CHAPTER 388: CHAPTER 356: HEAVEN SPARES NO ONE

Having formulated countless draft responses in his mind, ready to deal with the matter of the fire, Hao Yun never expected that his father-in-law summoned him to discuss his former marriage.

Forcing himself to calm down, Hao Yun asked, "Father-in-law, from where did you hear these rumors? Your son-in-law is being wronged."

"Is that so?" Duke Su looked at him coldly, "Then how do you explain that mother and son outside claiming kinship with you?"

"What mother and son?" Hao Yun’s expression changed repeatedly, starting to show signs of panic.

"Still pretending to be stupid, are you? Someone, take the eldest son-in-law outside to see for himself!"

Completely unaware beforehand, Hao Yun looked bewildered.

Seeing Housekeeper Jin come in, he asked in a low voice, "What exactly is going on?"

Housekeeper Jin, who always sided with the Duke and his wife, responded only faintly, "Follow me, eldest son-in-law, and you will find out."

Unable to grasp the situation and not daring to make wild guesses, Hao Yun had no choice but to quickly follow Housekeeper Jin to the main entrance.

At a glance, he saw Yu Family’s mother and son kneeling on the ground, and he almost froze in place on the spot.

Housekeeper Jin sensed something was wrong, turned around, and saw Hao Yun staring directly at that mother and son.

"Eldest son-in-law, take a good look, is this woman and her son the ones you’re looking for?"

Yu Family’s woman raised her head, clearly seeing Hao Yun standing at the main entrance, tears immediately streamed down her face, her voice choked with sorrow, "Husband, why haven’t you returned home these years? Our son misses you every day."

"Nonsense!" Hao Yun clenched his fists, roaring in anger, "Where does this peasant woman come from, daring to falsely claim kinship to slander me? Do you know who I am?"

Yu Family’s woman wiped away her tears with her sleeve, "Husband, I understand you wish to find a worthy wife to help you soar to great heights after attaining success, but Jun is your son, he carries the Hao Family’s blood, you cannot deny him!"

She stopped crying after wiping her tears, but her eyes were still red, that look of an abandoned wife making her seem even more pitiful.

The onlookers began to point and gossip, some saying that this son-in-law of the Su Family was heartless for abandoning his wife, others saying that a live-in son-in-law is no good, and some even criticized Duke Su for being blind in selecting a son-in-law.

Yu Family’s woman heard it all but remained silent, looking earnestly at Hao Yun, neither crying nor making a scene.

The quieter she was, the more others felt outraged for her, until eventually, someone could no longer stand it and pointed at Hao Yun, cursing him as heartless and ungrateful.

Inside, Hao Yun’s mind was raging with anger, recalling past resentments triggered by the news of Su Yu’s pregnancy, especially remembering how Yu Family’s wretch had shamed him with infidelity. He could barely resist the urge to flay her alive, secretly spending money to have the adulterous pair eliminated. As a result, the lover died, but Yu Family’s woman had escaped the scheme by chance, taking her son to avoid the rain and staying out of harm’s way.

Afterward, Yu Family’s woman and her son vanished without a trace.

Hao Yun only thought of her as a rural woman incapable of causing any waves.

Never did he expect her to appear suddenly in the Capital without warning.

Hao Yun wasn’t foolish. If it weren’t for someone backing her, how could Yu Family’s woman, with her simple mind, think of coming to Beijing to cause trouble?

Almost immediately, Hao Yun suspected Song Wei behind it.

In this Capital, almost no one but Song Wei and his wife knew he had been married back in his hometown.

Song Wei...

Truly, heaven must have sent him specifically to thwart me!

...

Housekeeper Jin could no longer bear to listen, looking again at Hao Yun, "Everyone is here already, whether it’s good or bad, eldest son-in-law, you need to give an explanation, don’t you?"

Hao Yun closed his eyes, took a few steps forward, and tried to restrain his emotions. "Everyone, don’t be deceived by this country woman’s one-sided words. As for recognizing relatives, or having a son, I don’t know her at all. Of course, I don’t deny that because of my father-in-law’s connections I entered the Ministry of Justice, making others envious and jealous, so it’s normal for someone to use means to frame me." He looked at the Yu Family woman, "So, madam, put away your clumsy tricks. Didn’t your master tell you what kind of place the Su Family is? If you dare to make a big deal out of this today, I guarantee you’ll regret it."

