Once Fan Cuixiang had cried enough and gathered enough sympathy, she decided it was time to call it a day and headed back with Zhou Snian.
On the way, she muttered to herself,
“Snian, your wife isn’t simple, that’s for sure.”
Zhou Snian raised an eyebrow.
“Mom, why do you say that?”
Ahead, that small, slender figure was still walking, and Zhou Snian was curious how she had managed to get such a big change in his mother.
Fan Cuixiang rolled her eyes at him.
“Don’t you know what kind of person your second aunt is? The whole village has fallen victim to her sharp tongue, yet your wife managed to shut Dong Xiufang—the old hag—up in just a few words. Oh, it’s been so many years since I felt this relieved!”
It was clear that his mother was genuinely happy.
When they reached the courtyard gate, Fan Cuixiang wanted to say more, but Zhou Snian gave her a look, and she went back inside.
Zhou Snian stood in front of Meng Yu.
Neither of them spoke.
It was as if whoever opened their mouth first would lose.
Even before work, Zhou Snian hadn’t said a word.
Meng Yu frowned as she watched him walk away.
Is he sick or something?
That afternoon, feeling bored, Meng Yu greeted Fan Cuixiang and wandered around.
As the new daughter-in-law had a few days off, her strolling around didn’t attract much attention.
Her leisurely steps soon brought her to the “educated youth” work site.
Rubbing her chin thoughtfully, a smile curled at the corner of her lips.
The original book described this work site quite a bit, and the reason Zhou Snian had been sent back home was closely tied to the Shinianzi Village work site!
“What are you doing here?”
Meng Yu had been lost in thought, pondering the plot, when someone suddenly patted her on the shoulder.
Startled, she gasped and jumped forward a step.
Turning around, she found it was Zhou Snian, and angrily jabbed her tiny fist into his chest.
“What are you doing?! You scared me half to death!”
Zhou Snian frowned at her counterattack.
“Don’t dodge the question. You’re not at home, so why are you at the work site?”
Seeing his cold, scrutinizing gaze, Meng Yu suddenly realized the significance of this place.
She cleared her throat.
“I…I was bored at home, so I came out for a walk. What’s wrong with that?”
Her shamelessly bold tone made Zhou Snian’s scrutiny sharper.
“Being bored is one thing, but next time, don’t come to the work site. Come back with me.”
Meng Yu snorted and followed him home.
She had thought that once Zhou Snian sent her back, he would go work, but he didn’t.
“You’re not going to work?”
Instead, Zhou Snian sat on the wooden bench, looking at the small, slender Meng Yu.
“Meng Duoyu, I promised you could stay at the Zhou family, but you better behave, or else—”
“Or else you’ll kill me?”
Meng Yu raised an eyebrow, her gaze icy, showing no fear.
Zhou Snian didn’t expect her not only to remain calm but to confront him.
His expression darkened.
“Meng Duoyu.”
“Hmph.”
Meng Yu wasn’t intimidated at all, even raising an eyebrow at him.
“I just went for a walk. Are you that nervous? Does the work site have some secret?”
She was clearly defying him!
Sure enough, Zhou Snian’s face darkened further.
Meng Yu sat on the edge of the kang, glancing at Zhou Snian.
“Zhou Snian, I really have nowhere else to go right now. The Zhou family is the last refuge I begged for, but… I also want you to understand: I am your legally wedded wife, not some criminal in custody. Got it?”
Meng Yu didn’t want to cause a scene, but Zhou Snian’s gaze was always full of suspicion and scrutiny. She could tolerate it for a while, but not forever.
If that’s the case, she might as well be the one to flip the table.
“I promised to be a good daughter-in-law, so I won’t do anything to harm the Zhou family,” she said, pausing, her gaze on Zhou Snian firm and unwavering. “And I definitely won’t do anything that harms the country.”
Sure enough, a flicker of surprise crossed Zhou Snian’s eyes.
Meng Yu tugged at the corner of her mouth, not bothering to reply to him further.
“I’m going to rest now. Go away.”
Zhou Snian looked at her deeply, then turned and left.
Meng Yu lay on the kang and finally let out a soft sigh.
It was better to clarify things. Once said, he would stop being suspicious.
Because their conversation that afternoon had been tense, for the next two days, they didn’t speak a word even when they met, and the strange atmosphere was noticed even by the youngest members of the Zhou family.
“Uncle… Auntie, did you fight?”
The little one even raised his fists, mimicking the fighting pose.
Meng Yu, eating half a cornbread, couldn’t help but laugh at the child’s innocent antics.
“No fighting.”
Little Bao tilted his head, confused.
If there was no fighting, why weren’t Uncle and Auntie close?
His parents were always affectionate, especially at night!
Too young to explain, he could only look at her with wide, innocent eyes.
Meng Yu reached out and ruffled his hair; the little one was quite amusing.
Fan Cuixiang noticed and her eyes lit up.
“Duoyu, do you like children?”
Meng Yu froze her hand, then subtly pulled it back.
“No.”
That one word shut down her mother-in-law’s scheming.
Fan Cuixiang glared at Meng Duoyu, then turned her fire toward her eldest son.
“After marriage, you don’t live together? Snian, tonight you must sleep in your room! If you stay in the storage room again, I’ll hang myself at the east storage gate!”
It was clear Fan Cuixiang was furious; she even said she would hang herself.
Zhou Snian looked at his mother’s determined expression and didn’t speak.
Meng Yu, on the other hand, watched the spectacle unfold.
Could the mother play the “sunny doll,” and would the son remain virtuous?
The show was about to begin.
That night, when it was time for bed, the door was pushed.
It didn’t open.
Outside, Zhou Snian froze.
He even thought he imagined it and tried pushing again.
The door still didn’t budge.
He was dumbfounded.
Slowly, he turned his head and saw Fan Cuixiang standing at the east room’s door, glaring at him and holding a thick hemp rope.
Zhou Snian was truly wronged.
“Mom, I can’t open it.”
He wanted to go in.
Fan Cuixiang didn’t believe him.
“Snian! Don’t make excuses! Hurry up and go inside! You’ve been married for so many days, and you still don’t sleep in your room? Doesn’t that look decent?”
No matter what, today she was determined to make Zhou Snian sleep in his room!
If she let him continue like this, when would she ever hold her first grandchild?