The Great Princess was fuming, not saying a word.
The Second Princess sighed, "Third Sister, Eldest Sister just went to borrow scissors from Mother to trim the mushroom stems. When passing by the main hall, she heard people inside talking about whose daughter got her arm broken by her mother-in-law for not having a child three years into marriage."
"Oh." Li Yuzhu walked over to help pick vegetables.
She wondered in her heart why the Great Princess, known for her aloofness and selfishness, suddenly cared about who got beaten up?
Even filled with righteous indignation?
"Do you still remember Sixth Aunt Wei from the Wei Family?" The Great Princess asked suddenly with a serious expression, looking at her two younger sisters.
The Second Princess blinked, "Sixth Aunt Wei, Wei Ruyue? Didn’t she die more than two years ago? Eldest Sister, why are you asking this all of a sudden?"
"Do you remember how she died?" The Great Princess’s eyes were cold as she gazed at her younger sisters.
The Second Princess blinked again, "I don’t remember..."
"You only remember to eat! You remember nothing else!" The Great Princess sneered.
The Second Princess felt wronged, "Eldest Sister, Mother always took you when visiting Uncle’s house, and hardly ever took me. How would I know what happened there?"
"Oh, how dare you blame Mother? Wasn’t it because you ate too much? Besides eating what was given to you, you secretly took from our cousins’, disgracing Mother completely. How would she dare to bring you?" The Great Princess sneered.
The Second Princess turned red-faced with embarrassment, "That was all before I was ten. After I turned ten, I haven’t taken from others."
"But you did take!" The Great Princess scoffed.
Li Yuzhu was still thinking about the Sixth Aunt Wei’s matter, so she asked, "Eldest Sister, what happened to Cousin Wei Ruyue?"
Since the main character was not very talkative and was dull and young, Princess Consort Luling rarely took her out.
In the main character’s memories, there was no recollection of going to Uncle Wei’s house.
"What happened? Hmph!" Getting to the crux of the matter, the Great Princess let out a cold laugh, "Because she didn’t have a child after three years of marriage, she was scolded daily by her mother-in-law and jumped into a pond out of grievance!"
Seeing Li Yuzhu’s shocked expression, the Second Princess whispered, "Third Sister, Cousin Sixth Aunt Wei was extremely kind to Eldest Sister. The day before she jumped into the pond, she gave all her jewelry to Eldest Sister."
She had wondered why the Great Princess suddenly cared about a stranger mentioned in someone else’s conversation.
Being remembered by a good friend before their death, even a cold-hearted person would feel moved when encountering someone in a similar situation.
"Hey, you two!" The Great Princess looked coldly at her two younger sisters, "Come with me to Qingshui River Village tomorrow."
The Second Princess was surprised, "What are we going to do there, Eldest Sister? I don’t even know where Qingshui River Village is."
Li Yuzhu knew the way, but had never been there either.
"Is something wrong, Eldest Sister?" she asked as well.
"I want to see what that wicked mother-in-law looks like, see just how great she is, eating the meals her daughter-in-law made and still beating her!" The Great Princess’s face was full of anger.
Li Yuzhu was slightly taken aback; how much did the death of Sixth Aunt Wei affect the Great Princess?
Someone normally selfish and self-serving would suddenly stand up for justice?
The Second Princess, fearing trouble, quickly waved her hand, saying, "Isn’t it inappropriate, Eldest Sister? It’s not our business, right? A mother-in-law scolding her daughter-in-law, are you seriously this agitated?"
"What if that woman ends up killing herself out of grievance like Sixth Aunt?" The Great Princess spoke with stoic seriousness.
The Second Princess blinked, "Surely not..."
"Hmph, coward!" The Great Princess rolled her eyes at her and, seeing Li Yuzhu still silent, asked again, "Third Sister, will you accompany me? You’re braver."
"I have a lot to do, need to milk the sheep, watch Guoguo, gather herbs. Eldest Sister, don’t make a fuss; is this matter really as serious as you say?" Li Yuzhu didn’t want to go, much less meddle in other families’ marital disputes.
Listening to one side of a story can easily lead you astray.
Judging the rights and wrongs of a matter requires listening to both parties, not just one side.
"Cowards! If you won’t go, I’ll go alone! Hmph!" The Great Princess puffed up angrily.
The Second Princess frowned, "Eldest Sister, do you even know where Qingshui River Village is? Going alone?"
"I’ll ask around!" She lifted her chin, "Who said I’m going alone? I’ll have Second Brother and Third Brother come with me."
The Second Princess sighed in relief, "Alright. It’s good to have our brothers accompany you."
As the sisters continued talking, Li Xing’an, having cleaned the fish, brought it in.
"The fish is cleaned; see, isn’t it spotless?" He proudly raised an eyebrow.
Li Yuzhu walked over, took it in hand, and praised him, "So capable, Third Brother."
Li Xing’an chuckled bashfully.
However, Li Yuzhu quickly noticed something off.
Why was one fish’s tail slightly cut off?
Seeing her inspecting the fish, Li Xing’an’s heart started to race.
"Third Sister, this fish isn’t fat enough; let’s salt it. The other, fatter one is more suitable for soup."
Li Yuzhu blinked, "Oh, okay." Could it be that he sliced through the fish’s bile and decided to arrange them this way?
She didn’t call him out, smiling and agreeing.
It’s impressive enough to have cleaned the fish for the first time; if too picky, he might be unwilling to do it again next time.
Li Xing’an, seeing her not questioning, let out a breath of relief.
With the three sisters plus Li Xing’an helping, more hands made for lighter work, and by noon, a sumptuous feast was prepared.
Today’s guests were all men, while most at home were children and women, so Li Yuzhu made each dish in two servings.
The men’s table had strong-flavored, wine-complimenting dishes like braised rabbit, fried fish chunks, and smoked steamed meat.
The women and children’s table had fresh fish soup and stewed rabbit.
As for the vegetables, they were uniformly stir-fried lightly.
The table for women and children had fewer people, and in order not to waste food, they made fewer dishes, only six.
The men’s table had ten people, so Li Yuzhu made twelve dishes.
Nearly twenty dishes filled the rectangular, simple bamboo table in the kitchen to the brim.
Li Xing’an rubbed his hands together excitedly, "I’ll go notify Father and Eldest Brother; we can start the meal."
The Second Princess’s eyes lit up, "It’s been so long since there have been so many delicious dishes; I want to eat a lot."