Little Xu-shi was about to collapse hearing this!
Though she married into the Hu family, she had never stood firm on her feet!
Her natal family was poor, her father and brothers unpromising, she was a head shorter in the Hu family, and if this child turned out to be a baby girl…
Yu Tingwan timely comforted: “Don’t cry.”
Little Xu-shi covered her face: …Not crying, just brewing.
If you say one more word, the tears are really going to fall!
There was no movement of emotion in Yu Tingwan’s eyes, yet she turned her head to defend her unfairly: “Aunt-in-law just spare her once, is it anything glorious for Eldest Cousin to divorce and remarry?”
This year’s harvest was good, every household sold grain and made money. The Hu family’s hands were also a lot looser now, but it wasn’t easy to raise a studying son. Next year’s shuxiu hadn’t been scraped together yet—this all had to be saved up. [束脩 shùxiū – a traditional fee or gift presented by a student when apprenticing under a teacher; here it refers to study or schooling expenses]
A sack of rice outside couldn’t exchange for a wife anymore.
If Yu Tingwan wasn’t the instigator of this matter, Little Xu-shi would’ve been moved already.
Then, she heard Yu Tingwan’s rise-and-fall cadence.
“Sister-in-law didn’t do anything wrong either? She was just a bit too straightforward, this matter at root is because the bean rice is hard to swallow…”
“This is all your fault, Aunt-in-law!”
Day after day, Wang-shi was going to be angered to death!
“What did you say?”
“Say that again!”
Yu Tingwan calmly spat out a sentence: “I’ll make the call—Aunt-in-law, apologize to Sister-in-law, and this matter will be over.”
“There’s no overnight grudge in a family.”
In front of Wang-shi’s eyes was a dizzy blur.
She was sooner or later going to be angered to death by Yu Tingwan!
Since when was it Yu Tingwan’s place to make decisions!
Clearly just a few days ago when she disciplined Yu Tingwan, Yu Tingwan didn’t even dare to complain or make a sound.
Could it be, just as Little Xu-shi said, Yu Tingwan was possessed?
Otherwise, how could her temperament change so drastically?
No—that’s not right.
Wang-shi suddenly recalled the scene from years ago, when the head of the household brought Yu Tingwan home.
Wasn’t Yu Tingwan back then already a thorny one?
She stared dead-on at Yu Tingwan, but met a pair of indifferent eyes, viewing her as a jumping clown, as if seeing straight through her.
A cold chill suddenly ran down Wang-shi’s back.
She had to send Yu Tingwan away earlier, lest long nights bring many dreams.
Perhaps because she had gotten used to being busy all day, once Yu Tingwan stopped, she actually couldn’t sit still.
She had just stepped out the door when she saw Aunt Wu from next door craning her head and peeking around. Bumping into each other directly, she wasn’t embarrassed at all, her eyes carried a scrutinizing look: “Going out again?”
Toward her, Yu Tingwan still counted as polite.
Aunt Wu had no blood relation nor ties with her, and wouldn’t offend Wang-shi on her behalf.
But back then when Yu Tingwan had just come to Xilin Village, she often clashed with Wang-shi. It was also Aunt Wu who couldn’t bear to watch, and privately gave her some pointers.
【Child, if you’ll listen to one sentence of auntie’s advice, never provoke your aunt-in-law’s displeasure.】
【Your uncle feels guilty toward your mother, he dotes on you, and quarrels with her daily because of it. But after all, they are husband and wife, and you, a niece, are one layer removed.】
【Your surname is Yu, the Hu family is not your home. That matter back then… if it weren’t for the accident with your parents, I’m afraid you’d never have had dealings with them in this life. Auntie knows you’ve been wronged, Wang-shi is shrewish and can’t tolerate you, but without backing, you just have to endure.】
These words, though harsh and unpleasant, were from the bottom of the heart.
She, in the end, was an outsider.
As time passed, Yu Tingwan also learned to look up to others’ noses to breathe.
She thought that by lowering her head, she could gain a corner of peace.
But the bitterness of the previous life gave her a blow to the head—scoundrels like Wang-shi, if you give her face, she’ll climb right up to your nose.
Yu Tingwan smiled: “Going to pick some firewood to roast at night, can also get a bit warmer.”
