Chapter 789: The Peasant Girl’s Splendid Manor
Chapter 789: Compromise (2)
The pill, accompanied by the spiritual spring water, went down smoothly. After a moment, Mo Yan checked Tie Tou’s pulse again and found it slightly steadier. She let out a silent sigh of relief, wiping the cold sweat from her forehead before asking, “Aunt Wu, how did Brother Tie Tou end up like this?”
At her question, Wu Shi’s grief deepened. The tears she had just managed to hold back flowed once more. “It’s my fault—all my fault! I shouldn’t have been so harsh. I shouldn’t have forced him to break things off with that girl... It’s all my fault!”
Through Wu Shi’s fragmented words, Mo Yan finally pieced together the events leading up to Tie Tou’s condition. Guilt washed over her as she blamed herself for not stepping in sooner to mediate their mother-son conflict. Perhaps if she had, today’s tragedy might have been avoided.
It turned out that ever since Wu Shi discovered her son had fallen for a courtesan who had turned her life around, she hadn’t had a proper night’s sleep. Besides running her stall, she had been busy asking matchmakers to find a suitable match for Tie Tou.
Given the Wu family’s circumstances, there were plenty of suitable candidates, but Tie Tou was adamantly opposed to any of them. A few days ago, Wu Shi finally found a young woman from a neighboring village she was very pleased with. Without consulting Tie Tou, she secretly arranged the engagement. She even spent 20 taels of silver to buy a pair of gold bracelets as betrothal gifts and sent them to the girl’s family, intending to set an auspicious date for the engagement.
Unexpectedly, Tie Tou found out about the arrangement. That very night, he went to the girl’s house, explained that he was in love with someone else, and couldn’t delay her future. He urged her to find another suitor. The girl, enraged, threw the betrothal gift box at him, and its sharp corner left a bloody gash on Tie Tou’s forehead.
The girl’s family, feeling insulted, sought out the matchmaker the next day and demanded an explanation from the Wu family. Wu Shi only learned of Tie Tou’s actions after returning from her stall and was furious.
Seething with anger and disappointment, Wu Shi waited for Tie Tou to return that evening, determined to confront him.
On the eve of the lunar New Year, Tie Tou came home an hour early, expecting to enjoy a festive meal. However, as soon as he stepped through the door, Wu Shi ordered him to kneel in the main hall without saying a word. She demanded that he accompany her to the neighboring village the next morning to apologize to the girl’s family and finalize the engagement.
Tie Tou, whose heart was set on Liu Qingqing, couldn’t imagine marrying anyone else. He firmly refused both demands.
Seeing her son’s stubbornness, Wu Shi, overwhelmed by rage, lashed out. Tie Tou’s back was soon covered with welts and bloody marks, but he gritted his teeth and refused to relent, no matter how harsh her blows or words became.
Da Ni couldn’t bear the sight and tried to sneak out to seek Mo Yan’s help, but Wu Shi stopped her and sent all three siblings back to their rooms.
Tie Tou remained unyielding, and Wu Shi, losing all reason, grabbed a thick wooden rod and beat him until it snapped.
Despite the physical pain, Tie Tou refused to compromise or follow his mother’s wishes.
Blinded by anger, Wu Shi stormed into the kitchen, grabbed a cleaver, and held it to her neck, threatening to take her own life to force her son’s compliance.
Tie Tou, devoted to filial piety, couldn’t bear the thought of his mother harming herself. Though heartbroken, he reluctantly promised to cut ties with Liu Qingqing and never see her again.
Believing her son had finally “come to his senses,” Wu Shi felt relieved. She consoled him before letting him return to his room to rest.
However, early the next morning, as Wu Shi and her daughters prepared to head out for the day, they noticed that Tie Tou’s door remained shut. Normally, he was always up earlier than they were.
Aware of how severe her actions had been the night before, Wu Shi immediately sensed something was wrong. She rushed to knock on his door but received no response. In her panic, she smashed a window and climbed into his room, only to find an unconscious Tie Tou lying amidst blood-soaked bedding.
(End of Chapter)
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