Chapter 16: The Eldest Sister-in-law Suffers in Silence

“Zhang Xiulian, you’re getting crazier by the day! Spouting nonsense in broad daylight—do you even know who you just hit?” Zhao Debao roared, his face dark with fury.

Liu Dani clutched her chest, stomping her feet repeatedly.
“Heavens above! This crazy woman’s trying to kill someone! Debao, hurry up and teach her a lesson!”

Zhao Debao didn’t have time to listen to his mother’s incitement. He quickly bent down and helped the woman lying on the ground to her feet.

He gently brushed the dust off her face and lifted the messy permed hair from her forehead.

A face covered in a chaotic mix of nosebleed and dirt was revealed.

“Big Sis? Why is it you?!”

Zhao Lili ran over from the doorway, covering her mouth in shock.

Zhang Xiulian shot her daughter a glance and scolded,
“Girl, are your eyes playing tricks on you? Your aunt might be built similarly to this woman, but look—this one has hideous yellow permed hair. Your aunt has straight black hair, and besides, she’s way more elegant than this!”

The heavyset woman was heaving violently, gasping for air.

After a short rest, she suddenly turned, picked up a broom from the ground, and charged at Zhang Xiulian.

“Zhang Xiulian, open your damn eyes and look properly—am I Zhao Dehua or not?!”

Zhang Xiulian bent her knees, quickly dodging out of the way with ease.

Turning around, she pulled a crooked smile and feigned surprise.
“Aiya, Big Sis—it really is you!

What a misunderstanding! This is like the Dragon King’s temple being flooded—we’re all family and didn’t even recognize each other!”

“I was just looking at the hair and didn’t realize you got a perm!”

“And honestly, it looks great—makes you look younger!”

Zhang Xiulian lied smoothly, without blinking an eye.

Zhao Dehua’s eyes bulged like brass bells. Her body shook with rage as she swung the broom again.

The two of them started chasing each other in circles around the courtyard.

While running, Zhang Xiulian shouted,
“Big Sis, I was wrong! I really mistook you for someone else!”

At this moment, neighbors from nearby houses had heard the commotion and began gathering in small groups to watch the scene unfold.

“That Zhao Dehua is something else — already married off, yet still dares to come back to her maiden home and throw her weight around.”

“Exactly, exactly. She must’ve been the one to stir up trouble first. Zhang Xiulian is an honest and proper person.”

“Tsk tsk, a whole family ganging up on an outsider — that’s just sinful.”

Hearing all the surrounding neighbors siding against her made Zhao Dehua’s legs go weak with rage, and she nearly fainted on the spot.

She threw the broom she was holding at the doorway and screamed wildly, “All of you — get out of my house!”

Zhao Debao, always one to care about saving face, couldn’t stand watching his sister lose control like that — it made him feel completely humiliated.

He nudged her elbow and whispered, “Come on, my dear sister, please stop. This is embarrassing enough already.

If you hadn’t insisted on wearing her clothes, none of this would’ve happened.

I told you — she’s not the same woman she used to be, but you just wouldn’t listen.”

Zhao Dehua rolled her eyes at her brother and glanced toward Liu Dani for help, like she was seeking rescue.

Liu Dani waved her hands, signaling her to stop making a scene.

Her grandson was about to get married — she didn’t want the neighbors laughing about their family being so dysfunctional.

After all, a daughter was now someone else’s responsibility. She knew clearly where her priorities lay.

“Fine, fine! You’re all teaming up to bully me now!” Zhao Dehua sniffled, her voice trembling with anger.

Just then, Zhang Xiulian quietly brought over a basin of clean water, placed it beside her sister-in-law, and said softly:

“Big sister, wash your face, please. If you want to blame someone, blame me for not seeing clearly. You’re the bigger person — please forgive me.”

Zhao Dehua glanced at her reluctantly, then scooped up a handful of water and splashed it on her face, trying to calm herself down.

So her brother says his wife’s gotten tougher? Hah! She still had to apologize to me in the end.

As if she’s really that fierce.

Even Sun Wukong couldn’t escape the Buddha’s palm — who does she think she is?

“Hiss—”

As her fingers brushed the bruises on her face, Zhao Dehua let out a stifled groan.

