TSWPF -Chapter 195

After finishing lecturing Li Qingfeng and Liu Zhiyan, Liu Zhimou finally told them the reason he had come.

As soon as Li Qingfeng and Liu Zhiyan heard it, they couldn’t help shouting, “What? Something that serious happened at home, and you didn’t even tell us?”
Damn Li Laifu—how dare he poison their family’s fish! And the bastard even managed to escape…

Li Qingling, whose ears were buzzing from their shouting, couldn’t help reaching out and knocking each of them on the head. “Why are you yelling so loudly? You’re about to deafen me!” She rubbed her ears until they felt better, then continued, “Why should we tell you? You wouldn’t have been able to help anyway. You don’t need to worry about matters at home. Studying well is your main responsibility right now, understand?”

Hearing this, Li Qingfeng and Liu Zhiyan were unconvinced. They retorted angrily, “We’re also part of the family—we want to share the burden too! Something this big happened, you should’ve told us earlier, not only after it was all over.”

Everything was already settled by the time they were told—it was too late.

They really wished they could grow up faster, so they wouldn’t always be told by their elder brother and sister that they were still young and unable to shoulder family responsibilities.

“Fine, then I’ll give you one chance.” Liu Zhimou’s cool gaze swept over Li Qingfeng and Liu Zhiyan. “As long as you can tell me exactly what you could help with if you went home. If you can, then next time something happens, we’ll definitely tell you right away.”

Since they were so eager to be involved, he would give them this chance. If their answer didn’t satisfy him, he wouldn’t let them off lightly.

These two brats—if he didn’t let them see reality clearly, they’d never know their limits.

His indifferent gaze made Li Qingfeng and Liu Zhiyan shiver. Big brother (brother-in-law)’s look was terrifying.

Was it still possible to regret this now?

Waaah…

Liu Zhimou held Li Qingling’s hand, lightly squeezing it here and there, while his gaze on the two boys remained unchanged. “What? Did a dog snatch your tongues? Can’t speak anymore? Weren’t you shouting pretty loudly just now, hm?”

He needed to make them fully understand that their main duty right now was to study—study hard.

Only then could they rely on their own efforts to enter officialdom.

The two boys shrank their necks again, trembling slightly. Big brother (brother-in-law)’s tone was getting colder and colder—they were probably about to be in serious trouble.

“I’ll count to three. You know the rules,” Liu Zhimou said calmly, as if he hadn’t noticed their expressions. “One…”

If he finished counting, they’d be even more miserable—utterly miserable.

The moment he said “one,” Li Qingfeng quickly spoke up, “Brother-in-law, we could stay at home to look after our younger sisters, comfort them, and make sure they aren’t so scared.”

They absolutely couldn’t make the same mistake again. Absolutely not.

They really didn’t want to copy books until their hands fell off.

With Li Qingfeng starting, Liu Zhiyan nodded and added, “When you and my sister are busy, we can take care of the household chores, so you can focus entirely on dealing with the criminal without distractions.” Then he muttered softly, “If you’d told us earlier, maybe Li Laifu wouldn’t have escaped.”

Was that blaming him? Liu Zhimou tugged at the corner of his mouth and swept them with a calm glance. “So what you mean is—wasting your study time to come home and do chores?”

If these two dared to nod, he’d show them exactly why flowers were so red.

“…”
Li Qingfeng and Liu Zhiyan exchanged a look, pressed their lips together, and didn’t dare make a sound. They felt that if they said even one word, big brother (brother-in-law) would explode with anger.

For the sake of their lives, it was better to keep their mouths tightly shut.

“Weren’t you quite capable just now? Why are you mute now that I’m asking you to speak?”

“…”
Big brother (brother-in-law) was really sharp-tongued. Against him, they were destined to be completely crushed—no chance of winning at all.

Looking at the two boys with their heads lowered, a trace of amusement flashed in Liu Zhimou’s eyes. “When did I ever teach you to lower your heads at the first sign of trouble? Lift your heads and look at me.”

This time, he was determined to properly discipline them.

If he didn’t give them reminders from time to time, these two would easily go astray.

With a swish, Li Qingfeng and Liu Zhiyan straightened their backs and raised their heads, forcing themselves to look at Liu Zhimou despite the fear in their hearts.

Good—at least they were listening again. Liu Zhimou nodded. “Tell me—why did we spend so much silver to send you to the academy to study? Tell me, exactly why?”

What made these two most deserving of a beating was that they’d completely forgotten what he told them at the start of the term.

