Splendid Twins

In the early autumn evening, the sun slowly sets, the sky is dyed golden, the breeze blows through the leaves gently swaying, and the mountains in the distance are shrouded in sunset glow, looking even more majestic.

Si Yao met a father and his two sons who were returning from work at the intersection. Si Yang saw her with sharp eyes and shouted with a grin:

"Yaoyao, where have you been?"

Si Yao approached and whispered, "After walking around the mountain, are you tired?"

"Not tired, not tired at all. Shopkeeper Wang is really a good man. I pay you for each day's work. Here, I'll give my money to Yaoyao and I'll go to town to buy you a hair flower."

Si Yang handed Si Yao the day's wages. The marks of sweat on his forehead were very obvious, and his bright eyes were full of enthusiasm and anticipation.

Si Yao took it with a smile. The twenty copper coins exuded the unique smell of a young man's sweat and were a little sticky.

Si Qing couldn't stand Si Yang's boasting, so he put his twenty cents in Si Yao's palm and said gently:

"Give Yaoyao flowers."

Si Yao felt warm in her heart, and calmly took it and put it in her pocket. The three siblings looked at Si Lao Er, six eyes staring at her. Si Lao Er covered his pocket and coughed in a pretentious manner:

"I am the head of the family. I have to give this money to your mother when I get home."

"Head of the family, let's go back. I'm starving."

Si Yang was the first to laugh and tease his father. Si Lao Er pretended to glare at him and walked forward alone. Si Yang walked between Si Yao and Si Qing, holding one of them by the arm with one hand and speaking in a low voice:

"Do you think this money can reach my mother?"

"Hard to say."

"Hanging."

Hearing what his elder brother and sister said, Si Yang pouted in grievance. Dad is not good enough and can't support their family at all!

After entering the courtyard, Si Yao saw Liu Niang squatting at the kitchen door washing a black pottery jar, and a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes.

Wang heard the noise and came out of the house. When she saw Si Lao Er, she wiped her eyes with her sleeve and sobbed:

"Second brother, you're back, go see mom..."

As soon as these words came out, Si Lao Er's face turned pale and he asked hurriedly:

"What's wrong, mother?"

Wang said nothing, but stepped aside to make way. Si Lao Er walked quickly to Si Po's room. Si Yao and her two siblings looked at each other. Si Qing touched the top of Si Yao's head.

"Go to mother's place. I'll go and take a look."

Si Yao saw that the whole family was gathered around Mrs. Si, and Liu Niang was washing the pot alone. She walked over, squatted down and asked:

"mother?"

Liu Niang lowered her head and muttered "hmm" without saying anything else. Si Yao's eyes darkened and he reached out to lift up Liu Niang's face. As expected, the slap mark on her face was very obvious. Si Yao looked very bad and asked patiently:

"Who hit me?"

It was the first time that Liu Niang saw Si Yao showing such a frightening expression. She gently pulled Si Yao's sleeve:

"Your grandparents are going to have to let out the anger they are holding in, so just bear with it. Yaoyao, don't be angry."

Si Yao looked at Liu Niang's almost pleading eyes and couldn't say anything more. He could only feel sorry for her misfortune and be angry at her for not fighting back!

"What's up with her?"

Si Yao glanced at Mrs. Si's room with cold eyes. Liu Niang touched her face and whispered:

"Your aunt said your grandma fainted this afternoon. Doctor Xin examined her and said it was caused by anger and she needed to rest, otherwise there was a risk of stroke. She also needed chicken soup to keep her appetite up."

When she came back from the fields, she happened to see her sister-in-law complaining to Dr. Xin that Yaoyao was disobedient. She spoke up for her daughter and this made her mother-in-law furious, so she was slapped in the face by her mother-in-law!

Si Yao's eyes turned cold, and her voice was light: "Where are the others?"

"They've all returned to town. Your aunt will leave in a few days."

Si Yao squinted her eyes, not knowing what she was thinking. She then went into the house, took out a tube of ointment and applied it on Liu Niang's face. There was silence between the mother and daughter.

In the room, Mrs. Si had a wet cloth on her forehead and was lying on the bed with her eyes closed, humming. When Mr. Si came in, Mr. Si pretended to have an discomfort in his throat and coughed lightly.

"Mom, what's wrong with you?"

Si Lao Er fell to the head of the bed and then knelt on the ground. When Mrs. Si heard the noise, her eyelids moved a few times, and then she opened her eyes tremblingly as if she had exhausted all her strength. Seeing Si Lao Er's worry on his face, she felt a little reluctant, but she had to listen to her husband...

