Chapter 30 The Mother-in-Law Sets Rules for Liu
Feng had received a message from Yunxi and roughly understood the whole plan. Hearing Shi Qingchen say this, he immediately chimed in, "The young lady will surely know the master's true feelings."
Why don't you take a Qi and Blood Pill now and take a short rest? Perhaps you'll be able to meet the girl in your dreams again.
Feng Xun's words struck a chord with Shi Qingchen. The thought of meeting Yunxi in his dreams brought tears to his eyes.
Strangely enough, ever since he took the pills that Feng Xun bought at a high price, not only has the pain in his body been greatly reduced, but what makes him even happier is that every time he falls asleep after taking the medicine, he can meet Yunxi in his dreams.
Although Yunxi seemed to still resent him during the previous dreams, he had just devised a plan to trap Liu Shi today, which should make Yunxi a little happier.
Shi Qingchen, impatient, was helped to lie down by Feng Xun. Before closing his eyes, he did not forget to instruct, "You keep watch outside the door. No matter who Liu Shi or my stepmother sends to find me, you must stop them and just say that I have fallen into a deep sleep again."
Feng Xun smiled and agreed. But the moment Qing Chen closed his eyes, the smile in Feng Xun's eyes instantly transformed into a murderous intent. If his master hadn't forbade it, he would have killed that bastard on the spot.
Being by Shi Qingchen's side every day, watching his feigned affection and self-indulgent act, constantly tested Feng Xun's patience.
Main courtyard
When Madam Liu arrived at the main house carrying a food box, she happened to find her stepmother, Madam Wen, having her meal. After bowing respectfully, she explained her purpose and then took out the porcelain bells from the food box and placed them on the table.
Wen's originally indifferent expression flickered with joy upon seeing the porcelain clock set. Her tone even softened slightly.
"Mrs. Liu, it's kind of you to think of your mother-in-law like this. These dishes you brought are exactly what I wanted. Since Grandpa didn't have lunch here today, why don't you stay and have some with me? It'll be good for us to chat."
Liu immediately pretended to be flattered and praised Wen for her kindness to her younger sister, but in her heart she dared not really regard this mother-in-law as a good friend.
Even if a family's secrets are kept tightly under wraps, outsiders can still hear some of them. Therefore, Lady Liu had already heard about them before she married into the family, and Lady Wen had firmly controlled the inner quarters ever since she married the then-Grand Secretary.
She had never shown mercy to servants or concubines in the mansion. Now, facing her own wife, the future matriarch of the Shi family, how could she willingly relinquish power? It was merely a tacit performance between the two of them.
After the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law enjoyed their meal together in harmony, Madam Liu stood up to take her leave. Her two maids naturally stepped forward and deftly put the porcelain clock set back into the food box.
Seeing this, Madam Wen, who had been in a good mood, suddenly turned gloomy. She had thought that Shi Qingchen had sent Madam Liu under the pretext of delivering vegetables to return the family heirloom that should have belonged to her eldest son.
Having clearly understood the current situation, she was implying that he would wisely relinquish his position as the young master of the family. Just now, Madam Wen had even planned to reward Shi Qingchen with a complete corpse.
Unexpectedly, that illegitimate son had come specifically to annoy her. He only let her look at the porcelain clock, then took it back in front of her. Was he implying that he would never relinquish the position of young master of the family?
"Very well, then she'll teach Shi Qingchen a lesson." The scholar turned his gaze to Madam Liu and said in a slightly cold tone:
“My son, since you married into the family, everything about you has been to my liking. However, your grandfather reminded me the other day that I should keep you by my side and teach you more.”
After all, this vast government will eventually be handed over to you to manage, so now is the time to learn how to run it properly.
"It's also because of my laziness as a mother that I haven't taught you any proper etiquette since your marriage. Let's start making up for it today."
Upon hearing this, Liu's expression changed slightly. Although she was unwilling, no one could find fault with the rules her mother-in-law set for her new daughter-in-law.
Fortunately, the two had gotten along fairly well earlier, so setting rules shouldn't be too difficult for her. Besides, even if they didn't care about Shi Qingchen, they should still consider the Liu family behind her.
To everyone's surprise, the moment Madam Wen opened her mouth, she was asked to learn the most basic manners, such as walking, standing, sitting, and lying down. As a young lady from a prominent family, she already had these basic manners ingrained in her bones and didn't need to learn them at all.
Only then did Madam Liu finally realize that Madam Wen was not only deliberately making things difficult for her, but also publicly humiliating her, all to show the whole household who was the true mistress of the house.
No matter how thoroughly she thought it through, she could only endure it. For the entire afternoon, Liu practiced her posture in the courtyard, balancing a bowl of water on her head. Two hours later, she was summoned to kneel before Wen's bedside and massage her legs.
At dinner, Liu stood aside and served food to Wen. After dinner, Wen went for a stroll in the garden, but Liu went with her maid to the small kitchen to cook her mother-in-law's medicinal meal.
After serving Wen Shi her medicinal meal, Liu Shi thought it was time to let her go home. But unexpectedly, a messenger from the capital sent word that she would be staying at her aunt's place and wouldn't be coming back.
Today is the first day of the month, and we should have been staying in the mistress's courtyard, but now we've been publicly humiliated. Madam Wen vented all her pent-up anger on Madam Liu.
She ordered Liu to stand in front of the bed and fan her, and at night she slept on her footstool to watch over the quilt for her mother-in-law.
Such blatant harassment made Liu grit her teeth in frustration. But her mother-in-law demanded that she fulfill her filial duties, and if she dared to utter even the slightest dissent, not only would her reputation be ruined, but it would also jeopardize the marriages of her sisters.
After a night of torment, Lady Liu was left looking haggard. After leaving the main courtyard, she found herself longing for the warrior from her previous life.
At that time, she was a new bride, and her mother-in-law wanted to make things difficult for her. However, her husband, whom she had never thought much of, was willing to bear the name of being unfilial and blocked the matter of setting rules.
Although this matter has always been the subject of gossip, it has also garnered more envy from other women, who say that she has found a husband who knows how to cherish her.
That woman, who lived in the inner quarters, had never suffered any mistreatment from her mother-in-law. She was just so lucky to be cherished and protected by her husband.
The more Liu thought about it, the more heartbroken she became. With a sallow complexion, she returned to the courtyard. What she saw, however, was her newlywed husband, who had slept soundly all night and was now looking radiant.
The moment Shi Qingchen saw Liu return, he glanced behind her and, noticing that she hadn't brought back the food box she'd taken the day before, asked her with displeasure:
"Didn't I tell you yesterday to bring that porcelain clock back? Why can't I see it now? Did I leave it in Mother's yard?"
Upon hearing his words, Liu's pent-up grievances instantly turned into resentment. Yesterday, she had almost been tortured to death in her mother-in-law's courtyard.
The only thing he, as the husband, cared about was whether the porcelain clock had been brought back. Clearly, Shi Qingchen was completely unaware that his wife hadn't returned home all night.
As the eldest daughter in her family, Liu was pampered and spoiled by her parents. She had never suffered such grievances before. Her eyes immediately welled up with tears as she looked at Shi Qingchen with sadness and disappointment.
Seeing Liu's appearance, Shi Qingchen showed no pity whatsoever. Instead, he angrily questioned, "So you really didn't bring it back?"
"You can't even handle such a small matter? Go to Mother's yard right now and retrieve that porcelain clock set. If you can't get it back, don't bother coming back!"
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