Back when Wang Cuiju was still with the Han family, she had sneaked plenty of things back to subsidize her maiden family.
She originally thought that after being thrown out by the Han family and returning to her parents’ home, even if she wasn’t treated like a queen, she would at least receive a few words of comfort, right?
Yet who could have imagined!
In the entire Wang family, from her parents down to her five-year-old nephew, every single person looked at her with thick, undisguised disgust!
To them, she was nothing more than a burden.
A chill seeped through Wang Cuiju’s heart, and she regretted her actions to death!
At her in-laws’, she could still be tolerated even when she was gluttonous and lazy, but back at her maiden home, she had to tuck her tail between her legs just to survive!
On this day, she was trailing behind the Wang family’s convoy carrying a wicker basket, hunched over in exhaustion and cursing inwardly.
Suddenly, her sister-in-law Wan Shi let out a sharp cry of surprise.
“Second Sister, look! Doesn’t that man leading the horse look an awful lot like Han Laoda?!”
Wang Cuiju curled her lip, not even bothering to lift her head.
The Han family? Ever since they were ransacked by bandits, their grain sack was nearly empty!
If they could still get their hands on a horse right now, it would be a bloody miracle!
“Good heavens, it really is the Han family!”
Hearing Old Mrs. Wang’s voice, Wang Cuiju froze. She hurriedly raised her head and followed their gazes.
The one riding atop the horse was none other than the eldest brother’s son, An Xing!
And looking at Liu Qiumei and Zhao Shuangtao, neither of them even had to carry a basket on their backs. At the sight, envy clawed at her heart!
On what grounds did the Han family start living well the moment they kicked her out? Not a chance!
Wang the Third immediately egged her on, “Second Sister, go back to the Han family and sweet-talk Han Er’er. Get them to l us the horse to use as well! Our family has so much luggage; I’m exhausted from pulling the cart!”
Fired up by her younger brother’s words, Wang Cuiju acted on impulse. She dumped her basket onto the ground and ran straight toward the Han family.
“Mother! Er’er! You’ve finally caught up! Our family didn’t dare to walk too fast these past few days, all because we were afraid of getting separated from you!”
Though she spoke to them, her eyes never once left the horse in Han Laoda’s hand.
“When did our family get a horse? This horse looks magnificent—so tall and sturdy!”
As she spoke, she reached out to stroke it.
Old Madame Han brought her wooden cane down hard against Wang Cuiju’s hand, making her grimace in pain!
Old Madame Han sneered, “Wang Cuiju, who taught you to be so shameless? We made things crystal clear to you that day: from now on, whether you live or die has nothing to do with us! Get back to your Wang family!”
Wang Cuiju’s face instantly burned with embarrassment.
“Mother… how could you take that seriously!”
She had assumed that what Old Madame Han said that day was merely spoken in anger and that the old woman’s temper would have cooled by now. Who knew they genuinely did not want her back!
Seeing that things looked grim, Old Mrs. Wang hurried over with a fawning smile on her face.
“In-law, just look at this mess! It’s all our Er Ya’s fault. As soon as she came back, I gave her an earful. Next time, even if it costs her life, she must protect Han Si and his wife! Er Ya, hurry up and apologize to your mother-in-law!”
Wang Cuiju forced a grin, baring her teeth. “Mother…”
“Mother this, mother that! Do you really take this old woman for a senile fool? Peddle your nonsense to whoever is willing to hear it, but don’t try to claim relations with us from now on. Our Han family has no in-laws like you!”
Old Mrs. Wang felt as if her old face had been thrown to the ground and ground beneath Old Madame Han’s boot.
Furious, she ground her teeth in hatred.
She raised her voice and yelled, “In-law! Our Er Ya has been married into your Han family for seven years! She worked to the bone to bear you Sanbao, and yet you’re throwing her out over such a trivial matter, cruelly tearing mother and son apart! Your heart is truly made of stone!”
With her bellowing like that, it was impossible for the bystanders around them not to hear. People slowed their pace while traveling to crane their necks and watch the spectacle.
Hearing Old Mrs. Wang’s words, some had even begun to point and whisper about the Han family.
Old Madame Han let out a furious laugh. “Tearing flesh and blood apart? Why don’t you ask your precious daughter if she looked back even once at my eldest grandson when she fled that day? I’m afraid in her eyes, my grandson had long become a burden!”
Seeing that she couldn’t out-argue Old Madame Han, Old Mrs. Wang simply resorted to throwing a brazen tantrum.
“Your Han family has numbers on your side, so naturally you can twist the truth however you please!”
“At the of the day, you just begrudge feeding my daughter’s mouth and want to drive her out! Why bother making up excuses? Your Han family simply doesn’t care about familial sentiment at all!”
Old Mrs. Wang threw herself into kicking up a fuss, a complete portrait of a shrewish hag!
