The spatula, still warm from the stove, struck her back, causing Xu Runli to stumble and nearly fall onto the bluestone slab in the yard.
She touched her back with her hand behind her back; a shallow mark had been made on her cloth jacket, and it felt like a red-hot needle had pierced her bones, causing both pain and burning sensation.
"Yun Tangyin, you dare hit me?!" She turned around, her hair disheveled and plastered to her face, the hatred in her eyes almost frozen in ice. "I'll fight you to the death!"
She charged toward the kitchen like an enraged wild dog, baring her teeth and claws.
Jiang Jianhua was so frightened that he dodged to the side, knocking over the swill bucket next to the stove with his elbow. Swill water spilled all over the floor, mixing with coal ash and turning into black mud.
Yun Tangyin didn't move, she just stood next to the slop bucket, and somehow she picked up an iron shovel again.
The shovel was still covered with bits of burnt rice, gleaming coldly in the morning light. It didn't look like it was about to fight; it looked like it was about to cleave a person in two.
Xu Runli's steps suddenly stopped in front of the black mud.
She saw Yun Tangyin's eyes, which held no anger, only an almost indifferent resolve that said, "Take another step forward and you'll be in for a world of hurt."
She suddenly remembered that when she was a child in the Yun family, she had seen Yun Tangyin's haughty and disdainful gaze, but she had never seen Yun Tangyin look like this before.
"Get out." Yun Tangyin's voice was low, but it sounded like a whip lashing the ground. "Take your things and get out of the Fu family. If I see you step in again, it won't just be a slap on the back."
Hearing the commotion, Yu Xia outside quickly ran in.
Seeing Yun Tangyin like this, she quickly went to comfort her: "Yinyin, what's wrong? Oh dear, Xu Runli, look how upset you've made Yinyin!"
That slightly disdainful gaze felt like needles pricking Xu Runli's back.
Looking at the shovel in Yun Tangyin's hand, the black mud on the ground, and the disdain in Yu Xia's eyes, she suddenly felt all the strength drain from her body.
She lost.
They lost so badly that they lost even the last shred of dignity.
"Yun Tangyin, you just wait and see." Xu Runli took two steps back, not even noticing her feet sinking into the mud. "Even if I'm not having an easy time, I won't let you have one!"
She turned and rushed out of the Fu family's courtyard gate. The light stain on her cloth jacket was particularly conspicuous in the sunlight, like an indelible mark of shame.
Hearing the commotion, some people who wanted to join in the fun quickly dispersed, while others spat at her retreating figure: "What kind of thing is she, daring to cause trouble at the military dependents' compound?"
Inside the kitchen, Jiang Jianhua was still trembling, pointing at the black mud on the ground, unable to speak.
Yun Tangyin threw the shovel back onto the stove and bent down to hold the slop bucket: "What are you standing there for? Get me a broom."
Jiang Jianhua then came to his senses and hurriedly went to grab a broom.
When she swept up the black mud, she couldn't help but ask, "Were you really going to use the kitchen knife just now?"
"If you don't use a kitchen knife, are you just waiting to have your face scratched?" Yun Tangyin took the broom and quickly gathered the black mud into a corner. "To deal with a mad dog, you have to use a stick. If you back down, she might bite off half your leg."
Looking at the red marks on her arm where Xu Runli's fingernails had scratched her, Jiang Jianhua suddenly felt a chill: "If I had really used a kitchen knife just now, I would have been in big trouble."
“She wouldn’t dare lay a hand on me.” Yun Tangyin leaned the broom against the wall. “I have plenty of ways to ruin her reputation.”
She walked to the water vat, scooped water to wash her hands, and her silver bracelet clinked against the rim: "Her ruthlessness is all talk. If it really comes down to gambling with her future, she'd value her life more than anyone else."
Jiang Jianhua squatted on the ground, staring blankly at the black mud in the corner.
When Xu Runli lunged at her, her first reaction was to dodge. She suddenly realized that she had always thought that she would have a backer when Jiang Zhicheng came, but she hadn't seen clearly that he had long used the word "relative" as a bargaining chip in his scheme.
