章節 17: Chapter 17 Aunt Becomes a Gossip Again
Old Lady Zhou glanced at her daughter-in-law, who looked as large as a small mountain, and a flicker of disgust passed through her eyes. She truly didn't understand what the old man had been thinking to bring such a wife into the family.
"Whose tail did they step on this time to make you bristle up like this?" Old Lady Zhou withdrew her gaze, scratched her head with the embroidery needle, and continued to lower her head to the little garment she was sewing.
Madam Lu, seeing her mother-in-law's indifferent attitude, felt her anger rising and secretly ground her teeth, saying, "You don't know the mischief that Wufu has gotten into. By now, the whole village is abuzz with that girl's formidable deeds."
Old Lady Zhou remained silent.
Madam Lu grew even more annoyed and recounted the explosive argument between Wufu, her company, and Lady Guiniang with added embellishment.
"...Mother, due to Ying Mei and her daughter, our Zhou family has endured many a contemptuous look and a mouthful of spit—surely you are not unaware?" Madam Lu said with a cold face, "Wherever we go, aren't we watched with strange eyes?"
Old Lady Zhou glanced up fleetingly and said, "Even so, it's been many years and you haven't lost a piece of flesh." She then looked her up and down, adding, "Far from losing, you have actually put on quite a bit."
Madam Lu followed her gaze to herself and immediately flushed with embarrassment, saying, "Mother, that's... How can you say such things?"
"Why can't I? People's mouths are on their own faces; can you really stop them from speaking?" Old Lady Zhou snorted.
Madam Lu was dumbfounded. What was happening? Didn't her mother also particularly despise Ying Mei and her ilk? Why was she defending them today?
Before she could make sense of it, she heard her mother-in-law continue: "As for saliva, hmmph, as if our Zhou family is the only one losing face in Wozi Village. Is everyone else as clean as white cloth? Pah! Let someone dare come to my doorstep and speak up; I'll spit them to death!"
Madam Lu pursed her lips.
"Just talking about others without reflecting on oneself, I, Old Lady Zhou, won't stand for it." Old Lady Zhou humphed lightly, implying that every household had its share of unsightly affairs.
Madam Lu retorted, "But not everyone belongs to the Scholar family!"
Old Lady Zhou pricked her finger with the needle, giving her a piercing stare.
The words of Madam Lu pierced her heart like a needle. Indeed, in all of Wozi Village, it was only the Old Zhou family that had produced a scholar, and yet, shamelessly, it was in the Scholar family that the unmarried girl had become pregnant. For a family of scholars, such a scandal was far more humiliating and awkward than for ordinary peasant and commoner families. Scholars were akin to saints, and yet...
"Everyone talks about our family's reputation..." Madam Lu murmured on.
"Enough!" Old Lady Zhou interrupted her: "If you despise the Zhou family so much, you're free to leave. Go wherever you believe is unclouded by scandal."
Seeing her mother-in-law was genuinely angry, Madam Lu changed her expression and moved forward to sit by her side, saying, "Mother, when have I ever despised us? I'm just venting my frustrations and expressing my worries to you."
Old Lady Zhou ignored her, and as Madam Lu began to wind the embroidery thread, she said, "Mother, it's not for myself I'm so agitated, but for our next generation. Look, Dajun is nearly sixteen, and Xiuxiu is already a young lady; they're both of an age to be betrothed, right?"
She carefully gauged her mother-in-law's face. Seeing her unmoved, Madam Lu dropped a heavier hint, "Even if Dajun and the others are still young and their betrothals can be postponed, what about your younger brother-in-law? He's already full sixteen, going on seventeen; isn't it time for him to marry? Weren't you planning to match him with the daughter from Scholar Lin's family in Bamboo Town?"
She refused to believe that concerning her own flesh and blood, the old matriarch could remain indifferent!
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