Embroidered Phoenix Chronicle

In the afternoon, those going to school left, and the guests went home.

"Salted Ribbonfish" was extremely annoyed, as a perfectly good marriage had fallen through. He was very fond of this big-footed woman; she was tall, fair-skinned, and had a fiery personality—she was incredibly alluring.

The He family father and son didn't say much. The young master of the He family had a very good impression of Liu Lian; Liu Lian dared to beat that kid, so cool! His father, however, didn't think so. Although he also thought that kid deserved to be beaten, Liu Lian's strong personality wasn't suitable for family life.

Fengxian didn't say much. She believed that Liulian had to be more assertive. Hitting someone was certainly not good, but being bullied was even worse, wasn't it? As for hitting her mother-in-law's relative, she had already done it, so what was there to say? Shouldn't that boy have been hit? If the marriage didn't work out, it was simply because they weren't meant to be!

Cui Cui looked at her young mistress with eyes full of admiration, clicking her tongue in admiration, "Miss, aren't you afraid of offending Madam?"

"Silly girl!" Liu Lian took a sip of fish bone soup, glancing around at the maids shoveling soup at her. "Since he doesn't respect me, why should I respect him! Besides, I'm not a courtesan in a brothel, why should he force me to drink? Wasn't it right for my elder sister to pull me away? He pushed her to the ground! I'm giving Madam face by not arguing with a drunkard like him, but if I tolerated him pushing my elder sister, wouldn't anyone just come and bully us in the future? You girls are the same; just giving in won't earn you respect. You have to be strong when necessary. We don't cause trouble, but we can't be afraid of it either!" The girls nodded repeatedly. Cui Cui brought out some fried dough twists, and the maids hurriedly dispersed.

After everyone had left, Cuicui brought out the cold fish skin salad, salted radish shreds, and braised fish balls, and began to eat with Liulian. Liulian had barely eaten anything at noon and was quite hungry, so she ate her fill.

"The fish bone soup is quite good, but the flatbread is a bit hard. Did you not put oil in the dough?"

"Well, I'll eat this myself, so I'll save some oil. The dough is a bit too stiff. I'll get you a bowl of soup; you can soak the pancake in it." He said, bringing over a bowl of soup.

Fengxian didn't eat well either, so Liulian made her a clay pot of fish ball noodle soup. The couple ate until they were drenched in sweat. Yulan recounted Liulian's words in detail, and Fengxian nodded and sent her down to eat.

"Good job, Xiao Qi! That kid is awful, always up to underhanded tricks and scheming, and his aunt is so protective of him, even the second brother has suffered at his hands! How dare such a thing covet Xiao Qi, he really doesn't know his place! Not to mention anything else, I won't let this happen!" Rui Hong said casually, his head resting on his hands and his legs crossed.

"That kid was peeping at Xiao Qi yesterday. I really don't know what he was thinking! He's so unruly."

"What?" Ruihong sat up. "Why didn't you say so sooner! If I had told Father, he probably wouldn't have let his mother and son eat at Grandmother's courtyard! It would have been a waste for Xiaoqi to get upset! No, I have to talk to Father about this, otherwise, who knows what kind of trouble they might cause! We can't let them scheme against Xiaoqi!" As he spoke, Ruihong slipped off the kang (a heated brick bed).

Master Liu was filled with resentment and anger upon hearing his son's words. His wife's nephew had made him lose face in front of his cousin. There was nothing he could do; his stubborn wife and son were beyond his control. He had no intention whatsoever of forming a marriage alliance with the Xu family. The Xu family was simply not on the same level as the Liu family, and since the passing of the Xu family patriarch, not a single descendant had amounted to anything. He couldn't understand what Madam Xu was thinking, actually trying to use Liu Ye'er as a favor. He had once explained to Madam Xu in great detail: "This child doesn't eat our food or wear our clothes. We'll find her a good marriage, give her thirty or fifty strings of cash for a dowry, add the bride price, and send her off. That would be a great act of merit, a sure way to enhance our reputation. Even repairing bridges, repairing roads, and helping the poor would cost a thousand taels, and it might not even be as good as this!" Madam Xu listened obediently, praising Liu Ye'er in every word she spoke—praising Liu Ye'er was, in fact, praising her own family! She'd buy double even for a single silk flower, double for every piece of cloth cut for shoe uppers, and casually mention the reason for the double orders to others, boasting about her family's philanthropy. Who knew she'd lost her mind? Her nephew from her maternal family—let alone Liu Ye'er, he wouldn't even agree to let go of a maidservant of marriageable age. Xu Shi knew his attitude, yet she still secretly plotted, probably intending to force the issue. Master Liu grew increasingly resentful. "Fine, I know! I'll go tell your mother that from now on, if Yu'er dares to step into our house, she'll be sent back to the Xu family! Let her go back to her parents' home and tell them herself. That family is always coming to freeload; it's me supporting this brother-in-law!"

Madam Xu was in a dilemma. Her husband, with a stern face, gave his orders: her brothers and their families were forbidden from visiting again, especially Yu-ge'er. If he dared to set foot in the Liu family, she and her nephew would have to go back to the Xu family. After more than twenty years of marriage, she knew her husband quite well and knew he was truly angry. She was already so old; if he divorced her now… No, she had to lay low for a while and wait until his anger subsided—her nephew was such a fine person! So eloquent and charming, how could he possibly disgrace a daughter from a cart-driving family? It was only because he was raised in their own home that she was treated this way. If her parents were still alive, not only would they look down on her family, but even the Huo and Xu families wouldn't deign to look at her! Just because he was eating at their home, did he really think he was a lady of high society? No, she had to appease the old man. He said the third son was getting married on the sixth day of the third month, and if even her own brothers couldn't come, it would be too embarrassing! Fine, let's do as he says. This old man is getting harder and harder to please. I don't know what he's thinking. Even if the Xu family is incompetent, are they really inferior to that country bumpkin from the He family? Can a country eel turn into a dragon in the city? Humph! If my family can't have it, neither can your He family!

In the He family, the old patriarch squinted as he listened to his son's reply, "Are you worried about this girl's character? Or something else? Is she not pretty?"

“Father, it’s not that she’s morally corrupt. The person Aunt has chosen is definitely of impeccable character. She may not be as pretty as Xiuluan—which girl in the surrounding area can compare to Xiuluan? She’s not ugly, quite pretty, tall and slender, but it’s a pity she has big feet! I just think her temper is a bit too strong. We’ll have five daughters-in-law in the future, how can she not suffer even the slightest loss! She even dares to hit men! Little Wu’er is honest, I’m afraid he can’t handle her. This woman is too fierce, I’m afraid she’ll bully her husband and bring bad luck!”

"What does Xiao Wu mean? Does she think she's too fierce?"

"Dad, what does Xiao Wu know? He only cares about looks, he doesn't care about anything else! I don't think that girl is any less attractive than Xiao Wu!"

“Son, all four of your older brothers have married, and they all have jobs and can earn a living! Only you are a freeloader. Do you think your four brothers won’t have any complaints? Even if they don’t say anything, what about your wives… Ah! When the family property is divided in the future, won’t they make him suffer? You should marry a capable woman so that she can keep the household in check! I’ll go and meet this girl another day and find out what she’s made of!”