Chapter Sixty-Six [V] Xue Erlang Protects His Wife...
Xue Yi knew she had her reasons, which was why he had let her do as she pleased.
Now, he was also curious to hear what her reasons were.
“Go ahead and say it,” he said. “I’m listening.”
Li Yan then explained earnestly: "Before my mother married my father, she was a maid in a wealthy household. She brought a lot of family property and jewelry with her when she married into the Li family. But my mother was short-lived and died young. I was still young when she passed away, so my father held onto all of my mother's dowry. But my father was not good to me. I think if my mother were alive, she would not want the wealth she had worked so hard to earn over the years to end up being given away to someone else and someone else's child."
"So the reason I've organized this dinner today is to try my best to get back what belongs to my mother."
Xue Yi had a general understanding of the Li family's situation. Not long after his first wife passed away, Li Shangping remarried his current wife.
His current wife gave him another son.
If nothing unexpected happens, most of the money left behind by the first wife will likely belong to that son.
Even though Xue Yi came from a farming family, he was well aware of the rule that men should not embezzle women's dowries.
Since Li's birth mother passed away, her dowry should have been left untouched to Li, her only daughter.
Therefore, Xue Yi helped without hesitation.
"I'll leave tomorrow's arrangements to you," he said.
Li Yan was worried that he would blame her for acting on her own initiative, or that he would be impatient with the trivial matters of the Li family. Even if he eventually agreed to help, he probably wouldn't do it willingly.
Unexpectedly, he agreed so readily.
"Thank you so much." Li Yan was overjoyed.
His joy was palpable, impossible to conceal.
She caught a glimpse of the man's gaze out of the corner of her eye, and only then did she suppress the joy on her face, smiling slightly as she said, "I'm sorry, I was rude."
Xue Yi was clearly thinking further ahead. He reminded her, "I know you want to bring up your mother's dowry at the dinner table, but words are not enough. If your father doesn't acknowledge it and says that he earned those things himself, what will you do then?"
Li Yan had, of course, thought of this.
If she hadn't obtained the evidence, Li Yan wouldn't have rashly set up this scheme.
The evidence was only recently obtained, and I was originally thinking about how to set up a stage for this performance. Well, it's great that the stage has been set up today.
But Li Yan didn't tell Xue Yi, only keeping him in suspense and saying, "You'll find out tomorrow."
After speaking with Xue Yi, Li Yan went to find Aunt Xue.
"Tomorrow my family is hosting a banquet to welcome Erlang, and we'll all go together."
Aunt Xue was tending the fire under the stove and was unaware of the matter. Upon hearing this, she asked, "Did your father mention it?"
Li Yan shook her head: "I suggested it." Then she winked at Aunt Xue, "There's going to be a good show. Mother, just wait and watch."
After realizing what she meant, Aunt Xue smiled, and then remembered to ask, "Where's your father?"
While helping with the cooking, Li Yan said, "Tomorrow, my son-in-law will be coming to visit and make him proud. He's so happy that he's gone home to prepare."
She discovered that Xue Yi quite enjoyed her cooking; he had finished the whole bowl of noodles with minced meat sauce from yesterday. To repay him, Li Yan decided to cook dinner tonight as well.
"Mom, let me cook."
.
The next day, Xu Ge'er had to go to school, and Qing Niang had to stay home to work, so neither of them went. Only Yue Jie'er went out to visit guests with her uncle, aunt, and grandmother, all dressed in new clothes.
Last night, after leaving Tongye Hutong, Li Shangping went straight to the Han family's house without even going home.
Upon arriving at the Han family home, he excitedly announced that his second aunt's husband had returned. Not only had he returned, but he had also returned with great merit.
Second Aunt was his own daughter, so naturally there was a difference between his two sons-in-law. In the past, he had benefited from his stepmother's good fortune by following Yue Shi, but now that his own daughter had also found a good husband, Li Shangping naturally stood taller in front of the Han family.
Master Han hurriedly asked him what was going on, saying that he had been killed in battle before, so why had he suddenly returned?
