BXBX NOVEL Chapter 87: The Involved
“What relatives, they’re merely… Anyway, that family has never treated our family as relatives. From now on, even if you see them, you don’t have to be too honest with them, or you’ll definitely suffer a loss.” Mrs. Yang’s heart was not at ease whenever she thought of her mother-in-law in the city and the main house’s family. She wanted to complain, but she held back in front of her own daughter-in-law. She merely hinted subtly to let the daughter-in-law be wary of the old lady and the main house’s family. As to what kind of people they were, the daughter-in-law would find out sooner or later. There was no need for her, as the mother-in-law, to say it outright and appear petty.
“I will remember what Mother said. It’s just that, regarding Grandma’s birthday, do my husband and I need to prepare a separate gift? Since I’ve only been married into the Han Family for a short time, I still don’t know about some things very clearly. Could Mother please advise me?”
“No need, our family hasn’t divided yet, so there’s no need to prepare any separate gift. Moreover, when you two got married, their side didn’t give a dowry, and not even a person came. Why should we go out of our way? Otherwise, they might think we’re trying to suck up to them.”
“Okay, I’ll listen to Mother.” Su Wenyue was just trying to probe the situation. Now seeing how poor the relationship between the two families was, she naturally aligned with the Second House.
After chatting with Su Wenyue, Mrs. Yang felt things couldn’t continue like this. In just a few days, they had consumed what was supposed to last for two months. They had to be more frugal, making a little less each meal, as long as it wasn’t too little to fill their stomachs.
Mrs. Yang conveyed her intention to Mrs. Liu, who happily agreed. Her mother-in-law in the past had been too frugal with the food, and she had long hoped for more substantial meals at home. But these past few days, the meals had been so grand that she became worried, especially since the food was under her control. Seeing the food supplies quickly dwindling, she became all the more reluctant. If this continued, their food would not last very long. After all, she was a daughter-in-law of the Han Family, and the interests of the Han family were closely related to her. Not to mention that most of the food was ending up in the stomachs of outsiders.
“Mother, I understand. From now on, we will only make as much as needed for each meal. We can’t keep on like this, seeing the food vanish like running water is terrifying to me. This is long overdue, we can’t let the food our family worked so hard to grow over half the year go to waste.”
“Alright, just do as I told you, no need for so much talk.” Mrs. Yang was not particularly impressed with the eldest daughter-in-law’s behavior, and her displeasure was now even more evident.
Mrs. Liu didn’t care. She was used to being admonished by her mother-in-law and always let it go in one ear and out the other. It wasn’t going to cost her any flesh off her body. As long as her goal was achieved, things would go on as she pleased. This attitude hardly endeared her to her mother-in-law, but it was certainly more satisfying than keeping things bottled up inside.
The home’s meals were no longer what they used to be. Yang Juxiang and her daughter, who used to be able to eat their fill, could now only manage to eat half a stomach’s worth. They were naturally dissatisfied with such a change, especially when they saw Han Hu bringing back so much rice and flour from the city, and expected that their meals should have become even better; instead, the quality declined meal after meal, just barely better than that of the Jiang Family.
At first, Yang Juxiang and her daughter could bear it, but seeing Su Wenyue stew chicken soup or make various delicious foods for Mrs. Yang every day, and even the children would get some, yet they were left out, made them increasingly uncomfortable. What was this about? They were still guests, yet the host family was eating so well every day. Look at how the eldest sister’s complexion had brightened, yet they were not being fed enough daily.
Yang Juxiang and her daughter never considered that all these foods were bought with Su Wenyue’s own silver, having nothing to do with them. The Han family members couldn’t interfere, and since they were outsiders to the Han family, they had no say at all. Furthermore, this was something Su Wenyue did for her injured mother-in-law.
Actions spoke louder than words for Yang Juxiang and her daughter. The more they thought about it, the more they felt aggrieved. Since they couldn’t speak out directly about the food, they waited for an opportunity. One day, after Su Wenyue had taken soup to Mrs. Yang, Su Wenyue had barely left when they entered Mrs. Yang’s room.
“Oh, Eldest Sister, what are you eating? It smells so good! My stomach got hungry again just by the aroma. No wonder your complexion has been so rosy these days.” Yang Juxiang said smilingly.
“Yes, Aunt, the soup smells so good, it smells like Pig’s Trotter Soup. I didn’t get full at noon, and now just by smelling it, my stomach is rumbling.” Jiang Chunlan said sweetly, leaning on Mrs. Yang and acting coy.
“Little sister, Chunlan, you’re here! It’s all thanks to the Fourth Daughter-in-law’s filial piety. I keep saying there’s no need for such extravagance. I’m just old bones, eating well like this is just a waste. But the Fourth Daughter-in-law won’t listen; she insists on cooking every day and bringing it to me, saying she wants to help me recover. If this keeps up, I might just end up fat. These days have been some of the most comfortable of my life.”
Mrs. Yang, whether or not she understood the implications in Yang Juxiang and her daughter’s words, cheerfully spoke. Everything she said was in praise of Su Wenyue, which only made Yang Juxiang and her daughter feel even more annoyed. They knew full well that the soup had been made and brought over by Su Wenyue. They deliberately avoided mentioning her name, harboring resentment toward Su Wenyue. Han Yu’s wife appeared meek, but she was actually very shrewd. If they didn’t feel they were getting the short end of the stick from her, they wouldn’t have bothered coming to Mrs. Yang.
However, since Mrs. Yang framed her words that way, while Yang Juxiang and her daughter felt uncomfortable, they had no choice but to follow Mrs. Yang’s lead. “Yes, the Fourth Daughter-in-law is indeed very filial, and not only is she beautiful, but she’s also smart—truly a standout. Not just in our village, even for miles around it would be hard to find such a person. It’s just that she’s a bit too shrewd, and her family background is also so good, Han Hu might find it hard to keep her in line.
It has always been the case that a husband must be strong and a wife submissive for a family to thrive. I’ve lived here for a while now and have heard quite a bit of gossip in the village, some of it rather unpleasant, which isn’t good for Han Hu. So you, as the mother-in-law, must not indulge her any further. The Fourth Daughter-in-law needs something to fear; otherwise, if you spoil her too much, it will ultimately be Han Hu who suffers!”
“Yes, Aunt, I got so angry when I heard those things. What kind of a person is Cousin Yu? He’s smart, capable, and competent. How could he possibly be a man who relies on a woman to get by? This is ridiculous. It’s all because of the Fourth Cousin’s wife!”
Mrs. Yang disliked hearing people say that her son depended on his wife. If it hadn’t been for the recent events, she would have been upset, perhaps even taking Yang Juxiang and her daughter’s words to heart. But now, she had come to a realization. The Fourth Daughter-in-law was truly good, filial, and even when she was right and had been wronged in the past days, she hadn’t caused trouble by bringing her mother’s family into it. How could she be a person without a sense of propriety?