Having agreed on the terms, Wufu did not evict Old Lady Zhou and her family; instead, she had a guest room cleaned out so they could stay temporarily until Zhou Xuennian was released from prison, after which they would all be forced to leave.
This was not a display of Wufu’s kindness but rather out of consideration for Madam Zhou, as one of them was her own mother, with the virtue of filial piety weighing upon her.
However, the possibility of seeking kinship or playing tricks was out of the question.
Madam Lu walked to the window, watched a little maid outside, then, gritting her teeth, returned to the table and sat down. She lowered her voice and said to Old Lady Zhou, "Mother, how could you agree to what that Wufu bitch demanded? Doesn’t this cut off the marriage prospects for our sister, Yingmei?"
Old Lady Zhou held a string of wooden beads in her hand, murmuring prayers. Hearing what Madam Lu said, she opened her eyes and looked derisively at her daughter-in-law.
Feeling uneasy, Madam Lu asked sheepishly, "Mother, why are you looking at me like that?" It was eerily unsettling.
"Wufu has said one thing correctly," Old Lady Zhou scoffed coldly, "Just because they’ve prospered, would you as an older sister-in-law acknowledge Zhou Yingmei as a sister?"
Madam Lu’s face flushed with heat and shame, her inner voice cursing Old Lady Zhou as a pious crone. She forced a smile and said, "Mother, am I not just thinking of our family’s well-being?"
Old Lady Zhou angrily retorted, "If it’s just your own greed and wanting to take advantage, don’t drag me into it."
"Mother, am I not doing it for the Zhou family, for my husband, and for our children?" Madam Lu began to wipe away false tears as if pained, "Do you remember how much silver we spent when my husband was studying for the imperial examination? Not to mention our family; even my parents contributed a total of one hundred and sixty taels of silver. Now that my husband is in trouble, my sisters-in-law look at me with scorn. I can’t even dare to visit my own parents!"
Madam Lu wasn’t lying; since the incident occurred, her sisters-in-law had indeed expressed their disapproval. After all, a large sum of silver had been squandered, and it was uncertain whether it could ever be repaid.
Old Lady Zhou spoke coldly, "So it seems you’re blaming me now. Xuennian’s predicament has something to do with you as well. Instead of discouraging him as his wife, you eagerly helped, resulting in this disaster."
Refusing to back down, Madam Lu retorted, "Mother, you couldn’t make your own son obey, so how could I, his wife, have more influence than you?"
She implied that she also had failed to persuade him, even though she had provided financial support.
Old Lady Zhou was so furious she nearly fainted, and she let out a sarcastic laugh, "Indeed, blame me; it’s all because I, an old woman, was no use and caused you all trouble!"
Madam Lu pursed her lips and poured a cup of tea for her mother-in-law, saying, "Mother, I’m not trying to blame you, I was just stating the facts. Look, now that my husband is in this situation, his prospects are likely ruined. What do we do now? Dajun is still unreliable, and Xiuxiu is of marriageable age. Where can we go without silver? And without any official rank, I have no idea what sort of work he could do."
"When the family was divided, your main branch didn’t get any less land. With able bodies, could you starve to death?"
"Mother, of course, I know that, but my husband has been studying all these years. When has he ever worked the fields?" Madam Lu said, eyeing her mother-in-law’s expression, "I was thinking, since Yingmei and the others have met some noble patrons, couldn’t they secure a stable job for my husband? With that, our family would have no more worries!"
Old Lady Zhou fell silent for a long while before saying, "You’ve planned out well, but who knows if they’ll avoid you like the plague."