Chapter 47 The Worried Sister-in-Law
Although these words were spoken softly to Lu Yun Chu, everyone in the room heard them clearly. There are only two reasons why a married daughter returns to her parents' home: either something has happened to her husband's family and she has to leave, or she has been divorced by her husband's family.
Third Aunt slammed down her chopsticks: "What nonsense are you talking about! Who said I came back to settle down? I've already said I'm just staying at my parents' house for a short while. I only stayed a few more days because I was worried about my nephew Qi'er's marriage. How did you turn it into me coming back to settle down?"
Yu Qingci raised her head with a look of fear: "I misunderstood. I just thought that my third aunt was in charge of the household affairs because she spoke so confidently about taking charge of my mother's household."
Lu Yun Chu almost burst out laughing, but she quickly suppressed it and lowered her head to silently pick at the rice in her bowl.
The others exchanged bewildered glances. The niece-in-law's words made sense. It was really unpleasant for a married aunt to interfere in her family's household affairs in front of the whole family.
"You, you..."
Third Aunt never expected that in all these years, she had been so arrogant and domineering in both her husband's and her own family, and had never been so humiliated by anyone. She was so angry that she didn't know what to say. Her face turned ashen as she pointed at Yu Qingci, not knowing what to say.
Yu Qingci looked shy: "As for managing the household affairs, I am young and did not have time to learn how to manage the household from my mother when I was at home. My mother said that after I married into the family, I would listen to my mother-in-law in everything."
Upon hearing this, Madam Ning looked at her new daughter-in-law with affection: "Good child, you've only just entered the household, there's no rush to manage the household. Let's get along well as mother and daughter. I'll teach you slowly once you're familiar with life in the mansion. Come on, eat more."
Madam Ning picked up the serving chopsticks and personally placed a dish in front of Yu Qingci. The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law smiled at each other, enjoying a harmonious moment.
Seeing that they were being completely ignored, the women pouted and finally stopped talking.
After finally getting rid of these people, only Madam Ning, Yu Qingci, and Lu Yunchu remained in Songbai Hall.
Two younger family members accompanied Old Madam Ning into the inner hall to rest. Old Madam Ning's eyes were red, and the grievances she had been holding back all morning finally broke down. After sitting down, she choked up and said:
"What exactly do they want? Ever since the master and Yunqi left, they've been making all sorts of decisions for me every day. The outsiders haven't even done anything yet, but our own people are already bullying us orphans and widows."
When Lu Yun saw her mother's tears, her own eyes reddened. The little girl bit her lip, her face showing stubbornness, and said, "Mother is too easy to talk to and too lenient with them, which has made them greedy and increasingly demanding."
Before, with their father and elder brother by their side, they didn't dare to go too far. Now that their father and elder brother are gone, their ambitions have naturally grown. Now that we know we can't rely on them, we need to make our own plans and not listen to them in everything.
My second uncle and aunt just said they wanted to eat meat. This rule absolutely cannot be broken. If we break the rule today, they can make even more outrageous demands tomorrow.
Seeing the little girl's stubborn defense of her mother and deceased father and brothers, Yu Qingci's affection for her deepened. This was how a family should behave.
After worrying about her mother, the young girl turned to Yu Qingci and said, "Sister-in-law, you can't easily agree to take over the management of the household. It's not that I don't trust you, but as you saw today, they're so eager to urge you on, they must have ulterior motives. Mother has already made it clear that the General's Mansion has no money. If you don't take over, we'll just have to live like this."
If you accept, you'll inevitably face their constant provocations in the future.
Yu Qingci nodded: "I know, don't worry. When I was at home, my mother didn't have time to teach me how to manage a household. I really don't know anything. I'll learn slowly by following my mother from now on. As for when I can stand on my own, that's up to my mother to decide."
Lu Yun Chu was relieved to hear her say that. She had been observing this new sister-in-law throughout today's family reunion, and now it seemed that she was a clear-headed person, which was good. When she first learned that her new sister-in-law was going to be replaced by a daughter who had returned home halfway through her life, she was extremely worried.
Everyone knows that the eldest daughter of a noble family is carefully raised from childhood with the help of the whole family. No matter which family she marries in the future, she will be the head of the household and the matriarch. Even if she enters the palace to become a concubine, she will not be bad off.
But it's different for daughters raised outside the family. The young woman is really worried that she will marry a troublesome and unreasonable woman, which would only make things worse for the eldest son's family.
Her father and mother only had two children, her brother and her brother. Her mother was injured when she gave birth to her brother and had to recuperate for several years before she was born. Therefore, she and her brother are ten years apart in age.
Now that her father and brother have suddenly passed away, only she and her mother remain in the eldest branch of the family. They are no match for the strong and capable members of the other two branches, who have many children. To be frank, her mother is somewhat timid. As a young girl, she is constrained by filial piety and her actions are restricted in every way. Moreover, she has a domineering aunt who is always interfering.
So ever since her father and brother passed away, the mother and daughter have been forced to yield in their own home. Even the idea of ​​arranging for her brother to marry a widow and forcing the Nanping Earl's family to fulfill the marriage agreement was the result of the two families pushing and instigating the situation behind the scenes.
However, it seems that this new sister-in-law is quite nice now.
The young girl breathed a sigh of relief and then instructed Madam Ning, "Mother, the General's Mansion was left by Father and my brother. Now that they are gone, you are the backbone of the entire mansion. From now on, you must be firmer with your second and third uncles and their families. You must never back down again, or they will become even more domineering towards us. Also, there are some things that you should explain to your eldest cousin."
Yu Qingci understood Lu Yun Chu's previous words perfectly, but she was a little confused when she heard the words "elder cousin". Did this elder cousin have something else to say?
However, there were already too many things to do today, and Yu Qingci needed time to sort things out. So she stopped asking questions and nodded in agreement, saying, "I also think what Yun Chu said makes sense. At this time, Mother can't just be sad. She has to cheer up and take on the responsibility of the General's Mansion. Even if things don't go well, Yun Chu and I are still by her side. Although we don't know much, we can still give Mother some advice if there's anything."
Lu Yun Chu looked at Yu Qing Ci with even more gratitude.
The two sisters-in-law stayed at Songbai Hall to have lunch with Old Madam Ning, and then helped her lie down to rest before leaving together.
The young girl linked arms with Yu Qingci as they walked and talked: "Sister-in-law, when I have time, can I come to Guanlan Courtyard to see you?"
Yu Qingci smiled and nodded: "Of course, I was just worried about having no one to talk to."
Lu Yun Chu's eyes lit up: "Then it's settled. I'll visit my sister-in-law whenever I have time."
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