Chapter 3: Filing a Complaint

Wei Dong stepped outside but stood at the doorway listening to the sounds inside, his brows furrowed. This time, something about Lian Yuqing felt different—still spoiled, but not as annoying.

After changing clothes, Lian Yuqing opened the wardrobe. Whoa. It was filled with beautiful dresses. In times like these, when materials were scarce, it was already impressive for an average person to wear clothes without patches. But the original owner’s wardrobe? All imported from department stores.

She finally found a short-sleeved shirt and pants in a corner—much more practical.

Clearly, the original owner had lived a pampered life.

Lian Yuqing instantly understood: if her father had forced her to marry a poor guy and live a hard life, she’d have broken down too.

“Big sis-in-law…” A timid voice came from the doorway. A teenage girl, about fifteen or sixteen, knocked shyly.

It was Wei Dong’s younger sister, Wei Miaomiao.

“Big sis-in-law, you didn’t eat lunch. You must be hungry, right? Mom specially made egg fried rice and asked me to bring it to you.” She was holding a bowl.

“Miaomiao, come in,” Lian Yuqing said.

The original owner hated everyone in the Wei family and often mocked and scolded Wei Miaomiao. So, Miaomiao was very scared of her. After placing the bowl on the table, she stayed on high alert.

Seeing her frown, Wei Miaomiao’s heart jumped nervously.

But Lian Yuqing caught a whiff of the food—the golden eggs mixed with glistening grains of rice. Eggs weren’t cheap these days, and white rice was even more precious. For her mother-in-law to cook egg fried rice for a daughter-in-law after a fight—well, Chen Caiqi wasn’t a bad person after all.

But the bowl was huge! How was she supposed to finish all that?

“Miaomiao, Mom used two eggs. I picked them up this morning—they’re very fresh,” Wei Miaomiao explained, afraid the food would be rejected.

“Go get another bowl.”

“What?”

“I can’t finish it. Get another bowl and share it with me.”

The sun must be rising from the west! Lian Yuqing was actually offering to share food? Wei Miaomiao was stunned. “N-No need. I already ate. You go ahead.”

Lian Yuqing mimicked the original owner’s tone. “Just do what I say. I’m watching my weight. I can’t eat that much.”

Now that sounded more like her. Wei Miaomiao obediently went to fetch a bowl.

Lian Yuqing rested her cheek in her hand helplessly. Such a pretty woman, and she’d been treated like a villain by this girl.

“She’s not eating again?” Wei Chunsheng stood at the courtyard gate and saw his sister walk out of the room.

Before Wei Miaomiao could respond, he continued, “If she wants to throw a tantrum, let her. Why cater to her?”

“Second Brother, big sis-in-law isn’t making a fuss. She asked me to bring another bowl so we can share it.”

Wei Chunsheng snorted coldly. “Her? Being generous?”

He and Wei Miaomiao were twins and close. He hated his sister-in-law, but still—they were all family. No need to be so hostile all the time. Plus, she was beautiful and probably felt wronged marrying into the Wei family.

She tugged at his arm and coaxed, “Come on, you’re a man. Be more tolerant, don’t get mad.”

Wei Chunsheng shook her off and went inside. He wasn’t going to be soft like his sister. He remembered every insult that woman had hurled. She’d always looked down on the Wei family—and especially his big brother.

Lian Yuqing scooped more than half the rice into another bowl. Her body was sore, and her tone weak. “Eat up.”

The two girls silently finished their meal. Then Wei Miaomiao said, “Big brother asked me to help clean your wound.”

“Oh, thanks.”

Blinking, Wei Miaomiao quickly collected the dishes and ran off.

Maybe Sun Dazhi had held back when he hit her, out of pity. The wound on the back of her head wasn’t that serious, but Lian Yuqing had thick hair, so cleaning it was tough. Wei Miaomiao had to run back and forth several times, changing four basins of water, just to get the tiny stones out of the wound.

Wei Dong stood by, holding ointment. At first, Lian Yuqing cursed through the pain. But then—she cried.

Makes sense. She was so pampered and had never suffered like this.

Wei Miaomiao panicked. “Big sis-in-law, w-what’s wrong?”

“Don’t mind me. I just feel so miserable. Sob sob sob…”

She took the opportunity to vent all her frustration through the pain. She was the precious heiress of the Lian family, about to inherit a major family business. Her free time was spent partying with handsome men. Why was she stuck here as some evil supporting character, eating poorly and sleeping worse?

But to the Wei siblings, her words just sounded like she was complaining about them again.

Her head was wrapped in several layers of gauze. Wei Dong instructed coldly, “Don’t get it wet these next few days. Be careful when you sleep.”

“Okay,” she answered absentmindedly.

Lian Yuqing napped all afternoon and only woke when Wei Dong came to call her for dinner.

Her head was killing her. She asked Wei Dong if there was any painkiller.

“Nope. We’re country folks—we’re not that delicate. Just tough it out. Now hurry, the whole family’s waiting.”

She wanted to curse him, but he’d already vanished.

Alright, Wei Dong. You sarcastic jerk. Just wait.

The sun hadn’t completely set. A yellow bulb above the table lit the entire main hall.

Lian Yuqing arrived late. Chen Caiqi held back her irritation. “Let’s eat.”

Since Wei Dong was back home today, Chen Caiqi had taken down some cured meat from the New Year stash, stir-fried it with chilies—spicy and appetizing. There were also plates of potatoes and cucumbers.

Six people, three dishes. Not really enough, but for the countryside, this was already a great meal.

Just as Lian Yuqing reached for the cured meat, her chopsticks were smacked away. She turned to the man beside her, annoyed. “What’s your problem?”

Wei Dong pulled her hand back. “You can’t eat spicy food. Your wound hasn’t healed.”

“Then what can I eat?”

The next moment, a peeled boiled egg was placed into her bowl. “Eat this.”

One egg with a bowl of rice? She couldn’t even force it down. But of course, she could only complain in her head.

She watched, fuming, as Wei Dong picked up a big chunk of cured meat and popped it into his mouth. “Mom, this cured meat’s delicious.”

She gritted her teeth. That bastard is doing this on purpose.

Wei Chunsheng and Wei Miaomiao exchanged nervous glances, worried that Lian Yuqing might flip the table any second.

Under the table, she stomped on Wei Dong’s foot and then turned to the elder. “Dad, the moment Wei Dong came home today, he said he wanted a divorce. You have to stand up for me.”

The room went dead silent.

Even though Lian Yuqing often threatened divorce, the Wei family knew Wei Dong had his boundaries. Chen Caiqi didn’t like a pampered daughter-in-law, but she’d never actually considered divorce for them.

Wei Ximin slammed his cup on the table and shot a deep look at his son. “Dongzi, come with me to fix the chicken coop after dinner.”

Wei Dong’s expression darkened. “Okay.”

Wei Ximin turned to her. “Qing’er, don’t worry. I’ll take care of him. I won’t let you be wronged.”

“Thanks, Dad.” Lian Yuqing beamed and happily picked up her chopsticks to eat the egg, acting all carefree—completely missing the worry in Chen Caiqi and Wei Miaomiao’s eyes.

She wasn’t used to the food. After finishing the egg and picking at her rice, she went back to her room. Chen Caiqi, too preoccupied with concern for her husband and son, didn’t even scold her for wasting food.

Feel guilty? Not a chance.

Lian Yuqing had always been the type to get even. All the chaos the original owner had caused in the Wei family—that wasn’t her. She wasn’t about to put up with that nonsense.