If there’s a chance in the future, find a way to recommend it, maybe you can score a big red envelope again.
The living room was filled with cheerful conversation, after Ye Shuzhen and Ye Shuzhi had seen their mother, with the wet nurse watching over the children, they also joined in the living room.
The sisters sized up their future new brother-in-law, feeling quite satisfied with their soon-to-be new family member’s attitude and behavior.
Zhong Xingwang... felt like a monkey on display, his face blushing red at over twenty years of age, this being his first formal meeting with his future in-laws.
The woman he wanted to see most hadn’t appeared, and even the other two sisters weren’t here; he understood that they were being kept away intentionally.
Ye Luoqi was in the kitchen, cooking her specialty dishes. She would only make two or three to show her skills, knowing it might be enough for two or three tables, hence preparing larger quantities.
After finishing these tasks, she would also need to take a bath, change her clothes, and dress up to meet the guests.
Aunt Lai, in the next room, heard the faint laughter coming from the living room, and bit her lip in irritation, knowing she couldn’t appear before the guests in her current state.
At this moment, her hatred for the old witch who had caused her present condition deepened.
The guard sent by Ye Shuzhen wasn’t visiting Ye Shuying’s home for the first time to deliver a message.
The guard only met Ye Shuying’s mother-in-law and her young son, leaving a message for Ye Shuying to return home for a banquet.
After the guard left, Ye Shuying’s mother-in-law went to their family’s land where Ye Shuying was working in the fields, along with her pregnant daughter-in-law who was also laboring there.
"Shuying, you’ve got guests at your parents’ house, and they’re holding a banquet. Hurry and join them, maybe bring back something good, eh!"
Ye Shuying wasn’t as enthusiastic as before upon hearing her mother-in-law’s words. She hesitated, torn and maybe feeling guilty, realizing she had not visited her mother despite the serious developments at home.
Her mother-in-law and the family nagged her, and with the external gossips and criticisms, she feared facing her mother’s frail body and the potential for her secret to be exposed, leading to her father and Aunt Lai demanding retribution.
After hiding for days and with no one coming for her, she wondered if this family banquet was actually a trap, akin to the infamous "Banquet at Hongmen"?
"Shuying, what are you dawdling for? Hurry up and wash up, bring your grandson too."
Ye Shuying’s mother-in-law was increasingly anxious seeing her lack of movement.
"Alright, Mother-in-law, I’ll go now."
Ye Shuying took her son without worrying about whether she had gifts for her family, quickly changed her clothes, and wore her best jewelry, not willing to be outdone by her younger sisters.
"Mother-in-law, I need to go back too; I’m not feeling well!"
The other daughter-in-law, now pregnant after four or five years in the family, was considered barren, particularly by her mother-in-law.
From being slightly favored at the beginning, her standing in the family had dwindled below that of her sister-in-law over the years. Now that she was finally pregnant, she was still expected to work in the sweltering heat.
"So delicate, aren’t you? Fine, go back, but tomorrow you better come out earlier to work. You’ve barely worked before going back home; it’s almost pointless!" her mother-in-law consented but not without some nagging.
The daughter-in-law... wished she didn’t have to be out here working, yet if she wasn’t, they’d have probably labeled her a lazy daughter-in-law.
Her parents’ home wasn’t as supportive as her sister-in-law’s; she relied on her uncle and husband to occasionally look out for her younger siblings-in-law’s family by providing them with work, thus slightly improving their livelihood.
When Ye Shuying arrived at her parents’ house, the guests in the living room were engaged in pleasant conversation. She was still oblivious to the situation when her younger sisters took her away and brought her into their mother’s room.
Ye Shuying’s son, unfazed by his mother being taken away, nonchalantly helped himself to the delicious food in the living room.
Feeling even more guilty, Ye Shuying entered her mother’s room led by her sisters, seeing her mother lying in bed seemingly better than before, though not as robust as in the past.
Ye Shuzhen closed the door, and the two sisters began their scrutiny of their older sister.
"Big sister, mother fell ill and you didn’t inform us. What’s your explanation for this?"
Ye Shuying’s heart trembled at the questioning from her younger sister, realizing they had guessed the truth, but she still couldn’t admit it.
"I’ve been busy at home. How would I know what’s happening here at my parents’ house? Nobody told me about it!"
"Big sister, you’re not being honest. Such a big incident occurred at home, bringing in the doctor and the midwife, the whole village knew about it. How could you not know?" Ye Shuzhi also voiced her suspicion.
Ye Shuying remained adamant, denying everything, as it was a matter of life and death. She certainly couldn’t confess, especially since her sisters might not harm her, but her father and Aunt Lai knowing would be dreadful.
It was fortunate her mother hadn’t implicated her, and now even better that she couldn’t remember much.
Unable to get any information out of their big sister, the two younger sisters ceased their questioning.
"Anyway, why are there so many guests at home and why is there a banquet?" Ye Shuying, having been let off the hook by her sisters, allowed her curiosity to rebound.
"Hahaha, we knew about it before you did; the new groom has come to propose." Ye Shuzhi said, laughing proudly with Ye Shuzhen.