Chapter 183: Fainted from Anger

Xing’er pushed him away. "No. Wait until your mother comes to my house to propose marriage... then I... I’ll—" Before she could finish, Xing’er turned and ran.

Shanzi stood there watching her retreating figure. It wasn’t until Xing’er had rounded the corner and disappeared from sight that he started listlessly walking back.

Shanzimama had finished washing the bowls and was now inside, splitting lotus seeds.

The Jiangnan region was a major producer of lotus seeds.

Once fresh lotus seeds were picked and sun-dried, their dark, greenish-black shells became incredibly hard.

They had to be split open on a wooden block with a special cleaver.

The pay was a few coppers for every pound split, and Shanzimama had been doing it at home every day recently, managing to earn several dozen coppers a day.

Shanzimama was completely absorbed in her work when Shanzi’s sullen, muffled voice sounded by her ear, "Mom—"

Shanzimama looked back. "Weren’t you going to hang out with Sanlang? How come you’re back so soon?"

Shanzi sat down sullenly, lowering his head into his hands. "Mom, I want to get married."

"What—" Shanzimama was so startled that her hand slipped. The lotus seed rolled away, and she nearly chopped her own hand.

Shanzi lifted his head. "I want to marry Xing’er. Mom, you should ask someone to go to her house and propose marriage."

Shanzimama tossed her cleaver aside. "Get married? Where would we get the money for you to get married?"

"Do you think marriage doesn’t require a betrothal gift?"

"Haven’t you seen all the cuts on my hands? How can you say such a thing at a time like this!"

The lotus seeds were round and hard to split. It was easy to cut your hand, especially when you were just starting out and weren’t skilled yet.

Shanzi’s neck stiffened. "Don’t we still have over ten taels of silver?"

"Young Master Su isn’t pressing us to pay back the silver right now, and that’s enough money for a betrothal gift!"

Shanzimama was furious. She swung the door shut and snapped, "Let me tell you something! I might let it slide if it were anyone else, but you marrying Xing’er? Absolutely not!"

"Her mother is bad news, and that girl Xing’er is no better! If she were a proper girl, she wouldn’t be sneaking around and flirting with you!"

Her voice softened as she continued, "It’s not that I don’t want to find you a wife. If that Xing’er girl were half as capable as Little Fei, I’d grit my teeth and arrange the marriage for you. But Xing’er is stupid and lazy—she can’t even compare to Little Fei’s little finger!"

Although Shanzimama no longer dared to imagine having Gu Fei as a daughter-in-law, she had unconsciously made Gu Fei the benchmark for any potential candidate.

Shanzi’s eyes went red as he glared at his mother. "Don’t you dare mention Little Fei to me! I hate her! I’m marrying Xing’er, so give me the silver! I’ll find someone to make the proposal myself!"

Shanzimama stared blankly at her son. ’There’s a saying: "A son who takes a wife forgets his mother." He hasn’t even married her yet, and he’s already looking at me like he wants to eat me alive!’

’I’m a widow; he’s all I have to depend on for the latter half of my life. I always thought of us as a loving mother and a filial son, but I never imagined he could be so defiant.’

A wave of pure rage washed over Shanzimama. She pointed a trembling finger at Shanzi. "You... You...!"

Her body swayed, and she crumpled to the floor.

Seeing his mother faint, Shanzi finally panicked. He threw himself down beside her, shouting, "Mom! Mom—"

He shook her for a while, but she didn’t stir. Panicked, Shanzi ran outside and shouted to their neighbor across the way, Aunt Liu. "Aunt Liu! My mom fainted! Please, come take a look!"

Xing’er, who was just stepping outside to toss out some water, heard Shanzi’s shouts and was instantly filled with panic. She hurried back inside, tripping over the threshold and nearly falling as she went.

Aunt Liu heard the commotion and came out, rushing over to Shanzi’s house.

Inside, she found Shanzimama lying on the floor. Aunt Liu knelt down and gave the philtrum under Shanzimama’s nose a hard pinch. Shanzimama let out a long groan—"Aiii..."—and slowly opened her eyes.