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Sun Shi watched her hard-earned silver coins vanish, feeling as though her heart was being ripped apart. The realization that her secret stash of money had been uncovered, especially with such a significant amount, filled her with dread. Judging by the dark expressions of her in-laws, she knew they were truly angered this time, and the punishment would be severe. Overcome with anger, anxiety, and fear, she couldn’t think of a way to handle the situation, causing her head to spin, leading to her collapsing on the ground in pain. Though she woke up briefly, she thought it might be a good strategy to keep her eyes closed.
“Leave her be. She’ll wake up in a while. This is just distress over the lost silver,” Shen Zhang shi stated with a grim expression, eyeing the silver coins handed to her by Wang Shi. She had always been aware of her daughters-in-law saving private funds, but this time, Sun Shi had gone too far. If she didn’t teach her a lesson now, Sun Shi might no longer respect her as the mother-in-law.
“Husband, how should we handle this matter?” Shen Zhang shi asked Shen Youfu. Over the years, she had always sought his opinion, even on trivial matters, a strategy that pleased Shen Youfu as he often let her make decisions, which she found satisfactory. Ultimately, the household was under Shen Zhang shi’s control.
“It’s up to you to decide regarding the daughter-in-law,” Shen Youfu replied, giving Shen Ziping a stern glance. Shen Ziping immediately claimed ignorance. His lies were transparent, but Sun shi, who earned money by selling embroidery, was embroidering in her room. How could Shen Ziping not have noticed? Shen Youfu just grunted and walked away.
“Third son, lock up your wife in the woodshed for three days!” Shen Zhang shi ordered before preparing to leave, but her departure was interrupted by a loud outcry from Chunhua.
“Dad! Grandma! Mom is bleeding!”
Chunhua had been watching Li Shi press on Sun Shi’s pressure point, and then she noticed red seeping through her mother’s lower body clothing, prompting her to shout loudly.
Initially pretending to be faint, Sun Shi had felt a sharp pain in her body and had assumed it was from the fall, causing some panic but not much concern. Then, as Li Shi pressed harder on her pressure point, the pain shifted her focus entirely to the struggle with Li Shi’s hands. It wasn’t until she heard Shen Zhang shi’s comment about her fainting that she considered waking up. At this moment, she also began to sense an abnormal pain in her lower body and felt something flowing out. Hearing Chunhua’s cry, she panicked and forcefully pushed away Li Shi, who was still pressing on her, resulting in another wave of pain. Seeing the blood on her clothes, she fainted once again.
“Could this be a miscarriage?!”
Thrown to the ground, Li Shi, eyes wide with shock, watching the blood, cried out. She had witnessed miscarriages before, and this scene was all too familiar to her.
Without needing Li Shi’s explanation, almost everyone understood what had happened upon seeing the blood. Chaos erupted in the courtyard as everyone rushed to attend to the situation, children crying in the background.
“Stop panicking! Everyone, hold on!” Shen Zhang shi shouted, and as everyone paused, she frowned at Sun Shi, instructing Shen Ziping, “Carry your wife back to the room. Get your eldest brother to call the doctor. Eldest daughter-in-law, second daughter-in-law, you two look after the third daughter-in-law. Zhi Gui, go fetch Madam Fang. The rest of you, stay calm and quiet, no running around.”
Upon hearing Shen Zhang shi’s instructions, order was restored among the household members.
Chunhua and the three younger brothers crowded at the room’s entrance, with Chunhua crying, and even the mischievous boys were now scared and wailing loudly.
“Sister, sister, is Mom going to die? She’s bleeding a lot…”
“What nonsense are you talking? Be quiet!”
Reprimanded by Chunhua’s sudden fierceness, the boys fell silent. Though their mother typically treated Chunhua differently from them, they didn’t wish for their mother to die and couldn’t stand hearing such words from others.
Shortly after, Madam Fang arrived. As the village midwife, she was the one to consult in women’s matters. After examining Sun Shi, she reassured everyone that although there was bleeding, it was just a threatened miscarriage, and the baby had not been lost. A collective sigh of relief followed. Soon after, the doctor arrived, examined Sun Shi, and prescribed some medication, reassuring that as long as she took some preventative medicine, everything would be fine.
After the doctor and midwife left, a heavy silence fell over the Shen household, and no one had eaten during this time.
