On the waу, Zhеn Niang madе up her mind—this mаttеr соuldn’t bе lеft entirelу to the Tian family’s whims. If thе Тian fаmily wаntеd tо brеak оff thе еngаgеment, finе. If they wantеd thе betrоthal gifts returned, thаt was alsо acсерtаblе, but shе nеeded timе.
Shе cоuldn’t lеt thеm use thе return оf thе betrothаl gifts аs an еxcuse tо plot her buriаl аlоngside Тian Benсhаng. Still, whеn it cаmе dоwn tо it, hеr рarеnts wоuld havе to stаnd firm in such mattеrs.
Lost in thоught, Li Zhеnniаng arrivеd hоmе.
"Еldest Brothеr Li, you still have time bеfore work. Сome with mе to thе mulbеrry fiеld first—we need to fertilize and tidy up the land. We’ll be receiving silkworm eggs soon, and if the mulberry trees aren’t well cared for, the silkworms won’t survive." In the small courtyard, Zhao Shi called out to Li Dalang, who was squatting by the door drinking corn porridge. Li Dalang usually worked at an oil mill, doing hard labor.
The Li family’s mulberry field was their only plot of sloping land. Each year, the three rounds of silkworms relied entirely on this field for sustenance. Of course, Zhao Shi never missed an opportunity to steal mulberry leaves from others’ fields.
"Mhm." Li Dalang nodded, stood up, and swallowed the last mouthful of porridge.
"Mother-in-law, I have something to tell you." At that moment, Du Shi, who was combing her hair by the door, blinked and leaned closer to Zhao Shi with a somewhat ingratiating tone.
"What is it? If you have something to say, just say it. Don’t act strange." Zhao Shi looked at Du Shi warily. Knowing her daughter-in-law well, she was certain this was a request for something.
"The owner of the oil mill where Dalang works wants to sell it. My brothers all work there and are thinking of taking it over. Dalang and I also want to chip in, so we’d like to borrow a little from you, Mother." Du Shi explained.
Zhao Shi immediately glared. Asking for money was like asking for her life. She gritted her teeth and looked coldly at Du Shi. "Can’t you see how poor this family already is?"
"I was thinking about the betrothal gifts the Tian family gave for Er Ya Tou. Since the wedding won’t be for another two years anyway, we could just borrow from that for now." Du Shi said with a smile.
"Pah! Put that idea out of your head. With Dalang’s temperament and your brothers’ characters, even if the betrothal gifts hadn’t already been used to pay off debts, I’d never agree to chip in. That would be like throwing meat buns at a dog—gone for good!" Zhao Shi retorted angrily.
"Mother-in-law, how can you say that? My brothers only agreed to let us chip in because they see how hard our life is. They mean well." Du Shi said, looking hurt.
"Save it. We don’t need that kind of ‘well-meaning’." Zhao Shi waved her hand, her expression making it clear she wouldn’t discuss it further.
Zhenniang had just walked in and overheard all this. She couldn’t help but roll her eyes. Although she had resolved not to let the Tian family have their way, she had no idea how things would ultimately unfold. The betrothal gifts still needed to be prepared. She had been worrying about them all the way home, wondering how much was left in the family. To her surprise, her sister-in-law was already eyeing them.
"Mother, how much of the betrothal gifts are left?" Zhenniang placed the copper kettle into a straw-woven insulated bucket, took the laughing baby from her back and handed it to Du Shi, then asked her mother.
"What, are you eyeing the betrothal gifts too? Don’t you have any shame?" Zhao Shi was in a mood to snap at anyone these days, never a moment of peace.
"When your life is on the line, what does shame matter?" Li Zhenniang said coldly.
Hearing her second daughter’s words, Zhao Shi’s heart skipped a beat. She quickly asked, "What do you mean by that?"
Li Zhenniang then told her about Tian Benchang falling off a cliff while visiting Huangshan and added, "I heard the Tian family has put out word that if we don’t return the betrothal gifts, they’ll demand I be buried with him. You figure it out."The news struck everyone in the room dumbfounded.
"Is this true?" Zhao Shi asked, her eyes wide with disbelief.
"There's no smoke without fire. We can easily find out the truth by asking the Tian family," Li Zhenniang replied.
Seeing Zhen Niang's expression, Zhao Shi knew the matter was likely true, but she still felt uneasy. She sent Li Dalang to inquire at the Tian household. He returned shortly, his face grim. "Mother, it's true," he said.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Shi's expression changed drastically. As everyone had suspected, all the betrothal gifts had long been gambled away by Li Jingfu. Even the last bracelet she had hidden away had been found by him and lost at the gambling den the previous night.
Now, her daughter would surely lose her life. With this thought, she suddenly turned and rushed into the room, throwing herself onto the bed and pummeling Li Jingfu, who was still lying there. "You wretched man! I'll fight you to the death!"
"What's going on? What's going on? Have you gone mad, woman?" Li Jingfu, suddenly attacked by Zhao Shi, grew furious and pushed her off the bed with force.
