Mrs. Chen froze for a moment, pointing at herself and asking, "Mother, you want me to go?"
Ever since Mrs. Han had come into the household, it had been over a decade since she had done any chores around the house. Now she was being told to feed the pigs and clean the pigsty—how could she possibly do that?
Old Madame Qi roared, "If you don't go, are you expecting me to go?"
Mrs. Chen pursed her lips, somewhat displeased, but if she let her mother-in-law do the work, she would surely be drowned in the villagers' gossip. She regretted coming to tell her mother-in-law in the first place—now she had gained no benefit and still had to do the work!
"Mother, it's been so long since I've done this that I've forgotten how to feed the pigs and clean the pigsty! And our sow is pregnant—if we startle her while cleaning the sty, that would be a serious matter. Mother, isn't Sister-in-law still staying here for a couple more days? Why not let her work a couple more days?"
Old Madame Qi nodded, finding it feasible, then her eyes flickered as she said, "Our house is made of blue bricks and tiled roofs—if she stays two days, just two days of work isn't nearly enough. I think at least two years—no, twenty."
Hearing this, Mrs. Chen's face lit up with joy, but then, thinking of Yan Shu, she said, "Mother, that Mrs. Liu is always using Wen'er's reputation to threaten us. I'm afraid she won't agree."
Old Madame Qi furrowed her brows as well. She had heard that Yan Shu was like a lump of mud in the Liu family, easily pushed around by anyone, so why had she become so assertive once she arrived at the Qi family?
If it weren't for her, she wouldn't have severed ties. After the family division, Mrs. Han was still supposed to bring annual gifts to honor her stepmother, but now, not only had no one to do the household chores, but the annual gifts had stopped coming too.
It was all that wretched Yan Shu's fault!
But if she really brought up Wen'er's reputation, she had no choice but to soften.
In an instant, she was filled with worry.
Old Mr. Qi saw the two women looking dejected and let out a cold snort. These foolish women couldn't even figure out such a simple solution.
"Haven't we severed ties? Since the ties are severed, they're no longer related to us. They're living in our house, so having them work to cover the rent is perfectly reasonable. Even if we took this to the prefect, we'd still be in the right.
However, twenty years is out of the question. Let Mrs. Han and her family work for two years first. If Mrs. Han doesn't agree, then have them move out quickly!"
Mrs. Chen and Mrs. Zhao, these two daughters-in-law, had been so spoiled by the old woman that they no longer knew how to do housework. Mrs. Han was still the more reliable one.
But this old woman was short-sighted, only thinking about how Mrs. Han was an eyesore, without considering who had been doing all the household chores.
Fortunately, there was a turn of events.
The old house was in poor condition, and autumn had just begun two days ago—the nights were cold. With Qi Zhixiao's current condition, if they moved out, he might well be dead within a few days. So, given Mrs. Han's temperament, and with the children being young, she would surely agree.
Old Madame Qi's face immediately broke into a smile as she praised, "You're the one with the best ideas, old man."
Basked in the admiring gazes of his wife and daughters-in-law, Old Mr. Qi continued smoking his pipe, though the smile at the corners of his mouth never faded.
After Qi Wuniu finished eating and washed the dishes, she asked, "Sister-in-law, I've scrubbed the pot and the chopsticks and bowls. Is there anything else to do?"
Yan Shu was in the room, trying every which way to prop up the man lying down so she could feed him his medicine, but he was too heavy. She had used all her strength and still couldn't get him upright.
Hearing Qi Wuniu's question, she initially wanted to ask for help, but then thought of how thin and small Wuniu was, so she said, "Wuniu, go and call Mother back."
Qi Wuniu had been hoping her sister-in-law would let her go into the room to feed her eldest brother his medicine, but she hadn't expected to be sent to fetch their mother. She glanced toward the inner room, replied with a "Okay!" and ran out.
Before long, Yan Shu heard Old Madame Qi's voice from outside: "Mrs. Han, you lazy woman! The pigs aren't fed, the chickens aren't fed—all you know is running around outside!
Go feed them right now, and clean out the pigsty and the chicken coop! And where have that worthless girl and that brat run off to? Don't they know to go cut grass to feed the pigs? Every single one of you is lazy to the point of being useless, leaving me, an old woman, to worry about everything!"
"Yes, Mother!"
Hearing the pain and trembling in Mrs. Han's voice, Yan Shu frowned and walked out. She saw Mrs. Han hunched over with her neck shrunk, letting Old Madame Qi scold and hit her. Yan Shu stepped forward, pulled Mrs. Han aside, and asked coldly, "Fourth Grandmother Qi, why are you hitting my mother?"
Old Madame Qi shot Yan Shu a vicious glare and said angrily, "Why am I hitting her? This lazy woman doesn't know how to work—if she's not beaten, what else is there to do?" With that, she moved to strike Mrs. Han's shoulder again.
Yan Shu pulled Mrs. Han back a step. Old Madame Qi's swing, thrown with force, missed and sent her stumbling. Furious, she said, "Mrs. Han, how dare you dodge?"
Yan Shu sneered, "Fourth Grandmother Qi, have you forgotten that we've already severed ties? Since the ties are severed, what right do you have to make my mother work? Or to hit her?"
Only then did Mrs. Han snap back to reality. Yes—she had lived under her mother-in-law's tyranny for over a decade, and the moment her mother-in-law started scolding, her mind went blank and she forgot.
She raised her head and exclaimed in surprise, "Mother, we've severed ties!"
Though her tone was weak, the fact that Mrs. Han could push back at all was something Yan Shu was quite satisfied with.
Old Madame Qi grew even angrier, raising her hand to strike Mrs. Han again. "You wretched woman, how dare you talk back! Just because the marriage is severed, am I no longer your mother-in-law? Do you no longer have to work?"
Yan Shu stepped forward, her left hand grabbing Old Madame Qi's wrist, and said coldly, "Fourth Madam Qi, you are the matriarch of a scholarly family. Surely you're not so foolish as to not even understand what severing a marriage means? Do you want me to gather the whole village and explain to you what it means?"
With that, she used her right hand to chop hard at the Houxi acupoint on Old Madame Qi's palm, then flung her away like tossing out trash.
Tomorrow, she would make this old hag repay a hundredfold for the sins she had committed!
Old Madame Qi staggered back a step, even more furious, the fat on her face wrinkling into a knot. Squinting her triangular eyes, she looked even more venomous as she cursed:
"Yan Shu, you wretched slut! I didn't mind your shady dealings with that Liu Zheshu, and I spent silver to marry you into this family. Instead of being grateful that I pulled you out of your misery, you go against me at every turn? A wanton woman like you—if it weren't for me, you'd have been drowned in the pond long ago!"
Yan Shu narrowed her eyes. A woman's chastity was of utmost importance in these times—if such words were spread by someone with ill intent, she could be drowned in spittle, and someone with weaker nerves might even take their own life.
She sneered and said, "Fourth Madam Qi, is it that any close brother-sister relationship is considered shady? Is it all wanton behavior? Then how many people in your family should be drowned in the pond?
And what about you? Don't you have brothers? Or is it that you yourself have something shady going on with your own brother, which is why you misunderstand others so?"
Old Madame Qi had never been talked back to like this, and every time she heard Yan Shu say "Fourth Madam Qi," it sounded more like "Angry-to-death Madam," as if she were cursing her!
She lunged forward in fury, her face twisted as she snarled, "You filthy-mouthed wretch! Watch me tear your lips apart!"