Chapter 68 – Second condition
However, this time Yu Tang would disappoint Pei Yan.
She suddenly became obstinate and quarrelsome as she repeated her previous words, saying “Then what about the kidnapping? Could it be that what Eldest Young Master Li said previously was all a lie, and in Mrs Li’s mind, ruining a person’s innocence was nothing?”
Li Duan became a little impatient.
What was the point of bringing this up again? Even if a woman had committed a crime, it would be impossible for any family even an average, ordinary one, to send a woman to court, let alone to make amends to the Yu family just like what Yu Tang had requested. The Yu family was clearly trying to make things difficult for their family.
No, perhaps it was a tactic to negotiate for the next condition.
When Li Duan thought of what those observers had revealed in their comments when Yu Tang was speaking earlier, and their dissatisfaction with his mother, he felt that if he let Yu Tang continue on like this, she would be leading him by the nose; therefore he had to find a way to take the initiative and take back the flow of this discussion.
“Lady Yu,” Li Duan remarked dryly, “it’s impossible to let my mother go to your family’s front door and kowtow to your family to make amends. It would be futile for us to argue any further.” At this, he looked at Yu Wen and said, “Master Yu, put yourself in my shoes, if it was your wife or daughter who had made this mistake, would you agree to let them come forward and be punished in public? Instead of us remaining at an impasse here because of this, we might as well let the Third Master Pei family act as an intermediary and discuss a form of compensation that is acceptable to all. Elders, what do you think?”
When he finished, he made a bow towards the observers present.
The people nodded their heads.
Yu Wen and Elder Wei exchanged glances, both of them had resigned and helpless expressions on their faces.
Yu Tang, however, seemed to have lost all her calm and quick-wittedness that she showed before, as if she lost patience and could not control herself anymore as she revealed her true character.
She cried out, “Father, this matter cannot be left like this. Is their family’s honor important and our family’s honor not? If you don’t agree to let Mrs. Li personally come to our house to make amends today, I will smash my head over and die here! It would be better for me to die a justified death then be alive, so that I will not be mocked by others, and not only me, but also our family’s children and grandchildren will not be able to hold up their heads up high in future.”
This was quite a willful and capricious thing to say.
The observers all looked around, but none of them stepped forward to dissuade her.
The reason was that Yu Tang’s words made some sense when they were thought it through.
What should be done now?
The people looked towards Pei Yan.
Pei Yan looked at Yu Tang with a hint of suspicion.
Why did this Lady Yu have to cause trouble every now and again? And he really couldn’t understand her intentions at all.
Take today’s incident for example, at first she was smart and devious, strategizing and planning her moves carefully, taking Li Duan for a ride. However, just when victory was around the corner, she suddenly lost all her previous composure and just said whatever she wanted to say, not caring about anything else.
It’s strange!
Were her previous actions the real her? Or was it now, at this moment?
Pei Yan felt that he had been careless.
This was the awkwardness of not knowing a person’s character.
If he had known it would turn out like this, he would have found out more about Lady Yu beforehand.
However, Lady Yu seemed to be an ever-changing enigma, so even if he had gotten to know her a little beforehand, he probably wouldn’t know just what kind of person Lady Yu would be the next time he saw her.
Anyway, because of the separation between men and women, it’s better if he didn’t pry too much into Lady Yu.
When Pei Yan thought of all the times he had been mistaken about Yu Tang, his intuition told him that it was best for him to observe more before deciding, otherwise it would be like the previous times and he would again make a wrong judgement.
He sipped his tea nonchalantly, as he tried to stay neutral. “Lady Yu has a point, but it’s not proper to have Mrs Li personally kowtow at the doorstep of the Yu family.” He pushed the ball over to the Li family patriarch and said, “Twelfth uncle of the Li family, what do you say?”
The Twelfth Uncle of the Li family was like a candle that only glowed after being lit. After hearing his words, he replied, “Our Li family looks to Third Master Pei for direction and will listen to you in this.”
Again, he pushed the ball back into Pei Yan’s court.
