Li Cuihua’s eldest sister-in-law came out of the kitchen carrying a bowl of freshly shucked oysters and pursed her lips at the remark.
“Little sister-in-law, I’d say you ought to rein in that temper of yours. The third son’s wife in the He family is pregnant, and you let your son push her? If word gets out, people will drown you in their spit.”
“Exactly.”
The second sister-in-law, squatting on the doorstep trimming seaweed, made sharp snipping sounds with her scissors.
“You snatched the east room and took advantage back then. Now that the family is dividing, it’s only right they take it back. If you ask me, it’s pretty good that He Jiang didn’t divorce you outright.”
When they had first arrived at the He household, they had suffered plenty of bullying from Li Cuihua.
Everyone had initially aimed to get along well, but who could have guessed Li Cuihua would throw her weight around like that?
If they hadn’t joined forces, there was no telling how much worse Li Cuihua would have become.
Seeing her get her comeuppance now brought the sisters-in-law no small amount of satisfaction.
Li Cuihua’s face flushed and paled alternately under the barrage of criticism from her sisters-in-law. She flung the handkerchief in her hand onto the table.
“What do any of you know? Ji Shuyu is just relying on her city background, using all sorts of flashy tricks to bewitch the He family! Just wait until I go back…”
“Go back?”
Old Man Li snorted coldly, his voice low and grim.
“If the He family sends someone to fetch you, you’d better keep your head down and behave. If no one comes, stay here and help your brothers and sisters-in-law dry the fishing nets!”
“If it really comes to it, you can marry outside the village. Our Li family doesn’t support idlers.”
Old Man Li wasn’t particularly kind-hearted; all he knew was that if Li Cuihua returned home divorced, he would lose face all over the place.
Li Cuihua opened her mouth but ultimately didn’t dare talk back, only shedding silent tears.
Wasn’t it enough to be bullied at the He family’s? How come even back at her own parents’ home, she still had to suffer like this?
Ji Shuyu—all of this was Ji Shuyu’s fault!
Li Cuihua clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms. The physical pain, however, couldn’t suppress the seething hatred in her heart.
“What are you crying for?”
The eldest sister-in-law thumped the basin of oysters heavily onto the stove.
“Instead of wasting time shedding those precious tears, you’d be better off thinking about how to tighten your grip on the He family. Do you know what Ji Shuyu is carrying in her belly? That’s the He family’s golden treasure! Once she gives birth to that child, will there even be a place for you in the He family?”
When He Qiang and He Ming were born, were they ever treated as preciously as Ji Shuyu?
Wasn’t it all because of the third son, He Yuan’s, status?
He was an officer. The old couple were counting on He Yuan to support them in their old age.
Wouldn’t they have to curry favor with this third daughter-in-law?
The second sister-in-law glanced up at Li Cuihua, a smirk tugging at her lips.
“The eldest sister-in-law is right. If you had just lived peacefully with He Jiang from the start, what would Ji Shuyu have to do with any of this? You were the one who insisted on dividing the family and living separately. And what happened? Now Ji Shuyu has become the He family’s benefactor.”
“You never expected they’d be only too happy to split from you early on, did you?”
Li Cuihua jerked her head up, tears still wet in her eyes, and spat out viciously,
“Benefactor? I say she’s a vixen! How else could she have He Yuan so utterly bewitched?”
“If it weren’t for the child in her belly, would the He family treat me so heartlessly?”
“You brought that heartlessness on yourself.”
Old Man Li didn’t want to bother with his foolish daughter any longer.
“If you hadn’t threatened He Jiang with that pesticide bottle back then, he might not have married you at all. You knew the He family was a good match—what were you causing all that trouble for?”
Li Cuihua was momentarily at a loss for words.
She wanted to retort, but the words died on her lips.
She had indeed done those things. Back then, she always felt the He family had wronged her, thought He Jiang was spineless, and wanted to stir up trouble until no one had any peace.
But now, truly driven out of the He family, she realized that without her status as a He family daughter-in-law, she couldn’t even eat a warm meal in peace at her parents’ home.
Li Cuihua suddenly wiped her face. The tears were gone, replaced by a fierce glare.
“You all think Ji Shuyu will have a smooth pregnancy and give birth just like that?”
The eldest and second sisters-in-law exchanged a glance, seeing surprise in each other’s eyes.
“She looks so frail, and it’s her first child. What if… what if she took a fall, or ate something wrong…”
“What are you trying to do?”
The eldest sister-in-law stood up abruptly, looking at Li Cuihua with a warning in her eyes.
“Li Cuihua, have you lost your mind? That’s a human life!”
“I didn’t say I was going to do anything.”
Li Cuihua added a handful of firewood to the stove. The firelight cast half her face in light, the other half in shadow.
“I’m just saying, when someone is unlucky, even cold water can choke them. Who knows if such a coincidence might happen?”
Old Man Li frowned deeply but ultimately said nothing.
In his view, as long as Li Cuihua could stay with the He family and not bring shame to the Li family, he could turn a blind eye to other matters.
Li Cuihua’s mind was buzzing with calculations.
She thought, if something just happened to Ji Shuyu, if she just lost the baby, would the He family still care about her then?
No one was going to push her out.
As for whether Ji Shuyu lived or died, in Li Cuihua’s eyes, that woman shouldn’t have existed in the first place.
Why did her own life have to be turned upside down the moment Ji Shuyu arrived?
Li Cuihua was going to make her understand that she wasn’t someone to be trifled with.
She never stopped to consider: if she hadn’t treated Ji Shuyu poorly from the start, would Ji Shuyu have gifted that scarf?
Originally, the gifts Ji Shuyu prepared for Li Cuihua and Su Wenjuan were the same.
It was her own pettiness, wanting to assert her authority as the eldest sister-in-law.
And later, trying to frame Ji Shuyu for theft—it was all her own fault, the consequences of her own actions.
Watching Li Cuihua’s expression, her eldest sister-in-law felt her words were more than just empty talk.
So the next day, the eldest sister-in-law went to find Ji Shuyu.
The Li family home was quite far from the He family. The eldest sister-in-law set out early in the morning.
She arrived at the He family just after mealtime.
She didn’t really want to get involved in Li Cuihua’s affairs.
In her opinion, Li Cuihua had brought all this on herself.
But it involved a human life, after all. She had to make this trip.
If something really happened, her conscience wouldn’t rest easy.
“You’re the third He son’s wife, right?”
The eldest sister-in-law saw Ji Shuyu about to leave and quickly called out to her.
Hearing the voice, Ji Shuyu turned around. She looked at the unfamiliar middle-aged woman before her.
The woman wore a blue cloth jacket, the bottoms of her trousers stained with mud, her face etched with urgency.
“Yes, I’m Ji Shuyu. May I ask who you are?”
Ji Shuyu spoke gently, feeling somewhat puzzled. This person looked unfamiliar, yet she seemed to know her.
“I’m Li Cuihua’s eldest sister-in-law,”
the woman said quickly, her eyes fixed on Ji Shuyu. After a glance at her belly, her anxiety grew.
“I came today because I have something to tell you. It’s about Li Cuihua.”
Mention of Li Cuihua made Ji Shuyu’s heart sink slightly, but she maintained her politeness. “Eldest sister-in-law, please come inside. It’s hot out here.”
“No, it’s fine right here. I just need to say a few words. I have to get back soon.”
The eldest sister-in-law waved her hand, looking around. Seeing no one nearby, she lowered her voice, her tone urgent.
“Shuyu, you need to be careful of Li Cuihua. The things she said at her parents’ house… they were truly frightening.”
“Li Cuihua? What did she say?”
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