Chapter 34 Awakening
The young woman's mind was in a mess, and she said vaguely: "But she is my mother-in-law. If she wants to beat me, I can only bear it."
Niuniu tilted her head, looking confused: "Can a mother-in-law hit people at will? My grandma never hits or scolds my mom."
When the young woman heard this, she was extremely envious of Zhang Yuniang, but out of the corner of her eye she saw Zhang Yuniang still waving the broom like a god of war.
She suddenly felt that everything made sense. With such a capable daughter-in-law, even the mother-in-law would not dare to beat or scold her.
Niuniu asked again: "Can't you beat your mother-in-law?"
After hesitating for a moment, the young woman said, "She is my mother-in-law. If she wants to beat me, I can only bear it. If I dare to resist, I will definitely be condemned by thousands of people."
Niuniu didn't understand feudal etiquette. After hearing this, she could only come to one conclusion in her little head: "Being pointed at by thousands of people? Are you afraid of being pointed at? Or does your mother-in-law have the right to beat people at will? Did you do anything wrong?"
The young woman shook her head and said, "I did nothing wrong. It's just that she is my mother-in-law and an elder. Filial piety is like that."
Niuniu immediately said, "Can elders just hit people casually?"
The young woman didn't know how to answer for a moment. From childhood to adulthood, everyone taught her to be obedient to her elders and to accept everything that happened. No one had ever told her that she could resist.
Niuniu looked at her and shook her head helplessly, saying, "I was beaten by my old parents before, but my mother said that was their fault and they were wrong. If they dare to beat me again, my mother will help me beat them back."
The young woman was confused: "What do you mean by old parents and new parents?"
Niu Niu patiently explained: "My old parents are my past parents. I was sick before, and my current parents were afraid that I would be killed by my old parents, so they became my parents."
The woman managed to sort out the relationship from Niu Niu's words. She had never expected that the little girl who now looked well-behaved and cute, as beautiful as a snowball, had actually had such an experience.
Niuniu didn't know that this silly woman was sympathizing with her. Her logic was always simple and crude: "You didn't do anything wrong, but you still took the beating obediently. Do you like being beaten? Just because of filial piety, you don't care if you are beaten to death?"
Young woman: ...
I am born to like being beaten, and I don't even mind being beaten to death. Am I a despicable person?
The young woman couldn't help but think further along the lines of Niu Niu's words. She usually tolerated her mother-in-law's minor beatings, but in return she only got more severe beatings from her mother-in-law. What would happen if she was really beaten to death by her mother-in-law?
Maybe the brother and sister-in-law from my natal family will come to my husband's family and extort a huge sum of money from them.
When she thought that she would die but still benefit her mean brother and sister-in-law, her anger grew.
Seeing the woman's stupid look, Niuniu sighed like a little adult and said, "Can it be that you really can't beat your mother-in-law? I didn't expect that you are so tall, but you can't beat the old lady. I have always thought that when I grow taller, I can beat others, but it seems that my wish is in vain."
Hearing this, the young woman slowly raised her drooping head. She was tall and tall, and when she stood next to her husband, she was half a head taller than him. Her in-laws often accused her of not having the beauty and grace that a woman should have.
Because of this, she didn't know how much injustice she had suffered.
Niu Niu's words gave her a feeling of sudden enlightenment.
What she thought was a shortcoming could actually be her strength. She had done nothing wrong, so why did she get beaten by her mother-in-law? Was it because she was her mother-in-law? It wasn't like she couldn't beat them!
The young woman's surname is Zhao and her husband's surname is Wang, so people generally like to call her Madam Wang.
At this moment, she couldn't help but sigh in her heart that she had lived for twenty years, but she was not as insightful as a little girl.
"Little sister, you are right. I can't take a beating for nothing anymore." After talking with Niu Niu, Madam Wang felt like she was reborn. Filial piety and elders were all bullshit!
Niuniu didn't know she was awake, and suggested: "If it doesn't work, just run faster. You are an adult with long legs, unlike me who can't run fast. You should avoid grandma. She is old and will definitely not be able to catch up with you."
Niu Niu felt that the reason she was beaten in the Zhang family in the past was because she couldn't run fast enough.
When Lady Wang heard this, she couldn't help laughing and said, "Okay, I'll remember. If I can't win, I'll run away."
Niu Niu stretched out her right hand, but she was too short and Madam Wang was too tall, so even if she stood on tiptoe, she could only touch her waist.
Although Madam Wang was confused, she thought about it and squatted down.
Niuniu patted her head gently and said, "Don't be afraid, nothing is more important than living a good life. I have a new home after surviving my last one, and you will have a new home soon too."
The innocent words of the little girl made Madam Wang burst into tears instantly. She suddenly felt that she was also cherished, even though the person who cared about her life and death was just a five-year-old girl.
After receiving encouragement from the little girl, Wang Niang decided to change the way she lived her life and turned around to join the battle, but she happened to see her mother-in-law running away screaming because she couldn't win, leaving Zhang Yuniang standing there majestically with a broom in her hand.
