Chapter 23: The Crack of Life

  It's great to have such an older brother.

  Looking at the sumptuous dishes in front of her, Ban Jin happily turned around.

  "Daughter, dinner is ready." She said, and knelt down.

  The new little maid and the servant woman worked together to carry over the dinner table.

  Behind the bamboo curtain, a woman's figure was lying sideways on the couch.

  "Go down," said Ban Jin.

  My wife and little girl both answered.

  "I don't know your taste, so please take a look, miss." The maid said respectfully.

  "Good." said Ban Jin, nodding in response.

  My wife and maid servant went out, looking at the curtain opening, a woman was being supported by half of the family and sat in the hall.

  The little girl was somewhat curious and wanted to get a clear look at the woman, but was glared at by the servant and hastily lowered her head and retreated.

  "What does your daughter look like?" The little girl couldn't help but ask curiously.

  "What can a fool like you do! Don't stir up trouble, in case that young master of the Zhou family gets hold of something and makes a scene, we'll be out of luck too." The servant woman warned.

  Thinking that because of this matter, a total of seven people from both families were driven out of the house, it can be imagined how miserable the servants who were expelled by the master would be. The little maid was so scared that she became tense and didn't dare to look at the house again, fearing that seeing the fool's appearance would cause trouble.

  After dinner, Mrs. Cheng and others waited for Mr. Cheng.

  "What did he say?" she asked anxiously.

  "Nothing was said, and he poured a pot of wine and went to sleep." Mr. Cheng said irritably, sat down, feeling suffocated.

  Everything that happened today made him feel suffocated from head to toe, and he had no way to vent his emotions.

  Madam Cheng had barely sat down across from them and was just about to speak when Second Master Cheng and his wife arrived.

  Madam Chai burst into tears as soon as she entered the house, which made Madam Wang even more annoyed.

  "Sister-in-law." She knelt down and gave a deep bow.

  This great gift startled Mr. and Mrs. Cheng, who hastily reached out to support him.

  "What's going on?" said Mrs. Cheng.

  "Today in public, I was guilty but shifted the blame onto my sister-in-law, which is a great disrespect." Madam Cheng II cried out, but refused to get up.

  When it came to this matter, Mrs. Cheng's expression flashed with a hint of abnormality.

  Cheng Er Lao Ye also bowed his head in respect.

  "It's my fault, I shouldn't...shouldn't have said that about sister." He said with his head down.

  "Don't be like this." Madame Cheng hurriedly supported him on both sides, with a hint of blame, "What's wrong with this, it was originally my matter, I was incompetent in managing the household, and let you suffer injustice."

  Madam Cheng 2 pulled Madam Cheng's hand and sobbed.

  "All right, let's not talk about family matters now. What's important is other people's business." said Mr. Cheng.

  They then sat down separately on both sides.

  "They said their family didn't know... what was that child's name?" Old Master Cheng asked directly, since there were no outsiders around.

  The three people in the room were slightly stunned, as if they were all thinking what that fool's name was.

  "Call, Jiaoniang!" said Mrs. Cheng Er, who was the first to remember, and added, "It seems that it was given by Zhou's grandmother."

  Cheng Da Lao Ye's face didn't look pleased.

  "What a strange name." He muttered, unsure if he was referring to the name or the people of the Zhou family.

  "Can we believe what Zhou Jialang said about not knowing that Jiaoniang had returned?" Mr. Cheng continued to say.

  "It's not like I don't know!" Old Master Cheng said in a bad temper, "I don't know and yet you still come running to make trouble!"

  A moment of silence in the room.

  "What happened today is also our fault, we handed over the handle to others and can't blame them for humiliating us." Mr. Cheng said, "We admit it, let's see what the Zhou family wants to do next."

  "What else do they want to do?" Old Master Cheng II said angrily, "Do they really think our Cheng family is afraid of him?"

  Cheng Da nodded his head.

  "That's right, today we backed down a bit first, but if they want to make trouble and take advantage of us, our Cheng family is not someone who can be bullied by anyone." He said, "Being humiliated by a martial artist, what's lost isn't the face of our Cheng family, but the face of the great Zhou Wen people."

  A scholar without official rank is not inferior to a military officer with a noble title.

  "It shouldn't have been married from the beginning, and I was laughed at by others outside." Old Master Cheng said with a hum.

  Cheng Da stared angrily.

  "Are you criticizing your father?" he shouted.

  Because of what was said about his first wife, Madame Cheng had been keeping her head down all along.

  Mrs. Cheng pulled her husband.

  "Second Master didn't mean it that way, don't go making wild guesses about him," she said, looking at Old Master Cheng. "Alright, we're all tired, let's take a nap and rest our spirits. We can't let others laugh at us."

  Cheng Er and his wife bid farewell and walked towards their own residence.

  "You should go and serve your sister-in-law more often these days," said Mr. Cheng, "Let her resolve the knot in her heart as soon as possible."

  Madam Cheng 2 slightly pursed her lips.

  "Haven't I already said it all? I've even bowed my head and apologized, isn't that enough face-saving for you? Besides, we didn't say anything wrong back then either," she said.

  Second Master Cheng stopped in his tracks and turned around to glare at her.

  "What did you say?" he growled in a low voice.

  "What did I say? Was what I said wrong? Why does she get all the good things and I'm left to take the blame? It was her idea to bring that fool home, so why am I the one getting scolded when something goes wrong? If you hadn't spoken up for me at the time, Second Brother, wouldn't she have just kept quiet and made me go to the ancestral hall to reflect on my mistakes?" Madam Cheng said, her eyes red-rimmed.

  "Speak softly, we are outdoors." Mr. Cheng said with a start.

  The following servant girl hastily dodged away.

  Madam Cheng II flung her sleeve and strode away, leaving Old Master Cheng II to hurry after her.

  Old Master Cheng II only felt a throbbing pain in his temples.

  One wave has not yet subsided when another one rises!

  How did it end up like this?!

  At home, there's no place to hide, and Madame Cheng would soon find out about the quarrel between Second Master Cheng and his wife. She sighed, took off her hairpin.

  "Let's drop it, this conversation is not allowed to be spread." she said.

  His wife responded and left with her head down.

  "What's gotten into you, Eldest Daughter-in-law?" Master Cheng said with a frown, half-reclining on the couch.

  "You too, how could you forget that Jiaoniang is being supported by me?" Madam Cheng said, somewhat helplessly and weakly.

  "It's you who raised her, what can be done? She is the nominal mother of Ruo Xuan, if I don't scold and punish her, how will the people of the Zhou family give up? Moreover, how can she really be punished?" Mr. Cheng said, spitting out a mouthful of air, "It's really unreasonable."

  Madam Cheng lay down on the other side of the couch, rubbing her brow.

  "It's probably because of Jiaoniang's return that our usual days have suddenly changed, and she can't bear it for the time being." She said.

  Cheng Da Lao Ye grunted.

  "Our family has this child's matter, she isn't knowing it for the first day, how come now can't bear?" he said.

  Madam Cheng smiled slightly and pursed her lips.

  "Knowing is one thing, seeing it with your own eyes is another," she said.

  "It seems she's been spoiled by living a comfortable life for too long." Old Master Cheng said indifferently.

  This time, Madame Cheng did not argue again, but let out a sigh, changed hands to rub her forehead, and closed her eyes.

  And there's more... hehe......