TIPS – Chapter 67

Shen Junxi gestured, “Money is important.” Everything they ate, drank, wore, and used came from money, “But you are important too.” The reason he stuck around had nothing to do with anything other than liking him.

“Go get to work,” Song Jingwei said coldly from where he stood.

Shen Junxi silently watched him. After a while, he smiled and turned to leave. He wasn’t the man Song Jingwei saw him as. Everyone said he was a strong person, but that wasn’t the reason he kept going.

Whether it was the school or the land, Shen Junxi had been following up on these matters recently. Every day, he would return and follow Song Jingwei’s instructions, then convey them at the construction site the next day, putting them into practice. He handled real-time matters with Chen Xianggui, working from dawn till dusk.

Shen Junxi didn’t feel tired; in fact, he felt fulfilled. All his efforts were for a prosperous family, for a better life. He had a little hope in his heart: If he succeeded in this, maybe his wife would be a little kinder to him.

What he didn’t know was that the moment he gained more wealth was the same moment his wife would leave.

The Shen family’s big house in the early morning was quiet, with everyone still in bed. Suddenly, there was a loud banging on the door, followed by a woman’s shouting.

It was none other than Yang Shuangjiao, shouting from outside: “Open the door quickly! Help us!”

Wang Chunxing turned around and saw the pursuers getting closer. She urged, “Mother, hurry up, they’re coming!”

Yang Shuangjiao knocked frantically on the door, “Open up! Open up!” In her urgency, she even cursed, “Damn Shen family, are you deliberately not opening the door? You don’t want us in, do you?”

Luckily, Shen Dongming didn’t hear her words, or else he would have definitely refused to open the door. Groggily, he walked out and opened it, only to be shocked to see them. “Sister-in-law, niece, why are you back again?”

Yang Shuangjiao didn’t say anything further. She quickly grabbed her daughter and squeezed inside, shouting, “Close the door! Quickly!”

Shen Dongming glanced outside and saw the pursuers. He asked, “What’s going on? Are they chasing you?”

Yang Shuangjiao pushed him aside and slammed the door shut. “We can’t let them in. We can’t open the door, even if they kill us!” She and her daughter leaned against the door, panting heavily, their faces pale with fear.

“What exactly is happening?” Shen Dongming scratched his head, puzzled. His sister-in-law and niece had suddenly returned, but now they were acting like this.

“It’s… it’s nothing. They’re just some bandits. We’re just hiding for a while. We won’t be here long,” Yang Shuangjiao quickly explained. Then she worriedly thought about how she had offended this family before. What if they wouldn’t let her hide here? What should she do? She quickly added, “Brother-in-law, we need to find a hidden place. Don’t tell my sister, and don’t tell anyone else, or they’ll worry.”

Shen Dongming, still in a daze, nodded. “Alright, you go hide. I’ll keep watch.” He didn’t believe the bandits would break down the door.

“Good, good, good!” Yang Shuangjiao said with joy, “Remember, brother-in-law, don’t tell anyone!” She grabbed Wang Chunxing and hurried to the guest room where they had stayed before.

Before long, there was another loud knocking on the door of the Shen family’s big house. Shen Dongming was determined not to open the door, but the people outside, seeing that the door had been shut for a long time, said, “Listen, we are the servants of the Wang family in Taiping Town. The woman who just entered is our master’s runaway concubine. We need to capture her and take her back. Please open the door!”

Shen Dongming was stunned and quickly asked, “Is that true?” He knew his sister-in-law had married a man named Wang, but he didn’t know she was a concubine.

“It’s true!” The person speaking was a woman with a sharp voice. “I am the first wife of the Wang family. That woman is our master’s concubine. She absconded with money and committed a grave crime. Please hand her over and don’t shelter her.”

The mention of absconding with money made Shen Dongming uneasy. After hesitating for a moment, he said, “Please wait. We’ll discuss this and give you an answer.” He glanced in the direction Yang Shuangjiao and Wang Chunxing had gone and decided to go back to consult with his wife and son-in-law.

Yang Shi was startled when her husband mentioned this, “Such a big thing, and she didn’t tell me?” Thinking of Yang Shuangjiao’s character, she felt deeply disappointed.

The couple went to Song Jingwei’s courtyard, where they found he and Shen Junxi had not woken up yet. When the door was knocked, Shen Junxi got up first and covered the bed, carrying the blanket over to Song Jingwei’s bed.

Song Jingwei slowly woke up and asked, “What’s going on?” Yang Shi never knocked on the door so early.

“I’m not sure. Let me go ask. You can keep sleeping,” Shen Junxi gently smiled and gestured.

“Hmm…” Song Jingwei closed his eyes, intending to go back to sleep.

However, the conversation between Yang Shi and Shen Junxi made him unable to fall back asleep. He turned on the bed and asked, “Yang Shuangjiao is back again?”

