I Crossed Over with My Enemy, Only to Find Him Running the Empire - Chapter 40

Chapter 40: Family Discipline

Wu Tiesheng did not dodge; instead, he took a step forward, hanging his head low: “Mother, hit me. Hit me hard! It’s your son who is useless!”

His words only added fuel to the fire.

Zhang Jinhua trembled all over with rage, her broom swinging even more frantically, landing pi-li-pa-la on Wu Tiesheng’s head, shoulders, and back.

“Thirty tales! That’s how many years of our family’s livelihood! You squandered it just like that! I’ll beat you to death! I’ll act as if I never gave birth to a spineless wretch like you!”

The scene descended into total chaos.

Mrs. Wei shrank back in fear, her mouth offering advice like “Mother, Mother, calm your anger,” but her feet didn’t dare take a single step forward.

Li Qiaoqiao watched with her heart leaping in her throat. The broom was swinging without any pattern; she feared that if she went to intervene, not only would she fail to stop it, but she would also take several harsh blows for nothing.

Stamping her feet in anxiety, she caught sight of Wu Ya beside her and quickly gave him a shove: “Quick! Go and talk Mother out of it! If she stays this angry, something terrible will happen! You… you are the ‘good son’ now; she might listen to you!”

Wu Ya was also stunned by the magnitude of the commotion. Hearing this, he knit his brows tightly. Seeing the broom about to fall again, he bit his teeth and suddenly rushed forward, using his own body to shield Wu Tiesheng.

Smack! The tip of the broom lashed heavily against the back of his neck, stinging like fire.

“Mother! Stop hitting! Second Brother knows he was wrong!” While dodging, Wu Ya raised his voice and shouted, “Mother! Look at me! I am Tieniu! I’ve recovered from my illness, listen to me for a moment!”

Seeing her precious son, Zhang Jinhua’s sweeping motion paused. She panted heavily, fixing her gaze on Wu Ya.

Taking the opportunity, Wu Ya grabbed the broom, his tone softening with a hint of urgency: “Mother, excessive anger harms the body! It’s not worth ruining your health over this! Rest for a moment. Father will be back soon, and we’ll find a way then, alright?”

Zhang Jinhua’s chest heaved violently. She stared at Wu Ya, stunned for a moment.

The hand gripping the broom loosened its strength, and Wu Ya quickly snatched the broom away and tossed it aside.

Zhang Jinhua’s body swayed, her lips trembling, but she could no longer voice a curse.

Right at that moment, the courtyard gate was slammed open with a clatter. Mrs. Yuan came stumbling in, falling to her knees on the ground before Zhang Jinhua with a thud, kicking up a cloud of dust.

“Mother! Mother, don’t blame Tiesheng! That medicine… I ate it too!” Mrs. Yuan’s hair was disheveled, tears and snot flowing down her face. She slapped the ground, crying out, “It’s me who wanted to bear a son for the Wu family to carry on the lineage! I thought that by eating this divine pill, I would surely conceive a male child! It’s my fault! If you want to hit someone, Mother, hit me! I’ll work like an ox or a horse to repay the family later! Mother!”

Her kneeling and crying did not calm Zhang Jinhua’s anger; instead, it was like handing her a red-hot branding iron.

The eyes that had just dimmed slightly flared up again with a whoosh. Zhang Jinhua pointed a shaking finger at Mrs. Yuan, her voice shrill and piercing:

“Fine! So it was you! So it was you, this family-stirring wench, who instigated it! I was wondering how an honest man like Tiesheng could do something so stupid! It was all the provocation of an ill-omen like you! You can’t even give birth to a boy, and yet you dare squander the Wu family’s hard-earned money! See if I don’t tear your mouth apart!”

Zhang Jinhua was like a crazed tigress, her ten fingers splayed as she prepared to pounce and claw at Mrs. Yuan.

Li Qiaoqiao and Wu Ya were startled and rushed to hold her tight from both sides. Zhang Jinhua struggled, cursing incessantly, until one of her hands unconsciously clutched her heart, her face turning somewhat pale.

Li Qiaoqiao’s heart skipped a beat. She suddenly remembered that in the original book, Zhang Jinhua’s end was being literally provoked to death by anger. Terrified, she shouted: “Mother! Mother, catch your breath! Whatever you do, don’t move anymore!”

