Chapter 24

“That’s right, we’ll report you!”

At this moment, Wang Dani was even more pleased with Tang Wan. Without any effort, she had driven Liu Lanhua to the point of near insanity.

Scholars really knew how to curse.

Li Cuihua echoed, “My husband and the third son are both children of martyrs. You’re cursing soldiers, that’s worth reporting.”

She was learning from the best. She hadn’t thought of such a clever move before, but now she realized that the third son’s wife wasn’t as useless as she thought.

“You…”

Liu Lanhua spat out a mouthful of blood after Wang Dani knocked out one of her teeth. “You all wait.”

She limped away, and Wang Dani looked worried. “Third son, you know how the old house people are. They might cause trouble at the banquet. I’m sorry, it’s my fault.”

But she simply couldn’t forgive those parasites who fed off her husband’s blood.

“Mom, it’s not your fault.”

Lu Huaijing had never blamed his mother. The daughters-in-law were quick to speak up as well.

“Mom, if they come, we’ll fight them one by one.”

Li Cuihua, who was usually quite unpleasant, finally said something somewhat likable.

Wang Shuhua suggested, “How about I go to my family and call my brothers to help?”

Wang Shuhua was the youngest daughter in the family, with five older brothers. She didn’t lack money, and her character was rather proud.

“No need. If they dare show up, it’ll be a good chance to let the village see their shameless faces.”

Wang Dani was strong-willed. No matter how poor or difficult life had been, she had never gone to the old house for help.

The only time she did was when Lu Huaimei was ten and almost burned her brain out; she went to the old house to borrow some money.

But what did they say?

“She’s just a little girl. If she dies, then so be it.”

Because of this, Lu Huaijing, at just sixteen, enlisted in the army, which was a deep, permanent pain in Wang Dani’s heart.

“Mom, it’s time for dinner.”

Lu Huaimei, who had been cooking in the kitchen, heard the noise and came over to support Wang Dani.

She remembered the things from her childhood, and like her mother, she too resented the old house.

“Alright, let’s eat. Afterward, I’ll go to the town to buy some meat.”

Wang Dani quickly regained her composure, and the family had a rare, quiet meal together.

Afterward, when they were alone, Tang Wan quietly pulled Lu Huaijing aside and asked the question that had been bothering her.

“If I heard correctly, the woman last night was Liu Lanhua?”

She didn’t call her second aunt, because she didn’t deserve that title.

“Yes.”

Lu Huaijing didn’t hide it from her. “Although I don’t like my second uncle, she betrayed him, and this matter can’t be simply forgotten.”

He didn’t want to reveal his low thoughts in front of Tang Wan.

After all, the second uncle’s children didn’t look anything like him. He suspected that Liu Lanhua’s children might have been fathered by someone else.

He was especially curious to see how his biological grandparents and second uncle would react when they found out the children weren’t theirs.

But now wasn’t the time to expose this. He couldn’t let their personal issues ruin the wedding.

Tang Wan: !!!

She was shocked, her eyes wide in disbelief. She never expected that people could be this messy in today’s world.

Her surprised expression was so cute that Lu Huaijing couldn’t help but gently press down on the slightly raised strand of hair on her head.

“You only need to know about this. I’ll handle it. The auspicious time is at twelve. If you’re nervous, you can take Zhou Zhou to the town to have some fun.”

“Why would I go to the town? It’s my own wedding!”

Tang Wan laughed and said, “Alright, you all make the arrangements. I’ll just take a walk around your village, so I won’t get lost when we return.”

That was her excuse, though in reality, she wanted to go up the mountain to take a look.

Lu Huaijing was truly busy. After speaking to her, he disappeared. Wang Dani took the opportunity to try on the clothes she had made for Zhou Zhou.

Wang Dani’s skill at making clothes was truly impressive, both quick and precise. Once Zhou Zhou put on the outfit, he looked much more spirited.

“Sis, are you nervous?”

