Perhaps because Lady Zhang and Lian Manman were both there, it gave Lian Yeye an added courage.
"Mom, you’ve forgotten yourself, the soy sauce bowl was the one you took out when you went to search through the cabinet, and placed outside, not put away—it wasn’t my mother’s doing. I saw it from the doorway," Lian Yeye said loudly, her fists clenched, as she spoke the truth.
"What did you say?" Lady Zhou imdiately flew into a rage, her bottom sitting on the edge of the brick bed, one foot on the ground, her finger almost poking Lian Yeye’s face, "You little wretch, you’re getting worse and worse, now you’ve even learned to lie. You dare to pin the things you did on , is there no justice left?"
"I’m not lying," Lian Yeye retorted stubbornly.
"Yeye, stop talking," scared, Lady Zhao kept signaling Lian Yeye with her eyes, telling her to stop talking.
Lian Yeye had a belly full of words she’s been holding back, now with a rare chance and the courage to speak out, no one could stop her.
"...My mother works from dawn to dusk, doing chores she shouldn’t have been doing, but when she’s told to do them, she doesn’t utter a word and just gets on with it.... At al tis, my mother dares not even pick vegetables from the dish. If she picks up one extra chopstickful, you glare at her, afterwards chastising us for being gluttonous and shaless. Over the years, my mother has never had a full al and has fallen ill because of it..." Lian Yeye, speaking increasingly tearfully, painted a truly pitiful picture.
"Yeye," Lady Zhao also started crying, attempting to pull Lian Yeye back several tis to prevent her from continuing, but Lian Yeye twisted away from her grasp.
"Mom, must we accept injustice for the rest of our lives? If I don’t speak out now, I will suffocate," Lian Yeye sobbed.
Everything Lian Yeye said contained not a single lie, which caused Lady Zhou’s face to alternate rapidly between red and white, though it was unclear whether it was from sha or anger.
"Mom, what’s going on?" Zhizhi and Lian Shouli ca back from working outside and, upon hearing the commotion inside, imdiately entered to inquire.
Upon seeing Lian Shouli, Lady Zhou slapped her palm.
"Old Three, you’ve co back just in ti. Look at your wonderful wife and the good daughter you’ve raised. They want to devour ," Lady Zhou declared, "Now that you’re back, are you going to join them in devouring too?"
"Mom, what is..." Lian Shouli, even more honest and tongue-tied than Lian Shouxin, especially in front of Lady Zhou, had practically never said a word of dissent.
"Dad, it was Grandma who put the soy sauce bowl on the outside of the cabinet, but she said it was my mom and started scolding her," Lian Yeye explained through her tears.
Lady Zhou’s face instantly darkened.
"You wretched girl, how dare you fra ? Don’t I know whether I put it there or not?" Lady Zhou scolded, eyeing Lady Zhao signaling Lian Yeye not to talk. To her, it looked all too much like Lady Zhao was playing the virtuous card in public while teaching her child to confront her in secret.
Arguing with a young girl was beneath her; it would only lead to being the talk of the town and the object of ridicule.
Lady Zhou quickly grasped this principle and imdiately turned her guns back on Lady Zhao.
"Oh Heavens, are you blind? I’ve lived to this ripe age, raised my child from nothing, yet when he takes a wife, it all changes. Not one of them makes worry any less, they probably can’t wait for to die so they could have so peace..."
Lian Manman was sowhat speechless at all this. Just as Lady Zhang was about to speak up, Lian Manman quickly pulled her back. Lady Zhou was not one to reason with, and Lady Zhang’s interjection would not only fail to resolve the situation but would likely make things worse. Lian Manman knew she should not have let Lady Zhang co.
"Mom, I, I..." Lian Shouli, anxious and wringing his hands, turned to Lady Zhao and said, "What exactly happened, you apologize to Mom."
"Mom, it was my fault," Lady Zhao imdiately responded, "Mom, I will throw away that bowl of sauce and fry up a fresh one right now."
"What, do you think you’re so rich family that can just throw away a bowl of sauce like that?" Lady Zhou, seeing Lian Shouli and Lady Zhao acting like this, beca even more unyielding.
"Mom, it’s just a bowl of sauce, I, for all these years, it’s not even worth..." Lady Zhao tried to express that all her years of hard work were not even valued as much as a bowl of sauce.
"Yes, Mom, Sister-in-law has been laboring for years without complaint or rit. Mom, can’t you let this go, is a bowl of sauce really worth it?" Lady Zhang could not help but interject.
Lady Zhou glared fiercely at Lady Zhang; she was already upset because Lady Zhao had helped Lady Zhang, and now seeing Lady Zhang speaking for Lady Zhao only fanned the flas of her anger.
"All these years, you also have the nerve to speak. You’re like a hen that eats but lays no eggs; you even talk of credits and hardships. Only the Old Lian Family still tolerates you. In any other household, they would have chased you out long ago."
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