Chapter 4: The aunt who was divorced and sent back to her parents' home bosses her brother's wife around?

She sat up abruptly, looked around the room, and saw only Abao curled up beside her. Where was anyone calling for their mother?

It turns out I misheard in my dream.

The next day, just as dawn was breaking.

It snowed all night, and the snow piled up on the eaves fell with a "plop" onto the steps below.

In her past life, she would get up as soon as she heard the noise, light the fire, wash the rice, and add firewood. Her hands would turn red from the cold, but she would still cook the porridge until it was soft and smooth so that her mother-in-law and sister-in-law could eat it comfortably.

Now, she simply turned over and tucked the blanket over her shoulder again.

The snow outside was three feet deep, but the bed inside was warm and cozy; she wasn't going to get up...

She slept for a while longer before opening her eyes. It was so comfortable to not have to get up early to cook and to sleep as long as she wanted.

"Bang"

The door was kicked open, and a gust of cold wind carrying snowflakes rushed in.

Before she could sit up, a basin of water was poured over her, making her shiver from the cold.

Abao jumped up and grinned at the bedside.

A fat woman stood by the bed, holding an empty basin, and shouted, "Mrs. Lu, you lazy bum, the sun's high in the sky and you're still sleeping? Do you want us to starve to death?"

The thin inner garment clung to her body with ice water, the chill seeping into her bones. Lu Zhaoruo simply sat up slowly, her eyelids half-open, her eyes calm, showing neither anger nor fear. She simply measured the woman from head to toe.

The woman was Shen Rongzhi's elder sister, Shen Lingyi. Three months ago, she had accumulated a huge debt at a gambling den and was kicked out of her husband's house by a letter of divorce.

Zhang asked Lu Zhaoruo to help pay off the gambling debts and also asked her to give ten taels of silver to Shen Lingyi's ex-husband, just to change the "letter of divorce" into a "letter of amicable separation".

Ten taels of silver, enough for a peasant family to live on for a year, were given away so casually, just to save her face.

But Chen Lingyi was quite something; the very second day after returning to her parents' home, she started to act all high and mighty.

Eat your food while it's hot, wear clothes appropriate for the season, and sleep until noon every day.

He put down his chopsticks, pushed his bowl away, wiped his mouth, and turned around to find fault with his sister-in-law.

She made up for the pride she lost at the gambling table by taking it out on her sister-in-law.

Lu Zhaoruo recalled Zhu Niang's words from her previous life: "I miss my mother and father day and night. When my aunt was alive, she often took me to visit them... Since my aunt passed away, I have never seen you again."

Therefore, Shen Lingyi was also aware of her brother's shady dealings outside.

"Why are you glaring at me? You were so heartless as to refuse to adopt the baby Mother picked up last night, and this morning you're still lying in bed refusing to get up and cook. Do you really think you're the proper mistress of the Shen family? If it weren't for my kind-hearted brother bringing you into the family, with your filthy body, you'd be rotting on the street and no one would dare to take you in!"

Shen Lingyi's sharp and sarcastic words rang out.

Lu Zhaoruo gathered her wet clothes and slowly stood up. Although she was not as plump as Shen Lingyi, she was half a head taller. Her voice was not loud, but every word was clear: "I refused to raise that baby last night. Firstly, its origin is unknown. I'm afraid it's the child of some thief who abandoned it after committing some crime. If I adopt it, wouldn't I be implicating the Shen family?"

"Secondly, there are only three liters of broken rice left in the house. If we feed another person, the whole family will starve. If you are truly compassionate, you should take back the thirty strings of cash you lost at the gambling table. The rice jar will be full immediately. You can afford to feed ten babies, let alone one."

Her gaze swept lightly over Shen Lingyi's face, which had instantly flushed red, and her tone remained calm: "As for my filthy body, your brother knew my true nature when he married me, yet he still made a big fuss about it, bringing me in with drums and gongs and a bridal sedan chair. If you are not satisfied, you can simply let your brother go home and divorce me..."

"On the day you were divorced, even your dowry chest was confiscated. Now that you're living at your parents' home, everything you eat, wear, and use—wasn't it all earned by my filthy body from dawn till dusk?"

