Chapter 342: Mrs. Zhou's Visit
, no one has prepared extra bedding for guests. These five people arriving suddenly took them by surprise.Luckily, it's summer now and there's no need to worry about keeping warm.A kang burns a fire...Li Lao hurriedly comforted Huiniang, "Don't be afraid, it shouldn't be the Yan family. They're probably still outside the city right now. Even if they bring people back, they wouldn't arrive in time."
Only then did Hui Niang's complexion improve slightly. Tao Hongying hurriedly opened the door to inquire about what had happened.
Then Li Yong walked in accompanied by a woman about thirty years old, "Fourth Sister-in-law, is Hui'er awake My sister wants to see her and the child!"
Sister
Tao Hong carefully examined the beautiful woman, her eyebrows and eyes were indeed three points similar to Li Yong.
What was remarkable was that the woman looked quite gentle, devoid of the arrogance and disdain one typically sees in members of the strict, noble families.
She thought for a moment and said, "Hui's awake. Hearing the noise outside, she thought something else had happened. She was afraid someone would come to take the child, so she lay on top of him, protecting him. Luckily, my mother persuaded her. After all, she just lost a lot of blood, and it took us a while to save her life. It's not good to trouble her again..."
Li Yong's eyes were filled with heartache, he even disregarded his sister and rushed into the room in a few steps.
The beautiful woman, thrown down, not only didn't get angry but laughed instead. She bowed to Tao Hongying and said, "My younger brother has finally grown up and knows how to be caring."
Tao Hongying stepped aside to invite her in, saying in a low voice, "Hui's just given birth, and there's still a bit of a metallic smell in the house. Please bear with us, Madam."
"No, no, Mrs. Li is too kind."
The beautiful woman signaled for her maidservant to stay outside with her, then followed Tao Hongying into the room.
Inside the house, Li Yong was talking to Huiniang, his hands and feet stiff as he held their son. However, a smile lit up his face.
A beautiful woman first performed the courtesies of a junior to Elder Li. Elder Li helped her up and asked, "Is this Lady Zhou Back when the mountain valley was built, Lord Zhou helped out a great deal. I've always wanted to invite your family to visit the valley for two days, but I never expected to meet like this..."
Mrs. Zhou blushed slightly.
If she could, she wouldn't want to meet like this, but there's no way around it, who made her family so difficult
"I am so sorry, Ma'am. I let you down today."
"Mrs. Li, hearing her apology, waved her hand dismissively. "Don't worry, Mrs. Zhou. Today's disturbance was caused by the Yan family. You are the wife of Mr. Zhou, and our families still know the difference."
Mrs. Zhou smiled bitterly. Her family had a feud with the Li family, fortunately, the Li family was reasonable and didn't hold grudges against her and her brother-in-law.
She curtsied again and thanked, “Thank you, Madam. I am grateful for your care of my younger brother and sister-in-law these past days.”
"Mrs. Zhou may not know, Young Master Yan has changed his name to Li Yong. He is now fighting alongside my fourth son on the battlefield, and he is considered one of our Li family's sons. As for Huiniang, she's pregnant, so it's only natural that we take extra care of her." Mrs. Li said straightforwardly, without any polite formalities.
She pointed to the child in Li Yong’s arms, and smiling towards Madam Zhou, said: “Madam, come and see the child born by Da Yong and Hui Niang. A pair of dragon and phoenix twins, what good fortune!”
Mrs. Zhou quickly looked into her younger brother's arms, Li Yong turned sideways to let his sister get a better look. Helplessly, he was holding a child for the first time and was unfamiliar with it, almost dropping him.
Mrs. Zhou instinctively took the swaddle, gently patting the surprised child.
The child was well-behaved, their mouth moved slightly, and then they fell asleep again.
Mrs. Zhou's mood is so complicated...
Seeing her parents and sister-in-law in such disarray just now, she felt heartbroken. She couldn't help but blame her younger brother and his wife. After all, as a son and daughter-in-law, how could they have caused such a commotion within the family
But holding her nephew in her arms and seeing the bloodless face of her sister-in-law, as well as her brother who had transformed from a dandy to a rough man, all her resentment vanished.
It's too much! This is going overboard!
