Call Me Daddy

“You, you, you, you—what are you doing? You unfilial son! Are you going to hit me as well?”

Su Aobai took just a step forward, and Li Shi was so frightened that her limbs went limp. She collapsed on the ground, bracing herself with her hands behind her, and kept retreating.

Seeing this, the others could only step forward to block him, but they couldn’t really let Second Su beat his stepmother, could they? However, how could their strength compare to Su Aobai’s? With a slight exertion of force, they were all pushed aside, their eyes wide with shock and fear.

It seemed as if Second Su moved these people, who weighed about a hundred pounds each, more easily than he could lift his own old hen.

Watching Second Su carry the two women out was completely different from experiencing it firsthand. The helplessness of being lifted and set aside with no ability to resist was unnerving upon reflection.

Because of this fear, no one dared to stop the enraged Second Su.

It was also Li Shi’s own fault. She had provoked the only seedling of Second Su’s family. Now, the honest man was furious. In reality, thinking carefully, the reason Li Shi could suppress the eldest and second sons of the Su family for so many years was entirely because these two brothers had a sense of shame. If it were those who had no scruples, being treated like this, not to mention a stepmother, even a biological mother would be useless.

There were indeed unfilial sons and daughters-in-law in Shili Village. Those people had thick skins and weren’t afraid of being scolded by others. No matter how others spoke ill of them behind their backs, they remained unmoved.

Second Su’s misfortune was that he was too honest and was burdened by the obligation of filial piety. Otherwise, how could Li Shi have been so arrogant for so many years?

Su Aobai walked step by step towards the frightened and limp Li Shi. His heavy footsteps and his cold, different-from-usual face terrified her to the core.

“Bang—”

With a heavy thud, everyone instinctively closed their eyes.

This blow to Li Shi might have been fatal, right?

When Li Shi saw her stepson swinging his fist, she thought the same. As the fist drew nearer, she instinctively closed her eyes. She only heard what seemed like a gust of wind passing by her ear, followed by a heavy smash beside her head, creating a dent in the ground. The splashing mud and stones hit her exposed skin, causing her face to sting painfully.

Li Shi lost control of her bladder, and those close by could even hear the sound of water trickling.

She hadn’t even had time to be grateful for surviving. Instead, she felt a deep sense of humiliation and anger.

“No matter what, you are still my nominal mother. If I hit you, that would be considered unfilial.”

Su Aobai spoke up, and the people around frowned. They admired his adherence to filial piety but were anxious as he once again raised Li Shi high and gently set her down, until they heard the following words from Su Aobai.

“I can’t hit you, but I can hit Old Third and Old Fourth. Isn’t it fair for an older brother to discipline his younger brothers?”

Su Aobai seemed to have really been provoked. He almost appeared like a different person, with a ferocious and crazed expression. If Li Shi hadn’t been protected by her status as a stepmother, she might have been beaten to death. Even with this constraint, Su Aobai wasn’t going to let her off easily this time.

“Third brother is weak. If I hit him with this force, he might spend the rest of his life in bed. As for Fourth Brother, he’s eager to take the imperial examinations. He’s a scholar with a title. I can’t hit him, but I can go to the school where he studies and tell stories about the family. I can tell how his biological mother mistreated her stepsons. I can talk about how she meticulously chose a widow of ill repute as a new wife for his second brother, and how, to ensure the widow’s smooth entry, she even planned to kill his brother’s only daughter.”

“Isn’t a scholar’s reputation the most important thing? With such a vicious and cruel biological mother, how can Su Youwen be considered a decent person if he doesn’t know how to admonish and restrain her? What do you think his classmates and teachers will think of him?”

Su Aobai didn’t physically assault Li Shi, but his words were far more terrifying than a beating.

“You, you dare!”

The youngest son was Li Shi’s greatest hope. She absolutely would not allow anyone to ruin her youngest son’s future.

“What do I have to be afraid of?” As soon as Li Shi’s words fell, Su Aobai shouted loudly, almost shattering her eardrums.

“I only have one daughter, my only daughter in this lifetime. If you harm her, what’s the difference from directly taking my life?”

At this moment, Su Aobai’s attitude was that of someone who had nothing to lose. If Li Shi dared to lay a finger on Er Niang, he would indeed have her two most precious sons make amends on her behalf.

He really meant it!

“I stand by my word! If you harm my daughter, I’ll ruin your two sons!”

Anyway, Third Su and Fourth Su had no deep feelings for him. Su Youwen, who had already passed the scholar examination, didn’t bring him any practical benefits, so why not ruin Fourth Su?

Li Shi panicked. However, years of oppressing Second Su made it hard for her to soften. She could only look imploringly at the people around her.

“Village chief, did you hear this nonsense? He’s actually going to ruin Youwen. My Youwen is a young scholar, with the potential to become a Marquis or a Minister in the future. If he succeeds, the benefits won’t only be for the Su family but also for everyone in Shili Village. We all stand to gain.” Li Shi pleaded, hoping that if these people benefited in the future, they would be grateful and help her punish Second Su for his unfilial behavior.

“Youniu said that as long as you don’t bully Er Niang or provoke them again, he won’t trouble your two sons.”

Village Chief Wang remained unmoved. No matter how persuasive Li Shi was, Su Youwen was still just a junior scholar, and whether he could become an official scholar was still uncertain.

He also thought that Su Aobai’s actions were a good solution. Not only did they avoid physical conflict with his parents and preserve their reputation, but they also provided enough intimidation to Li Shi, making her fearful and cautious.

As long as Li Shi was scared and didn’t cause trouble, the whole village would calm down considerably.

Others clearly shared that sentiment. Seeing Li Shi making a fuss, they wore expressions of disapproval, as if to say, “At your age, how can you still be so unreasonable?”

Li Shi’s face turned red with anger. When she noticed that a few women who usually didn’t get along with her were staring eagerly at the puddle beneath her, hoping to see if she had indeed pissed herself from fear, her face turned even greener with embarrassment.

Her bitter expression changed from one of anger to one of mortification, wishing she could just faint on the spot.

***

“Old Second! Old Second!”

An elderly male voice came from the outskirts of the crowd. It was Su Kuishan, who had arrived with his third son.

Hearing that his second son and wife had quarreled and even come to blows, Su Kuishan couldn’t stay put and had hurried over.

He was puzzled. How had a simple matter escalated to physical conflict?

Over the years, they had indeed neglected the second son, and the recent gossip in the village had been quite harsh. But hadn’t they tried to make up for it? They had arranged for a widow to come in and help with child-rearing, and even when the widow’s child had taken his surname, he could still carry on the family line.

Su Kuishan had always felt that daughters were inferior to sons. Even if he set up a household for his daughter and she had children who took the second son’s surname, Su Kuishan still felt it was not proper. Women shouldn’t be heads of households; that role should belong to men.

Li Shi had told him that the woman they found was very fertile. Although the second son claimed he couldn’t father children, what if the widow proved to be successful?

Su Kuishan believed they had chosen a very good candidate in that widow. To hear that the second son wasn’t only ungrateful but also fighting with Li Shi was completely unacceptable.

The father and son squeezed into the crowd and went straight to help Li Shi to her feet.

However, as soon as they helped her up, the puddle of water that Li Shi had previously tried to hide was fully revealed.