Chapter 50.2

Translated by Aviana

“Mother, can you not make any more troubles. I implore you. The second brother’s injury still hasn’t healed, even second sao is pregnant……” Yang Tiegen, as clumsy-mouthed as he was, could only incoherently repeat the same words again and again.

“I, this old lady, isn’t making any trouble. This old lady is speaking the truth……This old lady wants to kick him out of the house….” Complex emotions such as anxiousness, fury, and embarrassment surged within He-shi. Fury because lao’er actually dared to fling a stool at her just because of that deplorable thing. She had always been the one to ride roughshod over others. But now, her face was completely lost, and that scene was even witnessed by laosan and Yao-shi, embarrassing her to the max.

老二 (lǎo’èr): an appellation used to address the third child of the family

作威作福 (zuò wēi zuò fú): tyrannical abuse (idiom); riding roughshod over people

老三 (lǎo sān): an appellation used to address the third child of the family

And at this moment, Yang Tiegen just happened to haul her out, pleading leniency for the second branch’s couple, causing her to vent her bellyful of anger on Yang Tiegen.

“These two unfilial sons; neither is he filial nor are you. Why did this old lady have to give birth to the two of you? You were born only to collect debts from this old lady, driving me mad…..” He-shi tore into Yang Tiegen as a string of curses continued to spew out of her mouth as if she had gone insane. “This old lady will kick them out of the family; what’s the use of keeping two goof-for-nothing-wastes……”

He-shi kept hurling curses after curses as she continued to hit and scratch all over his face and throat….

Yao-shi intended to pull He-shi away, to stop her from hitting Yang Tiegen, but was single-handedly slapped by He-shi, causing her to slump on the floor.

While the two little girls, upon watching their parents being hit by their grandmother, stepped up, wishing to stop her grandmother from hitting their father and mother. However, the strength they possessed was minuscule and were flung onto the ground by a wave of He-shi’s palm.

“Waah… mother… father..”

The two girls began bawling, feeling sorrowful and intimidated.

From the time He-shi flounced to the second branch’s room, Wang-shi had been watching the spectacle with great gusto from the kitchen entrance. At this moment, cooking the meals was the least of her concern. She had always been the one to take joy in calamity and delight in other’s disasters. Even upon seeing that they began to tussle, she didn’t take the initiative to stop them. Rather, she remained standing there with her hands folded in front of her chest, staring with excitement.

幸灾乐祸 (xìng zāi lè huò): lit. to take joy in calamity and delight in disaster (idiom); fig. to rejoice in other people’s misfortune / Schadenfreude

Yang Tiegen drooped his head, avoiding He-shi’s hands. His face was in a hideous mess with scratches all over his face. However, he didn’t dare to push He-shi’s hands away and could only let her hit wherever she wished.

The wails of the two kids were ringing his ear; at this moment, he was on the verge of explosion from the throbs of the pain.

For this sort of family and this sort of mother…….

“Don’t you dare stop me! You are also trash, and your wife is also trash who couldn’t lay eggs, you spineless coward. If you stop me once more, I will expel your entire family too…”

Yao-shi gazed at her husband being bashed and her daughters being flung out in such a manner. And then again heard He-shi curse her husband and her atrociously and was unable to endure any longer; the string in her head snapped ‘pa’.

With a shriek and red eyes, she dashed forward, pushing He-shi.

“You don’t want people to live, do you?”

Yao-shi’s usual despondent face was awfully distorted as she questioned He-shi with frightening red eyes, swollen face, and disheveled hair.

“…. haven’t you suppressed me enough at home every day, even calling me a hen who can’t lay eggs. You are my mother-in-law, you can suppress me…… But now, you are suppressing even my second sao and second brother…. hitting my man, hitting my children…. are you a human? I want to ask, are you even a human?” Yao-shi seemed to be deranged as she hysterically pointed her finger at the second branch’s room and her two children slumped on the ground.

She had always remained honest and taciturn at home. But now, she was unable to bear the agonizing torment by this woman in front of her, who was her so-called ‘mother-in-law’.

When tormenting others, He-shi seldom physically abuses. She had always abused Yao-shi verbally-hurling curses at her, deriding her, giving her a bad face, looking at her with disdain, and such.

Atrocious hurling of abuses, terribly humiliating words…..Yao-shi had always been subjected to such hurtful abuses day after day. But she kept silent in cowardice time and again…

She dared not resist her because this old woman was her mother-in-law. Her husband also didn’t dare to defy her because he was filial to her. Furthermore, they lacked a son and were rendered powerless. Yang Tiegen felt distressed for his wife, but he didn’t dare to disobey his mother. Stifled and powerless, he could only vent all his resentment at work all day long. It was unlikely for him to not bear a grudge all the while, but it was suppressed by him deep in his heart….

Even verbal abuse could drive people to insanity.

When feelings suppressed over a long time could no longer be suppressed, even a coward can explode.

Currently, such was the case with Yao-shi.

“…You want people to drive people to insanity, right? Are you satisfied? Do you want to hound everyone to death before you get satisfied…?”

With a shriek, He-shi wanted to pounce on Yao-shi to fight but was hugged by Yang Tiegen from behind.

“…Yao-shi, you damn hen who can’t lay eggs, you dare to push this old lady…. This old lady will have my laosan divorce you out. You little slut, a dog in the manger, I will beat you to death…..”

占着茅坑不拉屎 (zhàn zhe máo kēng bù lā shǐ): lit. to occupy a latrine but not shit (proverb) / fig. to be a dog in the manger

“Come, come, you want to beat me, you beat all of us to death…..after all of us will die, you alone can live peacefully….” Yao-shi shrieked frantically. Then abruptly, she straightened up and dashed to the kitchen with disheveled hair.

While striding into the kitchen, when she brushed past Wang-shi, Wang-shi stumbled back, frightened.

When Yao-shi marched out, she had a kitchen knife in her hand.

Hysterically, she stuffed the knife in her hands into He-shi’s, “Come, come, since you don’t want us to live, hack us to death with this…. come, stab hard…. stab us to death, okay.”

After stuffing the knife into He-shi’s hands, Yao-shi seized her hand and directed the knife towards herself. From where would He-shi get the courage to stab someone. When Yao-shi pulled her hands towards herself, she could only withdraw her hands back.

He-shi was utterly frightened by her deranged third daughter-in-law. She collapsed onto the ground with a pale face. The knife in her hands also slipped down.

Disregarding the slumped He-shi, Yang Tiegen stepped forward and took his wife into her hands.

“Wife…” Yang Tiegen embraced Yao-shi; his cheeks streamed with painful tears.

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