Li Shangping simply said, "It's not something that can be explained in a few words. We'll talk about it later." Then he revealed his purpose, "Tomorrow I'll be hosting a banquet at my home to welcome my son-in-law. There will be no outsiders, just a family banquet. My mother-in-law and son-in-law will be there, as will my in-laws." He then looked at the two couples from the eldest and second branches of the family, "The eldest and second sons will also be bringing their families."
The Han family members laughed heartily and all agreed.
After delivering the message, Li Shangping hurriedly left again.
Time was tight, and he needed to hurry up and find a chef to cook the banquet tomorrow.
Han Yue personally saw his father-in-law off at the door, and then turned back to the reception hall.
At this moment, the parents and elder brother and sister-in-law had not yet left and were still chatting about what had just happened.
"This is truly extraordinary; there's actually such a thing as the dead coming back to life." The speaker was the second young mistress of the Han family. As she spoke, she looked at Li Jiaojiao, "Third sister-in-law, in my opinion, your stepsister is the real lucky star. Look, not only has she lived a harmonious and happy life after marrying into the Xue family, but now her husband, who died in battle, has actually returned. Judging from what your stepfather said just now, he's returned with meritorious service. From now on, she'll probably surpass you."
Upon hearing this news, Li Jiaojiao was also quite shocked.
She never expected that her second mother's husband would actually return. Moreover, he had returned with such meritorious service.
In recent days, Li Jiaojiao had been exhausted by the troubles of her family. As a result, a great rift had developed in her relationship with Sanlang.
Her current situation is vastly different from when she first married into the family and was considered a "lucky wife."
Because of some unpleasant things, she gradually lost her reputation for being virtuous. Without the reputation of being a "lucky wife," she lost her foundation in the family.
He was already looked down upon by those two, and now that he had lost his reputation, they looked down on him even more.
And now, even his second aunt is trying to outdo him.
She felt really aggrieved.
She even wondered why God was so unfair, why she had to suffer like this.
I feel exhausted and sad. How did my life, which was originally going so well, turn out like this?
When did things start to change little by little? It seems... it started when Second Aunt moved into the city.
It was Erniang's husband's nephew who stole Zong'er's enrollment spot, and that's when all those things happened.
In the end, it all comes down to Second Aunt.
Li Jiaojiao felt increasingly indignant as she thought about it, feeling that all of this was caused by her second aunt.
Han Yue glanced at his wife, seeing that she remained silent, and decided to stand up for her against the second wife's family. He said, "Jiaojiao is my lucky star, that's obvious to everyone. Does Second Sister-in-law have any objections to this?"
Seeing her brother-in-law speak up for her, Second Madam Han pursed her lips and smiled somewhat awkwardly, saying, "Look at what you're saying, Third Brother. I was just joking with my sister-in-law." She was a sharp-tongued person, so she naturally took the opportunity to make a few more sarcastic remarks to the third couple, "Sister-in-law is so lucky. When we sisters-in-law joke and bicker, there's always someone to back us up. We're so pitiful. When we're bullied, there's no one to help us. We're just unlucky, not as lucky as them."
These words were meant for Han Erlang to hear, but Han Erlang just forced a smile and pretended not to hear them.
Seeing that he was completely ignoring her, Grandma Han became even angrier. After letting out a heavy snort, she angrily drank her tea and stopped talking.
Seeing that the room had quieted down, Master Han said, "You two don't need to go tomorrow. My wife, my husband, and I will go together." He added, "Since you don't need to go, you can go back now."
Upon seeing this, the first and second wives immediately stood up, said their goodbyes, and left.
With only Mr. and Mrs. Han behind them, Mr. Han said, "Tomorrow's banquet may not be very good. When we get there, we must not be careless or act rashly. We must wait and see how things develop."
The younger daughter-in-law is not Li Shangping's biological daughter. Previously, due to some issues, the youngest son had a rather unpleasant falling out with the Li family.
Now that his own daughter's husband has returned, and with his war merits, he must be eager to hold a banquet to show off and make a name for himself.
That meal was bound to be anything but peaceful.
Master Han was prepared for a storm to break out at the banquet, knowing it was a trap. But he never expected that the trap was not aimed at his family, nor was it set up by his in-law, Li Shangping.