It seemed he would have to remind them of it from time to time to really engrave it in their hearts.

As a result, the two boys were plunged into a sea of suffering.

What had big brother (brother-in-law) told them when school started?

Their memories were actually quite good, and soon they recalled everything. He had told them that their parents had passed away early, and in order to prevent outsiders from bullying them, they had to make something of themselves. Only then could they protect their family.

Back then, they had nodded heavily and loudly said they understood. Who would’ve thought that not long after, they’d already forgotten his words?

They were wrong. Truly wrong.

The two boys lowered their heads in shame, then quickly raised them again, remembering his words.

Seeing their expressions, Liu Zhimou knew they had figured it out.

But he wasn’t about to let them off so easily. He had to make sure they firmly remembered this mistake.

“Where were you wrong?”

Only by truly recognizing one’s mistake could it be remembered and corrected.

He didn’t need confessions made just to avoid punishment.

Li Qingfeng cleared his throat and said softly, “We are students. Studying should be our priority. We shouldn’t neglect our studies because of family matters.” Only by becoming successful could they best repay their sister and brother-in-law.

This time, he really understood.

Liu Zhimou said nothing and shifted his gaze to Liu Zhiyan, waiting to see what he would say.

Liu Zhiyan swallowed nervously. “We’re weak, and even if we went home, we wouldn’t be able to help much. Only by studying hard and becoming capable can we truly help the family.”

They had only thought of one side and not the other earlier—no wonder big brother was so angry.

They wouldn’t dare again. Never again. They’d stay honestly at the academy and focus on studying.

Only when they became capable could they truly protect the family and shoulder its responsibilities.

Hearing their words, Liu Zhimou was fairly satisfied. Knowing one’s mistakes and correcting them—still good kids.

“Remember what you said today. Don’t make the same mistake a second time, understand?”

“Understand…” the two boys nodded in unison. They truly understood this time.

After Liu Zhimou’s firm education, it was Li Qingling’s turn.

There always had to be someone playing the strict role and someone the gentle role—only then would children not rebel.

Li Qingling reached out and patted the two boys’ heads, smiling. “Wanting to share the family’s burden is a good intention. But it depends on what kind of matter it is. Take Li Laifu’s case—if we’d told you, you wouldn’t have been able to help, and you’d have fallen behind in your studies. That would’ve been a loss rather than a gain. That’s why we didn’t tell you.” Seeing their faces grow redder and redder, she smiled again. “If Li Laifu hadn’t escaped, and we weren’t worried he might hurt you, we wouldn’t even have told you about this.”

The two boys were still too impulsive. Hopefully, after this lesson, they would grow a bit.

The two boys said shamefacedly, “Sister (sister-in-law), we know we were wrong. We won’t do it again.” Thinking back to how loudly they had shouted earlier—it was really too embarrassing.

Next time, they truly had to calm down and think before acting.

“Mm, good boys.” Seeing that they had really figured it out, Li Qingling rubbed their heads again in praise.

She lifted her head and winked at Liu Zhimou, signaling that it was his turn to speak.

Liu Zhimou said directly, “Alright, that’s all. You can go back and eat.”

The two boys obediently responded, said goodbye, and jumped down from the carriage.

After they left, Liu Zhimou and Li Qingling headed straight home.

What they didn’t know was that on the way back, they passed Li Laifu—but since they were inside the carriage, they didn’t see him.

Li Laifu had deliberately made himself look like a beggar. With the money Madam Liu had given him tucked away, he cautiously made his way to town.

He was terrified along the way, afraid of running into constables.

Dodging and hiding all the way, he finally reached the town safely.

Hunched over, he carefully walked into the town, only to unexpectedly run into villagers who were heading home.

His heart jumped violently. He quickly slipped to the side, lowered his head, and let them pass.

“Ah, Old Li and Liu Chunhua are really pitiful. If I had a son like that, I’d break his legs for sure.”

“Exactly. Li Laifu isn’t even human—so cruel. He ran off and saved himself, but his parents are the ones suffering, taking his place in prison. At their age, who knows if they’ll even make it out alive?”

“They brought this on themselves. You all know how biased Old Li and Liu Chunhua were—everything favored Li Laifu. Lai Gui was treated like he was picked up off the street. Now look what happened. Maybe this really is retribution.”

“Sigh… having a son like that is truly a sin.”

The villagers had no idea that Li Laifu was standing in the corner, hearing every single word.

Only after they left did Li Laifu slowly step out. The news that his parents had been arrested and imprisoned hit him hard.