Chapter 79 - 79: A Serious Slap in the Face
“Uncle Tong, your words are too harsh!” Sun Junyan explained with a flushed face, “1 just came back from the academy today and brought home some cold fried jelly and fried noodle strips. I accidentally found out that these two foods may be related to Xiaomai. Meipan and my mother are a bit impulsive, so…”
“Enough of your useless chatter.” Tong Tiehu brutally interrupted him, his tone filled with undisguised mockery, “All 1 see is how your Qiao family aggressively came to seize Changsun’s property!”
“Our village has only a mere scholar, and I originally had high hopes for you. Who knew your character would be so unacceptable! You completely twisted blatant robbery into concern for Xiaomai. Do you really think you’re smarter than others because you’ve read a few more books?”
“So, everyone else here is a fool except for you?”
These two rhetorical questions, like two slaps, harshly struck Sun Junyan’s face, turning him pale.
And to call him of all people, of poor character!
These four words are too heavy for a scholar to bear. He opened his mouth, wanting to argue, “Uncle Tong…”
“Don’t tell me you’re unaware that your mother has been abusing your second brother and his wife all these years?!” Tong Tiehu interrupted his explanation again, rudely questioning back, his sharp gaze pinned on him, making him feel terribly uncomfortable.
“I…” Sun Junyan opened his mouth, but all the words in his chest were stifled under Tong Tiehu’s piercing gaze, unable to voice them.
Although those eyes were old, they were not murky, his words should really come out.
The humiliation he would face if he did, would be even more severe.
The two rhetorical questions just now were already slaps in the face, anything harsher would be like being beaten with a shoe…
Embarrassed in front of so many people, he was unable to defend himself.
Although he was a scholar and respected by the villagers, he was just a student, a young student who had just obtained the qualification for the Imperial Examination. Tong Tiehu, though a low-ranking official in Daqi, was officially registered in the government office and completely outranked him.
How could this be…
Tong Tiehu never interfered with Qiao family matters before!
He clenched his fist in secret, dropped his eyes, take a deep breath, and said, “Uncle Tong, my second brother is my mother’s own son after all, she truly loves him.”
“Stop beating around the bush! Just tell me if you knew it or not!” Tong Tiehu ignored his nonsense, demanding a clear answer.
Sun Junyan took another deep breath and squeezed a few words out of his mouth reluctantly, “I tried to dissuade her.”
“Huh— ” Tong Tiehu sneered, his face and words filled with even deeper
ridicule, “Such persuasion as just now, twisting property seizure into loving care?”
Sun Junyan’s face turned from pale to flushed, “Uncle Tong, my mother really loves my second brother…”
As soon as he said this, he heard laughter.
Usually, people wouldn’t dare to laugh at him. His status as a scholar was enough to command the respect of most people in Anping Village. Moreover, his extraordinary temperament ensured that apart from the Tong family, everyone else was always polite to him.
He subconsciously looked towards the source of the laughter.
It was Qiao Xiaomai.
This unexpectedly changed niece, completely unexpected niece.
Qiao Xiaomai saw him looking over, chuckled, and asked in return, “Both Grandma and Uncle Five say that they love my dad, can 1 ask for some specifics about how you love him?”