I'm dressed up as the timid eldest daughter, and the whole family has to listen to me!

Hearing Aunt Luo's vicious words, Lianhua immediately began to sob.

Su Shiyan comforted her as he drove the oxcart:

"Lotus, you are still pregnant, so you must not get angry. Now that we have done our part today, we will not visit your parents' home again. Since your mother is like this, we don't need to have any contact with them anymore. We should just focus on living our own lives."

Lotus wiped away her tears as she nodded in agreement.

"Actually, I've known what kind of person my mother is for a long time. I didn't have high hopes when I came today. I just felt a little sad and sorry for you. You came with me, but you left without even going through the door..."

Su Shiyan smiled.

"What's the big deal? To be honest, I didn't want to go to your house in the first place. This way it's even better, I won't have to go in and pretend to be polite with your mother and the others."

Lotus burst out laughing upon hearing this.

"Then we won't go there anymore."

"It's all up to you."

When the two returned to Sujia Village in the oxcart, it was just afternoon. Seeing that they had returned so quickly, Wang Guihua asked worriedly:

"Lotus, you've walked so far, how are you feeling? Are you tired? And did your parents give you any trouble?"

Lianhua looked at Su Shiyan somewhat awkwardly, and Su Shiyan quickly explained:

"Mom, don't ask so many questions. When we went there, Lianhua's parents weren't home. We put our things down and came back. Lianhua is still hungry. Go and make us something nice to eat."

Upon hearing this, Wang Guihua slapped Su Shiyan hard on the back.

"Oh dear, you silly child, you didn't know to wait at the door when no one was home. How can you go to your father-in-law's house and not come in? You made Lianhua go through all that trouble for nothing and come back hungry. Wait here, I'll go make you something to eat right away."

Seeing Wang Guihua run off to the kitchen, Su Shiyan turned back and smiled at Lianhua, saying:

"Lotus, your hands and feet are freezing cold. Go inside and lie down to warm up. I'll call you when dinner is ready."

Lotus nodded, then turned and went into the house.

At this time, the Su family was also receiving their son-in-law in their courtyard. Zhang Guang couldn't get a suitable oxcart, so he had to carry his things all the way from the Zhang family's house. He almost froze to death along the way. By the time he arrived at the Su family's house, it was already afternoon. He hadn't eaten lunch, and by now he was starving.

Seeing this, Qin hurriedly went to the kitchen to make Zhang Guang a bowl of egg tea.

"Oh dear, son-in-law, look at how heavy the snow is, why did you walk here? Don't let yourself get too cold. It's getting late, you definitely can't go back tonight. You can stay here for the night and set off for home early tomorrow morning."

Su Tao hadn't seen Zhang Guang for so long and missed him a bit. Hearing Qin Shi say this, she chimed in from the side:

"Yes, you can stay at my house tonight. There are plenty of places to stay in our yard."

Zhang Guang picked up his egg tea, drank it all in one gulp, then looked up at Su Tao with his frostbitten face and nodded.

"Alright, then I won't leave tonight. I'll stay and keep Su Tao company. I'll set off earlier tomorrow morning so I can get home before noon and avoid walking alone at night."

Hearing Zhang Guang's words, Su Tao was very happy and quickly took out the snacks she had bought for the New Year and handed them to Zhang Guang.

"Have some more snacks to tide you over, then you can wait for dinner later."

Seeing the two of them like this, Madam Qin was also very pleased, so she quickly said with a smile:

"Yes, you two sit here and have a good chat. I'll go prepare dinner now."

As Qin was speaking, she prepared to get up and leave, but seeing Su Ye still standing there, she quickly reached out and nudged him.

"Don't just stand there like an idiot. Come with me to the kitchen and help me with some work. You can even help me start a fire."

Su Ye felt a little displeased upon hearing this, but when she looked up and met Qin Shi's eyes, she swallowed back all the words she wanted to say. Ever since Li Ayu left last time, Qin Shi had never given Su Ye a kind look, nor had she suggested moving in with Su Ye.

Su Ye was only thinking about how to appease Qin Shi so that the two of them could keep each other company when they got old. It wouldn't be good to be stuck like this for the rest of their lives. Now that Qin Shi was willing to take the initiative to talk to her, Su Ye felt that it was an opportunity to ease the tension, so she followed Qin Shi out.

Seeing the two leave, Zhang Guang immediately put down the pastries he was holding, grabbed Su Tao's hand, and asked with a face full of concern:

"Su Tao, you're quite far along in your pregnancy now. How are you feeling? Are you experiencing any discomfort?"

Su Tao lowered her head shyly.

"I don't feel unwell, just a little weak and occasionally dizzy and nauseous. But my mother takes good care of me, and I don't have to do any housework. I just lie in the house most of the time."

Zhang Guang nodded.

"Then I'm relieved. I was worried that you weren't comfortable staying at your parents' house, and I was thinking of having you come back with me this time. To be honest, I've been thinking about you a lot since I've seen you for so many days, and I even dream about you sometimes."

Hearing Zhang Guang's words, Su Tao was even happier.

"Actually, I do have feelings for you too, but I'm staying at my parents' house right now so I don't have to do any work and no one criticizes me. If I move back to your house, your sister-in-law will definitely keep an eye on my mistakes and find fault with me to argue with. I don't want to go back and suffer that injustice."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Guang sighed softly, sat down next to Su Tao, and put his arm around her shoulder.

“Wife, I know you’ve suffered a lot for me. Don’t worry, as long as you give birth to this child safely, I will definitely protect you. Moreover, you will have more confidence in our family after having a child. My sister-in-law will naturally not dare to go against you anymore. After all, my mother will also protect you.”

Su Tao nodded with satisfaction.

"I hope so. By the way, how's your work at Muxiangzhai going? Has Liu Qing'er been bothering you all the time?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Guang stiffened, then gave an awkward laugh.

"Wife, don't you trust me? There's nothing between me and Liu Qing'er. We're just fellow disciples. Now that I'm married, she'll naturally keep her distance from me. You don't need to worry about that."

Upon hearing Zhang Guang's words, Su Tao leaned even closer into his arms.

"I still trust you, it's just that your junior sister is too impolite. Since she knows to keep her distance from you, then I have nothing more to say."