WBSGVS Chapter 48

“Speak if you have something to say; why hit me?!”

Qing Li wanted to laugh. If the original owner were here, as a weak and delicate girl, she would have surely interrupted and silenced everyone with her retorts, condemning them right in front of the neighbors!

Even if later on, Mrs. Xiong discovered that the original owner had jumped into the water to save her daughter, she would never lower herself to apologize because she was the elder, the mother-in-law, and the original owner should have just endured it.

Qing Li had always known that reasoning with evil people was futile, so it was time to retaliate in kind.

Cheng Yue’er hadn’t completely avoided mentioning that the original owner had fallen into the water to save her, right? She was deliberately trying to provoke Mrs. Xiong into scolding her for being unfilial, so Qing Li decided to throw that dirty water right back at her.

Mrs. Xiong was protecting Cheng Yue’er, so Qing Li naturally couldn’t strike again. The original owner had once brought shame to her family, and in this life, she hoped to avoid harming them; she couldn’t be too reckless, but this could also be a novel way to play.

She wanted to make the Cheng family the target of everyone’s scorn!

Faced with Mrs. Xiong’s questioning, Qing Li withdrew her hand but didn’t lower the broom. Instead, she said, “Mother, seeing you so angry, with your hand raised, I thought you were going to hit Yue’er. I’m worried you might hurt yourself, so I thought I’d help discipline her in advance. They say an elder sister is like a mother; if Yue’er hasn’t been raised well, both you and I have responsibilities. Mother, please step aside; a good beating produces filial children. If you hit her a few more times, she will behave!”

Mrs. Xiong staggered back in anger, her fingers trembling as she pointed at her: “You—”

Cheng Yue’er was filled with hatred, and emboldened by her mother’s protection, she stepped forward, cursing, “What do you mean, Luo? It was you who fell into the water! You are the one who’s unfilial—ah!!”

As her words escaped her lips, Qing Li was quick to strike her leg with a stick, causing Cheng Yue’er to buckle and fall to her knees, adding to her injuries and making her face tremble with pain.

Cheng Yue’er had never endured such suffering and was momentarily speechless from the pain!

“Luo, no hitting!” Mrs. Xiong hadn’t expected Qing Li to dare strike again. Watching her daughter suffer, felt like a knife twisting in her heart.

Qing Li widened her eyes as if confused by the outburst: “Mother, you can’t spoil the child! At such a young age, she dares to offend others and falls into the water while trying to seduce someone. It’s spring! If I hadn’t intervened, who knows what kind of harm she would have faced now!”

“You!!!” Mrs. Xiong had never found her daughter-in-law so insufferable. Then, noticing the crowd outside, a flash of insight hit her, and she rolled her eyes and collapsed onto the ground.

“Mother!” Cheng Yue’er quickly caught on to her mother’s signal and immediately jumped in to accuse Qing Li, “You made my mother faint! What were you thinking?”

“Mother!” Qing Li was startled and rushed over, ‘accidentally’ stepping on Mrs. Xiong’s hand that was lying on the ground.

“Ah—” Another ear-splitting scream erupted as Mrs. Xiong sat up, her eyes bulging, and her face flushed with pain.

Qing Li quickly stepped aside, patting her chest to comfort her: “It’s alright, it’s alright; Mother is fine now. Yue’er, why aren’t you helping Mother up?”

As she spoke, she grabbed both of Mrs. Xiong’s arms, attempting to lift her, but Mrs. Xiong was quite heavy. Qing Li couldn’t budge her, putting all her strength into it.

“Luo—” Mrs. Xiong growled, and the next second, Qing Li was so startled that she lost her grip and fell to the ground, landing hard on her bottom. “You did that on purpose!”

Qing Li retreated in a bit of panic, waving her hands: “I didn’t! Mother fainted because of Yue’er’s mischief; I just wanted to help you up…”

The crowd had gathered at the Cheng family’s door to watch the commotion, and hearing her words, they shook their heads, exchanging strange looks with each other: “See? This is the difference between a daughter and a daughter-in-law!”

“I thought it was her daughter-in-law who was frivolous; who knew… tsk tsk…”

“I’ve known all along that Cheng Yue’er has a bad temperament. It’s a shame her sister-in-law has been so devoted to her; she doesn’t feel grateful at all and instead comes back to complain?”