As dusk approached, Sun Shi finally regained consciousness. Upon realizing she was still pregnant, she felt a mix of joy and relief, thinking the timing of this child was just right, potentially saving her from punishment. However, the thought of almost losing the baby filled her with fear and anger. She resented Shen Zhang shi for planning to punish her, for betraying her, and especially for Shen Zi’an revealing her secret. Determined not to let things slide this time, she began wailing loudly, feeling emboldened by the fact that she now had a child to protect.
Shen Zhang shi, listening to Sun Shi’s outburst, wore a displeased expression.
Shen Zhu frowned and remarked, “She doesn’t seem like someone who’s had a threatened miscarriage. Her cries could scare off a tiger. I think she’s faking it! Mother, you didn’t see it, but her eyelids were twitching when she was lying on the ground, and her hand was visibly strained when Second Sister-in-law pressed on her pressure point.”
“Hmph, I know. This daughter-in-law never has a peaceful day. Thinks she’s invincible just because she’s pregnant. If this continues, I’ll still have third son divorce her!” Shen Zhang shi declared firmly.
Upon hearing his mother’s harsh words, Shen Ziju disagreed, “Mother, although Third Sister-in-law lacks virtue, she has borne four children for the Shen family and is now expecting another. If third brother were to divorce her, it would tarnish my reputation. Mother, please pay more attention to managing her instead.”
Shen Zhang shi glanced at her son and remarked, “Alright, you study hard, do you still doubt my decisions? My words were meant to intimidate her. If I were to really have third son divorce her, it would mean spending more money for your elder brother to marry again. Your nephews and nieces would also lose their mother’s care. I’m not that foolish.”
Upon hearing this, Shen Ziju felt reassured. Despite his deep disdain for his sharp-tongued sister-in-law, as long as she didn’t cross any major lines, he would endure her antics. He knew that once he became an official, he would leave this remote village behind, and the foolish woman’s behavior would no longer concern him.
After a while of causing a commotion and receiving no response from the main room, Sun Shi became breathless with anger.
Chunhua brought her a bowl of fish soup, saying, “Mother, have some fish soup. Third Brother caught this especially for you.”
“My good son, so thoughtful!” Sun Shi praised, sipping the fish soup but complaining, “I almost lost my life for the Shen family while carrying a child, and they couldn’t even make me some chicken soup to drink?”
Chunhua remained silent. How could she explain to her mother that chickens were meant for laying eggs, and her grandmother disapproved of slaughtering them? None of them dared to act against her wishes.
Sun Shi understood this dynamic all too well, and her discontent only grew deeper within her.
“Shut your mouth and be grateful you have something to drink. Still craving chicken soup? Consider yourself lucky you’re not starving in the woodshed for three days this time, thanks to the child in your belly!”
Shen Ziping entered the room, saw the fish soup, licked his lips, and asked Chunhua if there was more. She mentioned there was still some in the kitchen. Shen Ziping instructed her to leave the bowl and bring him another serving. Taking the bowl, he drank the soup, infuriating Sun Shi, who cursed him for being a glutton.
“I regret not carrying out our plan earlier. Otherwise, your dear Fourth Brother wouldn’t have exposed me for doing embroidery work at the Li family’s embroidery house! And my silver! Three taels, handed over so easily! Luckily, I didn’t keep all my money together. Otherwise, I’d be in despair by now!”
As Shen Ziping greedily enjoyed the fish soup, he inwardly lamented the loss of the silver, thinking about how much alcohol and meat it could have bought him.
“Don’t dwell on it. The money for hiring people has been spent. Instead of seeking revenge, just drive them out,” he advised, trying to console Sun Shi.
Sun Shi nodded and said, “Then make those people move quickly. We can use the threatened miscarriage as an excuse. Pretend to have some back pain too. I refuse to believe this won’t work!”
“Alright, I’ll follow your lead. *cough cough* This fish bone wasn’t properly removed. Maybe you shouldn’t drink it,” Shen Zi Ping said.
“Then don’t drink it. If you won’t, I will. How convenient!” Sun Shi snatched the bowl from Shen Ziping’s hands, gulped down the remaining fish soup in one go, and ended up choking. While coughing, she cursed Shen Zi’an and Su Zhi, blaming them for her misfortunes and wishing they were gone as soon as possible.