The Evil Mother-in-law: Torment Children, Work Hard, Be Rich!-Chapter 37: Mother Only Wants the Imperial Honorific Title

Chapter 37: Chapter 37: Mother Only Wants the Imperial Honorific Title

"Mother is right!"

As soon as Dashi and Jingzhe reached the doorstep, they heard the sound of Gu Yaozu crying and Tong Huaqiong yelling.

The two stood at the door and listened for a while and roughly understood what was going on.

It must be that Gu Yaozu bullied Man Er again.

Such things happened almost every day in the past; to the Gu Family, it was a trivial matter.

Dashi once thought that Tong Huaqiong wanted him and Liu Yueer to manage their son because Tong Huaqiong was causing trouble in new ways, using the main house to pressure the second house. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

He broke out in a cold sweat when he heard Tong Huaqiong say, "If he can grab a piece of cake today, tomorrow he can rob someone of an ox, and sooner or later, he’ll end up in jail."

Mother wasn’t upset with Yaozu or the second house; she was trying to save Yaozu!

Dashi, under self-reflection and indoctrination, became more convinced that Yaozu usually behaved terribly.

So he pushed the door open, walked into the courtyard, threw the bedding from Jingzhe’s private school onto the ground, grabbed a stick, and was about to hit Yaozu.

"Today, I’m going to discipline Yaozu properly," said Dashi.

Yaozu shivered in fear.

"You’ve got some nerve!" Tong Huaqiong pulled the scared Yaozu aside and started berating Dashi.

"Why is the child so mischievous at such a young age? Isn’t it because he has a bear of a father! You should beat yourself up first."

"I asked you to discipline Yaozu, not beat him with a stick. If beating could solve the problem, I would have beaten you both eight hundred times long ago."

"They say children are the shadows of their parents. Yaozu learned to behave like this from you and Liu Yueer. If you want to educate this brat, you and Liu Yueer need to rid yourselves of your own unruly ways first."

Dashi smiled awkwardly, the hand holding the stick trembled a bit, and he tried to please her by saying, "Mother, I’m listening. Just watch how I behave in the future."

Liu Yueer breathed a sigh of relief. She was really afraid that Dashi might seriously injure Yaozu.

"Mother."

Jingzhe stepped out from behind Dashi.

If Tong Huaqiong saw correctly, she noticed a rare look of remorse on this young genius’s face.

Tong Huaqiong remained expressionless; she wanted to see what Jingzhe was going to do next.

"Mother, I’m back!"

"So what if you’re back? You expect the whole family to kneel and welcome you?" said Tong Huaqiong irritably.

She noticed the bedding on the ground, indicating that this boy had accepted the reality of not studying.

Though, she wasn’t sure if he was truly resigned to it in his heart.

"Did you manage to gather any silver while you were out?" Tong Huaqiong asked.

Jingzhe looked remorseful, shook his head, and mumbled, "I didn’t gather a penny."

To this answer, Tong Huaqiong was not surprised at all.

Given Jingzhe’s relationships, it would be unusual if he could borrow any silver.

"Aren’t you capable? If you can’t borrow silver, you should sell our entire family. Sell your sister Taohua to a rich family as a maid, sell your second brother’s family as slaves, and sell your mother, me, as an old servant," Tong Huaqiong said sarcastically.

"Everyone in the family should pave the way for your future!"

Hearing these words, Jingzhe collapsed on his knees in front of Tong Huaqiong, his face flushed with shame.

"Mother, I was wrong. Your words are putting me on the spot. I should never have had those wrongful thoughts, nor should I have thought of trading my family’s well-being for my own future."

"These past few days, I’ve been in agony, especially seeing you set up a stall to sell pastries for my sake. If I hadn’t made mistakes and gotten into debt, how would you endure such hardship?"

As Jingzhe spoke, he choked up.

Tong Huaqiong said nothing.

She had guessed that this prodigy had been hit hard these past days, not only failing to borrow money but also losing his self-esteem.

She just didn’t know if this blow would cause Jingzhe to become more secretly wicked or willing to turn over a new leaf.

She hoped for the latter.

And from what she saw, Jingzhe seemed more likely willing to change his ways for the better.

"Mother, I really realize my mistake. Punish me if you must, but I beg you to forgive your son."

Jingzhe couldn’t bear Tong Huaqiong’s indifference, which made him uneasy. He feared being abandoned by Tong Huaqiong forever.

Tears rolled down his face in sorrow.

"Wipe your tears and look at me," Tong Huaqiong commanded.

Jingzhe wiped his tears and lifted his head to meet Tong Huaqiong’s gaze.

