“Actually, the things I said in the yard just now were deliberately meant for those two families to hear.” Seeing the puzzled looks on the siblings’ faces, Sister-in-law Zhang patiently explained.
“The Hu Family claimed to have remarried, so they only sent the child in—the adults didn’t come at all. That family can be set aside for now. But the Ding Family wants to marry their younger daughter into the mansion.”
“If both of you could enter the mansion, that would be one thing. But what if Madam Wu, now with support, makes a fuss and insists on only taking one person in, forcing you two to compete? The eldest sister is already Master Shen’s woman. Do you think she’d choose the eldest sister or that Ding Ju?”
“Of course she’d choose me!” Zhang Xiuxiu thrust her ample bosom forward even more dramatically. “That girl is as flat as a washboard—what’s there to look at!”
…Sister-in-law Zhang swallowed the words, “She’s young, fresh, and prettier than you, so she’d definitely be more of a threat.” Hah, plain-looking but thinks she’s a beauty.
“Absolutely!”
Turning her head, she saw her own husband nodding repeatedly in agreement, his face full of approval. Looking down at her own figure, which remained as flat as ever even after giving birth, she couldn’t help but feel a surge of silent anger.
Catching her sharp glance, the siblings, unsure what hornet’s nest they had stirred, both shrank their necks.
…Fine, what’s the point of arguing with these two fools?
Although the reasoning process was hard to describe, the conclusion was correct.
Sister-in-law Zhang held back her frustration and continued, “So the Ding Family will be more anxious. Aren’t they originally from Shen Mansion? If they try some trick and get caught red-handed, the eldest sister will have no competition left.”
Zhang Xiuxiu suddenly understood, and then, thinking of something, her face flushed with excitement.
“But what if there’s another scenario—what if Madam Wu doesn’t allow either of you to be taken in as a concubine?”
“That can’t be, can it? I… I’ve long been a member of the Shen Family! What right does she have to keep me out?”
“What right? Hah, because she’s the legitimate wife, because she has an official for a father, because she gave birth to a son, and who knows—she might even be carrying another one right now.”
Zhang Xiuxiu deflated, her face instantly falling. “Then what do we do?”
“What can we do? Our family has no money or influence—what say do we have here? The Ding Family were once respectable hereditary servants, but their eldest sister never managed to enter the mansion, not even until her death. If Madam Wu insists on blocking it, would Master Shen offend his official father-in-law’s family for some country girl? If you were him, would you?”
“Of course not! Only a fool would do that!” The foolish man continued to nod honestly in agreement.
Sister-in-law Zhang hadn’t expected to get her small revenge so quickly and found herself unusually pleased with her husband’s response.
After being equally “stabbed” by her brother, Zhang Xiuxiu’s face flushed bright red, and then she let out a loud wail.
Zhang Dalang stared with wide, bull-like eyes, finally realizing belatedly that their plan to marry into a wealthy family faced a major crisis. He sighed, squatted down, buried his head in his hands, and fell silent.
…Seeing that neither of the siblings was of any use, Sister-in-law Zhang felt both disdainful—thinking her scheme had an eighty percent chance of success—and couldn’t help but start worrying about her own children.
If their brains take after their father or aunt, they’ll be hopeless in the future. Oh, and they better not inherit their grandmother’s sharp tongue either!
“Cough, stop crying now. If you’re truly determined to enter the Shen household, it’s not entirely without a way. As long as you’re willing to risk everything, Master Shen surely can’t just stand by and watch you jump into the river holding Sister Nian, can he?”
“Even if he truly has the heart to be ruthless, with all the crying, making a scene, and threatening suicide, as long as it causes a big enough stir, a scholar would have to acknowledge you for the sake of his reputation!”
Zhang Xiuxiu felt as if she had found a treasure. She sprang to her feet and immediately reached for Sister Nian.
