Mrs. Lu hurriedly pulled her and earnestly persuaded her, while also instructing the maids and old women to take Mrs. Lin down to rest first, and they could discuss any matters later. Mrs. Lin didn’t dare to confront Mrs. Zhou aggressively, and, suppressing her anger, reluctantly left. Mrs. Zhou continued to scold for a while, finally stopping when her anger was somewhat quenched, but then she grabbed Mrs. Lu’s hand and cried, "Axian, you saw it too. Your sister is indeed fated to a harsh life! Your father-in-law and I only have the two of them as siblings. Seeing your sister really upsets me! If we pass away in the future, you must take good care of your sister and not let her be bullied!"
"Mother! Don’t think too much!" Mrs. Lu supported Mrs. Zhou to sit down, and while ordering someone to bring hot water for washing up, she tried to cheer her up with a smile, "You and father-in-law are in good health. Why speak of such unlucky things! Sister is our own flesh and blood; even without your words, we will take good care of her! Besides, her husband is still young, who doesn’t have a foolish period? Maybe after a while, he’ll come to his senses and return on his own! How could we possibly mistreat sister then? Please don’t overthink it!"
Mrs. Zhou sighed deeply, a bitter smile on her face: "You don’t need to console me. I have given up hope for him! I’ve seen plenty of foolishness, but his level of folly is rare indeed! My heart only aches for my daughter!"
Mrs. Lu couldn’t help but feel crestfallen as well.
The maid brought the water. Mrs. Lu quickly rolled up her sleeves and personally took action, wringing out a hot towel to offer to Mrs. Zhou, serving her as she wiped her face. When a young maid brought over a mirror, Mrs. Zhou looked at herself, adjusted her hair slightly, waved her hand to signal them to take it away, and then sighed again, "It’s all my fault, why didn’t I investigate more carefully initially! If only I had known—alas!"
"Mother!" Mrs. Lu sighed softly, "I must say something unpleasant, while Mrs. Lin is hateful, she did mention one correct thing—that sister is now part of the Shi family—"
"What? You also agree that your sister should return to the Shi family now? No, absolutely not!" Mrs. Zhou instantly became anxious, decisively rejecting the idea.
"I didn’t mean that!" Mrs. Lu knew her mother-in-law was quick-tempered and hurriedly spoke faster: "It’s not easy for sister to have come back; she certainly can’t just return there! Otherwise, it would be even harder for her to come back next time! If her husband doesn’t come back, it’s best she stays in our own home for now! But, we also can’t cause too much strife with the Shi family. After all, if her husband returns, sister will eventually have to go back! If it’s too heated now, sister will be the one to suffer in the future!"
Mrs. Zhou thought for a moment and then sighed, "What you said makes sense. I was just too angry earlier! Later, treat Mrs. Lin well and give her a generous reward, and tell her not to speak nonsense when she goes back!"
Mrs. Lu quickly agreed but then hesitantly smiled and said, "Mother, I think, maybe let Mrs. Lin meet with sister—think about it, mother. Mrs. Lin’s task today was to take sister back, but if she can’t deliver, she has to account for her responsibilities. Who knows what she might say to our relative’s wife! With such a distance, we are powerless, and it would be whatever she says! Let her meet sister, and have sister write a letter to the relatives’ wife, wouldn’t that be the best of both worlds?"
Mrs. Zhou first nodded slightly, then shook her head, "Still no good! What if Mrs. Lin insists on taking your sister away upon meeting her? If she mentions that old lady, ultimately she is your sister’s mother-in-law, can your sister refuse?"
"That’s easy to handle, mother!" Mrs. Lu said with a restrained smile, "We can just have sister pretend to be ill, and that settles it!"
"Yes!" Mrs. Zhou was delighted, clapping her hands and laughing, "That’s a great idea! I agree! Let’s prepare straight away! Later, take Mrs. Lin to your sister’s room!"
"Yes, mother!" Mrs. Lu replied with a smile, and mother-in-law and daughter-in-law went about their separate tasks.
Mrs. Lin and a few maids who came with her rested in the side room. Seeing Mrs. Lin’s displeased expression, everyone wisely remained silent. Mrs. Lin rambled trying to come up with a plan, but everyone unanimously supported her by saying, "We’ll listen to you," which frustrated her immensely, and she cursed "sly rogues" in her heart.
Seeing how things had unfolded, it seemed Mrs. Zhou would certainly not relent. Mrs. Lin was prepared to be scolded upon her return. But she couldn’t just take it from both sides, could she? The scolding from Second Madam Shi was inevitable, but the grievances she suffered here, she had to recount them thoroughly to Second Madam Shi!