"My son, I almost didn't get to see you... Alas, when I was pregnant with you, my family was fleeing famine, and I had to endure a whole day just to eat a bite. I wanted to be cruel and give birth to you, but you could already move at that time. I had to give birth to you at the risk of my own life..."

"Mom, please stop talking. I know how hard it has been for you. I haven't been able to let you enjoy life these years because I didn't have the ability. Now that you are like this, I feel bad..."

Si Lao Er had long forgotten the torture that Si Pozi had inflicted on him and his wife and children over the years. Tears welled up in his eyes and he held Si Pozi's hand tightly. The mother and son were about to hug each other and cry bitterly!

There was a hint of sarcasm in Si Qing's eyes. This was his father, without principles or bottom line. As long as grandma mentioned the past, he would forgive everything.

He also wanted fairness in the past, but in the end, after a struggle, he would turn around and everything would be back to normal. He had seen this trick many times.

Next, it’s time to make a request…

Mrs. Si wiped her tears, sniffed and said:

"Mother is already half buried in the earth. She has not enjoyed a good life in this life. I have already spent a lot of effort to raise you three brothers. Doctor Xin said that mother is at risk of stroke. He also advised me to eat and drink. How could I listen to this? I saw that your two sons had no future, and Yao girl was such a temper..."

"Mom, I'm sorry to have made you worry."

Si Lao Er looked extremely guilty. Seeing that Mrs. Si looked pale and thin, he reached out and took out the twenty cents he had earned today and put them in Mrs. Si's palm:

"This is what my son earned today. Take it and buy something for yourself."

Si Yang found this scene extremely dazzling. He turned his head to look at Old Man Si who was standing silently beside him, his eyelids drooping slightly to hide the deep meaning in his eyes.

"Where have you two been, brothers? You're covered in so much dirt!"

When Wang saw that Mrs. Si had accepted the money from Si Lao Er, she turned her eyes and stared at the two brothers Si Qing, pretending to be surprised.

Old Man Si looked up at the two brothers and was about to speak when Si Yao came in from the door and looked at Wang with a cold face:

"My brother and I went to the mountains. Why is it that my aunt-in-law cares about us? Does she want to make new clothes for us or make chicken soup for us?"

"You kid..."

Si Yao was too lazy to listen to her. She walked to the bedside and looked at Mrs. Si who kept saying “Ouch… Ouch…”. A hint of mockery flashed in her eyes. She pretended to be concerned and said:

"Grandma, you have to hold on a little longer. Otherwise, if you suddenly pass away just as my eldest cousin has just started his official career, it will be fine for us, but wouldn't all his efforts be wasted? He will have to resign and come back to mourn for you!"

Mrs. Si turned pale when she heard this. She was gone? Her son Yao had to resign?

How can that work!

The current emperor attaches great importance to filial piety. If the parents of a court official die while in office, no matter how high the official position he holds, he must resign from his post and return to his ancestral home to observe mourning for 27 months from the day he learns of the death. If she is the ancestor, the grandson must also resign from his post and observe mourning for a year!

Ah, how could she forget such an important thing? Mrs. Si rolled her eyes around with a guilty look. Old Man Si coughed and said:

"It's still Yao girl who reminded me in time. Your grandma is fine. It's normal to feel a little uncomfortable when you are old."

"Oh, I thought Dad was crying so hard because his milk was dying!"

Si Yao deliberately provoked Old Man Si. She had come to realize that the most sinister person in this family was this old man. The pillars in the wall were not very powerful!

"Bitch, why do you say that to me, Yao girl? Even though I never raised you, I am still your elder... wuwuwu..."

Mrs. Si was so angry that she cried. She was fine, why did she become ill? !

The older people get, the more they fear death!

"Yaoyao, you feed her..."

Si Lao Er was busy wiping Si Po's tears, then turned to look at Si Yao with a troubled and melancholy expression.

"Dad, did you know that mom was beaten?"

"What? I, I haven't had time to see it yet..."

Si Yao suddenly felt tired when she saw her father acting like he was unreliable. Such an irresponsible man is really not suitable to marry and have children!

"You two can go out first. Let your grandma take a nap. The eldest one will go get some chicken soup for your mother. Second brother, you can go back to the room."

Seeing that he had lost the opportunity, Old Man Si spoke in a calm voice, saying that he was afraid of this granddaughter in his heart, and he would not embarrass himself before he completely suppressed her!