Chapter 181: Chapter 181: Discussion, Fainting

In the main hall, Xu Mingshan and his wife finally managed to send everyone off, hastily putting an end to the farce. Now, together with their eldest son Xu Huaizhi, they were discussing what to do next.

Liu Guifang looked at her son expectantly. “Eldest, you’ve always been the one with ideas. Think of something, will you? Our family is being bullied to death! If we don’t get back our dignity this time, the Yan family will think we’re scared of them.”

After everything that had happened recently, Xu Huaizhi had long since lost hope in his parents, and any brotherly affection for his younger brother had all but vanished. Frankly, he was just glad he wasn’t laughing at them behind their backs.

“What can I do? This was your decision. You figure it out.”

“If you ask me, eldest, why don’t you just gather a few men from the village and go to the Yan family’s place to snatch the bride price back!” Xu Mingshan said angrily, clearly furious this time.

“Your father’s right!” Liu Guifang chimed in.

Xu Huaizhi gave a helpless smile. “Dad, you’ve been the village secretary for so many years—you know how this works. The bride price is a gift to the bride’s family, to thank them for raising their daughter. Once it’s given, it’s theirs to do with as they please. If they’re willing to return it, that’s kindness. If not, that’s their right. No matter how much you argue, you can’t just go and take it back. I’m not about to end up in a labor camp.”

Xu Huaizhi was right. That’s exactly why the Yan family dared to keep the bride price. No matter what, it was given to the bride’s family. If they wanted to return it, fine; if not, there was nothing anyone could do about it.

Unless the marriage was called off.

But to be blunt, the marriage certificate was already signed, and the wedding had already taken place. If they divorced now, it would be a lose-lose for both sides. No one wanted to go that far unless absolutely necessary.

Most families would return part of the bride price and keep part of it, but the Yan family was just too shameless—they kept almost all of it.

Xu Mingshan took a hard drag from his pipe, his brows tightly furrowed.

“If this won’t work and that won’t work, then let the third daughter-in-law go and get it back herself! If she can’t, then she shouldn’t bother coming back! We’ve lost so much face today. If she doesn’t bring back those hundreds of yuan worth of gifts, our family will be a laughingstock for the rest of our lives,” Liu Guifang said, refusing to let it go.

“It’s already a huge joke,” Xu Huaizhi said coolly.

Yan Lijun, supporting Xu Huaiyu, walked to the doorway just in time to hear their conversation.

She gripped Xu Huaiyu’s arm tightly, drawing strength from it.

Yan Lijun, hang in there. Just get through this.

“Third, why are you up?” Liu Guifang hurried over to help her son when she saw him come in, shooting Yan Lijun a fierce glare at the same time.

Xu Huaiyu sat down on a chair in the main hall.

“Third daughter-in-law, did you know about all this from the start? I’m telling you, if you don’t get the bride price back, don’t expect to have a peaceful life in this family! You married into the Xu family, so you’re one of us now. Because of you, our family has suffered a huge loss. What are you going to do about it? Your parents are something else too! They said it was all for your own good, but I don’t think they ever saw you as a person. Not only did they swallow the bride price, they didn’t even give you a proper dowry—just sent you off with a shabby old trunk. How worthless can you be?” Liu Guifang ranted angrily.

Because Yan Lijun was the third son’s wife, Liu Guifang was actually holding back. If it had been the eldest or second son’s wife, she’d have torn into them even worse.

But Yan Lijun had never experienced anything like this before. She’d never seen the ugly side of a rural mother-in-law, and tears started streaming down her face uncontrollably, no matter how hard she tried to wipe them away.

“What are you crying for? Did I wrong you? You’re a jinx! Ever since you got engaged to my son, nothing good has happened to this family.”

Yan Lijun sobbed even harder.

“Mom, that’s enough. She didn’t want things to turn out like this either,” Xu Huaiyu finally spoke up, seeing that Liu Guifang was going too far.

