Chapter 493: Get Out

“Enough, Second Brother’s wife. Let your elder brother finish what he has to say.”

No matter the situation, Old Madam Zhu always stood firmly on the side of her eldest son. Hearing the unmistakable sarcasm in Madam Chen’s words, she frowned slightly and spoke up.

Her intervention caused Madam Chen’s brows to knit sharply together.

Under normal circumstances, Madam Chen would certainly have snapped back with a few sharp retorts. But now… her heart was completely occupied by thoughts of Zhu Ping’an. Nothing else seemed important anymore.

So this time she merely frowned, turned her head aside, and remained silent.

Old Madam Zhu’s favoritism had never been a secret. It had gone on for years.

Madam Chen had long since given up expecting fairness from her.

Beside her, Zhu Ping’an’s father quietly cast a reassuring glance in her direction.

Ever since the news of Ping’an’s accident arrived, Madam Chen had barely eaten for two days. Her body had grown terribly weak. Just moments earlier, despite her condition, she had even instructed Juan’er to fetch cloth for the old couple to make new clothes.

Yet now Old Madam Zhu’s blatant partiality had surfaced again.

Zhu Ping’an’s father feared that if Madam Chen grew angry, her frail body might not endure it.

Old Madam Zhu, seeing Madam Chen avert her gaze without responding, felt rather pleased.

The wrinkles on her face relaxed as she nodded faintly in satisfaction.

She had always believed that her obedient second son, Zhu Shouyi, had slowly changed after marrying Madam Chen. In her mind, it was all Madam Chen’s influence that had “corrupted” him.

Now, seeing Madam Chen remain silent, Old Madam Zhu felt she had clearly gained the upper hand in this quiet contest between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.

“Elder Brother,” Zhu Ping’an’s father asked after comforting Madam Chen, “just now you mentioned something about my family’s future. What exactly did you mean?”

Zhu Shouren slowly lifted his teacup and took a small sip before speaking in a measured tone.

“Zhī’er’s accident has saddened everyone greatly. But life must still go on.”

Before Zhu Ping’an’s father could respond, Madam Chen had already reached her limit.

The words struck her ears like a blade.

“Zhī’er’s accident?”

Her expression instantly darkened.

Her brows twisted together, her eyes widening as she stared coldly at Zhu Shouren—so fiercely that it seemed as if she might devour him alive.

“Sister-in-law… the dead cannot return to life…” Zhu Shouren sighed, shaking his head slightly, feeling that Madam Chen was becoming somewhat irrational.

The dead cannot return…

Dead…

The single word “dead” echoed inside Madam Chen’s mind like a hammer striking steel.

It was the one word she could not bear to hear.

That word was like a poisoned dagger driven straight into her heart.

Except the blade wasn’t piercing her—

It was stabbing into her Zhī’er, leaving him bleeding.

Who says my Zhī’er is dead?!

My Zhī’er is only missing!

He will come back… he will definitely come back!

Why are you cursing my son like this?

What kind of elder speaks this way? Not only do you refuse to help—you sit here uttering curses!

Madam Chen’s teeth clenched so tightly that they produced a grinding sound.

The fury in her eyes was completely undisguised.

She looked like a lioness returning from the hunt only to discover hyenas had killed her cubs. Her eyes were bloodshot, and the rage boiling within her surged like a volcano preparing to erupt.

The eruption was already unstoppable.

“Sister-in-law, one must look forward. Even if Zhī’er knew this in the afterlife, he wouldn’t—”

Seeing Madam Chen’s agitation, Zhu Shouren mistakenly believed his words were having an effect. Encouraged, he pressed on eagerly.

But his next words were like driving the blade in deeper.

Afterlife…

The phrase struck like thunder.

“Elder Brother!” Zhu Ping’an’s father finally could not endure it any longer.

Just moments ago he had spoken of death.

Now he was talking about the afterlife.

Every word out of his mouth revolved around the idea that Zhī’er was dead.

