As soon as Yun Tangyin finished speaking, heavy footsteps came from the courtyard gate. Jiang Zhicheng's figure blocked the door frame, his military green work pants covered in dust.
He didn't look at Yun Tangyin, his gaze fixed on Jiang Jianhua, his voice as cold as ice: "Sister, where's Runli?"
Jiang Jianhua was startled by the ferocity in his eyes and took a half step back, clutching the hem of her clothes and stammering, "She...she just ran out..."
"She ran away?" Jiang Zhicheng suddenly raised his voice. "She caused such a scene at the Fu family's house, and you just let her get away? Are you dead?!"
Yun Tangyin originally didn't intend to pay any attention to him, but she couldn't stand it when this person dared to act disrespectfully on the Fu family's territory.
He slammed the spatula onto the stove, sparks flying: "What do you mean by that? Xu Runli caused trouble at the Fu family's house, and you're blaming the Fu family?"
“I don’t blame her.” Jiang Zhicheng turned his head, his eyes bloodshot like spider webs. “But Runli is my wife after all. Can’t you all be a little more accommodating to her?”
"Let her have her way?" Yun Tangyin laughed, her laughter laced with icy coldness. "Let her stuff complaint letters into the suggestion box? Let her instigate her second sister-in-law to alter the accounts? Or let her turn the Fu family upside down? Jiang Zhicheng, have you lost your mind?"
Jiang Zhicheng's face turned a deep purplish-red, and his knuckles turned white: "Runli isn't that kind of person! She just... just wanted to vent her frustrations. You're all relatives, so what's wrong with giving a young girl some leeway?"
"Feeling resentful can lead to harming others?" Yun Tangyin laughed angrily. "She was even planning to write a letter of complaint to push the Fu family into a fire pit, and that's considered feeling resentful?"
Jiang Zhicheng's Adam's apple bobbed, but he didn't reply.
Suddenly, Xu Runli's cries rang out from outside the courtyard: "Zhicheng! You're finally here! Yun Tangyin hit me! And threatened me!"
She stumbled into the kitchen, the back of her cloth jacket still bearing the marks of a spatula, her hair streaked with straw. Seeing Jiang Zhicheng, she lunged at him, her fingernails almost digging into his arm: "She also said she'd make sure you couldn't stay in the Northeast! She said the Fu family was going to ruin us!"
Jiang Zhicheng's face instantly darkened, and his gaze towards Yun Tangyin was venomous: "You said that?"
“I said it.” Yun Tangyin met his gaze, toying with the shovel in her hand. “Not only will I destroy her, but I will also show you that the good wife you’re protecting has a complaint letter that’s written on Fu Yucheng’s name and is accusing the Fu family.
Jiang Zhicheng's pupils contracted sharply, and he shoved Xu Runli away abruptly: "You wrote a report? A report against the Fu family?"
Xu Runli was pushed and slammed against the door frame, her old back injury throbbing painfully. She glared at Jiang Zhicheng, her neck stiff as she screamed, "I didn't write it! Yun Tangyin framed me! She just can't stand to see us doing well!"
“I saw it with my own eyes.” Yun Tangyin added some firewood to the stove, and the flames leaped up. “Just last night, my second sister-in-law was there too. Ask her if she will still protect you now?”
Xu Runli's face turned pale instantly, and her lips trembled as she couldn't speak.
Seeing her like this, Jiang Zhicheng understood immediately. He suddenly raised his hand and slapped Xu Runli across the face.
With a crisp "snap," the kitchen fell silent instantly.
Xu Runli covered her face, looking at Jiang Zhicheng in disbelief: "You hit me?"
"That's exactly what I'm going to do!" Jiang Zhicheng's voice trembled, whether from anger or pain, it was hard to tell. "How many times have I told you not to cause trouble! You just keep courting disaster!"
