CHAPTER 303: CHAPTER 298: PHOENIX MAN

"Second Aunt, you don’t happen to be out of money, do you?" Ye Qiu said suspiciously, "But that doesn’t make sense. Aren’t you very authoritative at home? Isn’t it up to you how to use money?"

"No, I..." Liu Er Ying stammered, suddenly brightening up, "No, why didn’t you guys ask Ye Mei for money? Mengmeng, Ye Mei found a good family to marry into, you should ask her, sister giving money to brother, and there’s no need to pay it back!"

"Second Aunt, you know full well that my sister and I aren’t close, otherwise why would I come to you!" Ye Qiu pretended to be heavy-hearted, "It’s also my fault for being such a useless brother and always burdening her. Now I don’t even have the face to ask her, Second Aunt, please lend it to me first."

Where does Liu Er Ying get the money to lend to others? But having bragged too much, she didn’t want to admit that she was actually dictated by her daughter-in-law at home. So she quickly found an excuse: "That Ye Mei girl is being foolish, Mengmeng, don’t worry, when that girl comes back, I’ll talk to her for you. I have things to do at home, so I’m going to leave."

"Second Aunt, aren’t you staying for breakfast?"

"No, I’ll eat at home."

Watching Liu Er Ying’s hurried steps, Ye Qiu scornfully sneered, as in the past his mother had had a big problem with Zhang Meng due to her instigation.

She herself, dominated by her son and daughter-in-law, would always boast in front of his mother that a mother-in-law must dominate her daughter-in-law, stating that a daughter-in-law who doesn’t listen to her mother-in-law is disrespectful and ill-mannered, and going on about how a woman must adhere to the Three Obediences and Four Virtues after marriage, managing home and teaching children, totally mesmerizing his mom.

Ye Qiu admitted his mother was also stubborn, but Liu Er Ying’s behavior of being unable to see others prosper was also truly detestable, so he deliberately asked her for money knowing she didn’t have any.

"Ye Qiu, what should we do now? How about waiting for your sister to come over and I borrow the twenty thousand yuan from her?" Old Man Liu said worriedly.

"Mom, I’m not short of money, I was just talking nonsense."

"If you’re not short of money, what are you talking nonsense for?" Granny Liu said, startled and scolding.

"I just can’t stand seeing Second Aunt being so arrogant and talking nonsense."

"How is your Second Aunt talking nonsense? She is your elder; such things shouldn’t be said." Liu Sanying instinctively defended, despite it being her own sister.

"How is she not talking nonsense? Do you believe it when she says she keeps Sister-in-law Gangzi in line? Do you also believe it when she says she calls the shots at home?" Ye Qiu scoffed disdainfully.

"Why wouldn’t I believe her! She has no benefits in lying to me."

"She intentionally says these things in front of you to make you discipline Mengmeng. Tell me, if you accuse Mengmeng out of nowhere, wouldn’t it cause conflict between you two? If there’s conflict, wouldn’t I get hurt too? I spend all my energy mediating conflicts between you two, when would I have any energy left for studying and working!"

Hearing that Ye Qiu could be affected too made Granny Liu anxious: "Your Second Aunt probably didn’t think that far, and besides, I wouldn’t discipline Mengmeng over some trivial matters."

"Second Aunt is purely jealous of you. Look, I did well in school, but Brother Gangzi dropped out in middle school. Had she ever compared us in those years? But now, I’m still studying while poor, but Brother Gangzi has earned some money contracting outside. Hasn’t she been bragging about Brother Gangzi in front of you all these years and then putting me down as useless?"

"Back when dad passed away, it was like this too. Our family used to be wealthier than Second Aunt’s, she never mentioned how Second Uncle was, but as soon as dad passed, she boasted about her good judgment in finding a stable, honest, and reliable person."

"It’s happening again now. Second Aunt must be feeling jealous seeing me having such an outstanding wife like Mengmeng, so she deliberately stirs things up in front of you, trying to disturb our peace," said Ye Qiu.

Liu Sanying initially didn’t think poorly of Liu Er Ying, who is her own older sister, after all, and believed she wouldn’t harbor bad intentions. But recalling past incidents after hearing her son’s words, she felt there was some truth to what he was saying.

"But why would Second Aunt do these things?" Liu Sanying couldn’t understand, "Aren’t we all relatives? Isn’t it best if everyone is doing well?"

"Because she doesn’t want us to be better off than her! Because Mengmeng is from the city and a college graduate, more presentable than Sister-in-law Gangzi," Ye Qiu shrugged, "Mom, if you don’t believe me, just observe more. I don’t believe that Second Aunt really manages the household, would Brother Gangzi and Sister-in-law Gangzi really hand over the money they work so hard for to her? Don’t just believe everything Second Aunt says."

"Alright, alright, I understand now," Liu Sanying felt confused inside, but she also thought there was truth in her son’s words. She felt a little heartbroken, never expecting her closest sister to not wish well for her.

"Mom, don’t be too heartbroken. Second Aunt probably does wish you well, just not better than her," Ye Qiu consoled her.

Sometimes people’s thoughts are so strange, out of the blue they develop a competitive, show-off mentality. Ye Qiu doesn’t care if others are doing better than his family; if he’s not doing well himself, it’s just a matter of not being diligent enough, but the premise is that you shouldn’t actively cause harm.

Second Aunt can’t be called a downright bad person, but over the years she’s gotten used to being dominant over Granny Liu, and suddenly Ye Qiu is about to graduate and make something of himself, having also brought in a daughter-in-law from a big city, wouldn’t she be better off than her in the future?

So, feeling discontent, she came to Liu Sanying to gossip and stir trouble, hoping to provoke a conflict between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law and ruin this marriage arrangement!

In the end, she could boast to others about how capable Liu Er Ying is, how harmonious her family is, whereas Liu Sanying’s family, even with a college graduate, is still inadequate.

"Why are you so wicked," Zhang Meng walked out of the room and surreptitiously pinched Ye Qiu’s waist.

"Isn’t all this for you? If Second Aunt wants to poison the relationship between you and mom, I just have to deal with her," Ye Qiu said innocently.

Zhang Meng’s lips curved slightly, thinking to herself how great it was to have his protection. What else would she need to fear now?

But she also needed to make an effort. She couldn’t always let him bear the burden; she aimed to reach a point where even if future mother-in-law heard someone speaking ill of her, she could resolutely contradict them without anyone else’s support.

As the saying goes, putting oneself in another’s shoes fosters mutual respect. Being the junior, she decided to start by treating her future mother-in-law well.

"Auntie, I’m sorry, I overslept today," Zhang Meng entered the kitchen, her face flushed, "Let me help you with the cooking."

"Oh, you young people don’t need to do this, just go and have a seat. It will be ready soon," Granny Liu, having heard Ye Qiu’s words, deeply felt that opposing her future daughter-in-law would only be detrimental to her son, so she displayed a very kind attitude.

"It’s okay, I can learn."

Granny Liu felt reassured in her heart, more convinced than ever that her second sister was wrong. With such a good daughter-in-law, there was no need for reprimand. Her son was right, her second sister was simply jealous of her.