“Yinyin,” Jiang Jianhua looked up, a hint of shame in his eyes, “I was confused before.”
This time, she genuinely regretted it.
It wasn't that she was deliberately trying to show weakness to Yun Tangyin; it was that she genuinely regretted trusting someone like Xu Runli.
Yun Tangyin paused in wiping her hands, then handed her the cloth: "It's not too late to understand now. Next time she comes, just dump the slop bucket on her head. With me here, the sky won't fall."
Jiang Jianhua took the cloth, suddenly smiled, but tears welled up in his eyes: "How can we really cover the swill bucket? If word gets out, it will look like our Fu family is bullying people."
“When dealing with bullies, there’s no need to be polite.” Yun Tangyin added firewood to the stove, and the flames rose again, warming their faces. “But if you can’t bring yourself to do it, you can call me.”
Looking at Yun Tangyin like this, Jiang Jianhua suddenly felt like crying.
Actually... compared to that mad dog-like Xu Runli, Yun Tangyin does look much more amiable.
As long as she doesn't cause trouble, we can live a good life together.
As they were talking, Song Yushuang walked in, supporting herself on the doorframe. Looking at the mess on the floor, she didn't ask why, only saying, "The porridge in the pot should be thick by now. If Runli hasn't eaten, tell her..."
"Mom, she's gone." Yun Tangyin interrupted her, her voice softening. "She was just playing around with my second sister-in-law and accidentally knocked over the swill bucket. We'll clean it up now."
Song Yushuang looked at the red marks on her arm, then at Jiang Jianhua's bloodshot eyes, and didn't ask any more questions. She just turned around and went back into the house to get a bottle of badger oil: "Apply this to your skin, so it won't leave a scar."
Yun Tangyin took the badger oil, and as her fingertips touched the warmth of the bottle, she suddenly felt all the anger she had felt earlier dissipate. She squeezed some out for Jiang Jianhua as well: "Apply it to the spot where you bumped into the door frame."
Jiang Jianhua applied badger oil to her wrist; the cool oil made her shiver when it touched the reddened area.
Looking at the red mark on Yun Tangyin's arm, like a bloodline drawn from fingernails, she suddenly remembered Xu Runli's aggressive behavior just now, and the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.
"Do you think she might really come for revenge?" Jiang Jianhua's voice was trembling. "She just said, 'Even if I'm not having a good time, I won't let you have one either.' That's terrifying."
Yun Tangyin was wiping the black mud off the stove with a cloth when she heard this and scoffed: "How can she retaliate? Go to the regimental headquarters and make up lies? Or poison the Fu family's water tank? The political commissar won't believe the former, and she doesn't have the guts for the latter. If she dares to break the law, she'll be the first one tied up and sent to a labor camp."
She threw the dirty rag into the slop bucket, her silver bracelet jingling in the morning light: "As for you, don't associate with her privately anymore. Yesterday she slipped you a letter of complaint, and you helped tear it up. Today she came to cause trouble, and you hid on the side. If this continues, she'll sell you out, and you'll still be helping her count the money."
Jiang Jianhua's face flushed red, and he muttered, clutching the hem of his clothes, "I just feel... after all, she is Zhicheng's wife, and it wouldn't look good if things turned sour."
"Can being pretty put food on the table?" Yun Tangyin picked up a spatula and scraped the bottom of the pot. "This time, when Xu Runli caused trouble at the Fu family, I didn't take the IOU to Jiang Zhicheng, which was to save face for you. But face is something you have to earn yourself, not rely on others to give it to you."
Upon hearing this, Yu Xia chimed in, "Yinyin is right! I just saw Jiang Zhicheng smoking in the courtyard. He had just arrived and hadn't even gone inside when he had a long face. I bet he knew his wife was making a scene here. This is what you call reaping what you sow."
Yun Tangyin raised an eyebrow: "Jiang Zhicheng is here?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com