Chapter 19: Playing a Double Act, Backed by Her Maiden Family

Lu Hailiang didn’t understand the situation at first. Wu Laidi, with a cold face, recounted all the foolish things Zhuang Meifeng had done. Once he learned that Zhuang Meifeng had secretly taken the family’s eggs back to her maiden home, Lu Hailiang was so furious he actually laughed.

He didn’t even bother pleading for Zhuang Meifeng anymore. He grabbed her arm and pulled her toward the door.
“Let’s go. Go back to your maiden home.”

“If you think the Lu family is so terrible, then go home and see what nice food your parents can give you.”

Zhuang Meifeng couldn’t believe her husband was being so heartless. She burst into tears and made a scene. Her sharp fingernails scratched two bloody marks onto Lu Hailiang’s face, but he didn’t say a word. With a darkened expression, he forcefully dragged her out.

Even so, Lu Hailiang still worried that letting Zhuang Meifeng walk home alone at night would be unsafe. He personally escorted her to the entrance of Zhuang Village. When he saw she was about to make another scene, he said coldly,
“You’re at your family’s door now. Everyone here knows you. Go ahead and make a fuss. Let’s see who they want to watch make a fool of themselves.”

With just one sentence, Zhuang Meifeng didn’t even dare to cry out loud. At this point, she finally regretted her actions. She clung to Lu Hailiang, sobbing and begging for forgiveness.
“Husband, I know I was wrong. I won’t dare to do it again. Please talk to Mom for me—I won’t ever make this mistake again.”

“Go get the eggs back first. Then we’ll talk.” Lu Hailiang replied flatly, then turned and left without looking back.

Late at night, Zhuang Meifeng had nowhere else to go. She wiped away her tears and figured she’d just return home for now and head back in a few days. After all, Tianjie was still at home. If he found out she wasn’t there, he’d definitely throw a fit.

For Tianjie’s sake, Zhuang Meifeng believed her mother-in-law had just said those things in anger. If she laid low for a couple of days, it would all blow over.

She walked quickly home and shouted at the gate for a long time with no response. She had no choice but to bang hard on the door.
“Dad! Mom! I’m back! Open the door for me!”

The house remained silent. Zhuang Meifeng knocked again, louder this time, enough to rouse the neighbors. One of them saw her and looked surprised.
“Meifeng, what are you doing back at this hour? Didn’t your husband come with you?”

“No, I missed my mom, so I came back to stay for a couple of days.” Zhuang Meifeng forced a dry smile and gave a vague explanation. The neighbor smiled, but it was unclear whether she believed her or not.

“There were lights on in your house just a bit ago. They must’ve just gone to bed. Let me try.” The neighbor was very enthusiastic and helped Zhuang Meifeng call out.

Less than a minute later, Mother Zhuang appeared with a dark expression. But when she saw the neighbor, she quickly put on a cheerful face.
“Meifeng, what are you doing coming back so late?”

“Mom—”

The neighbor gave a quick goodbye and left. Seeing her mother made Zhuang Meifeng feel more secure, like taking a calming pill. But once Mother Zhuang found out that Zhuang Meifeng had been sent back, her expression turned even worse.

She scolded her immediately:
“She kicked you out and you actually came back? You’re already married—are you going to just stick around your maiden home forever?”

Zhuang Meifeng hadn’t expected her mother to say something like that. She had thought she’d be comforted. Her eyes immediately turned red.
“Mom, how can you say that? If I hadn’t taken those eggs home, I wouldn’t have been…” —wouldn’t have been kicked out.

Mother Zhuang opened her mouth to start scolding again, but Father Zhuang had been listening the entire time. When he heard his daughter crying, he quickly came out.
“Alright, that’s enough. Stop talking. Our daughter meant well—it’s not a bad thing. It’s late. Let’s get her bedding ready. She can sleep now, we’ll talk tomorrow.”

Mother Zhuang snorted coldly.
“So I’m the bad guy, huh.”