Pei Yan smiled faintly and said, “I am only acting as an intermediary, therefore as long as both the Yu and Li families reach a consensus, it will be enough. Since the Li family doesn’t have any opinion, then I will have to ask Master Yu about what he wants.”
Who knew that Yu Tang didn’t even wait for her father to say anything in response before she muttered discontentedly, “Father, I don’t agree! Mrs Li must apologize to our family!”
Yu Wen wanted to say something in response but held himself back.
He was like an inordinately doting father, who knew it was wrong but didn’t have the heart to oppose his daughter in front of everyone.
And Li Duan also felt very discontented.
What do you mean by “the Li family doesn’t have any opinion”?
Li Duan felt that Pei Yan was trying to help the Yu family.
Could it be that the Yu family had made a private agreement with Pei Yan prior to this?
Li Duan looked at Yu Tang in anger and said, “Lady Yu, apology is one thing, but honor is another. It’s fine for my family to apologize but you can’t let my mother, a woman in the inner courtyard, show her face in public like this.”
Yu Tang glared back at him defiantly and said, “In my opinion, it’s the same thing. There must be sincerity in a proper apology.”
The two of them drew swords, neither of them backing down, and although they were only standing opposite of each other, everyone could feel the intensity burning up in this place.
Regardless of who they favored in their hearts, none of the observers would dare to state their opinions until Pei Yan had spoken. Therefore, if Pei Yan did not speak, they would only watch from the sidelines and remain silent.
For a while, the hall fell into an eerie silence, so quiet that only the rustling sound of the wind blowing through the trees could be heard outside the window.
Master Wu could not help but feel a little anxious.
In his opinion, it was Yu Tang who had overstepped in this matter, but it was Yu Wen who had gone even further.
If the child did not know what to do, shouldn’t the adults step in?
At this time, the adults should be the ones to clean up the mess.
We can’t just let our daughter and the Li family’s eldest son go on like this without with neither of them acquiescing, can we?
Even if they were to take a step back, there should be a compromise of sorts.
Master Wu then pondered whether he should step in and be the villain, but then a weak voice suddenly sounded, saying “Yu, Lady Yu, I’ll apologize to your family in my mother’s place, is that alright with you?”
The one who spoke up was Li Jun, who didn’t have much of a presence throughout this discussion.
Everyone’s eyes followed his voice.
Li Jun probably did not expect this reaction, and in full view of everyone, his face turned pale and he shrunk back for a moment. However, he quickly pulled himself together, straightened his back bravely and took two steps forward to the front, saying quietly, “Lady Yu’s kidnapping was all because of me. The fault for the matter lies entirely with me. My mother loves her children very much, so I dare not ask Lady Yu to forgive her, but as a son, I cannot watch my mother being humiliated like this and do nothing. Lady Yu, please agree to let me kowtow in front of the gates of your house in my mother’s place.” With that, he made a deep bow towards Yu Tang.
If hesitation and timidity were evident in his words before, at this moment, not only did he speak clearly and distinctly, but he also expressed his unyielding courage.
Master Wu could not help but cheer on Li Jun in his heart.
Although Li Jun had not said a word before, the fact that he could stand up at this time showed that he was a man of filial piety, deep responsibility and integrity.
Master Wu kept nodding his head in approval.
Majority of the observers felt the same way as Master Wu, as they looked at Li Jun approvingly and nodded.
Yu Tang gave a soft “hm” of disdain and didn’t even look at Li Jun, instead her gaze on Li Duan became sharper.
She said snidely, “What if I don’t agree?”
Li Duan’s heart stirred as Li Jun stepped forward, suddenly thinking that this was a good idea. For one, the Li family had shown enough sincerity, and second, Li Jun had stood up for his mother, thus restoring the reputation of the Li family by being filial.
Yu Tang’s constant bickerings triggered his tyrannical side that he had suppressed for all this while.
He said angrily, “Lady Yu, whatever people are doing, the heavens are watching. You should show some gratefulness.”
