Chapter 3

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At this moment, Wang Gui returned with the medicine. His mother was busy making shoes. Seeing him with the medicine, she was instantly delighted and said, "They really gave it to you?"

"Hmm." Wang Gui nodded, handed the medicine to his mother, and then took out a bracelet from his pocket, giving it to her.

"What's this?" Seeing his sullen face, his mother understood everything and smiled awkwardly, "They didn't fall for it?"

"Seeing that it was something you took out, they became more cautious," Wang Gui said gloomily. "An expert looked at it and said it was copper, just coated with gold powder."

"A bunch of blind fools, this is clearly real gold!" His mother's face didn't even blush as she put the gilded bracelet on her wrist. She then asked, "So how did you get the medicine?"

"Lin's daughter was getting medicine for her mother. When she saw me being scolded by those people, she paid for it on my behalf," Wang Gui answered honestly. "She said she would come to see her brother again in the next few days."

"Hmph, fake sympathy," his mother cursed. "The Lin family has caused us so much trouble. If she dares to come to our door, I'll break her legs!"

Wang Gui didn't dare to argue with his mother and just kept quiet.

"Did you even ask how much the medicine costs?"

"One hundred coins..." Wang Gui said softly.

"So expensive?" His mother gasped, wiping her sweat. "This will last a month, and even selling me wouldn't be enough..."

"Let's think of something else..." Wang Gui sighed. "Mother, I'll go see my brother." He then went to the west wing, sat for a while, and left with a heavy heart.

At lunchtime, his mother noticed that Wang Gui's wife hadn't come out. She knew that the wife found the food unpalatable. The Wang family almost always had a meal of vegetable soup with rough rice, and at most, some soybean sauce, which was indeed hard to swallow... Of course, you could only be picky if you had a choice. The mother, Wang Gui, and Yinxing had no choice, so they ate everything without leaving any.

Seeing that Wang Gui's wife still hadn't come out, the mother gave her bowl of rice to her children, "Don't waste it." No one worried if Wang Gui's wife would go hungry because she always managed to buy delicious food secretly and eat alone when Wang Gui was at work.

So, when she didn't come out to eat, the family knew she was eating alone again. But since she was spending her own dowry and not eating in front of them, no one could say anything directly.

After finishing their meal, Yinxing cleared the table, and Wang Gui, with a troubled look, returned to his room, not even hearing his sister calling him.

Thinking that her brother was arguing with his wife again, Yinxing didn't take it to heart. After finishing her chores, she took the medicine bowl to feed Wang Xian. Just as she was about to finish the bowl of medicine, a sudden outburst of scolding from the east wing interrupted her.

Yinxing sighed and muttered, "Here we go again... If you have the guts, scold her when Mother is home." Although she was angry, she couldn't do anything as a child and could only listen.

"Good, you little snot-nosed Wang, you've finally grown some skills after a lifetime of being a snot-nose!" The voice became much clearer, indicating that the battle had moved from inside the room to the courtyard. "You actually learned to steal!"

"Who are you calling a thief?" If it were just general insults, Yinxing would have ignored it, but hearing her sister-in-law call her brother a thief made her furious. She put the bowl down and rushed to the door, confronting her sister-in-law.

"Ask him yourself, did he steal or not!" Wang Gui's wife, holding a broom handle, pointed at Wang Gui, who was hiding behind the water tank, and glared. "He stole my jewelry while I was sleeping, and I caught him red-handed!"

"Is it called stealing between a couple?" Seeing his sister come out, Wang Gui blushed and said awkwardly, "Mother says that in a marriage, what's yours is mine."

"Bullshit! That's my dowry!" Seeing Wang Gui's argument, his wife angrily rushed at him. "That's the property of the Hou family, and it has nothing to do with the Wang family!"

This woman was tall and strong, and a single hit from her would be too much for Wang Gui to bear. He had to run around the yard, pleading for mercy, "Even if I borrowed it, can't I pay you back later when I earn money?"

"What did you steal my jewelry for? Do you have a mistress outside?" Wang Gui's wife demanded angrily.

"Don't be ridiculous," Wang Gui said, feeling embarrassed in front of his sister. "How could that be?"

"That's true, with you..." Wang Gui's wife sneered. Suddenly, she remembered that earlier, his mother and he were worried about the cost of Wang Xian's medicine. Now, everything was clear. Wang Gui had stolen her dowry to buy medicine for Wang Xian!

This hit a sore spot for her! She had married into the Wang family when they were prosperous, with a well-matched dowry. But after her father-in-law got into trouble, the Wang family quickly declined, which had been a constant source of frustration for her. She had always been suppressed by a formidable mother-in-law.

