Su Yujiao continued to persuade her, "Mother, you are too kind-hearted, so you think everyone is too kind."
"Not every mother-in-law in this world is willing to be good to her daughter-in-law."
"You don't even trust Mo Feng and Mo Ying's skills? It's a waste of their talents to have them investigate such a trivial matter."
Zhou nodded, "That's true. Ink books and ink paintings are the visible guards, while ink wind and ink shadows are the hidden guards."
Their abilities surpass those of calligraphy and painting; otherwise, they wouldn't have kept them hidden as their trump card.
"Go ahead, but be careful not to alert the Li family."
"Let's see how Miss Liu is doing in the Li family. Is she as loving as she says, with a harmonious relationship with her husband and mother-in-law?"
"yes."
After Mo Feng and Mo Ying left, Zhou couldn't help but grumble, "You're just too cautious. The kind of thing you described won't happen; they wouldn't dare."
"The Li family are just minor officials of the fourth rank. How dare they bully the apple of my General's mansion's eye?"
Su Yujiao didn't say anything. Her mother-in-law placed too much importance on family background and social standing, which was why she was so confident.
We might not discover anything tonight, because the Li family is very good at putting on a show, making it impossible for anyone to find fault.
In reality, they are a bunch of heartless bastards.
Mo Feng and Mo Ying didn't return until dawn. Zhou asked, "How was it? Did you find anything?"
Mo Feng shook his head. Zhou Shi glanced at Su Yujiao with a hint of smugness, her eyes seeming to say, "You're overthinking it."
The Li family dared not bully her daughter.
Su Yujiao asked, "Tell me in detail what you saw last night."
Mo Ying replied, "When I arrived, the Li family was having a meal. The sixth young lady was serving her parents-in-law their meal, and the son-in-law was not at home."
"How were you served?"
"He stood next to Mrs. Li the whole time, serving her food and carefully removing bones and thorns."
Upon hearing this, Zhou frowned. Logically, it was expected that a daughter-in-law should serve her mother-in-law, but it was only a symbolic act of picking up a piece of food with her chopsticks to show filial piety.
Another situation is that when a new daughter-in-law first enters the family, some mothers-in-law want to give her a hard time, so they make the daughter-in-law serve them the whole meal and deliberately put on airs.
"Don't they have servants? Why does Weiwei have to serve them meals?"
Mo Ying spoke up: "It was the Sixth Miss who forbade the maids from taking action."
Hearing that it was her daughter who volunteered to take care of her mother-in-law, Zhou felt both relieved and heartbroken.
The good thing is that my daughter wasn't given any difficulties, and she's very filial, which is great.
The sad thing is that even if a married woman finds a great husband's family, she can't enjoy the same happiness as when she was still at her parents' home.
Even though Weiwei is filial, she couldn't bear to treat her like that.
Su Yujiao then asked, "Didn't your sister-in-law sit down and eat anything while serving her parents-in-law the entire meal?"
"Sixth Miss ate in the kitchen with the servants."
"What?!" Zhou slammed her hand on the table, immediately losing her composure.
Mo Ying continued, "It seems that the eldest daughter-in-law of the Li family is pregnant. She felt nauseous halfway through the meal and complained that the dining room was too greasy, so Madam Li had the food removed."
"Sixth Miss can only eat a few bites quickly in the kitchen."
"This is outrageous! The Li family is going too far!"
Only then did Zhou realize that the Li family had many sons and grandsons, and more than one daughter-in-law. Why was it that with so many daughters-in-law, only her daughter was allowed to serve them?
"Didn't any of the other daughters-in-law in the Li family get up to say something?"
"Except for the pregnant one."
Mo Ying shook his head: "Everyone else took their seats on their own initiative, only the Sixth Miss helped Madam Li into the dining room, so she naturally stood next to Madam Li."
At this moment, Mo Feng suddenly interjected, "There seems to be only one empty seat at the table."
"If the son-in-law dine at home, wouldn't there be no place for Miss Liu?"
Thinking about it this way, Weiwei has been serving her in-laws meals for quite some time now. She can't be eating leftovers at the Li family's house all year round, can she?
She always waits until the whole family has finished eating before it's her turn to eat, so she ends up eating leftovers every single meal!
Zhou's face had turned ashen, and she was trembling with rage.
Su Yujiao continued, "What happened after you served your parents-in-law their meal, sister-in-law?"
"Afterwards, the sixth young lady was called in by Madam Li for a talk, and Madam Li kept praising the sixth young lady for being filial and sensible."
Su Yujiao frowned: "What did Madam Li say to my aunt? Why did she suddenly praise my aunt?"
"Madam Li said that the eighth daughter of the Li family is getting married, but Lord Li is an honest official and cannot give the eighth daughter a grand and respectable dowry. He is so worried that he can't sleep."
"The Sixth Miss gave her twelve jade hairpins to the Eighth Miss as part of her dowry, which earned her praise from Madam Li."
Madam Zhou was no longer calm. That set of twelve jade hairpins was a set of jewelry that she had commissioned for Weiwei at a high price. It was the most valuable and prestigious set among all her dowry items.
Moreover, it was bestowed in the name of the Empress, which was meant to tell the Li family that Weiwei had the Empress's backing.
How could she just give it away like that?
The Li family is so ignorant of etiquette. How can a daughter-in-law be expected to provide a dowry when she gets married?
"And then what?"
"After that, the sixth young lady helped Madam Li wash her feet and then rested in Madam Li's room."
Zhou Shiteng stood up abruptly: "She even washes her mother-in-law's feet?"
Her daughter, whom she raised, had never washed her feet, yet she went and washed her mother-in-law's feet.
What kind of life did Weiwei lead in the Li family?
The daughters-in-law of the Li family all come from humble backgrounds, except for Weiwei, who married down. Why does she live such a humble life?
Su Yujiao, however, grasped the key point: "What is my aunt doing resting in Madam Li's room?"
Mo Feng glanced at Zhou Shi's unpleasant expression and cautiously said, "Madam Li seems to be unwell. Miss Liu served her water six times and helped her get up three times during the night. She also tucked her in and added charcoal to the fire from time to time."
When Zhou heard this, she was heartbroken. It was no wonder that she would look haggard after taking care of someone night after night like this.
Enraged, Zhou slammed her teacup over the ground and shouted, "Are all the servants in the Li family dead? Why aren't they sending servants to serve us?"
"Why must it be my Weiwei who has to serve you?"
"The young lady has been bullied like this, and you two come back and say something's wrong?"
"What are you up to?"
"If Jiaojiao hadn't asked that question, were you planning to stay silent?"
The two men immediately knelt down: "Madam, please calm your anger. We deserve to die."
"Sixth Miss did all of this willingly; she was not bullied."
"From the beginning, Madam Li did not allow the Sixth Miss to do these things. It was the Sixth Miss who took the initiative to drive away those maids and insisted on serving them."
Zhou was heartbroken and tears streamed down her face. She knew why her daughter served her in-laws so well. It was because she felt guilty for not leaving an heir for the Li family and wanted to make up for it in other ways.
This silly girl, she really felt sorry for her.
Suddenly, Zhou grabbed Su Yujiao's hand: "Jiaojiao, you must help your sixth sister."
"She acts so subserviently because she hasn't had children."
Su Yujiao also felt sorry for her; the once sunny, cheerful, and lively girl had been worn down by life to this extent.
However, what Mo Feng and Mo Ying saw was not the truth; the truth was far more cruel and unbearable than it appeared on the surface.
This is also why she made a special trip; she couldn't bear to see such a good aunt be killed by a scumbag and a bitch.
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