Chapter 7: Playing Mind Games

Yanfengru was so angry she nearly staggered. “Good! Gu Caihe, you want to play tricks with me? When I was serving by the mistress’s side in the provincial city and battling wits, you were still running around in split pants!”

After all, Yanfengru had been a senior maid before—she was never lacking in scheming or tactics. Otherwise, how could she have ever become a senior maid?

Ever since marrying Gu Dapeng, she had put up with her stepchildren. At most, she remained distant from them and couldn’t be bothered to argue. Who would’ve thought that such restraint would lead them to think she was easy to bully?

She could accept a bit of suffering herself, but now they’d set their sights on her two children. That was something Yanfengru couldn’t tolerate. Her expression turned furious—furious to the extreme—when suddenly she covered her face and let out a loud, heart-wrenching wail.

“My poor Zhu’er! She fell from such a high tree—nearly lost her life! She was born prematurely, so she’s always been fragile. I’ve never even spoken a harsh word to her. Sure, she’s Huiya’s aunt in terms of seniority, but wasn’t it Huiya who was at fault here? My daughter nearly lost her life, and I’m not even allowed to ask a few questions? What kind of wretched stepmother am I supposed to be!”

This was a masterstroke of retreating to advance—Yanfengru played the part perfectly. Those who were initially sympathetic toward Gu Caihe immediately switched to feeling sorry for Yanfengru.

Put yourself in her shoes. With Yanfengru’s looks and talent, had it not been for her family dragging her down and forcing her into servitude for so many years, would she have ended up marrying Gu Dapeng and becoming a stepmother?

And there’s no such thing as an easy life for a stepmother. Do it well, and it’s “as you should.” Be even slightly assertive, and it’s “you’re abusing your stepchildren.” No matter how you put it, people would always talk badly behind your back.

Now Gu Yuzhu had suffered such a serious accident, and Yanfengru, as her birth mother, had every right to be upset and demand answers. That was perfectly reasonable.

Let’s be honest—Han Hui was indeed too willful. How could she ask her sickly younger aunt to climb a tree to pick loquats for her? Even if Gu Yuzhu had been healthy, it was still unseemly for a junior to boss around her elder like that. People would talk.

“Stealing needles as a child, stealing gold when grown”—everyone still believed in sayings like that. If a girl could already order her elders around at such a young age, how would she behave when she was grown? Every family with a daughter knew how important it was to build a good reputation. A good name was essential to securing a good marriage in the future.

Whatever the case, Han Hui had already left a bad impression on the villagers. Gu Caihe might not have grasped this immediately, but Madam Hong did. Her eyelids twitched uncontrollably.

If it were only Han Hui’s reputation that was ruined, it might still be manageable. But what about the rest of the Han family? They had other girls too. Not just in their household—her husband had brothers, and those brothers had granddaughters. What if people started saying the entire Han family didn’t know how to raise girls?

This wasn’t just stirring trouble—it was offending the whole Han family!

At this point, Madam Hong wished she could gag Yanfengru.

But they were of the same generation, and Yanfengru had the moral high ground. She’d shown up angrily demanding justice—how could Hong dare throw her out? All of this was Gu Caihe’s fault, that troublemaking wretch! Right now, Madam Hong’s resentment toward Gu Caihe was through the roof.

Still, to bring this farce to an end, Madam Hong was in a tough spot. Desperate to save face, her eyes spun as she thought, then she picked up a stick from the ground and yanked Han Hui over to beat her. “Telling your little aunt to do things for you? Don’t you know how weak she is? She’s still lying in bed, and it’s all your fault! So what if you’re young? Your little aunt is only ten months older than you! Why are you so thoughtless!”

Yanfengru had given birth right after Gu Caihe and Han Zhengqing got engaged. As soon as her postpartum confinement ended, the couple married. Han Hui had been conceived within the second month of their marriage and was born that same year.

So she and Yanfengru’s dragon-phoenix twins were the same age, just born in different months.

Han Hui began howling even louder, and then Gu Changwen joined in—two kids crying together, like war horns blaring.

When Gu Caihe saw her daughter being beaten by her mother-in-law, she immediately lunged forward. “Don’t you dare hit my daughter! You old hag! You dare lay a hand on my child!”

Madam Hong had never expected Gu Caihe to fight back.

In all of history, only mothers-in-law had the right to discipline daughters-in-law. No one had ever heard of a daughter-in-law daring to attack her mother-in-law. Besides, Madam Hong thought she was cleaning up Gu Caihe’s mess. Wasn’t she doing her a favor?

Oh heavens, what sin had she committed! That slap from Gu Caihe left Madam Hong stunned. But once she came to her senses, Gu Caihe was no match for her.

Madam Hong had raised three sons and was used to farm work. Even though she was older, she was still strong. Gu Caihe, spoiled from birth, couldn’t compare.

Truth be told, Gu Caihe had always lived a good life. Her birth mother was around in her early years, and her father doted on her. Her mother would never scold her unnecessarily. After Yanfengru entered the household, Gu Qingshan, her biological older brother, protected her like a treasure, fearing she’d be bullied by her stepmother.

Even Gu Dapeng had been wary of Yanfengru at first—after all, Gu Caihe was his own flesh and blood, not Yanfengru’s.

So how could a pampered Gu Caihe be a match for Madam Hong? Within moments, she was pinned down and beaten.

She hadn’t even been hit twice before she started screaming her head off.

Now the village women watching fell silent. In this era, a woman obeyed her father at home, her husband after marriage, and her son in old age. A mother-in-law disciplining her daughter-in-law was entirely within her rights—outsiders had no say. Yanfengru simply stood at the Han family’s gate, watching Madam Hong beat Gu Caihe mercilessly. She could tell—it wasn’t for show. Madam Hong was genuinely using full force.

Yanfengru was overjoyed.

All the bitterness from the past years suddenly felt vindicated. She wasn’t the one doing the hitting—it was Gu Caihe’s own mother-in-law.

Once she saw that the beating had gone far enough, Yanfengru finally feigned concern and called out, “Dear in-law, I only came out of anger to get some answers. I didn’t mean for you to beat the child.”

“I’m not her birth mother, and even I’ve never said a harsh word to her.”

“Being a stepmother is really hard! Those who know me know I mean well. Those who don’t just assume I’m a wicked stepmother. But now, seeing that you’re such a sensible and just person, I’m truly relieved!”

As Yanfengru spoke, she even let a few tears fall. The scene was heart-rending.

She wasn’t stupid. In the past, Gu Caihe would always pretend to be pitiful in front of the villagers, making it seem like Yanfengru was some cruel stepmother. Yanfengru had known all along.

She just hadn’t cared.

She had her own private money and never intended to rely on her stepchildren in old age. With two children of her own, she’d decided early on that if she couldn’t get along with her stepchildren, she simply wouldn’t engage.

But what Yanfengru hadn’t expected was that giving them a bit of respect would make them think she was a coward.