Mrs. Lai faced the son of a rival every day; nobody would guess she’d be kind to him. Even in families where sons are favored over daughters, daughters are often treated better than sons.
The truth was that Mrs. Lai’s pregnancy and childbirth years ago were real, but she gave birth in the county where no one knew the inside story.
Hongji and his father looked somewhat alike; both were tall and large, somewhat handsome and fair-skinned, which stopped people from guessing they weren’t actual father and son.
No one would think of Hongji’s situation as resembling an uncle, since his father and his little cousin’s father were cousins themselves, and his grandmother was the elder sister of his little cousin’s mother.
At this time, Hongji’s father wasn’t thinking much about it and was definitely not guessing that Mrs. Lai might be recalling the past. He was still troubled by how to discuss this matter with his eldest son, considering his age and taking such a young concubine.
When their ox cart returned home, they saw another cart already there: the son, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren had already come back.
Hongji’s father realized he had been delayed by the situation as he saw the sky darkening.
Hearing noises in the courtyard, some workers came out to help bring the items from the ox cart inside.
The little maid cautiously helped Mrs. Lai, who had struck her earlier, down from the ox cart.
Hongji’s father was afraid Mrs. Lai, unable to hold her tongue, would explode with the news as soon as they got home!
He hastily took his bamboo tobacco pipe, stepping quickly ahead into the living room of the house.
Inside the living room, he saw Hongji and Mrs. Li holding their grandson.
Hongji had not noticed the unusual expression on his father’s face.
Mrs. Li, seeing the return of family, instructed the workers to start serving dinner, unaware of her father-in-law’s odd expression.
Hongji’s father grunted through his nose, started smoking his bamboo pipe, and found a small stool to sit on at the doorway of the living room.
"Humph, son, were you hoping we wouldn’t come back?"
Mrs. Lai, upon entering, vented the stifled anger she held inside onto Hongji and shot Mrs. Li a fierce glare.
"Mom, who upset you?"
Used to being scolded, Hongji felt unreasonably blamed, especially during the New Year, and didn’t think it was his maternal relatives who had upset her; they would be more likely to flatter her.
He was certain they were upset because he and his wife and children did not join them at his mother’s maternal home.
Mrs. Li did not talk back, accustomed to receiving silent rebuffs as she had been over the past few years, although these incidents had decreased recently.
"It’s all because you and your wife didn’t come!"
Mrs. Lai stopped herself from saying what she had on her mind. Her husband had given her a look—a clear threat.
She certainly didn’t want her daughter-in-law witnessing her being made a fool.
"Oh, I’m sorry. How about we visit mother’s home again tomorrow?"
Mrs. Lai did not respond to her son but took deep breaths, feeling like she could barely catch her breath, resenting that she might be made ill by the anger.
The thought of falling sick and not being able to deal with the temptress if she entered their household crossed her mind.
"No need, have your meal then come talk to me in my room,"
Hongji, hearing this command from his father, nodded in agreement.
The couple exchanged glances, unsure of what had happened.
Their grandparents had returned, and the workers were calling them to dine.
When Ye Shiqi and her elder sisters entered the living room, the food was already laid out on the table.
Their grandparents had taken their seats, their parents were holding their brother beside the table, and Shiqi sensed something odd in the air within the house.
Shiqi’s keen eyes picked up on her parents’ regular expressions, but she noticed her grandparents didn’t look well.
The ill appearance wasn’t clear—whether from anger or the cold, but she could faintly smell alcohol on her grandfather.
Was it that grandfather had delayed coming home because he was drinking, causing grandmother to be angry about his drunkenness?
Yet why did grandmother look at her parents and them with an angry expression from time to time? Could it mean something else?
Could it be her worsening menopause symptoms?
Shiqi took her seat, ate and drank as her sisters did, and like them, did not pry into the affairs of the elders.
Hongji, reminded of his task, quickly ate his meal, gave his wife a knowing look, and went aside to drink tea while waiting for his father to finish eating.
Hongji’s father, having drunk too many cups at noon, felt bloated with all the water and, following the hunger from his drunkenness, ate an extra bowl of rice.
Once full, he gestured for his son to come to his room.
Mrs. Lai, who had eaten a lot at noon and gulped down her frustration, found the meal normally appetizing, but could hardly eat dinner. Yet, not wanting to waste food, she forced herself to finish one bowl of rice and quite a lot of dishes.