WBSGVS Chapter 49 V1

Seeing Cheng Zhaoyang so angry, Xiong Shi and Cheng Yue’er felt a surge of joy; they didn’t try to dissuade him, but instead poured oil on the fire.

Xiong Shi grumbled, “She’s inside, sleeping. Such a lazy girl, she just comes home and goes straight to sleep.”

Cheng Yue’er added, “Big Brother, you have no idea how unreasonable she is! She hit me, and not only that, she even hit Mother! She said that as the elder sister-in-law, she needed to discipline me. Why should she have the right to educate me when I’m so good?”

This time, she didn’t dare to mention the incident where she nearly fell into the water, as Luo Qingli had saved her. If she tried to twist the narrative again, although she knew her brother wouldn’t side with Luo Qingli, he would still be angry. He believed that a woman should be modest, and her behavior might get her punished with house arrest.

Cheng Zhaoyang’s expression darkened further. He was very patriarchal, and as a scholar, he believed a gentleman should stay away from the kitchen. He never did household chores, living a life like a young master.

Now that he was married, in his mind, since his father had passed away, his wife naturally had to take care of the family, be obedient, and not let their mother feel sad; otherwise, it would be unfilial.

His mother’s and sister’s complaints filled him with shame, and his anger grew. Unable to eat any longer, he quickly comforted them, saying, “What you did was wrong, Qingli. I’ll call her over to apologize to you both right now.”

Cheng Yue’er was so delighted that she nearly clapped her hands. “Then I want her to make me a new set of clothes as an apology.”

“Alright,” Cheng Zhaoyang replied naturally, his face cold as he headed back into the house.

As soon as he entered the room, he caught the familiar scent of food. He was taken aback to see his wife, whom he thought hadn’t eaten, enjoying a meal by herself and looking quite content.

His mood soured even more; he frowned and said irritably, “How can you still eat?”

Qingli calmly picked up another piece of pork belly. Although she didn’t particularly enjoy fatty meat, the original owner’s body wasn’t particularly strong, being just an ordinary ancient girl with little energy.

She needed to replenish some energy.

While eating, Qingli curiously asked, “Why shouldn’t I be able to eat?”

Cheng Zhaoyang limped over, his not-very-tall figure appearing somewhat awkward as he shifted between heights.

Still, as a scholar, he didn’t resort to violence right away but spoke sternly: “Just now, Mother and Yue’er told me you hit them? Luo, is this how your father taught you? To marry and then bully your mother-in-law and sister-in-law?”

Qingli put down her chopsticks, stood up, and looked him in the eye, calmly saying, “Do you know why I hit Cheng Yue’er?”

Cheng Zhaoyang immediately replied, “No matter the circumstances, you shouldn’t hit people, especially not your mother! You should go apologize right now! And make Yue’er a new set of clothes as an apology! Otherwise, I’ll have to ask your father-in-law how he raised you to be so unfilial!”

“I won’t go!” Qingli rejected it immediately, seeing Cheng Zhaoyang’s displeased expression. A cold smile crossed her mind; men could sometimes be natural manipulators. As long as they held onto a weakness, they could use it to their advantage.

Knowing that the original owner cared about the Luo family’s reputation, she was constantly coerced into compromising, ultimately leading her to not dare to resist.

Pretending to be aloof, she turned her back on Cheng Zhaoyang and said, “Cheng Yue’er got into an argument with someone and almost fell into the water. I saved her, and I ended up in the water myself. When I returned, my mother-in-law said that such behavior wasn’t proper for a woman. As the elder sister-in-law, shouldn’t I have taught Cheng Yue’er a lesson?”

Her voice was clear and resonant, every word distinct. Even though Cheng Zhaoyang was filled with anger at that moment, he still understood her words, momentarily stunned: “You say Yue’er almost fell into the water during an argument? Why didn’t she tell me?”

Qingli looked at him expressionlessly, “Don’t you know why?”

Cheng Zhaoyang felt his face flush; it was clear his mother and sister had deliberately kept it from him! But that wasn’t something she could say. He felt embarrassed and irritated as he said, “That doesn’t give you the right to hit anyone! Luo Qingli used to be so gentle; how did she turn into a shrew after getting married?”

“Am I a shrew now?” Qingli said, a hint of hurt appearing on her face, her eyes slightly red. “Mother was very angry at the time, and I was afraid she would get sick, so I hit Yue’er to teach her a lesson.”

Cheng Zhaoyang was at a loss for words, but recalling how Xiong Shi had looked, he became suspicious: “Is that true?”

Qingli replied, “Of course it is! Mother said that getting into an argument with someone and falling into the water was shameful for the Cheng family and that I should give her a good lesson!”

Upon hearing this, Cheng Zhaoyang’s anger towards Qingli dissipated entirely. He even felt a bit awkward for failing to find fault with her and wiped his nose before clearing his throat and saying, “You could have told me sooner! Why didn’t you come out to eat?”

“I fell into the water and I’m not feeling well,” Qingli replied softly.

“Then take good care of yourself,” Cheng Zhaoyang hurriedly said, as he seemed ready to leave.

But Qingli pulled at his sleeve. He frowned and was about to speak when she said first, “You asked me to apologize to Yue’er and make her new clothes as an apology. Now that I’ve saved her, shouldn’t she be the one apologizing to me? And since Mother knows I did it for her, shouldn’t she apologize to me as well?”