"If I don’t let you study, would you hate me?" Tong Huaqiong asked.

"At first, I resented it," Jingzhe said softly, "but seeing you selling pastries on the street removed any resentment I had; instead, I felt deep remorse."

Tong Huaqiong believed Jingzhe was not lying.

After all, in Tong Dajiao’s memories from the previous life, Jingzhe was exceptionally filial to his mother. When Tong Dajiao was ill in her later years, Jingzhe, then a high-ranking court official, acquired a remedy that required him to cut his own flesh as a medicinal guide.

A filial son like Jingzhe was bound to feel guilty upon seeing his widowed mother selling pastries on the street.

Feeling guilty is good, as it shows a person still has a heart and can be redeemed.

Tong Huaqiong sighed and said, "I used to only think about letting you study, yet never considered our family’s situation. I forced your elder brother to go out and do hard labor to earn money and pushed our whole family to the brink of starvation. I always thought about sacrificing the entire family for your success. But then seeing your behavior worsen, I reflected that it’s my indulgence that led to this. Everything in the world observes cause and effect: I forced the family to hold you up, making you think you’re the center, that everyone should sacrifice for you. Yesterday you could sell Man Er, today me, and tomorrow even our ancestors, becoming an unfaithful and unfilial person."

"Moreover, forcing the family to hold you up is unfair to others. Don’t be upset; for instance, your tuition costs a lot of silver, reducing Taohua’s dowry. Your elder brother is separated from his wife due to his work. Your second brother and sister-in-law lack money to raise Yaozu. You think that once you achieve success, the family can enjoy good days with you. But what if you end up like your uncle and never succeed after years of trying? Then all the years of everyone’s hardship would be in vain."

"On top of this, though family members don’t voice it, who doesn’t internally complain about enduring hardships so you can study? These resentments inevitably come back to haunt you. I hoped your education would lead to your improvement, but not only didn’t you become better, you instead incurred the family’s resentment, which is utterly counterproductive. Don’t underestimate resentment; it can generate enormous energy in a person and destroy the one they resent. It’s perhaps better to avoid letting you study from the beginning, at least then family members wouldn’t resent you."

Tong Huaqiong finished speaking and carefully observed Jingzhe.

Jingzhe pressed his lips tightly together.

He hadn’t considered the issues arising from his schooling but always felt the family’s tightened belt was justified for his education.

Even a few days ago, he didn’t think there was anything wrong with sacrificing Man Er.

Yet, through all the torment these past few days, he realized his own insignificance.

Without the family’s support, he was nothing.

Clearly, Jingzhe had listened to Tong Huaqiong’s words.

"Mother, I understand."

"But I still want to study."

Tong Huaqiong’s gaze turned icy; this prodigy still hadn’t awakened after all this talk.

"Mother, wanting to study isn’t wrong. Where I erred was relying on my studies, ignoring the family’s fate, and staking my uncertain future on family sacrifices."

Tong Huaqiong’s expression softened. She had anticipated Jingzhe understanding the human heart.

"Seeing you work so hard these days makes me feel very remorseful. The fact that you can earn fifty silver with your hands greatly encourages me. I think it’s unnecessary to drag the entire family into sacrifices just for my education. I’m planning to serve the wheat at home first and then work as an accountant in the city during the downtime, earning and studying concurrently."

"I’ll depend on my own abilities to pursue my studies, ensuring that I won’t disappoint you in the future, nor let you toil as hard."

As he spoke, Jingzhe moved himself to tears again.

Tong Huaqiong thought Jingzhe truly had the disposition of a good student; even under such circumstances, he thought of learning.

However, this was good in its way, as she hadn’t intended to cut off Jingzhe’s education entirely.

Once his temperament wore out, he would resume studying.

Anyway, being a prodigy means a short hiatus won’t affect academic progress at home.

"My son has ambition; it’s good that you understand."

"I will also change my past inertia, and living well together beats everything."

With this in mind, Tong Huaqiong timely encouraged Jingzhe.

"Moreover, learning that you promised not to be buried in the ancestral grave for the sake of paying back your eldest sister’s debt of gratitude weighs heavily on me. I am an unfilial son, but I will certainly study hard to earn you a noble title." Mentioning this matter, Jingzhe’s heart felt as if pricked by needles.

Mother only wishes for a noble title, not to be buried in the ancestral grave.

"Just earning me the noble title is fine; I don’t care about ancestral graves. Anyway, your father’s charm isn’t enough for me to want to accompany him even in death."

Tong Huaqiong grumbled internally while speaking.

Jingzhe: "..."