"Dalan, I really didn’t mean to obstruct your career, but... but the family is so poor that we can’t even afford food. All these years, I’ve been patching clothes and saving what I can, putting the bits of money I’ve scrimped together into medicine for my mother-in-law. You know, she has a lingering illness, and as long as she’s not in the coffin, she needs those medicinal soups to stay alive. You can ignore me, ignore your son, but you have to give me some silver. I can’t watch my mother-in-law die in front of me."

This wicked woman, how dare she use his mother to threaten him?

The calm look on Hao Yun’s face gradually cracked, his complexion darkening.

The surrounding voices of discussion grew louder.

"I always thought the Su family’s son-in-law was a good one, but it turns out he’s another wolf-hearted Chen Shimei."

"Who would have thought! No matter how heartless, you can’t ignore your wife and child, even less so your own mother!"

"Hey, hey, hey, haven’t you heard? This live-in son-in-law of the Su family sullied the illegitimate daughter, under the guise of taking responsibility, that’s how he got the opportunity to enter the Duke Mansion."

"Well, that explains it! I was wondering, for such a big noble family as the Su’s, which isn’t short of sons, why they would insist on taking a son-in-law. Even if they wanted one, they should have picked a well-known noble son from the Capital! But they ended up selecting a dark horse advanced scholar from a poor farming family, which puzzled many at the time. They thought the Lord had sharp eyes for talent, not realizing the crux was here!"

"Birds of a feather flock together, these two are perfectly matched."

The situation spiraled completely out of control.

"Dear neighbors, fellow townsfolk, we live next to each other, there’s no need to make absolute statements." Hao Yun suppressed his anger, straightened his back, and maintained a demeanor of a gentleman. "I, Hao Yun, believe I’m upright and unafraid of rumors. This lady claims she’s my first wife; let’s meet at the courthouse and let the Lord Governor decide who’s lying."

Upon hearing that he dared to go to court to confront, the cries of condemnation gradually died down, and all eyes turned back to the Yu Family woman.

The Yu Family woman didn’t loudly refute, appearing even calmer than Hao Yun. But with her demeanor, she seemed like someone whose heart had died from too much hurt. "Dalan, I’m not afraid to go to court. Even if the official beats me and throws me in jail, as long as you throw me some silver afterwards so I can buy some medicine for my mother-in-law, I’m willing to bear it.

You don’t know, before coming, I asked my aunt to take care of my mother-in-law. Her two daughters-in-law have their opinions; I can’t stay in the Capital for too long, or who knows what chaos will happen at home. Someone’s got to feed the pigs; someone’s got to tend the fields. You’re a scholar, you can ignore all this, but I can’t. If I’m not diligent with my hands and feet, our family won’t even have a reunion dinner by year’s end."

Unlike the usual screaming and shouting, the Yu Family woman’s plea was vivid and credible.

Her ’pitiful’ tale inadvertently inspired this group of people from the Capital with feelings of nobility while also deepening their sympathy for her.

"I say, son-in-law of the Su family, you’ve said enough. Better give her a hundred or so silver coins to go back and support your mother. Where can you find such a filial daughter-in-law in this era? You can ignore your relatives, but you can’t stop others from fulfilling filial piety."

"Exactly, filial piety is paramount. Being so harsh to your first wife and mother, you might face retribution in the future, ending without any descendants to bury you."

Hao Yun ignored the group, stepped forward a few steps, glaring at the top of the Yu Family woman’s head with eyes like nails, asking in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Are you satisfied causing such a scene?"

The Yu Family woman looked up, giving him a slight smile, "You haven’t paid with a life for a life yet, how could I be satisfied?"

It seemed this wicked woman knew her lover died by his hand.

The other party might have thrown caution to the wind out of desperation, but Hao Yun couldn’t. He tried to tempt, "How much benefit did the person behind you give? I can offer double, as long as you go back quietly and don’t cause trouble."

After a pause, he added, "Or, just tell me who sent you here, and I’ll let it slide."

The Yu Family woman suddenly sneered, "Who they are doesn’t matter. They promised me your dog’s life. Can you offer double that?"

Seeing Hao Yun silent, she continued, "You’re such a loser, it’s only right you’ll never achieve fame or fortune, always being trampled upon."

"Smack—" Hao Yun, infuriated beyond tolerance, raised his hand and slapped her.

The Yu Family woman let out a deliberate cry, drawing everyone’s attention back to her. Then, teary-eyed, she covered her cheek, "Dalan, don’t hit me. I don’t want silver anymore. I’ll leave, I’m leaving right now."

Saying this, she pulled up her son from beside her, and the mother and son squeezed through the crowd, stumbling away awkwardly.

Hao Yun thought of the Yu Family woman’s words before she left, anger flaring in his eyes.

She said: My task is done, now it’s your turn.