Looking down at the basin of murky, grayish water, her eyes shifted — and a wicked idea suddenly popped into her head…

Zhang Xiulian knew very well that her eldest sister-in-law was the type of person who felt she was losing out if she didn’t get any advantage.

Having suffered such a big grievance today, there was no way she would let it pass lightly.

She watched Zhao Dehua’s every move very closely.

The moment Zhao Dehua raised the dirty water to splash it on her,

Zhang Xiulian lifted her foot and fiercely kicked the edge of the basin.

Splash!

The dirty water splashed all over Zhao Dehua.

The dirty water trickled down Zhao Dehua’s hair and sleeves, dripping drop by drop.

“Ugh!”

The bloody water mixed with the stench of dirt churned in her mouth. She gagged and spat it out.

Zhang Xiulian, like a victorious warrior, held her head high and looked with disdain through her nostrils at the drenched Zhao Dehua standing before her. Her heart was filled with joy.

Even before entering the house, she had recognized that voice as Zhao Dehua’s.

She had pretended to mistake her for someone else just to have a justified reason to retaliate openly.

In her previous life, when Zhang Xiulian and Zhao Debao had just started dating, their relationship was very good.

Zhao Debao was handsome and gentle-tempered, always obliging to Zhang Xiulian’s wishes.

After they married, Zhao Dehua, as the eldest sister-in-law, constantly tried to sow discord between the two.

Zhang Xiulian clearly remembered that not long after their wedding, she went back to her parents’ home alone.

On the way back, a sudden heavy rain trapped her halfway.

By chance, a former male neighbor of Zhang Xiulian happened to pass by.

He kindly gave her a ride back to her marital home.

Zhao Debao was very thankful to that man.

But unexpectedly, Zhao Dehua whispered to her brother, “Just look at your wife—she’s obviously not decent, being sent home by a grown man.

That one small umbrella for two—who knows what shameful thing they might have done halfway home.

Brother, you better watch out so you don’t end up wearing a green hat without knowing it.”

Knowing her brother’s temper and character, Zhao Dehua, as his elder sister, should have known better.

Zhao Dehua was petty and liked to overthink.

Even though she knew the truth, she deliberately spread rumors and made things up.

After this incident, Zhao Dehua grew suspicious.

She started drinking and, after getting drunk, would either beat or verbally abuse Zhang Xiulian.

What made things worse was that two months later, Zhang Xiulian discovered she was pregnant.

Zhao Dehua became even more spiteful, taking any chance to gossip in front of Zhao Debao:
“I heard the young daughter-in-law in Zhangjia Village had a child who doesn’t look like her husband. When the child grows up, it turns out to be another man’s kid. You call that being a fool?”

Zhang Xiulian spent her entire pregnancy with her eldest daughter drowning in tears.

At the time, she couldn’t understand why Zhao Debao’s temperament changed so drastically.

She even repeatedly blamed herself, thinking maybe she hadn’t done something right.

If it weren’t for Zhao Debao confessing the truth on his deathbed in her past life, she might still be clueless.

Why do women have to make things difficult for each other?

Living her life over again, Zhang Xiulian finally understood why her eldest sister-in-law always looked down on her.

Because at that time, the eldest sister-in-law was constantly beaten by her husband, and when she returned to her parental home, she saw how much her brother favored Zhang Xiulian.

The jealousy in her heart spilled over, and she projected all her hatred onto Zhang Xiulian.

Only when she saw Zhang Xiulian being beaten and scolded by her brother would she feel some satisfaction.

Not only that, every time Zhang Xiulian was beaten,

she would carefully comfort her, saying,
“Xiulian, my brother has been spoiled by the whole family. You have to bear with him a little. Actually, he still cares about you.”

Isn’t this pure psychological abnormality?

This life, if you try to pull this trick on me again—

Too bad.

I won’t tolerate you anymore.

Thinking this in her heart,

Zhang Xiulian’s face was full of smiles, and with a look full of grievance, she said,
“Sis, I only fought back because Debao’s abuse triggered me.
Just now, I misunderstood and thought you wanted to splash water on me.
You wouldn’t hold that against a poor soul like me, would you?”