What kind of temper does Xiao Yan have?
A typical rich girl from a farming family!
At home, she was spoiled by Old Madam Xiao. It was good enough that she didn't hit others, let alone endure being hit by others. Besides, she had ordered Tao Hua to serve her for so many days. She had long since regarded herself as a young mistress!
Especially after learning that Xiao Yi had become a general, she felt even more superior and couldn't stand this humiliation!
Seeing the red marks on his hands, burning with pain, he immediately flew into a rage, slamming down the bowl and chopsticks and yelling with his neck raised.
What are you doing! You won't let me eat!
"There's so much meat in the bowl, what's wrong with me taking a chicken leg? You're supposed to be a respectable family in town, can't you afford to support another new wife? Aren't you ashamed if word gets out?"
"Outrageous! Don't you have any manners? What kind of new bride doesn't serve her parents when she first enters the family, and even tries to steal a chicken leg from an eight-year-old child!"
"Doesn't she act like a proper wife?!"
"I took this chicken leg first. Why did he have to snatch it from me? I married into your family to be a young mistress, not a maid. What are maids for, serving you meals? Do they think they're the masters?"
Old Madam Cao was furious that Xiao Yan dared to talk back.
"Sharp-tongued! You talk to your mother like that even at your own home? You have no manners!"
“My mother would never hit me with chopsticks. But what do you Cao family mean by hitting me on my very first day here? Let me tell you, I’m not someone to be trifled with!”
"You, you..."
Seeing his mother trembling with anger, Cao Cheng'an stood up and slapped Xiao Yan across the face.
"You bitch! Who told you to talk back to my mother! You ill-mannered thing, apologize to my mother right now!"
Xiao Yan naturally knew that as a daughter-in-law, she had to be filial to her parents-in-law and take care of the whole family.
But she knew all too well what kind of life Li had lived before, and she knew exactly how she had bullied Li. So from the moment she married into the family, she made up her mind that she would not be a pushover and let others bully her.
But to his surprise, as soon as he showed his attitude, Cao Chengan slapped him under the table!
Cao Cheng'an had never seen such a disobedient and unfilial daughter-in-law who didn't know the rules. Even he himself didn't dare to confront his mother directly. He was so angry that he resorted to violence.
With one slap, half of Xiao Yan's face swelled up, and her ears were ringing!
Cao Bao'er, however, was laughing so hard when he saw his father beat Xiao Yan, even while eating a chicken leg.
"Dad, this wicked woman is making Grandma angry, bullying me, and stealing my chicken leg! I'll beat her to death!"
Seeing Cao Cheng'an's dark face and menacing gaze, Xiao Yan realized he was a completely different person from the sweet-talking man of last night. The Cao family watched coldly from the side, saying nothing. Suddenly, she felt a chill run down her spine, even forgetting to cry, and stammered...
"Let me tell you, my second brother is a great general. If you dare to kill me, he won't let you off when he gets back!"
Upon hearing this, Master Cao waved his hand at Cao Cheng'an.
“Take your wife back home. Considering she’s newly married, give her a day off. Starting tomorrow morning, she’ll learn manners from your mother.”
So, starting from the third day of her marriage, Xiao Yan began learning the proper etiquette.
Every morning, Xiao Yan would get up at the hour of Yin (3-5 AM) and wait outside Madam Cao's room to pay her respects. After the lamps were lit inside Madam Cao's room, she would go in to help Madam Cao get dressed and wash her face, and then serve her meals. After Madam Cao finished eating, she would be given a pipe to smoke, while Xiao Yan would massage her shoulders and legs.
She had no rest from morning till night, which was much harder than when she used to order Peach Blossom and Li Shi around!
In just one day, Xiao Yan's legs were swollen from standing, and she couldn't straighten her back. She had planned to go back to her room that night, complain to Cao Cheng'an, apologize, and then act cute to get rid of the daily task of serving his mother and teaching her manners.
