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"You actually said my son will become a beggar in the future? Say it again if you dare!"
Xiao Li glared at Li Family but coughed twice, raising her hand to touch the back of her head, appearing weak. This was an act; if she were truly fierce, she wouldn't be worried about Li Family backing down.
Li Family didn't see Wang Clan. Provoked by Xiao Lihua, and seeing her weak demeanor, they thought that even if they got angry, they couldn't do anything to her. They immediately put their hands on their hips and shouted, "Why wouldn't I dare?! Your two filthy little brats will be despised even if they become beggars! I said it; what can you do about it?"
"Fine! My son is still your nephew, all surnamed Xie! How dare you curse our Xie Family descendants to become beggars in the future! What are you plotting? I'm going to find Parents to settle this!"
Xiao Lihua immediately said, pretending to go to the Hall. She took a few steps forward and seemed to just notice Wang Clan, quickly reporting the situation.
"Mother, you're back? Did you hear that? Sister-in-law actually cursed my Shitou and Muto to become beggars in the future, saying that even if they became beggars, they'd be despised! As a sister-in-law, she can insult me as a younger sister all she wants, but she can't curse her own nephew! Shitou and Muto are descendants of Xie Family! Whatever they do represents the face of Xie Family. Now Sister-in-law curses them like this; is she trying to make us lose face in the future? Mother, you must judge this matter!"
Li Family saw Wang Clan glaring at her with a stern face and felt uneasy. She shot a fierce glare at Xiao Li, thinking that this woman must have set a trap for her!
"Mother, don’t listen to Sister Four’s nonsense; I didn’t mean that!"
"You've said it several times; it’s not just a casual remark! You have that intention!"
Xiao Li snorted coldly, thinking that daring to insult her son wouldn’t let them off easily. Even if she didn’t punish them, they needed to know her strength so that they wouldn’t dare insult him again. Children are most vulnerable psychologically; they shouldn’t always hear such words. If it truly hurt their feelings, how pitiful would that be?
Wang Clan glared fiercely at Li Family and said, "Is this how you talk about your own nephew? Go back and cook! It’s almost mealtime; the men will be back soon! Do you want to starve them? Go cook! You really are a source of worry!"
Upon hearing this, Li Family immediately replied, "Mother, I’ll go cook right now." Saying this, she turned and ran back to the kitchen. If she didn’t return now, Xiao Lihua would hold onto her tightly. Who knows? Her mother-in-law might punish her out of frustration; she wasn’t foolish.
"Mother, Sister-in-law spoke like this about your grandson; are you just going to let her off?"
Xiao Lihua stared into Wang Clan's eyes and asked. She thought that this mother-in-law didn’t favor Xiao Lihua because of her bad reputation and constant troublemaking. However, Shitou and Muto were her grandsons; how could she not defend them? But looking at Shitou and Muto's dirty appearance, she understood that these two children hadn’t received much care from their grandmother. She thought that indeed her family wasn’t favored.
Wang Clan felt irritated under Xiao Li's gaze. She thought that having this Daughter-in-law was really troublesome for the family. She was also angry at the third Daughter-in-law for cursing her own grandsons but upon seeing Xiao Lihua, she became furious and didn’t want to vent for the two children anymore. In fact, she thought that with such a mother, these two children might really end up becoming beggars in the future.
Every finger has its length; Wang Clan had preferences among her six children. The fourth son was precisely the one she valued least in her eyes. The fourth Daughter-in-law was also the one who caused her the most annoyance. Even their two children were the least favored among the grandchildren.
Although the Wang Clan was unhappy with the Li Family for scolding their grandson, they were also unwilling to punish the Li Family for the annoying Fourth Daughter-in-law and Stone and Wood. She thought that if she did that, the Fourth Daughter-in-law would only become more arrogant. Moreover, the Li Family only criticized Stone and Wood, not the entire Xie Family or anyone she cared about. She was angry at the Li Family but did not feel it warranted punishment.
Now, with Xiao Lihua looking at her like she had done something wrong, the Wang Clan couldn't help but glare back. Thinking of the trouble and bad reputation that the Fourth Daughter-in-law had brought to the Xie Family over the years, she immediately snapped at Xiao Lihua.
"She is at fault, but you are not? She just talks back, and look at you! You laze around like a pig every day, and your two children are as dirty as pigs. They already look like little beggars, and you still complain when others say something? If you don't want people to talk about you, then be more diligent and clean up your kids so they don't look like pigs or beggars! Hmph, having you as a mother is worse than having none! People would think you're a stepmother; it's simply sinful!"
