TFWYH – Chapter 214 Sleep and Run

Ling Yu: “…Mother, no, I haven’t!”

“Then why haven’t you consummated your marriage with Wan’er yet? Let me tell you—if you can’t give her a child, you’ll stay in Xiangxi Town for the rest of your life! I will never allow you to go to the capital!” Madam Jiang finished sharply and swept out of the room.

Ling Yu: “…”

After that, Madam Jiang ignored him completely.

She was a traditional woman, one who firmly believed that a mother’s status rose with her child’s. Her son was meant for great things—but if he and Tang Wan never shared a real marriage, and had no children, what then?

Once they went to the capital, what if that person looked down on Tang Wan’s background and forced Ling Yu to divorce and remarry?

Or what if Ling Yu became dazzled by the capital’s splendor? Or if, for the sake of climbing higher, he set his sights on some noble’s daughter who could help him?

Or worse, what if some powerful young lady fell for him and forced him into submission?

The more Madam Jiang thought about it, the more anxious she became. By the end of the day, she looked haggard—and that night, she even developed a fever.

It wasn’t that she didn’t trust her son, but Ling Yu was different from Ling Yue and Ling Chen. As his mother, she’d never truly been able to see through him.

Sometimes, she even wondered—was it because he’d been born among the graves? Had something unclean attached itself to him?

What you think of by day will come to you by night.

Once again, Madam Jiang dreamed of that mass grave.

She dreamed she was crawling out from a pile of corpses, giving birth to her child while lying on decaying bodies.

The wind howled eerily around her, and she could faintly hear ghostly wails.

In her arms, the baby didn’t cry or move—just opened a pair of beautiful eyes and stared quietly at her. The longer he stared, the colder her heart grew.

Madam Jiang jolted awake, her face pale as paper, her forehead drenched in sweat.

“Mother!” Tang Wan reached out to touch her forehead.

Startled and disoriented, Madam Jiang flinched violently.

Tang Wan paused, then softened her tone. “Mother? Bad dream?”

Finally regaining her senses, Madam Jiang looked around at the dark room and forced a smile. “Wan’er, what are you doing in my room?”

“Su Xi said you seemed unwell,” Tang Wan replied. “You caught a chill and had a fever. I brewed you some medicine—it’s gone down now.”

“I see…” Madam Jiang relaxed fully. “You’ve worked hard, child. You’ve been looking after me a long time, haven’t you?”

“Not long. It’s what I should do.” Tang Wan helped her lie back down and replaced the damp cloth on her forehead.

Madam Jiang looked at her quietly, worry filling her eyes.

She hesitated for a long time before speaking again. “Wan’er, if Yu’er ever does something wrong in the future, please don’t hold it against him. He… he’s had a hard life too.”

Tang Wan shook her head. “No way—whatever my beautiful husband does is always right!”

“You spoil him too much!” Madam Jiang sighed helplessly. “So if he kills someone, that’s right too?”

Tang Wan nodded. “Right! I’ll hand him the knife!”

Madam Jiang was momentarily speechless. “And if he sets a fire?”

Tang Wan replied earnestly, “I’ll keep watch for him!”

Madam Jiang: “…”

Tang Wan added solemnly, “Actually, he doesn’t even need to dirty his hands. If he wants someone dead, I can do it for him!”

Madam Jiang: “…”

What kind of daughter-in-law did I marry into this family?

“And if he divorces you and marries someone else?” Madam Jiang pressed on stubbornly.

Tang Wan frowned and went silent.

Madam Jiang immediately regretted asking.

Just as she was about to comfort her, Tang Wan muttered hesitantly, “Can he at least sleep with me first before divorcing me?”

Madam Jiang: “…”

Suddenly, she began to understand why her son refused to consummate the marriage.

So that was it—once he slept with her, she’d run off!

Madam Jiang murmured, “Wan’er, don’t you like Yu’er?”

Tang Wan quickly shook her head. “I do! I like him very much!”

“Then if he divorces you, you’d just agree to it?” Madam Jiang asked.

Tang Wan blinked, confused. “Would it matter if I disagreed?”

This was ancient times—wasn’t it always the man’s word that counted?

He could divorce me all he wanted. I could kidnap him all I wanted. No conflict there!

Of course, Madam Jiang had no idea that if her son ever dared to divorce Tang Wan, Tang Wan would tie him up and lock him away in some remote spot.

But Tang Wan’s flippant answers oddly made Madam Jiang feel a bit more understanding toward her son.

Neither of them knew that at that very moment, Ling Yu was standing right outside the room—his expression darkening by the second.

So it was true. This woman would really run off after sleeping with him.

Heh…

No way he was letting that happen.

Run?

In your dreams.