Cheng Zhaoyang was taken aback. “You’ve lost your mind? You want my mother to apologize to you?”

Qingli took a step back, compromising, “Then Cheng Yue’er should at least apologize to me, right? An apology gift should be just as she said—a new outfit!”

Cheng Zhaoyang’s expression changed. However, with his wife having taken a step back, it felt wrong to refuse her, especially since it was he who had brought this up.

But he knew his sister’s temperament; an apology was out of the question. He felt conflicted: “You’re her sister-in-law, and Yue’er is just a child. Why be so calculative?”

Hearing this, Qingli looked at him in disbelief and indignation, “But as her sister-in-law, she can flip things upside down and demand an apology from me. Now that I’m just following her example and asking for an apology, I’m being calculative? Cheng Zhaoyang, you say you love me, yet back then, you were willing to get your leg cut off for me. Now, you treat me like this, and I doubt if what happened back then was real!”

The matter of the bandits?

Cheng Zhaoyang’s brow twitched, and a cold sweat broke out on his back. That incident had always been his deepest secret.

At that time, the bandits thought he had set them up with the officials and cut off his leg. He didn’t dare let the bandits be caught, so he deliberately caused chaos, allowing them to escape. When they left, they even gave him a grateful glance and never appeared again.

He treated this incident as if it had never happened and was afraid to expose it. Now that his wife suddenly mentioned it, he was genuinely shocked, nearly losing his mind.

He scrutinized Qingli, seeing her expression of hurt and anger. He breathed a sigh of relief; it should just be a moment of agitation. What he needed to do now was to quell her suspicions and loudly exclaim, “If it weren’t true, why would I be reduced to just being an accountant?! I’ve sacrificed my bright future for you; what more do you want from me?”

Little did he know that his wife, who had always been silenced by this statement, shouted even louder this time: “But you would rather sacrifice so much for me than let me have any justice! In your heart, is my justice worth less than your leg?!”

Cheng Zhaoyang had just wanted to say yes.

But Qingli had already said sharply, “If you don’t care about me, how could you have sacrificed so much for me?”

How did she reach this conclusion?!

Cheng Zhaoyang was furious, but for a moment, he didn’t know how to retort. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead as he panicked and blurted out, “Then what do you want? You were never like this before!”

“I’m unreasonable?” Qingli took two steps back, staring at him as if he had hurt her feelings, and coldly laughed. “Yes, I’m different from before. After all, in the past, no one I helped ever turned on me! I’m the unreasonable one? I’m not worthy of you! Cheng Zhaoyang, let’s divorce and let you marry someone more deserving!”

Cheng Zhaoyang: “!!!”

He wanted to suppress Qingli’s resistance, but how did it suddenly escalate to the point of divorce?

If they divorced, wouldn’t everything he had sacrificed be in vain?

Right now, his brother hadn’t yet achieved success, and they still needed the Luo family’s support; they couldn’t afford to get a divorce!

He took a deep breath and firmly refused, “That’s impossible!”

Qingli felt even more aggrieved. “So what do you want me to do? You said you liked me and that you sacrificed so much for me, yet after marrying me, you let me suffer. Is this what you call love?” She felt disheartened. “Looking at you now, I can’t believe you once wanted to stop those bandits for me!”

Cheng Zhaoyang felt weak in the knees as if she had hit the nail on the head. But he couldn’t show it; he gritted his teeth, softened his tone, and gently said, “I was wrong. I was wrong. It’s just that my father passed away early, and my mother raised us alone, which hasn’t been easy. I panicked for a moment.”

Qingli wiped her tears and shook off his hand, coldly laughing, “Yes, exactly. You’re worried about your mother and sister, so you can’t see my grievances. Cheng Zhaoyang, is this what you call love?”

Cheng Zhaoyang confessed, “Of course not! I see it, and it pains me, but… you know how my sister is…”

“So you just make me suffer? In your heart, am I the last one?”

“You’re still ahead of me!” Cheng Zhaoyang thought quickly and said, relieved after realizing he had at least put himself in the lowest position.

But Qingli wouldn’t let it go. “You’re putting yourself last? Then you should apologize on behalf of your sister.”

“Fine.” Cheng Zhaoyang agreed immediately.

Qingli said, “Then kneel and admit your mistake to me.”

“Kneel?” Cheng Zhaoyang was shocked and angry. “A man like me kneeling before you?”

Qingli was even more enraged and shouted back at the same volume, “You still say I’m more important than you? Now it seems it was all a lie! Didn’t you say you considered yourself the lowest? Then what’s the point of your pride? My grievances don’t matter compared to your pride?!”

Cheng Zhaoyang: “…”

This was ridiculous!

He gritted his teeth and wanted to pull Cheng Yue’er over to apologize instead. How could a sister compare to him?

But if he did that, he would be contradicting what he had just said. He felt guilty and was extra afraid that his wife would suspect him.

In an instant, he was deeply conflicted, even contemplating simply ending it all.

But he was unwilling, and now the family needed to support his brother’s education. Without the Luo family’s support, it would be impossible for him to provide for three people and fund the imperial examination. Thinking this way made him feel diminished and began to waver.