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“Second Uncle, Second Aunt, Grandma has instructed that after you finish your work, don’t leave just yet. Come to her room, she has other matters to explain,” Mrs. Zhou said with a smile that did not reach her eyes. The situation had developed beyond her control, but with the Old lady being charmed senseless by her little grandson, she was helpless. Even if things didn’t work out, she could at least enjoy the show.

In the past, people from the Second House would go back straight after completing their chores. They wondered what twist of events had occurred this time, but since the Old lady had instructions for them, they couldn’t defy her.

“Mother, you asked us to stay. Do you have something to explain?” Han Jincai knew his birth mother well; unless there was an issue, she wasn’t likely to want to see him.

“It’s nothing much; I have just been feeling unwell these past few days, with pains in my waist, back, and all over. I’m lacking someone to serve me, and I think Brother Yu’s wife’s servant girl is quite good. I’d like her to stay and serve me for a while.”

The Old lady had deliberated and come up with such a plan. She knew that the Second House might agree to have Xiao Xi as a daughter-in-law for her grandson, but it would be difficult to persuade them to accept her as a concubine. The only way was to use this roundabout method: keep the girl first and when the raw rice has been cooked into cooked rice, even if the Second House didn’t want to agree, they wouldn’t have a choice.

The family of Han Jincai was stunned by the Old lady’s sudden inspiration. They had thought that once they finished their work and returned, today’s issues would be over, assuming that the Old lady would be less troublesome today after having been subdued by prior events. They hadn’t expected that it was just the beginning, and she even had her sights set on Xiao Xi.

After living together with the Fourth Daughter-in-law these past days, the people from the Han Family Second Branch understood her temperament: although she appeared gentle, she had a very strong will and was absolutely uncompromising. Why on earth had the Old lady foolishly set her sights on Xiao Xi? Although Xiao Xi was a servant girl, it was clear to them that the Fourth Daughter-in-law treated Xiao Xi like a sister, and naturally, she would not yield to the Old lady’s wishes to keep her. Moreover, Xiao Xi had already bought her freedom and was no longer a servant. This matter was out of their hands.

“Mother, Xiao Xi has already redeemed herself and is no longer the Fourth Daughter-in-law’s servant girl, let alone Our family’s servant. We can’t decide for her,” Han Jincai said tentatively, making his point clear that it was impossible for Xiao Xi to stay and serve the Old lady. Moreover, given the Old lady’s vitality and energy, she hardly seemed in need of assistance. It was an obvious excuse.

Mrs. Yang kept her head down and said nothing. It wasn’t that she lacked filial piety, but rather that her Mother-in-law was too exasperating. She never treated the people from the Second House properly, let alone her daughter-in-law. Having suffered too much at the hands of the Old lady, she would not be foolish enough to stay and endure more mistreatment. Otherwise, had she heard that her Mother-in-law was feeling unwell, she would have willingly stayed to care for her, not showing the reaction she had now.

“Stop making up these excuses; Xiao Xi wouldn’t be following Brother Yu’s wife as a free servant, right? Just free-loading? I see that it is quite clear you don’t want Xiao Xi to stay and serve me, finding such an excuse. You unfilial things, I’m not asking you to buy me a servant girl, I’m just asking you to lend me one for a few days, and even that’s too much? Don’t you have any respect for me as your elder?!”

The Old lady would not use a tactful approach with Han Jincai’s family; she’d launch into a tirade the moment she was slighted, lambasting Han Jincai furiously.

“Mother, you’ve really misunderstood. As you said, with our Second House in such a condition, we can barely ensure our own subsistence. How could we afford to keep a servant? Xiao Xi has indeed redeemed herself, and the only reason she stays with the Fourth Daughter-in-law is out of loyalty. Moreover, her daily expenses are covered by the Su Family; even if we agreed, the Su Family would not,” Han Jincai said half-truthfully, to appease the Old lady but also not wanting to provoke a confrontation between the Old lady and the Fourth Daughter-in-law. Even if the Fourth Daughter-in-law was clever enough to deal with the Old lady, he feared it would harm her reputation.

“Brother Yu’s wife is the Miss from the Su Family; as long as she agrees, the servant girl will surely listen to Brother Yu’s wife,” the Old lady was not swayed by her Second son’s attempt to deflect and held fast to her point, clearly intending to pressure Han Jincai into forcing his daughter-in-law to agree.

“Xiao Xi listens to me, but unfortunately I won’t agree. Old lady, you might as well save yourself the trouble. You seem to be in fine form, and not in need of anyone to serve you,” Su Wenyue spoke up, not wishing to put Father-in-law in a difficult position, speaking bluntly.

“You, Su Wenyue, are my Han Family’s daughter-in-law. Don’t get too arrogant. How dare you disobey me? Aren’t you afraid I’ll tell Brother Yu to divorce you!”

“Old lady, people deserve mutual respect. If you want my miss to respect you, you should act like an elder. Besides, the decision to divorce or not is not for the Old lady to make,” Xiao Xi, who was unhappy that the Old lady had targeted her, spoke out now that the Old lady was suggesting that her Uncle divorce her Miss. Such a nasty old woman was truly detestable.

“I’m speaking to your master. What business is it of a servant girl like you to interrupt? You don’t even know your place. I was doing you an honor by asking you to serve me; don’t get ahead of yourself.”

“What you said is true?! That wretched woman, she dares to scheme against my Precious Son, wanting my son to marry a servant girl. What a brilliant idea, thinking I wouldn’t find out and let her get her way. Don’t even think about it!” Mrs. Han Wang exploded upon hearing about the Old lady and Mrs. Zhou’s plot against her son.

“Grandma, it’s true. I saw Sister-in-law sneaking into Grandma’s room and feared she was plotting against us again, so I stealthily followed her. I listened to Sister-in-law and Grandma’s conversation from outside; they want Third Brother to marry the servant girl from his cousin’s side. When Daughter-in-law heard such news, she thought it couldn’t be allowed and immediately came to report to you,” Han Chen said indignantly, though whether her anger was genuine or feigned was unclear. Regardless, she was always opposed to Mrs. Zhou, and no matter what the matter, she couldn’t let Mrs. Zhou succeed, prompting her to report to Grandma right away.

“You did the right thing. Mrs. Zhou is always up to no good. That Old lady, too, causes nothing but trouble, always siding with Mrs. Zhou against us. Infuriating, indeed!”

“Grandma, now is not the time to be angry. First, they called over Third Brother, and now they’ve called the people from the Second House. They must be discussing this matter. We have to hurry over to stop it. Who are we? We can’t let Third Brother marry a servant girl; wouldn’t that be a joke?”

“Right, you’re absolutely correct. We must go and stop it immediately.”