After all, one shouldn't hit someone who's smiling. The Wang family has already taken the blame upon themselves, and if they were to be too petty, it would only make them seem small-minded.
Wang felt uneasy ever since she returned. After being mercilessly scolded and beaten by her own mother, she didn't even dare to lift her head. She had been doing well, but then she made a terrible mistake and felt so depressed that she wanted to cry.
With red eyes, she looked at the people around her, but didn't dare to make a sound.
“My dear mother-in-law,” Wang said earnestly, “being a daughter-in-law is different from being a daughter. A mother-in-law cannot treat her daughter-in-law as her own mother. She should discipline and scold her as needed, and she cannot spoil her daughter-in-law.”
"Hmm?" Jiang Nuan felt a strange sensation. "Uh..."
Is this really her biological mother?
Seeing this, the Queen Mother sighed deeply, "You're just too kind-hearted, which is why my girl has gone too far. She's a fickle person; the nicer you are to her, the more arrogant she becomes. You have to keep a close eye on her from time to time to keep things stable."
"ah……"
"A mother-in-law should maintain her authority. If she's too soft and lacks authority, her daughter-in-law will take advantage of her. If she causes trouble, she should be sent back to her parents' home. Let's see if she dares to cause any more trouble then."
"That makes sense!"
"Also, the power of housekeeping must be firmly in our own hands. Young people are inherently arrogant. If we let them have no restraint, who knows what they will become."
"well……"
“A married daughter is like water spilled from a cup. My girl has made a mistake. Don’t worry about the Wang family’s reputation. Set rules where necessary. Like this time, she must be punished severely.”
"this?"
Jiang Nuan hesitated.
She wasn't sure if what the Queen Mother said was true or false.
After all, such an outgoing mother seems rather strange no matter how you look at it.
“We must teach her a lesson,” said Madam Wang, expressing her concerns. “I know Madam Qin has a good temper, but we absolutely cannot indulge her in this kind of thing. She dares to throw a tantrum before anything has even happened. When you get old, won’t you have to live under her thumb? By then, the Wang family’s reputation will be ruined.”
The Huang family is wealthy, so they don't have to worry about having a good reputation. Girls are vying to marry into their family. The Wang family, on the other hand, doesn't have that kind of wealth, so they can only focus on building a good reputation and marrying girls with good temperaments.
They can just throw their own daughters away and walk away, but they can't do that; they still have to live their lives.
"I see."
Jiang Nuan lowered her eyes and reflected on herself.
Even a mother wouldn't dare to spoil her daughter, isn't she going too far?
I've decided that I will no longer cook and will only focus on my own affairs.
“A young wife should act like a wife,” Wang’s mother said earnestly. “Mothers-in-law, you must not spoil them like daughters, or you will spoil them and cause trouble for yourselves.”
"Hmm," Jiang Nuan hummed softly.
After speaking for a while, emphasizing that she should severely punish her daughter, Wang's mother rushed home before dark.
The two did not hide their conversation from Madam Xie and Madam Jin.
Although they were not happy, they felt better when they saw Wang's pale face.
“My aunt-in-law is right,” Xie said sarcastically. “Some people just can’t be treated too well.”
"Second sister-in-law, I never thought it would turn out like this."
"Whether it's fake or not, you've already done it and you still say you didn't think about it," Xie said, utterly despising Wang's hypocrisy. "It's fortunate that your family is reasonable. If it were a shameless person helping you seek justice, we would be disgusted!"
If I had known, I would have just pretended not to see it when I realized this person was being pretentious.
Some people get more and more carried away by praise, but if no one pays attention, they'll wilt in no time.
“Sister-in-law,” Jin said indignantly, “no one in the family owes you anything, so don’t always think we’re bullying you.”
“Ignore her,” Xie said, pulling Jin’s hand. “Even if she’s being bullied, it’s her own fault, she deserves it.”
Xie's words were merciless, making Wang blush with embarrassment. She bit her lip but dared not speak.
"Alright," Jiang Nuan waved her hand, "I don't blame you for being mean to Meiyu; I understand that you're upset, and I feel sorry for you because you're so young. I've suppressed the whole family's dissatisfaction with you and even had the eldest son coax you. But you went straight back to your parents' home without even discussing it. What, do you think the Huang family can't tolerate you?"
“No,” Wang said, trembling. “I didn’t mean that. It’s just that I haven’t been back for too long.”
"What nonsense! Didn't you just go back last month?" Xie scoffed. "Other people are lucky if they go back twice a year, and you think a month is a long time?"
Upon hearing this, Wang lowered her head, her face pale.
"They say once is enough, twice is bad enough, but three times is not," Jiang Nuan said directly. "If I don't punish you today, how will I manage others if they follow suit?"
“Mother,” Xie immediately replied, “I would never do that.”
"Yes, I believe you," Jiang Nuan continued after reassuring Xie Shi. "I once had high hopes for you and groomed you to be the head of the household. It's obvious you can't live up to that. Organize the accounts, and from now on, the three of you sisters-in-law will manage the household together!"
Upon hearing this, Wang was horrified but dared not utter a single word in rebuttal.
With no support from her family and no one at home to care for her, she is now all alone and helpless.
But this matter is not so easy to end. "Da Niu and Er Niu are old enough to start their studies. It is no longer appropriate for them to hang out in the inner quarters. There is no benefit in it. From now on, they will follow their master to study."
She was genuinely worried that seeing her own mother's resentful demeanor too much would influence her child.
"Mother, could you..."
Before Wang could finish speaking, Jiang Nuan shot her a sharp look, and she immediately fell silent.
"Finally, I'll deduct six months' worth of your monthly allowance as a penalty." After saying that, Jiang Nuan picked up her tea. "If you have any objections, speak up now. If not, you can go back now."
Upon hearing this, Madam Wang respectfully replied, "I will follow Mother's arrangements."
After saying this, he left with a pale face and hesitant steps.
"What do you think she's after?" Madam Xie couldn't help but shake her head. "Her management power has been divided, her monthly allowance has been deducted, and even Mother has lost heart towards her."
The price of being pretentious is far too high.
“I had planned to give the housekeeping authority to you two long ago,” Jiang Nuan explained. “Your older brother performed well before and did have the responsibility of a head of the family. It would have been right for me to hand it over to your sister-in-law. But later I found that she wasn’t magnanimous enough, and I haven’t found a suitable opportunity to bring it up.”
“Mother,” Jin whispered her discovery, “before, when the family did nothing, my sister-in-law felt that we were bullying her. But when we punished her like this, she didn’t make a fuss.”
He remained calm, and there was no sign of complaint.
"Is she really that fragile?" Madam Xie wiped non-existent sweat from her forehead. "That's true. Back then, Mother had such a bad temper and would beat and scold people at the drop of a hat, but she never seemed to feel wronged."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Nuan asked hesitantly, "Did I used to have a very bad temper?"
"No, not at all," Xie said, realizing she had misspoke, wishing she could slap herself. "Only a little bit."
As he spoke, he deliberately gestured with his fingernail.
Fearing her mother-in-law would blame herself, she added, "It's really nothing. Back then, my mother was too weak and didn't have the strength to hit people. It was just a little bruise. Even without medicine, it would disappear in two or three days and wouldn't affect her work."
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