During the dinner, after several rounds of drinks, as the banquet progressed into its latter half, when her father once again raised his glass to toast her and her husband, praising her again and mentioning that her mother had given him a good daughter, Li Yan directly said, "Father, you keep praising my mother, but when you took my mother's dowry and used it as my aunt's dowry to take to the Han family, why didn't you remember the good things about my mother and me?"
Those who praise her are merely doing so because they see an opportunity to profit from her.
Could she really believe what he said?
The father and daughter have fallen so far that there is no trace of affection left between them.
Besides, she wasn't the original owner of this body at all, and had never received any of his kindness in raising her.
Therefore, Li Yan would not hold back when settling scores with him.
Li Yan's single sentence left her adoptive father, Li Shangping, speechless.
At this moment, seeing that the situation was not right, Yue quickly came over to help Li Shangping: "Master, you have drunk a bit too much. In front of the two families, you must not be impolite. Please go inside and rest. Let me help you." As she spoke, she awkwardly greeted the Xue and Han families and then helped her husband back into the house.
Today's situation was orchestrated by Li Yan. She came prepared, so how could she let this couple get away with it so easily?
"Aunt, what's the rush?" Li Yan didn't care about etiquette at all; she directly stopped the person. "I was talking to my father about my mother's dowry. Why are you helping my father away the moment I bring it up? Why don't you want me to bring it up?"
Last night, when her husband came home, he said that his stepmother wanted him to host a banquet at home today. She knew then that his stepmother must have ill intentions.
At the time, she didn't think much of it, only assuming that since her stepmother had now married an official, she wanted to act arrogantly and show off in front of Jiaojiao, her stepmother, to save face. But who would have thought that she had underestimated her stepmother. Not only did she want to save face, she also wanted to steal the substance.
The moment she mentioned the word "dowry," she knew that the woman had come prepared and was there to reclaim her dowry.
Lin Yunniang had been a maid in a wealthy family since childhood. When she left that family, she had already risen to the position of a first-class maidservant to the old lady. One can imagine how much wealth she must have possessed.
She was an orphan, with no parents to care for and no siblings to help her.
When she got married, she naturally brought all her family's wealth with her when she married into the Li family.
Later, she passed away from illness, and since her stepmother was still young, all of her dowry ended up in the hands of Li Shangping.
The reason she remarried Li Shangping with Jiaojiao in the first place, and then coaxed and teased him in front of him, acting so humble and subservient, was all for the money left by Lin Shi in his hands.
When Jiaojiao got married, she tried every means to get him to give Jiaojiao more money as a dowry.
Even if there are still many that haven't been given out, they will belong to their son Zong'er in the future.
She never imagined that her stepmother would suddenly return to ask for the money. After all, so many years had passed, and she had remained completely indifferent to the matter. She had originally thought that her stepmother had no idea that her mother had left behind money and jewelry.
So, she knew everything?
Are they going to come back and take it now?
How could Madam Yue agree to that? She immediately said, "Second Aunt, you've had too much to drink. Stop making a scene and go home to rest. Otherwise, you'll become a laughingstock for everyone." As she spoke, she looked at Xue Yi and said in the tone of a mother-in-law, "Second son-in-law, come and help Second Aunt home."
Xue Yi remained seated, seemingly oblivious to her words.
Feeling somewhat embarrassed, Yue could only continue looking at Aunt Xue: "My dear in-law, my second wife has always been unruly, so please bear with her. We've already had our drinks and meals, so let's take her home to rest as soon as possible."
Aunt Xue didn't give Yue any face and challenged her in public, saying, "My father-in-law hasn't even spoken yet, so how dare you, a stepmother, make decisions for Yan Niang? Besides, which eye of yours saw that my daughter-in-law was drunk? I think she's perfectly sober."
To show off his power, Li Shangping not only invited the Han family yesterday, but also took the opportunity to invite several neighbors over.
At this moment, the neighbors were whispering among themselves, pointing and gossiping about Li Shangping and his wife.
Yue, who was holding her husband's arm, pinched his arm lightly.
With a hiss of pain, Li Shangping's slightly drunken eyes finally cleared up a bit.
