Old Lady Su glanced at her eldest daughter-in-law and said, “Let your second sister-in-law help you clean up. I’ll coax Sanwa to sleep.”
Having said that, she picked up Sanwa and walked over to Qian Yuemei’s room.
Now that her second daughter-in-law was finally showing a rare moment of diligence after staying away from the stove for so long, as a mother-in-law, she naturally wouldn’t stand in the way.
Zhao Chunhua was naturally happy to have help with the chores. After clearing the kang table, she picked up the pickled vegetable dish and headed to the kitchen as well.
The moment Qian Yuemei saw Zhao Chunhua step inside, she clutched her stomach and put on a face full of embarrassment, “Eldest Sister-in-law, my stomach feels a bit upset. I need to run to the latrine.”
Looking at the unwashed pots, bowls, ladles, and basins, what else could Zhao Chunhua possibly say?
“Second Sister-in-law, go quickly then.”
“Eldest Sister-in-law, why don’t you go rest in the room for a bit? I’ll wash these dishes myself in a moment.”
“It’s fine, I’ll wash them.”
Resigned to her fate, Zhao Chunhua began scrubbing the pots and washing the dishes.
Qian Yuemei zipped right out of the kitchen in a flash.
However, instead of heading to the latrine, she made a beeline for Old Lady Su’s room.
Little Tangbao’s “treasure pouch” was lying quietly inside the shallow basket.
With her heart pounding violently against her chest, Qian Yuemei quickly grabbed the small cloth pouch and dumped its contents out with a clattering clatter.
Gold… gold…
Muttering continuously in her mind, Qian Yuemei rummaged through the pile frantically.
“Second Brother’s wife, what are you doing?”
Old Lady Su’s voice suddenly rang out right behind Qian Yuemei.
Qian Yuemei was so startled she nearly shrieked out loud.
“Mother… how, how did you come over?” Qian Yuemei turned around, her face flushed with awkward guilt.
“If I hadn’t come over, I wouldn’t even have known you were capable of such a thing!” Old Lady Su said, her face dark and stern.
Although this second daughter-in-law was usually a bit harsh and stingy, out of consideration for her two grandsons, Old Lady Su had never treated her harshly.
But now, look at what she was doing!
If this carried on, where would it end?!
As the saying goes, “It is hard to guard against a thief in the house.”
If a thief had appeared in their own home, how could they live their days peacefully from now on?
This time, a stern lesson had to be taught!
Hearing her mother-in-law’s words and looking at the grim expression on her face, Qian Yuemei felt her heart skip a beat.
She knew that her mother-in-law was truly furious this time.
“Mother, I… I just accidentally knocked over little sister’s cloth pouch, and everything inside spilled out…” Qian Yuemei said, her scalp tingling with numbness. “I-I’ll put everything right back in now…”
Having said that, she didn’t dare to rummage through the contents any longer, frantically stuffing everything back into the cloth pouch all at once.
“Second Brother’s wife, if you feel that life here isn’t comfortable enough for you, then go back to your maiden home,” Old Lady Su said with a icy cold face.
“Mother, you… what do you mean by this?” Qian Yuemei panicked.
Her mother-in-law sounded as if she were driving her away!
She wouldn’t be having her divorced and expelled, would she?
“Mother, I… I didn’t…” Qian Yuemei stammered incoherently.
Even though the Su family lived a poor life, she had never entertained the thought of leaving the Su family.
She still needed to rely on the Su family to lend strength and back up her own maiden family.
What’s more, the Su family’s life had already taken a huge turn for the better now.
Not only could they eat wild game every now and then, but the men all doted on their wives, never once beating or scolding them.
“You didn’t what? You didn’t secretly pinch Sanwa every time you were asked to do chores?” Old Lady Su raised her voice, a rare occurrence for her, and demanded, “You didn’t even covet your little sister-in-law’s belongings?!”
Qian Yuemei: “…”
Her face turned pale instantly.
So her mother-in-law even knew about her intentionally pinching Sanwa just to escape doing chores!
“You may leave. We, the Su family, do not want a daughter-in-law of corrupt character!” Old Lady Su issued the direct order.
Qian Yuemei’s legs turned completely weak, and with a thud, she dropped to her knees right in front of Old Lady Su.
“Mother, I was wrong… sob sob… I won’t ever dare to do it again in the future…”
Qian Yuemei burst into tears, snot and tears streaming down her face.