Who said my Zhī’er is dead?!

How badly do you wish for my son’s death?

Why had they arranged the wedding for luck?

Why had the in-laws and Dàchuan gone out to sea?

Everyone was doing everything they could to ensure Ping’an’s safe return.

And yet this man—

Not only did he refuse to help, he sat here repeatedly cursing her son with death.

Once.

Twice.

Again and again.

What mother could possibly endure that?

“Get out!”

Madam Chen exploded.

Her voice roared through the hall like a volcanic eruption.

In one swift motion she seized the freshly poured cup of hot tea from the table and hurled it straight into Zhu Shouren’s face.

The steaming liquid splashed over his head and cheeks.

Then she rose trembling to her feet, her arm shaking as she pointed toward the doorway.

Her blazing eyes locked onto him.

“Get out!”

Zhu Shouren was stunned.

He had been speaking enthusiastically only moments before.

The sudden splash of boiling tea caught him completely off guard. It scalded his skin, causing him to grimace and gasp. His face reddened instantly, and a blister began forming on his forehead.

But he was not the only one stunned.

Old Master Zhu, Old Madam Zhu, and the others were equally dumbfounded.

In the past, when they visited Zhu Ping’an’s household, Madam Chen might be displeased or speak sarcastically—but she had never acted like this.

The word “get out” carried a heavy insult.

Never before had she said something so direct and harsh.

The scene left everyone speechless.

Zhu Shouren shook droplets of tea from his sleeves, then raised his head dramatically and sighed toward the heavens.

“I once entrusted my heart to the bright moon,” he lamented, “yet who knew the moon would shine upon the gutter instead. Such disgrace to scholarship… disgrace indeed…”

He spoke as though he were a misunderstood scholar humiliated by uncultured soldiers—an image of patient dignity enduring injustice.

“Shouyi’s wife, what are you doing?” Old Madam Zhu demanded angrily, feeling her dignity had been trampled.

“Sister-in-law,” the eldest aunt added irritably, “we came here with good intentions to help you, and this is how you treat us? Truly turning kindness into ingratitude.”

“Second Aunt, what are you doing?” Zhu Pingjun’s wife gasped, covering her mouth with a handkerchief in exaggerated shock.

Old Master Zhu said nothing, but he glared sharply at Zhu Ping’an’s father, clearly blaming him for failing to control his wife.

Zhu Ping’an’s father gently placed a hand on Madam Chen’s back, trying to soothe her breathing.

Then he lifted his head and spoke quietly but firmly.

“Elder Brother. Father. Mother.”

“My Zhī’er is only missing.”

Madam Chen’s teeth clenched again.

“My Zhī’er is not dead!”

She repeated the words fiercely before pointing once more toward the door.

“My Zhī’er will definitely return. You—leave. You are not welcome here!”

Zhu Shouren froze for a moment.

Then a faint sneer curled at the corner of his lips.

Missing?

To him, that was nothing more than self-deception.

A ship lost in the vast sea, first attacked by pirates and then overturned by waves three or four zhang high… In the endless ocean, with no fresh water and nowhere to stand—

What difference was there between missing and dead?

In Zhu Shouren’s mind, the answer was obvious.

None.

Zhu Ping’an’s parents simply refused to face reality.

They could only hide behind the word missing to deceive themselves.

Self-delusion.

That was all it was.

Despite having boiling tea thrown at his face and being ordered to get out, Zhu Shouren had no intention of leaving.

Compared with the humiliation endured by Han Xin crawling between a man’s legs, this was nothing.

If Madam Chen could not bear to hear the word death, then he would simply avoid saying it.

For now, patience was necessary.

Thirty years on the east bank of the river, thirty years on the west.

The humiliation he suffered today would one day be repaid in full.

But first—

The matter of the land was far more important.

Once the land was transferred into his name, he would settle accounts with this shrew from the second branch.

Without land…

And without Zhī’er…

He would like to see then what she still had to be arrogant about.