"Second Aunt, stop making a scene." He gently scolded his daughter, then quickly added, "I... I'm a little drunk. My wife will entertain everyone from now on."
He wanted to go into hiding, but how could Li Yan grant his wish?
Li Yan continued, "Father, you always say you love your daughter, but when my sister got married, she had a grand dowry that stretched for miles, while I only had two sets of worn-out clothes. Father favors my stepsister, and I have nothing to say about it, since I'm not pretty enough. But my mother's dowry was generous, yet you couldn't have her money. That silver was the savings my mother accumulated over ten years as a maid. She told me herself before she died that it was all for me. She just didn't expect that Father's affection for her would vanish so easily after her death. Before her body was even cold, Father had already remarried."
"Fortunately, she left me her dowry list, which is filled out with every item. Now, even if you want to renege on your debts, you can't."
Upon hearing that she had a dowry list, Madam Yue immediately panicked.
But Li Shangping denied it very firmly: "That's impossible!"
“Why not?” Li Yan said with certainty, “That list was personally handed to me by my mother before she passed away.”
Li Shangping, however, felt that the girl was playing a trick, so he remained quite relaxed and didn't believe her: "Second Sister, don't try to fool your father. If you really had it, why would you wait until now? You would have taken it out long ago." When Lin Shi married into the family, she did bring a generous dowry. But when they were husband and wife, they were very loving, so Lin Shi didn't guard against him regarding money.
After Lin's death, all the dowry items, including the dowry list, ended up in his hands.
Therefore, the claim that her mother gave her the dowry list was clearly a lie.
Hearing him say that, Li Yan smiled and said, "Father, are you admitting that my mother left behind a generous dowry?"
Only then did Li Shangping realize that he had fallen into her trap.
However, having already spoken, Li Shangping couldn't deny his words, so he could only try to cover it up by saying, "Your mother did leave behind a dowry, but not as much as you said. Over the years, it's almost all gone." He denied having any more money, lest his savings eventually fall into someone else's hands.
Li Yan continued to look for loopholes in his words, saying, "Almost spent it all? Who did it all go to?" She suddenly straightened her face and became serious, "Shortly after my mother passed away, I moved to the countryside to live with my grandmother, so that money didn't go to me. Therefore, whoever spent my mother's money should step forward and return it. Otherwise, I will report it to the county government."
Everyone in this house except the original owner of this body has spent their money.
Including Li Jiaojiao.
In fact, she has spent the most so far.
At that moment, she suddenly felt very embarrassed and wanted to dig a hole and burrow into the ground immediately.
But she couldn't bring herself to step forward and return the dowry.
That dowry was something her mother had painstakingly obtained from her stepfather. And that money was the foundation upon which she could continue to survive in the Han family. If that foundation were shaken, one can imagine how difficult her future would be.
Her current situation is already quite difficult.
Her declining status in the Han family was all caused by her stepmother. Therefore, it is only right and proper for her to take what her stepmother's mother left behind as her dowry and keep it for herself.
After consoling herself in this way, Li Jiaojiao felt somewhat more at peace.
So she raised her head again, her gaze fixed firmly on Li Yan. It was as if, as if as long as she wasn't guilty, everything her stepsister had accused her of was nonexistent.
Li Yan naturally noticed the way Li Jiaojiao was looking at her. She saw hatred in her eyes, but Li Yan wasn't surprised at all.
She even went so far as to walk directly up to Li Jiaojiao, call her by name, and say, "Sister, the hairpin you're wearing in your hair belongs to my mother." She stretched out her hand and asked for it back, "Please give it back to me."
When insults are brought to one's face, even though Li Jiaojiao has gradually calmed down, a surge of hatred still wells up in her heart like a torrent.
Her hand, hidden in her sleeve, clenched and unclenched little by little. She smiled at her stepsister, feigning innocence, and said, "Second Sister, this hairpin was given to me by my mother."
Li Yan, however, reached out and pulled the hairpin from Li Jiaojiao's hair. Pointing to a spot on the hairpin, she said, "My mother's things are all marked. Look, there's a 'Lin' character here; that's my mother's surname." Having found the evidence, she retorted to Li Jiaojiao, "Your mother gave it to you? Your mother stole it from my mother and then gave it to you, so it's yours?"