Father Zhuang sat in front of Zhuang Meifeng with a cheerful expression.
“Meifeng, Dad knows you’re a good girl. Since you’ve already given the Lu family a grandson, they’re not going to really drive you out. Just stay here for now. In a couple of days, Lu Hailiang will have to come fetch you.”

“When that time comes, I’ll have a good talk with him. You’re a daughter of the Zhuang family—you’re not someone to be bullied.”

This was the first time her father had spoken to her like this. Zhuang Meifeng felt so touched she nearly burst into tears again. But anyone else who had been there would’ve known—Mother Zhuang and Father Zhuang were playing a double act. One was the bad cop, the other the good cop. It was all on purpose.

A few minutes later, Mother Zhuang returned carrying a thin, chilly blanket. Her expression had softened a little.
“There are no more quilts in the house. This one’s the one you used before you got married.”

Zhuang Meifeng didn’t mind at all. She took the quilt with teary eyes.
“Mom, you kept this blanket from so many years ago? You’re the best.”

Mother Zhuang turned away.
“Alright, your old room is being used by Tiedan now. I’ve cleared out the woodshed for you. Make do with it for now.”

Zhuang Meifeng nodded. She had lived too well at the Lu family. On her first night back at her parents’ home, sleeping in the woodshed with the sound of rats rustling, she barely slept at all.

At the break of dawn, Zhuang Meifeng got up to cook and wash clothes for the family, waiting for her brother’s family to come eat.

When she saw her sister-in-law, she greeted her with a smile.
“You’re up? I made corn soup today. Give it a try.”

Her brother didn’t see anything wrong with her standing while he sat with one leg crossed, sipping the soup like a master. He hissed the moment it burned his mouth.
“Don’t you know to let it cool first? You want to scald me to death?”

When they learned their sister had been kicked out and come home, the whole Zhuang family didn’t show the slightest concern. Little Zhuang Tiedan looked up innocently and asked,
“Auntie, how long are you staying here?”

Zhuang Meifeng felt a mix of emotions.
“Just two days. I missed you, Tiedan, so I came to visit.”

Mother Zhuang figured since Zhuang Meifeng was back, she could help take care of Tiedan and help out around the house. Her expression softened quite a bit. She even handed Zhuang Meifeng a cornbread bun.
“Eat. The Lu family doesn’t treat people right, but you’re still our Zhuang family’s daughter. We won’t treat you unfairly.”

“Exactly. When Brother-in-law comes to pick you up, we’ll make sure he pays a good price. If he doesn’t bring at least two pounds of meat, Sis, don’t go back with him.” her brother added.

Zhuang Meifeng looked gratefully at her brother standing up for her and smiled brightly.

“Our Zhuang family’s daughters aren’t people they can just kick out. Two pounds of meat—or cash—must be paid.” Mother Zhuang advised. Seeing Zhuang Meifeng’s smile, she finally showed a better attitude and let her sit down to eat.

“After breakfast, take Tiedan and tidy up the house a bit.”

Zhuang Meifeng agreed immediately, feeling her mother really did love her—she was only being asked to do light chores.

Meanwhile, over at the Lu family, no one was even thinking about bringing Zhuang Meifeng back.

Lu Hailiang hung his head.
“Mom, I didn’t watch closely enough and let her take so many eggs. I still have some money—let’s buy some eggs first.”

Wu Laidi was almost due. The eggs she’d been counting on were gone. She was so angry she couldn’t sleep all night. She ranted nonstop inside the house. The Lu house was made of tile—it wasn’t soundproof at all. Lu Hailiang could hear everything Wu Laidi said.

No matter how you looked at it, the fault lay with his wife. Lu Hailiang decided to make up for the loss first—he couldn’t let his second sister-in-law go without eggs.

“This wasn’t your fault. I’ll figure something out.” Zhao Menglan said.

As she watched her eldest son leave looking utterly defeated, Zhao Menglan sighed.
“What a sin. If I’d known it would turn out like this, I’d rather he stayed single.”

“Sigh… you think that girl from before is still single? If nothing else works out, just have Huaichuan divorce Zhuang Meifeng. She’s made our whole family restless.”