Chapter 2546: 2546: We Must Split the Family!
Chapter 2546: Chapter 2546: We Must Split the Family!
She quickly clammed up, not daring to say another bad word about An Jiuyue.
Her grandson had already been stripped of his scholar status; if it happened again, it might be their heads next, right?
“So what do we do now, Que’er? Why don’t you take some money and try to pull some strings at the county government?” she suggested, thinking they should at least try something else.
“No…”
An Que instinctively wanted to say it was unnecessary, it wouldn’t help.
But just as he was about to speak, a glint appeared in his eyes. Now that he was no longer a scholar, his future career path was ruined. With Old Lady An’s mercenary nature, a grandson with no value would likely be ignored by her in the future.
He needed to get as much money as he could while Old Lady An was still unaware of the situation.
Money is only truly his if it’s in his hands. If it stayed with Old Lady An, who knows when she might decide to invest in another grandson?
He remembered that his cousin An Cheng from the second branch also loved to read and write.
“Granny, how much money do you still have?”
“I…”
Old Lady An opened her mouth, just about to speak, but saw everyone in the courtyard staring intently at her.
She immediately shut her mouth, glared at them fiercely, then pulled out a not-too-unpleasant smile at her treasured grandson.
“Que’er, come with granny.”
She obviously didn’t want the family knowing how much money there was at home, so she signaled An Que to follow her into her room.
“See that? That’s your mother for you.”
Auntie Mei nudged her husband with her elbow, reminding him.
Deep down, she knew this grandson, An Que, was a lost cause—his life was destined to be this way. Yet, they still wanted to gamble with money.
And what about her son? He could only be a farmer who could barely recognize a few characters. How could she accept this?
Second Elder An also glared fiercely at the backs of Old Lady An and An Que as they entered the room, feeling quite uncomfortable. Didn’t the family money also belong to him? What did it mean to so openly take An Que inside to get the money?
“We must split the family!” he ground his teeth, saying.
“Now you’re finally talking some sense,” Auntie Mei was pleased.
As long as the family was divided, even if she had to eat bark and chaff, she would let her son Cheeng’er go to the academy. She refused to believe her son was really less intelligent than An Que.
As long as her son could pass the child examination, he would be better than An Que. If he became a scholar, even better.
“Once your mother comes out, bring up the idea of dividing the family. I don’t want to live under the same roof with the older branch anymore. It’s too unsettling!”
“Alright, I’ll bring it up.”
Second Elder An also didn’t want to continue like this.
Year-round, he worked like an ox for this family, reaping no benefits. Even his children were not well regarded.
“Once mother comes out, I will…”
“Ah!”
Before Second Elder An could finish, a sharp scream from Old Lady An was heard coming from the room.
Everyone, upon hearing the scream, rushed toward the room.
“What happened, what’s going on? Mother, are you alright? Que’er, you… what happened?” Older An was the first to rush to the door and pushed it open.
He saw his son standing not far from the door, while his mother, Old Lady An, sat on the bed clutching an earthen jar.
“How can it not be there? Where’s my money gone? How could it just disappear?”