"See that? I snatched the title of hostess from my elder sister-in-law, and she’s not happy about it," Zhao Yulan complained to Fat Auntie without looking at Li Aiyuan, "I was only taking charge so you two families wouldn’t be too polite with each other. Sigh ..."
"You ... you’re just falsely accusing me," Li Aiyuan playfully slapped Zhao Yulan and then affectionately grabbed her, pushing her into the room.
A smile spread across Fat Auntie’s face and just couldn’t be contained.
After so many years of knowing Zhao Yulan, it was clear to her what kind of person she was, and seeing how well her daughter’s mother-in-law, Li Aiyuan, got along with Zhao Yulan suggested she was a good-hearted and easy-tempered woman, too. Either living together or apart after her daughter married into Zhao’s house, having a kind mother-in-law was always a bliss.
A few families gathered together, filling the room completely.
"Is there some trouble brewing?" Old Master Zhao asked his daughter’s family with a worried look.
"Mm-hm," Zhao Yulan responded with a hum, quickly recounting everything that had happened the night they returned home.
"In-laws, thank you. Baohe and Yulan owe both of you for this lifetime," Old Master Zhao was a perceptive man, and upon hearing his daughter’s account, he understood that Fat Auntie’s so-called anger was merely a way to unveil the false masks of Old Master Lin and Old Lady Lin, resolving the situation more satisfactorily.
With a somewhat embarrassed smile, Fat Auntie said, "Uncle Zhao, you’re too polite. To get along with Baohe and Yulan for all these years has been our good fortune."
"Now that we’ve finally come together, can we stop with the formalities?" Chuxia interrupted the continued polite talk from Zhao Yulan, "Mom, you haven’t praised me and Xiaoqiong yet."
Daughter, didn’t you say you didn’t want polite words? Why now are you asking your mother to praise you? Zhao Yulan looked at her daughter with accusing eyes. Chuxia let out a sheepish laugh, "I did help, didn’t I? It doesn’t matter if you praise me or not, but Xiaoqiong is going to be Zhao family’s future daughter-in-law."
"Don’t praise me; it was all your idea," Luo Xiaoqiong said while touching her face, "It’s lucky we are leaving early tomorrow. Otherwise, my face would definitely give us away."
"Can you be more specific? You always talk in riddles here; you’re driving me crazy," Zhao Qiyan prodded Chuxia, "Quickly tell us, what on earth happened?"
All eyes turned toward Chuxia and Luo Xiaoqiong. Truth be told, their act of self-deprecation had left even Zhao Qihui, who had heard the story, as well as the witnesses to the scene, in the dark.
"My mom claimed that my dad was getting cozy with a young widow, and of course, I didn’t believe it. I wanted to take Chuxia with me to find that widow.
Left with no choice, my mom secretly told us why she had spoken out about this matter. She always believed my dad was wronged, but that morning, when she saw my dad coming back from outside, she suddenly realized that maybe this could be turned to our advantage—to clear my dad’s name and also to thwart Grandpa Lin and Granny Lin’s schemes."
At this point, Luo Xiaoqiong shyly smiled at Lin Baohe; after all, she was speaking in front of him about his own parents, which was a bit tactless.
Lin Baohe waved his hand, signaling for her to continue.
"At first, my mom visited Grandpa Zhang and Grandma Zhang frequently, but later, because Grandpa Lin and Granny Lin were often there, it became awkward when they ran into each other, so she visited less.
After my dad’s incident became the talk of the village, my mom heard Grandpa Zhang and Grandma Zhang questioning whether my dad’s affair was connected to their eldest son’s behavior. They adamantly denied any relationship, adding that among their four children, only Laoer and Laoer’s Wife disobeyed them; the other three children were all good."
My mom was angry at the time and wanted to go in and argue, but then she thought better of it, as she could lose the high ground. She decided to wait until Uncle Baohe and Aunt Yulan came back to address it.
So she seized the opportunity this time, and when I went to make a scene, the bigger, the better. The rumor would eventually reach Grandpa Zhang and Grandma Zhang, and they would know Grandpa Lin and Granny Lin had deceived them, which would naturally spare Uncle Baohe and Aunt Yulan any further difficulty."
Eldest Uncle Lin spilling the beans was not in our plan, but it turned out his confession helped us more perfectly."
"As for the wounds on my face, that was Chuxia’s idea. Originally, I was ready to take a real beating, but Chuxia gave me this." Luo Xiaoqiong pulled out a small transparent red plastic bag, and as Old Lady Zhao curiously took it, she saw a delicate plastic bag with tiny compartments inside.
"It’s filled with chicken blood," Chuxia explained.
"Having served in the military for over half a year, I’ve learned a thing or two. Protecting myself from getting hurt and adding a little flair to it turned out to be no problem," Luo Xiaoqiong boasted proudly, clearly very satisfied with her performance.
"We owe this success to Cha Xiang," Old Lady Zhao looked to Fat Auntie with gratitude again, "Without your initiative, these two energetic kids would not have found a way to use their strengths. Cha Xiang, you’ve been a great benefactor to Yulan and Baohe, as well as to our Zhao family. If they aren’t happy, neither can we be."
With a schadenfreude smile, Luo Xiaoqiong teased Chuxia, "The praise didn’t fall on you after all."
Chuxia rolled her beautiful eyes at her, "It’s not like I solved the case; I was just a bystander. What’s there to praise? I’m making a wedding dress for you, can’t you see? I’m gilding your reputation in front of my grandparents, don’t you get it?..." (To be continued. If you work, welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation votes, monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to continue reading.)