Yu Tang laughed coldly at this and said, “I was just about to say the same thing. Whatever the people are doing, the heavens are watching. Eldest Young Master Li, when you accuse me, don’t forget to apply the same counsel to yourself. I thought that all the men in your family were dead, and that you all were only good with your words and not in action……”
Before she even finished speaking, Li Duan felt as though he had been struck by lightning in broad daylight, his mind buzzed and he did not return to his senses for a long time.
How could he not have thought of that!
How could he not have thought of making amends to the Yu family on behalf of his mother!
It was only when his brother came forward and said such words of utmost filial piety and sincerity that he reacted.
Filial piety was the absolute principle the ruled the country throughout all the dynasties. There were no problems with his previous actions of rejecting Yu tang’s condition. However, with Li Jun’s words, his earlier actions were no longer good enough.
It was said that when the Pei family’s grand elder passed away, Pei Yan was so heartbroken that not only did he give up his court official duties, but even at home, he refused to see anything that was not in mourning white. What would Pei Yan think of him now?
What would these observers here think of him?
Li Duan was a little flustered.
He busily looked around.
Pei Yan sat there expressionlessly, as if he had not yet reacted to what had happened.
The faces of the men changed.
Did they all think that he should have stood up for his mother like what Li Jun did?
Li Duan grew increasingly worried.
He kept telling himself to remain calm, to stay in control, all the more at this time, as he could not afford to make any mistakes and be caught in any way.
As for Pei Yan, the moment that Li Jun stepped out to speak, he saw the dagger that Yu Tang had hidden.
So she was trying to label Li Duan as being unfilial!
This was her plan all along.
This Lady Yu intended to put Li Duan to death!
What kind of life and death feud did Lady Yu have with this Li Duan?
He wasn’t interested in knowing why Li Duan was so foolish as to fall into this trap, nor was he interested in what the observers thought. He only wanted to know just how big a role Lady Yu played in this scheming against the Li family.
As for Yu Tang, her hands were tightly clenched into fists.
They all thought she just wanted to humiliate Madam Lin.
No, she had no intention of doing that.
Because that was far from enough.
How could physical suffering compare to mental agony and despair?
Her revenge had only just begun!
Chapter 68 – Second condition
However, this time Yu Tang would disappoint Pei Yan.
She suddenly became obstinate and quarrelsome as she repeated her previous words, saying “Then what about the kidnapping? Could it be that what Eldest Young Master Li said previously was all a lie, and in Mrs Li’s mind, ruining a person’s innocence was nothing?”
Li Duan became a little impatient.
What was the point of bringing this up again? Even if a woman had committed a crime, it would be impossible for any family even an average, ordinary one, to send a woman to court, let alone to make amends to the Yu family just like what Yu Tang had requested. The Yu family was clearly trying to make things difficult for their family.
No, perhaps it was a tactic to negotiate for the next condition.
When Li Duan thought of what those observers had revealed in their comments when Yu Tang was speaking earlier, and their dissatisfaction with his mother, he felt that if he let Yu Tang continue on like this, she would be leading him by the nose; therefore he had to find a way to take the initiative and take back the flow of this discussion.
“Lady Yu,” Li Duan remarked dryly, “it’s impossible to let my mother go to your family’s front door and kowtow to your family to make amends. It would be futile for us to argue any further.” At this, he looked at Yu Wen and said, “Master Yu, put yourself in my shoes, if it was your wife or daughter who had made this mistake, would you agree to let them come forward and be punished in public? Instead of us remaining at an impasse here because of this, we might as well let the Third Master Pei family act as an intermediary and discuss a form of compensation that is acceptable to all. Elders, what do you think?”
When he finished, he made a bow towards the observers present.
The people nodded their heads.
Yu Wen and Elder Wei exchanged glances, both of them had resigned and helpless expressions on their faces.
Yu Tang, however, seemed to have lost all her calm and quick-wittedness that she showed before, as if she lost patience and could not control herself anymore as she revealed her true character.
She cried out, “Father, this matter cannot be left like this. Is their family’s honor important and our family’s honor not? If you don’t agree to let Mrs. Li personally come to our house to make amends today, I will smash my head over and die here! It would be better for me to die a justified death then be alive, so that I will not be mocked by others, and not only me, but also our family’s children and grandchildren will not be able to hold up their heads up high in future.”
