Lihua had been running out of the house every day, and Madam Chen had long since grown sick of it.
As a divorced sister-in-law who had returned to her parents’ home, Lihua not only refused to help with the household chores, but still expected everyone to wait on her like a pampered young miss.
Who does she think she is? Madam Chen thought.
The moment Lihua stepped through the front door, Madam Chen raised her voice with a mocking smile.
“Well, look who’s finally decided to come home. You’re running around outside every single day. Anyone who didn’t know better would think you’re sneaking off to meet some man.”
Lihua’s face darkened.
“Chen Guixiang, what nonsense are you spouting? Where I go is none of your business!”
The two women had never liked each other.
Lihua had heard everything that morning.
Chen Guixiang had been urging their mother to marry her off as quickly as possible.
Hmph!
As if Chen Guixiang would ever introduce her to a decent man.
It would either be an old widower whose wife had died, or some ugly lifelong bachelor.
She would have to be out of her mind to accept that.
Lihua had high standards and an even higher opinion of herself.
If she remarried, it would only be to a man who had never been married before.
Madam Chen sneered.
“Oh? I’m talking nonsense?”
“You’ve got the nerve to do those shameful things, but you can’t stand people mentioning them?”
“Just be careful you don’t come home with a swollen belly and disgrace the Zhao family.”
“Oh, wait… I’d forgotten.”
“You’re a hen that can’t even lay eggs. You’re the one throwing yourself at men.”
Every insult struck home without a single curse word.
Lihua exploded with rage.
“Chen Guixiang! I’ll tear your mouth apart!”
“Go ahead! I’d love to see you try!”
The two women lunged at each other.
Neither held back.
But Madam Chen had spent years doing hard labor and was far stronger.
Lihua stood no chance.
After having her hair yanked painfully several times, she could no longer endure it.
“Zhao Dashan!”
“Are you dead?”
“Your sister’s getting beaten right in front of you!”
Smack!
Madam Chen answered with a hard slap across her face.
“You shameless little tramp.”
“How dare you call for my husband!”
“He’s my brother!”
Madam Chen spat on the ground.
“So what?”
“He sleeps in the same bed as me every night.”
“You think he’d side with you?”
“If you’ve got any pride left, get out of your parents’ house already.”
“Stop clinging to them every day and embarrassing yourself.”
She showed no mercy.
The resentment she’d bottled up for days finally burst out all at once.
People like Lihua deserved to be taught a lesson.
By the time the fight ended, Lihua’s face was bruised and swollen.
Neither of her brothers dared step in to stop it.
Only after the village chief’s wife returned home did Lihua throw herself into her mother’s arms and burst into tears.
“Mother…”
“I know being divorced has embarrassed the family.”
“But Sister-in-law can’t treat me like this.”
“It’s one thing for her to hit me.”
“How could she accuse me of sleeping around?”
She cried so miserably that her mother felt her heart ache.
“Your sister-in-law was just talking nonsense.”
“I’ll scold her later.”
“Stop crying.”
Madam Chen immediately folded her arms.
“Go ahead.”
“If you dare scold me, I’ll return to my own parents’ house today.”
“Let’s see what everyone says when they find out how the Zhao family bullies its daughters-in-law.”
She wasn’t afraid in the slightest.
She had given the Zhao family two grandsons.
Lihua couldn’t compare.
Besides, her own father was the town butcher.
He handled bloodstained knives every single day.
If the Zhao family wanted to provoke her, they were welcome to try.
As expected, the village chief’s wife immediately lost her nerve.
“Enough.”
“Lihua, you were in the wrong too.”
“From now on, stay home and stop wandering around outside.”
Deep down, she knew Madam Chen wasn’t entirely wrong.
Lihua had already been divorced once.
If she continued roaming the village every day, people would only gossip more.
After a brief silence, she made her decision.
“In a couple of days, I’ll ask the matchmaker to come.”
“We’ll find you another good marriage.”
“So stay home and prepare yourself.”
Once a daughter married, she belonged to another family.
The village chief’s wife couldn’t allow one daughter to disrupt the peace of the entire household.
Madam Chen finally felt satisfied.
She let out a smug snort.
“Did you hear that?”
