"Alright, there's no need to come again. The prison isn't a good place either. All the officers have been kind to us, so please thank them on my behalf."
Jiang Jiangong spoke in an even lower voice, leaning close to Pan Jinhua across the cell and whispering, "They're sending supplies from the capital to Lingnan."
So they're from the same place as Jingzhongfa. Maybe we'll run into each other on the way? Pan Jinhua thought.
"When you get back, be sure to tell Awang to prepare more medicinal herbs."
"Yes, brother-in-law is gathering supplies. There's a lot of miasma in Lingnan, so we can't be too prepared." After whispering to each other, the two started talking loudly again.
"Hmm, what about the rest of the Li family?"
"Indeed, indeed, Jian Gong, have you seen my daughter, your sister Cao'er?" She was referring to Yuan, the cousin-in-law of Pan Jinhua's husband. Li Xuming and the others were supposed to call her Fourth Aunt; she was among those who cried and cursed after being imprisoned that day.
Jiang Jiangong looked troubled. "Fourth Aunt, I haven't seen Sister Cao'er or Brother-in-law these past few days. The county magistrate has been investigating many of your family's cases these past few days, and Fourth Uncle and Brother Shen have both been flogged..."
"What! Your fourth uncle and Ah Shen have both been flogged! What a tragedy! People in the capital are truly a menace!"
"That ungrateful wretch, Cao'er! She should have been strangled at birth! She didn't even bother to visit her parents when they were down on their luck. What good is she? She has no respect for her parents, no brotherly or sisterly affection whatsoever! A shameless wretch! If it weren't for us, she wouldn't have been able to marry into such a good family..."
Li Si's family suddenly erupted like firecrackers, spewing out a barrage of vulgarities. Pan Jinhua frowned repeatedly, and the jailer quickly came over.
"What's all the noise about! What's all the noise about! Are you trying to rebel?!"
At the jailer's menacing shout, Yuan Shi, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, dared not utter another word. Jiang Jiangong took the opportunity to bid farewell to Pan Jinhua and leave, as it was almost time for him to visit his brother-in-law and the others.
"When you go there, ask the jailer to give some medicine to Lao Si and the others."
Since they were family, Pan Jinhua couldn't bear to cause a death.
Jiang Jiangong agreed and left with the food box, which contained a layer of pastries for his brother-in-law and his family.
Other relatives of the Li family by marriage also came to visit the prison, but they were not there to visit her.
Pan Jinhua opened several packets of pastries, and the family gathered together. After a few days in prison, pastries had become a luxury.
She pinched a piece of mung bean cake for Li Qingjun, and then gave it to Li Qingruo, Li Qingfei, and Li Qingzhi.
The children didn't refuse. They had been told before coming in that they didn't need to worry about anything and should just listen to the adults. They were all very well-behaved and ate slowly.
Liu Yunmo and Qiaoniang each got a piece, and Pan Jinhua also took one for herself. The family ate together, savoring each bite. Even though they were in prison, being together as a family, with their mother there, made them feel less afraid.
They had barely started eating when the Yuan family started causing trouble again.
"Sister-in-law, how can you eat with just your own family? We're all family members, and you, as a son-in-law, don't know how to behave? And you don't know how to behave either?"
"..." Pan Jinhua and her wives looked at each other in bewilderment.
Speechless. His mother opened the door for him. Speechless again.
Liu Yun snorted coldly: "You really think you're something special just because I call you 'aunt'? You said we're just from the same clan, do you expect us to give you all the food instead of us?"
She gets jealous just seeing a snack and wants some? Ask your son-in-law to bring it to you! She's in jail, and she still acts like a lady of leisure.
"You're so old now, and your skin has gotten so thick. You've even lost your sense of shame after going to jail. No wonder Cao'er and his wife didn't want to come see you; you tormented them so much. Now, at least they're free."
"Liu Yun, what are you saying? How dare you, a junior, talk about your elders!" Aunt Li Si Yuan was so angry at Liu Yun's sarcasm that her face turned red and white, then red again, until she almost fell backward.
"I'll just say whatever my aunt says." Liu Yun said with a smile. Did they think her family was easy to bully? She had been holding back her anger with nowhere to vent it.
“Auntie, please rest well. Fourth Uncle and Shendi have both been punished, and they are counting on my son-in-law to deliver their medicine. If you don’t take your Fourth Uncle and Shendi seriously, then consider it meddling in other people’s business. Next time your brother-in-law comes, we will definitely tell him.” Mo Qiaoniang chimed in from the side.
"..." Madam Yuan suddenly thought of her husband and son who had been beaten, and she still cared about her husband and son.
"Sisters, please don't be angry. My mother has never been one to speak ill of others, but she's not a bad person. I apologize to you, Aunt and sisters. My mother just lost her temper when she saw the children wanted to eat..." Yuan's daughter-in-law, Xiao Yuan, quickly spoke up. She was Yuan's niece.
"No way! If you want some, wait for your own people to bring it, or you can pay for it yourself. Everyone knows who you are. The officials were the first to arrive at my house that day, and they told you all that you must have hidden a lot of money. My brother-in-law also spent a lot of money to come in, and these snacks were all made by my sister herself. We don't even have enough for ourselves, so there's no reason for us to use my sister and brother-in-law's kindness as a favor. We have many children at home too!"
Liu Yun directly retorted to Xiao Yuanshi's words, "They're already in jail, why are you still pulling this stunt on them? Just tell my mother-in-law directly that the child wants to eat it, and she'd probably have given it to him already if she were soft-hearted. Why do you have to be sarcastic and make veiled accusations? We're all in the same situation, there's no reason for us to be scolded for no reason."
The beggar insults the giver; what kind of logic is that!
"I won't say much more. The fact that you are all so safe in prison is all thanks to my family. After all, it was my mother who helped Master Hu!"
Liu Yun glared fiercely at the Li family members in the surrounding cells. Anyone who made eye contact with him quickly lowered their head, afraid that Liu Yun might get angry and scold them as if they were Yuan Shi.
In a large family, there are always some frictions. The women are especially fond of competing, saying things like, "How is your family doing today? How is mine doing tomorrow?" The wife of Li Si is the most competitive and always likes to compete with his family. Now that she's in jail, she still doesn't know her place. Other relatives quickly chimed in.
"Sister-in-law, please don't be angry, and nieces-in-law, please don't blame us either. This is indeed the fault of Fourth Sister-in-law. You have always been competitive, and now you have lost all face but still want to covet other people's daughters' filial piety. It's really not a good look."
"Fourth Aunt should apologize to Second Aunt as soon as possible. I'm sure Second Aunt won't take it to heart."
"Fourth Sister-in-law, what a mess we are now, still arguing about this..."
"······"
Many people started criticizing the Yuan family, saying they had no ability whatsoever but still wanted to be superior. While they were criticizing them, they forgot how they had just been watching from the sidelines.
Pan Jinhua was quite satisfied with her two daughters-in-law's performance; if they weren't assertive, their future would likely be difficult.
The remaining snacks were not distributed to others; they were all left for the children.
The children had no appetite for snacks; they were all looking at Liu Yun and Mo Qiaoniang with adoration.
This simple and direct gaze made them blush, no longer displaying their previous cold expressions.
“That’s better,” Pan Jinhua said with a smile.
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