This was quite a willful and capricious thing to say.
The observers all looked around, but none of them stepped forward to dissuade her.
The reason was that Yu Tang’s words made some sense when they were thought it through.
What should be done now?
The people looked towards Pei Yan.
Pei Yan looked at Yu Tang with a hint of suspicion.
Why did this Lady Yu have to cause trouble every now and again? And he really couldn’t understand her intentions at all.
Take today’s incident for example, at first she was smart and devious, strategizing and planning her moves carefully, taking Li Duan for a ride. However, just when victory was around the corner, she suddenly lost all her previous composure and just said whatever she wanted to say, not caring about anything else.
It’s strange!
Were her previous actions the real her? Or was it now, at this moment?
Pei Yan felt that he had been careless.
This was the awkwardness of not knowing a person’s character.
If he had known it would turn out like this, he would have found out more about Lady Yu beforehand.
However, Lady Yu seemed to be an ever-changing enigma, so even if he had gotten to know her a little beforehand, he probably wouldn’t know just what kind of person Lady Yu would be the next time he saw her.
Anyway, because of the separation between men and women, it’s better if he didn’t pry too much into Lady Yu.
When Pei Yan thought of all the times he had been mistaken about Yu Tang, his intuition told him that it was best for him to observe more before deciding, otherwise it would be like the previous times and he would again make a wrong judgement.
He sipped his tea nonchalantly, as he tried to stay neutral. “Lady Yu has a point, but it’s not proper to have Mrs Li personally kowtow at the doorstep of the Yu family.” He pushed the ball over to the Li family patriarch and said, “Twelfth uncle of the Li family, what do you say?”
The Twelfth Uncle of the Li family was like a candle that only glowed after being lit. After hearing his words, he replied, “Our Li family looks to Third Master Pei for direction and will listen to you in this.”
Again, he pushed the ball back into Pei Yan’s court.
Pei Yan smiled faintly and said, “I am only acting as an intermediary, therefore as long as both the Yu and Li families reach a consensus, it will be enough. Since the Li family doesn’t have any opinion, then I will have to ask Master Yu about what he wants.”
Who knew that Yu Tang didn’t even wait for her father to say anything in response before she muttered discontentedly, “Father, I don’t agree! Mrs Li must apologize to our family!”
Yu Wen wanted to say something in response but held himself back.
He was like an inordinately doting father, who knew it was wrong but didn’t have the heart to oppose his daughter in front of everyone.
And Li Duan also felt very discontented.
What do you mean by “the Li family doesn’t have any opinion”?
Li Duan felt that Pei Yan was trying to help the Yu family.
Could it be that the Yu family had made a private agreement with Pei Yan prior to this?
Li Duan looked at Yu Tang in anger and said, “Lady Yu, apology is one thing, but honor is another. It’s fine for my family to apologize but you can’t let my mother, a woman in the inner courtyard, show her face in public like this.”
Yu Tang glared back at him defiantly and said, “In my opinion, it’s the same thing. There must be sincerity in a proper apology.”
The two of them drew swords, neither of them backing down, and although they were only standing opposite of each other, everyone could feel the intensity burning up in this place.
Regardless of who they favored in their hearts, none of the observers would dare to state their opinions until Pei Yan had spoken. Therefore, if Pei Yan did not speak, they would only watch from the sidelines and remain silent.
For a while, the hall fell into an eerie silence, so quiet that only the rustling sound of the wind blowing through the trees could be heard outside the window.
Master Wu could not help but feel a little anxious.
In his opinion, it was Yu Tang who had overstepped in this matter, but it was Yu Wen who had gone even further.
If the child did not know what to do, shouldn’t the adults step in?
At this time, the adults should be the ones to clean up the mess.
We can’t just let our daughter and the Li family’s eldest son go on like this without with neither of them acquiescing, can we?
Even if they were to take a step back, there should be a compromise of sorts.
