CHAPTER 19: CHAPTER 19: SECRET STASH OF MONEY

EDITOR: ATLAS STUDIOS

"Sigh, yes, yes, everyone take a step back, harmony in the family brings prosperity, dear mother-in-law, I’ll make sure to give Xiao Hua some good food so she can recover well."

Upon hearing that there would be no need to pay, Mrs. Li Zhou was delighted and then spoke kindly, to which Mother Zhang also responded with a smile, and both families reconciled.

It was noon when Mother Zhang and Zhang Guihua stayed for a meal at the Li family, and then went back happily, escorted by Zhang Meihua.

"Mom, are we just going to let this matter go? Your daughter’s head was hit for nothing?"

Zhang Meihua held onto her mother’s hand, refusing to let go, complaining and feeling very wronged inside.

"Sis, it’s not that we don’t want to settle scores with the Li family, but you just heard, her husband is going to take the imperial exam soon, and if he passes, he’ll be a scholar official. There’s no need for us to make enemies with them now, right?"

"Yes, my daughter, if they become officials, we’ll have support, and we might even benefit from it...."

"Tch, who knows if he’ll pass? Is the scholar exam that easy? We’ve had only a few every dozen years across several villages, and how many of those that passed ever became officials? That little brat is just boasting!"

"Fine, let’s wait and see, if he doesn’t pass, we can settle the score later!"

"Yes, sis, just hold on..."

"Hold on to what? I’ve been holding on for so long! Besides, if he does pass, we’ll have to tolerate their behavior, I... I feel more uneasy the more I think about this!"

Second sister-in-law Mrs. Zhang was utterly frustrated, yet on Long Yue’s side, there was much joy.

Li Qingmu was helping Long Yue tidy up her windswept hair gently, and spoke softly: "My lady’s words are sharp, and I have witnessed it today. Having such a delicate-minded wife by my side, I have no more regrets in life."

Long Yue wore a faint smile, silently.

"Second sister-in-law’s family is outrageous, now they’ve quieted down only because I’m going to take the test soon. If I pass, they stand to gain, but the more they act like this, the more unsettling it is."

Li Qingmu spoke with a slight depth in his eyes. Such a family is not desirable, as they will bring unnecessary trouble and even ruin things.

His young wife’s plan was not wrong, the Zhang family’s connection should not be wanted!

In the following days, Mrs. Zhang did not cause any trouble. Mrs. Li Zhou, who cared about appearances, had previously promised to treat her well, so every day she boiled an egg for Mrs. Zhang as a snack.

Long Yue took advantage of this leisure to focus on her embroidery work.

"Third sister-in-law, the little lady from the Chai family is here."

A qiu called from outside, and soon a petite figure appeared at the door, Chai Qiao’er greeted Long Yue courteously, then stated her purpose.

"I thought you weren’t coming, come, come in quickly."

Long Yue warmly welcomed her in, Qiao’er held a small basket in her hand, filled with fabric and threads.

She presented a finished handkerchief to Long Yue for inspection, and Long Yue nodded, "The workmanship is nice, very delicate, but the technique is a bit limited. Conveniently, I have many embroidery techniques here, just follow me and learn well."

"Okay, thank you, Third sister-in-law!"

Chai Qiao’er was quite impressed with Long Yue’s generosity, and felt ashamed for doubting whether she’d teach her.

The matter of Long Yue teaching Chai Qiao’er embroidery couldn’t escape the attention of the neighboring main house and Mrs. Li Zhou. Mrs. Wang peeked through the door, then went to Mrs. Li Zhou’s room.

"Mother, there’s a little girl who came to our house, you know?"

In the room, Mrs. Li Zhou was mending clothes, with the weather expected to turn cold in a month, she needed to get the winter clothes ready, patching up any damaged areas.

She acknowledged her daughter-in-law’s question with a nod and said: "I saw her, she’s the sister of the hunter Chai Tieniu. Last time he brought us snake meat, so we’ve built some rapport. Why?"

"Mother, Third sister-in-law is teaching her embroidery!" Mrs. Wang whispered, "Those who can embroider usually sell some pieces in the county’s embroidery workshop for money. Didn’t you say she came back in new clothes yesterday? Where’d she get the money for that? She must’ve earned it from embroidery!"

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Li Zhou’s eyelid twitched, and she nearly pricked herself with the needle. Frustrated, she said, "The third son’s house was a house of nobility; it’s normal for them to know embroidery, isn’t it?"

"Yes, but Mother, doesn’t all the money earned by our family go to you? Now she’s hiding money herself!"

You could only buy clothes with hidden money. Looking at her own old winter clothes, Mrs. Li Zhou felt a bit downhearted.

How could this daughter-in-law be so thoughtless, earning money without handing it over, unlike her son A qiu, who is so obedient? Ah!

Mrs. Li Zhou sighed internally, contemplating asking Long Yue for the money but fearing her. Meanwhile, noticing Mrs. Wang’s eager eyes, she felt she couldn’t lose face as a mother-in-law and said: "I’ll ask her about it later."

"Sigh!"

During dinner, Long Yue noticed her sister-in-law and mother-in-law staring at her, understanding they likely wanted to inquire about the new clothes.

With so much happening yesterday, they hadn’t noticed, now with some free time, they were again finding something to fuss about.

People’s hearts!

Long Yue chuckled inwardly and put down her chopsticks: "Father, Mother, I’m done eating." With that, she rose and left.

Seeing this, Mrs. Wang quickly responded: "Hey, Third sister-in-law, your new clothes look really nice!"

Following Mrs. Wang’s lead, Mrs. Li Zhou quickly added: "Yes, look at that color, so vibrant, this outfit must have cost a lot, right?"

Long Yue fully understood they had their eyes on her personal stash, so she smiled and said: "Not much, I made some embroidery pieces and sold them in the county for some money, so I bought a couple of new outfits. Do you like them, Mother, Sister-in-law? If you do, I can get some more from the county next time?"

Uh...

Mrs. Li Zhou and Mrs. Wang were immediately stuck, the third house lady really had a strange day, offering to get them new clothes?

"Um... Third sister-in-law, are you serious?"

"Yes, I am!"

Mrs. Wang was delighted, grinning, "I want a light red dress!"

Cough cough...

Mrs. Li Zhou felt the eldest daughter-in-law was rather... and just coughed. Mrs. Wang then realized her faux pas, quickly composing herself, "Uh, let’s hear mother decide!"

Mrs. Li Zhou was torn between asking Long Yue for money and clothes, eventually deciding she wouldn’t give it easily anyway, opting for the clothes.

Li Qingmu sat quietly on the side, eating his meal, knowing his little wife was planning her next move, seizing power!

To take the reins of the Li family, first, she’d need to give some benefits to the Li family, like... these clothes.

To be honest, some of the ways his family acted, he sometimes found disagreeable. Since his little wife decided to stir things up, he’d go along with her!