The elder Tian left his second son behind and got off the kang. He called out to his eldest son in the main room, "Lao Da, guard this door. No one is allowed in."
"Huh? Okay."
Tian Lao Da, still contemplating the jar and the two gold bars, snapped back to attention when his father called him and quickly agreed.
After Elder Tian shut the door firmly, he sat on the kang, smoking his pipe in silence. The remaining Tian Yong Yi and Elder Tian dared not speak, seeing his grim expression, and waited quietly.
After finishing a bowl of tobacco, Elder Tian sighed and said, "Lao Er, Ping Ping cannot stay. If she stays, we will have to give the Chen family an explanation. Your wife's words just now, while seemingly worrying for the family, were actually protecting your foolish, unfocused daughter and contained a veiled threat."
"A stupid fool who committed a grave mistake actually deserves to eat steamed eggs? Lao Er, if Ping Ping eats steamed eggs, everyone in this household will be driven mad with anger. I intend to split the family and separate your family."
"Father?" Tian Yong Yi exclaimed. Splitting the family? And only his family? Wasn't this an obvious signal that he, Lao Er Tian, was being abandoned by the Tian family? "Father, we can't split the family."
"Not split?" Elder Tian stared into his second son's eyes. "Tell me, if we don't split, how can this family continue? Ping Ping caused such a huge mess, and I didn't punish her, only arranged for her immediate marriage. Your wife then threatened me."
"Does this family still have any place for your mother and me? Because of your daughter's loose tongue, after losing things, your wife and I have to endure her threats. She's using her daughter's uncontrollable mouth to threaten me."
"Ping Ping is a disaster whether she marries now or not. Why don't you just kick us all out? Let all the property of this family go to your second branch. Then, your wife should be satisfied, right? And your daughter's mouth will finally be under control?"
"Back then, you were the one who first agreed to adopt Jing Ya Tou, and then came back to discuss it with me, coaxing me into agreeing, wasn't it? Now it has become a knife at our throats, and the handle is in your wife's hand."
"Lao Er, tell me, what should your parents do to shut your daughter's mouth? Name your price, even if it means your father has to kowtow to your wife and daughter, as long as they let the Tian family go."
"Father," Tian Yong Yi was so scared by his father's words that he immediately knelt down, "Father, what you're saying is asking for your son's life."
"Slap!"
Elder Tian bent down and slapped Tian Lao Er across the face. "If your death could ensure the safety of everyone in the Tian family, I would not hesitate to tell you to die."
"But now, it's your wife, using your daughter's mouth, threatening me. Threatening me not to marry Ping Ping off as I please, threatening me to have your mother steam eggs for Ping Ping."
"What? You can't stand to see Jing Ya Tou eat steamed eggs for two days? Jing Ya Tou is not a member of the Tian family, but she can leave a way out for the Tian family and agree to leave to be exchanged in marriage."
"But what have the mother and daughter, who are members of the Tian family, done? Do they consider themselves part of the Tian family? Do they care about everyone in the Tian family?"
"One made a mistake and wants to eat, the other doesn't discipline her daughter but comes to threaten me. You are even worse, you're threatening me with your life!"
Elder Tian grew angrier as he spoke, clutching his chest, his face ashen.
"Old man, old man, don't scare me," Elder Tian's wife quickly rubbed his chest.
"Father!" Tian Yong Yi immediately stood up, supporting Elder Tian's weakening body, "Father!"
With a "bang," the door was pushed open, and Tian Lao Da rushed in, grabbing his younger brother. "Get away! Don't be so hypocritical here. The root of this problem was caused by you, and it was your daughter who told Tian Jing, and then she told Lu Jian Jun."
"Who knows who else she'll tell in the future? I agree to the demand for family division. Go ask your wife what it will take for her to leave us alone. I agree to give up all our assets, as long as she promises to leave us alone."
After roaring at his younger brother, Tian Lao Da went to pat Elder Tian's back. "Father, you must be well. Without you, this family will fall apart."
"Alas," Elder Tian sighed deeply. "Let it fall apart, let it fall apart. Once Ping Ping eats her steamed eggs, people's hearts will scatter. If we don't agree to her demands, and the gold bars and Jing Ya Tou's matter are leaked, who knows what crimes the Tian family will be accused of. Director Qi's mouth is..."
Seeing that his second son still didn't grasp the severity of the situation, Elder Tian could only state it plainly.
Director Qi? Tian Yong Yi shivered. Director Qi was the best at exaggerating issues and most enthusiastic about protecting the rights of women and children...
Splitting the family was not an option. Relying on him and his two sons, he wouldn't be able to suppress his father-in-law's family, nor control Ping Ping's troublemaking mouth.
"Father, Father, I don't want to split the family. Please don't separate us. For decades, you've strategically guided the Tian family through all these storms. As long as we don't split, whatever Father says, we'll do."
"Really?" Elder Tian exchanged a look with his eldest son.
"Really, as long as this matter is suppressed." Tian Yong Yi was filled with guilt and fear, not noticing the glance exchanged between Elder Tian and his eldest son.
"Lao Da, go out and guard the door."
"Yes, Father." As Tian Lao Da went out, he gave his younger brother a fierce glare.
Elder Tian beckoned to his second son, signaling him to lean in.
When Tian Yong Yi heard his father's solution, his face turned pale, and he broke out in a cold sweat. His father was truly ruthless!
Elder Tian looked at his second son's frightened expression and patted his shoulder. "Ultimately, the trouble was caused by her. It must be destroyed at its root. Now, it's no longer about sacrificing the remaining two gold bars to solve it."
"Okay," Tian Yong Yi nodded with difficulty. "I'll do as you say. I'll go do it now."
Elder Tian nodded with satisfaction and said to his wife, "Get Lao Er five yuan."
Elder Tian's wife promptly fetched five yuan and gave it to her second son. After he took the money and left the room in a daze, she looked at the old man. "What did you say to Lao Er?"
Elder Tian pointed to his throat and lay down fully clothed. "I'll lie down for a while. I was so angry earlier I felt dizzy."
Elder Tian's wife helped the old man lie down and covered him with a quilt. "Are you going to continue finding her a husband?"
"Of course. Are we going to let her stay at home and make everyone angry and clutch their chests when they see her? All the wealth your mother and I have accumulated for a lifetime has been ruined by her loose tongue. From now on, you must also be careful with your mouth. Secrets are secrets, why do you keep chattering about them? Doesn't this invite eavesdropping?"
"Yes, yes." Elder Tian's wife quickly agreed. When the old man was so angry he almost fainted earlier, she was truly frightened. Without the old man, she wouldn't be able to control this family.
Just now, Chen Yun, that bitch, threatened the old man with a secret. If it were her, wouldn't she be threatened?
If there's one, there's two; if there's two, there's three. Wouldn't this family be controlled by Chen Yun, that bitch, from now on?
Not long after, Tian Yong Yi entered the kitchen with a paper packet of medicine. He stopped his wife, who was about to call Tian Ping for a meal. "You go eat first. Sister-in-law just put the eggs on to steam. Let Ping Ping sleep a bit longer."