“Bullshit gesture! She’s just a snob! She looks down on me, and I won’t swallow this insult!”
“I’m going to make sure she understands who’s really in charge in this family.”
Li Cuihua grew more agitated as she spoke, but He Jiang couldn’t be bothered to engage further.
The more he responded, the more unreasonable she became.
He Jiang left the room and walked to He Yuan’s door.
When the knocking sounded, He Yuan stood up and went to open it, finding his eldest brother outside.
“Eldest Brother?”
“Hey, Yuanzi, I’m really sorry. Your sister-in-law is just like that—I can’t control her. If she said or did anything, please don’t take it to heart.”
As he spoke, He Jiang held out a coupon.
“This was just issued by my unit. Take it and buy something nourishing for your wife. When a woman is pregnant, she needs to take good care of her health.”
He Yuan pushed back the hand He Jiang extended, and Ji Shuyu also came over.
“Eldest Brother, we can’t accept this coupon.”
“No matter what, you and He Yuan are family. We won’t hold anything against you because of Sister-in-law.”
Ji Shuyu’s voice was clear and pleasant, yet her words left He Jiang feeling uneasy.
Wasn’t she implying that, no matter what, there would be no issues between He Yuan and him…
But Li Cuihua was another story.
He Jiang held the coupon, feeling somewhat helpless.
He understood the underlying meaning in Ji Shuyu’s words but couldn’t find any fault with them.
Her response was straightforward—it gave him an out without actually forgiving Li Cuihua.
Meanwhile, Li Cuihua’s unreasonable behavior had crossed the line.
“Third sister-in-law…”
He Jiang opened his mouth, wanting to say something to smooth things over, but meeting Ji Shuyu’s clear, bright eyes, he swallowed his words.
He Yuan said sternly from the side, “Eldest Brother, we know what’s going on in the family. You should go back now—don’t give Sister-in-law more reasons to overthink.”
His words were both a reminder and a dismissal.
Brothers may keep clear accounts, but while He Yuan acknowledged his elder brother’s kindness, Li Cuihua’s behavior would have to be addressed sooner or later.
He Jiang sighed, knowing further talk was useless. He pressed the coupon into He Yuan’s hand. “Take it. Consider it… consider it my way of apologizing on your sister-in-law’s behalf.”
Without waiting for He Yuan to refuse again, he turned and hurried away, his steps almost fleeing.
The room fell quiet again. Ji Shuyu looked at the coupon in He Yuan’s hand and suddenly smiled. “Your eldest brother is quite reasonable—it’s just that he’s too easily influenced.”
“He’s been dominated by Li Cuihua for too long.”
He Yuan placed the coupon on the table, his tone dismissive.
“We can’t keep this. If she finds out, who knows what gossip she’ll spread.”
Ji Shuyu nodded and walked to the table. “Why not return it to Mom? We can say it was Eldest Brother’s kind gesture and let her decide what to add for the household.”
She paused, a sly glint flashing in her eyes.
“Incidentally, Mom will also see that Eldest Brother cares for us—it’s just that some people can’t see clearly.”
Seeing her like this, He Yuan couldn’t help but chuckle softly.
His wife really knew how to handle both appearances and realities.
Just then, Wang Shufen lifted the door curtain and entered, holding a bowl with two plump, white hard-boiled eggs.
“Shuyu, eat these while they’re hot.”
She set the bowl on the table, her eyes full of affection.
“I saw how you were wronged today.”
Ji Shuyu quickly stood up to support her. “Mom, please don’t say that. I’m fine.”
“Fine? Nonsense! That shrew Li Cuihua—I’ve long been fed up with her!”
Wang Shufen sat down, fuming with anger.
“I just talked to your dad. If it really comes to it, we should just split the household—better than having constant chaos and conflict at home every day.”
“But your dad got angry with me, saying that splitting up would be unfilial.”
Hearing this, He Yuan frowned. “Mom, don’t be upset with Dad. I’m already handling the separation. The army side—”
“Handle what?”
Wang Shufen interrupted him. “This house rightfully has a share for you. Why should you be the one to move out? If anyone should leave, it should be her!”
“Shuyu bought gifts for everyone, and now she’s being blamed even for that? She even tried to take Minmin’s things—she’s utterly lawless!”
Listening to Wang Shufen’s furious words, Ji Shuyu quickly tried to calm her.
“Mom, don’t be so angry. It’s not worth ruining your health over something like this. Besides, if we really start a fight, outsiders will say our family is disharmonious, and our reputation will suffer.”
A head-on confrontation was never the best solution. Wang Shufen snorted. “But we can’t just let her walk all over us!”
“Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing.”
Ji Shuyu picked up an egg, peeled it, and handed it to Wang Shufen.
“If she dares to cause trouble again, I promise she’ll regret it.”
Her tone was gentle, but it was clear she was a tough nut to crack.
Wang Shufen looked at her and suddenly smiled. “Alright, Mom believes you. You seem soft on the outside, but you’re sharper than anyone inside.”
“I liked you from the moment I first saw you.”
And it wasn’t because of the gifts Ji Shuyu had given—she felt her third daughter-in-law was full of cleverness.
Unlike the eldest daughter-in-law, who was shrewd and calculating, or the second daughter-in-law, who was a bit dull.
She took the egg and added, “Now quickly eat the other one—nourish yourself.”
Ji Shuyu obediently peeled the other egg and ate it in small bites.
Early the next morning, Ji Shuyu planned to go out for a walk. She had been here for a while but hadn’t stepped outside yet.
Just then, Li Cuihua strode in from outside, hands on her hips, and shouted as soon as she entered, “Ji Shuyu! Come out here!”
Ji Shuyu turned around and looked at her calmly. “What do you want?”
“What do I want? I’m asking you—where did the cured meat I left on the table yesterday go? Did you take it?”
Li Cuihua rushed up to her in a few steps. Ji Shuyu took a step back.
“You can eat carelessly, but you can’t speak carelessly. I was in my room all day yesterday and never went to your room. How could I have taken your cured meat?”
“If it wasn’t you, then who? You’re the only outsider in this house. Who else would do such a sneaky, thieving thing?”
Li Cuihua insisted it was her.
“I think you’re just jealous that our family has cured meat and wanted to steal it to eat.”
If this had been someone else, they would have been hopping mad, but Ji Shuyu only let out a cold laugh.
“You say I took your cured meat—do you have any proof? If not, then this is a false accusation.”
“I… of course I have proof!”
Caught off guard by the question, Li Cuihua stiffened her neck and retorted.
“I clearly left it on the table yesterday, and it was gone this morning. If you didn’t take it, then who did?”
“Oh? Really?”
Ji Shuyu raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. “What a coincidence. I think I saw my little nephew, He Qiang, hanging around your door for a long time yesterday. I wonder if he took it.”
After saying this, Ji Shuyu feigned surprise. “No way! Did He Qiang take something from the house, and now you, Sister-in-Law, are playing the thief crying ‘stop thief’?”
“This is outrageous! Mom, Dad, come quickly and see! My little nephew took the cured meat, and now Sister-in-Law is blaming me!”
“I just got here, and I’m already being bullied. I’m so miserable, boo hoo! I don’t want to live anymore, I don’t want to live!”
As she spoke, Ji Shuyu even walked toward Li Cuihua.
Wasn’t Li Cuihua fond of making a scene?
Let’s see how she handles it when her own tactics are used against her.
Leave a Reply