Shen Dongming answered, “She escaped with her daughter. Now, there’s a woman outside claiming to be the wife of the Wang family, and she wants to take them back, saying… they absconded with money.”

Song Jingwei furrowed his brows. This was indeed something Yang Shuangjiao would do. He said, “I’ll get up and take a look.” He got out of bed, dressed, and washed up a little before going out with the others.

“Don’t rush, daughter-in-law. Take it slow.” Yang Shi, following behind, spoke anxiously. She noticed her daughter-in-law was acting somewhat hurriedly and wondered if she was angry.

“It’s fine,” Song Jingwei said as he walked ahead, reaching the door. After thinking for a moment, he called out, “Are the people still out there?”

The woman from the Wang family replied, “Yes, we are still here. Have you come to a decision? The woman inside is a criminal, a runaway concubine, and you cannot shelter her.”

Song Jingwei asked, “What’s her name? How old is she? When did she become your master’s concubine, and when did she escape?”

The woman from the Wang family answered, “Her name is Yang Shuangjiao. She’s about forty years old, became my husband’s concubine twenty years ago, and escaped in mid-September. She has a daughter with her, an illegitimate child of my husband’s, who is eighteen years old, named Wang Chunxing.”

“Alright,” Song Jingwei said, “After you catch them, what do you intend to do with them?”

The woman from the Wang family answered bluntly, “The concubine should be beaten thirty strokes. If she survives, we’ll let her go. As for the girl, she should be taken back and married off.”

Song Jingwei turned to Yang Shi and asked, “Do you want to shelter Yang Shuangjiao and her daughter?”

Yang Shi hesitated greatly. After all, she was her elder sister, but after hearing her daughter-in-law’s words, she said, “Letting this continue, she’ll only harm herself and others. Her daughter will also have no good life if she stays with her. It’s better to let her be beaten. Maybe she’ll change.” If they intervened now, she might commit even worse acts in the future, and could even lose her life.

“This…” Yang Shi wavered. Her sister was now a criminal, and she couldn’t shelter her. In the end, she nodded and said, “I’ll listen to you. Hopefully, she can change.” Hearing her sister do such shameful things, Yang Shi had already lost all respect for her.

“Mm,” Song Jingwei nodded, then turned to the door and said, “We’ll open the door and let you in to find them, but you must guarantee that you won’t take her life. Also, for her daughter… try to find her a good marriage.” After all, Yang Shuangjiao was still a relative of Yang Shi, or Song Jingwei wouldn’t have said another word.

“Alright! Then open the door. I promise not to kill her,” the woman from the Wang family said.

Shen Dongming went to open the door. The woman from the Wang family, along with seven or eight strong servants, entered the house.

“I saw them go that way…” Shen Dongming pointed toward the guest room and said.

“Mm,” Song Jingwei walked ahead, with the Shen family members following him, and the Wang family members at the rear. The woman from the Wang family seemed to be a person of some decorum; she wasn’t the kind to act arrogantly. They entered without making any noise.

Yang Shuangjiao and Wang Chunxing were nervously hiding in the guest room, wondering if the woman outside had left. Then they heard footsteps outside.

“Mother?” Wang Chunxing immediately shrank back, wide-eyed, looking at the door.

“Don’t be afraid. They won’t come in,” Yang Shuangjiao reassured her, thinking it might just be other people from the Shen family.

“Yang Shuangjiao, come out,” Song Jingwei’s voice clearly reached them. Yang Shuangjiao relaxed a little and said to her daughter, “See, it’s your aunt’s annoying daughter-in-law. Let’s go meet him.” As long as they could avoid this crisis, they weren’t afraid of Song Jingwei. After all, they were Yang Shi’s relatives, and Song Jingwei would eventually let them go.

“Mm,” Wang Chunxing also relaxed a little, tightly following her mother. Together, they went to open the door.

When Yang Shuangjiao opened the door and saw the woman from the Wang family standing behind Song Jingwei, her face turned pale with fear, and she instinctively wanted to shut the door.

Song Jingwei blocked her attempt, pushed the door open, and let everyone in. He said, “Look, is this the person you’re looking for?”

The woman from the Wang family glanced at Yang Shuangjiao and Wang Chunxing and said, “That’s them.”

Yang Shuangjiao was so scared that her legs went weak. She had no way to escape, so she turned to Yang Shi for help, “Sister, please tell them to leave. They’ve come to capture us…” She collapsed in front of Yang Shi, grabbing her arm.

“Why do they want to capture you?” Yang Shi helplessly pulled her arm away and said, “Elder sister, I never thought you’d fall so low. You had a good life and still chose to be a concubine.” It would have been one thing if she had been living peacefully, but instead, she caused trouble by absconding with money. Yang Shi felt deeply ashamed and reminded of the disgusting incident when both sisters had shared the same husband.

It’s known that concubines are of low status, and no one would pursue the matter if a wife were to beat one to death.