Sister Nian was still young. Although she didn’t understand much else, she did grasp the part about “Mother wanting to jump into the river holding me.” Terrified, she let out a shriek and scrambled under the bed.
“You little ingrate! I raised you for nothing after all!” Zhang Xiuxiu, failing to grab her, cursed a couple of times before suddenly remembering something. She hurriedly turned and asked, “Sister-in-law! But, but I know how to swim! What should we do then!”
“Ah! What should we do! How come you know how to swim!” Zhang Dalang, hearing this, also grew anxious and began pacing around in circles.
Sister-in-law Zhang: …
The last time she felt this speechless was… well, the last time.
“Go squat back down! Stop causing trouble!” After scolding her own man away, Sister-in-law Zhang pulled Zhang Xiuxiu back to sit down, firmly holding onto her arm.
She was truly afraid of this fool. If she acted recklessly and did something stupid, not only would their own family end up in chaos, but who knew if Master Shen, having lost face, might not try to ruin their Zhang family?
“Elder Sister, don’t rush. Listen to me first!” Sister-in-law Zhang asked, “If you make such a scene to enter the Shen household, do you think Master Shen would be happy?”
“Happy, of course!” Zhang Dalang, completely oblivious to his wife’s fierce glare, insisted on his own, “Getting a woman for free would definitely make him happy!”
Sister-in-law Zhang turned livid with anger and threw a handful of melon seeds at him: “Zhang Tiezhu, you shut your mouth for me!”
Looking at the melon seeds scattered all over the floor, she felt a pang of heartache and said irritably, “Pick them all up! And don’t speak!”
“Ten years ago, there was a young lady in my maiden village,” Sister-in-law Zhang, not daring to beat around the bush this time, continued, “By seniority, she was considered a clan aunt of mine. She was good-looking, and her ambitions were high—she was determined to marry a scholar. Later, she set her sights on the third son of Widow Sun’s family in town. Unfortunately, he didn’t take a liking to her.”
“Ah? Why? Didn’t you say she was good-looking?”
“The Sun family had a pickled vegetable shop, and the whole family supported this third son in his studies. Widow Sun said that her youngest daughter-in-law must come from a scholarly family, so that the lineage would be good and future grandsons would be clever in their studies. Or, a generous dowry would also do, one that could support her third son’s scholarly pursuits. My clan aunt had neither.”
“Then, then what happened? What came after?”
“One day, my clan aunt and her mother went to the town market. Somehow, they just happened to bump into the Sun family’s third son, and both fell into the water. When they were rescued, although the Sun family’s third son had fainted, his hand was still holding onto hers.”
“Oh my!” Zhang Xiuxiu exclaimed, her face flushed with excitement. “This, this is too coincidental! Isn’t this just like the predestined marriage acted out by opera troupes!”
Sister-in-law Zhang: …
Watching Zhang Xiuxiu, who seemed ready to charge into the inner residence at any moment, drag Master Shen to jump into the river and then fish him out, Sister-in-law Zhang felt nothing but waves of frustration.
“My clan aunt’s family went to the Sun family several times to discuss it, but Widow Sun never agreed. Later, somehow, after hearing someone’s advice, they went to block the Sun family’s third son at the school before he was to take the Tongsheng Examination. After blocking him twice, the Sun family relented. My clan aunt’s family, fearing delays might bring trouble, forced a hasty marriage just before the examination.”
“Oh my, so that marriage actually went through after all!” Zhang Xiuxiu slapped her thigh in delight. “So how’s your clan aunt doing now?”
“Dead. She passed away less than a year after marrying in, said to be from hemorrhaging after a miscarriage.”
“What terrible luck! If she’d been healthier, wouldn’t she be a Xiucai’s wife by now?”
Sister-in-law Zhang glanced at the still-dreaming Zhang Xiuxiu and decided to give her a blunt wake-up call: “No amount of health would’ve helped. Even if you were strong as an ox, a mother-in-law has plenty of ways to grind you down to nothing!”