"It's all because of you, you wretched man! All you know is gambling! Now you've lost all of Zhen Niang's betrothal gifts. Tian Benchang has died, and the Tian family wants to cancel the engagement and demand the gifts back. If we don't return them, they'll demand Zhen Niang's life as compensation. Give me back my daughter's life!" Zhao Shi lunged back onto the bed, kicking and biting Li Jingfu.
Li Jingfu fended off Zhao Shi's hysterics for a while before finally understanding the situation. But instead of backing down, he glared defiantly. "Bah! The engagement was agreed upon willingly. Tian Benchang was simply unlucky and couldn't enjoy the fortune of marrying my daughter. If he's dead, so be it. We can cancel the engagement, but returning the betrothal gifts? Not a chance! It's not us who proposed canceling it."
"Hah! What good are your tough words now? Do you have the ability to make the Tian family agree? If the Tian family insists, what will happen to Zhen Niang? You wretched man! I'll teach you to gamble!" Zhao Shi lunged at him again, filled with hatred. Though she was just a woman, she understood that the Tian family would not let this go easily.
"It's all your fault, woman! I told you long ago to forget this marriage. The Tian family looks down on us, but you insisted on clinging to them. Now we're in this mess, and it's all your fault!" Li Jingfu, tired of being beaten, roared back.
"My fault? I did this for Zhen Niang's sake! A woman marries for clothing and food. Do you want Zhen Niang to live a life like mine? Besides, it's because of your gambling that our family is drowning in debt. If I didn't think of ways to get some money, how could we survive?" Zhao Shi cried and cursed before her eyes rolled back, and she fainted.
"Quick, quick! Dalang, go fetch a doctor!" Seeing Zhao Shi like this, Li Jingfu panicked and hurriedly called for Dalang to summon a physician.
Zhen Niang quickly poured a cup of hot water, while Little Official Xiao, who had been sleeping in Dalang's wife's arms, woke up from the commotion and began wailing loudly. For a moment, the household was thrown into utter chaos.
Truly, the poorer one is, the crazier things become.
Soon, the physician arrived and diagnosed Zhao Shi's condition as a sudden surge of anger affecting her heart, advising her to rest well.
"Dalang, go fetch your grandparents. Tell them the family is collapsing and ask them to come back and take charge," Zhao Shi said as soon as she regained consciousness, addressing her eldest son without even glancing at Li Jingfu. Li Jingfu, standing nearby, scowled and said, "No.""Why can't I? If you have the guts, go get the betrothal gifts ready. If you have the guts, go settle things with the Tian family right now, and I won't say another word," Zhao Shi said coldly.
"I'm only thinking of you. You and my mother never got along—I'm just afraid you'll suffer at her hands. Besides, where would we put them? There's no room in our house," Li Jingfu said, trying to placate his wife.
"Bah, spare me that nonsense. It's true I don't get along with your mother, but it also takes a man with some backbone. All these years, your mother has been gossiping about me outside, and everyone says I can't stand my in-laws. How many people have pointed fingers at me? Just think back—was it because of me that your father refused to live with us? No, it was because of you, the good-for-nothing! He was afraid you'd squander his last bit of savings. Today, with this situation, it's just as well to bring your parents here. I can't hold this family together anymore anyway. As for where to stay, there's a woodshed in the back. Clean it up, and Zhen Niang and I will live there. Your parents can take our room with Xi Ge'er. As for you, go find somewhere cool to stay," Zhao Shi said, her voice filled with resignation.
Li Jingfu felt thoroughly deflated by his wife's words and turned to shout at Li Dalang, who was still standing there dumbfounded. "Didn't you hear your mother? Go on, hurry up!"
Li Dalang acknowledged and rushed out.
Nearby, Du Shi muttered under her breath, clearly unhappy. One mother-in-law was already hard enough to deal with—now there would be another. But there was nothing she could do to stop it, so she just hugged Xiao Guan and returned to her own room.
Seeing Zhao Shi's sour expression, Li Jingfu didn't feel like staying in the room either. He shrugged and made to leave.
"Where are you going now?" Zhao Shi glared at him.
"You told me to go where it's cool," Li Jingfu grumbled, turning and walking out.
"What kind of man did I marry?" Zhao Shi cursed again, but there was nothing she could do about her husband. She turned and saw her daughter looking at her thoughtfully.
"What are you staring at?" Zhao Shi snapped.
"Mother, aren't you afraid Grandma will move in and make trouble for you?" Li Zhenniang asked tentatively. She had often heard Zhao Shi cursing Grandma Li.
"It's all for your sake," Zhao Shi retorted, glaring.
"Thank you, Mother," Li Zhenniang said with a playful bow, though inwardly she thought, If it weren't for Mother forcing me into marriage in the first place, none of this would have happened. Still, at least Zhao Shi hadn't abandoned her for the sake of money, and she couldn't help feeling a bit closer to her.
"You, too—you just can't seem to catch a break. How did a perfectly fine person like you end up falling off a cliff?" Zhao Shi shook her head and sighed. "A wealthy merchant family like the Tians—opportunities like that don't come around often. I worked so hard to secure it..."
Li Zhenniang giggled and dodged away. "Mother, marrying into a family like the Tians doesn't necessarily mean happiness."
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