“You’d better think twice before causing trouble again.”
Things were different now.
Lihua was no longer the treasured daughter everyone spoiled.
A married woman who failed to earn her husband’s family’s affection would eventually lose the respect of her own family as well.
Clearly…
Lihua still hadn’t learned that lesson.
At that moment, hatred filled her heart.
She hated Madam Chen.
She even hated her own mother and Brother Lie.
They had always claimed to love her.
Yet today, they had simply stood by and watched as she was humiliated.
What love?
They were just as ashamed of her divorce as everyone else.
But Lihua refused to marry some old, ugly man.
There was only one person she would marry.
Qin Lie.
The problem was…
He was far too cold toward her.
She needed to think of a way to make him fall for her.
…
The argument at the village chief’s house never spread through the village.
Since Lihua’s face was swollen from the fight, she didn’t visit the rundown house again.
For several days, Arui finally enjoyed some peace and quiet.
The first frost had already fallen, and the weather grew colder by the day.
Taking advantage of the clear skies, Arui harvested all the vegetables from their small plot.
The cabbages and radishes needed to be stored in a root cellar.
Unfortunately, the old house didn’t have one.
So she picked up a shovel and decided to dig one herself.
Having never done heavy labor before, she struggled for a long time.
In the end, she’d managed to dig only a shallow pit.
Worse, the soft palms she used for embroidery had been rubbed raw and red.
Her delicate hands stung fiercely from the friction.
When Qin Lie returned home, he found her staring at her sore hands with watery eyes, looking as though she might cry at any moment.
“Why didn’t you wait for me to dig it?”
His face darkened.
He was upset that she hadn’t taken better care of herself.
But in Arui’s eyes…
It simply looked as though she’d caused him more trouble again.
She lowered her head, looking dejected.
“I thought I could do it myself.”
She couldn’t expect Qin Lie to handle every difficult task around the house forever.
One day…
She would leave this little house and live on her own.
“Give me the shovel.”
Taking it from her hands, Qin Lie quickly finished digging the root cellar.
There were only two people living in the house, so they didn’t need much storage space.
He deliberately kept it fairly shallow.
Thinking ahead to the day when Arui would need to climb down to retrieve vegetables herself, he even carved several sturdy steps into the side.
As he carried the vegetables into the cellar, Arui instinctively stepped forward to help.
One cold glance from him stopped her in place.
His features were already naturally intimidating.
When he frowned, he looked even more frightening.
Clenching her reddened hands, Arui felt as though she’d committed some terrible mistake.
“I… I only wanted to help.”
“You already do so much around the house.”
“No need.”
His deep voice remained calm but firm.
He didn’t need anyone sharing the burden.
The tasks Arui found exhausting were effortless for him.
Why should he let her tire herself unnecessarily?
Unfortunately…
His blunt refusal only convinced Arui that he disliked her.
She quietly sniffled, trying to suppress the tears threatening to spill over.
“I understand.”
“I won’t do it again.”
Qin Lie frowned.
Turning around, he saw that her eyes had already turned red.
“Why are you crying?”
“…I’m not.”
“I think some sand got into my eyes.”
She quickly turned her face away.
Being caught crying in front of him only made her more embarrassed.
For some reason, she always seemed especially weak whenever Qin Lie was involved.
Back at her parents’ home, her mother had scolded her far more harshly than this.
Even then…
She had never cried.
“Does your hand still hurt?”
Qin Lie was a straightforward man.
It never occurred to him that his cold tone might have frightened her.
He simply assumed the scraped skin on her palm hurt so badly that she’d started crying.
Arui blinked in surprise.
In the end, she didn’t correct him.
It was better for him to think she was physically delicate than to realize she was crying over something so foolish.
After setting down the shovel and covering the root cellar, Qin Lie dusted the dirt from his clothes.
“Go back inside.”
“I’m going to buy some medicine for you.”
This pampered little girl really was like an ancestor he had to serve.
Far too delicate.
“N-no, you don’t have to…”
Arui tried to stop him.
But with his long strides, she had no chance of catching him.
Left alone in the main room, she stared quietly at her reddened palms and let out a long sigh.
Somehow…
She had caused him trouble again.