Mu Wanting wanted to laugh: "If I give it to the government officials, they might at least think of taking care of us on the road. But if I give it to some relatives, it's probably going to end up in the dog's belly and never come back."
These words were quite impolite, and Madam Shen's expression immediately changed.
"How dare you! Mu family, is this how you speak to your elders?"
Mu Wanting smiled and said, "In my heart, only those who are good to me can be called my elders. As for those who try to exploit me as soon as I marry into the family, I'm sorry, I really can't get close to them."
As soon as she said this, Old Madam Shen's face turned pale and then red. She wanted to say more, but Madam Shen looked distressed.
"Mother, please say less. Wan Ting has already had a hard and frustrating journey. If you really feel sorry for the second son's family, why don't you think of a solution yourself?"
"There's only so much food, there's nothing we can do about it."
Upon hearing this, Madam Shen's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot.
"Third brother's wife, how can you be so insensible!"
Mother Shen was too lazy to say anything more and left the tent with the people from the three households.
A short while later, Madam Shen also left the tent, but there was a bulge under her clothes.
Mu Wanting understood almost instantly.
They led their men to follow Madam Shen, and then followed her all the way to the second house. There, they saw Madam Shen take out a large bag of white rice, along with some meat and vegetables.
"Second brother, eat quickly."
Shen Lijun ate until he was completely full, and then gave the rest of the food to his fourth concubine.
They had some left over, but fearing the third wife would find out, they threw them away far away.
Mu Wanting and the people from the third branch of the family all changed their expressions. No wonder they felt that the food they had been eating recently didn't match up.
They themselves were reluctant to eat it, but in the end it all ended up in the second son's stomach, what a waste of food.
The mother trembled with cold.
"Mother, Second Brother, you've gone too far! How can you steal food like this? We worked so hard to get this food, and you're just wasting it like this."
Madam Shen also felt a little guilty.
"This...isn't it because you're not feeding the second child? I'm his mother, I can't just watch him starve to death, can I?"
Mu Wanting scoffed, "Yes, but we're not his mother. If you want to feed him, you should find the ingredients yourself, instead of secretly taking our food to do favors."
The officials were also drawn by the commotion and came over. When they saw the discarded grain, they felt a pang of regret.
Some of the convicts saw the food and started looting it.
Ma Dazhuang spoke.
"Taking something without asking is considered stealing. Madam Shen, Shen Lijun, what are you going to do about it?"
Shen Lijun rolled his eyes, but didn't say anything. He just looked at Old Madam Shen.
Madam Shen spoke.
"This food is just what the third branch of the family left over. There's nothing wrong with me giving it to him. Besides, I'm also considered a member of the third branch of the family."
Mu Wanting's voice drifted over.
"Grandma, have you forgotten that we have already separated the family? Strictly speaking, you chose the second wife back then, but everyone just takes turns supporting you."
Upon hearing this, Madam Shen's face darkened.
"What elders say is none of your business."
Mu Wanting raised an eyebrow: "Strictly speaking, as a granddaughter-in-law, I really shouldn't be doing so much. But Grandma, have you forgotten that I was the one who brought out the food?"
Upon hearing this, Madam Shen's face turned ashen.
Mother Shen held Mu Wanting's hand, offering silent comfort.
"Mother, what you're doing is really going too far."
Ma Dazhuang said, "Shen Lijun should compensate Mu Wanting for whatever amount of food he ate."
Shen Yujiao spoke.
“The food is less at every meal, and Fourth Aunt and her family are also eating there. There are at least five meals that need to be compensated. So let’s compensate fifty taels of silver.”
Shen Lijun's eyes widened: "Don't even think about it."
Mu Wanting scoffed, "In my opinion, fifty taels of silver is too little. It would be better if Second Uncle compensated us with one hundred taels."
The price had doubled so easily, which naturally displeased Shen Lijun.
In the end, it was only after the fourth concubine coaxed Shen Lijun that he finally took out fifty taels of silver.
Madam Shen glared at Mu Wanting with hatred.
"It is truly a misfortune for the Shen family to have such a granddaughter-in-law who has no sense of family."
Shen Xinglan took Mu Wanting's arm around her waist: "Grandma's words are untrue. I think it's my greatest fortune to be able to marry her."
Looking at him tenderly, Mu Wanting felt that her efforts had not been in vain.
The other members of the third branch of the family also sided with Mu Wanting.
"Wanting is my most satisfying daughter-in-law."
“She’s a good sister-in-law. If it weren’t for her, I would have been poisoned to death by my second aunt long ago.”
"Without her, Qin'er and I would probably have died on Liufang Road long ago."
"Without my sister-in-law, I would have been humiliated by the soldiers long ago."
"Wanting is a great guy. Without her, we really wouldn't have come this far."
Praises rose and fell, while Old Madam Shen's face turned pale with anger, as if she had been slapped repeatedly across the face.
She was so angry that she slammed her cane on her hand and went back to her tent.
Seeing the old lady's expression, Shen Yujiao couldn't help but purse her lips.
"On the one hand, he dislikes his sister-in-law, but on the other hand, he uses her things. It's really..."
After all, they were elders, so she couldn't say anything too harsh.
They had no choice but to take this road; the yellow sand was burying them, and staying here would be a slow death. After thinking for a moment, Mu Wanting went to find Ma Dazhuang.
"We're heading northwest. Based on yesterday's celestial observations and the direction of the sun, I have a general idea of our location, but it might not be the same route we took before."
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
