freenovelworld Chapter 75 Conflict between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law
Chapter 75 Conflict between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law
When Su Yuning and Zhou Xi reunited, time seemed to freeze at that moment. Their eyes met, instantly igniting long-suppressed emotions deep within them. Then, like a flood bursting its banks, they embraced each other and wept with overwhelming emotion.
"I miss you so much, Zhou Xi!" Su Yuning hugged Zhou Xi tightly, her voice trembling slightly, tears soaking Zhou Xi's clothes.
"Me too, I miss you so much!" Zhou Xi hugged Su Yuning back tightly, his words filled with deep affection and longing.
After a long while, once her emotions had calmed down a bit, Zhou Xi turned to her younger brother Zhou Dong and whispered, "Brother, thank you for going to town to buy some cooked food and wine. We're going to have a nice meal with Su Yuning tonight."
"Okay, sister, I'll go right away!" Zhou Dong replied readily, then took out a bag of loose silver from her pocket and went out happily.
Only Su Yuning and Zhou Xi remained in the room, and the atmosphere suddenly became somewhat quiet. Su Yuning gazed at Zhou Xi, her eyes full of concern, and asked softly, "How have you been since you got married? Is your husband good to you? And what about your in-laws? How do they treat you?"
However, before she could finish speaking, Zhou Xi's eyes suddenly reddened, and tears streamed down her face like a broken string of pearls. She bit her lip and said with a slight sob, "Don't mention this anymore, I... I don't want to!"
Seeing this, Su Yuning was at a loss for words and quickly nodded in agreement, "Okay, okay, I won't ask about that anymore. I'm sorry, I made you sad."
After a moment of silence, Zhou Xi seemed to remember something happy. She looked up, forced a smile, and suggested, "It's been a long time since we went hunting in the mountains. Why don't we go together?"
Su Yuning was taken aback at first, but then quickly reacted, smiled and nodded, replying, "Okay, let's get ready quickly!"
After saying this, the two began to busy themselves, arranging bows and arrows and checking traps, all with practiced ease and order. In no time, they had completed all the preparations and then set off up the mountain full of confidence.
Along the way, birds sang merrily in the forest, and a gentle breeze brushed against her cheeks, bringing a touch of coolness. Zhou Xi's archery skills were once unparalleled; she almost always hit the bullseye. But this time, for some reason, she made repeated mistakes, several times shooting the arrows astray despite clearly aiming at the target.
"It's alright, it's alright. It's just that you haven't hunted in a long time, and you're a little rusty," Su Yuning said gently with a smile. The sunlight shone on her, as if gilding her with a warm glow.
Just then, Zhou Xi, who had been silent all along, quietly pulled up his sleeve, revealing the shocking scars on his arm. The scars crisscrossed, some still red and swollen, clearly fresh wounds that had not yet healed.
Upon seeing the injuries, Su Yuning's expression instantly turned tense. Her eyes widened, and she asked with concern, "Did Yang Yuxuan do this?" Her voice carried a hint of urgency and anger.
Zhou Xi gently shook her head, slowly pulling down her sleeve to cover the scars, and calmly replied, "It wasn't him, it was my mother-in-law's doing."
Upon hearing this answer, Su Yuning looked extremely surprised. She said incredulously, "She seems like a very nice person. She knows how to dress well and manage a shop. How could she be so cruel to her daughter-in-law?"
Zhou Xi sighed with a wry smile and said helplessly,
“That’s all just on the surface. You can know a person’s face but not their heart. Ever since I miscarried due to an accident while forging ironware, she’s been full of dissatisfaction with me and started nitpicking. Later, she made me drink that kind of hard-to-swallow herbal soup every day to regulate my body, saying that she wanted me to quickly give the Yang family a son. But I really didn’t want to suffer like that anymore, so I secretly poured the soup away. When she found out, she punished me severely.” At this point, Zhou Xi’s eyes reddened slightly, and her voice became somewhat choked.
Su Yuning couldn't help but let out a long sigh: "Oh dear, there are so many things going on in rich families! Especially that Madam Yang, she's ruthless to the extreme, it's just too much! No, I must have my parents teach her a lesson, so she won't bully you so recklessly all the time." After saying that, Su Yuning's delicate little face was full of indignation.
