The sickly son died young? After the marriage exchange, I will bring prosperity to his entire clan f

"It will be found out eventually, there shouldn't be any problems."

What else could Du Mingxian say? They were family, and she had to consider her father-in-law's feelings.

He leaned closer to her and whispered in her ear, "You've had a tough time these past two days."

The hot breath he exhaled sprayed directly onto her ear; it was warm, but it felt like it was burning her, and the heat spread throughout her body.

She instinctively wanted to get further away, but Ling Silang didn't give her that chance and pulled her forward.

The next day, Du Mingxian got up early as usual, a habit she had formed long ago. She had just been walking around the village when she heard a commotion coming from Uncle Ling's house. When she got closer, there were already quite a few people watching.

When she got closer, she saw Aunt Ling with disheveled hair sitting on the ground, crying terribly.

Uncle Ling stood to one side, panting heavily with anger. His eyes were bloodshot, and he seemed to be on the verge of exploding at any moment.

The eldest daughter-in-law of Aunt Ling's family cried and grabbed Uncle Ling's eldest son, pleading, "I really didn't mean it, I really didn't mean it."

The men remained silent, while one woman threw a tantrum and the other cried and begged; the scene was quite tragic.

The onlookers, unaware of what was going on, whispered among themselves.

"What's going on? Ling Laosan has always treated his wife very well, so why is he going to divorce her this time?"

"Who knows? Something big must have happened. Otherwise, given Ling Laosan's character, he definitely wouldn't act like this."

"Could it be that she's cheating on me with someone else?"

"No way, she's just a blabbermouth, I've never heard of her having a penchant for cheating on men."

The group whispered amongst themselves, and Du Mingxian overheard everything. When she saw everyone looking over, she turned and left immediately. She certainly wouldn't tell anyone what had happened, as the Ling family hadn't spread the word.

Because of Du Mingxian's previous fearsome reputation, no one actually went up to her to ask her questions.

Back home, Ling's mother pulled Du Mingxian into the house and said, "Mingxian, what do you think we should do about this? Your third aunt always liked to take advantage of others, but she never stole anything from anyone before. I was really shocked this time."

"I suspect there's someone behind this."

"Is there someone behind you?"

"You said that Third Aunt wouldn't steal, but this time she really did it, and she even had sleeping potion on her. This is not something an ordinary person would do."

Ling's mother remained silent. "Has things gotten out of hand with your third uncle's family?"

"Mother went out?"

"Guess."

Du Mingxian didn't speak. She didn't know why Ling's mother had come to see her, so she could only sit quietly.

"If your third aunt doesn't reveal who's behind this, then... then should we still report it to the authorities?"

"It depends on my father. If he wants to save face for my third uncle, he can keep the matter quiet and not report it to the authorities. However... there is a problem."

"Once we set this precedent, if any of our close relatives do something like this, we'll have to suppress it all."

"If the subsequent steps are not handled in this way, there will be many problems."

Ling's mother was aware of the problem, but since they were relatives, she was really angry when she thought about what Ling's third aunt had done. But after she was angry, she fell silent. She was angry, but she also felt that her crime did not warrant being sent to jail.

“If we report it to the authorities, it will also affect our family. Those relatives will stop trying to test us, which will save us a lot of trouble. At the same time, it will leave a bad impression on others. Our family is hard to talk to, even with our own relatives.”

“Some people with ulterior motives will stop coming, but relatives with good intentions will still associate with us. It’s a process of elimination.”

"Sigh." Ling's mother sighed deeply, "I'm just afraid that your third aunt will act foolishly and won't want to reveal who's behind this."

"Then ask. If they really won't tell us, we'll think of another way. It would be best if they could tell us so we'd know who's trying to target our family. That way we can be prepared, since the bigger the tree, the more the wind will blow against it."

"Our wine and sauces sell very well; there must be a lot of people who are envious."

There are indeed many envious people, including one from the Wu family.

Du Mingwei has been living a very comfortable life lately. She has people to take care of her, she is in a good mood, and she has even gained several pounds.

That day, rumors spread in the village that Widow Chen's second son had gone to study at Du Mingxian's house, and that the Ling family had opened a workshop, one making soy sauce and the other making wine, and that business was supposedly booming. The rumors were incredibly exaggerated.

The weather was nice today, and Du Mingwei, accompanied by her new servant, wanted to show off in the village. However, she had only just stepped out when she heard about the Ling family's affairs. She immediately lost her desire to show off and returned home looking dejected.

When Wu Daniu returned, Du Mingwei was still deep in thought with a long face.

"What's wrong?" Winter is approaching, and he's been going into the mountains quite often lately, so he hasn't had time to think about anything else.

Du Mingwei hesitated immediately, "I'm worried about Erniu and Sanniu."

"what happened?"

"Did you know that Widow Chen's second son went to study at the Ling family's school?"

"Widow Chen? The Ling family?" Wu Daniu didn't react for a moment.

Du Mingwei nodded gently, "Yes, my second uncle married Widow Chen, and Widow Chen's second son is now studying at the Ling family, where Du Mingxian married. This news has spread throughout the village."

Wu Daniu had no idea. He had always lived in the mountains, and his home was right at the foot of the mountain. Unless he went out specifically, he wouldn't hear any gossip.

“The Ling family is studying? Following that sickly one?” Didn’t they say that sickly one is taking medicine every few days and is almost dying? How can he still have the energy to teach others to read?

“I was also very surprised. I heard that the Ling family built a workshop and also helped build a clan school. Widow Chen’s second son is studying at the clan school.”

Wu Daniu wasn't interested in the Chen Widow's children's education. He was worried that since the Ling family had started a workshop, things would only get better and better in the future. Wouldn't that mean he and Du Mingxian would drift further and further apart?

Only if the Ling family is in trouble and Du Mingxian is not doing well will he have a chance to marry Du Mingxian again.

Du Mingwei realized that he hadn't said a word and had been staring blankly for a while, so she got a little angry, but she still held back her temper and said, "Don't you think about it? She's a widow's child who remarried and has no relation to our Du family, so she can go to study at the Ling family. Then can't our Erniu and Sanniu go to study too?"

“Erniu doesn’t like reading,” Wu Daniu retorted instinctively.

Du Mingwei explained, "Going to school doesn't necessarily mean you have to be a great student. Even just learning a few words is fine. Why should a child raised by a widow be able to go to school, and my cousin's brother-in-law should be able to go too?"

Wu Daniu suddenly realized that if his two younger brothers went to study at the Ling family, wouldn't the opportunities to go to the Ling family in the future increase? He could also think of other ways to win over Du Mingxian in the future, unlike now where he didn't even have an excuse to go to the Ling family.