Chapter 56: Chapter 56 Undutifulness to Parents and Older Siblings_1
Chapter 56: Chapter 56 Undutifulness to Parents and Older Siblings_1
Having properly seen Doctor Zheng off and prepared the medicine for Lin Yue, Zhao Erhu finally spoke of the village chief’s handling of Zhao Lan. Lin Yue felt greatly relieved upon hearing it, believing that after this incident, her aunt would no longer dare to come knocking on her door, and even if they crossed paths, she would detour around her. At last, a longstanding nuisance had been resolved.
“My aunt doesn’t have that much silver, so she made a promissory note in front of the village chief and my third great-uncle, and I couldn’t well object. You know what kind of person my aunt is; it’s likely not easy to get the silver back from her. But after all, she is my elder and we share a blood connection, I can’t go too far, otherwise, we would be the ones at fault,” Zhao Erhu finished speaking and explained the reasons to Lin Yue, fearful she might be unhappy about it.
Lin Yue felt this was an expected outcome and didn’t mind too much. Indifferent, she said, “If it can’t be taken back, then let it be. I’m not coveting those few taels of silver from my aunt. I just wanted her to hold some fear about causing trouble, to stop her from wreaking havoc at my house at the drop of a hat. But after this incident, she surely won’t dare come over to cause trouble, and that’s what truly pleases me.”
“As long as you are happy,” said Zhao Erhu, but internally he felt unsure because he didn’t know all the reasons behind these events. He thought Lin Yue might be too optimistic. His aunt’s skin was thick; even if she was frightened today and would lay low for a while, it wouldn’t be long before she reverted to her old ways. However, seeing Lin Yue so pleased, he didn’t voice his thoughts, reassuring himself that as long as he was vigilant against his aunt in the future, there should be no problem.
As for Zhao Lan, she had truly lost out this time, coming home full of resentment and unwillingness. No sooner had she entered her home than she was scolded by her mother-in-law. Her husband, Li Genbao, not knowing where he had been fooling around, came back drunk. When he learned that Zhao Lan had to compensate with silver, he grabbed a broom and started beating her, not considering that he used to be even happier than Zhao Lan when she brought back benefits from Zhao Erhu’s house. It was mostly his instigation that had driven her to do so.
“I’ll beat you to death, you family-disgracing woman, making such a mess. I’ll be shamed in the village because of you, you brainless idiot! Do you think my money comes from the wind?”
Zhao Lan ran around the yard howling as she was chased and beaten. Her mother-in-law, standing by and watching without helping, even cheered on Li Genbao, adding fuel to his anger. “Good for you, beating to death this unfilial and disrespectful vixen! Instead of properly honoring elders at home, she brings disaster to us outside. Three taels of silver, how long will it take to save that up? It would cover our household expenses for the whole year. Beat to death that family-destroying creature. I’ll find you another better wife,” she encouraged.
These words were truly against her heart’s wishes. Li Genbao was no longer young and certainly not from a wealthy family; who would marry him? Zhao Lan’s mother-in-law had been driven to such extremes by Zhao Lan that she made such nonsensical remarks.
It’s also because Zhao Lan was too domineering, often clashing head-on with her mother-in-law at home. Li Genbao was a muddled man who liked to indulge in drinking and gambling and floundered outside, naturally too lazy to meddle in the minor domestic squabbles between mother and daughter-in-law, lest his wife would argue with him. Thus, he ignored his mother’s complaints, and when she nagged him too much, he would simply lie down on the bed and cover himself with a quilt, turning a deaf ear as he slept deeply.
After several confrontations, Zhao Lan’s mother-in-law never gained any advantage, which further emboldened Zhao Lan’s arrogance. Moreover, Zhao Lan later gave birth to a son for the Li family and managed the household finances, and her mother-in-law couldn’t do anything about her. Since the mother-in-law couldn’t get a good deal from her daughter-in-law, she had to swallow her anger and bide her time, her grievances piling up in her heart. When things were calm, it was fine, but whenever there was a chance, she would take out her frustrations on Zhao Lan.