"Lord Zhu?"
"Zhu Jianqiang?"
Ma Qiumei stared at the messenger in disbelief.
My brother-in-law has been dead for over a year, hasn't he?
How come... he's still alive and holding an official position?
Ma Qiumei stood frozen in shock.
Zhu Dongxi was the first to come to his senses. He quickly nudged her arm and excitedly exclaimed, "Aunt Qiumei, he said Uncle Jianqiang has become an official!"
Everyone in Taoyuan Village knew that Zhu Jianqiang didn't like Liu Yingying when he was alive.
Moreover, now that he's an official, he's far beyond what a peasant woman like Liu could ever be worthy of.
Liu Yingying will definitely be divorced by the Zhu family and kicked out of Taoyuan Village!
"Yes, yes, Zhu Jianqiang is like my older brother, and I'm his sister-in-law..."
Ma Qiumei, with her head held high and a smile on her face, happily led the people to the Zhu family's old house.
Her smug and arrogant demeanor along the way made anyone who didn't know her think she had become an official!
The banquet at Liu Yingying's house was nearing its end, but everyone was still sitting together, roasting over the charcoal fire, eating melon seeds, and chatting about everyday things...
Liu Yingying led Zou Xiuzhi and the others to the kitchen to show them her newly developed chili sauce.
Liu Yingying took a jar from the cupboard and then a dozen or so small dishes, using a spoon to scoop out the chili sauce from the jar and hand it to everyone.
"Is this chili sauce?"
Zou Xiuzhi looked at the bluish-green sauce on the plate and asked questioningly.
Liu Yingying gave a mysterious smile; "You try it first..."
After taking a bite, Zou Xiuzhi's eyes immediately lit up, and she excitedly grabbed Liu Yingying's hand and pressed her for more information.
"Yingying, how did you make this sauce?"
"I feel it's different from Wenchang sauce, and also different from other chili sauces."
Liu Yingying smiled gently; "It's mainly made with the long green peppers from our farm, and I added some wood peppercorns that I picked from the mountains."
Zou Xiuzhi shook her head with a smile; "No, no, I don't have your skillful hands. Even if you told me, I still couldn't make it... Why don't you just share some with me? It smells so good."
"No problem, I'll pack a bottle for each of you to take back later!"
"Yingying, you're so wonderful!"
Zou Xiuzhi, Li Chunmei, and the others were so moved that they wanted to hug Liu Yingying…
Just then, Lin Cuicui and Zhao Di rushed in in a panic.
"Aunt Liu! Something's happened..." Lin Cuicui looked anxious, but didn't know where to begin.
Liu Yingying looked at her and asked with a light laugh, "What happened? Tell me slowly."
As she spoke, she noticed that Zhao Di's expression was off and that she kept her head down, not daring to look at her.
Lin Cuicui explained with a worried expression, "Just now, Yindi's mother and Zhu Dongxi brought Zhaodi's grandparents over!"
Zhu Yindi is the eldest daughter of Zhu Erqiang and Ma Qiumei.
Everyone was stunned upon hearing this, but Shi Sanmei was the first to react.
"Oh no! How could I have forgotten about that!"
Zou Xiuzhi and the others all looked at her. "What is it?"
Shi Sanmei glanced at Liu Yingying and said, "Back then, Ma Qiumei and Zhu Dongxi, mother and daughter, conspired with that charlatan to harm the Lady of Ning'an County. In the end, they failed miserably and ended up being imprisoned for several months. Judging by the days, they're just about to be released!"
Zou Xiuzhi scoffed at this; "If she doesn't learn her lesson after such a big fall, then she's asking for it, and no one can stop her."
Zou Xiuzhi did not believe that Ma Qiumei and her daughter Zhu Dongxi could do anything to Liu Yingying.
If they really had that ability, they wouldn't have put themselves in such a miserable state.
Liu Yingying led everyone downstairs, and seeing the smug faces of that family, she couldn't help but feel even more disgusted with them.
Ma Qiumei spoke up like a proud hen: "Sister-in-law, it's not that I, as your sister-in-law, like to criticize you, but what you did was really outrageous! After all, they are our parents-in-law. How could you not invite them to such a big event as your housewarming?"
Liu Yingying looked at her indifferently. In just a few months, Ma Qiumei seemed to have aged more than ten years. It seemed that life in prison was truly torturous.
"So, on your very first day out of prison, you're rushing over here to speak up for your in-laws?"
Before Ma Qiumei could speak, Liu Yingying added sarcastically, "We've been sisters-in-law for several years now, how come I never noticed you had this kind of filial piety before?"
Those around couldn't help but sneer at his words.
Who doesn't know Ma Qiumei in Taoyuan Village?
She won't do anything that isn't profitable!
Who knows what mischief they're plotting today...
If Liu Yingying had said this in the past, Ma Qiumei would have felt guilty, but today she had something to rely on.
"Sister-in-law, as a daughter-in-law, you disobey your parents-in-law in every way. If my brother-in-law finds out, he will divorce you!"
Ma Jinhua chimed in at the opportune moment, "That's right, that's right, my son won't let you get away with this!"
Liu Yingying frowned slightly, wondering what was wrong with these people today? They kept bringing up Zhu Jianqiang in every other sentence.
Can a dead person crawl out of the ground and accuse her of being disobedient and unfilial?
At this moment, Wang Dabing squeezed out of the crowd, pulled Liu Yingying aside, and whispered in her ear about seeing officials going to the Zhu family's old house that day.
After hearing this, Liu Yingying immediately had a guess in her mind.
Before Liu Yingying could figure out what to get them to talk about, Ma Jinhua spoke up first, "Liu, these days you've been taking advantage of my son's absence to act disrespectfully and lawlessly, humph! You must be very proud of not putting us two old people in your eyes, right?"
Liu Yingying sighed, "If that's how you think, there's nothing I can do."
Ma Jinhua choked for a moment, but quickly added, "But don't be too happy yet. Do you know why we came here today?"
Liu Yingying rolled her eyes, not wanting to talk to her anymore.
Ma Jinhua was very annoyed by her nonchalant attitude.
But it doesn't matter. When her son comes back, there will be plenty of ways to punish this wicked woman!
“Liu Shi, you are the daughter-in-law of the Zhu family. Everything you have belongs to the Zhu family, so I can come and go as I please in this courtyard!”
Ma Jinhua became more and more confident as she spoke, and in the end she even felt that this was the truth!
Shi Sanmei had a fiery temper, and seeing how shameless the old lady of the Zhu family was, she couldn't stand it anymore and directly confronted her.
"Look at what you're saying, old man. Yingying didn't stop you from coming in, did she?"
"Besides, you're already this old, how many more years can you live to be an eyesore to her? Others aren't that petty."
Ma Jinhua understood; this was a curse wishing her an early death. Just as she was about to retort, Ma Qiumei tugged at her sleeve.
"Mom, we don't need to argue with them now!"
Ma Jinhua immediately came to her senses. Yes, now she knew that her son was not dead and had even become a high-ranking official in the capital.
If that's the case, why should she still fear this wicked woman?
"Liu, do you think you're so smug because you can do whatever you want now that Jianqiang is gone?"
Liu Yingying ignored her.
Ma Jinhua smiled smugly and deliberately raised her voice.
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