On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, Chen Qing saw the county town’s lanterns for the first time.
He had previously stayed in the back courtyard of the escort agency in the county. To avoid spending extra money, he stayed in the back courtyard of the agency again.
At night, the county bustled with activity. Zhou Yuan held Chen Qing’s hand tightly, afraid the crowd might separate them.
Each lantern was beautiful in its own way. Chen Qing was short and could hardly see unless he squeezed to the front. Zhou Yuan simply lifted him up and let him sit on his shoulders, just like before.
Li Xin was taller than Chen Qing and could not be blocked from behind. He glanced at Qi Shuning, who was thinner than he was. He rolled his eyes at Qi Shuning, then pushed forward himself. If he didn’t marry a tall man, he would just have to rely on himself. Who said everyone would be perfectly matched?
The lanterns were exquisitely crafted, each layer telling a marvelous tale. Chen Qing was fascinated by each riddle.
There were lantern riddles during the festival before, but they hadn’t participated because they were illiterate. Now, it was Qi Shuning’s turn to show his skill.
Li Xin wasn’t interested in riddles, but Qi Shuning held his hand and paid the fee to guess. If he solved all the riddles correctly, he would win the first prize: a Xiuyu hairpin carved with trumpet vines. He thought the hairpin would suit Li Xin well, so he answered every riddle.
After winning the hairpin, he carefully tucked it into Li Xin’s bun. His bun was simple, and the hairpin was the only adornment it needed.
Li Xin angrily said, “I don’t like it.” Yet, his cheeks flushed red.
Qi Shuning smiled. “I may not be as strong as my elder brother, but I’m far more learned than him. Whatever you want in the future, I can provide with my literary talent.”
Zhou Yuan’s face darkened when he heard this. He hit him on the head and said, “Who are you calling uneducated?”
They laughed and chatted all the way to the Lantern Festival. Perhaps because of the jade hairpin, Li Xin was especially gentle that night, making Qi Shuning somewhat uneasy. When he mentioned it, Li Xin’s face sank, and he slapped his back.
After the fifteenth day of the lunar calendar, the New Year was over, and the escort agency was about to resume operations. Zhou Yuan was now like a boss who didn’t interfere; others discussed all matters. Meng Qi and Meng Shuanzi were assigned escort duty in Lin County.
On the sixteenth day, someone came to Zhou Yuan with news about Sun Wei.
At Zhou Yuan’s suggestion, the gambling house took the matter seriously. Sun Wei still owed them money. He was stubborn and always thought he could win it back with the next bet, so he fell deeper into debt. His family knew nothing of this. Earlier, his only property had been stolen from his family. Desperate, he set his sights on Aunt Sun. However, after crossing paths with Zhou Yuan, he had no choice but to give up.
During the New Year, the gambling business thrived. After Sun Wei lost everything again, the thugs broke his legs and left him at the Sun family’s doorstep. When Old Madam Sun saw her eldest grandson so badly beaten, she could not believe her obedient child had gone gambling. Yet, the signed handprints on the gambling notes were undeniable.
Sun Kang flew into a rage. The wife of the second Sun son raised a clamor about splitting the household. Old Madam Sun, furious, collapsed on the spot. The house descended into chaos. She fell in the winter and, with no one to help her, she froze until she became paralyzed.
Out of pity for his son, Sun Kang’s husband gave the gambling house all the family’s savings, but that was still not enough. Knowing not to push people into utter despair, the gambling house simply demanded monthly payments instead.
As for the paralyzed Old Madam Sun, none of the family branches wanted to support her. She had once been the backbone of the family, but once she fell, she was despised by all. Finally, under the village head’s mediation, it was decided that each family would support her for a month in turn; none could escape this obligation.
When Zhou Yuan heard this, he nodded and thanked the messenger.
After listening, Chen Qing frowned: “But will they bother my mother?”
Zhou Yuan shook his head. “Don’t worry. I’m here.”
As expected, the Sun family was passing their helplessness onto others.
An elderly woman who was paralyzed was considered useless and a burden. Since Sun Wei’s disgrace had come to light, the three brothers—who usually quarreled—finally sat down calmly to discuss her. Together, they ransacked the old woman’s house. Other than a few worn silver bracelets, there was nothing of value. Each of them distrusted the other, suspecting that she had secretly favored someone else and given money away.
Finding nothing, their anger grew. She was nothing but a burden.
They did not dare poison her, but they did not want to take care of her. So they thought of Aunt Sun, who had already been married off.
The three of them agreed, and the next day they wrapped the old woman in a quilt and hauled her to Luohe Village. They reasoned, “All of us are her children—why should only we provide for her?”
When Zhou Yuan and Chen Qing returned home, they heard a commotion in Aunt Sun’s yard. Chen Qing hurried in and saw the three Sun brothers blocking Aunt Sun. The paralyzed Old Madam Sun was lying in the yard.
Aunt Sun’s face flushed red as she scolded them fiercely.
“She has always been on your side. Now she’s paralyzed, and you remember me?”
“When I needed money, you said you would cut ties with me. What now? Do your words mean nothing?”
Old Sun Kang looked unconcerned. “I raised you. Even if your bones are broken, you can’t escape.”
“Bah!” Aunt Sun said, pointing at her. “You cheated me out of my betrothal gifts. When I tried to heal Meng Tao, you said we weren’t family. You came to my house and tried to harm my Qing. You weren’t jailed for that, yet you come again to act wildly!”
Chen Qing stepped forward and stood before Aunt Sun, grasping her hand. Then, he glanced at Old Madam Sun again. She was thinly dressed, with only a quilt.