Although the Wang Clan was old, her teeth were still strong, and she could scold people fluently. As she spoke, she turned around and went back to the Hall.
Xiao Li pursed her lips. This mother-in-law was clearly siding with the Li Family. Xiao Lihua's neglect of her children was a different matter from the Li Family scolding their nephew. She might not be a good Daughter-in-law, but Stone and Wood were still grandchildren of the Xie Family; as their grandmother, she shouldn't allow others to insult them like that. Yet her mother-in-law chose to favor them because of her dissatisfaction with Xiao Lihua.
At that moment, Xiao Li thought of her previous mother-in-law, the woman she had hated in her heart. Xiao Li had desperately wanted to keep her third child but lost it because of her mother-in-law.
That mother-in-law had said that women back then could work even when heavily pregnant; they could give birth in the fields during busy seasons without needing to rest for a month afterward, strong as oxen. She claimed that Xiao Li wasn't weak either and could handle all household chores. As a result, Xiao Li ended up miscarrying due to exhaustion. Even then, her in-laws scolded her for being ungrateful; she returned to her husband’s side burdened with illness and heartache.
That mother-in-law also favored her other sons' wives; at that time, Xiao Li had been a dutiful and gentle Daughter-in-law who understood propriety but was still not liked.
So Xiao Li thought that perhaps even if Xiao Lihua were a more obedient and dutiful Daughter-in-law than those from the Li Family, it wouldn't change anything. She wouldn't be able to clear this mother-in-law's bias just because of the mess left by Xiao Lihua.
However, Xiao Li also understood that if she didn't change her reputation, such situations would only increase in the future.
At this moment, the Li Family stood at the kitchen door again, casting a smug glance at Xiao Lihua. "Sister Four, you should hurry back inside; don’t forget you’re still injured and spent a couple of taels of Silver on it. If it weren't for Father-in-law and Mother-in-law's kindness, you wouldn’t have received this Silver."
Upon hearing this, Wang Clan turned around and glared. "If you don’t go back inside now and something bad happens again, don’t think about calling a Physician!"
Xiao Li looked at the Li Family and said, "Sister-in-law, since both you and Mother believe my son is dirty enough to be compared to a pig and destined to become a beggar in the future—if you think that's correct—then I can rest assured. You should take good care of your son from now on; I tend to speak 'the plain truth,' so don’t blame me if my words hurt your feelings later."
The Li Family glared angrily at Xiao Li, wondering what she meant by this.
Wang Clan was about to enter the Hall when she heard this remark; her body stiffened as she almost turned around to scold Xiao Lihua again but was pulled inside by an old man standing at the door.
"Mother..."
A soft voice rang out, and Xiao Li's body trembled. This address was something she had longed for, and now she heard it, knowing it was directed at her. The little bit of discomfort in her heart immediately vanished as she turned to look at the two small figures in front of her.
"Mother..."
The two small figures saw Xiao Li turn to them, their eyes shining brightly with fear. They immediately pouted as if they were about to cry, worried that their mother might be upset because of Consort San and their grandmother, and that she would take it out on them.
"Sigh!"
Xiao Li was momentarily stunned, then responded loudly. At that moment, her eyes sparkled, nearly bringing her to tears. She fully embraced this identity, thinking that from now on she would be Xiao Lihua, and Xiao Li was just her past life!
Seeing the two children step back a little, Xiao Lihua thought her voice had been too loud and scared them. In her memories, she had never been kind to these two sons. Sometimes she would even hit them or pinch them; she was worse than a stepmother. At least a stepmother would carry the child sometimes, but a biological mother like her didn’t even do that. It was normal for the children to be afraid of her.
"Let's go back inside."
Xiao Lihua waved at them. When she saw the two children slowly approach, she wanted to reach out and touch them but feared scaring them away. She thought it would be better to wait until they were inside; by then, they wouldn't be able to run away. Uh, why did that thought seem so strange? It felt like a lamb entering a wolf's den. Xiao Lihua found her own thoughts amusing.
Seeing their mother smile, Stone and Wood were confused but felt less afraid. They had hardly ever seen their mother smile before. But wasn't she very angry just now? How could she be smiling? Besides, wasn't she arguing with Consort San about them? Although they were small, they could tell that their mother seemed to be on their side.
Once inside the house, Xiao Lihua sat on the edge of the kang and leaned against the wall. Her head hurt from the injury and from the earlier argument; it throbbed painfully inside. She thought about healing quickly because now she had two sons to take care of.
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