Chapter 1870: Chapter 953: Showdown (Part 2)
However, Lian Shouyi’s antics didn’t lead to the desired outcome.
"This Erlang’s wife is quite enduring..." Lady Li told Lady Zhang and Lian Manman.
Lian Shouyi wanted to see the doctor, so Luo Xiaoyan really called for one. When he wanted to buy medicine, she bought it for him. But the doctor found nothing wrong with Lian Shouyi and couldn’t prescribe anything. It was Luo Xiaoyan who told the doctor just to prescribe some cheap and harmless bitter medicine, and to pick ointments that weren’t too expensive but could promote blood circulation and relieve bruises.
After all, Lian Shouyi did fall down.
These items were bought back home, and Luo Xiaoyan personally brewed the medicine, watching him to ensure that Lian Shouyi drank it. As for the ointment, she enlisted Old Master Luo to personally apply it on Lian Shouyi. Luo Xiaoyan knew Lian Shouyi was pretending to be ill, but she made a concession when it came to filial piety.
As for Lian Shouyi wanting to eat chicken and meat, Luo Xiaoyan couldn’t provide for that. Everyone knew Luo Xiaoyan saved money to marry off her brother, and after all, a family had to live. Luo Xiaoyan was quite meticulous when it came to living expenses; seeing the doctor and taking medicine was unavoidable, but she was unwilling to spend on chicken and meat. After all, Lian Shouyi’s injury was fabricated.
Luo Xiaoyan wouldn’t give Lian Shouyi chicken, duck, or fish to eat, and naturally, Lian Shouyi wasn’t pleased. He lay on the kang cursing Luo Xiaoyan, accusing her of having money and only caring about her maternal family, saving for her brother’s marriage, hence withholding from her in-laws.
Of course, Lian Shouyi’s temper added many accusations against Luo Xiaoyan, such as secretly feeding good food to her parents.
"I hadn’t noticed before, but looking now, the Second Master’s temper is just like the old lady’s." Lady Zhao said with a sigh.
Lian Shouyi not only increasingly displayed the same personality as Lady Zhou but also learned her exact skills in manipulating sons and daughters-in-law. This pretended injury was once Lady Zhou’s special move.
However, Lian Shouyi was not as fortunate. His son wasn’t blindly filial, and his daughter-in-law wasn’t weak. Moreover, they had elders supporting them.
"Erlang’s wife is commendable; her father-in-law curses and slanders her, yet she doesn’t argue with him... but behind the scenes, she hides her grievances and cries often." Lady Li said.
"She came here twice, cried openly in front of the elders, and in our presence." Lady Zhao added.
"She said she has no choice; her parents gave birth to her once, and her family is like that; she can’t bear to ignore them. Even if she earns a bad reputation, she must support them." Lian Yeye said.
"...her lifelong shortcomings, she can’t argue back even when cursed." Lady Zhao sighed again, her gaze somewhat dull. For example, Luo Xiaoyan’s devotion to her maternal family and Lady Zhao’s childlessness, in this era, were not tolerated by societal norms. Lady Zhao, seeing Luo Xiaoyan’s situation, thought about her own and felt saddened.
Lian Manman, witnessing this, said nothing, only sighed inwardly. For instance, Luo Xiaoyan’s lack of rebuttal and Lady Zhao’s self-harm—at bottom, they were honest people. If the original wife of Erlang, Zhao Xiue, were present, her response would have been different.
"Yaya’s father should still have money," Lian Manman said, that was attained from Lady Zhou, later used to build a house in Luo Family Village, without spending much. Subsequently, Lian Shouyi was restrained by Luo Xiaoyan, so there was no chance to gamble, hence the money should still be there." However, he surely clutches it without spending on this matter."
This was expected. Lian Shouyi’s intent was to trouble Luo Xiaoyan, not spend his own money.
"It caused quite a commotion." Lady Li stated.
"What kind of commotion?" Lady Zhang asked.
Luo Xiaoyan didn’t want to spend her saved money, seeing Lian Shouyi persistently quarrel, she thought of taking out the money Lian Shouyi had. As Luo Xiaoyan put it, spending on medicine and food is better than losing it gambling. After all, they had no intention of benefiting from Lian Shouyi and Lady He; using the opportunity to spend it, so Lian Shouyi would have no money to gamble, was a good thing.
Luo Xiaoyan said to Lian Shouyi and Lady He that she had no money; they should take out theirs. Naturally, Lian Shouyi and Lady He were unwilling. Finally, a full-scale drama unfolded.
Luo Xiaoyan had long investigated where the money was hidden, then went to take it. Yet Lian Shouyi valued the money greatly, hiding it at home, carrying it when he went out. Unable to retrieve it subtly, Luo Xiaoyan called her father and two villagers for help, to "request" the money.
"It was also due to being pushed," Lady Li noted, "if not, she could have done it from the start. It’s your Second Master and his spouse who first shouted out, claiming she hit the father-in-law, then stirred things up. Insult but don’t debase, they insulted harshly."
Luo Xiaoyan likely felt Lian Shouyi went too far, more frightened he might use the money for trouble in the future, so decided to eradicate the root cause this time.
Excellent! Lian Manman thought internally.
"So, did she get the money?" Lian Manman asked, just like Lady Li, Lian Manman avoided the word "rob," simply saying "request."
"Got it." Lian Yeye eagerly replied.
"Wouldn’t the Second Master be hopping mad!" Lady Zhang remarked.
"He jumped, wasn’t he jumping around, making a terrible fuss." Lady Zhao said, "I just listened, my heart was pounding, my hands and feet were cold."
"Didn’t he claim he was severely injured and couldn’t get off the kang? That day, he neither needed medicine nor ointment; he was like a healthy person, jumping around." Lian Yeye said, "However, Second Sister-in-law took the money and never gave it to him."
Lian Manman listened, just wanting to laugh, Lian Shouyi really ended up losing on both counts.
...
Here’s the second update, requesting your support with votes or likes; I’ll dive back into writing to strive for a third update. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote or give monthly tickets; your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)
