Mother was not at the gambling house but obediently sitting in the courtyard under the west-facing crabapple tree, doing needlework.
Since the incident when my elder brother was imprisoned, she had restrained herself, reducing her gambling house visits from daily to once every three days, staying for only one hour and never carrying more than five taels of silver, which greatly relieved my brother and me. Seeing me enter with packages of snacks and gifts, she quickly put down her work and came to meet me, taking the items from my hands and saying, “Why did you bring so much back?”
I was surprised. Previously, when I returned home, she would be overjoyed and subtly hint at the family’s financial difficulties. This time, she seemed to care about my well-being, which was unusual.
I examined her. “Are you really my mother?”
Mother put the items down and gave me a knock on the head. “Silly girl! Can’t you recognize your own mother?!”
I felt relieved and pulled out a bank note, stuffing it into her hand. “This is money for my brother’s marriage and my younger sister’s dowry. Please keep it safe and don’t go to the gambling house anymore.”
Mother looked at the bank note, hesitating, seemingly engaged in an internal struggle. After the struggle, she gritted her teeth and pushed the note back into my hand. “Yao’er, you don’t need to bring money home anymore. Although your husband and in-laws are kind, they might have opinions over time. Your parents will take care of your brother and sister’s matters. You should focus more on your husband.”
I sensed something. Could mother have always thought these items and money came from the An family? In fact, the An family’s economic power was in my mother-in-law’s hands, and I naturally didn’t have the courage to ask her for money, let alone request it from An Jin. So I pushed the bank note back. “Mother, this is what I earned myself. Didn’t I always earn money by painting?”