Master Wu then pondered whether he should step in and be the villain, but then a weak voice suddenly sounded, saying “Yu, Lady Yu, I’ll apologize to your family in my mother’s place, is that alright with you?”
The one who spoke up was Li Jun, who didn’t have much of a presence throughout this discussion.
Everyone’s eyes followed his voice.
Li Jun probably did not expect this reaction, and in full view of everyone, his face turned pale and he shrunk back for a moment. However, he quickly pulled himself together, straightened his back bravely and took two steps forward to the front, saying quietly, “Lady Yu’s kidnapping was all because of me. The fault for the matter lies entirely with me. My mother loves her children very much, so I dare not ask Lady Yu to forgive her, but as a son, I cannot watch my mother being humiliated like this and do nothing. Lady Yu, please agree to let me kowtow in front of the gates of your house in my mother’s place.” With that, he made a deep bow towards Yu Tang.
If hesitation and timidity were evident in his words before, at this moment, not only did he speak clearly and distinctly, but he also expressed his unyielding courage.
Master Wu could not help but cheer on Li Jun in his heart.
Although Li Jun had not said a word before, the fact that he could stand up at this time showed that he was a man of filial piety, deep responsibility and integrity.
Master Wu kept nodding his head in approval.
Majority of the observers felt the same way as Master Wu, as they looked at Li Jun approvingly and nodded.
Yu Tang gave a soft “hm” of disdain and didn’t even look at Li Jun, instead her gaze on Li Duan became sharper.
She said snidely, “What if I don’t agree?”
Li Duan’s heart stirred as Li Jun stepped forward, suddenly thinking that this was a good idea. For one, the Li family had shown enough sincerity, and second, Li Jun had stood up for his mother, thus restoring the reputation of the Li family by being filial.
Yu Tang’s constant bickerings triggered his tyrannical side that he had suppressed for all this while.
He said angrily, “Lady Yu, whatever people are doing, the heavens are watching. You should show some gratefulness.”
Yu Tang laughed coldly at this and said, “I was just about to say the same thing. Whatever the people are doing, the heavens are watching. Eldest Young Master Li, when you accuse me, don’t forget to apply the same counsel to yourself. I thought that all the men in your family were dead, and that you all were only good with your words and not in action……”
Before she even finished speaking, Li Duan felt as though he had been struck by lightning in broad daylight, his mind buzzed and he did not return to his senses for a long time.
How could he not have thought of that!
How could he not have thought of making amends to the Yu family on behalf of his mother!
It was only when his brother came forward and said such words of utmost filial piety and sincerity that he reacted.
Filial piety was the absolute principle the ruled the country throughout all the dynasties. There were no problems with his previous actions of rejecting Yu tang’s condition. However, with Li Jun’s words, his earlier actions were no longer good enough.
It was said that when the Pei family’s grand elder passed away, Pei Yan was so heartbroken that not only did he give up his court official duties, but even at home, he refused to see anything that was not in mourning white. What would Pei Yan think of him now?
What would these observers here think of him?
Li Duan was a little flustered.
He busily looked around.
Pei Yan sat there expressionlessly, as if he had not yet reacted to what had happened.
The faces of the men changed.
Did they all think that he should have stood up for his mother like what Li Jun did?
Li Duan grew increasingly worried.
He kept telling himself to remain calm, to stay in control, all the more at this time, as he could not afford to make any mistakes and be caught in any way.
As for Pei Yan, the moment that Li Jun stepped out to speak, he saw the dagger that Yu Tang had hidden.
So she was trying to label Li Duan as being unfilial!
This was her plan all along.
This Lady Yu intended to put Li Duan to death!
What kind of life and death feud did Lady Yu have with this Li Duan?
He wasn’t interested in knowing why Li Duan was so foolish as to fall into this trap, nor was he interested in what the observers thought. He only wanted to know just how big a role Lady Yu played in this scheming against the Li family.
As for Yu Tang, her hands were tightly clenched into fists.
They all thought she just wanted to humiliate Madam Lin.
No, she had no intention of doing that.
Because that was far from enough.
How could physical suffering compare to mental agony and despair?
Her revenge had only just begun!
