Chapter 1808

Chen Xiaolan returned home half-believing, and went to the bedroom to visit her "good" son Su Xuewen.

After hesitating for a long time, she asked the question in her heart: "Your uncle said the reason you've been lying here these days is because you feel guilty toward Miss Huang. Your uncle also said you calculated against Miss Huang, using the family split to force her to cut ties with you. Is this true?"

"Mother, do you think I'm very despicable?" Su Xuewen's eyes filled with tears; he truly couldn't accept such a despicable version of himself.

It was his first time falling in love, and his first time calculating against his own feelings, forcing the woman to call off the wedding—he was truly shameless.

Chen Xiaolan's tears fell instantly. "You silly boy, you just did what you had to do; how can you call it despicable? If you really can't let go, go find her and marry her. I won't stop you two; I'll give you thirty percent of the family assets. You can move out and live your own life, and no one will bother you."

"No!"

Su Xuewen shook his head, refusing his mother's proposal.

"She and I have no fate. What she wants, I cannot give."

"How can you not give it? Tell me what she wants. Isn't it just a hundred taels of betrothal gifts? I'll make the decision; I'll pay for this betrothal gift." Chen Xiaolan took full responsibility; in the end, she still felt heartache for her son.

In a contest between mother and son, the one who inevitably loses is the mother.

Su Xuewen still shook his head. "A mere hundred taels of betrothal gifts cannot satisfy her at all. She wants Mother's teahouse; she wants to be the teahouse boss."

After saying this, he laughed at himself.

Chen Xiaolan was stunned. "She, she, she—did she tell you this herself?"

Su Xuewen didn't want to discuss this question and answered evasively: "You could say that. Mother, don't ask anymore. Anyway, there's no possibility between her and me. Don't go looking for her either, so as not to hinder her future."

"How can she be so greedy? She hasn't even married in yet, and I'm not dead yet, but she's already coveting my teahouse. What a 'capable' Huang family girl, she's bullying people too much! Xuewen, it's a good thing you broke it off with her. If you really married her, it would be like marrying a home-wrecker who would keep the house in turmoil. Your brother is still young; when he marries and has children in the future, wouldn't she, as the sister-in-law, make things difficult and try to suppress everyone at every turn?"

Chen Xiaolan was furious.

If not for her son's obstruction, she really wanted to take her aunts and cousins to the Huang family to smash things up and completely ruin Huang Dongxue's reputation so she couldn't get married.

A grown girl, not even properly engaged, yet daring to covet her "in-laws'" property and try to rake it into her own hands.

How unreasonable!

She had never seen such a greedy and mercenary person.

Other girls, even if they were pretending, would at least pretend to be virtuous and gentle.

Good heavens, Huang Dongxue was too lazy to even pretend; she had Xuewen pegged. She thought Xuewen couldn't do without her.

Fortunately, Xuewen woke up in time and completely cut off contact.

Thank heavens!

Chen Xiaolan thanked the Bodhisattva profusely and decided to pick a day to go to the temple to burn incense and fulfill her vow, and to find a suitable marriage for her "good" son.

"Mother, don't scold her; I'm also at fault in this matter. If I hadn't told her too much about the family, she wouldn't have had those ideas." Su Xuewen still loved Huang Dongxue after all, and couldn't bear to hear others scold her.

For things to have reached this point, he bore an inescapable responsibility.

As a man, he had thought of the major matter of marriage too simply. He thought that as long as two people liked each other, they could be together. He completely ignored the reality of their needs.

The Huang family needed money.

Not a one-time buyout, but a long-term, continuous supply of money.

Huang's father was crippled but unwilling to be idle, often causing trouble, and every time he caused trouble, it cost money.

Huang's mother was in poor health and took medicine long-term. Once she had a flare-up, it cost at least seven or eight taels of silver, and as much as ten or twenty taels. Accumulated, it was a significant expense every year.

Those younger brothers and sisters of the Huang family hadn't grown up yet, couldn't earn money, and needed someone to raise them. Eating and dressing—everything required silver.

The younger Huang brother needed to study; only by studying could he find work, and only by studying could he have a way out.

In the capital, if you went out to find a job, literacy was a basic requirement. People who couldn't read could only go to the docks or warehouses to carry heavy loads and earn manual labor wages.

It was hard to say about other places.

But in the capital, education was basically universal. No matter how poor the family was, they would grit their teeth and send their children to school for two years so they wouldn't be illiterate. They didn't ask for fame, just to successfully secure a job and earn money to support themselves.

All of this required money.

The Huang family was a bottomless pit.

From the younger Huang brother studying, to earning money to support the family, to marrying and having children—every step required the financial help of the eldest sister, Huang Dongxue. Relying on him alone, with such a large family and such a heavy burden, he couldn't bear it.

This was the real reason his parents opposed this marriage.

But he had never thought about how to solve it before. He naively thought that relying on his own income would cover all the expenses.

Calculating carefully, it couldn't cover it at all. He still had to rely on his parents' support.

But on what grounds?

On what grounds should they support the in-laws?

His parents had no responsibility toward the Huang family; why should they bear this expenditure?

Since he couldn't solve it, he could only painfully break it off and let each go their own way.

Moreover, he couldn't accept Huang Dongxue coveting the family's teahouse; that was his mother's dowry. It wasn't a public asset. His mother could give it to whoever she wanted.

He had never thought about getting the teahouse, but Huang Dongxue had thought of it and considered it a matter of course.

Breaking it off was good!

Breaking it off meant everyone could be at ease, and the family could be harmonious.

It was just that his heart still hurt! It hurt so much he wanted to cry.

Chen Xiaolan sighed and didn't try to persuade him further. "Rest well and get your health back. Don't worry about the yamen; I've already put in a word, and they've approved a month's leave for you."

"Mm!"

Su Xuewen nodded.

"If you're really feeling miserable, why not go to your uncle's place? Let him take you out to relax?"

"No!"

Su Xuewen only wanted to lick his wounds alone; going to his uncle's place put too much pressure on him. He was afraid of facing his uncle's eyes that saw through everything, and he was even more afraid of his uncle's loud mockery.

Chen Xiaolan could only sigh helplessly.

Later, she secretly went to the Huang family to take a look, wanting to know Huang Dongxue's situation.

After asking around, she learned that Huang Dongxue was actually going on blind dates.

She was instantly furious.

Her son was at home acting like he was dying, unable to eat a few bites of food. Yet Huang Dongxue was acting like nothing had happened, already starting to go on blind dates and preparing to marry someone else.

If she weren't alone and afraid she couldn't win a fight, she would have long since rushed to the Huang family to ask Huang's parents how they were raising their daughter and if she had any sense of shame at all.

She returned home full of anger, unable to reconcile herself no matter how she thought about it.

She decisively told Su Xuewen the news of Huang Dongxue's blind date.

"You're just a fool! She turned around and forgot you, yet you're at home mourning the spring and grieving the autumn, acting like you're dying. If you're a man, pull yourself together and don't let people look down on you. No matter what, you cannot lose to that woman surnamed Huang."

"She is her, I am me! I have my own plans. Mother, stop worrying about me, let me have some peace. When my leave ends, I will go to the yamen to work on time."

Su Xuewen felt a bit sad—how could she forget so quickly?

But he could hold on.

He wouldn't fall!

He had to be strong!