I bring bad luck to my husband, you bring bad luck to your wife.

"The second son got in through an exam, and he's just a minor constable; he doesn't have that much power," Yang's mother tried her best to defend her son.

"We don't even want to be little constables. Who knows when we might get into trouble? Ugh!" Auntie stormed off in anger.

Later, my aunt's daughter became the mistress of a tea merchant who grew tea.

The tea merchant bought Dong Shanshan a house in town and also hired maids and nannies to serve her.

He would come to Tong Shanshan's place every few days to stay for a few days.

That house was much bigger than the Yang family's courtyard house, and it was very grand. Moreover, the tea merchant really treated Tong Shanshan like a noble lady, with jewelry and ornaments she wore every day, and she never wore the same thing twice.

The tea merchant also arranged a good job for Tong Shenghu.

Let him go to the tea garden in the countryside as a supervisor. He doesn't have to do anything but watch the tea farmers work. He can earn three taels of silver a month.

My aunt thinks her daughter is about to become a phoenix, and their family is about to rise to prominence.

They looked down on the Yang family, these "snobbish" relatives.

The two families gradually severed ties.

She didn't even attend Yang Tongchuan's wedding.

-----------

When Yang Tongchuan and Xiangxi returned home, Yang Tongshan and Mingle were already inside.

My aunt has amazing lung capacity; she's been crying non-stop.

The two Yang brothers exchanged a glance.

No one spoke.

Yang Tongshan even told Yanzi that there was no need to prepare dinner yet, but to boil more water and brew some tea.

Xiangxi sat next to Yang Tongchuan, not seeing her father-in-law.

"Where did Dad go?"

"Dad gets anxious just looking at Auntie, he's probably gone away." Yang Tongchuan added a soft cushion behind Xiangxi to make him more comfortable.

Yang Tongchuan saw himself as someone who, as long as his elder brother was around, was just a mascot to keep things in order, and didn't have to worry about anything.

"If you're tired, go back to your room and rest. I reckon your aunt will cry for a while longer before we can get down to business." Yang Tongchuan patted Xiangxi's hand. Having a hand warmer really makes a difference; it's so warm.

"I'm fine, it's just that my sister-in-law looks terrible," Xiangxi whispered.

"Sigh, my aunt once advised my brother to divorce his wife and remarry, and the woman he found to be his second wife was a relative from my uncle's side. That woman was a widow with two sons. My aunt assured my mother that this woman would definitely be fertile, and that my brother would not lose out by marrying her." Yang Tongchuan thought about the absurd things his aunt had done over the years, and he didn't know how to explain it to Xiangxi.

When Dong Shanshan became that tea merchant's mistress, Yang Tongchuan's mother strongly dissuaded her.

Not to mention that the man is almost sixty years old, older than Tong Shanshan's father.

Take this tea merchant, for example. We don't even know the true situation of his family, yet he gave his daughter to him. That's really inappropriate.

Furthermore, the affair is illegitimate and improper. Why would a perfectly good girl demean herself like this?

But the aunt wouldn't listen. She felt that Yang's mother couldn't stand seeing their family living a good life and was deliberately trying to sabotage them. The two sisters even had a big fight over this.

______________

"My life is so hard. I've never had enough to eat since I was a child, and I almost didn't survive several times. Even fortune tellers say I have bad luck. Let me die, then I can enjoy life. God, please take me away quickly." Xiangxi felt that her aunt had said this before.

Upon hearing this, I realized my aunt was about to start crying again.

Yang Tongshan felt that they were probably out of words.

"Auntie, you must be tired. Have some tea." Yang Tongshan handed his aunt a cup of tea when he saw that she was almost exhausted.

Yang Tongchuan sat on the other side; he was too lazy to even maintain a semblance of harmony anymore.

"Alright, the whole family is sitting here. What's the matter? Just say it." Yang's mother was already annoyed.

"Shanshan's man is gone!" Auntie cried, hugging Yang's mother.

"My poor daughter. I thought an older man would be kind to her, but she turned out to be a heartless scoundrel."

[Older people can be caring? Pshaw, their sons are probably older than Tong Shanshan.] Yang Tongchuan thought to himself.

"Auntie, please explain the situation clearly. If there's anything we can help you with, just let us know."

"My dear nephew, you really do care about your aunt. It was worth it for raising you from infancy, changing your diapers and feeding you." The aunt's words were particularly harsh.

It turns out that the tea merchant hadn't visited Shanshan for almost half a year.

This has never happened before.

Moreover, in the past six months, not only has the person not come, but the money has also not been delivered.

Tong Shanshan paid for all the monthly wages of the maids and servants in the courtyard herself.

We're almost at the point where we have to pawn our jewelry to make ends meet.

"What exactly do you want? Just say it, stop wailing and howling." Yang's mother was getting a headache from all the noise.

"I want Tongshan and Tongchuan to come with me to that man's house to find her. Whether she's dead or alive, her family needs to give us an explanation. My daughter can't let him sleep with her for so many years for nothing. Even if he doesn't want us anymore, he should still give us compensation for the losses."

puff

Upon hearing the words "wear and tear costs," Yang Tongchuan couldn't help but laugh.

He could never go; he couldn't bear the embarrassment.

Yang Tongshan glanced at his younger brother, telling him to tone it down.

Yang Tongchuan has handled countless cases, but it is still rare to encounter someone as eccentric as his aunt.

"Auntie, the old man hasn't come for so long, didn't you even ask Shenghu to inquire about him? You've just been waiting like this for months?"

Yang Tongshan couldn't believe that the Tong family hadn't reacted at all after so long.

"Your brother... your brother is injured and is recovering at home."

"How did you get hurt? Were you beaten up? Should I have the person who injured you arrested and taken to the yamen?" Yang Tongchuan naturally didn't believe his aunt's words.

"No, no, I fell down on my own." The aunt didn't dare to tell the truth.

Tong Shenghu had actually stopped working at the tea plantation a long time ago. He found it boring in the countryside and returned home after less than two months.

Then he just stayed at home, doing nothing.

My aunt also told him to go to that tea merchant and find someone.

As a result, Tong Shenghu spoke recklessly, immediately saying that he wanted to find his brother-in-law and demanding that his brother-in-law give him living expenses. As a result, he was beaten up by the gatekeeper's servant and thrown back.

The servants who brought Tong Shenghu back were several burly men who didn't look like good people.

The servant also warned them to behave themselves, or they would be in big trouble.

My aunt then thought of calling a few more people to bolster her courage, and then trying again.

"It must have been that tea merchant who seduced and then abandoned her. My daughter's life is so miserable."

My aunt started to cry again after she finished speaking.

"Auntie, that old man is over sixty now, right? If he had a son, his son would be over forty by now, and would be old enough to manage the household. Maybe something has happened in the family that's making it inconvenient for him to come see Sister Shanshan. Why don't you wait and see?" Yang Tongshan was still trying to reason with his aunt.

"What are you waiting for? If he's not good enough, don't hold our Shanshan back. Shanshan can find someone better."

Upon hearing this, Yang Tongchuan suddenly realized that his own father was farsighted and quick to act. He wouldn't have to suffer sitting around.

"Auntie, my new shop just opened and I'm swamped with work. The Tongchuan government office is also full of cases, and he hasn't had a day off in ages. We don't have time to go out with you to find people."

"If you won't go, you can find me some people, the kind who can stand behind me so that the other person won't dare to bully me." The aunt was actually a little scared when she saw her son being beaten so badly.

"We're a legitimate government office; we don't have the kind of people you're talking about."

Yang Tongchuan refused.