Chapter 6: The Troublemaker of the Household

Lady Gu Caihe was so furious that she practically glared daggers at Madam Liu.

But Madam Liu had long disliked Gu Caihe and wasn’t afraid of her in the slightest. Without even waiting for her mother-in-law, Madam Hong, to speak, she boldly opened the front gate right away.

Gu Caihe wasn’t very bright to begin with, and after being spoiled by her older brother Gu Qingshan and her childhood sweetheart-turned-husband Han Zhengqing, she had grown used to speaking her mind without restraint. But once trouble actually came, she would get scared.

In her heart, she grumbled that stepmothers really were wicked—something small had happened, and here her stepmother came running to her marital home to embarrass her! Truly, not a single stepmother in the world could be any good!

“Gu Caihe, get out here! If you don’t give me an explanation today, this won’t be over!”

Unlike the Gu family’s spacious and independent courtyard home, which was set a bit away from neighbors, the Han family had yet to divide the household. They were still living in the old ancestral home, which hadn’t been renovated, so their large family all crammed together in a space that felt chaotic and overcrowded.

On top of that, the neighboring houses were close by. As soon as Yan Fengru shouted, the idle housewives nearby, bored out of their minds, immediately perked up.

“Hey, Da Peng’s wife, what’s got you so worked up?” Though they said that, their eyes on Gu Caihe changed. What had the Han family’s eldest daughter-in-law done that was so outrageous it had driven her stepmother to come cause a scene at her husband’s home?

Gu Caihe hadn’t said anything yet, but Madam Hong, sharp as a whip, already had a dark expression.

That troublemaker Gu—she never should’ve been allowed to marry into this family in the first place!

Madam Hong had never liked Gu Caihe. Of course, there weren’t many mothers-in-law in the world who genuinely liked their daughters-in-law. After all, she had painstakingly given birth to and raised her son, only for him to be snatched away by some unrelated woman. Once a son had a wife, he’d forget his mother—how could any mother-in-law bear that?

To be fair, Madam Hong was more open-minded than most. Her son had grown up with Gu Caihe, and their bond was strong. Gu Dapeng was doting on his daughter, and Gu Qingshan was also willing to support his sister. If they were supporting Gu Caihe, wasn’t that also supporting her son?

The only issue was that Yan was a stepmother.

A stepmother’s reputation was inherently poor. But because of that, she had a harder time of things, and this made Gu Dapeng and Gu Qingshan feel the need to support Gu Caihe even more—and by extension, they helped her son as well.

At least, that had been Madam Hong’s wishful thinking before the marriage.

It wasn’t until Gu Caihe married in that she realized what kind of person she really was. Her son had said Gu Caihe and Gu Qingshan had suffered under their stepmother and begged her to be more lenient.

The moment her son said that, Madam Hong had already felt uncomfortable. But what could she do? Her son’s heart was already leaning toward Gu Caihe. For the sake of the family, Madam Hong reminded herself she was the elder and shouldn’t stoop to the level of a younger generation.

But who knew this girl would turn out to be lazy, deceitful, and constantly faking illness just to shirk chores. In Madam Hong’s eyes, it was all just excuses.

She wasn’t her birth mother—why should she coddle her?

But what choice was there? The girl had already married in; what’s done was done. And now she had stirred up such trouble that her stepmother came to the house screaming and yelling. Madam Hong was so furious she could’ve chopped Gu Caihe up with a kitchen knife!

She shot Gu Caihe a fierce glare and quickly stepped forward to greet, “Oh my, in-law, what wind has blown you here? Come in, come in, have a seat.”

At the same time, she gave her two daughters-in-law meaningful glances, signaling them to bring the guest inside and close the door behind them. If the door was closed, even if something happened, at least they could settle it in private without airing their dirty laundry for the neighbors to see.

But Yan Fengru refused to cooperate.

“Oh, I wouldn’t dare step inside. I’m afraid I might walk in alive but not walk out.”

“In-law, what are you saying? Anyone hearing you might think our Han family is some den of wolves!” Madam Hong said awkwardly.

She shot more glances at her daughters-in-law, but Gu Caihe was already too intimidated to move, the second daughter-in-law Ge was too honest and slow, and the youngest daughter-in-law Liu—while lively and gossipy—was now so eager to listen and watch the drama unfold that her eyes were practically bulging and ears perked up like a rabbit. None of them responded to her signals.

Madam Hong’s eyes twitched from the strain, and her temper soared.

“A den of wolves? What else can I call it? The eldest ignores her stepmother, and the younger one dares order her little aunt to climb a tree. My poor Yuzhu is still lying in bed! Gu Caihe, just how capable are you, huh? Was this your idea?”

Everyone in the village had heard that the little Gu girl had fallen from the loquat tree at the edge of the village. After all, in such a small village, any commotion would be known to all.

That little girl and her twin brother had been a huge sensation when they were born.

But because the twins had competed for nutrients in the womb, the girl had always been frail. Everyone knew Yan Fengru doted on her to the extreme—she wouldn’t even let a breeze touch her, let alone allow her to climb trees to pick fruit.

It was said her face turned pale as a sheet when she fell.

Some even whispered the poor girl might not make it. But seeing Yan Fengru looking so full of life now, the villagers were somewhat relieved. The girl must be okay—how lucky! Falling from such a tall tree and surviving. Otherwise, would Yan Fengru still be standing here arguing with her stepdaughter? She’d probably be out for blood by now.

Still, if that little girl really had been forced by the Han family’s child to climb the tree, that was way out of line.

Most people thought that if a child did something wrong, the adult was usually the one who had taught them. Han Hui was only five years old—she might not have known her little aunt was frail. But how could Gu Caihe, the mother, not have known? Why didn’t she keep her daughter away from her younger sister? And now she let the girl pick loquats? Why didn’t she go pick them herself?

“My life is so bitter! What did my Yuzhu ever do to deserve this? You just had to torment her like that. If anything happens to her, I swear I’ll never let this go!”

“Da Peng’s wife, they’re just kids. Don’t take it too seriously. Your Yuzhu has good fortune—she’ll be fine,” one of the kind-hearted village women tried to comfort her.

Hearing that, Madam Hong suddenly snapped out of her daze. “Where’s Han Hui?”

Gu Caihe was jolted awake too and turned to look for her daughter. Just then, Han Hui and Gu Changwen were standing hand-in-hand at the Han family gate. Seeing the crowd, both kids froze in fright.

Madam Hong quickly called them over. “Huihui, come here. Tell your grandma what happened to your little aunt falling from the tree.”

As soon as Han Hui heard that, she burst into tears. Her little face looked pitiful beyond words. Gu Changwen saw his cousin crying and started crying too. The two kids cried together in a heartbreaking scene.

Seeing the children sobbing so miserably, the villagers began to soften. Maybe they had been too harsh. After all, the kids were still so little.

So the conversation shifted toward comforting Yan Fengru. “Da Peng’s wife, the children are still young. They didn’t mean to do it. Don’t all kids act like this? Climbing trees and pushing and shoving—it happens. It’s not fair to blame Huihui for Yuzhu falling.”

“That’s right! My Huihui is only five. Yuzhu’s her aunt—what’s wrong with her taking care of her little niece? Why are you saying I taught her to do it? I know you don’t like me, Mother, but you can’t go after my Huihui like this! How is she being ‘intentional’?” Gu Caihe, for once, said something clever and jumped in immediately.

The villagers’ expressions toward Yan Fengru instantly changed again.