She took a half step forward and lowered her voice to a whisper: "If this lady truly considers herself the mistress of the house, from today onwards, you will be in charge of all the rice, flour, oil, salt, charcoal, and vegetable expenses. This will give me some peace and quiet, and save me from being scolded by others."

Shen Lingyi was rendered speechless by the rebuttal.

In the past, this wretched woman always kept her head down and let her do whatever she wanted without saying a word, but now she looks up and stares directly at him, every word she says is barbed.

A surge of anger welled up in her chest. After three years of playing the fool, now he dared to turn the world upside down just because he had two small shops?

I'm your aunt! I was born and raised in this house! Even if I'm divorced, it's only right that I go back to my own mother's house for a hot meal and a bowl of hot soup. Who gives you, a woman from another family, the right to bark? Making you serve me is giving you face!

Zhang sent her to teach Lu Zhaoruo a lesson because the baby was refused to be raised last night.

Upon thinking this, Shen Lingyi raised the copper basin in her hand and said, "You worthless thing, I'll teach you a lesson today on behalf of my brother."

The next second.

Because of her height advantage, Lu Zhaoruo gripped the edge of the basin with her other hand.

"Bang!"

The copper basin was turned upside down...

The muffled thunderclap instantly pierced Shen Lingyi's eardrums, making her see stars.

Before she could even scream, Abao leaped up, and the sharp claws hidden in his paws slashed three bright red gashes across her fat neck.

It doesn't bite because it thinks it's dirty.

"ah……"

She screamed, and as the smell of blood hit her, she slipped and fell to the ground with a thud.

She lifted the copper basin and shouted, "Mrs. Lu, you actually beat my sister-in-law! I'm going to the yamen to report you!"

Lu Zhaoruo looked at her indifferently: "It was clearly my aunt who splashed water on me first, and then tried to hit me with a copper basin. I just raised my hand to block it, and the basin fell down. If you want to go to the county government, I'll accompany you. It'll be a good opportunity for the magistrate to see how a divorced aunt can act arrogantly and bully her brother's wife in her own home."

"As for Abao scratching you, you can't exactly go to the county government to sue him, can you?"

Shen Lingyi was speechless, realizing she was in the wrong.

However, she still got up and said fiercely, "Lu family, you just wait and see!"

After saying that, he picked up the copper basin, his fat body jiggling like ripples on water, and sauntered away.

Lu Zhaoruo changed into a cotton robe, lit a fire with firewood, and hung the quilt that Shen Lingyi had splashed on the bed on a bamboo pole two or three feet away from the fire to dry it from a distance.

Abao curled up into a fluffy little ball in Lu Zhaoruo's arms, purring softly in comfort. Every now and then, he would rub his head against her chin, or stretch out his pink paws to play with her drooping hair, and scratch it with his paws.

Lu Zhaoruo lifted Abao high, her forehead resting against Abao's little head: "Abao, be good, don't be so impulsive next time, I'm afraid they'll hurt you."

Abao raised his little head and pressed his ears into the shape of small fans: "Meow!"

It's as if it's saying: If they dare to bully you again, I'll scratch them again!

Just then, an impatient voice came from outside the door: "The old lady wants you to go to the main hall; the master has something to say."

She was Li Chunyan, Zhang's personal maid.

In her previous life, she was called "Aunt Lu," and was a wicked servant who personally dragged her into the woodshed.

Because she was Zhang's confidante, she acted like a mistress in the Shen family, even daring to order the mistress around.

Ironically, after Zhang died in her previous life, Lu Zhaoruo still treated her well out of consideration for her mother-in-law. However, on the day Shen Rongzhi returned with his mistress, Li Chunyan changed her address to "Aunt Lu," turning her back on her like flipping a book.

Lu Zhaoruo placed the iron fire cover over the brazier, laid an old blanket beside the fire, and gently put Abao down.

She picked up the 'letter of request for separation' she had written last night, patted Abao's head, and said gently, "Abao, you stay here by the fire, I'm going to get out of here."

Ah Bao gave a soft meow.

After she left, Abao raised his little head and called out towards the door, "Mother."

After shouting, she was startled herself and quickly covered her mouth with her pink paws, leaving only her pair of green eyes darting around.