“An ingrate! Truly too wicked!”

The low murmurs continued at the entrance of the courtyard. Mrs. Xiong realized it couldn’t go on any longer; her daughter-in-law might not just be foolish but clever enough to play mind games. Rubbing her sore hand, she shot Qing Li a glare: “Who fainted because of Yue’er? I fainted because of you! Is Yue’er someone you can hit?”

Qing Li smiled awkwardly: “They say an elder sister is like a mother. As the elder sister, I naturally have to take on the responsibility of teaching. If Yue’er hasn’t learned well and argues with people, even jumping into the pond, I had to intervene. In the end, she was fine, and I fell in. However, if this is something Mother is going to blame, naturally, Yue’er has to learn a lesson.”

Mrs. Xiong: “…”

Cheng Yue’er glared at her with tears in her eyes, stomping her feet in anger: “Sister-in-law!”

How could she directly state this incident?

Her reputation was on the line!

Even though Cheng Yue’er didn’t plan to marry into a family like this, she didn’t want to ruin her name!

Qing Li smiled and waved her hand gently, her expression warm: “There’s no need for gratitude, Yue’er. I didn’t think much of it when I acted; I just instinctively rushed in to save you when I saw you were in danger. It’s not worth mentioning. It was just a fall into the water.”

“???”

The Cheng mother and daughter exchanged confused glances. Were they even planning to thank her?

Wasn’t her elder brother the one who saved her? Shouldn’t that be expected? They wanted her to shut up!

But those outside listening were envious: “She is a good daughter-in-law.”

“No wonder they say a good wife is worth marrying; if my daughter fell into the water, that husband of mine would just stand on the shore and watch!”

“Don’t even get me started; that husband of mine always tries to drive a wedge between me and my son. It annoys me. The Cheng family is truly blessed, and now my husband is sneezing. I’m still wearing my coat while that old woman is nitpicking just because Cheng Yue’er fell into the water. It’s ridiculous…”

Daughters-in-law always seem better in other families. Most mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationships are adversarial because they’re competing for the same man. Women see each other as rivals and can pick faults even in the smallest things.

If there was ever a daughter-in-law who wasn’t good, the envy would be so palpable that their eyes would turn red. A nearby aunt, unable to hold back, called out: “Old lady, your daughter-in-law is truly wonderful!”

Cheng Yue’er’s expression twisted in anger, tears almost bursting forth.

She couldn’t stand seeing anyone praise Luo Qing Li because the life Luo Qing Li led was what she had always dreamed of, and she was filled with jealousy!

Qing Li shyly smiled: “Aunt, please don’t tease me.”

She looked eagerly at Mrs. Xiong, her hair still not completely dry, and her face pale. After a moment, she sneezed several times in succession.

Mrs. Xiong’s fury was beyond containment, and her face darkened even further.

Qingli shivered slightly, and her maid, Pan Chun, who had not completely betrayed her yet, quickly advised, “Miss, let’s go back inside. It’s too cold out here, and your hair is still wet.”

“Okay.” Qingli nodded, smiling as she said, “Mother, I’m going back to my room. I’m feeling a bit dizzy, so I won’t be coming out later.”

“Get lost, get lost!” Mrs. Xiong replied irritably. When she turned to see the disapproving expressions of the onlookers at the entrance of the courtyard, she gritted her teeth and forced a gentle smile. “Thanks to you, you should take a break.”

“Thank you, Mother,” Qingli replied sweetly before quickly heading back. After taking a few steps, she felt a wave of dizziness and swayed unsteadily.

Pan Chun hurried to support her, drawing sympathetic glances from the onlookers.

Mrs. Xiong and Cheng Yue’er, however, ground their teeth and muttered in unison, “What a show!”

The place where the Cheng family lived was a small courtyard that, while not small in area, was in a sparsely populated area where the land was not worth much.

Buying the courtyard cost a lot, consuming nearly all of the original owner’s dowry.

The room shared by Qingli and Cheng Zhaoyang was quite nice, and spacious and divided into two sections with a screen for privacy.

Once back in the room, Qingli instructed, “Go boil some hot water; I want to take a bath.”

“Sure,” Pan Chun replied obediently as she left.