"Yunniang, wipe your sweat, are you tired?" Gu Mingda walked up and handed over the handkerchief.
After Zhang Yunniang took the handkerchief, she put the broom aside, looked at the other onlookers, and asked softly, "Are you here to blame my child for being too noisy too?"
The onlookers had just witnessed her being possessed by the god of war, and when they heard these words, those with weaker personalities were so scared that they took two steps back.
"No, no, your child is very well behaved and doesn't make any noise at all." Someone answered.
Hearing this, Zhang Yunniang laughed. Her family knew their own business. Niu Niu and Gu Zhao were not screaming randomly outside. No matter how loud they could be, there was a limit. Besides, it was daytime. In the end, the old woman was just stubborn and wanted to show off her power.
After there was no more excitement to watch, most of the crowd dispersed, but a young woman who looked to be in her early twenties stayed.
The young woman was dressed simply and had a hearty smile. When she introduced herself, she said that her husband was also a student who came to the provincial capital to take the exam. Her husband's surname was Qi, and everyone else called her Madam Qi.
"I've long been fed up with that old hag. How dare she complain about other people making noises? I live next door to her, and she often beats and scolds her daughter-in-law in her room. The noise is so loud that it can be heard outside the house. When I say a few words to her, she tells me to mind my own business. You must be capable. After such a commotion, she won't be able to go out again." When Madam Qi said this, her face was full of relief.
Zhang Yunniang chuckled and said, "If she hadn't messed with my child, I wouldn't care about her."
Madam Qi said, "Po Wang has a very strange temper. We are all renting the house, but she acts like she is the owner of the house. Everyone who lives in the same yard with her has been bullied by her. Her wife is the most pitiful."
Madam Qi suddenly saw Madam Wang, the daughter-in-law of Mrs. Wang, still standing there stupidly, and she immediately shut up.
Madam Wang seemed not to feel Madam Qi's embarrassment. She walked up to Zhang Yuniang with a normal expression, bowed gently, and said, "Thank you for helping me with today's matter, sister."
Zhang Yunniang hurriedly helped the man up. She saw that Wang Niang did not blame her for being nosy, but thanked her instead. She seemed not the kind of woman who would just accept things as they came. She liked Wang Niang a little more in her heart and could not help but said, "Your mother-in-law is not easy to get along with. I was impulsive at the moment, so I hope I don't hurt you."
When Lady Wang heard this, she glanced at Niuniu who was standing beside her with an innocent look on her face, and made a decision secretly, saying, "It's okay. I won't let her bully me anymore."
Zhang Yunniang heaved a sigh of relief when she heard this, and said softly, "It's not easy to be a woman. We should all try our best to live a good life."
Madam Wang nodded vigorously, then clenched her fists and said goodbye and left, looking very heroic, as if she was going to the battlefield.
Madam Qi looked at Madam Wang's back as she left and whispered, "Madam Wang is also a miserable person. Her parents passed away early, and her brother and sister-in-law only care about money and are mean. The dowry that her parents prepared for her was also deducted by her brother and sister-in-law. She finally got married, but she didn't expect to meet such a wicked mother-in-law."
Zhang Yunniang frowned and asked, "Where is her husband? How come her husband didn't even show up when I fought with her mother-in-law for so long?"
Madam Qi shook her head after hearing this and said, "Her husband is not willing to get involved in women's affairs. He is a man who only cares about his studies."
When Madam Qi said this, she couldn't help but look at Zhang Yuniang with envy.
Their husbands were all students waiting for the imperial examination, but comparison is the thief of envy. Madam Qi's husband was of ordinary appearance and not particularly tall, and the only thing he had going for him was his academic ability.
He can be said to be well-educated, but he is still taking the examination to become a scholar after so many years.
Gu Mingda, on the other hand, is not only tall and handsome, but also very considerate of his wife and even knows how to take care of the children.
While they were talking, Gu Mingda was playing with Gu Zhao and Niu Niu. He seemed to be an extremely patient and gentle man. Even though his wife had just shown her shrewish side, he did not feel ashamed at all and was protecting her from beginning to end.
Madam Qi is a person who knows how to comfort herself. Compared with Zhang Yuniang, her life is indeed not very good, but compared with Madam Wang, she is like falling into a blessed nest. At least she does not have a vicious mother-in-law who likes to torture people.
When Mrs. Wang returned to the house she rented, she heard her mother-in-law crying to her husband before she even entered the door.
"Your wife is such a black-hearted little whore. She watched me get beaten and didn't even help to pull the man away. Now she's still staying there. Maybe she's discussing with others how to harm me!" said Mrs. Wang loudly.
Wang Yaozu frowned slightly when he heard this and said, "If you are not satisfied with her, you can deal with her yourself. What's the point of telling me this? Do you want me to divorce her?"
(End of this chapter)
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