Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Chapter 60 Weakness When Faced with Strength

Zhang Song went to pay his respects to the old man at the Zhang family home. He saw the old man directing the servants to set up the martial arts training ground and even putting several large swords that had not been used for many years into the weapon rack to make a show of it. He immediately understood what was going on.

So after paying his respects, he asked with a smile, "What does the old man think of Lian-ge'er?"

"Not so great, just so-so, neither good at academics nor martial arts, only his appearance is passable."

Without even looking up, the old man gave a very fair assessment, still directing the servants to polish the broadsword, making sure it looked impressive.

But after a while, he checked the time and it was already late, and still hadn't heard that Jia Lian had come to report, so his face began to darken.

Fortunately, Zhang Su came in at this moment to report: "Grandpa, Lian's attendant just came over and said that Lian will not be able to come today."

The old man was taken aback, then flew into a rage, "If you're not coming, then don't come at all. Who cares?"

After saying that, he threw down his red-tasseled spear and was about to leave when Zhang Song, quick-witted as ever, asked, "Do you know why you weren't allowed to come?"

Zhang Su then said, "Yes, he was beaten by his father."

"Who? That bastard Jia She, why are you hitting him?" Sure enough, the old man stopped in his tracks when he heard Zhang Su's words.

"At first he wouldn't say, but after asking him carefully, I found out that it was because he came to wish his grandfather a happy birthday without permission the day before yesterday, but his master found out and called him in yesterday and beat him severely. He said he can't even get out of bed now..."

As Zhang Su spoke, he also felt a little reluctant.

He knew Jia Lian's father was no good, but he never expected him to be so unreasonable and domineering!

Is it possible to beat one's own son to death just because his son went to wish his maternal grandfather a happy birthday?

Although my father was quite strict with me when I was in school, even when he got angry, he would only spank my hands.

Therefore, Zhang Su could not understand the behavior of beating his son to death at the drop of a hat, and then calling it "spare the rod and spoil the child".

I wonder how the Lian brothers managed to survive with such a father.

As soon as the old man heard Zhang Su finish speaking, he immediately jumped three zhang high!

He kicked over the weapon rack in front of him and roared, "Well, well, what a heartless, unfilial wretch! How could I have been so blind to marry Liu'e to such a beast? I...!"

Seeing that the old man was so angry he couldn't even speak clearly, Zhang Song and his son quickly stepped forward to comfort him.

The old man shoved them aside: "Prepare the horses! Prepare the horses! I'm going to personally go and beat this disgusting dog to death!!"

Zhang Song and Zhang Su looked at each other, realizing that the old man had lost his mind in anger.

It took the two of them quite a bit of effort to finally manage to persuade the old man to stop.

Zhang Song said, "It's not worth it for you, sir, to ruin your health over someone like that. Actually, you don't need to go in person. I heard that person doesn't have many days left to live. He's already been weakened by wine and women and is nearing the end of his life. I heard from his second master that he's recently become obsessed with alchemy and mercury refining. For someone like that, death is only a matter of a day or two. It's not worth you, sir, making the trip yourself."

Taking advantage of Zhang Song's words to smooth things over, the old man was still furious. "In that case, send someone to deliver a message to their matriarch. I want to ask her which law my own grandson violated by coming to my house to celebrate my birthday, so that he deserves to be treated so badly."

Is it because their family has a relative like the Marquis of Linzi, which has truly tarnished their reputation, that they have to humiliate me in this way?

"You should say it like this. If they can't give a reasonable explanation, we'll go before His Majesty and ask him to personally help me clarify this matter!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Song knew that this could easily escalate the situation, but knowing the old man's stubborn temper, he dared not go against his wishes. He could only say, "I'm afraid that if Lian-ge'er's father finds out, he'll think that he deliberately complained to you and will try to find fault with Lian-ge'er again..."

"He dares!!"

The old man paced back and forth, saying angrily, "If he dares to lay a hand on my grandson again, you can bring Lian-ge'er to live in our mansion. We can just disown his damned father!"

Zhang Su and Zhang Song exchanged a helpless glance and had no choice but to comply.

Of course, the words used to address Grandmother Jia should not be as merciless as the old man himself said. They should be softened a bit to maintain the upper hand and ensure that even if they have to argue in the imperial court in the future, they will not leave any ammunition for others to criticize.

And so, Grandmother Jia soon received a letter presented by the Zhang family.

Upon learning that it was a personal letter from her old in-law, the Earl of Linzi, Grandmother Jia dared not delay and hurriedly ordered someone to open it and read it.

The opening was quite polite, addressing her as "Grandma" repeatedly, but the more I listened, the more something felt off.

I thought that since the two families had not had any contact for so many years, why did I suddenly think of sending my regards? But this was not a greeting at all; it was clearly a letter of interrogation!

Grandmother Jia frowned. After so many years of living a life of luxury, this was the first time she had received a letter of this nature.

Yuanyang noticed that Grandmother Jia was becoming displeased and felt somewhat uneasy, but she still said, "Grandmother, there's more to come..."

"read!"

The mandarin ducks then recited in a soft voice:

"I am a rough man, ignorant of etiquette, and I ask for your forgiveness if my words are inappropriate. However, I truly cannot understand the reasoning behind this, and I hope that you can enlighten me. If you cannot resolve my doubts, I will have no choice but to trouble Your Majesty and ask you to clarify the matter."

Respectfully presented by Zhang Changling.