Qingli watched her retreating figure. If she hadn’t witnessed her maid cuddling with Cheng Zhiuhua and tearing up the blood oath the original owner had written, she might have never imagined that this maid, who had been like a sister to her since childhood, would betray her—just for a man.

A man who was unremarkable in appearance, not exceptionally talented, and yet she chose to betray her.

Was it because she felt that the servant contract didn’t restrain her enough?

Qingli chuckled as she began to twist her damp hair into a bun, knowing that Pan Chun wouldn’t return anytime soon. Since it was mealtime, she could easily be called away to wash clothes or cook, and it would probably take at least an hour before the hot water arrived.

But Qingli didn’t want to get sick; being ill would delay a lot of things.

She took a horse stance, standing firmly in the room with her hands outstretched, maintaining a steady pose.

As her frail body began to falter, swaying precariously and beads of sweat forming on her forehead, her previously cold limbs began to warm up.

Qingli relaxed her stance, stretched her limbs, and resumed practicing her moves.

She had done these countless times, and even though she had changed bodies, her movements remained fluid and graceful.

After practicing her forms three times, there was finally movement outside the door as Pan Chun came in with hot water. “Miss, the old lady asked me to start cooking first.”

“Mm.” Qingli nodded nonchalantly. When the hot water was poured, she checked the temperature and waved her hand. “You can go back to what you were doing.”

“Understood,” Pan Chun replied, glancing at her mistress. Seeing that she was not angry, she quickly turned and left. Tonight, Cheng Zhiuhua was returning, and he said he loved the pies she made, so she planned to make some for him to take to eat in the morning.

That evening, Qingli did not come out.

Mrs. Xiong was even more pleased with this; seeing the woman who had ruined her son’s future made her uncomfortable, and yet her son liked her, so she had no choice but to let him marry her.

Cheng’s father had passed away early, and Mrs. Xiong had raised their son and daughter alone.

Cheng Zhaoyang worked as a bookkeeper in a shop. Now that he couldn’t take the imperial examination, he had to think about his future livelihood. Even if the Luo family could support him, they couldn’t realistically support an entire household.

Today was a day off, and before dark, Cheng Zhiuhua returned from the academy. The two brothers met at the entrance and entered the house together, smelling the delicious food, which lifted their spirits.

Pan Chun set the table, and Cheng Yue’er had already started eating.

Mrs. Xiong shot her a glare, telling her to wait until her brothers had eaten before she could. Yue’er sulked and began to eat faster, piling her plate with meat and vegetables.

Mrs. Xiong could only serve some food to her sons and urged them, “Eat quickly; you’ve both had a long day.”

“Got it,” Cheng Zhaoyang said. After injuring his leg, his once gloomy expression showed a bit more genuine warmth as he ate a few bites and looked at his younger brother with the warmth of a protective older brother. “How’s school going?”

“It’s pretty good; the teacher praised me several times,” Cheng Zhiuhua replied.

Cheng Zhaoyang felt a twinge of envy. He had never received praise from his teacher even twice while he was in school. His mind had been entirely set on marrying a girl from the Luo family.

Shaking off those thoughts, he adopted an older brother’s demeanor and patted his brother on the shoulder. “Study well.”

“I will,” Cheng Zhiuhua nodded with a smile. He glanced at Pan Chun, who had just placed down the last dish of stir-fried vegetables before leaving. Their eyes met, and the young maid’s cheeks flushed crimson, her steps becoming somewhat unsteady.

At that moment, Cheng Zhaoyang suddenly asked, “Mother, where’s Qingli?”

Mrs. Xiong immediately covered her hand, and Cheng Yue’er, who had been focused on eating meat, also remembered and put down her chopsticks to complain first, “Elder brother, second brother! Today, my sister-in-law hit me! Look, I got hit on my back and head! It hurts so much!”

“And Mom! She made Mom faint and stepped on her hand; look how swollen it is!”

Mrs. Xiong hurriedly held out her hand for the two sons to see.

Although her plump hand didn’t seem swollen, the marks on Cheng Yue’er’s wrist were still visible.

Cheng Zhaoyang’s expression darkened immediately. He slammed his bowl and chopsticks onto the table and said in a deep voice, “Where is Luo Qingli?!”