Zhang Xiuxiu froze, then thought of her own formidable mother—this she could believe.
Usually, while cracking melon seeds and watching her mother discipline her two daughters-in-law, she found it quite entertaining.
Her second brother’s wife had run crying back to her parents’ home and still hadn’t returned. But if it were her own turn…
Originally, her mother had planned to come this time too, but considering that mouth of hers, after much persuasion, everyone had managed to convince her to stay in the village to watch the children.
Thinking of how her second brother’s wife and mother-in-law had fought like cats and dogs every day for half a year after the wedding, and how her eldest brother’s wife, full of schemes, had only gotten some peace from the old lady after giving birth to Gou’er—
Ah, right!
“But I can bear sons!” Zhang Xiuxiu thrust out her chest.
“My clan aunt miscarried a male fetus, already six months along. They say it even moved a couple of times after coming out.”
Sister-in-law Zhang looked expressionlessly at the blockhead before her and increased the dosage. “Her mother said your clan aunt bled so much it was like a river, wailed for a full day and night, and only breathed her last after all the blood had drained. When they prepared her body, she was just skin and bones, so withered her clothes wouldn’t even hang right.”
Zhang Xiuxiu remembered how she’d nearly died from pain giving birth to Sister Nian, while her own mother had said she “slipped out like an egg, indeed, large hips are good for bearing children.”” She couldn’t help but shudder.
“The next year, the Sun family’s third son remarried. Widow Sun was utterly delighted with the new daughter-in-law, praising her third son’s wife to the skies daily to customers in the shop. Not only her—Third Sun was satisfied too. Though she’s only borne one daughter since marrying in, Third Sun has declared that with such a virtuous wife at home he’ll never take a concubine. The whole town knows it.”
“Wh-what kind of fairy beauty must she be then! Is she much prettier than your clan aunt?”
“She’s quite plump, a widow remarrying, with a daughter from her previous marriage.”
“What?” Zhang Xiuxiu first doubted her ears, then began doubting life itself. “And that wicked mother-in-law Widow Sun is satisfied?”
“Because her father is the County School Instructor. The Sun family’s third son lived and studied at his father-in-law’s house, and actually passed the Xiucai exam a few years ago.”
“…B-but she hasn’t borne a son!”
“You think every family cares about grandsons? The Sun family’s eldest and second sons have seven or eight boys between them! And I’ve heard this third daughter-in-law has a brother among her own siblings who’s also a Xiucai, and studies even better than Third Sun.”
“With an Instructor grandfather, and possibly a Juren uncle in the future, the Sun family’s eldest and second sons would be overjoyed to have their own sons adopted over! Of course the whole family revolves around this third daughter-in-law.”
Seeing Zhang Xiuxiu stunned into silence, Sister-in-law Zhang pressed her advantage, launching into free improvisation mode.
Something about “the third sister-in-law’s cousin’s daughter of my seventh granduncle’s fifth daughter, who became a rich man’s concubine, was sold into a brothel by the principal wife after bearing a son, and hanged herself.”
Something about “the fourth cousin of the third uncle on the mother’s side of my cousin’s wife, who was divorced and replaced after her husband’s family prospered, and all eight sons she bore were tormented to death by the stepmother”…
In short, each story was a personal tragedy, not only utterly devastating but also guaranteed to end with the heroine’s death.
She talked until her mouth was dry and she couldn’t think of any more creative material for the moment, finally stopping to gulp down a cup of tea.
Looking at the trembling siblings—one squatting, one sitting—Sister-in-law Zhang wiped her mouth with satisfaction and poured another cup.
Before she could take more than a couple of sips, she heard her husband sigh: “Gou’er’s Mother, so your relatives have suffered so much over the years! Good thing you married into our Zhang family!”
Sister-in-law Zhang: …
I’ve talked so much my lips are chapped, and this is all you got from it?!
And you think this makes your family look good, huh?!