However, Zhou Xi looked tense and uneasy. She quickly waved her hands and refused, saying, "No, no, no, let's forget it. It's better to avoid trouble. I really don't want to cause any trouble for your family because of myself." Her eyes revealed a hint of fear and worry.
Seeing this, Su Yuning stepped forward without hesitation, took Zhou Xi's hand tightly, and comforted him in an incredibly gentle voice, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, don't worry. My parents are both reasonable people, their advice will definitely have an effect. Besides, I'll call my elder brother and sister-in-law over later too. My sister-in-law is Madam Yang's own daughter, she wouldn't disobey her own daughter, would she?"
Hearing this, Zhou Xi's previously worried face finally relaxed a little. She looked at Su Yuning with gratitude and said, "Thank you, Yuning. If it weren't for a good friend like you supporting and helping me, I really wouldn't know what to do."
Upon hearing this, Su Yuning's face blossomed into a radiant smile. She waved her hand gently and said, "Hey, do we need to be so polite between us? We're best friends who can talk about anything!" Sunlight shone on them, creating a sincere and beautiful scene.
Afterwards, Zhou Xi, bow and arrow in hand, continued her hunt with complete concentration. Su Yuning followed obediently beside her, quickly taking possession of any prey Zhou Xi successfully caught. If there was no game to collect, Su Yuning wouldn't be idle either; she would bend down to carefully search for wild vegetables or stand on tiptoe to pick wild fruits hanging from branches. In this way, the two worked together seamlessly, and before they knew it, evening was approaching. When they finally decided to descend the mountain, they were surprised to find themselves with a full load.
Back at the Zhou family home, the two sisters, without even resting, immediately began to tally and organize their day's harvest. On the ground lay a pile of wild fruits, two plump wild rabbits with glossy fur, clearly very fresh, and next to them a large heap of tender green shepherd's purse, brightly colored mushrooms, and a bunch of fragrant toon shoots. In addition, a bundle of fresh bamboo shoots was neatly stacked. Looking at this bountiful harvest, Zhou Xi couldn't help but beam with joy. She said happily, "Oh dear, if only we had a few pieces of cured meat, it would be perfect! Then we could make a delicious stir-fried bamboo shoots with meat!"
Before the words were even finished, Zhou Dong strode into the house with light steps. He put down the heavy basket on his shoulder and took out a bottle of fragrant wine, a piece of glistening pig's head, a small bundle of cured pork with alternating layers of fat and lean meat, a bag of plump peanuts, and finally, a tempting braised pig's ear. Seeing these items, Zhou Xi's eyes lit up, and she exclaimed with delight, "Wow, what a coincidence! My brother actually bought cured pork! Now we can finally enjoy our delicious bamboo shoot and pork stir-fry!"
Hearing her sister's excited words, Zhou Dong smiled slightly and offered, "Sis, let me cook today. You can chat with Sister Yu Ning." Zhou Xi asked somewhat worriedly, "Are you sure you don't need me to help you?" Zhou Dong smiled confidently and waved his hand, indicating that his sister didn't need to worry. Then he picked up the ingredients and strode into the kitchen.
Then, Su Yuning looked at Zhou Dong with a smile, her eyes full of admiration, and couldn't help but praise him, "Zhou Dong, you're becoming more and more like a man! So, you don't need to worry about those problems at all. After all, you have such a reliable younger brother to support you, and our whole family will stand up for you. I believe your future will definitely get better and better!"
Hearing this, Zhou Xi's lips curled up slightly, revealing a gentle smile, and she said softly, "Then I'll take your kind words."
Time flies, and night has fallen in the blink of an eye. Zhou Dong, like a busy little bee, carefully brings each delicious dish to the table. The table is laden with a sumptuous feast: crisp and spicy cold pig's ear salad; fragrant and juicy scallion-dressed pig's head meat; aromatic and savory cured pork stir-fried with bamboo shoots; and of course, the uniquely fragrant pickled toon leaves, the rich and delicious rabbit soup, and the crunchy peanuts with celery.
Looking at the tempting food, Zhou Dong enthusiastically picked up the wine bottle and poured glasses for his two older sisters before turning to his own. At that moment, Zhou Xi, gazing happily at everything before her, said with a beaming smile, "Oh, it's so wonderful to see the three of us together again! Tonight, let's forget all our worries and just talk about happy things. We'll drink until we drop, okay?" As soon as she finished speaking, the other two responded in unison, "Okay!" A burst of cheerful laughter filled the room.