After a moment’s thought, he went inside to fetch another quilt to cover her with. If she froze to death here, it would be unlucky.
Old Madam Sun’s face was streaked with tears and mucus. Chen Qing looked at her without sympathy. She had cruelly abused his mother and even tried to sell him. If not for Zhou Yuan, he didn’t know what fate would have awaited him. No compassion stirred in him.
Zhou Yuan stood behind him and came to Aunt Sun’s side.
He fixed the three Sun brothers with hawk-like eyes. “Take your people and get out of my mother’s house.”
Sun Kang had always feared Zhou Yuan. Hearing him call Aunt Sun “mother” and seeing him protect Chen Qing and Sun Cui made it clear that the matter was settled.
Sun Kang’s heart thumped wildly.
The standoff in the courtyard drew many onlookers, but no one dared to interfere because of Zhou Yuan.
“Are you leaving or not?”
“Why should we? Every family supports her in turn. Sun Cui can’t escape!” Sun Laosan snarled.
“Cough, cough… Cui… Cui…” Old Madam Sun’s voice rasped like a choke.
Aunt Sun couldn’t bear it and moved closer. “You said you’d cut ties unto death. You said we’d sever relations. I won’t support you now—is that wrong?”
“Hehe… Cui… Cui…” The old woman’s body twisted helplessly. Aunt Sun thought for a moment, then held her hand still.
“I’m a widow. Qing is married. I can’t support you. Go back to your sons.” Aunt Sun tried to free herself.
But Old Madam Sun clutched her hand tighter, trying to pull it under the quilt. With great effort, she slipped something into Aunt Sun’s palm. Using the last of her strength, she whispered, “Don’t…don’t say it…”
Her voice was like a mosquito’s. “Wrong… wrong…”
Aunt Sun pulled back her hand. “I won’t keep you.”
“Sun Cui!” Sun Kang pointed at her. “Today, you’re staying, whether you like it or not!”
Aunt Sun faced him squarely and ignored the old woman on the ground.
At those words, Zhou Yuan drove his knife into the earth, the scabbard ringing. “Is that so?”
Seeing a fight about to erupt, Old Madam Sun wailed. Before anyone could react, she suddenly convulsed, struggled a few times, and then lay still. She, who had always wanted to be a good person, died on the ground.
Strong in life, pitiful in old age. Regret at the end, but it was useless. Such was Old Madam Sun’s life.
The three Sun brothers actually looked relieved. They turned to leave, not wanting her corpse. Zhou Yuan blocked them. “Do you think you can leave like this?”
Sun Kang stiffened his neck. “She’s dead. Sun Cui has experience with funerals. What’s wrong with letting her handle this one? She’ll even get paid for it.”
It was like a knife to Aunt Sun’s heart. Everyone knew she had buried her parents-in-law when she was young, then her husband, and just days ago, her son.
Usually hiding behind Zhou Yuan, Chen Qing shook with rage. He stepped forward and struck Sun Kang squarely.
Chen Qing’s punch was fierce and unexpected. Sun Kang’s front teeth nearly flew out. The other two rushed him, but Zhou Yuan’s blade was already drawn.
His face was as cold as ice and his long knife gleamed. “I said, take your people and get out.”
Zhou Yuan had military merit. Even if he killed someone, he would not pay with his life; it was a privilege granted by the court.
The brothers quickly lifted the old woman’s corpse. Remembering Sun Kang’s words, they realized their goal had been met. They no longer had to support her and could even receive funeral rewards.
Fearing that Aunt Sun might change her mind, they ran off with the body, drawing stares along the way.
When the farce ended, Aunt Sun opened her hand. The old woman had slipped a silver note worth ten taels into it.
Aunt Sun found it bitterly ironic. When she had begged for money before, she was refused and told that daughters and sisters must sacrifice for their brothers. Yet now, at death’s door, she gave her silver.
Did she not consider her daughter to be a child as well? Why torment a girl so cruelly?
Chen Qing gently embraced Aunt Sun. He stroked her hair. “Mother is fine.”
Zhou Yuan stood before them, guarding silently.
But the matter would not end so easily. Sun Kang and the others had gone too far. If Aunt Sun pressed charges, they would surely be jailed.
According to the court’s law, those who fail to support their parents wholeheartedly shall be beaten fifty strokes and imprisoned for three months.
Holding Chen Qing’s hand and stroking his fingers, Zhou Yuan said to Aunt Sun, “Mother, the Sun family will be punished.”
Aunt Sun wept—not for the old woman, but for her own bitter years.
On the seventh day after Old Madam Sun’s death, Aunt Sun, dressed in mourning clothes, beat the drum to file a lawsuit. She accused her brothers of abandoning their mother, which caused her death. She brought many witnesses.
The brothers had never cared about the law. They only thought about the present moment. The old woman had restrained them in the past, but now they knew nothing. They assumed it was a private family matter. However, witnesses from both villages testified that the three had tormented her.
Villagers from Luohe also testified that she had only a thin quilt in the cold winter and that years of abuse had led to her death.
The county magistrate promptly sent men to arrest the three Sun brothers. According to the law, each of them was beaten fifty times and jailed for three months.
From then on, under the watch of the government and the gambling house, the Sun brothers could not cause any more trouble.
Aunt Sun did not exchange the silver note for ten taels. She kept it. From that day forward, aside from sharing the same surname, she had nothing to do with that family.
Thus, the year passed. Aunt Sun was unaffected—she did not attend the old woman’s funeral nor plan a spirit tablet. Once dead, dust returns to dust, earth to earth. She believed that her days ahead would only grow better.
