Chapter 7: The Tragic Deaths of Two Sons

Zhao Maizhou was reluctant to go up the mountain, but Chen Shuilian insisted, urging him as a younger brother not to be so stingy. “We’re family, what’s wrong with going to hunt some wild game?”

She even poked at his heart, telling him that if he didn’t produce a male heir, in the future, he would have to rely on the family’s only son to support him in old age.

“Why should a young girl care about this?” she said.

In that case, why not treat him well now? That way, his elder brother and sister-in-law would remember him and owe him a favor.

But Zhao Maizhou wasn’t fooled. He had long lost all affection for his older brother.

Zhao Jiagu was the biggest burden in the family. If he were gone, life would be much easier.

When Chen Shuilian saw that he wasn’t speaking, she became angry.

Since kind words weren’t working, she resorted to scolding, and eventually, under her pressure, Zhao Maizhou reluctantly agreed to go up the mountain.

His wife, worried about him, insisted on going along.

But things went awry. Neither of them returned that day, and after several days without word, Chen Shuilian began to panic.

Although she didn’t like this son, she never intended for him to die. She quickly went around the village trying to rally help.

But with her reputation, who would risk helping her? Any involvement might lead to trouble.

Unable to find anyone willing to help, and with no one in her household to rely on, Chen Shuilian could only comfort herself, hoping they would return. Perhaps some kind-hearted person had saved them, and the snow had blocked their way back.

As winter passed and spring arrived, when the snow began to melt on the mountain, two bodies were found halfway up.

Their remains were horribly mangled, with no intact flesh left, only scattered bones, making it impossible to recognize them at first.

If it weren’t for Zhao Maizhou’s bow and arrows, no one would have been able to identify them as the two from the Zhao family.

At this point, all of Chen Shuilian’s hopes were shattered, and she fell ill.

It was her fault. She had pushed her own son to his death.

But time has a way of making people rationalize their actions. Soon, Chen Shuilian pushed the tragedy out of her mind.

She still had grandchildren to care for, and she couldn’t afford to fall apart. She wanted to see her eldest grandson grow up.

Zhao Fengtian was shocked by how cold-hearted his mother was, how quickly she had let go of the death of his second brother and yet continued to serve Zhao Jiagu’s family.

It especially angered him when he discovered that his mother was neglecting his second brother’s only surviving child.

Did she really feel no guilt?

Was his eldest brother the only son she cared about, while both he and his second brother were just adopted?

They had worked hard for this family for years, only to be treated like this.

In the end, it seemed that a word from Zhao Jiagu meant more than all their sacrifices.

Feeling disheartened, Zhao Fengtian left.

One morning, Chen Shuilian realized he was gone. She later heard from others that he had joined the army but was killed on the battlefield the day after he arrived.

Having lost two sons, Chen Shuilian fell seriously ill.

At this point, Zhao Jiagu and Liu Hong saw no more use for her. There was nothing left to exploit from her, and now they had to take care of her.

It didn’t take long for their true colors to show.

Chen Shuilian was now left to fend for herself.

By then, her health had deteriorated, and she could hardly take care of herself at home.

Although her reputation was poor, and she had no more strength to fight back, she had always treated Zhao Jiagu fairly, and the village chief felt compelled to step in.

He insisted that Zhao Jiagu return to the village to care for her.

The village chief forced Zhao Jiagu to return to the village to take care of his mother, Chen Shuilian. It was either that, or face a complaint to the county government for filial disrespect.

Naturally, Zhao Jiagu was afraid of the consequences. He reluctantly returned with his family, pinching their noses to deal with the situation, but taking care of Chen Shuilian was out of the question—he had no intention of doing so.

On the day they returned, Chen Shuilian was pushed out of the house and forced into the firewood shed.

As for seeing a doctor? That was out of the question.

Zhao Jiagu and Liu Hong were more than willing to let her die as soon as possible. Once she was gone, they could sell the house in the village and move back to the county. As for the daughter-in-law from the second son’s family, she could be taken away and sold, too—after all, she was still young, and with some years of care, she could fetch a good price.

Zhao Jiagu had learned a lot about the shady industries in the county over the years, and some families were eager to buy women like her—widows, without relatives to vouch for them. Once dead, no one would bother to seek justice.

With such a mentality, Zhao Jiagu and Liu Hong even discussed not giving Chen Shuilian water.

Given her bad reputation in the village, no one would care to visit her, even if she fell ill. When she died, they could claim it was from sickness, and no one would question it.

It must be said that Zhao Jiagu’s heart was truly ruthless. While Liu Hong, as an outsider, could be understood in her coldness, Zhao Jiagu’s actions were unforgivable. He was inherently heartless, a beast devoid of compassion.

Chen Shuilian had wronged many people in her life, and now, she could be mistreated by anyone. But the one person she could never have imagined treating her this way was Zhao Jiagu.

Yet it was him.

Her heart was full of emotion. She sighed, but deep down, she knew that she herself was the root cause of all this turmoil. Complaining about Zhao Jiagu wouldn’t solve anything.

Perhaps even the heavens couldn’t bear to see her atoning for her past sins so easily. That was why she was granted this second chance at life—to right her wrongs.

This life, she swore to treat her children with extra kindness, to make up for the sins of her past life.

Of course!

That absolutely did not include Zhao Jiagu, the monster!

By now, she had realized that her eldest son was born cold-hearted, a wolf in sheep’s clothing, one who could never be nurtured.

A dog couldn’t change its nature, and she was sure Zhao Jiagu would never change.

Even without her, he would be able to live just fine—this was evident from the previous life.

Since that was the case, there was no need to cling to any maternal affection. From now on, as long as he didn’t actively provoke her, she would treat him as nothing more than a stranger.

After all, misfortune couldn’t be blamed on the current Zhao Jiagu—he wasn’t the same person.

But if this heartless wretch dared to provoke her again, he’d better prepare for her to turn her back on him completely.

With this resolve in mind, Chen Shuilian’s thoughts were interrupted abruptly.

She acted swiftly, despite her body’s discomfort, and hurriedly threw off the blanket and made her way outside.

The atmosphere outside was tense, with both sides in opposing stances. Yet, despite their glares, no one dared to speak up.

It seemed that both sides had calmed down. They remembered well her fierce temperament as a mother and didn’t dare stir trouble under her watchful eye.

Good. She was still young, and in this house, she still had the final say.

Even if Zhao Jiagu harbored some schemes, he wouldn’t dare to show them openly. His only tactic was to soften his approach with sweet talk and flattery.

But she wasn’t falling for it anymore.

Zhao Jiagu, get out of here!

What a jinxed scoundrel!

Pah!