Chapter 38 - 38: This Move is Cruel
Chapter 38: This Move is Cruel
Translator: 549690339
The pace was incredibly fast, just like that, she left, went back to her mother’s family? Watching this scene, Su Wenyue thought it was even more exciting than watching a play. Mrs. Wang, though she liked to sow discord on normal days, was always the kind to smile while hiding a knife. The more gentle her words, the more one should beware. Today, for some reason, she dared to talk back to the mother-in-law, and the mother-in-law’s temper was so explosive—why would she splash tea on someone’s face? With this much drama, Su Wenyue admitted she was relishing in others’ misfortunes, but wasn’t it so satisfying to watch?
“Old lady, don’t be so angry. That Third Child’s family is getting out of hand. Letting her go back to her mother’s house to reflect for a few days might be good. Whenever she realizes her wrongs, have the Third Child go and bring her back.” Old Man Han was never fond of this backstabbing daughter-in-law of his third son, and now that Mrs. Wang had upset Mrs. Yang to this degree, Old Man Han naturally stood on Mrs. Yang’s side.
“Father, with the strong sun right now and Wang Family Village so far away, my wife has always been delicate, how can she travel that far? Maybe I should take her there in the ox cart?” As for the men of the Han family, they were rather caring towards their daughters-in-law. Han Lin wasn’t great in other aspects, but he was good to his wife. He had already believed his wife was in the right, so now he was even less willing to let her go.
“Alright, you go then,” Old Man Han said, tapping his pipe.
Mrs. Yang glared at Old Man Han, her chest hurting with frustration at her son’s siding with his wife. Just as she was about to speak, she heard Old Man Han say, “Once she’s gone, she doesn’t have to come back. You’re so concerned about your wife, huh? Well, if you don’t care that your mother is this upset, then you might as well just go live at your wife’s family’s house and never come back. ”
Old Man Han’s casually spoken sentence was more effective than many angry words from Mrs. Yang. The old man was throwing his son out—an extreme measure indeed. It’s not without reason that people say Han Lin is good for nothing. It’s not that Mrs. Yang underestimated him; Han Lin was simply spineless and incapable, a lazybones who relied on the family to get where he was today. If not for the family, he wouldn’t even be able to support a household. No wonder people looked down on him. With just a threat from Old Man Han, Han Lin’s steps faltered and he sheepishly returned to his seat, sitting down obediently.
Mrs. Yang’s disdain for him grew even more—how could she have given birth to such a son, one seemingly destined to anger her.
Su Wenyue had little respect for someone like Han Lin, considering both husband and wife to be as good as snakes and rats—not good creatures, spineless and unfilial. She was thankful her own husband wasn’t like that; otherwise, she’d be absolutely miserable. Even the man from her previous life, though heartless and flirtatious towards her, was still a figure of great ambition, a true personality. With that thought, Su Wenyue turned to look at Han Yu, only to find that he seemed to be looking at her as well, with a fleeting smile on his face.
Huh? Su Wenyue almost thought she saw wrongly, glancing a few more times at Han Yu, only to see him sitting there expressionless. She really must have been mistaken.
Seeing Su Wenyue like this, Han Yu couldn’t help but find it amusing. When no one was paying attention, he allowed a trace of a smile to form at the corner of his mouth. Now Su Wenyue felt really uneasy—it wasn’t her imagination.
Seeing Han Yu like this, it was clear he had a hand in this affair. Was he subtly taking her side? Everything had been developing just as she predicted; it must have been this man’s doing behind the scenes.
With Han Lin setting such a negative example, Han Yu’s allure as a man seemed exceptionally strong, making Su Wenyue feel incredibly touched and content. The more she looked at Han Yu, the more she felt he was a really good man—not only was he handsome, but he also seemed to care about her, had potential, and was destined to one day become the second most powerful person in the kingdom, the Prime Minister. She needed to get a firm hold on him, to win over Han Yu’s heart. Later on, she could be the distinguished wife of a royal, a royal wife. The days ahead looked promising.
“Mother, don’t be angry anymore. Just ignore those idle gossips in the village. Given time, they will naturally dissipate. Which family doesn’t have such rumors about them, especially when our family’s days are getting better and better? They are jealous of us. It’s inevitable that some will slander us behind our backs. It we get angry, we’re just falling tor their tricks.”
Even though Su Wenyue was secretly pleased, she still had to play the role of a good, caring, and filial daughter-in-law. Thus, she quickly tried to console her mother-in-law. Han Yu watched with growing mirth in his eyes—this girl was quite good at currying favor with her mother-in-law. But Su Wenyue’s ability to do so wasn’t without his influence—if it weren’t for him, she wouldn’t need to humble herself before her mother-in-law given her background.
Forget the notion that a daughter-in-law should be filial to her mother-in-law. That only applies when the families are equal. The Su family and the Han family were distinctly unequal; the Su family could easily manipulate the Han family if they wished. Su Wenyue still managed to act like any ordinary daughter-in-law, which impressed Han Yu. He appreciated it— his wife was performing better and better, and it didn’t hurt for a man to use his intelligence on these trivial female matters, even if it was a waste of his talent.
“You, you just take things too lightly,” the mother-in-law said. “You have no idea what Mrs. Wang has been saying about you in the village. I can’t help but be angry when I hear these rumors. Despite everything you’ve done, before you got married, you were a young rich lady, but since joining our family, you’ve conducted yourself with all the proper duties expected of a daughter-in-law, never looking down on our low-status civilian home. You’ve managed all your tasks without a single complaint and even took it upon yourself to begin educating Fu Bao. How many daughters-in-law can compare to that? I know all this very well in my heart.’
“Mother, I’m satisfied knowing you feel this way. Isn’t it better to have a big heart, to be open-minded? Living joyfully every day makes life more pleasant. Please don’t be angry; it bothers me as a daughter-in-law.”
“Ah, I’m not angry about them spreading rumors. It’s infuriating because of that Third Daughter-in-law. Outsiders can say what they will; it doesn’t matter. But as a Daughter-in-law of the Han family, to do such things against her own family, she shows no consideration for our household. How could I not be angry? Besides, making mistakes is one thing, but to even dare to talk back to me, her mother-in-law—how on earth did the Wang family raise their daughter!”
“Mother, the Third Sister-in-law probably just got carried away for a moment. Once she realizes her mistake, she will come back and apologize. Don’t be angry anymore, please.” Despite her dislike for Mrs. Wang, Su Wenyue still put in a good word for her, not wanting the mother-in-law to overthink and assume that she, Su Wenyue, had ill intentions and was deliberately trying to stir up trouble. That would be a significant loss for her. Besides, this incident was meant to be a blow to Mrs. Wang, a lesson, as there would be many more days to come.
Because of Mrs. Wang’s incident, the meal was eaten in an oppressive silence. After dinner, Su Wenyue hurried to clean up the kitchen and then rushed back to her room, pulling Han Yu aside. She urgently wanted to know exactly what happened, how Mrs. Wang ended up confronting the mother-in-law, and just how Han Yu managed to do it..