The firewood picked now was wet and wouldn’t burn.
But there was a pile inside her room, bit by bit gathered before the snow fell. Not much, but enough to last a few nights. If the wet firewood was left to the side, it could also get half-dried, could make do with it.
As for using the Hu family’s kitchen firewood—she could forget about it. Better to rely on oneself than others.
This damn weather.
The quilt she used was thin, the window old and drafty, Yu Tingwan feared she wouldn’t make it through this cold winter.
Aunt Wu nodded repeatedly: “That’s the truth. Don’t know what’s going on this year, it’s gotten this cold, there’s quite a few frozen to death, outside people are saying it’s Heaven coming to collect lives.”
She was about to say more when she saw Yu Tingwan lift a hand and tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.
The old cotton-padded jacket on the girl didn’t fit. With just a slight movement, the sleeve slid down, revealing a section of slender pale wrist.
Aunt Wu focused her eyes.
Goodness gracious—those bruises on the wrist were dazzling.
She cried out in surprise: “She laid hands on you again?!”
Yu Tingwan froze, followed Aunt Wu’s gaze and looked down.
“It’s not…”
Aunt Wu cut her off: “That venomous woman!”
“Auntie misunderstood, this was from when I got up at night, bumped into something in the dark by accident.”
Aunt Wu would never believe it, full of sympathy: “I know you’re trying to help cover for her.”
Yu Tingwan: “It really isn’t…”
“I understand everything!”
Yu Tingwan fell silent, but from the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a dry, skinny old woman nearby watching the show with great interest.
She recognized her.
This person’s surname was Fan, a big mouth in Xilin Village.
Any matter that passed through her mouth could spread quickly.
Most importantly, Granny Fan had had friction with Wang-shi.
Yu Tingwan immediately put on a pitiful face: “This kind of injury is nothing.”
“Nothing compares to harmony in the family.”
“As a junior, how could I bear grudges?”
“I don’t feel pain.”
Yu Tingwan: “I’m! Still! Alive!”
Granny Fan: !!!
Something juicy!
She zipped off like a puff of smoke toward the most crowded place in the village, unable to hide the joy in her eyes no matter what.
“Everyone stop what you’re doing, listen to me. I just came from the Hu family side—do you know what I saw?”
She opened her mouth and let it fly: “Wang-shi laid hands on that niece again, fierce like she was going to eat someone alive. I saw it with my own eyes—she raised a stool and smashed it right down! Back when Hu Dazhu was still around, she’d still restrain herself, but now? Who knows.”
“Last time she fell in the water, I already suspected it was Wang-shi who pushed her.”
Someone didn’t believe it and spoke up in defense: “Wang-shi does have a bad temper, but just because you two don’t get along, doesn’t mean you should slander her like this.”
Granny Fan sneered: “Do I need to slander her?”
“She’s just a vile-hearted little person by nature.”
She narrowed her eyes, all-knowing: “Why’re you defending her? Don’t tell me you’re thinking of marrying your daughter to that second son of hers.”
“Save it. That woman’s eyes are growing up into the sky, you think she’ll become in-laws with you? Last time she even called your granddaughter a toad wanting to eat swan meat.”
A young wife spoke up: “A niece raised under your nose, not born of your own—so what if she’s treated a bit harshly?”
The words were crude but not unreasonable. The crowd nodded in agreement.
Granny Fan grew anxious.
“So you all know she’s a niece, but people who don’t would think she’s a slave!”
“You’re just a new daughter-in-law—what would you understand!”
“Go back and ask your mother-in-law what heaven-defying thing the Hu family did back then. Hu Dazhu only had that one younger sister—not to mention the guilt he felt. Raising a niece was only right.”
The older folks who knew the old affairs of those years all looked at each other and sighed.
“Is that girl alright?”
Granny Fan waved her hand: “She’s fine.”
“Still got one breath left.”
“Just don’t know whether the stepdaughter will be tormented to death by Wang-shi first, or if the Wei family’s young man will be treated to death by Old Man Qian first.”
“It’s almost New Year, and two people dying in the village—what a bad omen.”
She scratched her head, then laughed: “Incredible! Even this kind of thing can be paired up.”