As soon as Yuanyang finished reading, Grandmother Jia couldn't help but slap the high couch, saying displeasedly, "This Earl of Linzi is already quite old, yet he's still so competitive. For such a trivial matter, he even needs the Emperor's intervention?"

Although she was dissatisfied, Grandmother Jia had no choice but to take it seriously. Otherwise, if the Earl of Linzi really acted recklessly and took the verbal dispute to the Emperor, wouldn't the Jia and Zhang families become the laughing stock of the capital again?

After thinking for a moment, he slapped the armrest and sat up, ordering, "Go and summon your master to see me!"

The old women then left, and Jia She arrived half a day later.

Seeing that Jia She was only in his early fifties, but walked with a stagger, looking older than her, Grandmother Jia was furious!

Having barely managed to suppress the urge to scold, she had someone deliver the letter to Jia She, and then said coldly, "This is a letter that Old Master Zhang gave me. You can take a look too."

Jia She hadn't realized which Zhang family it was before he looked directly at the signature on the second page. When he saw the three words "Zhang Changling," he trembled and almost dropped the letter.

He glanced up at Grandmother Jia's displeased expression before slowly starting to read from the beginning.

Having only read half of it, he immediately said to Grandmother Jia, "This must have been instigated by that brat Lian'er. How dare the Zhang family be so disrespectful to you, Grandmother! I'll go and bring that brat Lian'er here to avenge you."

"return."

Grandmother Jia stopped Jia She and scolded, "Haven't you embarrassed yourself enough? I'd like to ask you, what exactly did Lian'er do wrong by going to wish his grandfather a happy birthday? Why did you beat him like that? Give me a reason!"

Jia She angrily said, "Let's not even talk about how Zhang's own son has long since disowned him. Even if he were to acknowledge him, it should be my decision whether or not he should go to the birthday celebration. How could he go on his own? Where does he put his son's dignity? He still dares to argue with me. Giving him this beating is too lenient."

He even dared to complain to the Zhang family! He's gone too far...

"Disown this marriage? If you dare to say that in the imperial court, I'll have nothing to say. The son is yours, you can beat him however you want, it's none of my business if you beat him to death, I'm just afraid you won't dare." Grandmother Jia sneered.

Jia She's voice faltered, but he patiently read on, and then his body suddenly trembled again!

Although a father-in-law is not like a biological father and is not subject to the three cardinal relationships, he is still a true elder. When they got married, the father-in-law respectfully kowtowed to his wife.

So, when he was dragged into the street and beaten by Old Master Zhang, he was furious and felt utterly humiliated, but in the end he didn't dare to do anything more!

There's no other reason than that he knew that if he kept arguing, he would be the one who suffered in the end.

Throughout history, very few people have dared to sue their own father-in-law in court!

Therefore, it would be more accurate to say that he was afraid of the Zhang family and went into hiding rather than that he severed ties with them.

Now, hearing that Zhang Changling was going to take him to the imperial court, it's no wonder his legs trembled. Leaving aside the fact that a father-in-law suing his son-in-law is an unfair case, even if he could handle the emperor's inquiry, he feared the old man would be enraged and whip him again…

Moreover, he knew that once they actually reached the imperial palace, he would definitely lose the argument. Having inherited the title for so long, he had barely even seen the emperor's face a few times, and each time, he was overwhelmed by the emperor's majesty, daring not to utter a word.

Grandmother Jia wasn't surprised at all to see Jia She's fear. Even she was afraid to go to the imperial palace, let alone this good-for-nothing!

"You saw it too. The Earl of Linzi said that his grandson went to celebrate his birthday, but our family beat his grandson because of it. It's clear that we look down on the Zhang family. Do we think it's a disgrace that the descendants of the Jia family have the blood of the Zhang family?"

Like your father, Zhang Changling spent his life fighting on the battlefield, rendering countless meritorious services to the court. He was ultimately granted the title of Earl despite being a commoner; even the imperial family would show him some respect. Tell me, if he were to actually bring you to court for this, how would you face him? And how would the emperor deal with you?

Jia She was at a loss for words. Logically, nobles wouldn't trouble the emperor with family matters. However, his domineering father-in-law was clearly no ordinary man, and if the other party really did that, he truly wouldn't know how to deal with it.

Therefore, he hurriedly knelt down and said, "Your son knows his mistake, please enlighten me, old lady."

Grandmother Jia snorted. If it weren't for the sake of the family's reputation, she wouldn't bother with Jia She's affairs and let him do whatever he wanted!

"First, it's up to you whether you acknowledge the marriage with the Zhang family. Even if you want to, the Zhang family might not agree. They only care about Lian'er. From now on, you are not allowed to interfere with Lian'er's dealings with the Zhang family."

Second. I will write to Zhang Changling and tell him that your beating of Lian'er wasn't for that reason; it was a misunderstanding. Our family doesn't look down on the Zhang family, much less humiliate Zhang Changling. For your father's and my sake, I believe he won't go too far. As long as we make our stance clear, he'll most likely let it go.

Hearing this, Jia She felt aggrieved, but he couldn't think of any other way, so he could only reluctantly agree.

"You don't need to be resentful. The Zhang family was in the right in this matter, and it was the first time, which is why I was able to help you. If there were a second time, you know your father-in-law's temper. At that time, let alone me, I'm afraid even if your grandfather came back to life, he might not give you face!"

"I've said my piece, you may leave. I'm tired."

Jia She stood up and left Rongqing Hall dejectedly.