“And you’re no better! Out of all the girls you could have picked, you chose her? I told you to find a local girl we know, but you insisted on marrying someone from the city. Now look—you ended up with a shameless pauper. Happy now? Do whatever you want. The family’s split now anyway. Spend your own money, embarrass yourself all you want. But if you run out of money or food and can’t survive, don’t come running to me.”

Liu Guifang was furious that her son had let a woman cloud his judgment, and she lashed out indiscriminately. It was the first time she’d ever said such harsh words to Xu Huaiyu.

Xu Huaiyu quickly patted Yan Lijun. “Hurry up and apologize to Mom and Dad!”

Yan Lijun caught on immediately. She wiped her tears and, her voice thick with emotion, said, “Dad, Mom, I’m sorry. My parents raised me, and I really had no choice but to end up like this. In the future, I’ll work hard to support the family and be good to you both. Please don’t be angry with me.” With that, she knelt heavily on the ground, looking sincerely repentant.

She never would have thought of this herself—it was all Xu Huaiyu’s idea.

Seeing her so sincere, Xu Mingshan and Liu Guifang’s anger did subside a little, though they were still upset.

“Don’t give me this nonsense. If you want my forgiveness, there’s only one way: go back to your parents’ house and bring back the bride price we sent over, and do it with dignity!” Liu Guifang said stubbornly.

“Mom, don’t make things hard for her. Let’s just think about how we can get it back,” Xu Huaiyu said, exhausted in body and mind.

“How? You tell me how! Your in-laws are so shameless they even swallowed their own daughter’s bride price. Am I supposed to beat their daughter and send her back? Am I the one making things hard for her? It’s her family making things hard for us! That was the ‘three rounds and one sound’—not just a piece of candy or a pound of flour. Once it’s given, it’s gone. I see you’ve married a wife and forgotten your mother, just like your brother. You’re both ungrateful wolves, blinded by lard, can’t tell right from wrong.”

Liu Guifang had a unique possessiveness over her youngest son. In the past, no matter who she argued with, her son always took her side. Now that he was married, he was actually standing up to her for his wife, and she felt deeply hurt.

Losing the “three rounds and one sound” wasn’t as painful as realizing her son would no longer protect her, that he’d argue with her for another woman. The thought left her feeling empty inside.

Xu Huaiyu didn’t notice his mother’s disappointment.

“I’ve got an idea, Mom, but I’ll need your help.”

“What idea?”

“Mom, aren’t you the best at making a scene? Just go sit at the Yan family’s doorstep and shout about all the terrible things they’ve done for three days and nights. I don’t believe they could stand it. Sooner or later, they’ll have to give something back,” Xu Huaiyu suggested, coming up with a rotten idea.

Normally, Liu Guifang might have listened.

But today, with Yan Lijun right there, the comparison made Liu Guifang unhappy.

Why should she, the mother-in-law, have to clean up the mess her daughter-in-law made? Just because Yan Lijun was too embarrassed to make a scene, she had to do it? In this freezing weather, she’d be sitting out there, an old woman turning into a popsicle, and no one would care.

In the end, all daughters-in-law and mothers-in-law are natural enemies.

Liu Guifang couldn’t take it anymore. She grabbed a feather duster and started whacking Xu Huaiyu. “You brat! I raised you for nothing. Just like your brother, you’re an ungrateful wolf—get a wife and forget your mother.”

“Ow, ow! Mom, I’m still sick!”

Xu Huaizhi, seeing Liu Guifang’s anger turning toward him, slipped away like the wind.

Xu Mingshan just held his forehead and puffed on his pipe, not wanting to get involved with this ridiculous mother-son pair.

Yan Lijun saw that Liu Guifang was serious and hurried to intervene, but since she’d been kneeling, she stood up too quickly, and dizziness overwhelmed her. She collapsed right into Xu Huaiyu’s arms—luckily, he caught her.

Just before she fainted, she wondered if it was because she hadn’t eaten all day."