But to her surprise, for several days in a row, Cao Cheng'an was either invited away by this concubine or by that concubine, and she couldn't see him at all!
Only then did she realize that Cao Cheng'an was not her husband alone! She cried bitterly all night.
As a result, I still had to go and serve Madam Cao the next day!
Her long-cherished wish of being served every day was indeed fulfilled; she did have a maidservant by her side, and a nanny in the courtyard. However, these two, besides watching her get up early, were also watching her to make sure she didn't slack off. They were like two spies, constantly reporting to Old Madam Cao that she had no proper posture, no proper sitting or standing, and that this was wrong and that was wrong.
So, Xiao Yan was given additional lessons in etiquette. If she didn't learn well, Old Madam Cao would whip her with a tree branch. Xiao Yan was both angry and exhausted, and she fell ill within a few days.
The Cao family also considered Xiao Yi and Xiao Yuanhang, after all, one was a general and the other a scholar. If Xiao Yantai hadn't been so incompetent, they wouldn't have wanted to take drastic measures against her. Now that she was ill, they couldn't force her any further and could only let her rest.
Xiao Yan could also see that the Cao family had reservations, so she simply pretended to be sick.
This act continued until Master Cao led his men to carry the half-dead Cao Cheng'an back.
Master Cao was already heartbroken that his son had been implicated and beaten to such a state.
He was already quite dissatisfied with Xiao Yuanhang, but then Old Madam Xiao and Old Man Xiao caused him trouble again at the entrance of Minxin Hall. They even shamelessly complained that he hadn't saved Xiao Yuanhang. In particular, the time Old Madam Xiao rammed him like a mad bull, his ribs still hurt when he breathes!
Upon returning and hearing that Xiao Yan was faking illness and disregarding etiquette, he became even more furious and uttered several curses.
"Getting involved with the Xiao family is the worst luck imaginable!"
When Madam Cao saw her son in such a state after his trip, she was heartbroken. Upon asking, she learned that Xiao Yuanhang had instigated him to go and harm someone, which was why he was beaten like this and even lost his eligibility to take the imperial examination! She was both angry and heartbroken, and angrily cursed Xiao Yuanhang for being inhuman, for tricking her son into being his stepping stone so that she could become a scholar.
When she saw Cao Cheng'an's injuries, her hatred for the Xiao family reached its peak. She said, "How could Xiao Yan be like that? It seems there isn't a single good person in the Xiao family. The younger sister is lazy, gluttonous, and mean-spirited. The older brother is a petty thief, greedy, and even dares to harm people. They are truly rotten to the core!"
When she finally heard that Xiao Yuanhang had been stripped of his scholar title, given sixty strokes of the cane, and was to be sent to a labor camp at Baihu Ridge, Old Madam Cao felt a little better.
But after being so badly wronged by the Xiao family, how could the Cao family possibly tolerate watching Xiao Yan every day? Besides, Xiao Yan is a troublemaker who is good for nothing, eats everything, and is always up to no good!
Moreover, Cao Cheng'an didn't necessarily need Xiao Yan, so the three of them discussed it and wrote a letter of divorce to Xiao Yan.
Xiao Yan was already furious from all the trouble. When she saw the letter of divorce from Old Madam Cao, she was even more defiant, telling Old Madam Cao to wait and see. She could find someone better than the Cao family no matter who she left!
Master Cao did not tell her about Xiao Yuanhang. Xiao Yan even regretted that she had arranged her engagement with the Cao family too early. If she had known earlier that Xiao Yi would become a general, who would have wanted Cao Cheng'an, who had lost his wife!
With great ambition and full of confidence, Xiao Yan planned to rely on Xiao Yi's status to find a son of an official, who would be a true young mistress. She thought that even a peasant girl like Xie Yushu lived a prosperous life after being divorced, and she, as the sister of a general, was living no better than Xie Yushu!
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