As parents get older, they become more stubborn and refuse to allow anyone to disobey them.
The two elder brothers were idle and good-for-nothing. The second sister-in-law was harsh, while the elder sister-in-law was a bit better, but most of her thoughts were also spent on vying for property.
She doesn't even want to go back to such a house, let alone her brother and sister-in-law!
Initially, my sister-in-law was drugged and her brother beaten nearly to death. They barely managed to escape to the present day, but now my sister-in-law is almost dead again. Even she wouldn't want to go back home.
Mrs. Zhou got up and put the child back in Huiniang's arms. Seeing Huiniang quickly hold the child tightly, Mrs. Zhou felt even more heartache.
She took out a stack of silver notes from her bosom and placed them beside Old Madam Li. “Old Madam, my husband had someone rush home to send a message earlier, so I hurried over as soon as possible, but I'm afraid I'm still late.”
"My mother previously gave me two shops, asking me to sell them and secretly repay the debts of my two incompetent older brothers. Today I've brought the silver, please Madam, accept it."
The whole Li family was taken aback. They couldn't believe she would be like this.
Just then, Jia Yin took a good look at this Mrs. Zhou.
Gentle and beautiful, wise and dignified, a typical good wife and mother. No wonder Zhou adults did not take concubines, the couple has always been very loving.
But the Yan family, who raised such a woman, was utterly disreputable.
Good things often come from unexpected places.
Earlier, she also wanted the Yan family to pay her a sum of silver and even restore the courtyard back to its original state, not a bit different.
But nothing in the world is exactly the same. Even if it recovers, it's not the way it was before.
Even thinking about the Yan family members entering and leaving over and over again made her feel sick.
Moreover, at that time, Lord Zhou was watching the in-laws being beaten while his face turned pale.
Jia Yin couldn't help but soften her heart when she thought about how he had never looked down on their group of refugees back then, diligently helping them build the mountain valley.
Thus, after venting his pain and anger, he decided not to demand compensation from the Yan family.
To everyone's surprise, Mrs. Zhou, whether she genuinely felt that the Yan family was in the wrong or intentionally helped her natal family by cutting their losses and surviving, actually took the initiative to send over a silver note...
Old Mrs. Li didn't think about her granddaughter as much as she did. She just felt that for the sake of Li Yong and Huiniang, this silver note couldn't be taken, "Madam Zhou, this money, our family can't accept it. You should take it back. The Yan family destroyed our courtyard, and our family also tore off the face of the Yan family. Even if we break even."
"Besides, our courtyard is already ruined, and no amount of silver can buy it back…"
Mrs. Zhou insisted, "Elder Madam, I truly mean to apologize on behalf of my family. Please accept the silver. My parents are stubborn, and my brothers are incompetent. Today's events, please do not take them to heart…"
The old woman finally understood and frowned, asking, “Is Madam Zhou afraid that our Li family will come looking for her to settle accounts”
Mrs. Zhou blushed and quickly explained, “No, no, Grandmother is magnanimous and will certainly not hold a grudge anymore. But I'm afraid that my incompetent elder brother might…”
"Mrs. Zhou, there is no need to worry. Our Li family does not seek trouble, but we are not afraid of it either. If the Yan family from now on lives an honest life, we will consider Big Yong's face and won't make things difficult for them. But if they dare to scheme against our family again, then our family will not be polite." The old lady finished speaking coldly, raised her hand to hug her granddaughter, and asked, "Funiu'er, how did that saying go"
Hearing was believing. Her face turned cold as she stared at Madam Zhou, “We must eradicate the source!”
Madam Zhou's heart tightened, and she suddenly regretted her words. She quickly changed her tune and said, "Elder Madam, I didn't explain myself clearly just now and caused you to misunderstand. I meant that my brother's family of four are staying here under your care, and they need food, shelter, and everything else, especially since Orchid has just given birth."
"As their elder sister, I can't personally attend to them. Though I'm worried about them, this money is for them. Please, Madam, help me purchase some food and necessities. They are young and inexperienced, so please guide them whenever you can."ving Li's siblings behind.Jia Ren whispered to his sister, "What's wrong with Mu Xu Isn't he an orphan"Jia Yin shrugged helplessly and replied, “I don’t know either. He was arranged to live with us by...