Mo Sanniang was taken aback for a moment, then smiled. Was this girl here to act as her guardian deity? However, seeing that she had such a younger sister always looking out for and protecting her, a wave of warmth flooded Mo Sanniang’s heart.
As if she hadn’t seen Lin Yuan, Mo Sanniang also sat down on a chair, quietly waiting for Lady Xie to speak.
Lady Xie clasped the cup in her hand, and before she could speak, tears had already started falling.
Mo Sanniang’s brows furrowed. Every time Xie Zhiyuan proposed marriage, this old woman would put on this pitiable act, going on and on about how hard it was for her to raise Xie Zhiyuan.
Indeed, this time was no different. Mo Sanniang bowed her head and quietly listened once more to the speech she had heard no fewer than eight hundred times.
"Sanniang, you have no idea, it was so hard raising Yuaner by myself as a widow. His heartless father left us when Yuaner was just a few years old. I had to be both mother and father, and for Yuaner to grow up well, I gave up on several chances to remarry."
Lady Xie wiped her tears, her eyes constantly on Mo Sanniang. This girl saw her weeping , why wouldn’t she at least offer her a handkerchief?
Meanwhile, Mo Sanniang was calculating how much fabric she had sold that day, which patterns needed restocking, which ones weren’t selling well, and whether she should mark them down for clearance.
Seeing that Mo Sanniang didn’t take up the conversation, didn’t offer a handkerchief, and didn’t even offer words of comfort, Lady Xie felt embarrassed and stopped rambling on about the hard years and the many suitors she had turned down.
The topic changed abruptly as Lady Xie grasped Mo Sanniang’s hand and looked at her earnestly, "Sanniang, my life has been so hard. Young and widowed, and just as my son has grown up and is ready to find a wife, I, I was blind and missed out on a good daughter-in-law like you!"
Mo Sanniang had just thought about restocking when she suddenly realized her hand was being gripped. Her reflex was to shake it off, but the old woman was clinging on tightly and she couldn’t quite pull away.
Listening to the old woman’s words, Mo Sanniang was even more so stunned that she forgot how to react.
Lady Xie thought Mo Sanniang was moved, so she quickly fanned the flames, "Sanniang, it was my fault initially for looking down on you because you ran a store, thinking you weren’t good enough for my Yuaner. But now I regret it, and I see things clearly. You are a good kid, filial and sensible, far superior to Ma Xiaoqian."
Lin Yuan leaned against the doorway and curled her lip. What did it mean to be filial and sensible? In Lady Xie’s eyes, the fact that Mo Sanniang always gave her fabric for free was considered filial. Also, whenever she was mocked, Mo Sanniang never talked back and never retorted, which must be her idea of being sensible.
Indeed, she was much better than Ma Xiaoqian, who wouldn’t even let her live at home. How could she compare to Mo Sanniang’s submissive nature?
What was this called? This was called not knowing good from bad without comparison. Compared to Ma Xiaoqian, a wealthy family’s daughter, of course she’d prefer Mo Sanniang, an easy-to-handle daughter-in-law.
Lin Yuan snorted and rolled her eyes dramatically. Once again, this old hag Lady Xie had refreshed her understanding of shamelessness.
Seeing customers coming to buy fabric, Lin Yuan quietly ushered them out with her soft voice.
Inside the house, Lady Xie kept showering Mo Sanniang with empty praises.
"Sanniang, you don’t know how detestable that Ma Xiaoqian is. She hasn’t even moved in yet, and she’s already driven me, her mother-in-law, out of the house! Wah, is there such a daughter-in-law? Ah? Even back in the village, I never saw such a malicious daughter-in-law! What does Ma Xiaoqian have to be so proud of, isn’t it just some filthy money? So what if they’re wealthy, they can’t treat their mother-in-law ! I really don’t know how her parents raised her, to bring up such a shrewish and capricious daughter!"