Re-embroidering life

Tan Meixue was crying in her room. Ever since she had mentioned this suggestion to the old lady, she had been so angry that her heart ached, and her husband was also furious, and had not returned to the backyard for several days, not seeing her and the children.

She couldn't understand, did she say anything too much? The second wife lived away from home all year round, so there was no need for her to occupy more courtyards. The houses in the capital city were very expensive, but in terms of spaciousness, they were not as spacious as the old house. The three sons of the first wife were gradually growing up, and they would each have to have a courtyard to marry a wife. It would be a stretch to accommodate the third wife, so why should the second wife squeeze in together?

She could understand that the old lady was angry, but she really didn’t understand Ji Zixuan. Wasn’t it all for the good of the first wife? Aren’t these three sons Ji Zixuan’s?

Just as she was crying, the maid announced that the third wife had arrived.

Shui Qinghua walked into the room with a smile. Tan Meixue stared at her with red eyes from crying: "The sun rises from the west. The third brother's wife never sets foot in the big room."

"No one comes to visit you for no reason. I'm here to share my sister-in-law's worries." Shui Qinghua sat down with a smile.

Tan Meixue looked at Shui Qinghua's smiling face and felt her teeth itching with hatred. This cowardly and incompetent sister-in-law, who didn't know what was wrong with her, suddenly became smart and strong, repeatedly making her lose face, so that she was now nervous when she saw Shui Qinghua.

Shui Qinghua didn't care when Tan Meixue ignored her, and said frankly, "You have been married for so many years, you should know your uncle very well. What your uncle cares about most is the honor of the Ji family, the friendship between brothers, and the success of his children. You think you are only thinking about the first wife, but if it gets out, it will damage the reputation of the Ji family and destroy the relationship between brothers, which is a taboo for your uncle."

Tan Meixue said nothing. For the sake of her son, she would fight for it no matter what.

"We are all mothers, and I can understand my eldest sister-in-law. I have an idea for her. The third branch will not move to the capital. We should still live in the old house and let my second sister-in-law, Yun'er and Ping'er live there."

Tan Meixue looked at Shui Qinghua in disbelief, not believing that she could be so kind.

"To be honest, I have a selfish motive. My parents' home is in Yuquan Town, and it's convenient to move around if I live in the old house. Zimo's teacher also lives on Yuquan Mountain. If he moves to the capital, it will be too far to go to school. The autumn examination will start in August next year, and I can't afford to waste all my time on the road."

What he said was so reasonable and irrefutable that Tan Meixue couldn't help but smile.

The matter was resolved perfectly, and the old lady was very happy. Compared with the three daughters-in-law, the second daughter-in-law was lively and straightforward, the third daughter-in-law was considerate, and only the eldest daughter-in-law had petty gains in her eyes, was sarcastic and mean, and was really unworthy of being the mistress of the house. In the past, the second daughter-in-law was not around, and the third daughter-in-law could not be helped. The old lady had no choice but to support her and protect her in everything. Now, it is not necessarily the case.

Shui Qinghua really didn't want to move. First, the house in the city was her sad place, where she died in her previous life. Second, the city was too far away from Shuixiufang. Living in the old house would make it convenient for her to go back and forth to the embroidery workshop every day, and she could also stay away from Tan Meixue's sight, killing two birds with one stone.

Next, the Ji family renovated their house in the city while packing up and moving in a big way. It was impossible to hide such a big commotion from the neighbors, so an unexpected person came to their door.

Lan Xin was the gossiper in the third room, and she was telling Shui Qinghua with great excitement: "Third Madam, you would never have thought that someone from the gambling house would come to your house and ask to see the first Madam by name!"

Hui Xin found this interesting and interrupted, "How did the Third Madam get involved with the gambling house?"

Lan Xin looked around and lowered her voice, "I heard that it was the eldest wife's brother who owed a huge debt to the gambling house. The eldest wife had helped him pay it off before. Recently, the gambling house heard from somewhere that the Ji family was moving away. The gambling house was afraid that they would not be able to find the eldest wife to collect the debt in the future, so they simply came to ask for a one-time payment."

Hui Xin asked in surprise: "How much money do you owe the gambling house?"

Lan Xin stretched out a finger and shook it: "With interest compounded, it's nearly one thousand taels!"

Hui Xin exclaimed. One thousand taels, even if the Third Madam opened an embroidery workshop, it would take her a long time to earn it.

Shui Qinghua said "Oh" in her heart, and finally understood why her eldest sister-in-law, who was obviously the mistress of the family, had such an ugly eating manner and even tried to collect a penny.

In her previous life, Shui Qinghua had vaguely heard that her eldest sister-in-law had a useless brother who was a gambler, and her eldest sister-in-law had helped him to fill many holes. At that time, Shui Qinghua's heart was on her husband and daughter, and she didn't know much about the details. Now she wants to open an embroidery workshop, and in order to prevent her eldest sister-in-law from eyeing her property, she asked Dou Jianzhi to inquire outside. It was just a rumor to the gambling house that the Ji family was leaving Yuquan Town, and the debt collectors came to the door, which was unexpectedly smooth.

The front yard was in chaos. The people from the gambling house were stopped outside the door and were not allowed to enter, so they shouted loudly on the street: "Everyone, come and see, the Ji family is refusing to pay back their debts! They are great philanthropists who have been rewarded by the court. They can donate tens of thousands of taels of silver, but they refuse to pay a thousand taels!"

Inside the house, the old lady was so angry that she almost fainted. She had cherished her family all her life, and her failure in officialdom was due to her inferiority, but the Ji family's family tradition had always been impeccable, and being scolded by the casino thugs was simply a great shame.

Tan Meixue fell to the ground crying, and Ji Zixuan sat aside with a livid face.

The old lady said, "You are the head of the family, you know best how the Ji family can afford one thousand taels. Even if they can, there is no reason to fill the hole of your brothers from your mother's family. You should use your own dowry."

Tan Meixue kowtowed to the old lady again and again: "My dowry has been sold out a long time ago, and there is little left. I still ask for help, mother. After today's matter is over, mother can punish me however she wants. If these people don't leave, it will also damage the reputation of the Ji family!"

When Mrs. Ji heard that she still had the nerve to mention the Ji family's reputation, she wanted to smash the tea bowl in her hand to the ground, but when she looked carefully, she realized that it was the last set of pastels in her hand. She had to bear it and just pointed at Tan Meixue with her shaking finger.

Tan Meixue cried and said, "If you ask me, it's also my third brother's fault. He made so much money from selling paintings, why not donate it all? It would be good to leave at least 80,000 yuan for the Ji family. He doesn't even consider himself a member of the Ji family."

"Shut up!" Ji Zixuan, who had been silent, became furious and stared at Tan Meixue viciously.

Tan Meixue pressed her body against the ground, trembling. She knew that she had touched the master's reverse scale by saying bad things about Ji Zimo.

The old lady had a splitting headache and waved her hand, saying, "Stop arguing. If we want to raise this thousand taels, we can only sell the land returned by the court."

He also said to Tan Meixue, "This money can only be considered as a loan to the Tan family. You need to write an IOU and pay it back within five years." Tan Meixue secretly groaned. With the Tan family's financial resources, it would be very difficult to pay back two hundred taels a year, but she did not dare to refute and had to agree.

The old lady continued, "The eldest daughter-in-law has done something like this, so she is no longer fit to be the head of the Ji family. From today on, the power of household affairs will be temporarily handed over to the second daughter-in-law until she returns to the southwest."

This sentence was truly a bolt from the blue. Tan Meixue wailed and couldn't even cry anymore.