Xu Runli suddenly lunged at Jiang Zhicheng like a madwoman, scratching and biting him: "You're helping outsiders beat me up? Jiang Zhicheng, you have no conscience! I only married you because you said you'd treat me well for the rest of your life! And now you think I'm a disgrace?"
Jiang Zhicheng gripped her wrist with such force that it felt like he could crush her bones: "When you were putting the letter in the suggestion box, didn't you think about how it would implicate me?"
He dragged Xu Runli out, her heels scraping against the ground. She turned and glared at Jiang Jianhua, her eyes blazing with hatred: "You just watched me get bullied? Have you forgotten what I told you?!"
Jiang Jianhua opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but was coldly interrupted by Jiang Zhicheng: "Sister, don't pretend to be a good person! Runli told me that she came to you to discuss something, and you agreed to it in person, but then you turned around and told Yun Tangyin. Is this how you treat relatives?"
Jiang Jianhua's face flushed instantly: "I didn't! I just... I just felt that writing a whistleblower letter was wrong..."
"Can't do it?" Jiang Zhicheng sneered, gripping Xu Runli's hand even tighter. "She's your sister-in-law! Even if she's wrong, you should protect her! But now you're helping outsiders kick her while she's being beaten. Jiang Jianhua, you've wasted your life!"
Yun Tangyin slammed the shovel to the ground, sparks flying to Jiang Zhicheng's feet: "Jiang Zhicheng, are you trying to get yourself killed? You think you can just watch her jump into the fire without stopping her? If that's what you call a relative? If that's what you think, the Fu family will never acknowledge you as their relative again!"
Jiang Zhicheng paused, but didn't turn around. His voice grew even colder: "Fine, we won't admit it! The Fu family has high standards; our Jiang family can't afford to offend them!"
He dragged the sobbing Xu Runli out of the Fu family compound. Xu Runli's cries echoed in the alley: "Jiang Zhicheng, let me go! I'm going to fight Yun Tangyin to the death! I'll make her suffer a terrible death!"
Only after the two figures disappeared at the alley entrance did Jiang Jianhua cover his face and squat on the ground, his shoulders shaking like leaves in the autumn wind.
Yu Xia, watching from the side, sighed, "What kind of mess is this... My good intentions have been taken for granted. I should have stopped him from coming in earlier."
Yun Tangyin put the shovel back on the stove and handed Jiang Jianhua a cloth: "Why are you crying? You seem to regret losing your brother and sister-in-law?"
"Regret?" Jiang Jianhua looked up, tears mixed with grievance in his eyes. "He just said I've lived in vain... I kindly advised Runli not to make a mistake, how did that make me help an outsider?"
“Because he’s stupid.” Yun Tangyin added water to the pot, stirring the water with a wooden spoon. “Xu Runli had him completely under her thumb, and he thought the whole world should be like him, mistaking stupidity for affection and wickedness for grievance.”
She put the lid on the pot, and steam quickly escaped from the crack, covering Jiang Jianhua's face with a layer of moisture: "Remember this, if he comes to the Fu family again, either bring something to apologize, or don't let him in. The Fu family doesn't raise ungrateful wretches, and we certainly don't serve those who can't understand reason."
Yun Tangyin is the housekeeper, and the weight of her words is self-evident.
Jiang Jianhua gripped the cloth and suddenly wiped his face hard: "I understand."
As evening fell, Fu Yucheng returned and heard about the incident. He pulled Yun Tangyin into the courtyard, his brows furrowed like knots: "Did someone bully you?"
"I didn't manage to bully her." Yun Tangyin leaned against him, smelling the soap scent on him. "I even hit Xu Runli."
Fu Yucheng paused for a moment, then smiled: "That's fine then."
Yun Tangyin looked up at him: "Are you blaming me for fighting with her?"
"It's not that I blame you, it's that I'm afraid you'll be wronged because you've never been beaten before." Fu Yucheng flicked her nose. "This kind of person won't turn back until he hits a brick wall. When he comes begging at the Fu family's door, he'll know how stupid he was today."
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