On the other side of the courtyard, the two young ones from the third branch, Dongping and Xianghe, had long been scared witless by the hitting and cursing. Only now did they seem to snap out of it, both letting out a wail at the same time.

Their voices were sharp. Mrs. Wei scrambled to coax them, but she couldn’t stop them no matter what.

Following them, the two girls from the second branch, Caixia and Peilan, also ran out of their room. Seeing their father being beaten and cursed and their mother kneeling and weeping, the two young girls also began to cry in terror.

They rushed over to embrace their parents, the family of four crying together in a heap.

In the courtyard, people were crying for parents and shouting for help; it was total chaos.

Several local chickens were so frightened they fluttered their wings to hide in the corners, and the ducks followed suit with frantic “quack-quack” noises. This tragic and chaotic commotion had long ago attracted the neighbors. Several villagers peered over the Wu family’s low earthen wall, sticking their heads in to watch the excitement.

Just at this moment of inextricable mess, a deep shout thundered from the gate: “What is this commotion! Are you not afraid of becoming a laughingstock!”

It was Wu Duofu who had returned.

His face was grim as he held his dry tobacco pipe. His gaze swept across the courtyard, and the chaotic crying and cursing were cut off like a knife, falling into a sudden silence.

Even the two youngest children, who were crying the loudest, choked back their sobs, leaving only hiccups. Zhang Jinhua felt as if she had found her pillar of support, or perhaps her grievances finally had an outlet. She cried out with a sob: “Old man! You’re finally back! This life can’t be lived anymore!”

Wu Duofu didn’t acknowledge her immediately. He first glared at the villagers peeking over the wall: “What are you looking at! Nothing’s wrong here! Everyone disperse!”

Zhang Jinhua also regained her strength now, cursing toward the wall: “Get lost! Get far away! Don’t you have your own business to attend to? If you keep looking, I’ll tear your mouths apart!”

The villagers chuckled a few times; either finding it boring or fearing they might truly provoke Zhang Jinhua, they dispersed while muttering under their breaths.

Having driven away the outsiders, Wu Duofu then closed the courtyard gate with a clatter and slid the bolt shut.

The air in the courtyard instantly became tense. He walked step by step into the center of the yard, his gaze landing first on his wretched second son.

“Father…” Wu Tiesheng called out timidly.

Without a word, Wu Duofu swung his arm smack! smack!delivering several loud slaps to Wu Tiesheng’s face. The sound was crisp and echoing.

Wu Tiesheng’s head was knocked to the side, finger marks immediately swelling on his face, but he gritted his teeth and didn’t dare utter a sound.

“Spendthrift wretch!” Wu Duofu squeezed the words through his teeth. His voice wasn’t high, but it carried a full sense of ruthlessness. “The family estate I worked so hard to build isn’t for you to squander like this!”

He stopped looking at Wu Tiesheng and turned to bark at Mrs. Wei: “Eldest daughter-in-law! Go! Bring the long bench and the bamboo slats!”

Mrs. Wei shivered and quickly complied, trotting to the back of the house to bring out that long, heavy bench and the thick, shiny bamboo slat that looked terrifying just to behold.

This was exactly the Wu family’s discipline.

Wu Duofu tucked his pipe behind his waist, pointed at the bench, and shouted at Wu Tiesheng: “Lie down!”

Wu Tiesheng’s face was deathly pale. He didn’t dare show the slightest disobedience and tremblingly lay face down on the bench.

Wu Duofu swept his gaze across the male members of the family again, his eyes landing on Wu Ya: “Old Fourth! You come here too! Watch! Everyone remembers what the Wu family rules look like!”

Wu Ya’s heart sank, but he had to brace himself and walk over to stand to the side.

Li Qiaoqiao gave him a worried look but didn’t dare speak.

Wu Duofu spat into his palm and gripped the bamboo slat tightly.

The courtyard was terrifyingly quiet, leaving only heavy breathing and suppressed sobbing.

Wu Duofu raised the bamboo slat high, and with a whistling sound, it fell hard—

CRACK!

A dull thud, accompanied by a muffled groan of pain that Wu Tiesheng couldn’t hold back, struck heavily upon everyone’s heart.