“I know. You and Yanzi stay home and keep the door locked. If those lunatics come back, don’t open up.”

“Alright, go on.”

Xiangxi spent the whole afternoon on edge, fearing things would spiral out of control. In the evening, Yang Tongchuan returned, his face grim.

“How is it?”

“The matter reached the County Lieutenant in charge of the judiciary. They are ready to pass judgment. Wang told me privately that Dong Shanshan will get two years for adultery. For the arson, if Aunt doesn’t pay compensation, she’ll be sentenced to exile. If she pays, it’s three years in prison.”

“That’s so severe. What about Uncle? Where is he?”

“I went to the restaurant where he works to find him. The people there said he quit ages ago. I checked their house, but no one was there. I don’t know where the two of them ran off to.”

“Are they only punishing the Dong family? Since it’s adultery, what about the tea merchant’s family?”

“That old man is dead. His family proactively paid the fine, so they won’t be punished heavily.”

“That’s not fair.” Xiangxi was indignant. Adultery was clearly an act between two people; why was only Shanshan going to jail?

“It isn’t fair. But what can we do?”

Yang Tongchuan had thought he was called over to persuade the aunt and uncle to pay. He hadn’t expected Uncle Dong to simply take Dong Shenghu and bolt. Quite likely, when the father and son came by this morning, they weren’t there to borrow money at all—they were trying to dump the burden onto the Yangs. Since Mother Yang wasn’t home and Yang Tongchuan didn’t take the bait, the “hand-off” failed. Now, the two of them were hiding away like turtles in their shells.

A few days later, Father and Mother Yang returned from the ancestral graves. Yang Tongchuan spoke to his elder brother first.

“The Dongs were banking on the fact that we wouldn’t just sit by, so they abandoned their responsibilities.”

“I see it that way too.”

“I’ll go with you to tell Mother. This 150 taels cannot fall on our heads no matter how you calculate it. If Mother gets angry, let her be angry.”

Fortunately, Mother Yang’s mind remained clear. She didn’t actually go so far as to “sell the pots and pans” to scrape together 150 taels. She only took out some money to have Yang Tongchuan bribe the jailers, hoping to save her sister and Shanshan from some suffering inside. Yang Tongchuan agreed, though he privately felt the money was wasted; those people might not even acknowledge the favor.

Finally, as the New Year approached, the case was settled. Due to the refusal to pay compensation, the sentences were heavy. Through his private connections, Yang Tongchuan managed to secure a relatively better labor assignment for Dong Shanshan, letting her work in weaving and sewing. He also looked after his aunt, who was about to be exiled.

By now, the aunt was completely delirious. Whether she could survive the 2,000-mile journey was a real question. However, this pile of “rotten business” from the Dong family was finally over.