Tang Zhou, worried Tang Wan might feel anxious, deliberately teased her with a cheerful tone. Tang Wan couldn’t help but laugh.

“A little bit. How about you come with me to the fields to pick some wild vegetables?”

Yes, picking some wild vegetables would be a good way to clear her mind and remind herself to stay rational.

“Sure, I’ll come with you.”

Tang Zhou really believed that Tang Wan was uneasy and agreed to accompany her for a stroll to ease her nerves.

The two of them carried a basket and left the Lu family home. In the courtyard, Li Cuihua rolled her eyes.

“Look at how carefree they are. If someone didn’t know better, they’d think we were the ones getting married.”

She was washing radishes. Times were tough, and most people could only hope for a taste of meat. Wedding feasts were often just vegetables and radishes.

“Third sister-in-law is the bride today, after all,” Wang Shuhua reminded her with a quiet tone, keeping her head down as she washed cabbages. Nearby, Lu Huaimei’s eyes gleamed mischievously.

“Big sister-in-law, don’t you think Sister Hongying would’ve made a better third sister-in-law?”

Li Cuihua, still dissatisfied with Tang Wan, said nothing. But Wang Shuhua quickly warned Lu Huaimei, “Meizi, this is your third brother’s wedding. Whoever he chooses to marry is his business. Don’t do anything foolish.”

Wang Shuhua was sharp and immediately guessed that Lu Huaimei had something scheming in mind.

“I know, second sister-in-law.”

Although Lu Huaimei agreed outwardly, she quietly turned and left the Lu family home. Li Cuihua rolled her eyes again.

“Just wait, the little sister-in-law is about to stir up trouble again,” she said with a hint of schadenfreude in her tone.

“Big sister-in-law, if Meizi causes a scene, it’ll embarrass the entire Lu family,” Wang Shuhua said, baffled by her sister-in-law’s contradictory behavior. She had been serious earlier while preparing the bed, but now she looked like she was just enjoying the drama.

“Don’t worry. With the third brother around, even if Lu Hongying causes a stir, it’ll be useless,” Li Cuihua replied knowingly. She understood her third brother’s stubborn nature—once he decided on something, no one could stop him.

Tang Wan was unaware of the undercurrents in the Lu family. Following the same path as the night before, she and Tang Zhou headed out.

At that time, most of the village was working, and only a few children were picking wild vegetables at the foot of the mountain.

These children weren’t from this village, so to avoid any potential bullying, Tang Wan led Tang Zhou toward a quieter part of the hills.

“Here, this is an edible wild vegetable. Zhou Zhou, make sure not to pick the wrong ones, okay?”

Tang Wan picked a few wild vegetables and showed them to Tang Zhou carefully. Both Tang Zhou and the original Tang Wan were city folk, so it was normal for them to not recognize wild vegetables.

“Got it. I’ll remember,” Tang Zhou replied, though he looked at Tang Wan curiously. “Sis, you’ve never picked wild vegetables before either. How do you know which ones are edible?”

“Didn’t our distant uncle always bring wild vegetables for Dad?”

Tang Wan casually shifted the blame. “Back then, I actually thought he was good to us.”

In the original memory, their distant uncle had brought a basket of wild vegetables as a bribe, hoping their father would help him get promoted to team leader. The thought of it left a bitter taste in her mouth.

“Alright, then,” Tang Zhou said, not pressing further. He bent down to start picking wild vegetables, while Tang Wan was eager to explore the mountains.

“Zhou Zhou, you stay here and keep picking. I’m going to take a look further inside.”

“Sis, everyone says the mountains are dangerous.”

Tang Zhou didn’t know much about the area, but he couldn’t help feeling worried for his sister.

Tang Wan, taking advantage of Tang Zhou’s lack of knowledge, patted his head reassuringly.

“Don’t worry. I won’t go into the deep forest. I just want to see if there are any wild fruits nearby.”