Lu Yuan was sitting in the courtyard.
The house was a hive of activity, but it had no Underground Heating System and the main door was wide open.
It was actually warr to sit in the courtyard and soak up the sun.
Lu Yuan had just sat down, crossed his legs, and lit a cigarette when he saw Song iqin’s mother-in-law arrive.
Lu Yuan had sized her up from a distance a mont ago and could already tell that Song iqin’s mother-in-law was not an easy person to deal with—the type to nitpick and stir up trouble.
And now, it seed his assessnt was spot on.
Setting aside what might have happened before, Lu Yuan felt that family matters should, under any circumstances, remain private.
You should at least maintain so decorum in front of outsiders.
He and the others were outsiders, and there were so many servants around.
Behaving like this was truly improper.
The saying goes that a father should be kind and a son filial; the sa principle should apply to mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law.
But this mother-in-law was no pushover, and Song iqin, refusing to back down, imdiately shot back in a loud voice:
"I sprained my ankle! Don’t you know that?!"
In response to Song iqin’s sharp words, her mother-in-law imdiately scolded:
"Did you walk back then?!
Couldn’t your own family take care of you?
Did you have to stay in soone else’s house for almost two months?!"
And just like that, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law started arguing right in front of everyone.
The people who ca with the Zhao Family had never witnessed such a public argunt between a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.
They kept glancing over from ti to ti as they worked.
The Liu Family servants, however, were accustod to it. They didn’t even look up, just kept their heads down and worked.
This was soone else’s family affair. Never mind Lu Yuan, even Zhao Qiao’Er couldn’t get a word in and could only watch helplessly from the side.
The old woman argued for a while until she seed to run out of breath.
Finally, she glared at Song iqin and said:
"Don’t you get tough with !
Just because your younger brother beca a Vice General?
Let tell you!
It’s useless!
You’re a daughter-in-law of the Liu Family, which ans you answer to !!"
With that, the old woman stomped off in a huff.
Of course, Song iqin was in no better state. Her face was flushed, and she was so angry she was also having trouble catching her breath.
But she was still mindful of Lu Yuan and Su Liyan’s presence.
Song iqin approached Lu Yuan and Su Liyan, looking sowhat embarrassed, and said:
"I’m sorry you had to see that."
Su Liyan quickly stepped forward, took Song iqin’s arm, and said hurriedly:
"Aunt Song, what are you saying? We’re family. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about."
Zhao Qiao’Er did the sa, quickly putting an arm around her dear friend to comfort her.
"There’s nothing to be done when you’re stuck with a mother-in-law like that. Just try to bear with it."
That’s just how people are.
When you’re on your own, you can bottle up any amount of hurt you suffer out in the world.
But the mont you hear words of comfort from those closest to you, the tears burst forth like a broken dam, impossible to hold back.
With clear tears streaming down her face, Song iqin cried out in profound anguish:
"I thought that with outsiders here, she might show a little decency and not humiliate .
This was the one thing I was afraid of, this very scene!
But she still did it. She ca here deliberately to bully , to make a fool out of .
I’ve put up with her for almost twenty years. I’ve truly had enough."
Watching this unfold, Lu Yuan couldn’t help but sigh to himself.
’There’s really nothing that can be done about this.’
Lu Yuan couldn’t help much.
In ancient tis on Earth, with the exception of the Mongol Yuan dynasty, widows were allowed to remarry.
Especially in more liberal dynasties, it wasn’t a big deal at all.
However, during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, although widows could still remarry, the general social environnt and the officials didn’t really support it.
Take the famous Zhende Archway, for example.
If you were widowed before the age of thirty and remained chaste until after fifty, the Court would erect an archway in your honor.
The Court encouraged the building of these archways.
Of course, a woman from a common family might not care too much about this.
But Song iqin’s situation was special.
She was the daughter-in-law of an Inspector General, and her own father was a provincial Academic Administrator.
These were all Court officials.
If a woman from an ordinary family were bullied like this, especially after her husband had been dead for so many years, as long as she wasn’t unattractive or foolish, and her parents and family were still around, she would have long since returned to her maiden ho to await remarriage.
But could Song iqin go back?
Don’t forget, Song iqin’s father had knowingly pushed his own daughter into a pit of fire, fully aware that the Liu Family’s son was sickly.
Otherwise, Song iqin’s father would never have been promoted to Academic Administrator.
If Song iqin were to just pack up and go back to her maiden ho now, you could be a hundred percent certain that her father would absolutely not open the door for her.
Even if Song iqin froze to death on the street in the dead of winter, her father wouldn’t let her back in.
As for whether Song iqin could just remarry soone else... let’s not even talk about whether anyone would dare to have her.
First of all, would Song iqin’s family even agree?
If her family didn’t agree, wouldn’t Song iqin basically be branded as unchaste and unfilial?
What man would dare to marry a woman branded as unchaste and unfilial?
That would just be inviting the neighbors to gossip about him behind his back.
Besides, would that man’s parents agree?
Would they agree to their son bringing such an unchaste and unfilial woman into their ho?
...
They had a quick dinner.
Afterward, everyone prepared to rest.
They had been traveling all day, and on top of that, there was the earlier incident.
No one was in the mood to go for a stroll after eating.
Everything could wait until tomorrow.
That night, they slept in separate rooms. Of course, the only one separated from the main group was Song iqin.
The main house in the courtyard had been cleared out, ready for construction to begin tomorrow.
Lu Yuan, Su Liyan, and Zhao Qiao’Er were still staying in the East Wing.
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