Old Madame Han gritted her teeth in rage. “Laoda, Er’er, hurry and drive this old shrew away! Don’t let someone like her be an eyesore before this old woman’s face!”
The Han brothers had long wanted to take action, but held back out of reluctance to act without their mother’s order.
Now having received Old Madame Han’s command, they were like untamed horses breaking free. Halting the handcart, they charged toward Old Mrs. Wang with fierce momentum, grabbing her by the arms to throw her out!
Old Mrs. Wang was so frightened that her legs turned to jelly, and she immediately burst into wailing and screaming.
Words like “wolf-hearted and dog-lunged,” “ungrateful wretches,” and “worse than beasts” spewed frantically from her mouth.
Lin Yueru reckoned that in her terrified state, the old woman probably didn’t even know what she was babbling.
Unfortunately, Han Laoda and Han Er’er were clumsy with words. Right now, they were so incensed that they gripped Old Mrs. Wang’s arms, wishing they could fling her far away!
Yet the onlookers around them were all staring, their pointing and hushed discussions impossible to ignore.
If this matter wasn’t resolved quickly, dragging it out would only make the commotion worse.
Those watching from the sidelines with greedy eyes would like nothing more than to see the Wang and Han families come to blows so they could reap the benefits as the fisherman catching both snipes and clams!
This was no longer the time for hiding one’s brilliance.
Lin Yueru held back the indignant Liu Qiumei and Zhao Shuangtao. Stepping forward on her own, she patted Han Laoda and Han Er’er’s arms, signaling for them to release Old Mrs. Wang.
After a brief hesitation, Han Laoda and Han Er’er exchanged a glance and let go of Old Mrs. Wang at the same time.
Caught off guard, the old woman tumbled to the ground, nearly splitting her backside into eight pieces!
Before she could groan in pain, Lin Yueru spoke up with a smiling face.
“Old Mrs. Wang, our Han family originally had no wish to air such embarrassing laundry in the open. Each family walking their own path and focusing on staying alive is what matters most.
“Yet your Wang family is utterly shameless, insisting on sticking to us like a clingy nuisance. Fine, then let’s lay it all bare and settle this properly!”
Wang Cuiju and Old Mrs. Wang huddled together. Looking at Lin Yueru, who seemed like an entirely different person, an ominous premonition suddenly welled up in their hearts.
Before they could interject, Lin Yueru continued:
“You just mentioned familial sentiment, didn’t you? How amusing!”
“In the past, Wang Cuiju stole no small amount of money and grain from her in-laws to subsidize your Wang family. But when our family was starving, you didn’t offer a single grain of rice! Why didn’t you speak of the sentiment between our two families back then?”
“Th-that’s not…” Old Mrs. Wang feebly opened her mouth.
“Don’t rush, I’m not finished yet!”
Lin Yueru continued with an impassive smile.
“When we encountered bandits earlier, Mother hid us all behind the trees to protect us. Yet when the bandits drew near, Wang Cuiju was the first to shove her brother-in-law and sister-in-law forward to take the blade! Where did the familial sentiment go at that moment?”
Her gaze suddenly turned razor-sharp. “Did the dogs eat it?!”
Old Mrs. Wang and Wang Cuiju were nothing more than blustering paper tigers. Hit by Lin Yueru’s barrage of questions, neither could squeeze out so much as a squeak!
The onlookers around them understood the whole story at once. Who didn’t have a traitor to one’s own family for a daughter-in-law?
This wasn’t a case of the Han family being heartless at all; it was clearly the Wang family who was wolf-hearted and dog-lunged!
The crowd’s sentiment instantly shifted. Some had already been exhausted from the trek, and now that they had found an outlet for their frustration, they joined in with harsh rebukes to vent their anger!
Someone even took the opportunity to pick up a clod of dirt and hurl it over.
Indeed, when a wall totters, everyone pushes!
Overwhelmed by the crowd’s accusing glares and pointing fingers, Old Mrs. Wang and Wang Cuiju couldn’t keep up their act. With heads hanging low, they slunk back to the Wang family’s handcart.
Wang the Third and his wife pulled their necks in and preted not to notice; they certainly weren’t going to stick their necks out just to catch the scolding!
Their young son lacked sense, tugging at Old Mrs. Wang’s hem and pestering her, “Grandma, I want to ride the big horse! Take me to ride the horse, okay…”
Old Mrs. Wang was just burning with rage and looking for a target. “Ride my foot, you little brat! That’s someone else’s horse! If your useless parents can’t get a horse, who do you think you’re blaming!”
Wang the Third and his wife were not about to swallow that insult lying down, and immediately began brawling with Old Mrs. Wang on the spot!
Even after the Han family had walked a long way off, the Wang family was still in a chaotic, clamorous uproar behind them.