The ladies of the Lu family sat in Madam Lu’s room talking until late afternoon, not emerging until almost all guests from the Old Zhou family had left.
Old Lady Zhou’s face was clearly displeased. As the eldest daughter-in-law of the household, Madam Lu should have been managing the family affairs on such an important day, not hiding in her room chatting with her family. This was simply unacceptable.
Therefore, whenever she looked at Madam Lu, her eyes and nose seemed to twist with irritation.
Old Lady Lu knew what it was like to be a mother-in-law, so she understood Old Lady Zhou’s sentiments. However, she had her reasons and promptly took Old Lady Zhou into the main hall to discuss the matter of Wufu hitting Madam Lu.
Old Lady Zhou was taken aback, and her face turned dark with anger at the mention of this on such a day, as if the complaint was timed to stir up trouble.
"Frankly," said Old Lady Zhou irritably, "I shouldn’t even be mentioning this, and I’m not taking sides, but Wufu, without hiding anything from you, my relative, is simply troublesome. Whoever crosses her gets pricked with thorns."
"She merely felt she had no fine jewelry to wear and borrowed it for a couple of days," replied Old Lady Lu dryly.
"Borrow? Even though it’s just a hairpin, over the years, the eldest daughter-in-law has ’borrowed’ so much from Ying Mei and never returned any of it. This time, it’s the settling of both new grievances and old debts." Old Lady Zhou had sharpened her tongue beside Scholar Zhou over the years, and right now she left Old Lady Lu at a loss for words, her face turning ashen.
Old Lady Zhou took a sip of her tea, not because she sided with Wufu, but because Madam Zhou had already presented such a generous gift that day, and besides, she disapproved of the Lu family coming to admonish them, especially on the day her youngest son got married. Weren’t they intentionally adding to her troubles?
Stung by Old Lady Zhou’s veiled jabs, Old Lady Lu said, "But that girl is too fierce. She’s still so young, yet she broke her own aunt’s finger."
A flash of disgust crossed Old Lady Zhou’s eyes, though it was unclear whether it was directed at Madam Lu or Wufu.
Old Lady Lu, pretending not to notice, continued, "My dear relative, if word of this spreads, our already tainted reputation will only get worse. Who would dare to marry her in the future? Besides, in our Lu family, Zhen Zhu is the cherished auntie. We won’t just sit by and watch her get bullied by someone younger!"
Madam Lu’s name was Lu Zhenzhu, and Old Lady Lu’s remarks were a show of support for her daughter.
Old Lady Zhou replied, "There is a cause for every effect. Let this serve as a lesson. From now on, I will keep them in check. Whoever started the trouble should be ready to face the consequences of their actions."
Listening to this, Old Lady Lu frowned, sensing that Old Lady Zhou was favoring her side over her relations. She inwardly scoffed, concluding that daughters-in-law will always be outsiders, only sticking up for their own flesh and blood.
"I’m just saying, no one wants to see their own children suffer, and our Zhen Zhu is not without brothers to back her up," Old Lady Lu stated firmly.
Old Lady Zhou sneered, who didn’t have sons? But she had no intention of supporting Wufu, and said, "That’s true. However, my dear relative, I must say, some people are not to be trifled with."
Like Wufu, at least for now, she dared not provoke her. Who knows what other tricks the girl might have up her sleeve?
If the Lu family wanted to stir trouble, then let them. They’ll learn their lesson when they hit a wall. She would just watch from the sidelines to see who would come out on top!
It must be said that Old Lady Zhou was exceedingly self-interested. Now that her youngest child was married, she had no worries for the future and could afford to sit back and watch the fire burn from across the river.