It wasn't until her mother-in-law and husband were willing to spend all their money to save Wang Xian that she started to cause trouble. She firmly opposed spending money on a "living dead person" and often said, "Even if he survives, he'll be a curse. It's better to let him die peacefully!"

Over time, Wang Xian became the focus of her resentment towards the Wang family. Whenever Wang Gui mentioned him, she would fly into a rage. Now, stealing her money to buy medicine for him was the last straw. Wang Gui's wife went crazy, lunging at him, "Wang snot-nose, do you know what I hate the most? I won't live with you anymore!"

Wang Gui felt guilty and kept saying, "I won't do it again, I promise!" while dodging around the courtyard. Hou Shi, who usually stayed in the house, had weak legs. After chasing him for a while, she tripped and fell, hitting her head on a shovel, and blood gushed out...

"Ouch, murder..." Hou Shi was in excruciating pain, her forehead bleeding profusely. She screamed, "Help, help!"

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Before lunch, the mother sold all the shoes and bought two doses of medicine for Wang Xian. She was very pleased because she managed to get two doses for 170 coins, which were originally 100 coins each. In Fuyang County, there were probably only a handful of people who could get a feather from the miserly Mr. Lu.

However, as soon as she entered the house, she saw the blood on the floor and immediately became furious, "As soon as I'm out, you go wild! Wang Gui's wife, let's go to the magistrate's office and sort this out!" Based on her experience, it must have been Wang Gui, the clumsy one, who was beaten by Hou Shi...

"Mother..." Before she could finish, Wang Gui came out from the room and said softly, "It's not me who was hurt, it's Cuilian..."

"Huh?" The mother's expression relaxed. "The sun rises in the west, my son actually stood up for himself?!"

"Not exactly..." Wang Gui was sweating, stammering, "She fell while chasing me."

"I see..." The mother sighed, disappointed. "A dog can't change its nature."

Putting down the medicine, she went to the east wing and saw Hou Shi with her head wrapped like a spindle, lying in bed and moaning. Blood seeped through the bandages, looking quite alarming.

Hou Shi knew she had come in but stayed in bed, pretending to be too sick to get up. She had already sent for her family, and she would wait for them to arrive before doing anything, to avoid being scolded by the old woman. Years ago, she had foolishly tried to stand up to her mother-in-law and was scolded into unconsciousness. The memory still made her shudder...

Seeing Hou Shi like this, the mother couldn't say much. She was fierce but also very shrewd, knowing that she shouldn't get involved in this matter and decided to wait and see.

After coming out of Wang Gui's room, the mother started a fire to cook, ate, and washed the dishes, then gave Wang Xian a massage. Seeing that Hou Shi's family hadn't arrived, she cursed, "What a delay!"

In the afternoon, Hou Shi's brother and younger brother finally arrived. They were dressed well and walked with arrogance, bringing several farmhands with them... Their family owned a hundred acres of tea fields and had connections in the county, giving them a significant advantage over the declining Wang family.

The mother, however, chased away all the extra people and only let Hou Shi's brothers in.

As soon as they entered, they covered their noses, as if standing in this dilapidated yard would taint their noble status.

Seeing their sister lying in bed, seemingly on the brink of death, they immediately flew into a rage and scolded Wang Gui like he was a grandchild. They didn't use foul language because Wang Gui's mother was present. It wasn't out of respect, but because they knew that if they provoked the mother tiger, they might end up being the ones scolded.

But the mother remained silent, letting them scold her son until he was dazed, her face dark with thoughts.

Only after they were exhausted and stopped to drink water—using their own teapots with their own water and tea—did they ask their sister, "We've said our piece, and he won't dare do it again. What else do you have to say?"

"Two things. If you agree, I'll stay. If not, we're done," Hou Shi, who had been suppressed by her mother-in-law, finally found an opportunity to change her situation. She had been hiding in the house, afraid of her mother-in-law's cold eyes. She felt that if things continued, she would go mad within half a year. This time, she was determined to seize the opportunity to change her situation!

"Go on," her brother nodded.

"First, I want to live separately. I don't want anything from the Wang family, just to live separately!" Hou Shi, not daring to look at her mother-in-law, lay in bed and finally spoke her mind, which she had kept for two years. "Second, he must swear that after we separate, he won't spend any money on his family, or his son will be born without a hole!"

The room fell silent. The mother's hands, hidden in her sleeves, were clenched so tightly that they made a cracking sound, but she still didn't react.

"Uh," Hou Shi's brother felt this was too extreme and quickly tried to salvage the situation. "What my sister means is to live separately but remain part of the family. Each of us will manage our own money. This way, since we can't live together, we can live separately and have peace of mind." He looked at Wang Gui's mother nervously, "Right, Mother Wang?"

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