"What have you all been up to lately?" Zhou Xi asked with a smile, her bright eyes sparkling with curiosity. "Hehe, let me give you a report first. Guess what? I've been busy forging iron at the blacksmith's shop all this time!" She then burst into hearty laughter.
At this moment, Zhou Dong calmly replied, "Well, I'm still busy working in the city. But recently I heard some news that a factory has been built in our village, so I'm thinking about whether I should quit my job in the city and go back to my hometown to try working."
Su Yuning chimed in softly, "I've set up a factory outside the city. Zhou Dong, if you're interested, why don't you come and help out at my factory?"
After thinking for a moment, Zhou Dong nodded and replied, "Since Sister Su has personally asked for help, I must follow her instructions."
Seeing this, Zhou Xi playfully tugged at Su Yuning's sleeve and urged, "Good sister, tell us about your life lately!"
Su Yuning smiled and explained in detail: "Actually, there wasn't much special stuff. I just opened a branch factory, and then I went to Mobei a while ago and happened to run into Ye Beichen. We had a meal together."
"Well, although life is just ordinary, it's still quite happy, isn't it?" Zhou Xi replied with a sweet smile.
Just as everyone was chatting enthusiastically, a soft voice suddenly called out, "Is anyone there? Is Yu Ning here?" It turned out to be a woman carrying a lantern coming over.
"Come in quickly! She's here!" Zhou Xi hurriedly stood up, calling out as she rushed forward to open the door for the woman. With a creak, the door slowly opened, revealing the woman's figure before them…
"It's so late, why aren't you home yet, you little brat? Don't you know your family has been looking for you like crazy!" the woman scolded angrily, looking just like an enraged frog.
Su Yuning quickly lowered her head and admitted her mistake, "I'm sorry, Mother, I made you worry. I'll go home right away."
At this moment, Zhou Dong and Zhou Xi came out to see them off, saying, "It's as dark as if ink has been spilled on the ground. Be careful on your way and walk slowly."
The woman smiled warmly and replied, "Alright, you should get some rest too." Then, taking her daughter's hand, she hurried home like a gust of wind.
Back home, Su Yuning recounted Zhou Xi's ordeal to her parents in detail. Upon hearing that Madam Yang had dared to bully their daughter-in-law, they were both furious. Old Su, in particular, slammed his fist on the table in indignation, declaring, "Tomorrow we must go to the Yang family to settle this matter! How can we allow her to continue bullying the Zhou family's daughter with such impunity!"
Su Yuning asked nervously, "Should we ask my elder brother and sister-in-law to come along?"
Without hesitation, Old Su replied, "Let your older brother take care of the child, and your sister-in-law can come with us."
The woman gently nudged his shoulder with her elbow and softly reminded him, "Alright, alright, it's better not to let your daughter-in-law go. Let her take care of the children, and your eldest son can go to teach. We can't let them both take a break, can we?" Old Su nodded hurriedly in agreement.
The next morning, Mr. and Mrs. Su, along with Su Yuning and Zhou Xi, arrived at the Yang family's door. Mr. Su knocked loudly on the door, and the Yang family rushed over and opened it.
"Who are you looking for?" the servant asked impatiently as he opened the door.
"Call Madam Yang out!" Old Su shouted sternly.
Seeing this, the servant hurriedly ran inside to report. A moment later, Madam Yang slowly walked out. When she saw that the visitors were the Su family of three, her face instantly turned gloomy.
"What are you doing here?" Madam Yang said irritably.
"Why did you bully Zhou Xi'er?" Old Su questioned.
"I didn't bully her, she offended me first!" Madam Yang retorted.
"You're talking nonsense! You were the one who started it!" Su Yuning shouted angrily.
Both sides stuck to their own versions of events and argued endlessly. Just then, Zhou Xi arrived at the scene. She recounted the events once more, and Madam Yang was finally speechless.
"Look at the mess you've made! Apologize to the Zhou family right now!" Old Master Yang walked over unnoticed and angrily rebuked them.
Although Madam Yang was unwilling, she had no choice but to admit her mistake. The storm finally subsided.