BXBX NOVEL Chapter 69: At This Point
Mr. and Mrs. Su are so fond of the Fourth Daughter-in-law that as long as she asks, they will certainly agree, and for the Su Family, it is just a trivial matter that can be easily handled. Therefore, there will be no problem as long as the Fourth Daughter-in-law is willing to agree.
Su Wenyue also found Mrs. Li a bit odd, too enthusiastic, completely exceeding what she had imagined. Mrs. Liu, on the other hand, was not like Mrs. Li. It’s possible that Mrs. Li had genuine intentions, but Mrs. Liu, the kind of person who wouldn’t act without a benefit, had no reason to be so eager to please without a good motive. Su Wenyue did not believe that the little favors she had shown Mrs. Liu from time to time would warrant this level of attentiveness.
However, no matter what Mrs. Liu’s purpose was, Su Wenyue didn’t care. As long as she was unwilling, no one could force her to do anything. Moreover, Mrs. Liu’s eagerness, especially her nearly sycophantic behavior toward her parents, was highly likely related to the Su Family, and they would probably come to ask for something sooner or later. Su Wenyue decided to wait for Mrs. Liu to come to her.
Mr. and Mrs. Su stayed at the Han Family for less than two hours before bidding farewell. Before leaving, Mrs. An reluctantly gave many earnest admonitions to her daughter, and prepared gifts for her daughter’s sisters-in-law as well, asking them to take good care of Su Wenyue. Naturally, Mrs. Wang was automatically ignored by everyone; no one at the Han Family would be tactless enough to mention her, and it was already good enough that the Su Family didn’t trouble Mrs. Wang.
“Madam and Master In-laws, rest assured, we are all one family. There is no such thing as taking care of someone or not. A person like our Fourth Younger Sister-in-law is someone we need to protect; how could we possibly mistreat her? You can be at ease. From now on, anything concerning Fourth Younger Sister-in-law is my concern. Whoever dares to speak ill of her, I will fight with them to the end.”
Mrs. Li, with her clumsy way of speaking, could only repeatedly express her thanks, unable to add much else. However, it was Mrs. Liu who fervently made promises in front of Mr. and Mrs. Su, almost as if she was ready to tear out her heart to show her determination.
Mrs. An showed more kindness to Mrs. Li, acknowledging her as a simple and honest person who wouldn’t be difficult to get along with as a sister-in-law and wouldn’t plot against her daughter. Although Mrs. An kept a smiling face towards Mrs. Liu, there was a hint of irony in her eyes. If it hadn’t been for her daughter’s sake, she wouldn’t have bothered with such a person. However, an overt display of vulgarity and greed was easier to deal with than someone like Mrs. Wang who would scheme behind one’s back. With just a little benefit promised, she could be easily manipulated.
As they saw off the Su Family’s horse carriage, Mrs. Li showed gratitude, while
Mrs. Liu was unexpectedly delighted to receive special gifts from Madam Su, which made her overjoyed.
Mrs. Liu couldn’t wait to return to her room and eagerly opened her gifts right there, revealing two pieces of silk and a box of powdered incense and rouge, typical items from the Su Family’s store. To Mrs. Liu, these were luxuries she had never used before.
“This really is too much, our In-laws are so generous. These are such lavish gifts; how can we accept them? This is all thanks to the Fourth
Daughter-in-law. Otherwise, how could a countryside farmer’s wife like us get to use such fine items? They are clearly top-quality goods. Buying them in the stores would cost a few taels of silver, beyond what ordinary people can afford.”
Seeing the items in the package, Mrs. Liu’s mouth spread into a wide grin, her eyes squinting with delight. She remembered how the Sun Family’s Daughter-in-law had bragged about her powdered incense and rouge bought from a store in the county town, costing more than 200 coins—not the inferior quality sold by peddlers in the countryside. Compared with what the Master’s Wife had given her, that was nothing but lower-grade. She already imagined boasting about it in front of the Sun Family’s Daughter-in-law, reveling in the envy and jealousy that would follow. This made her all the more eager to please Su Wenyue.
After Mr. and Mrs. Su’s departure, it was almost noon. Mrs. Liu and Mrs. Li were preparing lunch in the Kitchen, while Su Wenyue went to stew the tonic her mother’s family had brought for her Mother-in-law.
“Fourth Daughter-in-law, you needn’t busy yourself with these kitchen chores I’m here. You just take care of your matters. You, who were brought up so delicately, are not meant for this kind of work.” Mrs. Liu, now plotting ways to ingratiate herself with Su Wenyue, took the initiative to suggest when she saw Su Wenyue also working in the kitchen.
“Please don’t say that, Sister-in-law. I’m a Han Family Daughter-in-law just like you, and I won’t shirk the work that I should be doing. Besides, I want to do something personally for Mother-in-law; it’s my way of showing my sincerity as a daughter-in-law.”
Su Wenyue would not take up Mrs. Liu’s offer. Now that Mrs. Liu had received benefits, she naturally let Su Wenyue have her way, but if something went against her interests in the future, she could turn hostile. And then, should she use this situation against her, Su Wenyue wouldn’t give Mrs. Liu the opportunity to take advantage. She wasn’t particularly concerned about appearing better than others, but no one wants their reputation tarnished.
Seeing Su Wenyue’s response, Mrs. Liu did not insist further. As a daughter-in-law herself, she couldn’t interfere with Su Wenyue showing filial piety to her Mother-in-law, lest the Mother-in-law take offense.
Mrs. Wang, though in her room, was constantly attentive to the happenings outside. Seeing the treatment of Su Wenyue’s mother’s family at the Han Home contrasted with her own mother’s standpoint, she felt resentment and anger. And upon seeing Madam Su’s gifts intended to bribe the Mother-in-law and two sisters-in-law, jealousy and dissatisfaction surged within her. Why did Su Wenyue have such good fortune?
But at the moment, Mrs. Wang was troubled by the matter with her big brother. Just yesterday, Han Lin had barely managed to prevent Han Yu from reporting to the county government by promising an explanation. It was no longer possible to delay it, and figuring out how to settle this issue with the
Han family members was worrying her enough without seeking trouble with Su Wenyue now.
“Have you thought about what to tell the family? We can’t delay your brother’s situation any longer. When I went to plead with the Fourth child yesterday, he declared that if we couldn’t give the family an explanation today, he would personally go to the county government tomorrow morning and bring the officials back. If they find nothing, that’s fine, but if the investigation leads back to your brother, getting out of the county prison won’t be easy. Back at home, you might get away with it because you’re pregnant, but in front of the officials, it won’t be so easy to speak. Don’t let them take you away too.”
“What—what should I do then? I’m still carrying a child in my belly; it’s the old Han Family’s seed, your son. You can’t ignore me.” Mrs. Wang, ultimately just a simple woman, might have had her own opinions on an ordinary day, but having never experienced anything major, the idea of being questioned by the officials terrified her. She panicked suddenly and lost her composure.
“What else can we do now? Thankfully, Mother’s injuries weren’t severe. We shall confess to Father and Mother this afternoon. I don’t know if they’ll forgive you this time..”