Call Me Daddy

But Su Aobai definitely couldn’t conform to everyone’s expectations.

“My mother—my mother, she might have a harsh mouthed, but she would never sell Er Niang to a brothel.” His voice was trembling.

“My mother never curses me every day, calling me a freeloader who wastes the family’s money and food. It’s me who feels useless, which is why I wanted to help out in the fields. It’s absolutely not because my mother wanted to cripple me.”

Even now, he was still speaking well of Li Shi.

Su Youliang in the crowd frowned. Why did it seem like… that Second Brother was deliberately speaking in reverse?

When he said there was none, wasn’t it implying that their mother indeed did those things? Second Brother seemed to be speaking on behalf of their mother but was actually confirming her guilt.

Su Youliang’s gaze fell on his second brother’s honest and simple face, then quickly dismissed his own thoughts.

If the one speaking was his eldest brother, then it would definitely be to scheme against their mother, but his second brother didn’t have such a mind, nor could he have such intelligence.

In this family, if one had to choose the person who obeyed their mother the most, it wouldn’t be the most favored fourth son, nor would it be him. Instead, it would be Su Youniu, the most oppressed stepson. That was the consensus between Su Youliang and Su Youwen.

So, Su Youliang’s suspicion lasted only a moment before he quickly discarded it.

If even he, the biological son of Li Shi, was like this, needless to say about outsiders.

What Su Aobai had just said was directly filtered and translated in other people’s ears.

My mother has a very sharp tongue and often curses me and my daughter with these venomous words!

After I was injured, my mother cursed me every day at home, calling me a freeloader who wastes the family’s money and food, and even forced me to work in the fields!

What a shrew! What a vicious stepmother!

Everyone looked at Li Shi with disapproval.

“Kui Shan, you should manage your wife. Second Su is such a good child. Don’t let your son feel disheartened.”

The speaker was a relative of the Su family.

“This is none of your business!” Li Shi’s words had silenced him immediately.

Since her son had passed the provincial examination, Li Shi had become inflated with arrogance. She believed that with her son’s talent and her granddaughter’s good fortune, becoming a scholar-official was only a matter of time.

(T/N: a scholar-official = a scholar that had passed the imperial examination and given a job in the government. As oppose to an official scholar, a student that has passed the county level and become a fully-fledged scholar.)

In the future, they would certainly be able to follow fourth son into the city to enjoy a comfortable life, becoming wealthy gentry. The villagers, who were once beneath them, would no longer have any connection with them. These elders who now acted so arrogantly in front of her would, in the future, grovel when they needed her help.

***

Su Youliang hadn’t expected his mother to be so impulsive. By the time he wanted to intervene, it was already too late.

Their family was currently living well, but their foundation wasn’t solid yet. Especially with Fourth Su, who was just a scholar, and there were other scholars in the village. For example, the Wang family had produced over a dozen scholars and one scholar-official, even though the latter had moved to the capital. The roots remained in their hometown, and they kept close ties with their main branch. It would be easy for them to make trouble for a mere scholar.

Moreover, the Su family only had his younger brother as a scholar.

When news of his younger brother’s success as a scholar came, before he could return to the town to celebrate with his mentors and classmates, Su Youwen had warned Su Youliang to keep an eye on their mother and not let her become too arrogant and offend the wrong people.

However, because of the severity of his second brother’s leg injury, Su Youliang, who was usually lazy, had to take on heavy farm work, which consumed much of his time and energy. As a result, he was unaware of the many foolish things Li Shi had been doing recently, and her reputation had already become tarnished.

In the original plot, the original owner had developed a high fever, and Er Niang had begged for a doctor. After enduring the fierce fever and properly treating his leg injury, he had gone back to work in the fields in 2 or 3 days.

During that time, Li Shi had not been as irritable as she was now.

Later, when Su Youwen returned from town, he accidentally learned that their mother had joined in with some people’s flattery, elevating him and diminishing the village chief’s son. He promptly had their mother prepare a substantial gift to apologize to the village chief.

Because Su Youwen’s attitude was very sincere, and Li Shi had taken the initiative to lower her head, the rift between the two families didn’t deepen, and there was no dramatic confrontation from the Wang and Ma families against Li Shi.

Su Youliang didn’t know about this hidden dispute. He was puzzled as to why the village chief’s wife seemed so concerned about Su Youniu’s situation. Was it really just a matter of standing up for him and not tolerating Second Brother’s mistreatment?

Aside from this confusion, one thing Su Youliang was certain of was that his mother had just offended a highly respected clan elder of the Su family.

His head ached instantly. There were many ways to cause trouble, and one shouldn’t underestimate the power of a seemingly insignificant rural clan. Who knew if offending one person casually could bring trouble to the family?

***

“Kui Shan, so it turns out your family is run by women, and you’re just a decoration?”

The Su clan elder, who had been mocked by Li Shi, turned pale with anger. His beard flew up as he forcefully blew out air.

He refused to speak to Li Shi, the shrew, and instead questioned Su Kuishan, the man of the Su family.

“Uncle—”

Su Kuishan’s expression was also unpleasant. The scornful gazes from the crowd felt like razor blades cutting into his flesh. Su Kuishan cared deeply about his reputation; otherwise, he wouldn’t have changed his long-held intention to retire with his eldest son simply because his younger son had become a scholar.

He felt utterly embarrassed today.

It was Li Shi’s disgusting behavior that was to blame. Even with his second son in such a state, she still made him work in the fields. It was also his second son’s fault for being so foolish, attracting a group of formidable women who exposed the family’s shame to the entire village.

“Hey, don’t mention what Li Shi said. I’m asking you, how do you plan to manage Second Su? His leg is probably ruined, so he won’t be able to do heavy work in the future. There are issues with marriage too. Now he only has Er Niang as a daughter, but eventually, she’ll have to get married. Who will take care of Second Su in his old age? Since everyone is here, give us an explanation.”

The Su clan elder spoke up.

Second Su’s wife had passed away nearly 8 years ago. In those 8 years, Su Kuishan and his wife hadn’t arranged a new marriage for him. There had been no movement in the past, and now with Second Su’s leg crippled, it was even more impossible.

Who would want to marry a crippled man? Besides becoming a stepmother, they would also have to endure a vicious stepmother-in-law like Li Shi. Only families who didn’t care for their daughters might agree for a large sum of money, but would Li Shi be willing to spend money on Second Su, her stepson?

Su Kuishan could sense his uncle’s dissatisfaction. Although he was also annoyed by their interference in his family matters, he still had to show respect to these elders.

“I’ll manage him, of course. His brothers will also help.” Su Kuishan laughed awkwardly, trying to smooth things over.

“Bah!”

Li Shi jumped in again, and neither Su Youliang nor his wife could stop her.

“Let the eldest son take care of him. They’re real brothers born of the same mother. I see now that because I’m the later wife, you all look down on me. Even though I gave birth to such a successful fourth son, you still despise me.”

Li Shi was like a firecracker, exploding as soon as it was lit.

Currently, Su Aobai was that spark. Li Shi was already troubled by his burden, and now these outsiders were suggesting not only that they support this useless son but also that her grandson should care for his old age. How could Li Shi tolerate that?