“You…” Li Jiaojiao felt utterly humiliated, and tears welled up in her eyes, threatening to fall but not falling.
Han Yue finally couldn't hold back any longer. He stood up, shielded his wife to the side, and then frowned as he looked at Li Yan, questioning, "Are you treating my wife like this because I'm no longer here?"
Li Yan wasn't afraid of him and directly retorted, "You, Han Xiucai, are educated, so tell me, according to the laws of this dynasty, isn't a woman's dowry solely her property, and her husband's family not entitled to a single penny? If the woman dies, the dowry must be returned to her parents' family. If there are no children left in her parents' family, it must be left to her children. Only if there are no children to carry on the family line can it belong to the husband. In terms of the legality of inheritance, am I not ahead of my father? As long as I am alive, all this silver and jewelry will fall into my pocket without a single drop being touched?"
In her spare time from her busy business, Li Yan also practices calligraphy and reads books. She reads mostly books on law.
So at this moment, her words left Han Yue speechless.
Han Yue: "Even so, you can't humiliate someone in public." Then he slowly put his hands behind his back, straightened his body, and raised his head, saying, "Although my Han family isn't considered a prestigious family in Huating County, we are still well-known and have some assets. Even if the bride doesn't have a dowry, our family won't neglect her in the slightest. So, if you think you can use this to control your sister, you've miscalculated."
If Han Yue doesn't speak up, Xue Yi will most likely remain a bystander and won't intervene unless absolutely necessary.
But with Han Yue's intervention, Xue Yi naturally wouldn't remain seated, leaving Li Shi to fight alone.
Therefore, he directly pointed out Han Yue's identity, saying, "Scholar Han, your words are far too biased towards your own family and not on the side of justice. The age-old principle is that debts must be repaid. What do you mean by using this to manipulate me?" He then questioned him, "Isn't the hairpin in your wife's hair a keepsake from my wife's mother? If so, then it should be returned to its rightful owner. Isn't that right?"
Han Yue's Adam's apple bobbed before he managed to squeeze out a "yes."
Xue Yi then asked, "Before my wife reached out to pull the hairpin from your wife's hair, did she explain the situation to your wife and ask her to return it?"
Han Yue knew that the situation was indeed unfavorable to him, so he took Xue Yi's side and said directly, "Sister-in-law, brother-in-law, you two look at my wife's dowry. Which of these are your mother's belongings? I, Han Yue, will return them all without hesitation."
"Husband!" Li Jiaojiao tried to interject, but was stopped by a look from Han Yue.
Even though Li Jiaojiao was reluctant to part with those things, she couldn't bring herself to openly contradict her husband. So, she could only lower her head in grievance.
But Yue was so anxious that she jumped up and down.
"Even if that dowry belonged to your mother, it has already been given to my darling daughter. How can you ask for a dowry that has been given away by the mother's family back?" She cried out, her face contorted with rage, as she began to recount her hardships. "My life is so miserable! My ex-husband left early, and I only gave birth to a daughter who was not accepted by him and suffered endless scorn. I finally remarried, thinking I had met a good man, but now he treats my daughter and me like this. Li Shangping, you coward! Look at the good daughter you gave birth to! She's practically defecating on your head, and you haven't even reacted. If I were you, I would have slapped her across the face long ago. How could I allow a woman to run wild like this for so long?"
Li Yan picked up where Yue Shi left off, saying, "Aunt Yue, are you so shameless that you're willing to do anything to save some money? Do you even know what you're saying? Are you instigating my father to beat me?" She then looked at Li Shangping beside her, "Father, haven't you seen the true colors of the man beside you?" After asking, Li Yan gave a mocking smile, "Why should I ask you? You're all birds of a feather."
Li Yan, unwilling to continue arguing, pulled out the dowry list from her person and unfolded it: "Everything here clearly records what belongs to my mother. You have three days to return it all. Otherwise, we'll have to meet at the yamen."
After saying these words, Li Yan turned around and smiled at her in-laws: "Mother, husband, let's go home."
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