Chapter 191: There’s Nothing Aunt Sun Can’t Stir Up

Aunt Sun couldn’t help but admire Old Lady Lu’s way with words. Even when things had gotten to this point, she could still smooth things over. “Auntie, looks like you’re out of chickens, huh? Your daughter-in-law must’ve killed and eaten them all.”

Old Lady Lu hadn’t expected that even the Sun family would know about such a small matter in her household. Was there anything Aunt Sun didn’t know? She was like a detective. Thinking quickly, she replied, “Those were the second son’s chickens.”

Aunt Sun looked serious. “Auntie, let me tell you, it’s fine to stick up for your eldest and his wife, but you can’t treat your second son’s family badly. I’ll be a mother-in-law myself one day, and we mothers-in-law can’t play favorites.”

Old Lady Lu nearly choked on her porridge. All this fuss over a bowl of porridge? She didn’t dare admit to favoritism. “Sister-in-law, you can’t say things like that. I never meant to mistreat my son and daughter-in-law.”

But Aunt Sun was relentless, every word hitting the mark. “You cooked porridge with your second son’s chickens—if word gets out, how is that not mistreating their family? Who lives like this? Who feeds chickens this way? You’re just trying to make things hard for Fang Yuan and her husband.”

Old Lady Lu was about to cry. “Sister-in-law, we all live in the same village. Just think of me as greedy for a bite. Can’t you just pretend you didn’t see anything?”

But Aunt Sun wasn’t about to let it go. She wasn’t about to waste her sharpness for nothing. “Auntie, you’re looking after your daughter-in-law and grandson, and they can’t even get a proper meal, yet you’re still covering for her. If it were someone else, wouldn’t they have flipped the table by now?”

Old Lady Lu thought to herself, “If I flipped the table, wouldn’t you all just laugh at me? Not a single one of you would help. No matter what, he’s still my son.”

Old Lady Lu was truly afraid of Aunt Sun’s sharp tongue. “Sister-in-law, we’re neighbors. I’m begging you, please go easy on me. I’m only doing this for my grandson. Once the child is stronger, they can do whatever they want—I won’t bother anymore.”

Aunt Sun said, “Auntie, you’re really a model mother-in-law. For that, how about I introduce a match for your third son?”

Of course, that would be great. But if things didn’t work out, Aunt Sun’s mouth was something they couldn’t handle.

If word got out, no one would dare propose a match for her third son in the future. Figuring out how to refuse was a real skill, and Old Lady Lu wasn’t sure she could manage it.

She thought of Fang Yuan. “If my second daughter-in-law were home, would I be afraid of you?”

Old Lady Lu said, “Sister-in-law, to tell you the truth, I can’t make decisions about Third’s marriage. The second couple said they’d handle it.”

Aunt Sun got even more excited than Old Lady Lu. “Really?” If the second couple was in charge of Third’s marriage, Aunt Sun was even more interested.

Old Lady Lu nodded stiffly. She’d have to talk to Fang Yuan about this later.

Aunt Sun said, “If the second couple said that, it means they’ll be looking out for Third in the future. I’ll pay even more attention to this match.”

Old Lady Lu waved her hand. “No, no, that’s not it. Marriage is marriage—there’s no talk of looking out for anyone.” But Aunt Sun didn’t listen at all.

She continued, “Auntie, don’t worry. I know you’re in a tough spot. I won’t talk to you about this anymore—I’ll go speak to Fang Yuan myself. Don’t worry, the girl I have in mind is wonderful, even more capable than me, and much more discreet.”

If she was even more discreet than Aunt Sun, she must be a great girl.

Old Lady Lu forced herself to say, “If she’s anything like you, sister-in-law, she must be a wonderful girl.”

Aunt Sun cackled with laughter, making Old Lady Lu’s scalp tingle. She’d praised her a bit too much.

As soon as Aunt Sun left the house, her sharp tongue went to work, tearing into Old Lu’s eldest daughter-in-law as if she were nothing.

The Lu family’s affairs—what Aunt Sun saw, what others gossiped about, and what Aunt Sun herself made up—were all woven into a grand drama.

By the time the rumors reached Old Lady Lu, she was beside herself with worry. The problem was, most of what people guessed was pretty much spot on, even though she hadn’t said a word. She had to take the blame.

Lu the eldest, who ran a small shop and was always well-informed, confronted Old Lady Lu with a dark face. “What did we do to deserve this? Why are you out there badmouthing your own son and daughter-in-law? Did we not feed you, or did we wrong you somehow?”

Old Lady Lu couldn’t get a word out. She turned to Li Meng. “I just came home for a meal, that’s all.”

The rest was all Aunt Sun’s speculation, but no one would believe her if she said so.

Lu the eldest was a proud man and cared a lot about saving face. “We can’t use you anymore. From now on, we’ll take care of the child ourselves. You don’t need to cook for us anymore.”

Just like that, he coldly kicked Old Lady Lu out, nearly making her faint from anger.

Li Meng was still in her postpartum month. With Old Lady Lu gone, who would cook, who would wash the baby’s diapers? She didn’t dare overexert herself. “Feng, your mom didn’t mean anything by it. It’s all just gossip. Let’s just ignore it.”

Lu Feng was especially proud and manly at this moment. “Listen to me on this. I can provide for my wife and child. Even if your family isn’t here to help, I’m not afraid of gossip. If my own mother won’t help my wife during her confinement, I can still manage.”

Old Lady Lu felt dizzy. She’d served them for over twenty days, worked hard during the pregnancy, and now it was all for nothing?

When did her son become so unrecognizable?

Li Meng was anxious. “You might be able to handle it, but I can’t. We’re family—don’t be like this. Mom isn’t that kind of person.”

If Lu Feng had to cook, Li Meng would suffer. Besides, she knew exactly what they had at home. Her mother-in-law had always made sure there was soup and porridge—she’d been treated well. If she’d known, she would have gotten along better with her mother-in-law. Without outsiders stirring things up, none of this would have happened.

Lu the eldest was stubborn. He pushed Old Lady Lu out of the yard, making quite a scene.

Just then, Lu the third came home. How could he tolerate his big brother’s nonsense? Without a word, he rushed over, and the two brothers got into a fight.

In the past, Lu the third wouldn’t have dared, but after spending half a year with the Four Tigers, if nothing else, he’d grown bolder and tougher.

Even if he couldn’t win, he had to fight, just to show Lu the eldest where he stood.

Lu the eldest felt guilty and didn’t dare fight back, so he just took the beating.

The commotion drew half the village to watch.

Lu the eldest wiped his mouth. “Lu the third, you dare lay a hand on me? I don’t have a brother like you.”

Lu the third got up and kicked him, speaking loud and clear. “You’re nothing. Let me tell you, half this house is mine. You have no right to push our mother around, no matter what the reason.”

Who wouldn’t want a son to stand up for them like that? Old Lady Lu nearly burst into tears on the spot. She held back, though, not wanting to rile Lu the third up and have him go after Lu the eldest again.

Everyone realized that Lu the third didn’t even know why Lu the eldest was fighting with Old Lady Lu. There was no real grievance—he just couldn’t stand to see his mother pushed around.

Everyone sighed—what a dependable son."